TUI playing up... what shall I do?

14sprocket

Hi there,
Found myself in a pickle with TUI and would appreciate some suggestions.

Booked a holiday in Turkey for late August for my entire family via TUI with TUI own flights from/to Gatwick (Antalya).
Timing of the flights wasn't ideal with late night arrival to Turkey and even later return to Gatwick, but we still went for it, as the other flight options were either less convenient or more expensive. Had to pay £200pp to book the holiday, so £1000 altogether.

This morning I received an email from TUI saying that the flights got rescheduled - basically they pushed the departure times back by 2.5 hours, so both flights are going in the middle of the night... I'm really not happy with this, as would much rather cancel and book elsewhere. 

Called TUI this morning and after lots of toing and froing they told there's not much they can do - apparently their T&C allow them to change flights by up to 6 hours. Alternative flights are more expensive, so this is not an option. Overall, the customer service is shockingly bad - 1 hour to get through, and not willing to help much. So I can walk away from this booking but then I'm going to lose the £1k deposit - they're not budging on refunding it. I asked to speak to the manager, but they won't put me through either.
Ironically, the price of the package for these dates has dropped by about £1K as well for my entire holiday...

Spoke to Amex customer support - they suggest filing a dispute form, but no guarantee that it will be decided in my favour, and it's about 2 months to make the decision.

Do you think there's any other way to make TUI more reasonable and agree to at least partial refund of my deposit?

Thanks

bagand96

TUI Terms and Conditions allow them to move flight times by 12 hours before they consider it a major change that would allow you to cancel.  This is typical for package holiday operators.  To be honest I struggle to think of any airline or tour operator that would allow cancellation and refund for a 2.5 hour flight change, it's not that significant.  Not saying I don't sympathise, especially considering the unsociable times to start with, but the reality is I can't see you getting TUI to budge.

A credit card dispute should fail.  TUI will just reply to Amex and say they have made a minor flight change as is allowed in their T&Cs.

However you could look at changing the holiday, or the dates.  TUI T&Cs allow you do to this for £50pp admin fee more than 70 days before departure date, so you should have time to explore this.  You say that the holiday has dropped by £1000 anyway, so this may benefit you.  Note that TUI won't reduce your price if your new holiday is cheaper, however you could maybe look at better accommodation or something based on your current overall cost.  

14sprocket

bagand96 said:

TUI Terms and Conditions allow them to move flight times by 12 hours before they consider it a major change that would allow you to cancel.  This is typical for package holiday operators.  To be honest I struggle to think of any airline or tour operator that would allow cancellation and refund for a 2.5 hour flight change, it's not that significant.  Not saying I don't sympathise, especially considering the unsociable times to start with, but the reality is I can't see you getting TUI to budge.

A credit card dispute should fail.  TUI will just reply to Amex and say they have made a minor flight change as is allowed in their T&Cs.

However you could look at changing the holiday, or the dates.  TUI T&Cs allow you do to this for £50pp admin fee more than 70 days before departure date, so you should have time to explore this.  You say that the holiday has dropped by £1000 anyway, so this may benefit you.  Note that TUI won't reduce your price if your new holiday is cheaper, however you could maybe look at better accommodation or something based on your current overall cost.  

This is a good advice, thank you

tightauldgit

2 and a half hours isn't really a huge change and if it's within the TUI T&Cs then they don't have to do anything about it. So basically you are asking them to show goodwill. Have you looked if there might be an alternative flight from another airport that might suit better? 

Otherwise I would suggest you go on your holiday and enjoy it. Flight times are often subject to change and/or delays, especially at the moment. It's just one of those things. 

MATTR5

ABTA allows up to a 12 hr flight time change

If you hate the new flights then as above look for a better flight time deal and amend with fee - but if you call and get a human at TUI and are lovely to them they might - just might- waive the admin fee or reduce it  you can only ask  

14sprocket

MATTR5 said:

ABTA allows up to a 12 hr flight time change

If you hate the new flights then as above look for a better flight time deal and amend with fee - but if you call and get a human at TUI and are lovely to them they might - just might- waive the admin fee or reduce it  you can only ask  

Thanks for your suggestion.
I have to admit that I generally find the quality of customer service at TUI to be very poor. They don't listen, interrupt you as you explain your request, talk over you and don't seem to be interested in helping. I wonder if the morale is actually that poor within the firm

twopenny

Do you have a TUI shop near you where you could go in and talk face to face?

I find it works better when you are eye to eye and at least you can sit and relax while they're checking.

But they are strung by the system which is what you signed up to so you really need to catch their sympathy.

Mrsn

twopenny said:

Do you have a TUI shop near you where you could go in and talk face to face?

I find it works better when you are eye to eye and at least you can sit and relax while they're checking.

But they are strung by the system which is what you signed up to so you really need to catch their sympathy.

If it was booked online which isn’t clear in the OP then a store will not be able to help them, they will just refer them to the call centre to help sadly.

14sprocket

Mrsn said:

twopenny said:

Do you have a TUI shop near you where you could go in and talk face to face?

I find it works better when you are eye to eye and at least you can sit and relax while they're checking.

But they are strung by the system which is what you signed up to so you really need to catch their sympathy.

If it was booked online which isn’t clear in the OP then a store will not be able to help them, they will just refer them to the call centre to help sadly.

I booked it over the phone
Can a brick and mortar TUI help me with changing it?

Pollycat

14sprocket said:

Mrsn said:

twopenny said:

Do you have a TUI shop near you where you could go in and talk face to face?

I find it works better when you are eye to eye and at least you can sit and relax while they're checking.

But they are strung by the system which is what you signed up to so you really need to catch their sympathy.

If it was booked online which isn’t clear in the OP then a store will not be able to help them, they will just refer them to the call centre to help sadly.

I booked it over the phone
Can a brick and mortar TUI help me with changing it?

According to this:

WE’VE GOT PERSONALISED SERVICE DOWN TO A T.

Pop into one of our TUI Stores and let our Travel Experts help tailor-make your perfect getaway.

Whether you’ve already booked online or in store and need a helping hand, or you’re thinking about your next holiday, our in-the-know Travel Experts are on hand to lend their expertise and take the hassle out of planning your trip.

TUI Store Finder | Find Your Local Travel Expert | TUI.co.uk

But what are you expecting them to do?

I'd say chances of getting any of your deposit back from TUI are very slim.

As are your chances of getting it back through Amex.

I'd be asking if it was possible to change the holiday to an alternative with better flight times, even if it mans a different country.

You say "Alternative flights are more expensive, so this is not an option" but could you book a similar holiday with another company with better flights for £1k less than you have paid TUI? If you can't, it might be worth considering whether paying TUI the extra for better flights is a better option.