Furious With Thomas Cook!

alicewilliams

Hi guys,

We booked a holiday with Thomas Cook in february 2013 to go on end of may 2013 for 3 Adults and 4 kids to All-Inclusive hotel, Marmaris in Turkey. Our youngest has a heart condition and this is the first time she will be travelling.

We have just today received an email from Thomas cook, saying that next door to our hotel, a new hotel was being built, but there is a delay in construction, so therefore we may have to put up with loads of noise and disruption - the letter states that they can't give us any further information.

They wrote that we can change the hotel and although we won't be charged admin fees for changing, we will have to pay for any extra price for a different hotel :mad:

This is very unfair and a scam in our opinion as we had booked in advance to get a cheap price and since the hotel construction had started before we booked the holiday, we believe we should have been informed and given a choice to change hotel as now we can't change hotels as the prices will have increased much more.

This was supposed to be a special holiday for the kids for being good and for our youngest, whom has been severely ill to enjoy themselves. It was also supposed to be a break for me and my husband to relax after caring for our daughter. Instead we have to deal with construction noise and lose thousands of pounds for a holiday from hell.

According to Thomas Cook's Terms and Conditions, we can't ask for compensation for unexpected delays or problems, but surely they had a duty to inform us about any construction work before we booked in?

To start of, my question is what can we do about this?

Caz3121

I am guessing from the wording that the construction was due to be completed before the end of May so it was probably not something that was relevant to your holiday (I would hope they would have informed people that were due to be there during the planned works in advance) Now that it has been delayed they are advising people that may be affected.
Have you looked at any recent reviews on Tripadvisor to see what comments are being made by those staying during the works?

richardw

Find an equivalent hotel that's available and on their website and ask them to change it to that one.

alicewilliams

First of all thank you so much for your quick responses. I really appreciate it.

The letter states that "as indicated in our booking conditions building work may happen", but we can't find any mention of building works!

I have copied this letter and a link to their T&C which are on our ticket, for you guys to scrutinise, could you please tell me if there is any mention as such?

ACCOMMODATION LETTER

Dear xxxxx
Thank you for booking with Thomas Cook.
We write concerning your forthcoming holiday to Turkey. As indicated in our booking conditions, building work may happen, even in well established resorts and this is the reason for writing to you.
The information we have received from our overseas team is that a development is taking place close to the Commodore Elite. We have been receiving regular reports from our resort based staff regarding the nature of the work and, based on this information we had expected the work would have had no affect on the property during your holiday. However, the latest information has suggested that work will be ongoing, and whilst guests currently staying at the property have been largely unaffected by the work taking place, we feel it is appropriate to make you aware of the situation.
A new hotel complex is currently being built next door to the Commodore Elite. Although the development is now at an advanced stage some noise may be experienced at times from various areas of the complex. The hotelier remains committed to ensuring you have an enjoyable stay and will allocate rooms away from the work where possible.
As we are sure you will understand, the nature of the building activity means the situation can change on an almost daily basis. We can therefore only report on the situation as it currently exists. If, however, the circumstances change to any great degree, you can be assured we will contact you again.
We remain confident that your chosen accommodation will continue to provide you with an enjoyable and satisfying holiday and we are equally confident you will want to continue with your holiday plans. However, it is only fair to remind you that, should you wish, you may change your accommodation without paying the applicable administration fees (subject to availability and receiving or paying any difference in cost).
Once again we would like to take the opportunity to apologise for any inconvenience this change may have caused you.

Thomas Cook's Terms and Conditions which were attached to the Ticket (Uploaded to Scribd):-

http: // www. scribd .com/doc/137172977/ThomasCookT-C?secret_password=1zt2pnmndwr4h0fwgzrz

duchy

It appears they have advised you now they know the building works are delayed -which is reasonable -they could hardly advise you before they knew of the delay.
They have offered you the option to change hotels if you want ...so where's the scam exactly. Choose another hotel , move on and enjoy your holiday. I'm sure it wasn't the only suitable hotel in their huge range of hotels.

photome

alicewilliams wrote: »

First of all thank you so much for your quick responses. I really appreciate it.

The letter states that "as indicated in our booking conditions building work may happen", but we can't find any mention of building works!

I have copied this letter and a link to their T&C which are on our ticket, for you guys to scrutinise, could you please tell me if there is any mention as such?

ACCOMMODATION LETTER

Thomas Cook's Terms and Conditions which were attached to the Ticket (Uploaded to Scribd):-

http: // www. scribd .com/doc/137172977/ThomasCookT-C?secret_password=1zt2pnmndwr4h0fwgzrz

i would have thought most package hol operators would have a generic term in their conditions stating,

" As indicated in our booking conditions, building work may happen,"

They thought the work would be finished but it has overrun, not really sure what you can do, you could go and enjoy the holiday or try and find an alternative hotel, go back to TC and see what they say.

OP I do wonder why you think its a scam

megan01

I suggest reading the reviews on tripadvisor:http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g297968-d2303014-Reviews-Commodore_Elite_Suites_Spa-Side_Turkish_Mediterranean_Coast.html

If I were you I would probably find a different resort altogether , somewhere more established so that you can have the relaxing holiday

duchy

Might be a blessing in disguise then !!

mandi

I think TC are being pretty reasonable , worst case scenario could have been that you found out when you arrived .

If you decide to choose a different resort make sure your flights remain the same .:)

photome

megan01 wrote: »

I suggest reading the reviews on tripadvisor:http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g297968-d2303014-Reviews-Commodore_Elite_Suites_Spa-Side_Turkish_Mediterranean_Coast.html

If I were you I would probably find a different resort altogether , somewhere more established so that you can have the relaxing holiday

110 reviews, 100 of them are very good or excellent.

The last one of course does mention the construction

alicewilliams

I'm sorry guys, but i think you misunderstood what i was saying. Thomas Cook never informed me that there were construction works going on when i booked the hotel...they should have told me in advance in my opinion, so that i could have chosen a different hotel when it was cheaper then.

The letter states that the T&C already mention about the risk of building works, but i can't find these.

I can't choose another hotel as prices have gone up drastically and i can't afford it, therefore i think Thomas Cook should be liable to pay for any extra costs incurred.