HolidayExtras - Parking Complaint

karlm14

I booked a "Park and Stay" package with Holiday Extras for Airport Parking and Hotel in Manchester Airport for 03/10/2024.

When I arrived at the car park at 10pm at night listed on my booking confirmation, it was permanently closed. I had to seek park and ride in another car park at the cost of £139.99.

I emailed HolidayExtras and explained what had happened to be told that they sent me an email on 22nd August informing me of alternative parking and that it was my issue that this email had not been read. They attached a screen shot from their mail system showing the email title, where it was sent but also the fact that it WASN'T "opened", "clicked" or "converted". I'm usually very very good at checking my junk mail, but I'm not as arrogant to say that it isn't possible I may have missed one singular email.

I've complained, and then further escalated the same complaint to a more senior under the following points where I think I've been treated unfairly

• On the "proof" of email deliver, and by their own admission, you can clearly see that this email was not read. What is the point of a tracking system if unread emails aren't actioned.

• It is literally their word against mine as to whether this email even did reach my inbox. Unfortunately it was so far ago there's no way of recovering.

• By the proof provided to me, HolidayExtras KNEW I would turn up to a car park that was closed. HolidayExtras KNEW that I would be in a vulnerable position with no where to park my car before holiday. HolidayExtras do not care when I raise my concerns because, despite KNOWING the email wasn't read the attitude is "well, at least we tried" (once, allegedly).

• Before departing for the car park, on multiple occasions I checked my booking on the App. No where has the confirmation been updated to state that there had been a change to the car park. Infact, quite the opposite. The confirmation still very clearly states to go to "care parks", even now.

• They claim, in their response to the complaint, that email is the main form of communication for HolidayExtras. Yet in my "Contact Settings" within their website I have email, text messaging and app notifications all set as a preference. Neither a text message or an app notification was sent to inform me of the change (and even an email being delivered to my email address is still a contentious issue). Why have these as preferences if they aren't used for the most vital bits of information they'd ever need to send a customer?

• If I so much as make a search on HolidayExtras website, I'm sent MULTIPLE text messages and emails in the coming hours with discount codes and offers yet HolidayExtras don't deem it necessary to send a simple text message with a vital bit of information regarding a cancellation and it's deemed that ONE email is sufficient. Surely you'd send a couple of email reminders at least??

• Upon my arrival at the car park that was quite clearly closed down, I tried to contact HolidayExtras. I tried a web chat. I tried a phone call. Astoundingly, a company that supports bookings for travellers 24/7 only have customer service lines open in business hours without the option for an emergency at all.

In my last complaint I also stated: "The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says that services must be provided with reasonable care and skill. In my opinion, you did not use reasonable care when you made a change to this service. I want you to fix the problem and give me a refund of £139.99. At this point, I will accept vouchers to be used with your company in the future."

They have again, refused any sort of refund or compensation for this matter.

Do I have to suck this up, or do I genuinely have a case here of them not using reasonable care and skill?

Thank you so much for your help in advance. This one has really gotten to me on a matter of principal.

born_again

Have you located the email they sent?

karlm14

born_again said:

Have you located the email they sent?

Despite my best efforts, it was over a month when all this came to licht so even the backup server of outlook would have removed it. I’ve tried and tried but it only goes back a month. 

Slinky

What sort of email system deletes things after a month? I've got gmail emails going back 20 years.

karlm14

Slinky said:

What sort of email system deletes things after a month? I've got gmail emails going back 20 years.

I’m sorry I haven’t made myself clear here. 

The email will have gone to junk mail. I clear my junk a few times a day after making sure there isn’t anything there that’s appropriate for me. 

If this mail was delivered it will have been deleted. And then outlook permanently clears the deleted folder after one month. 

TadleyBaggie

Email read receipts  cannot be relied on, as some email gateways will not pass the messages back.

I use gmail and I can see messages going back over 10 years in the "All Mail" folder, maybe your provider does something similar.

Famau

Frankly, I think your chances of success are small.  You booked via email, they confirmed via email and then notified you again about the change.  Your case, if successful, could effectively undermine any contract which is managed wholly via email.  It's unfortunate, but I suspect you might just have to accept this.

twopenny

Sadly unless you can prove the email didn't arrive it's a non starter. I have Outlook so know what you mean - presumably the one they sent had a different account setting. I've had this problem with the utilities where something vital is sent from a different department and goes into junk.

I have only used Holiday Extras once and never again. I arrived late on a dark november evening at Heathrow and was told I'd get a taxi to the hotel nearby. No taxi would take me such a short distance. I was left tired, cold and alone until an hour and a half later I collared a bus (walked in a prohibited area to establish this) and spent half an hour to be dropped in a deserted street outside the hotel. It was not a safe way to travel. For some reason they aren't in touch with what they sell.

sheramber

karlm14 said:

Slinky said:

What sort of email system deletes things after a month? I've got gmail emails going back 20 years.

I’m sorry I haven’t made myself clear here. 

The email will have gone to junk mail. I clear my junk a few times a day after making sure there isn’t anything there that’s appropriate for me. 

If this mail was delivered it will have been deleted. And then outlook permanently clears the deleted folder after one month. 

Are you saying you would have deleted it? 

Does that not make it your responsibility that you did not know about the change of car park?

heatherw_01

Unfortunately, the fact it probably went into junk and you didn't read it, wouldn't be a valid complaint.
Not your fault it went into spam, but not theirs either if they sent the email.

You would have to prove you never got the email and screenshots of junk may have done that possibly, but even then they could claim you might have deleted it by mistake.

Sorry this happened, but I have a feeling you won't get anywhere with a complaint sadly.

DullGreyGuy

There are multiple ways of tracking if an email was opened or not, none are fully reliable and many people have things turned off so won't show as read even if it was. The Clicked and Converted are lest relevant for a non-marketing email but can still fail as someone may just type the website address etc rather than clicking the link in the email.

Ultimately it's your email service and your choice of rules (directly or indirectly) that have caused the problem. 

Personally, wherever buying something from a company, and in particular a future dated service, I add them to my safe senders list so mail won't flag them as junk.