Mis-sold holiday advice please

Lilypip28

My husband booked a holiday with an online travel agency two weeks before we travelled, he went ahead and booked a 5* hotel for us. After contacting the company by phone on two occasions, he was e-mailed the details of the holiday which included the address, contact details etc. A couple of days later he contacted the hotel (as we had not received the confirmation within the timescale stated by the travel agents and wanted to be sure). He received an e-mail the day before we were due to fly confirming we were booked in to that particular hotel. On arrival at 4.30am we were dropped off at the hotel only to find we were not actually booked in to that hotel but apartments with a similar name which was in another part of the resort and was actually a 2*. We then had to get a taxi to the apartments from the hotel. On the information he received about the return transfer to the airport, he contacted the company to confirm we would want to be picked up. The manager at the apartments also telephoned the company for us for confirmation we were to be picked up. After waiting for an hour, the transfer coach did not turn up and again we had to get a taxi to take us to the airport. Does he have a case for compensation as he paid a lot more for a 5* hotel and ended up in 2* apartments?

Alan_Bowen

Did you contact the agent while you were on holiday? It is always vital to complain on the spot, I assume this is another holiday that was not booked as a package holiday but separate contracts for flights and accommodation? If so, you don't have the protection of the Package Travel Regulations but if you were assured you were staying in a 5 star hotel (did the price reflect this) then it is misrepresentation but the agent will no doubt blame the accommodation provider, who may be the hotel itself or more likely yet another booking agency.

Look at your documentation, you should have an ATOL Certificate which identifies each supplier, in most cases you will have to take action against the company named on it rather than the agent. The only claim you could have against the agent is if they knowingly sold 2 star accommodation and claimed it was 5 star, with an arrival time of 4.30 am I assume this was Turkey, dread to think what 2 star accommodation might be like

Lilypip28

Thanks for your reply. We did contact the agent and didn't hear from them while away and still haven't now we're back! It was a package holiday advertised on their website and not separate flights etc. All the documents we received from them said it was a 5*, with the address of where we were to stay which was a completely different address to where we actually stayed. My husband paid a lot more than we would normally pay for a holiday. They also have an ATOL certificate. (The holiday was in Kos)

bcl999

What did the hotel say when you told them they had already confirmed your booking the day before?

Alan_Bowen

If it was a package you most certainly have a claim against the operator, whose name should appear on the ATOL Certificate, it may not be the agent you bought the holiday from. Calculate the difference in cost between the hotel, have a look at their website, and the apartments, the cost of the taxi's and add something for your distress and disappointment and then write and tell the operator how much compensation you are expecting.

You should have been given a contact number to call while you were on holiday, I hope you did so as there is a legal obligation to complain on the spot, and an equal obligation to give prompt assistance when you ask for it. Good luck