teecee1941,

firstly, welcome onboard
There are two ways of getting around the phone charges; you can pay online (First Choice: Yor Booking) or use the Say No to 0870 number rather than the premium rate. You'll avoid all the charges then

Darren

Hi Darren,

I had a look at the "First Choice, your booking." to pay off the balance for our holiday which was due last week. Unfortunately, this service is not available for holidays departing after May 1st 2009, which would rule out most of us, I guess.

Regards,

Degs.

They also seem to block the geographical numbers shortly after they become available on Say No to 0870.

When you add these charges to those they apply for using a credit card it all adds up but unfortunately for us, most of the TO's seem to do it this way.

Let's face it, when it comes to booking holidays, nearly everything is in their favour.

If non of the First Choice numbers on Saynoto 0870 work,I would start ringing them either 10 minutes before they open or later in the day when they are not so busy.

You could try the local shop if there is one.
Interesting point regarding this as I advised FC and thompsons as soon as the website changed that using only premium rate 0871 numbers would cause me and possibly others to look elsewhere(one of my soapbox moments!). The fact that they are actively discontinuing numbers published on the sayno site means it is a positive effort to drive up income with hidden charges and so if there is no alternative to using an 0871 number, I will NOT be booking via the web with them again.
Luckily for us we currently have both a Thomsons and FC shop that will match or in my last case better the internet prices.

I have been having a nightmare with First Choice recently. We booked up to go away at the end of May and are now deeply regretting it because all we have seen of them so far as a company is a farcical mess.

Firstly, the email confirmation they sent me when I booked online differed in the payment details from the confirmation letter I received from them. Both of them listed a number (which is also all over their wesbite as being the number to call for all booking enquiries) of 0871 200 7799, which, when I rang and waited for an answer for 20 minutes was told wasn't the correct number at all. The online area where you were supposed to be able to check your booking was taken down for whatever reason so that wasn't an option either.

In the last week I spent over 2 1/2 hours trying to get through to them on the phone on a different number I was given to find out about cancellation costs should I wish to cancel (due to my growing unease about the company) and the phone wasn't picked up once. Instead I listened to the same song playing over and over and over again with no clue as to whether they knew I was there. Heaven knows how much that cost me in phone bills, not to mention wasted time and extremely high stress levels!!!). When i then tried to phone a local first choice shop in despreation of course they couldn't help me with my booking at all because I'd made it online (although the confirmation letter I received said in several places that the way to pay my next installment was to phone or visit a first choice shop), but they did tell me that one member of staff there had spent 5 hours themselves trying to get through to the customer service line.

When I chose a different option on the phone line to see if I could get through to the reservation department of course they picked up straight away - no trouble taking new bookings of people but if you've already booked then they don't want to know you.

I have now sent 3 emails to them via their contact us page form. I got a reply to the first one about 5 days later, nothing on the other 2, but I was given another 2 phone numbers to try, neither of which are answered at all.

I have given up on the cancellation as I've now found out about the sneaky 'low deposit' situation where you have to pay back a much higher deposit than you first paid if you cancel , about £600 for us which is not an option. However - I still don't know how much I do owe them and when or how to pay if I can't pay through a shop and they won't pick up the phone. I feel like my holiday is runied already because I feel so much anger towards the company and am anticipating it being a complete nightmare from what I've seen of them so far and I would love to know if anyone else has had similar experiences? Surely I can't be the only one who has been sat on hold for hours trying to get through to them to find out what on earth is going on, how can one of the biggest holiday companies get everything so wrong?

Hi stef,
Is either of the numbers you have tried one of these. Payment and Admin. 08708503986 or you have the geographical number which is 01293816000.

Angie.

Hi Angie,

No, haven't got either of those, apart from the original (incorrect one) of 0871 200 7799 I've tried 0871 200 4455, 0844 871 0885 and 0844 871 0696 plus one more that I can't remember right now - do you think I might get a response from one of those numbers? Where did you get them from if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks very much

Stef

Stef,
I found it on SAYNOTO0807.COM, just put in First Choice in the company search and it comes up with a whole list.

Angie

Thanks again for that, will see if its been blocked as suggested by the posts above....!

I use to always book online with Eclipse direct/First choice but my local first choice has matched the web price everytime, so i always book in the shop now for better service etc.

Last year, after having problems booking with Thomsons online, we went into the local shop. We were told that if you print off the internet details for both Thomsons and First Choice holidays, they will match that price in the shop along with the low deposit. At least then you have a point of contact that doesn't involve waiting hours in a call centre queue, you can pay for your holiday in-store and pick your tickets up from there.

We wouldn't bother booking on line with either of them now - it's straight down the high street

Dial 02476 28 28 28 which is the main TUI UK & Ireland switchboard, and ask to be put through to the <fc/thomson/etc..> call centre, they usually do and it costs you either the cost of a standard call- usually the first 60 mins= free!

They won't/can't change this number very easily, as it on most of their corporate letterheaded notepaper.

(it is also on saynoto0870)

All the same problems as above. I feel like I'm on one of those phone scams.
Just thinking some time back, again with FC (surprised), I booked a holiday that the hotel was not finshed (It was on Watchdog etc).
anyway on the thread (if it is still on here) there was a direct number for them, if the line is still open of course.
Might be worth a search, Kos Aqua Beach Club.
This year has really put me off FC. I will not book via web for these again. Appauling customer service.

Thanks for all tips and advice - unfortunately have had little success, the 'cheap' numbers aren't getting through at all and all of the alternative numbers I've been given land you in the same queue on the same line with the same 1 song playing over and over again ('Praise You' by Fatboy Slim - think its FC trying to subconciously trying to get people to think kindly towards them!!). Have now been told by the same FC shop that I rang the first time that in fact we can pay through them, although they can't access our full records and don't know when we have to pay by, they also took every opportunity to tell us that we should have booked through them instead and not online because they can match the price! What a brilliant company - one side of it telling you not to use the other 'online' side because it's rubbish. I already know that but its a tad too late!
I've emailed FC to ask how I make a formal complaint because I'm still not a happy bunny but I have yet to hear back from them - what a surprise...

I'm loathed to pay any more money to FC and am anticipating the holiday being below par now but can't face having to pay £600 odd quid (the 'full deposit') to not go anywhere at all so will have to put it all down to a lesson learnt and avoid them like the plague in future. Will also be spreading the word to anyone who will listen about my experiences, thank heavens for the internet and sites like these where you can warn other people about such companies.

stef_dotcom
Try them now if you get my message in time. I got straight through for once. I do believe they have messed up, this year big time, with bookings, changes of T&C's without actually telling the customer.
I have wrote a letter to FC Head Office complaing of their customer service (or lack of it). Typical I posted it this morning then got through this afternoon!
Never mind they need to know that charging people to hang on the phone listening to 'Praise You (I hate that song now),' over and over and charging you is not acceptable. I also said I will never be booking online again

Thanks beth72,

Didn't get the message till today but my OH rang up our local FC shop this morning and paid the rest of the money there just to have it over and done with. It took him a good few tries to convince them that he could pay through them as they were sure that he couldn't (they told us last week that we could) but eventually the lady found out how to do it!! I agree, something has definitely gone wrong with their systems for it to have been so bad, wouldn't it have been nice if they had acknowledged this and apologised rather than saying in the email I got back that I just had to sit and wait on the phone? I'll be making a complaint too and have also said I will never book with them again so hopefully, you never know, if enough people have had the same experience and do the same they might get the message eventually...!

Thanks again

Hi all, just signed up to reply, a touch of deja vu here for me too.

After booking a holiday to Greece, I needed to settle the balance and it took an impossibly long time to get someone to answer. I tried twice, around 7pm in the evening and the longest I waited before giving up was 23 minutes.

To get through the trick I used, as suggested above, was to ring the minute they opened (i tried at 9am) i then got through immediately, the phone didnt have ring and I didnt have to listen to Praise You

I tried the other Sayno numbers, but got through to some strange companies!

I chose FC because they were the cheapest by a very long way, so i was determined to keep trying.

One question, why is it you cant pay for the holiday online? you can pay the deposit, so why not the balance? i meant to ask this of the operator but forgot.

Hi,

Glad to hear you made it through without bursting any blood vessels - I was certainly close during my many hours on the phone with them!
They did have an online area apparently which they suddenly made unavailable to people going away after 1st May, very dubious. Maybe they've realised their systems are rubbish and need a bit of work or maybe they're going down the pan along with everyone else ??!!