On Monday I received an email from their Customer Service Dept advising me that as they act as "agent only" for all the hotels that they book, they are unable to assist me & I would have to make a claim directly with the hotel in Turkey. This would mean appointing a lawyer in Turkey & funding it myself. Apparently the hotel have confirmed that they have received no further complaints regarding Salmonella from any other guest during Summer 2011. Now that's exactly what I expected to hear. Who is going to admit that there are a string of others who complained about the same thing? I'm just puzzled that it has taken 21 weeks for me to receive this reply??? I have come to the conclusion that my complaint has sat in their office for the last few months, no investigations have taken place & in all honesty I'd be surprised if the hotelier is even aware of my allegations. I had a few chuckles reading the letter though. The lady from Hotels4U has offered me the following explanation of how my daughter may have contracted Salmonella QUOTE "Unfortunately it is the case that a small minority of people do suffer from gastric like symptoms when travelling to resorts around the Mediterranean particularly during the height of the summer. This is usually due to a change in climate, a change in diet & drinking cold drinks in warm conditions. It would therefore appear that your daughter perhaps picked up the Salmonella bacteria when her immune system was already lowered" UNQUOTE Oh dear!!! I've heard some excuses in my time, but this takes the biscuit!!!! My daughter is a healthy child. She doesn't suffer from any pre-existing illnesses & she isn't on any medication. In fact, the only reason I didn't panic when she first started showing signs of illness in Turkey, is because she's such a healthy child that I simply thought she had a bit of an upset tummy. So along with this explanation I have also received £20 off my next booking with them as a gesture of goodwill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is what I waited 21 weeks for!!!!!! HaHaHa!!!!!!! How funny!!!!!!!!!
Hotels4U simply act as "agent only" for all bookings. So, if you have a problem with a hotel then they do not take liability as they are only a "booking agent".
Can I just reiterate that by booking through Hotels4U you have absolutely nowhere to go should something happen. Whether it be illness/accident/theft etc.....you will have to fight your own corner directly with the hotel. This is fine whilst you're in resort, but once you return to the UK it can prove rather difficult. Hotels4U will take your money but there will be no aftercare whatsoever. They are not members of ABTA/ATOL.....nothing!!!! They are not overseen by any governing body. They are part of the Thomas Cook group, but in my experience Thomas Cook will ignore your letters/emails/phone calls, leaving you with nowhere to turn!! I'm very disappointed as I never would've even booked with this company in the first place. It's only because I saw they were part of Thomas Cook that I felt reassured that not only would my money be protected, but I expected a certain level of service. Oh dear!!! How wrong was I? You certainly live & learn..........
