Miss sold holiday on star rating

Superflyfox

Hi all. booked a holiday on Sunday morning for close to 5k for 10 days 5 star. Paid deposit £500

Wife googles hotel to see what it's like after I tell her. Sees it's on a Thompson site as a 3 star, a little searching also finds it on another holiday site as a 3 star.

I decide to contact company to cancel, had to do this via online form. This was around two hours off initial booking.

Got reply a few hours later saying basically it was going to cost £1800 to cancel. This is flights, airport parking, and a load of 'admin' fees. Personally think this is obscene (of course I'm going to!)

Immediately reply saying it's unacceptable, misssold etc. Just got a reply today (two days later) saying they have referred to correct department, blah.

So basically asking, if anyone had similar experience? Could cancel card to stop future payments and either go to court for not paying cancel fees or go for me try to claim £500 back.

Anyone?

Caz3121

Have you tried to see if there is an alternative hotel you could change to?
You don't mention when the holiday is for but the T&Cs will show what is due based on how far in advance you cancel...this can be up to 100% of the price
Depending on who the flights are with, they may be completely non-refundable
I don't think cancelling your card is going to make any difference, if you are liable for the money based on the T&Cs you agreed to at time of booking, the firm can take action against you for the monies due

What was the company you booked with and the hotel name and others may be able to explain the discrepancy between star ratings...often companies will use different criteria for their star ratings and it is not uncommon for the same hotel to have different star ratings on different sites

Westin

You didn't book with LoveHolidays.com by chance did you?

I tend to notice on some OTA sites such as Love Holidays that there are some rather dubious hotel grading used. I think these and the hotel descriptions are often uploaded by the hotels themselves and some hotels, to presumably push their way up the display rankings, will list as a much higher hotel rating than they actually are. A terrible practice and one that should be better policed. It is always important to do all your hotel research first then booking, rather than the other way around.

With many of these OTA's you are also not buying a real 'package holiday' such as those sold by Thomson. Instead they cobble together the separate elements to create a holiday for you. With each element separate it does mean that each has a separate and different set of terms attached so for example you cancel to hotel element you are still left with the flights.

I would look around at other hotel options and find a few that you will be happy with, then approach the booking agent and see if you can change the hotel. It may or may not be possible depending on the room type and rate type for the hotel. Expect however to pay the rate difference between the old hotel and new hotel.

Just cancelling your credit card won't work. You are still responsible for your purchase.

Browntoa

why did you not research BEFORE booking ??

Superflyfox

Ha! Yes was LoveHolidays.com, how did you guess!?

They have a purple 'Free Cancellation of Hotel' banner on holiday, thought I would be pretty safe to cancel - but you can only cancel the hotel, nothing else.

They have the ATOL / ABTA slapped all over their site, thought this stood for some safety and honesty when booking. Allways been a First Choice customer in the past, where things tend to be pretty straight forward and are what they state.

So is it OK for them to advertise what the hell they want (5 stars in this case)? Surely that is a trade description? I'm up for a court session, to be honest. It can go both ways, them coming for the cancellation fee and me to get the deposit back. Pretty sure I've got a strong case for miss selling, along with almost immediate cancellation.

IAmWales

Name of the hotel?

Spending that amount of money with zero research is pretty insane.

Oakdene

Superflyfox wrote: »

They have a purple 'Free Cancellation of Hotel' banner on holiday, thought I would be pretty safe to cancel - but you can only cancel the hotel, nothing else.

That banner is correct then.

Stevie_Palimo

Superflyfox wrote: »

Ha! Yes was LoveHolidays.com, how did you guess!?

They have a purple 'Free Cancellation of Hotel' banner on holiday, thought I would be pretty safe to cancel - but you can only cancel the hotel, nothing else.

They have the ATOL / ABTA slapped all over their site, thought this stood for some safety and honesty when booking. Allways been a First Choice customer in the past, where things tend to be pretty straight forward and are what they state.

I used first choice numerous times and would never use them again as they are terrible, I would think the best bet here rather than seeking the refund straight away is as suggested above tell them straight that you want another hotel as opposed to a 3* one. If they fail to play ball then use your section 75 if paid for by credit card and or for Visa use the Visa debit chargeback.

Voyager2002

Superflyfox wrote: »

Ha! Yes was LoveHolidays.com, how did you guess!?

They have a purple 'Free Cancellation of Hotel' banner on holiday, thought I would be pretty safe to cancel - but you can only cancel the hotel, nothing else.

OK, so you are locked in to the flights but could cancel the hotel. Since your issue is with the hotel, do that, and see if you can find another hotel for the same dates that would meet your requirements.

Before you cancel, read some actual reviews: what matters is whether you and your family would enjoy staying in a place, not how many stars a travel company gives it. (Remember the official star rating refers to the services available, not to the quality of these services.)

martinsurrey

Superflyfox wrote: »

I'm up for a court session, to be honest. It can go both ways, them coming for the cancellation fee and me to get the deposit back. Pretty sure I've got a strong case for miss selling, along with almost immediate cancellation.

First court question - define 5* globally and is that the same for the country you are visiting

Second court question - when booking did you agree to Love Holdiays t&c's? specifically number 19

"19. Accommodation Ratings and Standards.
All ratings are as provided by the relevant Supplier Principal. These are intended to give a guide to the services and facilities you should expect from your accommodation. Standards and ratings may vary between countries, as well as between Supplier Principals. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of any ratings given."

I dont think your case would go as well as you expect...

richardw

First check that the flight booking is there, check on the 'manage my booking' section of the airline's website. If it is a traditional airline check the itinerary has been ticketed and that you have ticket numbers.

If all is well with the flights look on the iloveholidays website for a better hotel that you want to stay in, then ask for the booking to be changed to that hotel.