In closing can i just say there WAS injuries and illness in the shelters and only pure luck that there where no deaths in the shelters and that is not down to any reps.As for a head count Thomsons didnt do one in our shelter .It was left to the US consulate 4 days later.
Bye from the ordinary man in the street.Not the huge company that lost milions .

A couple of points I would like to add to the discussion.

if the cost is 60% for flights and 40% for accomodation, which seems reasonable why is'n't a refund of the 40% acceptable. Do you think the flights should have been free or a proportion of the flight free.

There seems to be an oppinion that the tour oporator should have been watching the weather and should not have flown anybody out on the 18th. If holidays had been cancelled and the hurricane had changed course and not hot where it did they would have been in for harsh critisism for not flying people out.

If the tour operators should have been able to foresee that the hurrican was going to hit where it did so should have anybody travelling. This being the case why did they still fly. I have not read of any instances where travellers had wanted to cancel because of the hurrican but were not allowed to by the tour operator.

I've lit the blue touch paper, i'll now retire to a safe distance.

our holiday cost £2270 we had a cheque from Thomson for £876 . i enquired how much the flights were for the same time next year and it came to £838. this made our accomodation costs about £1420 so where has the other £500+ gone

Just to say to StevieD did you go and return by Thomsonfly if you did then you used PART of the goods you bought,and if you went for 14nights used 8 nights in the hotel you used another part of the services you bought is that not so, what do you want a FULL refund because you went at your own risk in the hurricane season. And of course you dont have to go with Thomsons again or to Mexico or anywhere do you.Not only Thomsons had problems ALL the American tour ops had the same.
Can I ask what help did you all get from the British Consulate ,as in your post you say it was the US consulate who visited,hope you have voiced you complaint to the Foreign Office,as to why no british offical came to check on you.

I agree that 40% seems fairly reasonable...

However....

I think people being offered 40% would have less of an issue if they didn't then find out that people who arrived 24 hours later were refunded 100% of their holiday cost.

I realise that the customers arriving on the 19th got even less of a holiday but it's potentially the difference between actually getting another holiday in the near future or having to wait. I use the words "another holiday" quite loosely as most holidays don't last 48hrs before being rudely interrupted by a hurricane!

I also flew out on the 18th, but with First Choice, and like happening said I am still waiting to hear from them about how much money I will get. Obviously I'm hoping that it's taking them so long as they're deciding to be super generous and give me most of my money back

But ultimately I'm glad that I went to Mexico as the hotel was fantastic and the staff there absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to go back to see just how well they've done with getting the place back to "normal". Although obviously next time I'll book outside of hurricane season

Rach

Hi Rach
unfortunately I wouldnt assume that they are taking all this time as they are studying your case.
We asked for money back after hurricane emily as we were only in our hotel for 20 hours before it was wrecked and we had asked to change our destination but been refused.
We had spent £ 5500 - for 4 adults- and got a letter after 4 weeks offering £760 for unused accommodation etc. We returned this and eventually, after 8 weeks got a phone call form First Choice customer service asking why we refused it. She told me they had worked it out wrong as they had assumed there had only been 2 of us, as they hadnt read my letter
We then went through my letter on the phone and she also realised we hadnt had our Premier upgrade on the flight home and added that onto the total.
I was gobsmacked that they hadnt read my letter but was told they dont have time to read them as they get so many.
Good luck
Bridd

Hi Bridd,

I realise that I'm unlikely to get much back, but it's always worth hoping!!

Sorry to hear you were caught up in Emily. Just one thing though, when giving you the money back surely they could have seen your party size in the booking system - glad you sorted it out though and also got your premium upgrade back.

Which hotel did you stay in?

Rach

Yes you would have thought they could have counted up to 4, wouldnt you. We stayed at the Bahia Principe in the Mayan Riviera.
Bridd

I got my reply from Thomson yesterday.

We had already received a cheque for 40% of our total holiday cost. I have refused this as we travelled out on 18/10 and I can not see why people who travelled out a day leter got 100% refund.

It was odvious that they had not read my letter, they were referring to the shelters in Cancun and Merida airport. We had NOT stayed in a shelter in Cancun Also we did not fly back from Merida.

I am now in the process of writing another letter asking them to reply to the issues in MY letter.
By the sounds of previous posts I doubt that they will even read it.

Doe anybody think that those of us who did travel out on 18/10/05 will ever be offered anymore if we persue?

It is a shame that some of the posts seem to think we were and are being treated fairly, even though they were not there to experience any of it.
Anyone would think that we are asking you to pay the refunds out of your own pockets. People can turn very funny where money is concerned.
I am sure if you had been through the same as us, you would also be requesting a FULL refund!

Has anybody tried claiming on the 'Curtailment Section' of their insurance policy?

Salsa1
Yes we did contact our insurance company re:curtailment. They told us this only applies if you are brought back from your holiday ill or injured so looks unlikely that you can claim anything there.

I feel that our letter to Thomsons was also unread as they referred to the shelters in Cancun and having to fly back from Merida airport - neither of which we did.

We should have flown back Tuesday/Wednesday but because no one forsaw the huge problem that everyone converging on Merida airport would have our return kept getting put back. So we should have been given 40% of 6 days unused but again, because of poor planning we could not leave when they told us we could so we lost another 2 days and did not leave until Thursday so we only received 40% of 4 days.

Our first day in the resort was Monday 17 Oct and in the evening we watched the news which was starting to report on hurricane Wilma. We mentioned this to the rep. Tuesday the news was looking rather frightening and we again, along with quite a few other guests, asked about this impending storm. Again we were dismissed. We did fill in a customer report while in the resort which outlined our concerns and was signed by the rep which does prove that we raised issues 2-3 days before the hurricane struck. My annoyance is that we asked the reps if they felt there would be a need to move us inland and was told this was completely unnecessary.

We have received 2 letters now from Thomson and it looks like they just cut and paste certain paragraphs which they think may answer your questions - the fact that we never went to Cancun or was in a shelter seems to have been missed.

I really do not care what everyone says about the reps and how unprepared they were - these same people keep saying that we as guests should have been aware that it was the hurricane season so why weren't the reps? The reps, unless I am mistaken, are paid to be there and do a job and not hide away in an emergency which is what they did - there is no excuse for that! I think most people who were there felt completely abandoned and unless you were there I really do not think you have any room to comment.

Thomson, like many other operators, have come out of this extremely badly. I know this will not stop people booking with them in the future but word of mouth is a powerful tool - I work in a large teaching hospital and my husband works in a large engineering company and I think it will certainly make people more apprehensive about booking with certain operators once hearing of our experiences. I think in future the best thing to do is ensure you have adequate insurance and book independently using the internet. I see nothing to be gained by using a tour operator.

Why is it that people who flew out on 19/10/05 are not being offered the 40/60% split.
They are receiving 100%

Lolly,

Your post proves that warnings from the National Hurricane Centre in NASA of 17 October, transmitted on CNN and other TV stations, were available globally from that date.

So why didn't Thomsons react to them?

If your concerns at the time were dismissed by the rep, this was disgraceful, and you should continue to press Thomsons for an answer.

Those people already in the Yucatan peninsular at the time should have been transferred to a safer place by Thomsons.

As for those back in England, waiting to travel on the 18 October, there was sufficient notice for Thomsons to contact them to inform them of the risks involved in travelling on their scheduled date. They should have been given the option of cancelling or been offered an alternative holiday.
None of these people were contacted.

Thomsons allowed them to travel as arranged, knowing that they were flying into imminent hurricane conditions. When they were met off the plane, their rep told them that a hurricane was expected in the next few days. Even at that late stage, they should have either been diverted or returned back home.

Thomsons obviously took the view that the hurricane would be 'no big deal'. Instead it turned out to be the strongest, most destructive ever recorded.

This is the major issue here.

Thomsons cannot get away from the fact that people were put at risk by being sent to the area after warnings were given on 17 October...or being prevented from moving away from the area...when the hurricane was obviously on its way.

how about we think about all those who lost everything in hurricane and not a couple days of their holiday.??

i do hope you all get your compensation and learn from your mistake from travelling in hurricane season. i travelled in a hurricane season some years back and was caught in a hurricane. trust me i wont do it again. i was just thankful to get home safely, compensation was the last of my worries

Just to clear something up - I, and many others who have posted, was never looking for compensation. I wanted money refunded for accommodation etc that was not provided as I was back home just a few days after the start of my holiday. Of course I'm glad to be alive and extremely sorry for those whose homes were damaged but that's a separate issue. Why should the TOs get to keep money for something they havent provided.
Bridd

we went on the 18th and asked about the hurricane at the airport but Thomson said they knew nothing about it . The rep on the coach never mentioned it , the reps in the hotel never mentioned it at the welcome meeting(too busy trying to sell trips) the first we heard was when a note was posted at reception by the hotel management not Thomson. the reps were useless ours ran off crying never to be seen again until the day after the hurricane.

We flew out on the morning of the 17th October. Since finding out that Thomsons KNEW about the Hurricane a\t this time, you're dam* right I want my money back - why shouldn't I be entitled to it, I don't feel like I am trying to "make" something out of this!

We were only going for a week, I was recovering from an operation, and was told by my Dr to treat this as a "recuperation week". Some recuperation!! This "holiday" cost up almost £1000 (not fully inclusive) - we saved and looked forward to this break.

These people (as far as I am concerned) put our lives at risk - You would not BELIEVE the crap we had to deal with!!

We were collected by our Thomsons Rep on the 24th, and advised that we were going to travel to Merida. It was during this trip that I get start hating Thomsons & looking upon the Rep as the most useless thing to land in Cancun!

So we were told in would be a 3.5 hr flight, we had only travelled 20/25 miles when things started to get REALLY BAD!! We had already been thru' deep water, when everyone started to get a bit concened about the luggage below! It was then that the Rep asked everyone in the bus to vote!

She asked us to decide whether we wanted to turn back & go another route, or whether we shold carry on (and risk stalling in chest high water).
We all voted to go back, few people had much water, and did not want to be stranded the whole night - so what happened!!?? For some reason, we carried on!!!! We could not believe it!!!!

So guess what - yes, the bus stalled (dark by now!) - all the men had to get undressed and go out to PUSH the bus and eventually PUSH START THE BUS!!!!! A lot of people hurt backs & feet etc., but also obvious, was the fact that everyone's luggage was going to be sodden through.

I believe everyone on the bus blamed this on the Thomsons Rep - but guess what, Thomsons are claming no responsibility!!

So we have 3 ruined cases, with the majority of clothes, shoes, cameras, mobile phone etc., knackered!!

I do NOT blame Thomsons for the Hurricane, but I DO blame Thomsons for sending us out there on the 17th, for ruining our personal baggage, and basically treating us very badly!!

I am a diabetic, and I ended up in a hospital in London as soon as the flight pulled in to Gatwick. I was looked after very well by the Thomsons Rep's in the UK (they are hardly going to start on you at this stage!)
But I believe because we had a very bad travel experience, no clean clothes to change into at any point - we were putting on wet clothes!
I totally blame them for a certain part of the illness I have been suffering since I got home.

If anyone DARES to stick up for them, I think I'll sue you too!!
I am quite happy to tell my story should anyone be interested, Thomsons - be warned! I should NOT have had to pay for this disaster - you flew me out to a country when you KNEW a Hurricane was imminent - if you had at LEAST advised people going on the 17th or 18th, or even 19th that this was possible, then you could NOT have been held responsible for people at this stage.

You ARE TOTALLY responsible for the damage to everyone's luggage on that coach, I hope some of the other people on the coach agree??!!

I understand that this thread is going to cause a very heated debate but in order that the thread can stay on this board I would like to remind everyone to stick to facts.

Just post your facts without accusing the company concerned of anything. We have to be extremely careful of libellous comments within any thread.

Here's a guide to libel which may assist:-

http://www.urban75.com/Action/libel.html

Thanks.

Wow Aunty - what a first post!!!!!! Hope you get sorted satisfactorily. Good luck.

Come on, this is a forum for people with views, not a forum to threaten to sue us for having a different opinion to you!!

Next time there is a hurricane warning, could be tomorrow, it is highly possible that the hurricane can suddenly change track and not hit the area it was first predicted, ifcompanis cancelled all flights and then it turned out they didn't need to there would be mass uproar.

Let's not forget how many hurricanes there are this season. They are named as per the alphabet. Remember K for Katrina, you guys were affected by W for Wilma. That is 12 hurricanes whipped up in between these two large ones, most we would not hear about as will have happened out to sea.

It is awful for everyone, but it is a catastrophe that not everyone can be ready for, however much training you have. Remember the twin towers? I'm sure staff had been briefed on evacuating a tower block, but when that awful event happend, I doubt everyone was cool and calm and panic no doubt spread! Similar but more serious to when caught in a hurricane.