Advice on Centre Parcs

adamjth

Thanks that thread has some useful information.   

Meantime I tried to call their "emergency number"  01623 837134 from the email I received - since its the 4th time I asked them to contact me I felt justified to call it.   It routes back to the same number on the website with the same spiel about "protecting staff" with a small team wfh to deal with those customers who have had their holidays cancelled. 
  
 This is ridiculous I had to cancel a piece of furniture from Habitat that I had ordered:- they operate a twitter thread to handle customer enquires which I got a reply back on after a few days.    That would not have cost them a lot of money  to setup so why can't Centre Parks do the same?   This way maybe they could look after their customers &  staff properly ( keep them in a job rather than sat on furlough in anxiety)

manetti

adamjth said:

Yes this is Centre Parc UK for a booking at Longleat and I have now sent  4 x emails with no reply.

Looking on the website I can't reserve activities for the dates I am there and FAQs still suggest they want me to part with an outstanding further £500 on Monday when I know the likelihood if the facility is open it will be severely restricted.   Reasonable I would have thought to allow me the option to discuss with them either delay the holiday or cancel for refund / tokens.

I know my woes are far less than some people on here who have likely lost holidays or worst this year but I am beginning to resent CP mgmt because likely they have furloughed too many staff (to save themselves cash at taxpayer expense ) when more of them could be working from home answering customers which is very easy to setup in this day & age of cloud based IT

With regard to booking activities for your stay, their most recent statement contained the following paragraph:

"Guests due to arrive between the 6th July and the 4th September and will have received a request to cancel their future activity, Aqua Sana and restaurant bookings for now. Guests visiting on or after the 6th of July will have the opportunity to rebook things once the new schedule is in place.  We know cancelling things is inconvenient but this will allow us to load a new programme."

adamjth

Yes and I am due to pay them £500 remaining deposit on the hols (17th August oneward) on Monday - this is what I mean by unjoined up thinking.

adamjth

To update and in fairness to CP this seem a lot more reasonable, I received an email today:-

"We understand that you may feel apprehensive about paying the balance of your break so far in advance. With this in mind, we have made the decision to allow you to pay your balance up to 5 weeks before you’re due to visit rather than the normal 10.

Please disregard any previous dates or communications you’ve had from us. You’ll receive communications with the correct due date for your payment from today onwards."

[Deleted User]

Good to hear adamjth.   It is such a strange situation that nobody really knows what they are doing any more.   I hope that whatever Centre Parcs come up with makes a holiday really enjoyable for whoever has booked, even if it isn't exactly as envisaged.   Logic tells me they wouldn't open and want people to complain bitterly about not enjoying it! (maybe I am too logical though)   Obviously many changes but who knows they might be fabulous? (am ever the optimist too)   Good luck adamith - I do hope if it all goes ahead you have the most wonderful 'different' holiday and you can come back and tell us all about it. 

mintymoneysaver

To be fair, I think Centerparcs have been great. I was due to be there this weekend. When I needed to pay the deposit I got through on the phone and got told yes, I did have to pay it but at any point up to the holiday I could then exchange it for any holiday up to the end of 2021, or wait for them to cancel and get a refund. By the time that came around they were also offering a £100 incentive to change the date. We chose to cancel. Got an email the day they cancelled it three weeks ago, clicked refund, got another email confirming this and that it could be a long wait. Got the refund a week later. Couldn't be faulted, and the reassurance that we could rebook at any point up to the day we were due to go, made me quite happy to pay the full balance off.

CommuterRevenge

I'm in a similar predicament, and frustrated by CentreParcs response.

On 10th March, we booked CP for 20th July, no inkling of Covid impact then

I've now been called back, as work is due to reopen that day, I'm the manager of the department, hospitality in a leisure environment,

Contacted CP last week, explaining, how we'd got the insurance prior to 13th March change in the terms.

The've just replied saying we can change the date at no cost, but I' concerned that much of the stuff won't be available anyway.
I read they would refund or allow cancellation of 25% of activities were affected, but that was before Covid and has been pulled.
I'm assuming they don't want everyone there, it will be packed.
Also seen the Culture Minister say gyms/leisure reopen is hoping to be mid July.

Think CP have behaved quite shadily for such a company, and only looked after those booking Mar-June, when it's clearer and they can claim of their insureres IMHO.
Put me right off them.
I'm just hoping the Govt won't allow re-opening till later, so CP have to refund.

Luckily I've only paid £300 of the £1850.

[Deleted User]

CommuterRevenge said:

I'm in a similar predicament, and frustrated by CentreParcs response.

On 10th March, we booked CP for 20th July, no inkling of Covid impact then

I've now been called back, as work is due to reopen that day, I'm the manager of the department, hospitality in a leisure environment,

Contacted CP last week, explaining, how we'd got the insurance prior to 13th March change in the terms.

The've just replied saying we can change the date at no cost, but I' concerned that much of the stuff won't be available anyway.
I read they would refund or allow cancellation of 25% of activities were affected, but that was before Covid and has been pulled.
I'm assuming they don't want everyone there, it will be packed.
Also seen the Culture Minister say gyms/leisure reopen is hoping to be mid July.

Think CP have behaved quite shadily for such a company, and only looked after those booking Mar-June, when it's clearer and they can claim of their insureres IMHO.
Put me right off them.
I'm just hoping the Govt won't allow re-opening till later, so CP have to refund.

Luckily I've only paid £300 of the £1850.

Seems they are being quite reasonable to me?   Centre Parcs can't be held responsible for you having to go back to work.
What does the insurance you took out say?  

If they are offering to let you change the date at no extra cost what more do you want?   If you choose to cancel then all you will lose is £300?  (am I reading this right?)     As for saying not much of the stuff will be available anyway?   What date are you speaking about changing to and how do you know?