Some impartial advice needed with this one please.
In May 2018 i had a 2 week all inclusive holiday to Cuba at what should have been a 4 star resort (as stated on my booking confirmation) The holday we experienced was far from 4 star, I would be generous to grant it 2 stars. After 1 week of cold food being served with flies, 2 days where the resort could not serve beer or cold drinks due to power cuts in a very run down and in need of extensive repair resort we complained to our thomas cook rep (the same rep short changed me when I booked an excursion earlier in the week so I did not trust him) we told him we did not feel this was the standard of a 4 star resort that we had paid for, this was our 5th visit to cuba so I knew what to expect. The Thomas cook rep logged our complaint but said I would have to pay to stay at another resort ($289 cuc pesos or £222 GBP). Wanting to salvage my holiday I reluctantly paid cash and got a receipt.
In the taxi to our second resort I took a photo of the receipt, I'm glad I did as it was retained by the reception staff at the new hotel where we had a great time. The day after we arrived at this hotel Thomas cook sent an acknowledgement email apologising and saying they would look into what went wrong.
Upon returning to UK I sent an email asking for an update to my complaint. About a month later I logged my complaint on Thomas Cooks online portal but again I received no reply. 3 months from or return date and I sent a final email asking for a response with a link to the trip advisor review I had made but again Thomas Cook ignored me.
I sent my complaint to ABTA and after a further 3 weeks Thomas Cook finally replied dismissing all the issues as being the way it is in cuba and finished off by stating the following " I've listened to everything you've told me. I'm really sorry but I won't be able to offer you compensation for your experience. This is because the rep has arranged an accommodation change which you have accepted in resort. Thomas Cook have covered the cost of this to the value of $289. Based on this, I do agree that our resort team have done everything possible to help you enjoy the rest of your holiday and I'm really sorry if you disagree with this."
The rep that short changed me has told Thomas Cook that he upgraded us free of charge when in fact I was made to pay for the upgrade! I sent Thomas Cook UK a copy of the photo of my receipt but they refuse to change thier opinion on the matter and are refusing to entertain an offer of compensation!
Since returning from that holiday I have noticed and taken a screenshot of Thomas Cook web page advertising of the same resort, it says this resort is "currently not available" and it is listed as 3.5 stars. I have learned that the hotel is under new management which may explain why it has been pulled from sale.
Thomas cook acknowledged that there were problems with the resort but wrongly think that because I was upgraded at cost to them I cannot make a further claim for compensation now, i'm guessing they thought the only evidence of me paying was retained by the staff at our second hotel.
1. Would I be able to claim under the misrepresentation of goods act as I paid for a 4 star holiday but experienced much less and the same holiday is a 3.5 on Thomas Cook website? They use hearts instead of stars which is based on Thomas Cooks customers reviews, when you click that link it states this resort is actually 3.3 hearts.
2. Would a court allow my photo of the receipt as evidence?
3. If the court do allow the photo as evidence will they allow Thomas Cook to blame the false statement in the email as a translation mistake from thier cuban rep or such like?
4. Taking all of the above into consideration should I go through ABTA's arbitration scheme (quicker and easier for a novice like myself) or small claims court (i really don't want to go through the same stress that thegobyone had to endure!) https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...th-thomas-cook
I am not impressed with my dealings with ABTA and so i'm left to question how impartial the arbitrators actually are (Hunt ADR) I sent Hunt's an email 4 days ago asking to clarify points 2 and 3 above but they have yet to reply.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
In May 2018 i had a 2 week all inclusive holiday to Cuba at what should have been a 4 star resort (as stated on my booking confirmation) The holday we experienced was far from 4 star, I would be generous to grant it 2 stars. After 1 week of cold food being served with flies, 2 days where the resort could not serve beer or cold drinks due to power cuts in a very run down and in need of extensive repair resort we complained to our thomas cook rep (the same rep short changed me when I booked an excursion earlier in the week so I did not trust him) we told him we did not feel this was the standard of a 4 star resort that we had paid for, this was our 5th visit to cuba so I knew what to expect. The Thomas cook rep logged our complaint but said I would have to pay to stay at another resort ($289 cuc pesos or £222 GBP). Wanting to salvage my holiday I reluctantly paid cash and got a receipt.
In the taxi to our second resort I took a photo of the receipt, I'm glad I did as it was retained by the reception staff at the new hotel where we had a great time. The day after we arrived at this hotel Thomas cook sent an acknowledgement email apologising and saying they would look into what went wrong.
Upon returning to UK I sent an email asking for an update to my complaint. About a month later I logged my complaint on Thomas Cooks online portal but again I received no reply. 3 months from or return date and I sent a final email asking for a response with a link to the trip advisor review I had made but again Thomas Cook ignored me.
I sent my complaint to ABTA and after a further 3 weeks Thomas Cook finally replied dismissing all the issues as being the way it is in cuba and finished off by stating the following " I've listened to everything you've told me. I'm really sorry but I won't be able to offer you compensation for your experience. This is because the rep has arranged an accommodation change which you have accepted in resort. Thomas Cook have covered the cost of this to the value of $289. Based on this, I do agree that our resort team have done everything possible to help you enjoy the rest of your holiday and I'm really sorry if you disagree with this."
The rep that short changed me has told Thomas Cook that he upgraded us free of charge when in fact I was made to pay for the upgrade! I sent Thomas Cook UK a copy of the photo of my receipt but they refuse to change thier opinion on the matter and are refusing to entertain an offer of compensation!
Since returning from that holiday I have noticed and taken a screenshot of Thomas Cook web page advertising of the same resort, it says this resort is "currently not available" and it is listed as 3.5 stars. I have learned that the hotel is under new management which may explain why it has been pulled from sale.
Thomas cook acknowledged that there were problems with the resort but wrongly think that because I was upgraded at cost to them I cannot make a further claim for compensation now, i'm guessing they thought the only evidence of me paying was retained by the staff at our second hotel.
1. Would I be able to claim under the misrepresentation of goods act as I paid for a 4 star holiday but experienced much less and the same holiday is a 3.5 on Thomas Cook website? They use hearts instead of stars which is based on Thomas Cooks customers reviews, when you click that link it states this resort is actually 3.3 hearts.
2. Would a court allow my photo of the receipt as evidence?
3. If the court do allow the photo as evidence will they allow Thomas Cook to blame the false statement in the email as a translation mistake from thier cuban rep or such like?
4. Taking all of the above into consideration should I go through ABTA's arbitration scheme (quicker and easier for a novice like myself) or small claims court (i really don't want to go through the same stress that thegobyone had to endure!) https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...th-thomas-cook
I am not impressed with my dealings with ABTA and so i'm left to question how impartial the arbitrators actually are (Hunt ADR) I sent Hunt's an email 4 days ago asking to clarify points 2 and 3 above but they have yet to reply.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
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