Any legal minded/trading standards people around?

Mumstheword

Spoke to trading standards. The lady wasnt very helpful. She said that Haven could argue that I should have cancelled and got my money back, and re booked at the lower price.
I pointed out that: 1-I wouldn't have got a full refund cancelling at such short notice
2-it's not like buying a kettle, where you can get it next week if it's out of stock, if I had cancelled and was then unable to rebook, we would have lost the chance of the holiday forever!
3- It is irrelevant what I did or didn't do. The issue is that I bought a holiday based on false advertising.

She was about as much use as a chocolate teapot, lol!

I think I may write to Which?, and see what they think of it all. Might also have a word with a trading standards bod from a different council, perhaps the one local to haven's head office, just to see if I get any different advice.

Turning_into_scrooge

Have you also considered Watchdog too as I am sure that you wont be the only one this will of happened to, just a thought. If you go to the BBC website you can email them your problem

Mumstheword

thanks, tis, hadn't thought of that!

Mumstheword

update - a trading standards man knocked at my door today to discuss this.

he had the wrong phone number so couldnt phone to arrange the visit. I was very surprised by the visit and explained to him that i thought my telephone conversation with the lady was the end of their involvement!

anyway, i explained the situation to him. he is going to speak to TS near Haven's head office and see if they can speak to haven about it.

if they get anywhere, he will let me know.

will leave it a while to see if anything happens there, and maybe then contact watchdog. think i ought to give TS chance to respond!

EDIT: had second thoughts, and have completed and emailed the watchdog online form with my story!

shopbot

Mumstheword wrote:

Shopbot- the price reduction was after the 12th july, dont know if that makes any difference to your view point.

Yes it does! I think you have every right to feel hard done by. Good luck - I hope you are successful.

Turning_into_scrooge

Mumstheword wrote:

update - a trading standards man knocked at my door today to discuss this.

he had the wrong phone number so couldnt phone to arrange the visit. I was very surprised by the visit and explained to him that i thought my telephone conversation with the lady was the end of their involvement!

anyway, i explained the situation to him. he is going to speak to TS near Haven's head office and see if they can speak to haven about it.

if they get anywhere, he will let me know.

will leave it a while to see if anything happens there, and maybe then contact watchdog. think i ought to give TS chance to respond!

EDIT: had second thoughts, and have completed and emailed the watchdog online form with my story!

Good luck :T

I'm sure there are plenty of others out there that could of used the lower price to more advantage than being duped into booking at top whack early please post and let us know how you get on, you can always save watchdog as a last idea :think:

DaveK

Great to see you "had a lovely holiday" as this would have been even worse if it was bad!!!!!!!!!

From my experience of TS you get good people and bad people. I spoke to a guy at TS about a helicopter flight that my wife paid £35 2 years ago now and despite me booking it about 11 times now it gets called off because of bad weather (ie. a few rain drops)!!!!!!!!!!!! He just told me that it was down to bad luck and that it probably was a con. He told me to write to them asking for my money back (even though they had refused it when I sent a letter last time).

Maybe he just couldn't be bothered that day. On the other hand I have had good advice from them before which helped me with a mail order company.

Mumstheword

Update -

Haven phoned me yesterday.
(I later found out from my trading standards contact here that the trading standards officer based near Haven had been to see them yesterday)

The lady who phoned was the one I had the original dealings with. She said that the second price reduction (which they had refused to give me) was £70. It sounds about right from memory. Anyway, she offered me double that, £140, as a refund, plus a free upgrade of caravan next time I book a holiday.

I'm very pleased with that outcome!

Mumxx

Turning_into_scrooge

Mumstheword wrote:

Update -

Haven phoned me yesterday.
(I later found out from my trading standards contact here that the trading standards officer based near Haven had been to see them yesterday)

The lady who phoned was the one I had the original dealings with. She said that the second price reduction (which they had refused to give me) was £70. It sounds about right from memory. Anyway, she offered me double that, £140, as a refund, plus a free upgrade of caravan next time I book a holiday.

I'm very pleased with that outcome!

Mumxx

Good result :T I'm pleased for you, persistence pays off :j