Few issues with thompson. complaint letter needs a once over please

[hixxy02]

can somebody please give me advice on this letter, does it make sence?

 

 

Booking Ref – *****

 

Dear Sir / Madam,

 

We have just returned from our holiday to Puerto aventuras, Mexico. This is the only holiday we have been able to go on due to my partner looking after her ill mother since May 09 which was also to the same hotel booked through Thompson. We had a fantastic stay again and the hotel is excellent as it was last time, although we have a few issues that need addressing.

 

Firstly we booked 2 excursions through our Thompson rep C*****, one was to the ancient ruins of Coba and other was to Snorkel with whale sharks a long life ambition of both mine and my partners. The excursion to Coba was very good however the whale shark excursion was terrible. C**** told us before booking that it would be a max number of 10 people on the boat and that only 2 people with a guide would be allowed into the water at any one time – Which is law, set out by the Mexican government. We were also told that lunch was provided as well as drinks and that we would be giving the option to snorkel for as long as we had energy, as the whale sharks swim very fast its difficult to keep up with them. With all this in mind we paid $210 each for the trip totalling $420.

We were picked up at 0620 on the day of the trip and travelled up to the Cancun were we were given life jackets and met the crew. 9 people boarded our speed boat where we waited for half hour in the baking sun for 2 extra people to turn up, so that made 11 customers on board. Then we set off only travelling for 10 mins down the coast where again we pulled in and waited for 45 mins in the hot sun for 2 more people this now totalling 13 customers and 3 staff. The boats are only small and these meant conditions on board were cramped and uncomfortable. We finally set off to our destination after being delayed for 75 minutes. Once there we located 1 whale shark and was told to get ready which we did, however this was difficult due to the number of people on board. Once ready were told that we were to go in groups of 3?? For myself and partner were paired up with a very nervous Asian lady. We sat on the side of the boat and ready and when the captain said go we went the first time the Asian lady landed on my partner which prevented us seeing the whale shark as by the time my partner sorted her self out it had swam by us, the second time the Asian lady swam across me kicking my mask clean off my face. This were the on two times were able to get in the water. We saw the whale shark for at most 10 seconds. Lunch was provided on board which conceded off 1 can of coke and a small plastic tub of prawns. Then we returned back to Cancun for our drive back to the hotel we arrived back at the hotel at 18.30.

We feel that this trip was not up to the usual standard of Thompson excursions and that not only was it miss sold to us it also broke the Mexican laws that the tour operators must abide to when running whale shark trips.

We have provided photographic evidence to the dive shop we use in Puerto aventuras of what we witnessed in regard to the laws broken and the owner is taking this up with the authorities in Mexico.

 

Secondly we, both as qualified scuba divers prefer to take our own diving equipment abroad when planning any scuba diving and always travel with Thompson due to the fact that they allow us to carry extra weight for diving equipment, 5kg per person on production of cert card. We always carry our cert card inside our passport holders for ease, as when checking in the desk clerk has the required information at hand

On the outward flight to Mexico we checked in 3 bags one each for personal items and one for diving equipment. We were checked in fine, however at Cancun airport for the return journey the desk clerk charged us excessive baggage allowance for our diving equipment which was 8kg charged at £15 per kg plus a charge for paying by credit card.

We tried to explain to the clerk that we were allowed this as part of our allowance and even opened the bag to show her that it was diving equipment inside. She spoke very little English and said it needed to be in out personal cases and not in an extra case.

My partner rang Thompson customer services before we travelled to make sure we were still eligible for the extra weight and we were told yes, but it had to be packed separately which it was, and we had no issues on the outward bound part of our flight.

 

Lastly, on arrival at east midland airport we collected our cases and mine had a large tear across the bottom of the case, I approached the lost and damaged desk where I was told the desk is not yet open! However the lady said she would try and fill in the necessary paperwork which she did, however she said it was hardly anything and in future I should buy cheap luggage as there easy to just use and then throw away as they always get damaged anyway, she then proceeded to tell me how her case got damaged from a return flight from Egypt and she just went to Primark and purchased a new 1. This comment I feel is totally unacceptable and frankly shocking. Damage is damage regardless of how much it was originally purchased for.

 

We feel very let down with parts of the service we received during the two weeks holiday booked with Thompson for the reason mentioned above. We don’t normally complain and that while we do realise that mistakes and things do happen these points are not expectable and need addressing. We have seeked advice today and we request we be refunded for the trip and excessive baggage charge for diving equipment in full this to include the charges paid for using the credit card.

We will also be forwarding this letter to our credit card company along with photo copies of all attachments present.

 

We request a reply within 7 working days from the date of this letter before taking matters further.

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

I am also going to include all reciepts well photocopys along with this letter

 

thank you in advance

[Loubychew]

If you do not get the reply you want, write again but you need to cut your letter right down to bare facts, what you expected and paid for and what you got. Bullet points, clear and concise.

 

Take out all the superfluous text about partners mother being ill, the lady being Asian (what relevence is her race any way?), what the lady at the lost and damaged desk said to you.

 

Did you do a report with your rep in resort? Did you complain to a rep in the airport about the charge for excess baggage?

 

Don't expect a reply in 7 days. Tour Ops have 28 or 35 days to reply (I can't remember which).