Hi Helen
I was in one of the shelters and I was able to stay in touch with family and friends in the UK So I can assume the reps could do the same..Stevie

Hi Steve

Looks like you had more communication to hand than some of our reps then..

If you and any other Thomson customers have any questions unanswered.. I will try my best..

Hi Helen
Your aftertravel dept at customer services are now in the process of viewing my complaints pre Wilma and post Wilma .This whole ordeal has made us quite ill.Also may I add that some people that we met in the shelter have been interviewed by the national press to be published on Sunday 13th Nov.Their story is quite distressing and Thomson reps where not right on the safety of one of their party that had become stranded alone,quite ill and sleeping in a shed with no food or water for 2 days .The rep's said he was in hospital being well treated when in affect he wasnt .Stevie

We have been offered 40% of our total holiday cost back by Thomson. In fact the cheque arrived Friday dated 28/10/05, (the day we were flying home),
We departed 18/10/05. Thomson told me that people who travelled out on 19/10/05 (the day after us) are getting a FULL holiday refund!

How on earth was our holiday 60% better than their's?

Hi salsa
From all account the foriegn office advised the tour operators not to travel to Cancun but i'm not sure whether it was 18th or 19th October..regards Stevie

Thanks Stevie Dee,
I thought there must have been some reason for Thomsons giving a Full refund without a battle.
Where did you hear about the foreign office?

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David HT Mod

Thanks very much Stevie Dee

I would be grateful of any more information you can provide.

Passengers who travelled out on the 19th are getting a full refund as they were placed almost immediately in the shelters. The hurricane changed course very quickly. No UK tour opertor flew out against the advise of the Foreign Office.

stevie- do you knwo what publication the article will be in?

If you go to these places in the Hurrican season you should not get anything as you know there is a chance of this happening .

Hi Helen
I am led to believe it was Mirror newspapers which covers the Sunday Mirror and The People .I hope this helps you..Regards Stevie

Kmba. Surely if you have paid for something and you never received it due to bad weather you would want know to why your not entitled to a refund.EG You go to watch your favourite football team and the game is called off at half time due to bad weather (an act of God ) you would expect a refund and you would get one or another ticket for a rearranged fixture.
Stevie

Helen,
People who arrived at our hotel were never put into shelters.
They all went through exactly the same as us, only they arrived 20 hours later than us.

Would it not be cheaper for Thomson to offer us an alternative holiday than provide part refunds?

We flew back from Mexico on 28 October after experiencing the worst holiday ever. It is ok for people to say you should not have gone during the hurricane season but the Yucatan had never had a category 5 hurricane hit their coast before. As for Thomsons I feel they were completely useless. Whether the reps like it or not they are in a position where guests will turn to them as they have no one else to turn to. They were completely out of their depth. If we should have known about the hurricanes then shouldn't the reps have known also??? They wear the uniform of Thomson so are a representation of that Company - say no more!

We have just received our letter from Thomson offering 40% of the accommodation cost - we will be sending this back.

We did voice our concerns on the Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the hurricane after watching the predicted path on the local news station but were told by the reps that we were worrying unnecessarily. Never once did they take any of the concerns of the guests seriously. Thomson, and I suppose all other tour operators will offer as little as possible and hope everyone will go away. One of the people in our hotel has contacted a solicitor who will be taking on his case and was told that he would expect to get 80% of his total holiday costs back - I will keep you updated on this.

could you claim loss of earnings ,as my daughter missed one week off work,also she missed a flight back to her place of work ,which cost extra to change,thanks kev

Lolly 1
I will watch this space with interest Please keep us informed..
Kev .
There's no harm in trying to claim loss of earning's although you may have to go down the insurance road..
Regards Stevie

I did contact our insurance company and they basically told me I could not claim anything. I did point out that in the policy there is a section for 'loss of hotel services' even they didn't know it was there! You need to get a letter from your tour operator confirming how many days you were without services i.e. hot water, phones, regular food, electricity (it can be just one of these not all of them) then send this letter with an accompanying letter to your insurance company. I don't think it will be much but every little counts.

I've been watching these posts with interest and can't help thinking that these poor holidaymakers, especially those who flew out with Thomsons to Cancun on 18 October are being harshly dealt with here!

In particular, to HELEN 1999, who seems intent on defending the Thomsons reps in Cancun at that time......I hope you enjoyed your flight home. I'm sure many of the holidaymakers were surprised to see you on the trip home being as they hadn't seen much of you or your colleagues for the few days before! I can only assume that you and your colleagues were in one of the shelters...without a mobile phone by all accounts... because those trapped in hotel rooms with no electricity, little food, and mattresses up at the windows, certainly saw nothing of you!!

Get real, for God's sake! The Thomson reps' job was to reassure and ensure the safety and wellbeing of your holidaymakers....not complain about how one of you had to wade through water to the nearest phone! You were simply not there when you were needed.

As for claiming that a hurricane is an 'Act of God', then I can assure you that this was an 'Act of God..with notice!!'. I have located several websites which forecast as early as 17 October that Hurricane Wilma would hit the Yucatan Peninsular in the next few days.

Even a major American Airlines, namely US Airways, cancelled all their flights into Cancun on the 18th October because of the impending hurricane.

What more proof do these people need that they should not have been flown out to Cancun on the 18th?

God forbid that a Company the size of Thomsons should have to rely on the internet like the rest of us to check out weather conditions.....surely they should be proactively making themselves themselves aware of difficult or dangerous conditions around the world if they are risking their clients' lives. Perhaps you can comment on just how they DO make themselves aware...or whether they react to someone else's advice...in which case, specifically who advises them?

Evidently the British Embassy in Mexico advised all British Tour Operators on the 18 October that they should not allow any more tourists into Mexico.

So why were those scheduled to travel on that date allowed to travel?...and if the announcement came too late (i.e. after their planes had left Britain) why were they not returned straight back home?
By failing to adhere to these warnings, Thomsons were responsible for flying holidaymakers into an unsafe and dangerous area.
As an employee of Thomsons, you should be aware that in these circumstances, given the facts, NO client of yours who receives any less than a fair compensation payment, will EVER book another holiday with Thomsons again. Have you thought of the impact that their media complaints will have?

The information I have to hand suggests that Thomsons have no choice but to award a full refund to those tourists who they flew out to Cancun on the 18 October.....and even then, those people might not feel that they can ever trust Thomsons again to judge the safety or desirability of any holiday destination they may choose. At the very least, a replacement holiday from Thomsons might go some way in restoring their confidence and securing continued business!!

**Edit to remove potential libellous comments - Kath HT Admin**