-Bradders- Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Wonder if anyone else has had similar experiences, Right so i booked through a holiday company in January (lowcostholidays) and today... 2 weeks prior to leaving we get an email saying the hotel is full and we cant go? what the hell? and the alternative they have offered is shockingly bad as are the reviews. Im just wondering if anyone has any info on a similar situation and where i stand? as you can imagine im stressing a bit, i know we went through low cost holidays but we still spent well over 2k on the holiday, not sure if thats a lot or cheap to some people but its quite a bit to me. Any help/advice appreciated. Cheers, Brad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voodoo Vix Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Look through the terms and conditions of your holiday and see if they are able to do that; Speak to them and see if there are other alternatives; If they refuse to do anything and are covered by ABTA contact them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleR Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Surely in this sort of event, the replacement hotel has to be of equal or greater standard? Have you tried contacting them to let them know you're not happy with the replacement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 As above, T&Cs will tell you. Equal or better will simply mean star rating. You may have to suck it up then complain on the way back, or take it to ATOL now and see what they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firemansim Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 You can claim a refund if your not happy with the hotel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudman Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) Hi Mate sorry to hear about this. Basically if they cannot provide the package as described and cannot provide the goods ( hotel) as stated ie you entered into a contract to stay at hotel x which is now not available then they are in breach of contract and as such you are entitled to a full refund so find another service provider that can provide a hotel to the required standards. This may not be ideal and give you much time to look elsewhere but thats the tack I would be taking. You should also notify your insurance company just in case it does turn to horlicks. The small print may need to be checked but unless theres is something Below from ABTA website The tour operator has changed my accommodation. Can they do this? This depends whether the tour operator specifically states in their booking conditions that they can make changes like this. If they don’t reserve the right to do so, then any change will be a breach of contract. If they do reserve the right to make the changes, then they must follow what their booking conditions say. ABTA’s Code of Conduct says that booking conditions should state that if a significant alteration is made, the tour operator must offer an alternative if available, or a full refund. They should also offer compensation, unless the reason for the major change is force majeure. If the change is to accommodation within the same resort and of a similar standard as the accommodation originally booked, it won’t normally be regarded as a major change. I would call the travel company and quote the above - if they do reserve the right then you may be screwed Edited June 5, 2014 by Mudman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Just checked, they're not ATOL protected: In fact, they're based in Spain. This is a copy of their Spanish licence! You may have very little comeback on this, as you will have signed up under Spanish law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) Actually, in their T&Cs they say they will cover you under UK law. However, that means squat as you've signed up to their conditions: Details here Check sections 8, 9 and 10. Edited June 5, 2014 by Ekona Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudman Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Para 8.2of their terms ands conditions - think you may be in luck If you do not want to accept a significant change, which we tell you about before you depart, we will, if we are able to do so, offer you an alternative Package of equivalent or closely similar standard and price at no extra cost, or a less expensive Package, in which case we will refund the difference in price. If you do not wish to take the alternative we offer you, you can choose adifferent Package offered for sale by us and pay, or receive a refund of, any price difference. Or, if you prefer, you can cancel your Package and receive a full refund of any money you have paid to us, except for any amendment charges.We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I don't think that's going to help the OP much, given he's only got two weeks left before travel. It looks like he's either going to have to take the weaker hotel, pay more and get a better hotel, or cancel and pray he can book with someone else but that'll no doubt cost more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 In the que at boots to get a refund on your suntan cream... I joke! Hope you sort it mate 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hensh65 Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I would take the money and run, I know its a bad time to book a holiday as everyone is trying to go at the same time but you should get a late deal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisRatcliffe Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 This happened to me last year with Thomas Cook. Received a phone call about 4 days before our flight saying the hotel we were stating at over booked. So they provided us with a replacement which either had to be equal or better than our original hotel. Turns out after a quick look on trip advisor it was miles better ranked 6th out of 71 hotel whereas our original hotel was 20 something. Heard some horror stories about it as well while we were there so kinda dodged a bullet! Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Bradders are you jinxed or something..!!! Sorry to hear your having more agro mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Bradders- Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 Right it's got even worse now... lol fml. So, we ring the original hotel, ask them if there are rooms available for those dates.. and funny enough yes, they have a range of rooms available, so i tell the mrs go ahead and book the hotel direct and we'll cancel the LCH one but keep the flights.. all well and dandy, another 900 on hotel, request refund from LCH, oh btw we are cancelling the flights too as its a package holiday and you wont be receiving the flight money back (over £650)... WHAT>!>! now we are stuck, so we cancelled the cancellation lol. so now we have a package holiday with no hotel and a hotel with no flights and we are £900 down. FML. Those facts above are extremely usefull really really appreciate the time you guys have given to find those for me! i'm not very smart in those kind of places, i would have never thought to look at those kinda things. really appreciate it guys! This year is just not my year if im honest lol. The mrs is going beserk, she flipped her sh*t at the LCH people on the phone im kinda worried now when i call them today lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 im guessing there will be no Rep out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 No chance, LCH just put a flight & hotel together, they have no representation at all. Basically they're like Expedia et al. Are you saying that they've withdrawn their offer of another hotel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Bradders- Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 Right, Managed to get the second hotel refunded so we aren't 900 down now, phew. Now we just need LCH to either offer equivilent or offer better and i dont mind paying an extra few quid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 dont wait for them to offer chase them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleR Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I don't understand why you went ahead and booked the hotel instead of phoning LCH and telling them that the hotel isn't booked up and you just contacted it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Bradders- Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 I don't understand why you went ahead and booked the hotel instead of phoning LCH and telling them that the hotel isn't booked up and you just contacted it. I Did and she told me no they are fully booked. she refused to listen when i said they have told me there are rooms, something to do with only being contracted a certain amount of rooms which is fine but we did book 6 months ago so assumed they would reserve for us, obviously someone has booked later and paid more so they've offered them the room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Yea travel companys will pre pay hotels to get the rooms dirt cheap imagine 100 rooms booke up for 9 months of the year they then sell them on to you, so when that companys full i guess they can get people to pay extra to take the rooms then dump you in somewhere else they have prepaid rooms and not filled up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Bradders- Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 We've decided to just pay another £300 and upgrade to a 5 star and go near to our original destination lol. makes life easier for both parties however a full letter of complaint shall be made and trust me, i never complain about anything but this has sent the mrs loopy lmao! and it's her birthday tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 As much as I hate to be the one to say this, this is why cheapest isn't always best. Not trying to rub your nose in it Bradders, I can only imagine how awful/angry you feel, but if nothing else it'll serve as a warning to others with regards to booking up cheap holidays. Hopefully the new hotel will be much better and you'll end up having a lovely time in spite of all this Where are you going anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouthwash Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Should have just spent the money on a driving holiday to Spa/Nurburg/Europe somewhere - much more fun and give you a chance to see if your car really is fooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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