Uk online Travel Agency Gripe

LolaDub

Hi Guys, need a bit of advice. Looking for cheapest Barbados holidays last year and checking the usual websites. Came across a general one that advertised it for about 200 euro, went to the travel agencies site and it was the same price. The agency only had a callback facility not a booking facility so emailed that. Got a reply the next day saying there was a mistake and it was only on the other website and if it had really been that price the agent would have been there themself!

My traveling companion replied and said that the price was shown on both websites so she felt they were misrepresenting their prices and wasn't too happy. A manager then replied saying that it was only the other website and they were under no legal obligation to offer holidays at that price but would offer a 10% discount. I took it as we had friends already traveling. The manager rang and said i would have to pay all immediately as the travel date was near, i had no problem with this and the exchange rate was favourable to the euro. Anyhow they took 100 pounds then and the remainder about 2 weeks later after a ton of unreturned phone calls and emails. Needless to say the exchange rate had changed and i ended up paying an extra 130 euro. I emailed again saying i wasn't happy with this and got no reply.

I was also told tickets would be sent out to me the following week, surprise they weren't. So i rang again to be told the manager wasn't there and nobody could take my call. Then i emailed again!-eventually got a reply from the manager saying that he had been on holidays and i had not received a callback because nobody in the office wanted to be bothered with speaking to me!!! He also said the payment mix up was a genuine mistake but the company didn't care that i had ended up paying more as a result. He then went on a rant to say that his office had advised him not to offer us a discount and he'd only done it as he was so good??? Which was followed by him saying he wished he'd never heard of us or 'offered' us the holiday and didn't want to hear anymore of us.

I had been told the room i was booked was a seaview studio apartment with kitchenette but when i got there it was a normal room and the 'sea view' was a view of the caretakers house. If i went out to my balcony and turned right then i could see the see. I went down to the hotel reception and they said that they had only received booking and payment for the basic room, they also told me that as the travel agency is so small they don't even allow them book apartments and they had no rep in Barbados.

This was followed by attempted calls and another e mail asking them to get in touch with the hotel and/ or with me to sort it out. Needless to say i never heard from them again.

These people were so unbelievably rude and obnoxious and obviously promising things that they had no intention of delivering so i really want to follow this through if i can. Any ideas of anything i can do at all? Thanks for your help!

dudara

You said it was a UK agency right? Then check for the UK equivalent of the IATA and register a complaint against the agency. Make sure that you have all documentation.

LolaDub

Yes it was. I emailed the european consumer centre but got nothing back from them either. I'll have a google cheers. Have it nearly all in writing because they'd never phone me back!

Grawns

Always worth contacting the Sunday Times or Guardian or Observer weekly travel supplements, they have a gripe column and often intervene on the gripers behalf.

MOH

LolaDub wrote: »

Yes it was. I emailed the european consumer centre but got nothing back from them either. I'll have a google cheers. Have it nearly all in writing because they'd never phone me back!

I mailed the ECC over an issue before, they can take a few weeks to get back

eth0_

Bet they're not registered with ABTA

Contact the Guardian consumer advice guy, he's in the Money section on a Saturday if you get no joy, he gets great results

LolaDub

Thanks for all you help. Contacted the ecc a few months ago about it and heard nothing. Will give the others a go. Nothing to lose now! They really were unbelievably inefficient and rude, a year later and i'm still ticked off about it so even if it amounts to nothing i want to do what i can.

ScouseMouse

Carnt say about the price but you dont have a case about the sea view.

This came up previously a while back. If you can see the sea at all, then its a sea view. What you were expecting was a sea facing room.

Technically, you got a sea view.

LolaDub

Wouldn't have thought that but thanks for the update. I really want to know if i'm overreacting or if i have a case/don't have a case so all imput is appreciated!

mcaul

I dobt if you have much of a case. The issue of the view would be seen as minor, the attitude of the staff would not be covered and neither would the rate of exchange as they are a uk company selling in sterling and their price had not changed.

Ideally when you get the first whiff of bad service from a company, just go elsewhere as a leoard does not change it spots.

Best way to get back is name and shame them on places such as boards, uk travel forums & trip advisor.

LolaDub

I see that but what i paid for originally was a seaview studio apartment, whast i got was a basic room. The hotel told me that even though i had paid the agency for a studio and had that in writing that they had only received payment for a basic room and there were no requests made to the hotel for a seaview or kitchenette etc. So i did get a different room than what i was sold.

As far as the exchange rate i had wondered that because the manager and i agreed to take it out on a certain date and they took it out much later so i ended up paying much more if i had anything there?