Similar story a few threads down you might get some info and help there .

On The Beach actually post here on HT with the agreement of the moderators. There is a topic further down from which I have pasted below.

Good Afternoon,

Please can you send me details of your order to forums@onthebeach.co.uk where I will look into this issue and get back to you.

Many thanks

_________________
On The Beach Employee - Verified by Admin of HT

OTB are one of only two travel companies (the other is Travel republic) who actually stick their head above the parapet and state that if any member has a problem they will try to sort it out if details are sent to them at the email address shown.

May I suggest that you send them the details as they ask.

fwh

Thanks fwh, I have just emailed on the link you sent, I will keep you posted on the response

One thing i have noticed when doing a seach on their website, once you have selected the flights and hotel, at the bottom of the screen it says:

These are live prices and may increase at any time. Book now to avoid disappointment. If you find a cheaper price we'll refund the difference

Basically, if the prices are live at the time of confirmation, why are people being called for extra money and it's not just for an extra £10 because someone else has taken the last seats at that fare.
The above statement is basically saying to the consumer that prices may increase so book it now to safeguard your holiday.

Is it me or is this a false statement or maybe should be worded another way as although the price is supposedly live, you are very unlikely to get it at that price, as a friend of mine booked via the web on Thursday last week to be called yesterday afternoon that the holiday was no longer available and they would need extra money to secure alternative flights.
Needless to say that they never got their money and has booked elsewhere.

On The Beach - you are doing yourselves no favours by using this practice, why do some online companies have to play like a bunch of crooks.
Why does it take 4-5 days to process a reservation.

hi leisure lad....I dont use OTB...but thought Id ask this incase our guest readers were interested....just to clarify a point about what you say....

quote...Is it me or is this a false statement or maybe should be worded another way as although the price is supposedly live, you are very unlikely to get it at that price, as a friend of mine booked via the web on Thursday last week to be called yesterday afternoon that the holiday was no longer available and they would need extra money to secure alternative flights.
Needless to say that they never got their money and has booked elsewhere....unquote

So it seems....if you are an OTB customer
When you book online you have to put card details in and pay a deposit by clicking confirm .....deal is deemed to be done....as for eg in rob63's post when things go wrong ie you make a mistake.... or site makes a mistake ....and the wrong price or holiday details are shown after .....or you just change your mind....and you contact OTB maybe only hours later....you would be asked to pay admin fee to change things ....and you would loose your deposit if you canceled...

But if you are OTB admin staff
When a customer books online ...agrees to pay a price for a certain holiday....and pays a deposit....they could be called later and asked to pay more....as it seems deal not done till OTB confirms it...

So what happens to deposit paid on net if customer cancels....as customer only agreed to buy a particular holiday for a certain price....if OTB then wont confirm at the price you originaly agreed to pay....then the contract between you would no longer exist......so I presume your friend deposit was refunded in full

Hi all, just to keep you informed, I have received a reply to the email I sent on Monday and basically what otb are saying is that they have checked their website for glitches and none have been reported. I am absolutely 100% certain that the hotel we chose was changed after we submitted to pay as we both checked everything was correct before accepting, i have booked flights, hotels, etc many times online without one problem till now. They are now saying the want us to pay another £190 which takes the price to over £700! And as a gesture of goodwill they are reducing the admin fee to £40!! Whoopee doo! I can get the same hotel for the same week on alpharooms for £574 but if we cancel the booking then we wont get a penny of the £512 we have paid! I have sent a recorded delivery letter to the m.d of otb today with my grievance. Lets hope it can be resolved this way. Looking at the many posts on this website with complaints against otb it looks like we aren't alone

Quick footnote
just ran a price check on the hotel we had booked on otb for same dates and the price quoted was £473.24 for both of us. This was somewhere near the price we were first quoted when we made the booking. As you can see ,the price they are asking for the hotel now is almost £200 more than they are quoting today!! £512 we have paid=

£512 we have paid+£190 to change booking= £712, bit of a difference dont you think?

hi rob63.....a while ago I was mooching on the net looking for a cheaper way to go on hols to a hotel I'd been to and liked...and thought there was a glitch as didnt always get the hotel Id clicked on come up when page changed...after reading what happened to you I wouldnt feel safe booking on the net with OTB...it seems they dont give benefit of doubt...just insist the site is working fine...tweetie

I have just emailed otb yet again to justify why they want to charge us £662 for the hotel we originally booked ( £702 - £40 admin fee),yet they are advertising the hotel for £473 today! although that means nothing when you book and pay as I now know! I have also asked them if they will pricematch, as they say on their website " We Wont Be Beaten On Price" Incidentally £554 today on alpharooms. Lets await their reply to that!

On Trip Advisor some people had their hotel changed at the last minute by OTB.
They were disappointed as they were going over Christmas but it turned out for the best because the hotel they were moved to was a brand new hotel named the Royal Grand Azure in Nabq Bay.
If this is the hotel they are offering you I would accept it for the same price rather than pay ant further administration fees.

If you paid bt credit card or by VISA debit card.........drop this whole can of worms in their lap. Breach of contract I'd say.

Mike

Well four days and 2 emails later have heard no more from otb. Mike I paid by credit card so maybe thats the way to go now

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David HT Mod

Hi all,
After many emails and letters of complaint I am pleased to say that we have managed to get the hotel we chose in the first place It was only after emailing otb from this wesite that I got my grievance resolved so thanks to all who posted especially tweetie who mailed otb personally from this site. We had to pay an extra £40 admin fee but all other charges were dropped which I was happy with as it was on a par with prices quoted from alpharooms etc. Thank you Justine at otb for sorting the problem for us. Can now look forward to a nice relaxing holiday

Pleased you have now got the result you wanted. Without going into the rights and wrongs OTB are one of only two companies that have offered publicly here on HT to assist people. Just a pity that all the others cannot take a leaf out of their book.

fwh

Many thanks for the update. Glad to here you were able to resolve the issue.

luci

So glad you got sorted rob63....and I agree fwh about others taking a leaf from OTB's resident caring employee....and look what a difference it makes....that one lovely man has done a big job for OTB's customer relations and reputation this week....he needs promoting for his inititive and insite into what really counts....any company can get things wrong....make mistakes ect....its what they do about it that matters in the end..... tweetie