Holiday compensation

ellymoo

My friend had a horrendous experience with Thomas Cook. She paid approx £7k for a very high-end holiday in Mexico and there were no end of issues with it; they were supposed to have a 5 star hotel but it was about 2 stars, they got food poisoning, and other stuff. After much wrangling with Thomas Cook they have been given a voucher rather than any refund. They have no desire to go on a Thomas Cook holiday again, and even if they wanted to they have been told they can't put this voucher towards a deposit.

I am not convinced this is legal. Can anyone help or recommend some links please?

Many thanks!

hollydays

What did tripadviser say about her hotel?
Presumably when you go to a place like Mexico you do your homework first?

Greta_Sharbo

Holiday regs changed recently. When did she book?

'About' 2 stars?
Did anyone else get food poisoning?
What is the other stuff?

Have Thomas cook accepted any liability or is the voucher a goodwill gesture?

heatherw_01

What hotel is it?

LilElvis

Was the hotel your friend stayed at the one that she booked? Was it an all inclusive resort? Did she receive medical treatment in Mexico?

motorguy

5 Star hotel or 5 "heart" Thomas Cook rating...? i suspect the two are very different things.

BUT, it should still have been of a high standard.

unholyangel

Theres no universal standard for scoring hotels, but usually the score only relates to the facilities offered by the hotel rather than saying anything about the standard of the accommodation itself.

For example a 24 hour manned reception, concierge, in room hot drinks, minibar etc.

OP, your friend is going to need to prove the holiday didn't match its description in some way. Such as pictures in their brochure/website of a stunning resort but when you arrived, it was all run down and broken. Or a description of a relaxing holiday and when you arrived, there were constant building works.

motorguy

unholyangel wrote: »

Theres no universal standard for scoring hotels, but usually the score only relates to the facilities offered by the hotel rather than saying anything about the standard of the accommodation itself.

For example a 24 hour manned reception, concierge, in room hot drinks, minibar etc.

OP, your friend is going to need to prove the holiday didn't match its description in some way. Such as pictures in their brochure/website of a stunning resort but when you arrived, it was all run down and broken. Or a description of a relaxing holiday and when you arrived, there were constant building works.

It would be interesting to hear that, and also to understand how their experience differed from the Thomas Cook feedback left by previous guests and also the tripadvisor ratings for the same resort.

LadyDee

To prove food poisoning, she would have to prove she had contracted this in the hotel, have particulars of other guests who were affected - if they ate out at all the hotel would claim they got it somewhere else. Did they have medical treatment, invoices for any treatment, hospital report? Food poisoning is a serious, possibly life-threatening condition. Upset tummy and the runs could be picked up anywhere.

There have been so many spurious claims of late of food poisoning, travel companies are quite rightly not willing to just accept the traveller's word, and in fact one couple were recently prosecuted for a fraudulent claim. Your friend will need hard medical evidence.

What was the "other stuff"?

ellymoo

Sorry, I totally forgot I had posted this thread. The hotel wasn't finished, from what I recall. I will go back to her with your questions. Thank you all for your posts.

powerful_Rogue

ellymoo wrote: »

Sorry, I totally forgot I had posted this thread. The hotel wasn't finished, from what I recall. I will go back to her with your questions. Thank you all for your posts.

If your friend is that concerned, get her to post on here herself.