Parkdean Resorts 20 March 2020 at 8:40AM edited 20 March 2020 at 8:56AM in Coronavirus travel help & info 8 replies 1.2K views

judy2357

My partner and I were due to travel this morning to the Isle of Wight with Parkdean Resorts. We have decided this is not sensible as non essential travel has been recommended. We were hoping that Parkdean would close their campsites to prevent people moving around the country but this has not happened. We cannot get through to them on the phone to either try and rebook, as I understand we are not likely to get a refund.  Has anyone any advice with regard to keep trying to rebook or waiting to see if they close their sites today. We were supposed to visit Lower Hyde on the Isle of Wight for 3 days and have managed to put our ferry crossing on hold for later on in the year.

We think it is unlikely the ferries will stop running but also didn't want to be stuck on the island indefinitely.     Haven, Center Parcs, Butlins etc have all closed.  Many thanks for any suggestions which would be gratefully received. 

judy2357

I have just received this message on Facebook Hi Judi, you will receive email communication from us but we would like to reassure you that Parkdean Resorts are open for business as usual. However, if you would like to speak to a member of the team relating to anything else please direct your call to our dedicated coronavirus telephone number on 0191 6220056. Please be aware that due to current circumstances, it may take us longer than usual to respond to any queries as we are experiencing a volume of calls our call queue is in excess of 30 minutes. We thank you for your continued patience.

We have also had a messaged to say ferry has been cancelled so even if we wanted to go, we couldnt. I have been on the phone to the camp for 1 hour and then my battery cut off.

Undervalued

judy2357 said:

I have just received this message on Facebook Hi Judi, you will receive email communication from us but we would like to reassure you that Parkdean Resorts are open for business as usual. However, if you would like to speak to a member of the team relating to anything else please direct your call to our dedicated coronavirus telephone number on 0191 6220056. Please be aware that due to current circumstances, it may take us longer than usual to respond to any queries as we are experiencing a volume of calls our call queue is in excess of 30 minutes. We thank you for your continued patience.

We have also had a messaged to say ferry has been cancelled so even if we wanted to go, we couldnt. I have been on the phone to the camp for 1 hour and then my battery cut off.

Unfortunately, unless you booked the ferry and the resort as a package that doesn't change your entitlement (or lack of entitlement) to a refund from Parkdean.

As it stands they are open for business, travel is not prohibited, how you get there or whether you feel it is wise to do so is not their problem. So any change or refund would be a gesture of goodwill.

judy2357

Just to update you with the outcome, the ferries to the Isle of Wight were cancelled so we wouldnt have been able to get there anyway.  Parkdean rang us and offered a voucher for the amount that we paid for our caravan plus 20%, which was the best they could do.  Wightlink have booked crossings for us in December, which we can amend when we are able to go, so fingers crossed things will be different later on in the year and we will be able to make our visit.  We still think it is irresponsible to keep the camps open as its only encouraging the movement of people all around the country,  Thanks for your help we are reasonably happy with the outcome.

ldd62

Hi family of 5 due to go to park dean. New announcement that all bars/restaurants are to close, yet parkdean are still not closing their parks or offering for you to cancel your holiday. Why are they not following haven etc. Crazy , we cannot go due to unnecessary travel and no where for kids to be entertained, yet we can’t cancel without losing all our money. Do we have any rights. 

Gill_busy_lady

I too have a problem having booked a caravan holiday with Parkdean. Does anyone know who to get in touch with to urge the government to direct companies to stop holidays in such places so that we are allowed a refund or postponement. I wouldn't want private owners prevented from visiting their caravans for exercise and relaxation but lettings to lots of different clients should be stopped in this current crisis.

mattyprice4004

ldd62 said:

Hi family of 5 due to go to park dean. New announcement that all bars/restaurants are to close, yet parkdean are still not closing their parks or offering for you to cancel your holiday. Why are they not following haven etc. Crazy , we cannot go due to unnecessary travel and no where for kids to be entertained, yet we can’t cancel without losing all our money. Do we have any rights. 

you only have rights if they close - which they haven’t yet 

KentBrockman

I'm struggling with Parkdean too. We have a break booked in early July but have decided against going for various reasons I won't go into. We bought cancellation Insurance when we booked but, for the life of me, I can't see any benefit to having it. 
The Parkdean website shows a table of charges that will be levied if a person chooses to cancel their booking. Our break cost £600 and the fees, according to the table, would be £120 + a £40 admin fee. I can cope with that, £160 isn't terrible. 
We've been attempting to speak to Parkdean but they're apparently all busy, email addresses have been closed down, they won't talk to us on the phone and the only way we've been able to get a reply is via Facebook. The last message we had from them told us that they would be retaining £335 if we cancelled our break today. The message made no mention of our Insurance and I really can't see the benefit of having it. I've asked them for clarification of the charges and why they're charging more than the table on their cancellation page.

I'm not seeking advice, I'm simply adding my voice to this particular thread. I suspect there will be lots of people like me in the coming weeks, I thought, perhaps naively, that we would be covered with the Insurance. I assumed we'd lost some money, that's to be expected, but losing over 50% despite buying insurance seems a bit steep. I took a screenshot of the table shown online although it's still there and is showing no signs of going away. 

My advice to those people with Parkdean bookings, who are reconsidering their options would be, get in touch with them ASAP and cross your fingers! We're not a last minute cancellation. We have ten weeks before our holiday but the charges for cancellation appear to have shot up. 

smallblueplanet

KentBrockman said:

I'm struggling with Parkdean too. We have a break booked in early July but have decided against going for various reasons I won't go into. We bought cancellation Insurance when we booked but, for the life of me, I can't see any benefit to having it. 

Their FAQs say this:
https://www.parkdeanresorts.co.uk/faqs/coronavirus/cancelling-due-to-coronavirus-concerns/ 

Bookings from 5th July

If you wish to cancel your holiday that isn't due to start until the 6th July or later, our standard booking terms and conditions will apply.

If you have purchased cancellation cover, you will be covered for more of the cancellation charges, dependent on the date of cancellation.

Get back to them and ask for a breakdown - noting the date you first contacted them and stressing you have insurance. Mistakes happen, everyone is under pressure.
Then if you get no joy and they don't refund you according to the amount they should you could go down the chargeback route. Go to your card issuer and try for a partial refund via chargeback.