Hi and welcome to HT!

An alternative number for OTB is 0161 448 4621

luci

thanks to all the reply's I have had. I don't quite understand what some people have said but we shall leave it there.

I wont every use them again, no big loss for OTB, However it seems to be there doing a great job of losing all there creditability. I personally don't expect them to see them after the crunch.
There are plenty of other holiday company's who realise good customer service is the key to success

I'm writing from On The Beach as we've just come across these reviews. Whilst we're really sorry to read these reviews, I'm pleased to say that since 2012 we've made a lot of changes to processes and within our customer service team.

Two of the big benefits of booking with an online travel agent like On the Beach are great prices and flexibility; package holidays are often around 50% more expensive with tour operators and their range is sometimes limited. We allow customers to search multiple flight options and thousands of hotels.

Our website pricing is live, this means that we take the latest price information from our suppliers and feed it into the website. However, a small proportion of bookings (less than 5%) cannot be confirmed at the price quoted at checkout. This could be for a number of reasons; suppliers change their prices several times a day, and though we refresh our flight feeds every 15 minutes, sometimes a booking can go through without having the current price. At this point it's your choice whether you want to go ahead or not.

As a business we're growing both in new customers and returning customers and our customer satisfaction scores sit at 90% (August 2013).

We're able to offer some extremely competitive holidays so I'd encourage readers to come and have a look for themselves.

Nikki
On The Beach

Well, I booked this year and still encountered the problems outlined above, so not much has changed since 2012. It is still impossible to get answers from the customer service representatives, without them just repeating the same information. I also find it appalling that the only phone number listed on your website costs 50p per minute, making trying to sort the problem out verbally, pretty impossible.

I lost a lot of money, and a holiday, all due to the fact that OTB handled my account badly, took money they shouldn't have taken, and then refused to deal with the problem.

Never again, it's back to the High Street for me.

I also find it appalling that the only phone number listed on your website costs 50p per minute, making trying to sort the problem out verbally, pretty impossible.

To be honest I cannot understand this obsession people have with telephone calls no matter what the cost. It always finishes up as he said/she said and everybody denies anything. The same applies with emails. Firing off multiple emails is a waste of time. as like the telephone calls you ever ever get the same person twice, We also have the problem of people not thinking things through with both means of communication.
Here on HT we have long advocated writing a letter and sending recorded delivery. Keep it short and on subject. You can track it so you actually know it has arrived. A well written letter will ensure your complaint is understood whereas telephone calls and emails often finish up as a rant that serves no purpose.

fwh

mrsmouse4 wrote:

Well, I booked this year and still encountered the problems outlined above, so not much has changed since 2012. It is still impossible to get answers from the customer service representatives, without them just repeating the same information. I also find it appalling that the only phone number listed on your website costs 50p per minute, making trying to sort the problem out verbally, pretty impossible.

I lost a lot of money, and a holiday, all due to the fact that OTB handled my account badly, took money they shouldn't have taken, and then refused to deal with the problem.

Never again, it's back to the High Street for me.

Why did you book with them again this year, after the problems you had in 2012?

fwh wrote:

I also find it appalling that the only phone number listed on your website costs 50p per minute, making trying to sort the problem out verbally, pretty impossible.

To be honest I cannot understand this obsession people have with telephone calls no matter what the cost. It always finishes up as he said/she said and everybody denies anything. The same applies with emails. Firing off multiple emails is a waste of time. as like the telephone calls you ever ever get the same person twice, We also have the problem of people not thinking things through with both means of communication.
Here on HT we have long advocated writing a letter and sending recorded delivery. Keep it short and on subject. You can track it so you actually know it has arrived. A well written letter will ensure your complaint is understood whereas telephone calls and emails often finish up as a rant that serves no purpose.

fwh

A few years ago I used to think recorded delivery was the best way, but not these days. I've started sending emails and phoning if I've had any problems. It's never been an issue getting things sorted out. You don't need to speak to the same person, or email them. Everything has always been recorded in the notes on the booking, or against the case reference (if it's been an official complaint).

I didn't book with them in 2012, it was stated above that a lot has changed with 2012, so it was obviously even worse then. And I prefer to talk to somebody on the phone because my complaint can be dealt with there and then, instead of waiting for replies that never come. There should be no he said/she said, as everywhere you phone now states "this call is being recorded", so surely this is for my protection as well as yours.

I'm confused msmouse4, are you saying that this post that you made almost exactly 12 months ago is not correct and that you did not book the holiday referred to in 2012?

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/forum/help-please-problem-complaint-the-beach-holidays-t131382-100.html#p1585643

Prior to NikkiOTB's post there were no new posts on this thread from OTB customers since this time last year so we actually have no way of knowing whether from the customers' perspective things have changed as she suggests or not. Unless of course you are saying that you have re-booked with them this year and experienced similar problems to those you had with the booking you made in 2012? Perhaps you can clarify exactly what and when you booked with OTB?

And I'd the are any more recent OTB customers out there it would be useful for other HT members if you could post some feedback here on as to whether you think the changes that NikkiOTB refers to have improved the situation or not.

SM

I didn't book this holiday in 2012, I booked it at the beginning of this year for Easter 2013

But the post from you in the link above is dated 17 August 2012

mrsmouse4 wrote:

Hi

I have had exactly the same problem. I wanted to book a holiday for myself and my husband for the Easter holidays next year, as I work in a school and have to go away during school holidays. I searched for Tenerife, 30th March for 1 week. I found a great holiday, so went ahead and booked it, paying a deposit of £120.20. When I received confirmation, it was for 30th April to 8th May. I contacted them immediately and told them that this was wrong and I needed to change it, explaining why. They got back to me to say that there were no flights on 30th March. They could do 3rd to 10th April but this would cost me an extra £288, which I had to pay immediately. As I could not afford to do this, I had to leave it. In the meantime, the balance of the deposit (£174) is due. I asked them to remove my debit and credit cards so they could not take the payments, which they say they cannot do as they are encrypted. The only way I can stop them is to cancel my cards but I'm going on holiday tomorrow and need them, so have had no choice but to pay the balance, to buy me some time to consider what to do. I tried to phone them to discuss it, but refuse to pay 50p per minute for a phone call. It seems like they have got us, every which way, and they really don't care about all their negative reviews. I just wish I had had the sense to check them out before I ever went on their website.

Lyn (now paying for a holiday I can't use, or exorbitant cancellation fees)

SM

I know and I have no idea why. I did not book in 2012, it was just after the new year for a holiday for Easter 2013. I had all the dates correct, but when it all came through, it was booked for 30th April, not March. I had no money to change the booking and could not afford the cancellation fee and to book another holiday. I ended up paying £1500 approx. for a holiday I could not take

But you made the post last year in 2012 when you first joined Holiday Truths the next post was a welcome one from Luci.

In your post you said next year, so you must have made the booking in 2012. Or am I now getting confused.

This is getting ever more bizarre and even more confusing. Even if it left you without enough money to re-book another holiday for the correct dates, would it not have been cheaper to cut your losses and pay the cancellation fee rather than pay for a holiday you couldn't use?

I can understand that you are frustrated and unhappy with OTB based on the experience you describe but these sort of inconsistencies in your posts undermine the credibility of your feedback. Far from serving as a warning to other HT members it makes it more likely that they will dismiss what you have said. Could it be that your memory is playing tricks with you and that you made this booking more than the 3 months in advance that you now recall?

SM

I've just checked, I was confusing myself. I DID book in 2012. I started trying to change the date from August 2012, to no effect. After the New Year break was over, I realised I had to get this resolved as my balance was becoming due, so to stall things while it was being sorted, I changed my bank card so no money could be taken without my permission. Nothing was sorted, the costs of change or cancellation were beyond my budget, but the balance was still taken from my old card. I was left with a week's holiday for 2, which I could not take and £700 less than I should have had in my bank account. When I complained about this, I was just fobbed off again.

In hindsight, it would have been cheaper to pay the cancellation fee, but as that was almost equal to the deposit I had already paid, I decided that OTB had had enough money out of me and I would just leave it at losing my deposit. I didn't bargain on them taking the remaining £700 without my permission.

When you book a holiday then you enter into a legally binding contract. The T&Cs on the OTB site explain fully the charges that apply in the event of cancellation. Had you not read them first? OTB are no different than the big Tour Operators in having cancellation charges that increase the nearer you get to the date of travel. People on low deposit schemes often face additional charges even if they are cancelling within a few days/weeks of booking - it is quite clear if you take time to fully read the documentation.

The thing everyone should remember is delaying simply increases the charges. Cancelling credit/debit cards does not work, you have entered into a contract and giving your card details means you have authorised the charge.

If you find you need to cancel for personal/financial reasons then you should cancel ASAP, even if you have problems meeting the charges. At that point you will know exactly what it is going to cost and If you cannot pay it straight away then tell them and negotiate with them. It is always worth checking your holiday insurance policy if you are made redundant as some policies may include a clause to cover such eventualities.

One of the biggest problems people often face is getting further into debt by putting things off. The advice from many here on HT is not being unsympathetic just practicle. Many of us have had financial problems at some time in our lives so we do know what it is like.

fwh

I have just booked a 2 weeks holiday with on the beach, when i clicked conformation and paid my deposit of £541.75. it came back as only one week instead of the two weeks we wanted. I immediately rang there office, i told them what had happend and to cancel.Two days later i got an email saying that i would have to pay for the flight as they had been booked and that they wanted £774.94 on top of my deposit.The flights were not the right day and with a different airline. I have written to their customer services but have not had a replied yet.
I am also writting to ABTA for help. If any one has had similar experience with on the beach please write to ABTA,also i am writting to Watchdog the more people complaining the more likely they will do some thing.
All i would say if you want a cheap holiday dont book with on the beach.

Hi Gizmo2013,
I'm not sure why you've not heard from the team yet, sorry about that.
In order to offer lots of choice and low prices we use low cost airlines and unfortunately these aren't refundable.
Our online booking system doesn't tend to have any intervention from our staff before the booking is confirmed, but without looking at your booking I can't say for certain.
Our policies are inline with the ABTA guidelines so hopefully they'll be able to advise the same.
Whilst I can't find your booking using your username on here, if you've sent us a message my colleagues will reply to you very soon.

Nikki @ On The Beach

Welcome to HT Nikki

We are always pleased to see and try to encourage company representatives to come on and advise and help our members with any problems or concerns they may have and we look forward to your input and offers of advice.

Graham