hi.. at this stage send them a letter by recorded delivery outlining your claim and giving them 10 days to make the refund, (keep a copy of the letter) refer to the fact that they have broken the contract and point out if you do not receive the refund by ( whatever 10 days is from the date of your letter) you will have to make recource through the courts..for the principle sum pluss interest at 2.5% per month untill settled, this usualy works. if not take out a summons in the small claims court for the sum pluss the interest and cost..

brian

Hi Rachie,

Sorry to hear you're still having problems with Virgin after they caused you so much grief before you went.

Do what my husband would do, call them everyday for a week and then after that call and ask for the MD's name and tell them you are filling in a small claims court form forthe return of your money - bet you get it back pronto then.

So how was your Dom Rep holiday - I can't for the life of me remember what resort you were going to?

Tracy

Rachie
Brian's and Tracy's advice looks sound, suggest you also send Virgin the link to this Forum so they can see just how many potential customers are waiting with interest to see how they intend to make up for messing you about so much. It's outrageous that on top of messing you about to start with they are now making you wait for your money.
(Of course, they might keep up to date with the forum anyway - I should think one or two tour operators shudder a bit when they hear the words HolidayTruths).
Good luck.
Sue

As an employee who deals with complaints and awarding compensation/letter writing, I can tell you that mentioning this site, or indeed any other does not scare us into doing anything.

before you make a verble thret of court action you must have written proof that you have been persuing a claim to give your cace more creedance..

brian

ps.. if this dosn't work then forward all relevent documents and copy letters to Ross our member solicitor who may take up your case but do it by the book first

Firstly, I'm surprised that you are having these problems with Virgin Holidays. It does seem very strange that you are having difficulties obtaining your refund (did you book direct or through and agent?). I would agree that threats are an un-necessary evil. Try asking for the Customers Services Manager and then explain that previous telephone contact has been unsatisfactory and you would like them to deal with your complaint personally.

FallenAngel

Why am i not surprised at your comment. TO's think they can get away with so much - with a total disregard for their customers. To be out of pocket by £3200 is a serious matter. Hope you get it sorted Rachie - Did you enjoy your hol in the end??

PS - this is not a personal attack on you FallenAngel - just at TO's in general

Thanks guys for all your advice. Yes, we had a fab holiday in Dom Rep, we stayed at Marien Coral which was excellent. (although my 6 year old got chicken pox) We booked through Thomson and their service was excellent. I managed to get a name of a Virgin customer services manager and have sent them an email directly, which I have had an automatic receipt for. I have asked them to contact me within 48 hours to discuss this, as everytime I phone i speak to different people. Their office is just 15 minutes from here, so if I don't get any joy I might take a drive there at the end of the week and refuse to move until they have written me a cheque. Up to now I think I have been very patient and polite but am now starting to get a bit fed up!! Will let you know how I get on.

Hiya

Just for the record, Virgin Holidays do not see clients directly in the office, if it's a Res issue to pay a balance then thats fine, however for complaints etc it all has to be in writing as per the Booking conditions.

What I would do is call the central number and ask for credit control, then if you get no joy write to Customer Services.

PS Leighanne, no offence taken! Thanks

Just another thought - if you paid by credit card, have you checked if the refund has been processed directly to the card. They might have done that rather than mail you a refund cheque.

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the Dom Rep.

Following on from the above, if you paid by credit card then the CC company regulations normally require them (ie Virgin in this case) to refund the card account and they're not allowed to refund you by cheque. I think that this has something to do with trying to prevent you from circumventing their cash advance charges. Otherwise we'd all be popping into Marks buying ajumper and promptly returning it and pocketing the cash :-)

So check with your CC company in the first instance if you paid by credit card and if the account hasn't be credited raise this as a problem with them as they have paid Virgin for a service that hasn't been provided and you might find that they will credit you CC account and take it up with Virgin direct as they are under an obligation to ensure that any goods or serviced paid for by card are suitable for the purpose etc.

SM

hi there, no I paid by cheque as I didn't want to pay the card surcharge. Thanks for all your advice, will just have to wait and see what happens over the next few days. A shame though, as I've always defended Virgin when they been slated in the past and have enjoyed loads of excellent holidays with them, don't know if I'd use them again? Quite fancy First Choice with their new planes, hopefully other companies may follow suit and update all their planes? Will keep you all informed of my progress.
Rachael

Not only are you entitled to a refund of your money, but you are also entitled (at minimum) to compensation for the difference between what you paid originally for your holiday, and what it cost you to book a different one with another holiday company; plus possibly also damages for the inconvenience and disappointment caused to you by being messed about at such a late stage.

Whilst you could take action through a solicitor, from what you say your case is pretty straightforward and uncomplicated, and you could sue the Tour Operator yourself in the small claims court without needing to pay a solicitor a cut of your compensation.

The courts require both parties in a dispute to make genuine efforts to settle complaints reasonably, and in order to comply with general court protocol, you have to do the following before issuing a summons:

1) Send a formal letter of complaint & keep a record of posting it. In this letter, state what sum you feel is fair and reasonable amount to settle the complaint at this stage to avoid court proceedings. Write "without prejudice" at the top of the letter, as by doing this you reserve the right to claim a higher sum in compensation if the tour operator chooses to drag it out and put you to the inconvenience of having to take them to court.

The Tour operator has 14 days from the date of recieving your letter to send an acknowledgement, and must send a detailed reply within 28 days under ABTA rules.

2) follow this up with a further letter of complaint if you do not receive a satisfactory reply, again with "without prejudice" at the top of the letter, stating that if it is not resolved within 28 days, then you will be filing a claim in the small claims court against them for a sum of up to £5000 for negligence and breach of contract. Keep a record of posting this, also.

3) If a satisfactory response is still not recieved within this time, fill in the court papers and post them a copy, telling them it will be filed within the next 7 days in the absence of a reasonable settlement. Once again, keep a record of posting this.

4) Tape record any telephone conversations you make regarding the complaint, so that you have a clear record of what was discussed and you can provide a transcript should it come to court and the tour operator tries to put forward a different version of events.

Once you have done all this, if it is still unresolved 3 months after first raising your complaint in writing, then file a claim against them for breach of contract and negligence.

You can get help from your local CAB or Trading Standards Office to fill in the forms if you need to. The site below has some very good sample letters and forms for anybody who is considering pursuing a claim in the small claims court.

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/halton/countycourtindex.htm

BTW, the rate of interest applied in such cases by the courts in successful cases is 8% from the date of the breach of contract; not 2.5% as somebody else has suggested.

Hope this helps.

Thanks MRS J for your comments. I've been through hell with this. I now have all but £100 back (£100 being a gift voucher) They have virtually told me I am a liar and have no record of this, luckily I have. After a 5 page letter of complaint I have had an offered £150 (which I believe is the minimum they should offer anyway) I have replied that I will only accept this as part payment for full compensation. I haven't sought advice yet but they have messed me around so much I feel like giving up, but I know I'm in the right. If you saw my other post you'll know the stress I've been under. (it's a long story!!) I had to pay a lot extra for a last minute holiday with a different company as I booked early and got a good deal with Virgin. I have phone bills showing over 5 hours on the phone to them in 1 week which has cost me nearly £20. I never asked them for an amount in compensation but secretly would have liked the extra holiday cost to be covered £500, do you think this is fair?
Rachael

From what you have said, this sounds more than fair, Rachael.

To put it in perspective, had you pulled out of the holiday contract at similar short notice, the tour operator would have pocketed the entire sum that you had paid for your holiday - regardless of whether or not they later re-sold it on to someone else.