Hopeless holiday in Turkey

[Lady H]

Last year took a holiday to Turkey that was the worst ever. We booked it verbally over the counter at our local Thomson branch as a late deal. It was a 4* All Inclusive holiday to Gumbet. When we booked we were told that onsite there was a sauna, gym, water sports etc which are facilities that we use whilst away so we booked. Along with other things that disgruntled us about the place the sauna didn't work, the gym consisted of a few padded mats thrown into the middle of an empty room (no gym equip in sight) and the water sports consisted of 2 canoes and a pedalo (which was broken). We were being rationed drinks at the bar in an all inclusive hotel and in our opinion they were considerably watered down. The food was unappetising and lukewarm and the general hygiene was of a low standard. On day 4 I developed acute salmonella (diagnosed once I was at home) which kept me off work for 2 weeks. Added to this was them smell of cat faeces from roaming cats in the complex, broken glass left lying around even after it was reported, flooding rooms (although thankfully not ours) being placed in a room opposite the emergency generator which after an electricity cut was running all night long keeping us awake, lack of hot water and a maltese rep who couldn't understand what we were saying when we tried to complain. All in all not what you would expect in a 4* hotel.

I wrote to Thomson with our complaint saying that it had cost us £916 for the above and asked for a full refund.

They wrote back with apologies and sent us a £100 holiday voucher to use when we book with them again.

I sent this back saying it was in insult and would not accept it giving them another opportunity to settle the matter.

They wrote back with apologies again giving us the address of ABTA for us to take it further.

There have been another 2 letters with no outcome other than sincere apologies again so my final letter was to threaten them with court action if they didn't settle within 14 days. They didn't, instead wrote asking for fruther details so they could "address our correspondence more specifically" so it could be passed onto the customer service team.

I'm in the process of giving them the details and giving them another 14 days to settle or issuing a summons.

What do you think? Am I liable for their cost in the small claims court if they win?

[lesser1010]

i had a similar problem with mytravel a couple of years ago.when you write to complain they have 28 days in which to reply to you.i got a standard letter after the 28 days so i wrote again and after 28 days i got another standard letter.neither letter addressed any of the complaints in my letter so i sent them another letter giving them 14 days in which to write to me addressing all the complaints in my letter or i would without further correspondence initiate a claim against them in the county court.a senior manager rang me 3 days later and was very snotty and aloof so i gave her a firm but polite dressing down and informed her that i would be sticking to my timetable in the letter and i reminded her that (at the time) county court judges were fed up with cases coming before them that holiday companies could have and should have settled by negotiation with their customers and the judges were starting to penalise the holiday companies with some large payouts.4 days later i received a letter offering me and my brother in law £800 each in compensation.i would have been happy with £100 at the beginning.point out that there was a significant difference between what the brochure promised and what you actually got.these people are just like the banks,they think you will go away if the prevaricate long enough.stick with your timetable.

[Bookworm]

Am I liable for their cost in the small claims court if they win?

Not in small claims, no, unless your lawsuit is deemed "frivolous", which this certainly doesn't sound like it is.

I hope you have lots of photos, film evidence? Maybe other people's testimonies? Your medical reports. Were you seen by a dr whilst on holiday? Did you notify your travel insurance of the medical problems? Like with the banks, the stronger your evidence, the better your case.

How long in total have thay had now to give you a satisfactory answer? If it's more than 28 days, I would strongly suggest that you write back saying that they have had x days to "address your correspondence", have failed to do so, and that unless they respond appropriately by x date, you are issuing small claim. Specify the date by which you want an answer, say next friday, then at the weekend, sue.
Use the words used by above OP, they're GOOD. Time to bang on the table.

Keep us posted.

[Lady H]

This is what I thought I might have a problem with if it came to court. We didn't take a camera. Long and short, our camera broke and we decided not to replace it until we got a pc which wasn't until Jan, then get a digital one ... Therefore no photographic evidence. We're a bit behind with the times!

I only have a medical report from seeing the doctor once I got home. I wouldn't have thought to report my medical condition to our insurers.

At the time I was more concerned with getting myself better as I was completely floored. It was only afterwards when discussing the holiday with others that I felt I could do something about it.

I know that means theres a chance I could lose but why would anyone go to extreme lengths if it wasn't justified?

What are your thoughts?

Originally Posted by Bookworm

I hope you have lots of photos, film evidence? Maybe other people's testimonies? Your medical reports. Were you seen by a dr whilst on holiday? Did you notify your travel insurance of the medical problems?

[BaldyBaldwin]

it will cost you 80 pound to file a claim for up to a 1,000 pound in the small claims court, it will cost thomsom an awful lot more to defend it, and at the end of the day they will gain nothing, once they see you are serious they will proberly try to settle out of court, if not, apart from 80 pounds, what have you got to lose? if you do decide to go ahead with a claim dont be scared off by there empty threats, i am like most people here and have claims against major banks, at first i found it a bit frightning, but once you get the hang of it ,it,s good fun

[Bookworm]

I agree with Kevin. Not the Thomson defending part, as the banks are wasting so much money, often far more than the claim is, by choosing to pretend to defend, that I wouldn't rely on that, but simply with the cost involved for you. You stand to lose £80. You stand to gain a lot more. IF it ever gets to court.

As opposed to the banks, Thomson may well defend, as they don't go against the law as such, and the judge will have to decide on who's most problaby telling the truth. But that shouldn't scare you. And wouldn't you just looove to get back at Thomson for all the hassle they put you through? I know I would.

[BaldyBaldwin]

if you do decide to claim, it might be worth mentioning that as well as claiming you are contacting some of the T V watchdog programmes, as my wife works for American Airlines and she said the one thing any travel company does not want, especially in the current climate, is bad publicity, but if you do make this threat make sure you carry it through, its not hard just phone the BBC and they put you straight through to the watchdog office

[Lady H]

Ok thanks

In that case the letter will be going out to them today and they'll have 14 days.

They asked for contact telephone numbers but I didn't want to include them as I get a bit panicky in these sorts of situations and I wouldn't want to leg myself up on the phone.

Watch this space ...............

[Lady H]

Well its been more than 14 days. I've sent for the forms from the court but my husband is a little less enthusiastic about taking the matter to court because he thinks if we lose we may have to pay their costs. Its making me worry now and I'm not sure what the likelyhood is. I've read that this would only happen it we brought a frivolous or malicious case to court. Any input on this would be a great help as I want to go to court.

[Bookworm]

You are quite right, and your husband is not. A judge would only award costs against you a) if you lost, AND b) if you'd brought a frivolous or malicious case for no good reason.

[Lady H]

So therefore he is kind of right surely.

If we lose the judge would award costs against us. I know the chances are slim but if it happened would the judge order that we pay their solicitors costs that could amount to thousands even though the actual claim is below £1000?

[M the Merciless]

What do you mean, he is right? Is your suit frivolous? Do you not have a valid complaint? Looking at your first post, I think you have perfectly good grounds to pursue.

Secondly, even if you lost, the judge would be unlikely to award costs against you. It is his decision. Losing doesn't mean that your claim was frivolous, it means that on the balance of probabilities, the judge decides to lean with Thmsons, even if he agrees that you had good cause to complain, for example.

A frivolous claim would be, let's see: YOu had a fab holiday, but you drank too much, due to the freely flowing booze, you tripped and hurt your ankle, you're suing Thomson cos it's their fault that they let you have too much to drink.
Or you slept with the rep, you're now pregnant, let's sue Thomsons. That kind of thing.

I think you misunderstood Bookworm's sentence.

[Lady H]

Yes I did misunderstand - sometimes I need it explaining in more detail. I should have more confidence in myself really.

Thank you all for your help and I'll get back to you with some results soon I hope.

[KAB]

You go for it..These holiday companies simply bank on individuals not taking them all the way through fear of losing. You have a legitimate reason for pursuing court action. Good Luck

[gareth breckell]

Is there any time scale from holiday to complaint.