Arillas Forum

Welcome to Arillas => Accommodation reviews => Package Holidays => Topic started by: Barry on July 12, 2013, 12:53:50 PM

Title: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Barry on July 12, 2013, 12:53:50 PM
Hi all. Having been to Arillas before both my wife and i fell in love with the place so as a special holiday booked with Thompsons for 21 nights at the Kaloudis arriving 19 July. Christine has just celebrated her 50th and it's our first wedding anniversary on the 20th. It was booked April 2012 and paid in full. Rang Thompsons yesterdayto see why we've not received our tickets only to be told that the holiday has never been booked. You can imagine how we felt. Chris was in tears. We were on our way out for a meal as well so that news gave us both indigestion.
Now the good news.After trawling the internet til the early hours we've managed to find a room at the Marvel Hotel. Rang up and Spoke to Kostas who said he could accomodate us.
The woman from Thompsons has managed to get us on a flight at a reduced price (the least they could do) and will be seeking further compensation on our return.
Regards Barry and Christine.
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Val n Bill on July 12, 2013, 01:13:25 PM

What an awful thing to happen, and at such a special time.

How can they say it has never been booked? Did you book through an independent travel agent or Thomsons?
Your payments must be somewhere, if you payed in full who has received the money.

You are in possession of the receipt so sue them, I would also go to the national press.
See how they like that sort of publicity.

To give you a reduction on your flights is an insult, the least they could do would be to fly you to Corfu free.

I hope you both have a wonderful holiday at the Marvel, but on your return take this matter the all the way.... and also make Thomsons pay for your rebooked holiday.

       Val x
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: nicmccluskey on July 12, 2013, 01:15:09 PM
Barry, how awful  for you and your wife!!!! I don't know if you've stayed at the Marvel before, but I have had many years ( 12 in fact!) happy memories at that hotel!! Kostas and Spiros are excellent hosts and will ensure you have a memorable time there! I am there whilst you both are -tho' not actually staying there- but you will see me and my husband at the pool most days!!

I hope this will be a bit of a 'siver lining' to your black cloud!!
Nicola
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Barry on July 12, 2013, 01:25:36 PM
The holiday was booked through Thompsons own shop. Don't worry, all hell will break loose on our return. The most important thing is that we are going to Arillas for three weeks so are going to enjoy ourselves and sort it on our return.

Barry and Christine
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: kevin.g on July 13, 2013, 08:09:10 AM
barry
kostas,will make sure you have a great holiday ..prime location ,great food and drink,and a fab pool ,,enjoy ,yiammas,
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: ger on July 13, 2013, 11:48:10 AM
i hope youve got all your receipts, and it should have the name of the person who booked it at the top of the letter. like was said before, the money has to be somewhere??? i worked for thomson for a while, and at the end of the day if the money was out by ANY amount we had to stay till it was found!!! what a nightmare, i sincerely hope you are going to give them hell when you get home.
have a fab time which i know you will
ger x
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Barry on July 13, 2013, 03:48:27 PM
We have all the reciepts. There's no argument about the money, thats going to be put back into my account. 

Barry and Christine
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: JohnTheRef&Dot on July 13, 2013, 05:41:15 PM
I'm thinking next years holiday should be on the house
at the least.
Dig in the heels and make them cough up, you will need some beer and spend tokens then there's the hire car

thinking the message is clear
Good luck, make them pay.
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: june on August 24, 2013, 01:26:51 PM
Hi
just wondered if barry has had a response from Thomsons yet about what happened.
Hope you had a wonerful holiday in spite of what happened.

june
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: ness44 on August 24, 2013, 03:15:25 PM
We bumped into them on holiday and they said they were having a lovely time and they loved the Marvel. I really hope they get some form of compensation for this. It must have been horrendous for them at the time.
Barry if you see this we are the couple on the bus to Corfu town and hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday. xVanessa and Txim
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Barry on September 03, 2013, 05:00:08 PM
Hi all. Just a quick update. We filled in an online complaint form on their website 3 weeks ago but had no response so wrote a letter last wednesday and are still waiting for them to get in touch. Will post a full holiday report once compensation has been sorted.

       Regards Barry and Chris
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Janis on September 03, 2013, 07:08:42 PM
Hi complained once to Thomsons - using an online complaint form - and it was WEEKS before they got back to me, and they basically said "tough", although put a little more politely...

Hope you get this sorted, Barry - keep on at them!!

Janis x
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: GaryS on September 03, 2013, 09:11:19 PM
Online complaints to these multi-nationals is a long shot. Written is the best, but as part of ABTA they just have to acknowledge receipt of your letter within 28 days. Had the same run-around with Thomas Cook and it took about 12 months to get anywhere, with me writing about 12 letters. Don't ever give up though, it will pay off in the end.

Gary
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: emeralddragons on September 04, 2013, 01:55:08 AM
When you have a serious complaint to make, emails are ok, as long as you remember this: Never address your email to one person only.
If you write to only one employee, he or she can use the delete button, and nobody is the wiser.
Instead you should write to as many employees as possible, listing them individually as recipients in the same email message. Always remember to include persons on the top of the firm's hierarchy! Sales persons, marketing and pr, bosses at every level...
Then the delete button will be out of the question, and somebody will be given the task of answering your query.
Good luck! Emeralddragons
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Barry on September 13, 2013, 01:12:50 PM
As we've not even had an aknowledgement of our complaint Chris rang the shop where we originally booked to see what was going on. They said it will be up to 28 days before any reply but would chase it up and ring back. When she did she offered £75 travel voucher and 10% off any future Thomson holiday. (As if we're ever going with them again). Needless to say it was rejected but can't go any further until we receive it in writing. Will keep you all updated.

Barry and Chris
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Val n Bill on September 13, 2013, 01:42:54 PM

Shame on them! How can a multinational even think that this was adequate.
Get some advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau, they will tell you the right way to proceed. Also check Martin Lewis's site for how to gain compensation from travel companies.

          Val x
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Barry on September 26, 2013, 02:37:51 PM
It's now well over 28 days since we wrote to them and still no response. Going to put the whole story on their facebook page to see if they take notice of that.

Barry and Christine
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Val n Bill on September 26, 2013, 04:59:16 PM

Barry and Christine, my daughter and family were delayed 11hours at Manchester airport on 26thAug. Everybody received a £10 food voucher after 3hours....then a £20 voucher after eight hours. This was with Thomas Cook, not Thomsons I know, but the tour operators are all tarred with the same brush.

On her return she wrote to them following the advice on the Martin Lewis site. She got back a nice letter with "not our fault" but we are "sorry".

She then downloaded from the same site template letters of complaint......last Friday she received a holiday voucher from Thomas Cook for £1400 towards her next holiday (£350x4).

So fourteen days from her complaint she had a result. The holiday cost £2000 for the four of them and they lost only 12hours in resort. She thought £1400 was fair :)

Thomsons are not treating your complaint with the importance it deserves.

           Val x

Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Barry on September 26, 2013, 06:14:57 PM
The power of Facebook. Got a reply.They've contacted the shop where we booked who rang us to say it's been escalated to someone higher up who will ring us within the next 3 days.
Barry and Christine
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: daisyday on September 26, 2013, 07:04:50 PM
We went to Mexico in March and were delayed 7 hours flying out - we were given £7 each for food!  Holiday was with Thomas Cook.  We realised early on flight was delay (i.e. before we left home) but apparently after a lot of ringing around we found out you still have to be at the airport at your scheduled time in case they find another plane!  Our delay was caused by them sending too small a plane to Orlando to collect people so they had to send our plane to collect remaining passengers. I wrote to them using the template and just got back a polite reply saying unfortunately it was a technical problem.  I have now written to the CAA complaining but they said because of the backlog it takes about 6-8 weeks for a response (i.e. to see if any grounds for compensation) but as we were all inclusive we lost 7 hours of it and of course also had to pay more than £7 for food at the airport for 7 hours.

They seem to have it all ways.  If I got a voucher I would be more than delighted although I understand from Martin Lewis website a voucher will be offered first but you can in fact insist on cash ... so worth bearing in mind.
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Val n Bill on September 26, 2013, 11:08:16 PM
 
My daughters plane was also sent Orlando as it was the only wide bodied plane available on that day due to a breakdown, so everyone on their flight had a delayed holiday. What is it about America that causes these companies to fall over themselves. Is it the large penalties they have to pay there?

Barry, glad that you are now having some success, just hope it is all sorted very quickly. Do not accept less than you deserve.

      Val x
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Barry on October 02, 2013, 09:15:05 PM
Spoke too soon. Six days later and still waiting. Sent them another message via facebook and told them we will not go away untill it's sorted.
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: ness44 on October 03, 2013, 10:07:38 AM
Barry why dont you get in touch with Watchdog? i bet if they got involved Thomson would respond quickly!!!
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: GaryS on October 03, 2013, 11:23:26 AM
After the initial letters and lack of response in 28 days, also include ABTA address on the letters. Once they are on board it means that thompsons can't just ignore you. You will end up with a case number through ABTA and although it will still take time (twelve months for me) They will in the end have to play ball.
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Barry on October 03, 2013, 01:59:01 PM
Just got a letter from Thomsons. Final offer of £75 cash and 10% off next holiday. They initially gave us £80 for a meal while in Arillas and paid for a taxi to Manchester airport as we couldn't fly from our local one  , and entry into the premier lounge. Thoughts please.
Barry and Christine
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Val n Bill on October 03, 2013, 02:02:48 PM

Refuse, tell them you are now taking legal advice and thinking of telling the press of their extremely poor customer service.

      Val x
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Truth on October 03, 2013, 02:50:57 PM
Its a personal choice really Barry , do YOU think its fair ?  If you think its reasonable and if you simply can't be bothered with any more hassle on the subject (I get like that sometimes !) take it.
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: GaryS on October 05, 2013, 05:51:31 PM
Its pittiful, but from experience I'm not sure you will get anymore. 10% off another holiday and £70-£90 is standard fare for the big tour operators and with ABTA on board too its exactly what I was offered and encouraged to accept.

Gary
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Barry on October 08, 2013, 07:31:38 PM
Having given this some thought when everthings added up i don't think we'll get any more.
Altogether we have now got...
£240 off the cost of flights to Corfu
£80 for a meal
£138 for a taxi to and from the airport
Entry into the premier lounge at Manchester
A cheque for £75
10% of another holiday ( they can forget that one)
So i don't think we'll persue it anymore, lifes too short.
As promised i can now give you all a holiday report.
We originally booked the Kaloudis having stayed there before but due to the afore mentioned troubles we booked in at the Hotel Marvel. And what a brilliant time we had there! Kostas met us at the airport to take us to the hotel but as another couple he was waiting for were delayed he took us to the nearest bar and bought us a drink. (wouldn't get that with Thomsons).
At the hotel we were shown to our room, nice balcony with a view, room was very clean and remained so thoughout our 3 week stay. Free safety deposit box and air con.
Second day there was our 1st wedding anniversary  and when we returned to our room there was a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine waiting for us.   
As much as we enjoyed the Kaloudis we did prefer the Marvel. There's nothing better than having a good meal with a caraffe of wine, watching the sunset, then sitting on our balcony having an ouzo or two. It was so quiet at the Marvel all you could hear was the odd owl hooting and not a lot else. Bliss!.
We went to various restaraunts  and ate at the hotel a few times and never had a bad meal anywhere.
Weather was perfect.
Did have a funny experiance on the beach one day. Whilst up to my neck in the sea cooling off i was suddenly "slapped" on the back of my head, turned round to see a large fish, 2 to 3 feet long chasing all the other small fish. it didn't half make me jump. Chris said she would never have believed me if she hadn't seen it as well. I can only assume there were some small fish round me at the time. It left me with red mark on my neck for an hour or so. I was a bit paranoid for a while as i'd been getting an allover tan at the time so was grateful it was swimming on the surface.
All in all we had a fantastic time, Kostas, Spiros and family were very friendly and nothing was too much trouble.
Will be back in July 2014. Already checked Jet 2 flight times.
Best wishes to everyone we met.
Barry and Christine.
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: ness44 on October 08, 2013, 07:46:38 PM
Barry so glad you enjoyed it after all the bother you had( we bumped into you on the trip to Corfu town and a few times on the beach). I bet you will be going to the Marvel again next year? Might bump into you both again as we are going back in July.
Vanessa and Tim
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Jersey Bean on October 08, 2013, 09:26:26 PM
Fantastic result. As you say just grab it now and start planning 2014.
Title: Re: Thompsons. Please read.
Post by: Barry on October 10, 2013, 11:28:12 PM
HI Vanessa. It looks like we''ll be there the same time as you so I'm sure we'll see you at some point.
Best wishes to you both.
Barry and Christine