Just to say my cruise on Thomsons Celebration round the Med (Oct 12-19,2006) was a great success and now that I have had a taste I hope to go back for more. The social hostess organised a lunch for solo travellers on the first day and there I met about half a dozen other DE travellers which was fun. I had to file a claim against DE before they offered me a cruise but after that it was all plain sailing and very good service from Cruise shop,Thomsons and last but not least ship crew. Sorry to hear people are being rejected but the only way is to bite the bullet and file the claim if you were originally accepted for a cruise:it is worth it even tho slightly scary at the time. Thanks again to the website contributors for help and encouragement - I wouldn't have perservered without it!

Hi Judith
Do you know if the other people on your cruise had been given their cruises because they had started court action?

Just to let you all know thanks to Ljayne 73 for the info i am now the owner of a letter validating my cruise here's hoping

Your very welcome Val

I have also sent them a letter thanking them for my 'validation' and in response to their request for me to be 'a little bit more patient' I have stressed that I have been incredible patient since May 2004!

I have now given them a date which gives them ample time to resolve my claim or they will leave me with no alternative but to take court action.

This letter has been sent by fax, recorded delivery and normal post!!!!

Lou

I received my rejection letter this morning reference 7064. I am a bit like Raych, having applied for 2 cruises. I know this may sound greedy but I am carer for a disabled family member and so a neighbour particularly wanted me to have a second cruise. She very kindly saved the vouchers for me and like several of us, she had interpreted the t & cs that as long as each application was supported by the required vouchers then there was no restrictions on applications from the same address.

What I cannot understand is I followed EXACTLY the same procedure for each application, receiving exactly the same correspondence yet one was valid, I went in October 2005, and the second one is not. One was for the Med and the one not validated was to the Caribbean. Over the time of fighting for it I even said I would accept the Med! I believe those who are receiving rejection letters are being made scapegoats for clerical errors by the original handling company.

I did at least have a cruise so feel so sorry for those who are having their only applications now turned down.

As others on here have said, the terms and conditions did not stipulate that readers could only apply for one cruise and I doubt the Express have a leg to stand on if indeed that is why they are refusing now, though we don't actually know what criteria they are using to invalidate claims. The whole thing stinks and it appears they are simply trying to reduce their losses. Do join the others who are taking it further, with legal action if necessary. I'm sure everyone on here will give you all the support and ammunition they can to make your claim.

I only applied for one cruise and was originally allocated the Caribbean, but eventually settled for the Med last July, but if you provided vouchers for two you are entitled to receive two. Those still in limbo have waited quite long enough and I think that if enough people initiate legal action the paper will have to face up to its responsibility. They are obviously hoping people will simply give up (or die waiting) - don't let them get away with it.

Yes thank you Ljayne 73 for alerting us re the status letters. Even though I got a reject it has brought it to a head. The Court issued the letter on Monday, it is 'served' 11th Nov and they have till 25th Nov to reply.

In some ways I would actually like it to go to a Court hearing as I would love to show the Judge, and media, the detailed file of papers which I have. On reading it through again it makes the blood boil.:twisted:

Raych - do tell us how it went today

Hi
I have been to the BBC today to record my piece for Working Lunch. The lady from the programme has yet to speak to anyone from the DE, although she had spoke to someone from the marketing company. She is going to keep me informed of the progress of the DE feature and will advise me of the date it will be aired.
I was very nervous, the lady just took me into a normal working office, sat me in front of a camera, and told me to tell my story. It sounds easy, but I could hear my voice wavering as I was trying to think and talk, trying not to leave out relevant bits. I think she actually is only interested in the latest developements and is going to reduce what was said into a short statement. I hope it looks and sounds ok, she didnt even give me chance to brush my hair. Hopefully the end result will further our chances of getting our cruises.
I will keep you informed of details when I get them.

Well done Raych.

I am sure it will be alright on the night. Nontheless it must have been rather daunting to be thrown into the deep end.

Hope the coverage shows that DE are trying to unfairly close down this mess by issuing final Accept / Reject letters to all who continue to press them and that there is no logic to their decisions.

Let us know when its to be screened.

Cheers

Good for you Raych. I can imagine how nerve-wracking it must be. I am pleased to hear that Working Lunch are still taking an interest as the publicity will surely help the cause of those still fighting.

Best of luck with your court proceedings, Wallecan. I remember you from way back when our suspicions were being aroused and the fight for the cruises was just beginning. I think you may even have been "allocated" the non-existent Libya cruise with me. I was lucky enough to have cruised last September, which just goes to show how unorganised and arbitrarily the cruises have been allocated.

Hi All - First time of posting, but have been following your trials and tribulations and sometimes successes. I am now writing again to DE to hopefully bring this saga to a head with either an acceptance or rejection, in which case I will follow all your examples and take legal action. Again thanks for being there.

Will let you know any results.

Hi All

I just recieved my rejection letter Ref 10026 I feel so disapointed I was sure I'd recieve a validation letter. I like many others had a cruise offer letter for April 200 and a phone call offering me long haul flight and vouchers which I rejected.

I'm not going to give up, £120 is a lot of money to take them to court but I'm going to start the procedure. I'm off to visit some friends this weekend but as soon as I'm back I'll go to the online small claims court.

Please Wallcan and others let me know how you go on with the court action.

Richard

Sorry I should have written April 2005 not April 200 for my Cruise offer. Which was to Lybia.

Cheers

Richard

Hi Again just arrived at friends in Lincs who has also had a letter from Daily Express but her letter is to validate her cruise.
Back in 2004 when we collected all the vouchers we filled our forms in together counted our vouchers double checked and put an extra couple in just in case. We both signed our applications and posted them in the same post box, we both recieved cruise offers within days of each other, (mine to Lybia my friends to Canary Islands) and when the cruise didn't arrive we also had similar phone calls and vouchers offering long haul flights and the rest. We have done everything the same yet we have both recieved different letters, one rejection and the other a validation. How can this be that I haven't fulfilled all the requirements of the offer and my friend has when we have both done exactly the same?
I can only feel that this will strenthen my case in the small claims court, I have a copy of my friends letter to take with me, also my origional cruise offer.
I just wonder if there is any chance of writing to The DE and pointing this out and offering them a chance to change their minds before I take them to court.
Thanks
Richard

Hi Again just arrived at friends in Lincs who has also had a letter from Daily Express but her letter is to validate her cruise.

That is interesting Richard. Just shows that there is no logic. However, I doubt if you would get any response if you point it out. They already know what they are doing is an attempt to fob people off. They probably have a budget to do this which assumes 1 in x cases will succeed and it may be as simple as only accepting say 1 in 50 of the cases that have fully complied (like ours). They can then say they have provided cruises if exposed again in the media. Many with reject letters will now give up.

It may support any legal action but I think the court will focus on the merits of each case. i.e. what were the terms of the DE offer and did you fulfil them. Was there a clear offer, can you prove you accepted it and was there 'consideration' (£10 and cost of 35 DE papers) - all the elements of a valid contract. I am certain I can provide the required evidence.

Good luck

hi,
Well done raych for your continuous hounding of the DE. I wish you all the best. Please keep us informed of the date of the screening on working lunch and lets hope that does the trick.
Good wishes to all of you still cruiseless out there.
annj

hi annj
Good to hear fro

Hi Annj
Thanks for your support, its the thought of that wonderful first cruise that keeps me fighting for my second. I hope Working Lunch portray just how badly all of the readers who applied have been treated, and don't let them off easily. I do feel sorry for all the others that applied who don't know about this site, at least we have supported each other

Hello redo 109

Sorry that you too have also had the rejection letter, and the fact that your friends have had the validation letter. It would seem that the only difference between the two of you is the fact that you were allocated the Libya cruise. There are two of us who have had the rejection letter and we were both allocated Libya originally. I wondered if this might be the criteria they are working to, were all the rejections originally offered Libya and the people who were offered somewhere else are being sent the validation letter??

cava kate. i was origanally allocated the libya cruise. never even let me know it wasnt happening, found out from this brilliant site .i have done all the usual stuff, rung them wrote to them, watchdog etc etc. anyway about 2 weeks ago i sent photocopies of all my correspondance from them dates of phonecalls etc, and a not very pleasant letter. within the week i had a letter back Validating my claim and saying i would hear in a few months. so its nothing to do with the libya cruise . wish i could get my head round why some are geting validates and others refusals