TUI Complaint pre-holiday

HolidayHelpNeeded26

I have been trying to make a complaint about a TUI store that misinformed us upon booking resulting in us being out of pocket by around £2-3k. I was trying to avoid making the complaint directly to the manager in the store as they are part of the complaint. I am getting conflicting information and have been told I need to wait until I've been on holiday to make the complaint. Does anyone know if thats correct? It has not only put a damper on a holiday of a lifetime but on my life.

twopenny

I think we need to know how you were misled by such a huge amount to help you find the right people to talk to.

Also why you need to take the holiday.

You don't need to go into great detail but just explain what happened.

My instinct is to say if you take the holiday you are agreeing you accept it. A lot depends on what bought this situation about and what contract you signed.

Ayr_Rage

As above, what EXACTLY were you misinformed about?

To get any useful feedback you'll have to say what happened and when.

HolidayHelpNeeded26

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81891015#Comment_81891015

Ok so this is a long one. We booked to go to Disney and Universal in Florida. Upon booking my husband informed TUI he might not be able to travel and could he be removed from the booking if that was the case. He was told yes he could be removed however he would lose his deposit. That was fine with us. Fast forward and we get confirmation my husband cannot travel and we ask to remove him. We are told we cant remove him. The only option is to cancel and rebook for an extra £2k and no Disney dining plan (roughly worth £2k). This is due to the dining plan causing restrictions around amendments. We also have 2 other separate bookings with family so cancelling or moving dates isnt an option and also isn't financially possible. TUI advised us we could do a name change but also went back on that.

We wouldn't have booked if we knew we couldn't remove my husband.

TUI have accepted no responsibility and put blame on me for not making myself lead passenger and their suppliers.

HolidayHelpNeeded26

Just to add to continue with the booking this means we need to pay for his flight, tickets and dining plan. Not taking into consideration accommodation because that wont change. So this is why we will be out of pocket not the additional cost requested above to remove him from all of those elements.

twopenny

Difficult. Too late now but this was so important it needed to be got in writing. Proving what someone said will be difficult. Even they may not remember.

Was your husband the lead passenger even though you knew he might drop out?

Was the loss and conditions likely to happen in the contract you agreed to? That would be the first thing to look at. If you don't feel up to it give it to another family member who won't be so upset. I find it easier to print out and go through with a marker so I can reduce it to only the essentials and focus on what is relevant.

Also did you take out holiday insurance? Did you cover for anyone not being able to travel?

HolidayHelpNeeded26

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81891065#Comment_81891065

We dont have it in writing as it was booked in person.

Yes, when he booked it the likelihood of him not being able to go wasnt high. Thats changed clearly and it isn't something we can claim on insurance.

We received T&Cs after booking putting onerous on their suppliers. After asking a lot f times I received a snippet of the suppliers, suppliers T&Cs saying it may not be possible to amend the booking.

Im trying to focus on raising a complaint for being mis informed on at least 3 occasions (2 in writing) to try to get some compensation. It feels like theres no way around amending the booking.

HolidayHelpNeeded26

Sorry yes he made himself lead passenger due to it being unlikely he wouldn't have to change ge the booking and being told we could remove him and would only lose the deposit.

We so wish we could turn back the clock but we cant. Had TUI advised us otherwise it would be a different situation

Ayr_Rage

You said you made him the lead passenger despite there being a remote possibility that he may be unable to travel.

That is certainly your mistake at the beginning and why wasn't travel insurance for that situation taken out?

As for the misunderstandings and their resolution that'll depend on proving who said what and when.

If you have already rebooked you may have to rely on some goodwill from the travel agent.

HolidayHelpNeeded26

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81891097#Comment_81891097

I have to disagree because TUI said there wouldn't be any issues removing him.

We have travel insurance but his reason for not being able to travel isn't covered.

TUI aren't taking any accountability. So unfortunately they have no goodwill for us.

twopenny

Ok so you have it in writing a couple of times. Good.

Now the date and time of the day you were told. The name of who told you. If it was the person who you booked with who said it that should be on the initial booking form.

Next, their suppliers. So it's not a TUI flight and hotel. They've booked a third-party holiday for you?

You have a start to collate information and build a case. I think then you might want to ask on the other forums where people may have more ideas Consumer Rights https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/consumer-rights