OTB use the same arguments as other cheaper on line companies, in that the say and act as your agent only,you have probably purchased what is called a dynamic package [flight and hotel] and not a package holiday, there is nothing wrong in doing this but it creates problems when something goes wrong,

to enable our more expert members to answer fully you will need to post details [do not include personal names] of your complaint, also did you pay by credit or debit card

wizard

If the complaint was about your accommodation, flight, transfer etc. then it should be directed to the supplier of the particular element you are complaining about. On The Beach are only an agent, not a tour operator, and can, but may not, act as a middleman by passing your complaint on with a covering letter (high street agents do but online booking companies often don't). To be honest it's usually better to just write direct.
It's no different to booking a holiday through a high street agent. They are not responsible for your complaint, whoever they booked your holiday with is.

Wizard HT Mod wrote:

OTB use the same arguments as other cheaper on line companies, in that the say and act as your agent only,you have probably purchased what is called a dynamic package [flight and hotel] and not a package holiday, there is nothing wrong in doing this but it creates problems when something goes wrong,

to enable our more expert members to answer fully you will need to post details [do not include personal names] of your complaint, also did you pay by credit or debit card

wizard

This is the letter I wrote to on the beach in July, They replied to this and said I would have to wait up to 56 days for a response from there suppliers, I waited over the 56 days and had not received a reply from OTB, I wrote again and they said they had not heard anything as yet, but the would send out and urgent request out to the supplier to try and get a response, that was a week ago, heard nothing since. The holiday was paid by credit card.

Dear
Sir/Madam

I have just returned from the above holiday,

The hotel was misleadingly described. It claimed to be 3 Star Accommodation but in reality it was of a very poor standard, I will set out the problems that my wife and I encountered in on our stay in these hotel/apartments, Firstly we where collected at the Airport we where transferred in an an old van which was Red Hot and uncomfortable for a journey of 1 hour and 30 minutes a good start to our Holiday! After checking in we where placed in a 6th floor apartment, the beds springs in the 2 beds had been had been repaired and replaced with Hardboard this made the beds very uncomfortable and where "very noisy" when you moved in bed, because of this we had a very disturbed first nights sleep, also we discovered that the locks on the patio doors where broken, making us very insecure and concerned about the security of our possessions and belongings, the next day I reported our findings to the Hotel Management they decided to move us to a different apartment which was a little better at least the bed had springs! This apartment had very grubby floors we had to set about cleaning them before we even walked on them, a filthy mop had been left that stunk we asked for a replacement but it was never replaced, we had to purchase one ourselves at a cost of 10euros. There where no sink plugs for the kitchen sink, bath, wash basin, we asked for plugs and where given 1 only to use between the 3. There was not an oven in the apartment so we where unable to cook anything properly, the frying pan was unfit to use photo enclosed, therefore we had to eat out more than we had planned which made the holiday more expensive, the bed sheets where paper thin, where changed only once in the 14 days, this was only done after we asked the management if these could be changed, we also had to ask for towels to be changed, and request toilet rolls on a regular basis the apartment was cleaned only once in our 14 days stay, we also had to remove our own rubbish EACH DAY, One bed mattress was stained with urine and what looked like blood stains which was a unpleasant thought sleeping on it: photo's enclosed. Some of the light switches where broken and had exposed wiring which was unsafe and dangerous photo's enclosed: Going on to the actual Hotel itself it is in dire need of an upgrade it is very grubby throughout, entrance floors to the amenities where dirty where never cleaned we seen the same dirt and stains on the flooring one our last day of the holiday that we seen on the first day. the hotel pool was dirty, crisp packets, cigarette butts, dead flies, and debris floating on top of the water, the pool side was littered with cigarette butts, poor tendered Lawn Area , there where not enough sun loungers, what was left where damaged.

We did not enjoy our stay in........ it spoilt our much looked forward to holiday, and we are really disappointed that "On The Beach" have this type of accommodation on offer to Holiday Makers. As there was not a holiday representative from On The Beach at the Hotel we where unable to make a complaint to them directly although our complaints where expressed to various members of the management staff at the hotel but went unresolved. I have to say everything else Flights, Transfers etc we encountered no problems and where very pleased.

We had intentions of booking another holiday with On The Beach in October of this year to Tenerife, but because of this bad experience we are rather dubious to say the least.

The Package Travel Regulations state I have a right to get the holiday that I was promised which in this instance was not the case, therefore,

By virtue of regulation 6 of the Package Travel Regulations, the (brochure's/website's) description formed part of our contract and you have breached that contract, as described above. I am legally entitled to receive compensation from you for the disappointment and loss of enjoyment suffered, and for the additional costs incurred. As a result of the problems described above.

I look to you to compensate me with £400.00 or alternatively another Holiday.

If within 14 days you have not made a reasonable offer of compensation I shall have no alternative but to sue you in the county court.

Yours sincerely

You didn't book a package holiday though, so don't think you'll get anywhere quoting those!
Who was the hotel booked through? How much did you pay for your accommodation (or what % is £400).
OTB is only an agent, they do not provide reps. There would have been a contact number for your accommodation supplier somewhere amongst your paperwork. Did you contact them?

Its awful when a holiday does not live up to expectations. What is the hotel's name? I'm afraid you didn't book a package holiday though. The key to using agents is to research, research, research. They are only really a tool to book hotels so find out as much as you can in advance by looking at reviews. And now, help someone else avoid having a similar holiday by reviewing this hotel.

The Hotel In Question.....Apartamentos Clube dos Arcos

Av. V3, Praia da Rocha, Portimao 8400 , Portugal.

just had a look at On The Beach for those apartments and priced it for next July. At £10 a night I wouldn't honestly be expecting very much. The reviews I have found do speak about it being tired but a good bargain.

One review I read actually said 'what do you expect for £10 a night" but most people seem to think the location makes up the hotel itself, especially at that price!

The Actual total price for the holiday was £647.20 for 2 people, even so, what ever I paid you do expect a half decent hotel, no matter where the Location, and in my opinion OTB did not provide this, and should not offer this type of sub standard accommodation and get away with it, if you don't complain they always will.

Online booking companies sell whatever they can these days. If properties are that bad then eventually no one will book them, and the accommodation supplier will stop using them. The reviews aren't that bad so many people are either prepared to put up with it, or they didn't find it that bad.

At £647, expecting a £400 refund is very unreasonable IMO. The vast majority of what you paid will have been the flights, and then there was transfers, so very little would have been for the accommodation. The accommodation supplier is unlikely to refund you so much more than you paid for it in the first place, and OTB aren't responsible.

Your complaint is with whichever company supplied your accommodation, and if you want to succeed you need to be realistic with what you want, and be able to break that figure down as to what it covers. Threatening small claims court for £400, or another holiday is unrealistic IMO.

Ok Appreciate all your comments, I will write to them again requesting a smaller amount of compensation...live and learn...I will let you know the outcome.
Regards To All Who let Comments especially Sunaddict.

Going back to your original post:

have recently wrote to On The Beach with a complaint about a holiday booked with them, they have replied, and say my complaint is the responsibility of supplier and not them, is this right.

Yes, it is right. One would like to think that OTB would be willing to try and take your complaint up on your behalf with the supplier but your complaint is the responsibility of the supplier of the hotel booking - the name should be on your confirmation letter/invoice. Any compensation would be due from them and not OTB. If one takes what OTB have told you at face value, they have forwarded your complain to the supplier and have tried to chase it up with them on your behalf but they are unlikely to do much more. If you want to continue with your complain you would probably be best advised to now try and make direct contact with the supplier. However, if they are not a UK-based company thismight be more trouble than it's worth.

As for the substance of your complaint you will need to take account of how reasonable your expectations of the accommodation were. Yes, dirt is unexcusable, fresh towels and sheets in 14 night stay would be pretty usual but in my experience the actual cooking facilities in budget self-catering apartments often are very minimal - it's common in Portugal for this to consist of only a hob (and in one instance we had one with just two rings) and no oven with only minimal utensils, I think the assumption is that people will tend to eat out rather than do a lot of cooking in the apartment. Also, I have stayed in SC villas in Portugal were we were clearly expected to buy our own toilet rolls after the one initially provided ran-out. But we just rolled with that because the villa itself was such good value for the price.

I would expect that your confirmation/invoice from OTB would contain a breakdown of the cost of the different components and as others have said - I think that the most you are ever likely to get is a refund of the accommodation costs but not compensation for much else.

SM

Hi Folks, Just to let you know I have received a full refund for my hotel costs from OTB as a Good Will Gesture.

Great news and thanks for coming back and letting us know the outcome.

SM

SMa wrote:

Great news and thanks for coming back and letting us know the outcome.

SM

Hi, You where spot on with your information, Thank you!

KEITH/ANN wrote:

Hi Folks, Just to let you know I have received a full refund for my hotel costs from OTB as a Good Will Gesture.

Thanks for the update. I think you came out of that very well!

Thanks for the update, sounds like a good result.

KEITH/ANN wrote:

Hi Folks, Just to let you know I have received a full refund for my hotel costs from OTB as a Good Will Gesture.

Many thanks for letting us know and well done

excellent result... thanks for letting us all know

wizard