HI

I am new to this but don't really know where to start. My honeymoon with Thomson's was an absolute farce and I am trying to claim some money back from the costs we incurred. I am at a point now where I have been complaining with Thomsons since November and am amazed at how rude they can be. I have been offered £240 (first was £100) however I am not really happy with this. I am looking for advice on if I should accept it or go to arbitration. I am not asking for a full refund however just want them to accept responsibility and offer a meaningful amount of costs that we had to fork out for.

Here goes

First complained on 1st November. We travelled from Manchester to Orlando on Monday 7th October for a 2 week stay at the Avanti resort on International drive. At the time of booking the Avanti resort was not open and was due to open in the spring time. When they opened they were experiencing teething problems which I kept an eye on, on trip advisor. I was slightly worried about some of the problems so spoke to the hotel on numerous occasions. I also spoke with Thomson’s as we were only offered a double room at the time of booking and I was looking to upgrade to a bigger room. Thomson’s were unable to do this so I spoke with the Avanti, they said that they couldn’t change the room without the reservation and this wouldn’t be with them until approx 1-2 weeks before departure so I didn’t pursue it.

Also at the time of booking the Florida trip I was advised I would receive a kids eat free card and this would be given with my tickets. When we received our tickets from store we noticed that it wasn’t in there so called the store. The person I spoke to explained that it would be given in resort, at that time I explained that we had pre-booked Breakfast with the Disney princesses and wouldn’t be able to make the welcome meeting. They advised to speak to the rep when we were there to get it resolved and get the card.

I again contacted the Avanti resort on the Friday 4th October (the evening before my wedding) to ask about the room and ensure that they had our reservation to which they replied that there was no reservation. Immediately alarm bells started ringing and got me panicking, so I contacted the Preston store again to find out what was happening. With a few phone calls I eventually got a call to advise that this had been resolved and there was a booking. By this point I was very annoyed and worried that the evening before my wedding I was having to ring around to ensure that we had a reservation for our honeymoon which I definitely shouldn’t have been doing.

We arrived to the resort on the Monday and checked into the hotel no problem. We didn’t receive anything regarding a welcome meeting and I didn’t really think about it after a long flight. We got up the following morning and went out to the parks. On our return we had a note from the rep to advise they were our rep and were around at 10.15-10.45 on certain mornings. Being in Florida we wanted to make the most of it and didn’t want to be spending time in our hotel when the parks were open. Again we still hadn’t received the kids eat free card. I went to reception and left a note for Lee to advise that we needed the card and could he get in contact. We never heard anything again from him and never received our card. The card is only a small cost to purchase but over a 2 week period would have saved our family a lot of money. Not only that but the fact that we never heard anything again from him is very concerning and rude.

On the first Saturday that we were at the resort we noticed that there was a large number of young teenagers hanging around the pool area but this didn’t really concern us as we don’t spend much time in our room. However when we returned at 10pm in the evening and they were all congregating in big gangs this was quite intimidating. Further to that at 2am until about 4am it can be only described as a party outside my room. It was absolutely awful and the noise was a joke. I felt very intimidated that I couldn’t go outside my room due to the size of the gang and that I was travelling with my 3 year old daughter and husband. We ended up having to ring security as we were getting no sleep who had called the police. At no point during the holiday did one of the hotel staff apologise for the noise or speak to us again about this.

So the day before we were departing from the hotel we had spent the day at a park and came home around 9pm, again we noticed more younger people around and understand that we were in Florida for Halloween so can understand that people head down for the Horror nights but again people were congregating outside the rooms drinking and although they were not saying anything it was again intimidating walking past these large groups. So at 2am again we were woken up to arguing outside our room which we tried to ignore. At around 3am after trying to sleep through it the noise got unbearable and the ‘couple’ arguing had got noisier. At 3.30am I had really had enough and the arguing had turned physical, hearing screams of a man and woman hitting and punching each other is the most unpleasant thing I have ever heard. I was scared to leave my room as it was happening right outside but all my family was now awake and my 2 year old was petrified. I eventually went outside to confront the couple and witnessed them both physically battering each other. I shouted to ask them to be quiet as we were trying to sleep but no notice was taken. Where were security for these 3 hours of hell we had endured????? We rang through to reception again and informed them of what was going on and finally someone from security turned up just after the couple had left. We were absolutely exhausted and having to travel home from what should have been an amazing honeymoon just ruined the whole experience for us.

We thought the hotel was ok until we experienced these problems but wish we would have gone with our gut instinct and moved hotels as the whole honeymoon was ruined by these events and we should never have been subjected to it.

On departure from the hotel I advised front desk of the problems who offered to reimburse $100 for the inconvenience, to be honest $100 is a drop in the ocean for what should have been a dream honeymoon that we had saved for and what should have been a holiday of a lifetime. The hotel advised that because it was booked as a package they couldn’t give us the money but would contact Thompson’s and arrange this for when we return to the UK.

When arriving back in the UK I contacted Thompson’s who were not aware of this so I contacted the hotel directly and have attached their correspondence.

I am severely disappointed with both Thomson’s and the hotel as I feel like all I have done is run around chasing both parties on things that are simple and I should never have had to do. It ruined our honeymoon whilst we were there and now to come back and have to chase the hotel etc is just prolonging it for us.

I have had several emails from Thomsons, their response should have been within 28 days however the first response was received on the 23rd December, it didnt address any of the points and said they would not uphold the complaint. I rang & told them it was not acceptable and wanted a manager to review. on the 7th January I had a response offering me £100 that was inclusive of the $100 offered by the hotel that we never received.

Then on the 17th January I had a response from the Manager again blaming me for their incompetancies see below

"Thank you for your email and reply. I have taken the time to review your original complaint and the further points you have raised.

To begin, I'm sorry to read not all of your issues were addressed by James. The 'Kids Eat Free' cards are subject to availability and are available from our Holiday Advisors. On arrival at Sanford Airport there are a number for Holiday Advisors to greet our customers and direct them in the right place whether this for car hire or transfers and at this point a welcome pack is given with the 'Kids Eat Free' card. I understand our Holiday Advisor did not get in touch with you following a note that you left at reception to say you did not have your 'Kids Eat Free' card. I have been unable to confirm if this message was passed to our Holiday Advisor Lee, however the hotel have our Resort Office number which is free of charge or our Holidayline which you would have been able to call throughout your two week stay to obtain your card.

With regards to the offer that the hotel made for the two nights you were disturbed. This amount may be the hotels basic rate which will be different to the rate agreed with tour operators. As this was booked at a package I am unable to confirm exactly what the breakdown of your holiday costs are. However we do have a guideline set by ABTA which I have taken into account.

With this being your honeymoon I understand that all you wanted is for this to be a stress free holiday and due to your overall experience, you feel let down.

Taking everything into consideration we would like to offer you a further £140.00 (one hundred and forty pounds). The total offer is £240.00 (two hundred and forty pounds) in a cheque. I understand that this might not be the outcome you were looking for, should you wish to independently pursue the matter it would be at your discretion to do so.

Please let us know within 28 days of this email if you wish to accept this offer. You can email us at aftertravleinfo@thomson.co.uk or call 0844 871 0882."

I have reported this to ABTA who have advised I could go to arbitration but I am a bit out of my depth here and really unsure on what to do.

If anyone could give me any advice I would really appreciate it. I have until this friday to confirm if I accept the £240 or not. Part of me just wants to accept it as I am really down with it all but part of me wants to fight for it.

Thanks & sorry for the long winded post!

K