HOLIDAYS your rights

[marky]

A good friend of mine booked a holiday at the gazala gardens hotel ( the one that was blown up ) in egypt
the travel agent has offered another hotel but they dont like the look of it
they want there money back but the agent says no
where do they stand

[Dave Stones]

that could be a difficult one, does their insurance cover them against acts of terrorism etc?

silly question to ask maybe, but i know that i'm not covered on my mobile phone if it gets blown up...

[marky]

Originally Posted by Dave Stones

that could be a difficult one, does their insurance cover them against acts of terrorism etc?

silly question to ask maybe, but i know that i'm not covered on my mobile phone if it gets blown up...

dunno about insurance mate but if you ordered a nice new red car and it got destoyed before you got it
so they offered you a blue one you wouldnt want it
i think they paid for a product and the agent cant provide it
its the legal part they need to know because the agent is blanking them

p.s the agent is a major high st one

Mark. Which company is it? Would they be concerned about this story, say, leaking into the local Press?

[marky]

Originally Posted by andyl

Mark. Which company is it? Would they be concerned about this story, say, leaking into the local Press?

coop travel and i dont know mate

[punky]

The law says they have to provide equal or better accomodation. Equal in this respect is open to intrepretation, as all hotels are different, but equal is the same star rating, facilities and as close as possible to his original hotel.

It isn't really the tour op's fault, they took the money in good faith, and not much they can do with a smoking hotel with a large hole in it.

The T&Cs (standard) for your tour op & travel insurance will probably rule out recompense for your holiday, so its either take up the tour ops offer, or forfeit.

If there is a genuine reason why your friend doesn't like the hotel he is offered, mitigate that with the tour op (they aren't all ogres despite what some say), and they can try and find another. If he kicks up enough, he may get a small upgrade. However the law says the tour must offer a suitable alternative, doesn't mean to say the client has to take it. If your friend decides to take the tour op to court, and the judge rules the alternative was a suitable equal or better replacement, then your friend will lose out quite a lot.

[Julian]

It's a case of checking the small print I guess. See if it says anything about what changes they can make.

Whether the trave advice Here could help their case...

[marky]

Cheers punky if that is the case they aint going to be happy

they did ask for another location (spain) but was told they had to pay the difference
i think it stinks

[punky]

Originally Posted by markymoan

Cheers punky if that is the case they aint going to be happy

they did ask for another location (spain) but was told they had to pay the difference
i think it stinks

Well, that depends on the price difference.

Not saying this against your friend mate, but a bit of general info about this:

Tour ops can't just dole out full refunds though. The clients money, 90% normally, has already been passed onto the hotel. The tour op probably doesn't have the cash to pay out his claim, let alone say if the tour op has hundreds of clients wanting full immeadiate refunds. The tour op only holds the middle man profit, 10% and so they'd have to fight the hotel for the money, or wait through insurance. Making companies go bust isn't the way to deal with disputes. It isn't really a case of no wanting to pay out refunds, its not being physically able to (blood out of a stone, etc.)

That is why replacements are better, it can be sorted with the new hotel on account, and give the tour op a month's grace to try and get money back from their indemnity insurance company, which probably will pay out for terrorism, and the original hotel, and settle the bill with the new company.

[marky]

thanks guys i will phone them


no wonder i like camping

Excellent posts from Mr Punky there It won't be the Co-Op saying this Mark, they're just the agent for the operator. Seems to me that the tour op is probably being fair in offering an alternative hotel of a similar standard (presumably - if not, then there's a case to be had) in the same resort, given that the Foreign Office has not advised against travel to Egypt. I personally would not expect to get a more expensive holiday in Spain and not make up the difference - must be a decent holiday if it's more expensive than Egypt surely?!

BTW I have a few Gazeteer's here (the big books agents keep under their desks) - give me the name of the replacement hotel and I'll see how they compare (PM if you want).

[marky]

Originally Posted by andyl

Excellent posts from Mr Punky there It won't be the Co-Op saying this Mark, they're just the agent for the operator. Seems to me that the tour op is probably being fair in offering an alternative hotel of a similar standard (presumably - if not, then there's a case to be had) in the same resort, given that the Foreign Office has not advised against travel to Egypt. I personally would not expect to get a more expensive holiday in Spain and not make up the difference - must be a decent holiday if it's more expensive than Egypt surely?!

BTW I have a few Gazeteer's here (the big books agents keep under their desks) - give me the name of the replacement hotel and I'll see how they compare (PM if you want).

ive left a message on there voicemail " thank you "

Originally Posted by andyl

Excellent posts from Mr Punky there

Indeed - very sage advice, and clearly quite knowledgable.

[marky]

They went in yesterday

sat down and talked nicley and walked out with a full refund
well done coop

[punky]

Wow, good for them