Travel company changed hotel without notice

ThumbRemote

ommanipadmehum wrote: »

zaax, how on earth do you quantify the cost of disappointment? We certainly were disappointed. That's why when I got back I did ask them for a full refund - I'd be surprised if they would actually do this though.

I'm certainly not afraid to fight for what is right

"Loss of enjoyment" as it is called is highly subjective. What percentage less was the enjoyment you got from the holiday, against what you should have got? Was the holiday 50% less enjoyable?


See also http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/travel_leisure_and_food_e/consumer_holidays_e/complaining_about_a_holiday_company_e/how_to_work_out_a_claim_for_holiday_compensation.htm

visidigi

ommanipadmehum wrote: »

zaax, how on earth do you quantify the cost of disappointment? We certainly were disappointed. That's why when I got back I did ask them for a full refund - I'd be surprised if they would actually do this though.

I'm certainly not afraid to fight for what is right

Full refund is unfair a claim to be honest, they got you to the holiday location and they provided an alternative accommodation.

As it was a flight plus deal if I am not mistaken each component is separately covered is it not? So any claim you could make against the holiday would be elemental, not total.

So then we get to the point of Loss of Enjoyment, Taxi's for getting to and from the convinient beach location you expected.

How much was the total holiday cost? , so we can understand the 15% value you have been offered.

If you go to book the hotel separate from the flights how much would it cost, 50-75% of the hotel cost would be a good return on the complaint imo.

ommanipadmehum

Thanks ThumbRemote - that looks like a good link, I'll check that out.

baza52

if you paid out for taxis to the beach I cant see how you can say the beach being too far was a problem.
I can understand you wanting to claim the fares back but the whole holiday?


How did your wife manage to walk to the new hotel with luggage on arrival if she could not walk to the beach? (same distance)

daytona0

You see, i'm not talking legally so I may be waay off the mark but here are my thoughts..


1. You accepted the hotel change correct? If you have not kicked up a fuss at the time then one could argue that...

2. 15% is possibly (but maybe not) the level of commission received by the travel company in which case if you refer to point 1 then why should they reimburse the hotel/transfer fees (the TA will have paid the hotel money to host you)?


I would be happy asking for reimbursement of the taxi fees plus the commission received by the travel agency in regards to this holiday. If you haven't kicked up a fuss at the time of the change then I really don't want to see you get a full refund tbh, but whether you are legally entitled to it I don't know. I would aim for 30-35% and explain to the TA that would like reimbursement of the TA fees (lets say 15/20%) and compensation on travel between hotel and beach which was incurred. That's pretty fair in my opinion and they'd probably be open to that. If they aren't then go the legal route. The thing is, the 15% is open to negotiation but if you go for the big money or act like a crank then they will just tell you to take the legal route which will be hassle. If you sit back, think about what you have received vs what you have paid out then you can come to a very fair price which may even be over 35% which I said. If you are reasonable and fair then the TA will most likely be that also.

ommanipadmehum

@visidigi Thanks for your input. In my understanding it should be classed as a package holiday, as I paid for flights, transfers and hotel in a single booking with a single company. The total cost of the holiday was £2300. The main thing to consider is that literally we had no desire to go to this particular country or location - my wife just needed to get away and relax and loved the look of this hotel next to the beach - we wouldn't have booked that holiday if we hadn't seen those photos / read their description of the hotel. As it turned out there were long running renovation works at the hotel they we were booked into. The TA told us that they knew before we left that this hotel was not available but for some reason they failed to tell us. What do you think?

@Baza52 There is a big difference between being able to do something and being able to do something without experiencing pain and discomfort. They told us we were going to our room, not to another hotel. I don't imagine anybody would choose to take a long flight and transfer and then immediately go on a trek to an unknown destination on foot with baggage and small children in tow. We paid for a transfer to our hotel - not to be dropped off further down the hill.

@daytona0 In my experience most companies like this are out to give the consumer the minimum whilst extracting the maximum. It was very clear that this company was fully aware that this would happen and yes as I mentioned in my OP I "kicked up a fuss" immediately when we arrived and then followed their complaints procedure. I'm sure this is how you would like to spend the first 48 hours of your holiday!

The issues that I see here are

1. False advertising - selling a hotel which was not available (it was undergoing building work)
2. Not notifying us of change
3. Both of these two points resulted in us being in a hotel which was inappropriate for our needs (in particular because of my wife's medical condition)
4. No explanation on arrival either, we were just told that they would take us to our room and we ended up in a different hotel - imagine how you would feel!

I think it is entirely reasonable and looking over the excellent information from ThumbRemote's post, in fact a legal expectation that when you choose a holiday because of its location / hotel whatever - you should get what you bought. It's called a contract and a company would certainly not "go easy" on you if you decided to break your contract with them.

baza52

As a carer with a wife with severe arthritis I know if she could not manage the 10 minute walk she would have needed to stop and do it in stages.


You say the reason you want a refund is because you booked a beachfront hotel but ended up being 10 minutes away and it was too far for your wife to walk there so it spoiled (ruined) your holiday.


You then say you paid for taxis to the beach a few times so clearly your wife made it to the beach and claiming these fares IMO would be ok.


If the package holiday was that bad why didn't you ask for the earliest flight home?


As you didn't inform the agent your wife had special needs when you booked and im guessing you didn't inform the airline either about her limited ability to walk then I think you may find it hard to get all your money back.

bris

If you stayed the whole duration then loss of enjoyment is the best you can hope for, to get a full refund you would have had to refuse to stay.

The judge hearing the case would then decide the value for you, but be warned, the entertainment side of things is all hearsay as you have no idea whether or not it would have been better or not.

The other thing to remember is the judge may decide 15% is a fair offer and even though you would still win he/she might not increase this but could say you shouldn't have brought it to court and refuse to award you costs.

The judge isn't stupid, he won't believe you didn't make the most of the holiday and so wont offer you fortunes.

whitelabel

You'll have to refer to the t & CD of the company, which was it and we can help pull the relevant bits out.

Was this in a Greek island by any chance ?

ThumbRemote

baza52 wrote: »

As you didn't inform the agent your wife had special needs when you booked and im guessing you didn't inform the airline either about her limited ability to walk then I think you may find it hard to get all your money back.

Just to be clear, there is no requirement for a customer to inform the retailer of any illnesses, disabilities, etc; the fact that the OP didn't has no legal bearing on their claim.

In this case the OP booked a suitable holiday for them. The retailer then breached the contract. The retailer is liable for all costs and loss of enjoyment caused by that breach, including extra costs due to the arthritis, even though the retailer was unaware of it at the time they breached the contract.

It's a basic application of the thin skull rule, well established in UK law.