After being treated terribly on a Thomson holiday I spoke to over 150 unhappy passengers, I was given their email addresses and they have been invited to join this blog. Lots of people suggested setting up a blog and I thought it would be a good idea. This blog will allow us to share experiences and update others with the progress made with complaints.
59 comments:
My back is still sore from lieing on a floor all night long, The fact that we werent given any rooms at all is out of order and other families not with our group did. Also the hotel staff were all very unhelpful and very inhospitable.
We felt that no one was really in control of the situation and that we had to demand answers, which unfortunately lead to a lot of worrying rumours.
went on this cruise. i am still recovering from a very serious car crash where i broke my neck ,cracked bone in upper back,broken fema and two broken hands so im still on quite alot of medication for pain and other complications which on this night i had ran out of so sitting on the floor all night has undone so much hard work. we was constantly lied to and treated like dogs. somebody has to be held acountable for this shambles we even had to argue for simple thing like water. we no thomson cant help the weather but they are responcable for the caios and lies after. we wasnt even offered food or drink when we did finally get back to the ship just told we had 1 hour to pack freshen up and get of the ship absloutley discrase.
I am Katie and I am 12 years old.
It was a discrace that thompson didnt even offer us a blanket or a pillow to lie on and when they gave the children a little bed to lie on it had all flees on it and it was damp.And when we got into the small boats on the river nile we didnt even get offerd a drink or any food.Its discusting.Then when we got back to the boat it was pure caios we only had 1hour to have a shower put on some clean clothes and pack. And when we got to the desk to leave the ship they lost my dads passport and we was waiting for 15-20 minutes before they found it and we nearly missed our coach which was on the way to the airport which luckily we never beause they found it in time. Although the boat was lovley and all the workers treated you like royalty. I would love to go on the same boat again but a diffrent counrty.
Due to sandstorm and storm near the port of Safaga we were taken to the Ibotel hotel in Luxor , where we were fed and allowed a drink. There was no rep there until a couple of hours later. We tried to make ourselves comfortable, but it was quite clear that the staff were not happy. At this point there was no rep present. I later found her having an altercation with one of the tour guides and she was threatening to leave the hotel, I explained that this should not be happening and requested at least another drink for everyone, this we were allowed but had to pay for the privilege of having water. At about 1.30 the bus drivers and tour reps from buses 5,6 and 7 managed to get us moved to a Nile cruise boat where we slept on the floor, the staff on board gave us tea and coffee during the night, but again it was hard to get water. No rep came with us.
After a night trying to sleep on the floor I found a Thompson rep had arrived. Unfortunately he really had no information and seemed just as disillusioned as us as to why we were not being looked after properly. We were finally given boxed food albeit we were grateful for this it was hardly appetising, again no water was supplied. At approx 9.00 we were taken to Luxor to get a flight back to Sharm el Sheik as the ship had left the port of Safaga. On the flight we were given a packet of biscuits and a small drink. It was also announced that Thompson would reimburse us with the cost of the Trip.
We arrived back at the ‘Celebration’ at approx 1.00pm were we just had time to have a shower and pack our bags ready to go back to the airport for our return flight to the UK, we did not have time to eat or drink.
We feel that Thompson in no way looked after their guests. There was a German tour caught up in this storm and their rep managed to get them all rooms for the night at the Ibotel Hotel. There was a party of Finnish tourists whose tour rep managed to get them rooms on the Nile boat, were we slept on the floor. We were impressed with the Egyptian bus drivers and tour guides who tried their best to look after us. When we returned to the ‘Celebration’ there were no management in sight and the chaos in the Reception area made things worse. It also came to light that the ship had informed the passengers on board that we were being well looked after in 5 star accommodation on the night of the storm.
Whilst we are grateful for Thomson arranging the flight to get us back to Sharm in time for our flights home we agree with many of our fellow passengers that we were not treated fairly on the night. I can understand that it would have been almost impossible to find beds for all of us but it is not acceptable to be told that the hotel is fully booked and then see other Tui guests(Scandinavian or German) given rooms. These people had not been up since 5 oclock in the morning travelling from the coast. Priority should have been given to the elderly, the disabled and the pregnant(of which there were several in our group)and should have had nothing to do with nationality. We were made to feel as though we were victims of racial discrimination. The hotel staff at the Iberotel were not even prepared to try and find us blankets or pillows. My family had to try and sleep outside on the terrace in the cold until we were moved to the dirty, smelly Nile tug-boat. We were under the impression that we were being taken to the airport. If people had realised where we were really going we would have refused to get on the coach.Conditions on the Nile boat were disgraceful. It was dirty and stuffy with only 3 toilets for all of us and not even enough chairs to sit on.Nobody from Thomson attempted to reassure us once.Several of us were worried because of family members left on the ship. They were also badly treated, mis-informed and left to cope on their own. My 73 year old mother was left crying in her cabin thinking she would have to travel back to the UK on her own and was then left to pack our 5 suitcases on her own until 3oclock in the morning. I contacted the boat and suggested that they gather together the family members concerned and reassure them that they would get us back to the boat. This would have helped my mother as she would then have realised that there were others in her situation.However this idea was dismissed as it "would have caused panic". What?!! We are having'our trip refunded but where is her compensation for having the last day of her holiday ruined? It could have been handled so much better. Thomson have to take some responsibility for these events. Perhaps in future they should not offer this trip the day before we are due to fly back to the UK as it is too far get back to the port if anything does go wrong. In a third world country such as Egypt there must be so many things that could happen. Thomson should have better contingency plans in case of such events and I hope they learn from what has happened. Carole and Andrew and boys
Although Thompsons are not responsible for bad weather they ARE responsible to look after their customers. Our guide at 6pm told us there was no way we were travelling back as he was told parts of the road were not passable. So if he knew this then Thomspsons should have also known this. Rooms should have been sourced immediately rather than waiting to 'find a solution' as the Thompsons tour rep had said when he arrived at the '5 star hotel' at about 11pm! The next tour rep then went round telling people we would be leaving the hotel to get flown back to sharm. So at 2am-ish we were told to get on the coaches with most people beleiving they were going to the airport. No,once on the coach they then told us we were going to a more comfortable place for us to spend the night. And so it was that we spent the night on a flea ridden floor (I'm covered in flea bites!).It basically ruined the whole holiday for me. I came home feeling a need another week off to recover! We will not be going back to Egypt nor travelling with Thompsons again. I will be asking for 2 days of my holiday back in monetary value. I paid to be on an all inclusive cruise ship not sleeping on a scabby floor!
i must agree with every coment it was the worst night i ever had abroard to not know what was happening no one gave us any imformation on what was going on and to find out the egypit goverment had canceld all water trips because they was expecting a big storm why on earth did they send us nearly 4 hour drive away from the ship???to see elderly women and men sleeping on a hard floor was just very wrong not to mention that we had paid for all inclusive we should at least be refunded the day and night we missed on the boat and had to fend for ourselves not to mention the free forall trying to get of the boat to the air port somebody needs to be sacked we need to be paid comp enough for a hoilady to get over this total f##k up
Vera and Gerald
Nightmare in Luxor Due to a sand storm and bad weather, in Luxor our tour was cancelled and was told to get back on the coaches were we stayed for 3 hours. They told us we were going to stay in a 5 Star hotel but did not say we were going to sleep on the lobby floor. At 2 AM a Rep said we were going to be flown back to Sham? But we were taken to a club boat on the Nile which was disgusting there again we had to sleep on the floor and chairs some small flea ridden mattress was given for the children to sleep on. We were given a box of food no water there again we had no information given to us by any Thomson Rep. In the Hotel and Boat we were treated like cattle. At 9 Am we were taken to the Airport to be flown back the Sham, when we got back to the ship Our Hotel transport had gone it was chaos trying to get back on the ship to get our luggage packed. When we eventually got back off the ship we were on the dock for 1 hour before we got a Rep to get us transport to our Hotel in Sham. WE feel that we lost 3 days of our Holiday two days stuck in Luxor the third day we had to stay in our room because our backs were aching so bad and we were so tired from lack of sleep. Being 70 + we do not need this treatment. We hope that Thomson, will conceder some compensation for the way we were treated
We found the whole experience from getting to the hotel after being ferried there for a meal totally appalling. It was obvious that the manager did not want us there cluttering up the foyer of his lovely 5 star (I think not) hotel and this he showed by standing in reception like a prison guard to show his authority, when passengers tried to use the sun bed mattresses so their children could have a comfortable place to lie on the cold marble floor his staff tried to take these from the passengers. Being denied water was another way of confirming this, even when the Thomson reps showed up they did nothing it was down to passenger pressure that got drinks. Billy was talking to a rep when the tour guides informed us to get on the buses, the rep seemed unaware of this the blank expression showed this. We all thought that the much awaited decision (permission from air control had been given) to fly us back to Sharm was to happen, alas as said we were taken to a boat on the Nile and although the staff tried their best to accommodate us with dirty mattresses and pillows. Someone mentioned about the breakfast we were given, does everyone know that these were prepared on the floor of the boat by the staff (who it seemed) were not following safe hygiene practices. Needless to say we went hungry and the first meal we had was biscuits on the flight back. We were fortunate that we did not have to leave the ship and was able to have a meal then retire to bed (wasted 2 days) but the reps asked if the passengers who were leaving for home or transferring to hotels could they vacate the ship in less than an hour, how disgusting was this to be treat in such a way after this terrible experience. When we found out that the captain had said to the passengers on the ship that the stranded passengers were well taken care in 5 or 6 star hotels this was totally misleading and we need to address this, we logged our complaint with the reception officer who gave lip service apologies. Although Thomson had no control over the weather a contingency plan should be in place as obviously was the case for its sister company who made sure that their passengers were looked after
I was wondering if anybody has lodged a complaint with Thomson yet and if so what has the response been.Carole
Wrote a 3 page letter of complaint and posting it to them on Monday.
I agree with what everyone is saying. I felt like I was in prison and didnt belive anything the reps said because they lied about so many things. I will keep everyone up to date when I get a reply off Thomson.
We are aware that Thomson cannot control the weather, this complaint is not about being stuck due to the sandstorm but the lack of professionalism and our mistreatment following this natural storm.
Nothing was done to make anyone more comfortable.
After we had been at the hotel for many hours Reshkna informed us that our coaches were at the hotel to take us to the airport. After about 5 to 10 minutes of driving we were not at an airport, our tour guide told our coach that it was stopping, we were to get off and that he had no more information. We were led to a shabby old and smelly nile cruise ship and told that we were not getting accommodation on this ship and that we were waiting for a flight. We were given a smelly wet sun lounger thin mattress which I could not lay on as it was wet. I laid on the floor with my husband and after 10 minutes we were surrounded by male staff who had decided to sit and talk around where we were trying to lay down on the hard, sticky carpet which smelt of nicotine. There were numerous boxes of breakfasts on the carpeted floor being prepared by staff on the floor with their bare hands. After several hours we were offered refreshments, but only after I had requested this numerous times over at least two hours and kept being told ‘soon’. When I asked for more water later on the staff member asked for payment, I said I didn’t have any money and needed water, he was very rude and I had to beg for the water again. We were kept on this substandard ship until about 9 am without any sleep. In the morning they tried to feed us the breakfast that they had prepared on the floor. I would not eat this as I have to be extremely careful about hygiene because of my pregnancy. Therefore I went hungry.
HOTEL STAFF & MANAGEMENT:
We had to beg for basic refreshments such as water. The management of the hotel were extremely rude and I saw one staff member physically attempt to take a cushion from a female passenger. We were treated with contempt by the staff and made to feel like second class citizens. When I asked for water I was told I had to pay for it, we had no money as Thomson had advised us to only take essential items with us. I was very dehydrated and extremely concerned for the health of my unborn baby. I tried to ask Reshkna to sort out the refreshments and she dismissed me.
FLIGHT:
I had not been able to lay down for over 36 hours this caused my ankles to swell up and gave me unbearable agony. I tried to walk the pain off and could not do so. My husband was extremely concerned for me because he could see I was in a lot of pain and was very anxious for the entire flight. A fellow passenger who was a GP checked me over and suggested that I lay down with my legs elevated and drink lots of fluids. This was because I was dehydrated from lack of water throughout the past 24 hours. There was no suitable position to do this on the plane. The stewardess was as helpful as she could be and found the largest space possible. This was however very awkward and was not comfortable for my already painful back. I could not sit down in my seat for the entire flight apart from when I had to sit for landing.
Kate, Dave and the bump
Have read on the internet that flash floods OFTEN wash the desert road away in this region. This again begs the question as to why Thomson offer this trip the day before the boat sails to take people back for their flights home. There is only one way back to port-it is too risky. The itinerary/ports of call should be revised for the future. Carole
Hi again.
We sent our complaint on \thurs and we will let you know how we get on.
We did send a copy to:
Chris Browne,
Managing Director of Thomson
Thompson Holidays Head Office.
Greater London House,
Hampstead Road London
NW1 7SD
and
Consumer Affairs,
ABTA Ltd
30 Park Street
London SE1 9EQ.
We feel that the higher you can go with your complaint the better.
Good luck everyone
Jason & Kelly Kerr
After what should have been a dream family Christmas holiday our nightmare continued on the final leg of the Luxor excursion. Fully aware and in agreement with others mother nature cannot be predicted. Thomson dealt with the situation in an extremely poor and very unprofessional manner. Many of the people we spoke to have half a brain cell and were treated otherwise. My mother in law suffered fractured ribs and had to seek medical assistance once back in Sharm el Shiekh from having to sleep on the unclean floor of a barge. Both hotel and barge staff were rude and hostile and information was both severly lacking and confusing. Our party of 9 have emailed an 8 page complaint to Thomson and along with everybody else require an unpatronising explanation to the disorganisation and why there are not proper contigency plans in place however rare these situations are.
The most comical thimg of all we spoke to our other family members on board the ship who told us they had been informed we were being put in rooms for the night in a luxury hotel! They were suffering on the unorganised boat thinking we were having a whale of a time!
I recieved a letter today from Thomson saying sorry for what happen on the Luxor trip and basically after speaking to the staff there that refunding our trip was enough compensation. I do not agree with this and I am waiting for a reply off my letter which states the truth what happen that horrible night. I am not accepting this letter as the end of the matter.
We received the same letter as above and find this totally unaccetable.
Tina & Ken
We have sent our complaint in today, once I get a reply I will let you know asap. I have re-itterated what everyone else has said.
I have sent our complaint to Ian Chapman head of Customer Delivery, After Travel Customer Support, TUI Travel Plc, Wigmore House, Wignmore Lane, Luton Beds. LU29TN. This address was on the customer service form which I received from Tatyana Olkhouska when I logged our complaint on board the celebration ship. I have also sent a copy Chris Browne Managing Director of Thompson Holidays which someone mentioned. I will keep everyone posted
We had the same experiences as all those stranded in the Iberotel Luxor and the Nile ship we were dumped on. We made a complaint in triplicate to Tatiana Olkhousa the officer in charge of the ships reception on the Celebration. For you information. The name of rep from the ship that was on the trip but was in another hotel in Luxor, is, James Anderson-Smith, Destination Services Manager on board the Celebration. He was at the other hotel The Steinberger Hotel, Luxor He was the first person to come to our hotel around 9to10pm. When we retuned to the ship I ask him of his experience. He told me that his passengers were treated well. They had water and hot beverages at all times and with their evening meal, free of charge. The hotel opened up their conference room and provided the cushions from the sun loungers to be used as makeshift beds and provided pillows and blankets where available. They also received and hot breakfast in the morning. I spoke to two young lady reps from Star Tours and Fritidsresor, Danish and Swedish tour operators, which are part of the same organisation as Thomson. They had come to the ship to assist their passengers who were given beds on the very same ship we were dumped on. We are seeking compensation from Thomson and will keep you posted of their response.
just an update. Received a letter from ABTA; if we have not had a satisfactory conclussion to our complaint to get back to them with copies of all correspndence.
By the way Chris Browne; MD of Thompson is obviously far to busy to even acknowledge my complaint; says it all
We received a copy of letter today which had been sent to the travel agent and this copy was forwarded to us by them with a compliment slip. I rang the travel agent to query this, apparently this is a generic letter which everyone who had been caught up in the experience should receive to explain about the action that was taken, the refund of the excursion and apologies from thomson.
This is not a response to my complaint which I sent on the 12th January. According to ABTA procedures Thomson must respond to our complaint with a personal letter within a set time. The travel agent has asked us to wait until the beginning of next week. If we do not receive a response from Thomson by then we are to contact the travel agent who will firstly find out if Thomson had received our complaint and then take this up on our behalf to seek compensation. We will keep everyone informed
22.01.11
Received the personal letter today thanking us for contacting thomsons. The content of the letter is they acknowledge that it is important to give our comments the attention they deserve and would like to look at these. It might take up to 28 days which I had been informed by the travel agent that is the time set by ABTA, and that thomsons would get back to us with a full response. Signing off for now
We have not had a response to date. We were wondering whether anybody else has had a letter back (apart from Billy and Bernie)
We have not received a response yet. I am going to send another one tomorrow, recorded delivery. I'll keep you updated
We have had the standard apology and hve sent our second letter for a conclusion. ABTA have told us if we are not happy with the response to the 2nd letter, we are to send all communication to them for them to take the matter further.
PS. Hope all is well with Kate and Dave
Still waiting for a reply i sent my letter on the 12th january so going to wait till the 12th february then get on to them again.
Tina & Ken
I sent my complaint in on 17th January. I had the usual standard reply stating will be dealt with within 28 days. Still no response as yet. Will keep you updated.
I sent a letter to Honey Babar in response to the first standard letter, notifying us of the excursion refund on 11th January. I also sent a copy to Chris Browne, Managing Director asking him to make sure the complaint was given "careful consideration".This last letter was sent recorded Delivery on the same date. To date I have not even had an acknowledgement. I think I will ring ABTA as I don,t really know what to do now. This just adds insult to injury.
Have just checked the ABTA website. Apparently we have to give them 28 days to reply.
Carole; looks like we are all waiting, however I do believe they should have the courtesy of receiving the complaint.
Chris Browne (Thompson MD) is a woman; I have written to her twice and to date has not acknowledged either letter.
We did have a letter from ABTA who said if we do not receive a conclusion to our complaint within 28days to forward to them all correspondence sent and received.
We really are dumbstruck that a big organisation like 'Thompsons' think that we were treated in a reasonable manner. We do have video footage from the night on the Nile Boat and are prepared to put this on UTUBE if we do not get a satisfactory outcome to this.
But we will not give up without a fight!
It's reassuring to know that Ros and Steve have video footage. Perhaps other people have too.
As we still have not had an acknowledgement I rang them to check they have received my letters. They said they have and that an acknowledgement was sent out on the 19th Jan which we obviously have not received. They are sending out another acknowledgement and the complaint is being dealt with by the cruise team.She assured me that we would have a reply within the 28 day guideline.She also said she would forward my letter to the Directors office as Chris Browne is Managing Director of Airlines and won't deal with this complaint.
Thanks for that info Carole. However you would like to think that someone would have acknowledged that we had sent our complaint to the wrong office.
We sent two letters on the 14 Jan one to Ian Chapman, Head of Customer Delivery. Luton Beds, and the other to Chris Brown. To day we have had no replies. We have just sent a recorded delivery to Ian Chapman. We will keep you informed of their response.
Have just had a response from Paul Robinson, Customer Support Adviser,Director's Office at Thomson which is not at all satisfactory. He states that although Thomson are aware that we were inconvenienced and distressed by our experience, that their main concern was to get us safely back to the ship. He feels that the refund of the trip and the apology already given is enough and that there will be no further compensation. He does not seem to accept that we were treated badly or that things could have been managed any better. I think possibly now is the time to involve Abta. What does everybody else think? I think we need to be consistent in our approach and stick together as a group. Has anybody else received a reply yet?
We have just read Carole's comment with regards to a respone from Thompson.
We wonder if you could leave the address you sent your complaint too as this is not a name I have come across.
Quite rightly so this is not customer care as we know it and quite clearly shows no care for Thompsons guests.
When and if we receive similar replies we will be forwarding this on to ABTA who have advised us to do so if we are not happy with Thompson's conclusion of our complaint
A quick update. We have now received a reply from paul Thompson, who reassures us that his team did all they could for us at the time 'WHAT TEAM'. He goes on to say that they will earn from our experience (we didn't realise we were part of an expiriment).
Also as we did not make any specific request for compensation he 'is not able to add any form of compensation to the apology'
We are off course taking this further to ABTA and will be enclosing all documention with regards to our complaint.
Will let you know what happens.
e have just received a reply from Thomson's, Paul Robinson, Customer Support Advisor, Directors Office,Wigmore Hse,Wigmore Place, Wigmore Lane, Luton LU2 9TN. We are going to reply and give them one more opportunity to settle before we approach ABTA. It sound like it's the same type of letter sent to Carol as per her comments on this site on 3 Feb. The procedure you have to follow to take this action further by ABTA or the Small Claims Court is; You must write to them and get their response if you are not satisfied with it you must write again telling them you are not satisfied and get a reply in writing. You now have the two letter exchanged between the both of you, this is what you need to take it to the next level. After the exchange of two letter you can then approach ABTA and they will send you a form to send to Thomson's it's called: PRE ARBITRATION NOTICE. Which gives them 14 days to settle your complaint. You need to give Thomson the opportunity to settle your complaintin the correct proceedure. It is vital that we all keep in touch and share what Thomson are saying. The more of us that put pressure on them the better chance we have of getting a level of compensation.
Frank
Recieved a letter back today from thomson saying they are not going to give us compesation because they did all they could.
I am not happy with the response and was just wondering what action everyone is taking now.
I am sending a second letter of complaint as advised by Abta. Also on Monday I will ring the BBC holiday Watchdog programme and let them know about what happened.
Tina & Ken
We also received a letter saying they did all they could. Not sure were we go from here it seems they are not going to budge, I think there are too many of us complaining and its going to cost them too much to settle.
Does anyone have anymore ideas?
Re Tinas comments 14th February
The more of us that complain the better and good for Carol ringing watchdog; as mentioned before we have video footage of us all trying to sleep on the floor of the boat.
Also thanks Frank for your info.
We personally will take this to the end. Thompson quite clearly did not treat us with adequate care.
We are just compiling our letter to ABTA as we have had the two letters of exchange with ABTA
I received the long awaited letter this morning from Thomson's with the response to my complaint that they did everything possible and hoped that I still had a lovely time after the unforeseen events. I have made an appointment with my travel agent to take this further as I am not happy with their patronising response and as said previously that they will refer this to ABTA if need be. I am not letting this lie and will keep you informed of what happens next
Hi everybody
I received another letter from Thomson today saying they are sorry I am not happy and that I should take whatever course of action I think necessary. So I have just sent a lengthy e-mail to BBC Watchdog.I've told them we have a blog and that some of us have video footage. I have asked them to ring me before I contact Abta. I think it would be a good idea for other people to contact them as they may put pressure on Thomson.I have noticed how this blog has gone a little quiet and am wondering if Thomson have tried the divide and conquer approach ie they have compensated some of us but not others.What does everybody else think?
Hi Everyone
I am still batting from my corner and after being to see the travel agent today, I was advised what to put in the second letter (asking for 10 per cent of holiday cost) before going to ABTA and seeking legal advice, which I will take this to the end if need be.
I will keep you informed of what is happening from my end
Have now sent all our correspondence to ABTA and will let you know the outcome.
Re Caroles comment; I will be emailing Watchdog as well. I do not imagine that Thompson have paid some people compensation as they are being very stubborn with this handful of people who have been in touch on this blogger. However I would like to think that the rest of the 150 people who signed the initial document that Kate and Dave sent to Thompson are also pursuing a claim.
Hi everybody. 04/03/2011
I to received another letter from Thomson today saying they are sorry I am not happy and that I should take whatever course of action I think necessary. So I also e-mail the BBC Watchdog.We must put as much pressure on Thomson.I will wait to see the what the Watchdog response is before I go to ABTA.
Frank & Mary
I contacted watchdog but didn't even receive an acknowledgement so I have sent everything to Abta.
I have sent the details to Wathdog via an email an await their reply. Some times these things take a while to get a response. Any eventual action by any individual either through ABTA (after their 14day notice to settle the claim to Thomson FOC) or the Small Claims Court (SCC) will cost in the region of £100+.
Why dont everyone email Watchdog and show them how many people this involves. The more of us the bigger chance to get them to take notice. Email to:- watchdog@bbc.co.uk
If you want it you have to fight for it, they wont just give it to you.
Frank
I received the 2nd letter from thomson on Saturday 5th March and basically they are not taking responsibility for the way that we were treat and keep referring to the unfortunate excursion as not being all inclusive which I have never said that it was.
All correspondence has now been forwarded to ABTA and await their response.
It does seem rather strange that it is the same people who are leaving comments on this blog. Everyone out there what is happening?
We have received the letter talking of unfortunate events, taking no responsibility and fobbing us off. We are forwarding our complaint to ABTA. We'll keep you updated
Kate and Dave
Abta have written back and said they will investigate our complaint within the next 14 days. So we shall wait and see.
Have received a reply from ABTA. They have enclosed a Pre Arbitration from to send to Thmpson before we go to arbitration.
We will be going all the way with this and hope everyone else does to.
I received a letter from ABTA on Friday 25.03.11 they seem to be siding with their member (thomson) using the heading "Force Majeure"actions are beyond the control of of the tour operator.
I am wondering how I received this letter when Ros and Steve have received a pre-arbitration form, are they trying to divide and conquer as the saying goes. I need to think seriously about my next step whether to seek legal advice and go down the route of the small claims court,which is going to cost money or take it gracefully. One thing is for sure Thomson will not be getting any more of my hard earned cash for holidays, and wherever possible I will be making other possible punters aware of the treatment we received.
I will let you know what I decide to do
In reply to Billy & Berni, 28 March.
As I have said before any eventual action by any individual either through ABTA (Pre-arbitration form, 14 day notice to settle the claim to Thomson FOC) or the Small Claims Court (SCC) will cost in the region of £100+.
I recevied a letter from ABTA on another complaint re "Force Majeure". When I wrote back to them, they then sent me the 14 day Pre Arbitration Notice. Why dont you give ABTA a ring and ask them why your reply differs to Ros & Steve.
If Thomson reject the 14 day pre arbitration, then you can instruct ABTA or the SCC court to persue them but it will cost you.
If you want it you have to fight for it, they wont just give it to you.
Frank
NEWSFLASH
Not sure if there is anyone still looking on this blog, but just wanted to let you have this update.
I explained that we were sending a 14day Pre Arbitration Notice to Thompson, which included the compensation costs we were claiming.
Today 13th May (the 14th day) we received a phone call from Thompson legal department to offer us 200.00 in compensation; we see this offer as an admission to negligence. As this was not anywhere near our claim and we informed them that we would be taking this to Arbitration through ABTA.
The cost for us to do this is 108.00. This process can take anything up to 2 months.
Will update when we have more news. Hope you are still seeking compensation.
Great news. I will be persuing my claim via ABTA pre Arbitration notice. Keep updating this blog and will win our case.
Frank
It seems this blog and any input to it has dried up, which is not helpful.
We did pursue Thomsons and are happy to say that eventually they conceded and we made a very good financial settlement with them in the form of cash.
If you want it you have to fight for it, they wont just give it to you.
Happy cruising
Frank
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