lastminute.com hotel booking mishap

bagand96

Westin said:

Did you not move to the original hotel (Saint) after the first night stay in the Santa?

I would think LM would reimburse that first night. Not sure on the validity of the claim if you have decided to stay put for the full duration.

But if the OP has booked, paid for, and has confirmation of Saint Boutique hotel, why should they move to the Santa Boutique Hotel?  Just because LM.com screwed up?

ahmeras

Just as a quick update for folks interested

I called them again yesterday morning and had nothing helpful. So as I mentioned earlier I extended my 1 night to the whole trip.

They then made an attempt to call me yesterday at approx 9pm turkey local, however I have my Turkish SIM in my phone instead of my UK one so didn't get the call. There was a follow up email saying they are going to speak to the hotel and try and get this resolved as soon as possible and contact details for me whilst I am here.

My plan for now is to just communicate with them over email and not focus on it too much. Its caused alot off stress the first day and I just want to enjoy the rest of my holiday.

ahmeras

Update for anyone interested

They have admitted their mistake and so far refunded me the cost of the hotel from my original payment

I have to submit a claim for the remainder.

Sent an invoice from the hotel, and have requested my phone costs, but need to wait till the end of the month before I get my EE bill.

Ideally I would like some sort of compensation for the headache, but given the climate i will be happy just getting my costs back

bagand96

ahmeras said:

Update for anyone interested

They have admitted their mistake and so far refunded me the cost of the hotel from my original payment

I have to submit a claim for the remainder.

Sent an invoice from the hotel, and have requested my phone costs, but need to wait till the end of the month before I get my EE bill.

Ideally I would like some sort of compensation for the headache, but given the climate i will be happy just getting my costs back

Thanks for updating. 

Hopefully LM.com don’t mess you around too much in claiming your remaining costs, but you should perhaps be prepared for it!

ahmeras

Update -
I submitted the hotel invoice etc on the 20th and costs of phone calls
However since then, they are not responding to any of my emails. I have been sending one a day asking for an update. There was not even an acknowledgement of my claim evidence. 
Whats the recommended amount of time before I look at other means of recourse (e.g. through bank/ABTA)?
I was thinking to give them till the two week mark to at least ack my email. I have seen other threads where people have been messed around for ages.

Westin

It is typically 28 days the travel industry. Even then that is just an acknowledgement of your complaint. Operators then often say they will investigate and respond in due course.

ahmeras

Very little to update, they finally acknowledged my reciepts however are refusing to pay any phone charges to their customer service to resolve this (all calls from turkey so expensive). Is this something i should be able to claim for?

bagand96

ahmeras said:

Very little to update, they finally acknowledged my reciepts however are refusing to pay any phone charges to their customer service to resolve this (all calls from turkey so expensive). Is this something i should be able to claim for?

I think I would definitely be asking for the costs.  If they hadn't made the c*ck up in the first place, then you wouldn't have had to make the calls.  If they continue to refuse you'll likely have no other option than to send a Letter Before Action and ultimately start court proceedings. Biggest problem with that it, lastminute.com are actually called BravoNext S.A. and registered in Switzerland. 

Westin

ahmeras said:

Very little to update, they finally acknowledged my reciepts however are refusing to pay any phone charges to their customer service to resolve this (all calls from turkey so expensive). Is this something i should be able to claim for?

Should you - Yes. Sounds like they messed up.
Realistically, for the reasons bagand96 highlights, it might not be practical or worth the extra time and expense to pursue to telephone costs. However only you can determine this.
Please think carefully about using LastMinute.com, Bravofly and the myriad of these cheap online, often overseas based, travel firms in the future. When things go wrong it can be terribly frustrating dealing with them - as I think you have experienced.