Hi Myke, and welcome to HT.... .
In my opinion it's too long, too much information. I would keep it short and to the point, just about your accident, how it affects you. Someone will be along shortly to give more advice I'm sure, but meantime I hope you're feeling better, and good luck, Linda.

Thanks Linda

I agree. Condense it down quite a bit. They don't need to know why/and who you were with when you were going down the stairs for instance.

Probably bullet points may help.

Give them your holiday reference number if you still have it. Also don't give them too much information that they could use as an excuse as to why the steps were slippery.

Show us your new letter and we'll try and help you out if you would like.

Does the hotel belong to Thomson's or to a specific group of hotels. If the latter, whilst you will still probably want to tell Thomson's about it, you might be better off claiming against the hotel group that owns the hotel you were in......... and if the owners are not a UK business, you should contact a travel law solicitor - such as Ros Fernihough who pursues cases on behalf of the HT members who contact her. She does not read the forums, but her telephone number is a sticky on this thread; She offers free advice, and good advice at that, because members who need to use her get the results they hoped for!

I do hope you mend quickly. Being in plaster is NOT nice (my OH currently is in plaster up to his shoulder for a broken wrist) and hot weather doesn't help. All good wishes, and best of luck in pursuing your claim.

Also- what exactly is it you want from them? You need to be very specific on that.
I have to be very honest here and say that I would not be hopeful of any compensation from them. But I'm more than happy to be proven wrong

I am considering taking further action, but felt obliged to write to you first.

You need to make it clear what you want from Thomson and why you are drawing this to their attention. Are you expecting/wanting them to offer you compensation? In which case you should say so and tell them exactly what for and why. Or are you just wanting them to draw this accident to the attention of the hotel? In which case they will probably just reply, thanking you for doing so.

If you are you thinking of suing for damages because of negligence on the part of the hotel and/or Thomson's then unless you have further evidence than you indicate in your letter then I think you'll have a bit of an up hill struggle. After the event and now that you are back home, it's going to be difficult to prove what, if anything, you slipped on and without photos it's going to be difficult to prove that it was badly lit etc. Also, as you admit you were on your way back to the apartment after spending the evening in the bar it will be difficult to prove that you weren't the worse for wear - please don't think that I'm saying or assuming that you had too much to drink - just that it will be hard to prove now that you weren't, it will the easiest defence for the hotel to offer.

On the other hand, if you are complaining about the follow-up customer service you received from Thomson re your return journey then I suspect that you will need to prove that you asked for this and not just that it wasn't provided. They could say that as you weren't travelling alone, in the absence of any request from you for assistance that they did not know you needed it.

My mother is disabled and on the whole we find the assistance provided by TOs and airlines to be very good but you do need to formally request it and they normally ask a lot of questions about just how much assistance and of what type you need. In your letter it sounds as if you were very happy with the assistance provided in resort by the Rep but if he didn't advise you of the need to request assistance at the airport and then process that request then they were very remiss - it was his job to sort this out for you. Thomson's are unlikely to accept that they have any responsibility for providing assistance if nobody made them aware of this at the time. You're likely to score something of an own goal by singing the praises of Ross the rep whilst still expecting Thomson to offer you compensation for him not doing his job properly.

Finally, have you spoken to your insurance company yet? I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but it sounds as if you were treated privately for this accident and unless you cleared this with them first, depending on the T&Cs of your policy they might reject your claim. However, again depending on the cover provided by your policy, or any other personal accident cover you have (sometimes this is offered as an add-on to house insurance), you might find that they will underwrite any legal action for negligence. But you really do need to speak to them as soon as possible. And I would suggest that if you are thinking of suing the hotel and/or Thomson for negligence then you need to get specialist legal advice BEFORE you have any communication with eithr of them because you need to make sure that in any letter you send them that you don't undermine your own case before you even start. Far better to take specialist advice and then if they think that you have a case, leave it them to pursue it on your behalf.

SM

SM

Did you ask for assistance from a porter at the hotel?

Did you request a wheelchair at the airport (don't know if they are available) but we all have to queue unfortunately.

The rep obviously had tried to help at the airport - the aircraft seating - and I am a little surprised he did not find you a wheelchair.

I cannot comment on the lighting other than some areas around pools are not well lit at nights and there is a risk, when, as in your case, you make use of facilities that are really for daytime use.

The chap with the clipboard was probably doing what he should be - when an accident is reported then an inspection/risk assessment should be carried out.

I would think they were required to do this by Thomson - you had reported it to the rep. They will be required to submit an incident report. Did you complete a form yourself whilst there?

I think you may have difficulty with this but in your position I should certainly approach them.

Who are you insured with? Have you read through the policy?

Whichever way the matter is unlikely to be resolved very quick.

fwh

meant to say- I can sympathise with you as I have broken my ankle before and its amazing how disabling crutches are. I wish you as speedy a recovery as you can get.

Carrying bags, unless the hotel has a porter then there is little that anyone could do except perhaps someones goodwill, be it a fellow holidaymaker or perhaps a staff member. Similar at the airports (the are H&S rules that mean reps cant carry bags) although the handling agents at the arrivals hall do have some assitance but due to the sytems abuse it does seem alot harder to get.

Wheelchairs at las Palmas airport are widely available. There may have been one earmarked for you on arrival, did you ask? you said you were made to stand and queue with everyone else, there are seats available and you only need to be at the check in desk when you actually check in.. were you advised of this?

Some replies may sound a little harsh, but its all in the interest of getting you the best result.

I would second the advice of getting in touch with Ros sooner rather than later

PS Kudos for thread title

Thank you all for the advice. I'll have a sit down later and try and condense it down..I do waffle on a bit I know. I suppose some sort of compensation would be nice, but I know I probably ain't got a cat in hells chance.
I don't know who actually owns the hotel, we booked it through Thompson so presumed it was theirs. I didn't fill in any forms and wasn't asked to either. The doctor told me we would get help with our baggage, but when I mentioned this to our rep he just laughed and said he must have been joking.
I might give Ros a phone, because I'm not sure how to go about things. I've been in touch with the insurance company and the forms should be in the post.
I hear stories of people complaining over stupid little things and getting some good results. So it's a bit disheartening to hear that I really did hurt myself and will probably get nothing from this. And no I wasn't drunk, although I can't prove it. I never get drunk when out with my daughter. Besides I was playing bingo for god sake...lol

Hows that then

Having just returned home from our 2 week holiday at Cay Beach Princess at Gran Canaria. I felt that I should write to you regarding an accident I had on the complex.
On Wednesday night 25/06/08. Whilst on my way back to our apartment, I slipped and fell down some steps, breaking my heel in the process.
I then spent the last 3 days of my holiday on crutches and my leg in plaster, at the complex unable to do a lot. Which was very frustrating.
I am considering taking further action to try and get some compensation for my holiday being ruined, but felt obliged to write to you first. I am now going to be off work now for weeks and don't know how I'm going to manage.

Now you'll probably say theirs not enough information.

I really feel you need to be clear about what action you are going to take. To be honest, I wouldn't send anything yet till you work out what it is you want and I definitely think that first you need to contact someone like Ros whose details you got earlier. Have a look here for an explanation of what Ros does and her contact number.

If you are making a claim against the Hotel or whoever then the main issue is about pain and suffering and how this effected you. You will also need all the documentation given to you by the Hospital etc. Did the Rep make out an accident report? As someone has already the Hotel will have a procedure that they will adhere to. I suppose they could say well that there it is going to be possibly wet there as it is in the vicinity of the Pool.
At the end of the day they will decide whether they could be expected to know what consequences and whether they took any appropriate action. Garden water etc not an easy call.

I think before you do anything you need to take legal advice whether this is from Ros or another lawyer. You will lose wages in having to be off work and it sounds as thought you will not be paid during this time.

Don't really know whether the hotel are liable or not. You could try to find out who owns the hotel by looking on line.
It may be part of a group and if you have this information then you can give this to whoever you speak when seeking advice re your potential claim.

Good luck and do get well soon.

Sue

Hi Myke, I think you need to put in there that there was something on the steps that caused you to slip, as per original post.
Just a note here, if you ever have to send any documentation, please only send copies, NEVER the originals.
Also, you need to be asking for compensation for your injuries/loss of earnings.
IMO you really need to speak to Ros. Linda.

A similar kind of thing happened to my son, last year - he slipped around the pool and dislocated his knee. OUCH!!
He went off to hospital, where he was charged £540!! Back at the hotel, they provided him with a wheelchair, he had wheelchair assistance at the airport (great! no queing for any of us), we were put on the plane first and he was given a row of seats to himself and then given wheelchair assistance back at Manchester. This was all arranged by our rep (first choice).
The following day notices were put around the pool, saying beware slippy surface (which of course it was).
The £540 was refunded by his insurance company (less the excess). We made no further claim, as we felt we had been fairly treated by both the hotel and the holiday company.
On this years holiday to the hotel, we noticed that the safety signs were still in place.!!
Denny

I am considering taking further action to try and get some compensation for my holiday being ruined, but felt obliged to write to you first.

TO response - Well that is nice - just don't expect us to pay it!

Sorry but that does not get your point across.

As Fiona said

what exactly is it you want from them?

She is quite correct - You do need to give your letter a great deal of thought before you send it.

Who do you think will be paying you compensation (if any)?

Very simple - your contract was with Thomson and it is from them who you are seeking recompense. The hotel was contracted by them and is the third party in this. You would in effect be claiming negligence from the hotel for lack of lighting or an obstruction or slippery surface not signed.

Your claim is against Thomson, do not get side tracked on this.

The suggestion of an initial consultation with Ros or another solicitor skilled in dealing with TOs is your first step.

fwh

Hiya Myke,

I can only agree with everyone else about contacting Ros for advice.

The complaint reads to me like they will put it down to an accident that could not have been prevented and will say that you did not request further assistance at the time.

That is not my personal take on it by the way but knowing how they work I know that it will be their take on the situation.

Through experience I know that you need your letter to be a detailed manual, have photographic evidence, witnesses, and to have followed company procedure with regards to complaints in resort and proof of this before they will usually begin to listen.

I wish you the very best of luck

On advice from Pam (Ros secretary), I was told to give as much detail as poss and not mention how much compensation I expected.
The key is to let them make an offer....that is admitting liability and gives you a leg to stand on (excuse the pun).
I guess it would be best to contact Ros for advice as it doesn't cost anything and it's better to be safe than sorry.
Good luck!