REfund on thorpe park tickets due to being in hospital via A & E!!

[ghkernow]

I wonder if anyone has advice re the following: on 14th April i purchased x 3 adult x 1 disabled and x 1 diabled helper thorpe park ticket - £130.03. Unfortunately i was admitted to A & E with acute abdo pain and gall stones. Whilst in hospital my husband contacted Merlin Entertainments who own Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Legoland and other huge attractions .... he explained the situation and the person at the end of the phone confirmed we would get a full refund as this was an unfortunate sitatuion. We live in Devon and were travelling up to London for my disabled daughter's annual Great Ormond Street Hospital appointment. The trip to Thorpe Park on the following day was a treat. After my husband, emailing and speaking to a member of their customer services team they are still refusing to give me a full refund and state in their email today:

 

" All of our tickets are sold on a non refundable and non transferable basis and therefore refunds cannot be offered or received, we do apologise for this information that has been giving to you. Due to the terms and conditions in which you agreed to when purchasing your tickets we are unable to refund you for the unused tickets. I am however more than happy to provide you with tickets for a later date this season as a gesture of goodwill."

 

I have thanked them for their gesture but I am not going to be planning another trip from Devon to Thorpe Park anytime soon. So am still requesting a full refund.

 

Am i to think that their "non-refundable" explanation given is enough for them to refuse me, they have offered their gesture of goodwill but as i explained to them in these frugal times i'd rather have my £130.03 back. MErlin entertainments is a huge multi-national company and I really don't think they will miss my £130.03 not like me however - paying for a day out I could not possibly attend due to being stuck in North Devon Hospital passing gall stones in A & E! I have asked them would they like to see my Discharge summary and my daughter's Great Ormond Street Hospital appointment letter as evidence but, as yet, await their reply.

 

Your comments and any advice would be gratefully received.

 

Many thanks xx

 

s

[rebel11]

Hi gh

 

Welcome to CAG

 

The guys will advise as soon as they are available.

 

Thread moved. They sound like standard terms, but seem very 'unfair'.

[ghkernow]

Thank you!

 

and it does seem very unfair as it's a genuine reason for not being able to attend on the day i booked them.

 

regards

 

GH :0(

[theghost]

Unfortunatley I don't think you have much of a legal comeback.

 

Their goodwill offer is pretty good to be honest as they don't even have to offer that IMO.

[ashmk]

As a last resort Thorp park tickets do have a value on ebay so if they won't budge you may be able to get something back.

[Dragons Dennis]

No, they are not transferable so you cannot sell them.

 

However, their terms and conditions are not necessarily legally binding and I would certainly take this one to court. But before doing that I would write to the top dog and appeal to their better nature. Your circumstances can be verified and it would be extremely bad publicity for Thorpe Park if this one was released to the press.

[theghost]

No, they are not transferable so you cannot sell them.

 

However, their terms and conditions are not necessarily legally binding and I would certainly take this one to court. But before doing that I would write to the top dog and appeal to their better nature. Your circumstances can be verified and it would be extremely bad publicity for Thorpe Park if this one was released to the press.

 

To take someone to ocurt you need a legal basis on which to do it. Can you tell us what legal basis this would come under?

 

Unfortunatley a court cannot be swayed by emotions.

[Dragons Dennis]

You are quite correct. However all contracts must be fair and not one sided. I haven't read the companys terms and conditions, so cannot make a proper decision, but from what appears to be the situation it would seem biassed heavily towards Thorpe Park. There is no financial loss to the company by refunding other than returning a customer what is rightfully his in the first place. They haven't made any special arrangements, order special equipment or food etc, so this is just an ordinary customer who is unable to attend due to a genuine emergency. It is unreasonable to keep someones money under those circumstamces unless it can be shown that there were a limited number of tickets available for that day and that the sale of these tickets prevented someone else buying tickets.

 

People cancel for all sorts of reasons, which can be annoying to say the least. But when someone is trying to treat a sick child to a day out whilst on a lengthy trip to Great Ormond Street hospital, it would be unreasonable not to make some reasonable decsiions regarding refunding. Blank refusal is not reasonable. A county Court judge will always go by the letter of law of course, but I return to my initial point that the contract (which includes the T&Cs) must be fair and balanced.

[theghost]

"unless it can be shown that there were a limited number of tickets available for that day and that the sale of these tickets prevented someone else buying tickets."

 

I think that is the crux of the matter.

 

However, given that this term (i.e you dont use it you lose it) is pretty much in the T and Cs of most major service providers OP will have a tough time taking this one on.

[perplexity]

A county Court judge will always go by the letter of law of course, but I return to my initial point that the contract (which includes the T&Cs) must be fair and balanced.

 

 

Would the customer be willing to forfeit the opportunity to use the tickets paid for, were the proprietor to suffer a misfortune the result of which is to cancel the event, or would he expect to get the money back?

 

If you take the time to peruse SCHEDULE 2 to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations, that is what a fair and balanced contract would consist of. In so far as the proprietor owns no opportunity to back out, nor should the consumer.

[theghost]

1. 2.3 Admission tickets are non-exchangeable, non-refundable and void if altered. They are not valid for special events that require a separate admission charge.
   
2. 2.4 Admission tickets will only be exchanged or refunded if Thorpe, in its absolute discretion, chooses to do so.
   

7. Thorpe will endeavour to ensure that as many rides and attractions as possible are available for use by visitors. However, Thorpe reserves the right, without prior notice and without refund or compensation to close and/or change the programme of rides and attractions and/or the Park's operating hours. Thorpe in its absolute discretion reserves the right without refund or compensation to close the whole or any part of the Park at any time or to restrict the number of persons having access to the Park due to capacity, inclement, weather or special events, to ensure safety, security or order, or if Thorpe considers the circumstances so require

 

http://www.thorpepark.com/misc/terms-and-conditions.aspx

---

 

 

Sounds a bit unfair on first read but if they closed the park i doubt they would not refund people

[perplexity]

In view of that I would say that there is indeed a case to be heard.

[Mrs E Blackadder]

How did you pay for the tickets? If it was by credit card, perhaps your credit card company may be able to help. Might be a long shot, but anything is worth a try.

[theghost]

Both the supply of goods and service act (and section 75 of the consumer credit act if used) will only come into play if there is a breach of contract by the business - that hasn't happened here.

 

As the above poster said, they could challenge it on the Unfair Contract term but I am unsure (even if by some miracle they won) if that would necessarily lead to a refund being made. Presumably they would just have to amend it to say something like if we have to cancel on you we will refund you.

[ashmk]

I've sold tickets on ebay before. Their T&C may well state non transferable but it's never stopped me selling them or others buying them.

 

So I stand by my previous post. As a last resort sell them on ebay. You will get something back.

[perplexity]

I've sold tickets on ebay before. Their T&C may well state non transferable but it's never stopped me selling them or others buying them.

 

So I stand by my previous post. As a last resort sell them on ebay. You will get something back.

 

The something back could be a criminal conviction.

 

It is tantamount to an offence, to sell a ticket that can't be used as if it could.

[sir_gilmour]

Hi

Welcome to The Consumer Action Group.

 

 

I am just letting you know that as you haven't had any replies to your post yet, it might be better if you post your message again in an appropriate sub-forum. You will get lots of help there.

 

Also take some time to read around the forum and get used to the layout. It is a big forum and takes a lot of getting used to.

 

 

Once you start to find your way, you will soon realise that it is fairly easy to get round and to get the help you need.

 

It can be bit confusing at first.