Have you sent any recorded delivery letters requesting the pack? At the moment phonecalls won't give you much of a case against them and I doubt very much that you would be able to get the deposit back at this stage unless of course the packs you are waiting for actually form part of the contract you have entered into.

How did you book this? In a travel shop, by telephone or on the internet?
You say you have made five telephone calls - did you obtain the name of the person you spoke with?

You say that each time you have been told they will send you a new one. Are they saying each time that one has been sent and you have not received it? Have you checked that they do have the correct address?

I am puzzled at your comment about two different dates for your wedding. You do not say where this is to take place but there will be residency requirements. Did you give them a preferred date which they have changed? That could be down to various factors in whichever place you are planning to get married - availability of a registrar for example. You have not said why so we can only surmise.

Cancelling and any additional charges or refunds will be governed by the Terms & Conditions. I would think that the deposit will not be refunded - you need to check whatever paperwork you have as it will state in there.
There is of course no guarantee that switching to Thomson will be any better.

Telephone calls and emails really are not the way in which you should be organising an event such as this. You need to put everything down in writing and send recorded delivery - you will be able to track online that it has been received by them.

Whilst we may have sympathy with your predicament without knowing more it is difficult for us to assist you.

fwh

The wedding package and holiday were booked in the closest Thomas Cook branch to my home town, for the obvious reasons that it is my wedding, and booking it online or over the phone wouldn't exactly be the brightest idea. I was given a consultant to contact from the branch for any queries/changes and for general info on the booking. It was herself that I have spoken to and each time she has been baffled as to why we have not yet received our wedding pack, and each time has also put in a request for a new one. The wedding is in Cyprus next June at the Amathus Beach Hotel, full payment to be paid by end of February. We put a request in for the 5th or 6th of June at 3pm for the actual wedding day and were told we would be contacted within 5 weeks with confirmation date. This also took double the time. And when it was finally confirmed I was told the 6th, which we then told friends and family, only to find from ringing again (to query the wedding pack) it is actually the 5th and had been told the wrong date! Now I don't know whether it is down to my consultant I have been given to deal with my booking, or Thomas Cook themselves that are extremely, in my opinion, incompetent, but someone here is doing a pretty poor job. As for your comment about no guarantee Thomson may be any better, at the moment Thomas Cook have so far filled me with zero confidence so why should I carry on with them?

Well I'm no expert but if I was in your shoes i would be absolutely livid!! it's your wedding for goodness sake, probably THE most important day in your life. I would send a recorded delivery letter to TC head office, outlining (brief and to the point) the main problems you've had and stating that you're giving them x amount of days to get the pack to you otherwise you are cancelling due to their incompetence and will be taking it further if they refuse to refund your deposit.

Thanks for the additional information - replies may sometimes give the impression that you are being interrogated which is not so. It is simply that the questions asked are aimed at getting as fuller picture as possible.

The wedding package and holiday were booked in the closest Thomas Cook branch to my home town, for the obvious reasons that it is my wedding, and booking it online or over the phone wouldn't exactly be the brightest idea.

You obviously have done this in the correct way. By booking at the branch you have established a point of contact. Have you been back to the branch and what have they said? In my opinion they should have intervened on your behalf and contacted the relevant department once your problem became apparent. The branch will be receiving credit/commission on this.

The wedding is in Cyprus next June at the Amathus Beach Hotel, full payment to be paid by end of February.

My concern here is that the clock is ticking. The longer this drags on then you are possibly incurring more charges based on the cancellation charges that can be applied.

We put a request in for the 5th or 6th of June at 3pm for the actual wedding day and were told we would be contacted within 5 weeks with confirmation date. This also took double the time. And when it was finally confirmed I was told the 6th, which we then told friends and family, only to find from ringing again (to query the wedding pack) it is actually the 5th and had been told the wrong date!

Not very professional on their part, but from what you have said that would seem to apply to the manner the whole booking has been handled. I would be asking for an explanation for this.

Now I don't know whether it is down to my consultant I have been given to deal with my booking, or Thomas Cook themselves that are extremely, in my opinion, incompetent, but someone here is doing a pretty poor job

I would hazard that it is both. What appears to be a rather incompetent consultant and poor overview by Thos Cook.

, at the moment Thomas Cook have so far filled me with zero confidence so why should I carry on with them?

Understandable. Personally I would first visit the shop and obtain the name of someone senior enough in Thos Cook to resolve your problem. I would then put in writing my dissatisfaction with the way in which the booking has been handled. List the various points. None supply of the pack. Incorrect date being notified. Your very serious concern that the whole thing may unravel, leaving you and your guests without a wedding. I would send this recorded delivery stating that unless you had a satisfactory reply with seven days then you would consider this as an indication that Thos Cook has no intention of fulfilling the contract they have entered into with you. In such you would be seeking refund of monies paid and compensation for stress caused. You might also consider contact with trading standards or even the local press. The latter love to publish headlines saying "brides wedding put in jeopardy by uncaring tour operator" Works wonders does that

You might browse out Cyprus forum here
http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=138937
this section deals specifically with Cyprus weddings and has posts from other members getting married there with questions and answers.

fwh

Thank you for your help. I'm so stressed with it all because of like you said, the clock is ticking, and having to start fresh may not give the wedding dates we would like. We chose June because it was the only time our nearest and dearest could be there so any other dates could jeopardize the whole wedding. Il draft a letter of complaint today and speak to the branch. Having just spoke to my partner he told me he called the shop 2 weeks ago querying the wedding pack to receive a reply of 'well to be fair you do have a while until the wedding so I wouldn't worry too much' ...I'm livid. This more so is making me think its the staff within the branch that are being unprofessional. I've been pretty laid back about this until now but obviously too laid back.

you definitely need to go back into the shop and demand that these problems are rectified. I used to work for TC and when I booked weddings for people I took care of everything for them. If the wedding pack was late I would chase it up with the weddings department. After all that is why people book in the shop in the first place, for the service! Go back in and see if you can speak to the manager.

Good evening, maybe this will help.

I booked my wedding through Thomas Cook Jan 2009. Paid deposits, had a free wedding package and was promised my wedding pack would reach me within 2 weeks. I got nothing for atleast 3 months. I thought over here with TC it was a bit of a shambles to be honest. Nothing but chasing. When it did arrive, it was a load of rubbish. It gave menu choices (not even done in the hotel!!!), explained that music can only be played at certain parts of the island and that most things will be sorted out in resort. In hindsight, the pack is probably a waste of money. In your T & C's it states that you also have to call before departure ( a few weeks) to confirm that you are taking the extra allowance for wedding clothes. This took me WEEKS! I could never get through to the call centres so I ended up calling a department that had nothing to do with my booking or the weddings team, but the lady got it sorted for me!

When we got out there the wedding was organised within 15 minutes and no sign of thomas cook having any input at all. There was no mention about music, no mention about the menu choices. Being that we got married in the Dominican we couldnt find out what date we were getting wed til we got out there. This suited us fine as our wedding party was there throughout with us.

We got stuck abroad with the ash cloud, and I have to be honest, TCX really looked after us and got us back to the Uk within a week, put us up, etc. So for this I will always trust them to get us back safely.

All in all, I think its a shambles the way it was handled through thomas cook before departure. All i wanted was a price list of the extras and they couldnt even do that. we wanted was a nice relaxing experience and that didnt start until we got there. We had an unforgettable wedding/honeymoon/rescue home! and wouldnt change it for the world... BUT if you are the kind of bride who wishes to know exactly what is going on every step of the way then maybe this isnt for you!?

If you have any other questions feel free to email me. hope this helps!

Have you tried contacting the hotel direct to see if they have a wedding organiser?
We are off to a hotel in Cuba and the wedding package is booked through TC, however whilst I was trying to get details of the cost of extras and what was included in the basic pack, I also asked the hotel, who replied with the name and emai address of their own wedding coordinator, who will be handling it all anyway, so apart from giving TC the basic details, we will be organising everything direct with the hotel.

The OP last posted on Tue Nov 15, 2011. It seems that there has been a change to HT so we are unable to check if they have visited since. Perhaps the Mods may be able to assist.

Plenty of good advice has given. It is very important that when people anyone posts with a problem that they should update us. We try to assist whenever we can but often the way in which the problem is resolved may help others in the future.

fwh

The member has not logged in since 17 November.

David