Thomson informing of building work 7 days before travel.

jvh19

Hi there,
We are due to travel to Tenerife on Sunday and on Friday we received an email informing us that building work was taking place in the hotel next door and may be disruptive during our stay. Thomson offered us 3 alternative hotels and advised that we could amend our booking and they would not charge us the difference in price. Great, we thought until we researched the hotels and discovered two were adult only. We are travelling with 2 young children so these are not an option to us anyway.

As we did our original booking in store, we went back to the store at 9am the following morning and told them we would transfer to the only alternative that we were able to stay in. The advisor called through to the change department and was on hold for 2 hours. As I had my children we agreed to leave and she would call us once this had been resolved.

At 2:30pm (5 and a half hours after we went into store) we received a call back to tell us that unfortunately that hotel was no longer available on the dates we required. At 9:30am when we were sat in the store, it was available as the advisor had it up on her screen. It was also available at 11:00am as I was looking at it on the website. I am sure if she had been able to either make the amendment herself or get in touch with them at 9am when we went into the store, we would not be having these problems.

As expected we were unhappy with this so we went into the store again to see what we can do. We were given the options of amending to an alternative of our choice but the cheapest available option which is no better than the hotel we've originally booked is £800+ more. With just short notice we cannot just scrape this amount together. The building work started in April (it's a full refurbishment in the hotel overlooking it) and trip advisor reviews show its been a problem for many Thomsons customers. I believe they have failed to comply to the abta code of conduct as they did not inform us of the building work in September when we booked and haven't told us in April once it started and other customers started complaining. After sitting for another hour the advisor apologised profusely and said that all they could do was do a free amendment but we'd have to pay the difference or a free cancellation.

I'm more upset at the way we have been treated than the building works themselves. They sent us alternatives that we cannot book, we wasted a whole day stressfully trying to sort this out and feel that we have been fobbed off at each and every avenue.

Where do we stand legally on this? We are reluctant to cancel but at the same time if the work is as disruptive as it sounds through trip advisor we aren't going to be able to spend time by the pool, our children's siestas will be disrupted and apparently you cannot sit out on your balcony due to the dust and noise.

Ive complained to Thomsons who say that they have offered us alternatives free of charge and can't do anymore. I'd happily transfer to the adult only options if they let us bring the little ones along. Obviously that's not an option!

Should we ask for compensation? Should they move us or are we expecting too much?

Thanks in advance for any help and responses.

Katiehound

I know it is a big disappointment but I, personally, would opt for the free cancellation and a complete refund rather than have a possibly miserable holiday.
Get the money in your hands and then contact ABTA and see what they say.

Would you be able to get a different late deal or are you tied to these dates?

leylandsunaddict

Which hotel is it?

If the building work started in April they wouldn't have known about it when you booked in September.

They have offered alternatives or a cancellation with full refund which is all they need to do. Whether it's enough is another matter. They could choose to do more. To be frank, this is Thomson you're dealing with. Good customer service (or any customer service) and Thomson cannot be put in the same sentence together. They are beyond dire unfortunately.

There is a reason that most agents other than their own will avoid booking with them where it is humanly possible to do so. I know plenty that won't have a Thomson brochure in their shop, let alone on the shelves. They just refuse point blank to sell them.

I'd cancel, get a refund and look elsewhere. It often works out cheaper to cut out the middleman and book everything separately yourself.