Thomson Holidays - not baby friendly! :(

[Sabrina]

Last August I booked a holiday with Thomson for May this year. Unfortunately, due to the date being only 8 weeks before my due date I won't be able to fly. So I thought I had better transfer the holiday to 2008.

It's taken me about 2 weeks to actually get through to Thomson on the phone Their answerphone says "sorry we are too busy to take your call please try later" all the time.

Anyway, I have finally got through to them this afternoon, and found I will have to pay £70 to transfer the holiday to 2008. £70!! Just to move the dates! The other alternative is to cancel completely and lose £260!

So, because of their high transfer fees, I have to cancel and will now need to claim against my travel insurance. To do that I'll need to fill in a claim form, get a cancellation invoice off Thomson, and a certificate from the Doctor! The insurance co. will also charge me £100 in excess charges so I'll still be out of pocket.

Are there no baby friendly companies out there? Why should we be penalised because we are having a baby?

It makes me so cross. At this time we are trying hard to economise with everything and sometimes it feels like it's one pay out after another! It's not like Thomson couldn't afford to transfer it for free in the circumstances!

I will NEVER book so far in advance again. This was the first year I used a package holiday company. I've learnt my lesson and won't do that again!

Ok.... rant over... thanks for reading ladies!

Sabrina
x

 

[Tangerinedream]

I booked a holiday once and wanted to fly from east midlands airport and had to pay £45 suppliment per person. A few weeks before the holiday our company (cant remember which) wrote to say we had to fly from manchester. I phoned to try to get our £90 back because why should we pay extra for something which is taken away from us, ie, our choice!? In the end we had to go to manchester because the alternative was to cancel the holiday. And we had to pay an extra £30 for airport parking, and whatever on petrol!!

 

[nathanmum]

why dont you ring back up and ask where to address a complaint letter...they will hopefully ask why and pass you onto costumer services and you might not have to pay it. my OH done this with car insurance recently and they let him off the cancellation fee. go on make a fuss

 

[*saulino*]

Hi

Sorry hun , thats aweful some places are just so ignorant towards situations like this. It makes me so mad how companys can screw you around like this. I definetly think in your circumstance they should refund your money.
Katrina

 

[Nicola]

I think they call it admin fees!! It's a shame you coulnd't just transfer it but I'm guessing they might think they are loosing a '07 booking they might not fill now and they don't want to be out of pocket type thing. Unfair when they have millions but it's the way these things go sometimes. Holidays, flights, train tickets etc - most people think their dates are solid and book the cheapest inflexible option - then they are just that, Inflexible. Next time you book a holiday opt to pay a tad more but with the flexible element added in, might seem like a waste of an extra few pounds at the time but when things like this crop up it's worth it. Sorry you have been so messed around though. Write and complain, it's always worth trying, you never know they might send you a £100 Thompson voucher or something to use for your '08 holiday.

 

[Rob1981]

Money grabbing b-stards

 

[mayday]

Sabrina,

I'm really sorry to hear this, but if I may I'd like to shed a little light on the decision made by Thomson. I should add I have no affiliation with them, but I do work for a larger company that supplies holidays, and also run a very small holiday company of my own. My experience comes mainly from running my small holiday lettings company.

The price of everything goes up year on year - inflation! It's something that is outside our control, but happens nonetheless. It is fairly predictable so it is possible to work out what next year's holiday will cost, and it WILL cost more. Also as you get closer to the dates in question you start to get a little more concerned that if you have vacancies you may not fill them. You may have to offer them at a discount to fill your rooms. Earlier bookings are a bit more concrete, so you try to hang onto them. If you do have someone pull out you DO have admin which takes up time - you have to contact your foreign suppliers, arrange refunds, readvertise the holiday etc.

For us we have a policy of giving a refund (but retaining the 20% deposit) until a set period before the holiday begins. After that if you cancel you lose the whole amount. It is set out clearly in our terms and conditions, and our T&Cs are not long or arduous to read (although I suspect Thomsons are!)

We still get people trying to make themselves the exception to the rule. So far we have had a number of people try and pull out with only days to go because the snow is not to their liking (we are based in a ski resort) - not our fault, and we only promise a comfortable apartment. God provides the snow! We also had a gentleman telephone us on Sunday only 2 hours before he was due to arrive telling us his daughter's passport had run out, and if we didn't give him a refund he wouldn't be able to book a replacement holiday for his children. The situation was compounded in it's discomfort for me because he was a work colleague from my airline. But we had already given him a 33% discount for being a work colleague, and had subsequently turned away full-fee business in favour of his booking. There was no way we could get new clients for Sunday night if we started advertising on a Sunday afternoon. I feel sorry for his children, but it's not my fault daddy didn't get himself organised, and I need to have an income to pay for my own baby on the way.

I know this isn't going to make you feel better about your holiday, but maybe will give you a means to feel less angry. Thomson just represent the littler companies, and my little company has to pay for my baby.

£70 is an annoying amount, and you have extra costs to face this year, but start saving, and look forward to your holiday next year, and good luck with it.

 

[Sabrina]

Thanks for the support ladies (and Rob )

Mayday - my total holiday cost £420 and was booked for May 2007. Thomson took £260 deposit in August 2006. They have had that money gaining interest in their account for 6 months. I am not cancelling at the last minute on a whim. I would love to go on the holiday. If Thomson retained 10, 20 or even 40% deposit I'd understand but the whole £260...?? Sorry but that is just GREEDY.