Can I cancel?

pattycake

So it was all about the money after all. Not the re-labelling. I have to admire your persistence!

lea2012

Glad to hear that you got a suitable resolution in the end. I'm rather surprised that Thomson agreed to give you any money back, but I don't suppose it makes much difference for them and they will see it as money well spent if it keeps you booking with them and gets you off the case. As above well done for persevering.

I am also rather surprised that you were happy to take the £300 and accept that there is no change to your holiday though, when you were so adamant at the start that things had changed and you were willing to cancel your holiday?!

peachyprice

Well, I'm glad you got some sort of resolution, and it's nice of you to admit you were wrong, nothing had changed.

I really, really hope you use this as a valuable lesson, and that don't fall for the marketing ploys of the likes of Thomsons again Choose somewhere because YOU like it and because you've done YOUR OWN research, not because of a made up category that means sweet FA. Don't be made a mug of by paying through the nose just because of how TA's market a property.

dleafy

Just to wrap this up, of course it wasn’t just about the money!....and no, I didn’t fall for any marketing ploys....lol.
I never had any intention of cancelling our holiday. It’s a fantastic hotel, which gets outstanding reviews and I was more than happy with the price I had paid. But you can’t be too careful what you write on an open forum!
Apart from our Vegas holidays which we book up to a year in advance....for a good reason...... we always wait until the last minute for our other holidays, especially the January ones in the Caribbean. You’d be daft not to considering what you save!

The only reason we booked this holiday so far in advance was because for the first time ever, we could fly to the Caribbean direct from our local airport (during winter) as opposed to the awful drive to/from Manchester or London. Also, friends were meeting us there, flying in from elsewhere. I just couldn’t risk the flight being full at the last minute. I suspect this is a trial and probably won’t be repeated unless it proves popular.
I knew full well that the price would drop and wasn’t bothered in the slightest. The chance to cab it 15 minutes to the airport...and more importantly...back from the airport after a night flight instead of a three and a half hour drive (tried the train too....no better) was just too good an opportunity to pass up.
All of this changed of course when some nice person at Thomson decided to inform me of a non change that had nothing whatsoever to do with me. It was a paper exercise happening some 4 months after my holiday was over. It was too good an opportunity to pass up though.

Incidentally, I genuinely would have taken it further had it not been for the timely price drop on our British Airways Vegas booking, but a gambler knows not to mess with karma!
It’s been fun.
Thanks for playing!

mgdavid

dleafy wrote: »

.....Vegas holidays ...... .. January ones in the Caribbean. ......

says it all really

peachyprice

dleafy wrote: »

, I didn’t fall for any marketing ploys....lol.

Really? So why all the fuss over which brochure it was in? Why did you feel you were't getting what you paid for just because it had been moved but nothing had changed?

Voyager2002

peachyprice wrote: »

Really? So why all the fuss over which brochure it was in? Why did you feel you were't getting what you paid for just because it had been moved but nothing had changed?

Because it provided a pretext for getting the holiday at the 'late booking' discounted price, while enjoying the security that comes from booking well in advance.

If you had done that to a profitable company that exploits people I would have applauded. However, Thomson is generally honest, and in an industry that does not offer fat profit margins. By getting something good at less than a fair price for the overall product (including booking well in advance and so being able to arrange other things around the booking) you make it less likely that other people will in future be able to enjoy high-quality holidays for a fair price.

peachyprice

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Because it provided a pretext for getting the holiday at the 'late booking' discounted price, while enjoying the security that comes from booking well in advance.

If you had done that to a profitable company that exploits people I would have applauded. However, Thomson is generally honest, and in an industry that does not offer fat profit margins. By getting something good at less than a fair price for the overall product (including booking well in advance and so being able to arrange other things around the booking) you make it less likely that other people will in future be able to enjoy high-quality holidays for a fair price.

What? ...............

littlereddevil

But we need to remember that it was Thomson who contacted the customer in the first place saying there had been a change. If it was irrelevant why bother?

giraffe69

Amazing. We have people having a go at OP because "nothing has changed" and also criticising him for being gullible for being taken in by marketing. Then they go on to have a go at various other things e.g. "Go with Thomson's. Ugh. I wouldn't" or "what do you expect from someone with an iphone" and many many more. These are snobs but just in a separate category.
So lets suppose there are no differences between hotel standard in A la carte and Platinum and the only difference is marketing speak and free taxis then if I book a holiday in the a la carte group and then get written to to say the holiday hotel is now reclassified then I am with OP. An acknowledgement of that is due and some recompense. It is not that the holiday is now cheaper, that is just life.
I've had something similar happen (and feel free to flame me because I have booked from the al la carte brochure). Thomson's typically follow the same line. They first deny anything is wrong and refuse a penny and when you persist they give in at least to some extent. I think this thread has shown that persistence pays. It did with me when they changed the hotel to "one of the same standard" It probably was in hindsight but they lied and said it was because of problems with the original hotel and its hygiene when the reviews indicated that other companies were using it and it continued to have good trip advisor reviews.

In the world of Thomson's they market a la carte as their top brand and Platinum as their second brand. Maybe this new Lifestyle version will be different again. If they change the branding and let existing customers know then it is important enough that something has changed but they weren't all that keen on saying what.