I can imagine your disappointment.
Please please may I urge the hundreds of people that have watched this thread , to carefully research their holiday before they book.... not after, to avoid such scenarios. It seems to be a particualrly British failing, perhaps believeing they are well protected by laws/ABTA/common honesty from such disasters. As has been seen, there are laws but using them is difficult, like the responses from trading standards, and in any case why put yourself through that when a little research before paying your deposit can ensure that you get the holiday that you have worked so hard for.

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 7:52 pm Post subject:

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Have any of you whom have already had a refund wondered why it has been so easy!!!!!

I bet this is the reason why, if you waited till they had to admit defeat it would cost First Choice a hell of a lot more than your deposit back.

I booked this resort back in august to travel this august, a whole 12 months in advance. Not once was I advised that it was under construction! I believed I had secured 2005 prices when booking so when we found out that the resort was unlikely to be ready, I contacted First Choice who eventually offered me a full refund or the oppertunity to transfer free of charge to an alternative resort, I was given a list of alternatives but was advised that I would have to pay the difference in price as the prices had now gone up (2006 Prices).

So I am not happy I have asked to be transfrered to an equivalent holiday at 2005 prices and at present I am waiting for a response, but have no faith what so ever that I will get a satifactory result.

So have asked that if they can't satisfy our requirements, I want a full refund plus compensation for the fact that they have had our deposit (£1040.00) for 6 months earning interest for them and not us.

All I can say is that if you admit defeat and go elsewhere for your holiday (don't blame you) make sure that First Choice don't get an easy ride of it!!!!!

found out today the day time flight has turned to a night time flight yet f.c. have not even informed me

i booked last sept for this aug, just rang and got full deposit refund back, they have admitted they have problems with construction.......back to the brocheures, good luck all

I contacted first choice this morning and was told they did have contractual problems but they are all sorted now. I also questioned the planning permission and was told that they do have planning permission!! We were told that the hotel will be open on the 1st of July. The reason you cannot book before September is because it is "fully booked" up to that date!!! However as i told the very pleasant man on the phone "Ithink this is not the case!" He did say we could transfer our holiday and wedding package but it would cost us the normal transfer fees.
We booked this hotel and wedding package for a stress free enjoyable time. I have been reading all the discussion forums from day one as i booked in May. I have now come to the conclusion i may have been less stressed if i had booked my wedding in Iraq
I just wish First Choice would be honest as everyone seems to be getting completely different information leaving us all to believe that they have something to hide
Is there anyone who has booked for September that has been offered a free transfer or money back???

Our holiday was booked for the 31st of July and on Monday of this week I transferred through first choice customer services free of charge and with the free child place. My travel agent over the previous four days spoke to several people at customer services and there was no diffculty in the free transfer although i think the child place was dependant on the person on the other end of the phone.

The reason you cannot book before September is because it is "fully booked" up to that date!!!

Then in that case all those bookings must have been made in one night, as the availability changed from availability on most dates, to no availability the very next day. It's a very strange booking pattern unlike similar properties, just look at the availability for Blue Bay Escape in St Spyridon.

There are places available most, if not every week of the season and this is a far more established / well known resort, a few kilometres away.

I wonder what caused this massive rush of bookings for Corfu Aqua Beach Club, all in the space of one night.

Oddly enough this change in availabbility took place at exactly the same time as FC's Dutch subsidary announced that they were not accepting further bookings for 2006 as they could not guarantee that the hotel would open on time - due to "unforseen circumstances in Greece"

One of those spooky coincidences I guess!

Hi-De-Hi campers. I am booked to go to Corfubeach building site on 30th June. Contacted my travel agent this morning. Result is the first choice are offering a 100% transfer or refund. My agent is now looking for equivalents. My first choice(no pun intrended) is still Corfu. My agent said to me that its strange that first choice ar not sending out letters to clients to inform them of these delays and a transfer option. Still now you know. Good luck to all in the holiday hunt!

Is there anyone from Corfu who can confirm or deny what i was told yesterday by First Choice. That planning permission has been granted. Someone on another disscussion forum was given the same information as myself.
I was hoping that someone local could enlighten as they seem to have been more open and honest than First Choice.

INTERESTING
I have just checked First Choice website and there is now no availability on any date now.
Must be completely fully booked

Is there anyone from Corfu who can confirm or deny what i was told yesterday by First Choice. That planning permission has been granted. Someone on another disscussion forum was given the same information as myself.
I was hoping that someone local could enlighten as they seem to have been more open and honest than First Choice.

The person on here most likely to be able to do it is Sue (Castaway), maybe she will spot these posts and be able to give an update.

I am in the process of trying to establish this for once and for all. No work has started. As far as everyone here is concerned the original planning permission has been repealed on environmental grounds. If there is planning permission wouldn't they be on a mission to go like the clappers to try and get this hotel built in time for summer?

today i tried to change my holiday, i do not have to pay admin. fees only because the flight has changed, they still what me to believe that it will be ready 2 weeks before i go . but i cant get free kids place now so i am stuck at the aqua beach.

I called First Choice after reading all the recent postings as we are due to travel on 4th August. They are adamant that it will open on 1st July and they will not offer a refund or tranfer for August holidays.

Has anyone else with an August departure managed to get a full refund?

I was due to go to aqua beach on the 4th august, decided to change to go turkey at the pegasus tropical still got free child place, but had to pay admin fees . But if it does not open in august I will claim it back. If you leave it to long there will be no free child places left for anywhere. I was not prepared to take the risk.

How extraordinary that is not available right to the end of the season, despite all this bad publicity it has sold well hasnt it?! . It has clearly been taken off sale yet they are telling people it will be ready....I'm confused.

flying out on 21st July and have been trying to get refund of deposit or free transfer since last September. First Choice keep fobbing me off and changing the goal posts. I read the prior two reports which were posted last Saturday and Monday who both obtained refunds and phoned FC on Weds of this week. I was also told that the hotel would be open on 1 July and therefore could not have a refund or free transfer. I told the operator about the previous refunds given and she said that she presumes that the computer did not inform the operator that the hotel would be open on 1 July when they rang up. So basically if I had phoned two days earlier I would of got a refund. Doesn't seen fair some how. I have contacted Watchdog last night via e-mail and will keep you all posted.

just to confirm I was told that they expected to open this hotel on the first of July but yet was still allowed a free transfer and my child place. It seems incredible that so many people can be given completely different advice from the same company. this information was obviously on the computer on the 13th January.It is surely up to first choice now to get their act together and agree on something, the inconsistency must be infuriating.
the travel agent that i spoke to was also very sceptical that a hotel can be completed to an acceptable standard over the next six months, particularly when work has yet to commence

Hi Folks me again. Just did a little experiment. I booked my holiday through Eclipse which is part of First Choice but have been corresponding with First Choice re refund. Have just phoned Eclipse and spoke to Neil and pretended to be a new customer and asked about availability for this hotel. GUESS WHAT ITS FULL till the end of October. I then asked Neil at what stage the building work was at and he said quote "It's already built and due to open on time on 1 May" what a complete load of rubbish. Either all FC and Eclipse staff are being kept in the dark or they are being told to lie to their customers. Thanks for your post AJM but don't know what else I can do to get a refund or transfer. It seems to me that it depends on who you talk to on the phone. Has anyone got any more recent pictures of the site or info other than the last ones taken in December