Feeling Ripped Off!!

ferf1223

jpsartre wrote: »

. Nobody's laughing at the OP in this thread, although some of us disagree that what happened is a rip-off.

This. I would be gutted to find that sort of price decrease and would no doubt be kicking myself for not waiting...but would also know very well that - without a crystal ball - I could have found myself waiting for a price drop to book and found myself priced out of the holiday.

Prices change...it's not a rip-off...it's hugely unfortunate and very depressing but hopefully offset by the times prices increase after booking and you can feel like you got a steal.

jackieblack

jpsartre wrote: »

Products are worth what people will pay for them. Since you were willing to pay whatever you paid at the time you did it must mean the holiday is worth that amount to you. It shouldn't suddenly be worth any less just because you find out that other people will be paying less.

This is how I see it

We spend alot of money (to us) on our holidays, because it is worth it to us. I know some of our family and friends think we are mad to spend so much on our holidays, to them it is not worth it.
It is purely down to each person/family to make that judgement.

ferf1223 wrote: »

I would be gutted to find that sort of price decrease and would no doubt be kicking myself for not waiting...but would also know very well that - without a crystal ball - I could have found myself waiting for a price drop to book and found myself priced out of the holiday.

Prices change...it's not a rip-off...it's hugely unfortunate and very depressing but hopefully offset by the times prices increase after booking and you can feel like you got a steal.

I agree with this, too

You may have preferred to pay less (we would all like things to cost us less) but you were happy with the price at the time you booked, so it was worth it to you then. That shouldn't change.

stephb34

Its all about supply and demand if theres lots left its got to be reduced to get rid to make any profit, if theres not much left it will hold its price. Its only the same as toys at Christmas your child wants the latest gadget you buy it for Christmas day, boxing day its half price in the sales, or red roses for valentines day, i'm afraid its life.

quidsy

that does seem like alot of money for 2 weeks self catering in Greece.

IMO ask the agent if they can refund some of the money, don't ask don't get. Either way you lose nothing by asking.

PolishBigSpender

So would the OP have gone straight to the travel agent with 1000 pounds in cash had the price increased by that much?

Of course not.

MSE Law applies again in this case. When it's described as a rip off, it isn't!

redmalc

Sally P we are regular travellers and i agree with you, i would feel ripped off but i am afraid thats the way the travel industry operates,they may charge over the top to the eager ones to make up for the late discounts they have to give if not booked.
I travel to Jamaica and Mexico on a regular basis and the holiday for the two of us can differ by £1200 ,one year it may be cheaper to book early,but the last few years we book 2/3 months before we depart and we have been lucky with the cost.
In concluding there is no written rule when to book but if you are happy with the price you go with it,one you win and one you lose,anyway enjoy the break

Pollycat

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

MSE Law applies again in this case. When it's described as a rip off, it isn't!

The OP said she was feeling ripped-off, not that she had been.

There's a difference.

She asked for advice on what she could do, if anything.

Various advice has been to look at cancelling & re-booking (depending when her date of travel is) and to check if the company has any price guarantees.

I've booked quite a few holidays with a Greece/Turkey holiday company over the years.
I check prices before I book and after.
The price fluctuation can be incredible.
The 2 week holiday in an apartment sleeping 4 in Crete in early May cost (for 2 pax) just over £400 in total (flights, 20kg luggage, transfers, accommodation).
I saw the same holiday a few weeks later for more than £500 per pax.

If holidays or flights go down, I just mentally kick myself, bemoan the fact that I don't have second sight or a working crystal ball and then be happy that I've got the holiday or flight that I wanted at a price that I was happy to pay at the time.

I did think £2600 for 4 self-catering sounded high, even during school holidays but I've checked the website I often use and from Birmingham to Corfu for 2 weeks departing 9/8 comes to £2635 for a family room sleeping 4 - that's flights, 20kg luggage, transfers, accommodation.
And the flights are night flights!

ellie27

I am really surprised to hear you have paid so much! Why??

I would agree, self-catering, Greece, £300-£400 per person max (per adult, possibly less if children travelling)

I have 2 young children, we still book last minute, well 6 weeks or so before we go. And in the run-up to booking I keep an eye on prices and watch them go up and down by a couple hundred pounds at a time. We were in Salou, Full Board, from Glasgow, 4*, Thomson, 1st week in may, 2 adults, 2 children £680, we booked 4 weeks before we went. To book this holiday for next year is £1240 and thats with a free child apparently!!

The reason they can give good prices, like the reduced price you saw recently and for the holidays I book, is because folk like yourself book early and pay way over what its really worth. Its a gamble waiting, but we have always got good deals!

Pollycat

ellie27 wrote: »

I am really surprised to hear you have paid so much! Why??

I would agree, self-catering, Greece, £300-£400 per person max (per adult, possibly less if children travelling)

I have 2 young children, we still book last minute, well 6 weeks or so before we go. And in the run-up to booking I keep an eye on prices and watch them go up and down by a couple hundred pounds at a time. We were in Salou, Full Board, from Glasgow, 4*, Thomson, 1st week in may, 2 adults, 2 children £680, we booked 4 weeks before we went. To book this holiday for next year is £1240 and thats with a free child apparently!!

The reason they can give good prices, like the reduced price you saw recently and for the holidays I book, is because folk like yourself book early and pay way over what its really worth. Its a gamble waiting, but we have always got good deals!

1st week in May is not school holidays.
Maybe the OP doesn't want to take her children out of school and that's why they booked for August.
Maybe she really, really wanted to be sure of getting the flights and accommodation she wanted, rather than risking being disappointed and didn't want to 'gamble'.
Maybe the OP is going to a part of Greece that doesn't have many carriers on that route and that's why the holiday is more expensive.

As I said in my post above yours, I also thought £2600 for 4 self-catering sounded high, even during school holidays but I've checked on the Olympic website and from Birmingham to Corfu (as an example) for 2 weeks departing 9/8 comes to £2635 for a family room sleeping 4 - that's flights, 20kg luggage, transfers, accommodation.
And the flights are night flights!

With Thomas Cook, 14 nights S/C for 4 pax from BHX 8/8 to Kefalonia is £2142 total.

With Thomson, 14 nights S/C for 4 pax from BHX 8/8 to Crete is £1844 total, only 1 room left.

And that is booking less than 6 weeks in advance.

Maybe you get better late deals from Glasgow.

mcfisco

I don't think the price paid is massively high either

Due to a [drunken] promise I made last year, I recently found myself forking out for 7 return flights to the Canaries in high season [Christmas]
That's just North of £3k+ for the flights and there's another £1550 to pay for the SC accommodation.
Fair enough, there's 7 of us but by the time I add on transfers and the inevitable excess baggage the 3 daughters generate, it'll be £5k

I guess I'll either learn to keep my mouth shut, stop drinking or go bankrupt

So don't sweat it OP, there's a holiday that needs enjoying, you'll no doubt get a bargain some other time.