Did you pay Hotelstogo any money when you booked ?

Hi Mike
Yes we paid the whole balance for 6 of us.

Then it lloks like Hotelstogo are in breach of contract. Taking full payment for accommodation and then not booking that accommodation sounds like fraud to me. Check that aspect with the local police station.

If you paid by credit card and the transaction cost was over £100 you have some redress against the credit card company should Hotelstogo fail to recompense you.

I'd say you should as a minimum be able to recover all of your costs in attempting to resolve the problem (such as phone calls). You should also be able to claim for the transfer costs from one hotel to another and vice versa. Loosing a day of the weekend is a toughie. Not sure how you stand on that one as, at the end of the day you did get hotel accommodation - albeit not what you were expecting. If it can be proven that the hotel you stayed in for the second night was of a lower standard and cost compared to the one you booked you should be refunded for that as well.

Hi Mike
We made them send us a fax to the first hotel to say that we can claim back taxi, lunch and phone calls.

I think our main gripe so to speak is the loss of our first day and the fact that for 7 hours we didn't know whether we would have anywhere to sleep on our second night and the way we were treated by the company when we were trying to resolve the situation eg. 20 odd phone calls and not returning our calls. We just wanted to be kept in the picture and some reassurance that they were dealing with our situation. We couldn't go far in case we had to move and just couldn't settle and of course then there was the inconvenience of wasting time moving to yet another hotel for the 2nd night.

The only good thing to come out of the total c**k-up was that when we moved hotels it was to a 5*. Now you may say you were lucky and of course we know that in a way we were but it was in a different part of town which required taxis to get into the town centre. I wonder if they would have put us in a 5* if there was any choice as literally everywhere was full due to the Bon Jovi concert.

It would have been different if we had longer in Dublin but it just messed everything up and we had at least 3 very upset, stressed out women in our group.

I have compiled a letter on our behalf and will get the receipts together and see what happens.

It was interesting to find out from the hotel though that they only receive payment once they have invoiced the company but they have had our money for months.

Thanks for any help though.

It was interesting to find out from the hotel though that they only receive payment once they have invoiced the company but they have had our money for months.

Carrie, this is one aspect that's always worried me when dealing with booking agencies, Travel Agents, ticket agencies etc. The agent may go bust before paying the hotel and securing the booking. That's why I'd always pay for such with a credit card - you're covered then if the total cost is over £100 (and below £30,000) and your card's issued in Britain.

You've done the right thing with regard to receipts. I doubt you'll get anywhere with the loss of a day claim or the hassle factor other than by taking the matter to a small claims court - probably not worth it really. Best bet, give Hotelstogo a wide berth in future and accept my thanks for warning me of this poor outfil - I'll avoid them as well.

Mike

Thanks Mike you have been very helpful. I would definately give this company a wide berth as will we. We booked with a credit card in Feb for our trip in May so they can hold on to peoples money for months then. Obviously the hotels we stayed in still haven't been paid.

I think on this occasion by the time we have got our expenses back and they have paid for a 5* hotel for 1 night when we were only originally staying in a 2* they will be out of pocket.

Some comfort but if you had seen us on Friday and how angry we all were at the way we were treated you would definately want something out of it. Blood springs to mind.

We were discussing whether it is safer to book a package in future and not DIY????????

Thanks for your advice.

Hi car
Perhaps you should stick to Butlins (Minehead )

lol

padman

Carrie

Sorry to hear about your weekend.

On another note - I bet the weight fell off with all the stress.

Regards Jackiew

Trouble is Jackie we overcompensated and ate and drank far too much.

Thanks Padman but Butlins aint my thing?

I will let you know the outcome of this.