I have received an email with a link to a new posting, is it from David HT Moderator on another TR forum suggesting Steve fro TR have a look at my problem? If so thank you to David for trying to get the help. To update on the situation I wrote back to TR on 26th August 10, sent by recorded delivery, advising them that I could not accept the offer of the 3 nights in Costa Del Sol as I work in the education sector and therefore cannot take time off work during term time, the times they have offered the 3 free nights. I have again made it clear that I want to be reimbursed for the £108.23 the cost incurred because of the hotel change. No reply to date. I have given them until 24th September, which is a further 28 days to reply, as recommended by ABTA on their website. If TR do not resolve the matter by the 24th Sept then I will refer to matter to ABTA, but I will be requesting the costs incurred for the taxi plus interest, phone costs, postage costs and compensation for the upset & stress caused. I dont think I am being unreasonable but am now getting fed up with TR total lack of customer care. They are clearly very thick skinned as their last paragraph in their letter ofering me the 3 free nights said quote "In closing, I would like to thank you for taking time to write to us here at Travel Republic and can assure you that we value all customer feedback. I do hope despite this setback, you will not be deterred from using our services again in the near future". Condescending or bog standard generic reply not sure but its very annoying and makes me really cross. Will update when I hear anything.

Update on recent posting. Have received a reply from TR today to my letter sent 26th August which is as follows "We are writing to you to confirm receipt of your further correspondence and note your dissatisfaction with the response recently submitted. We will assess your claim again but this may require further consideration from Serhs. This process is expected to take up to a further 28 days. We will contact you again with a comprehensive and final response shortly, or in any event, within 28 days to confirm that we are still actively pursuing a response on your behalf". As I made clear in my letter of the 26th TR have until the 24th Sept to send me a cheque for £108.23, the transfer amount I incurred due to the a major hotel change less than 48 hours before departure. If this does not happen then I have everything ready to refer to ABTA when I will also include in the claim other costs incurred and compensation for hassle and stress.

Update - Received an email yesterday 28th Sept asking me to send my transfer details to TR so they can investigate. Its taken them since the 6th Sept to as for this infprmation and I sent it all to TR with my original complaint on 11th August. I'm not sure if they deliberately mess people about or their customer services team are poorly organised. I have sent the details again today, another letter typed & another £1.40 on postage. Lets see how long it takes them to reply this time.

Message

I have received the reply today which is totally unsatisfactory. Serhs reply is as follows "Here we understand the problem but we consider the fare thay have give miss Overend too high as usually the extra cost of the shuttle being in the same area wouldnt be so much, not even a normal taxi would charge this fare. We would consider paying half of the charge as with normal taxi fare this would have been much less". Clearly Serhs have either misunderstood or Travel Republic have not given them all the facts. I explained in my original letter that I had booked a shuttle bus to the Marbella Playa cost £83.86. TR informed me of a major accomodation change on Tuesday 27/7/10 at 11:23, less than 48 hours before departure, flight was 8:00 on Thursday 29/7/10. I said at 11:23 I did not wish to stay at the Rincon Andaluz and they said they would go back to Serhs and inform them of this & call me back. They did not call me back & I had to contact them myself at 16:00. They told me I had 3 options, accept the hotel change, speak with sales and choose another hotel or cancel. Clearly I couldnt cancel, sales were totally unhelpful and I felt I had no alternative but to accept the change, which I did at approx 17:30. I contacted Holiday Taxis immediately but they were closed. I contacted them the following day, Weds 28/7, the day before we were due to travel and this is when they told me they did not provide shuttle buses to Puerto Banus and could only provide a taxi and an extra cost of £108.23. They did offer me the option of cancelling without charge if I could sort out a shuttle bus elsewhere to avoid the extra cost. For the next 2 hours that day, the day before we were due to fly, and the time I should have been preparing for the holiday, I searched the web and made several phone calls trying to obtain a chaper transfer, every one said it was too late to arrange. I had no alternative but to accept the taxi with Holiday Taxis. I even called TR to ask their advice and at no time did they try to sort out a transfer for me. I am not sure exactly what Serhs are implying in their reply above with regard to the comments about the cost charged by Holiday Taxis. Holiday Taxis may be interested in these comments as it could appear that Serhs are accusing Holiday Taxis of overcharging. The Rincon Andaluz is no where near the Marbella Playa. It is approx 15km further down the coast, and given the short notice I was given was grateful I had transport to the Rincon Andaluz. To summarise, I booked the Hotel Marbella Playa with TR on 13/1/10, it was confirmed on 13/1/10 and payment was made in full on 6/5/10. My flights & transfers were booked well in advance and everything was in place. To receive a phone call less than 48 hours prior to departure of the nature of a major accomodation change is very upsetting and causes panic and extreme stress. I did not want to pay a further £108.23 for my transfer but had absolutely no choice, and none of this was my fault. In retrospect I wish we had said no to the change and turned up at the Marbella Playa, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened. I will now refer this matter to ABTA and ask for their opinion and help.

Hi KOv5522 ... did you see the message posted to you last week in the other topic, by Steve from Travel Republic ?

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=74888&p=1493238#p1493238

David

Yes thanks I have been in contact with Steve by private message. A lot of the post you responded to was copied and pasted from my response sent to Steve as he had informed me a reply was on its way. My patience has run out with Travel Republic/Serhs. I hold both parties responsible for the situation my husband & I found ourselves in. The bottom line is, if my accomodation had not been changed I would not have incurred the extra cost, if I had been given more notice of the alteration I could possibly have found a more reasonable transfer. Now because of incompetence by TR/Serhs I am £108.23 out of pocket and the holiday was spoilt. I also now have to spend time & energy referring the matter to ABTA, who may or may not agree with my claim I will have to wait and see. I will update my posts as and when.

A quick update on the issue raised recently.

We are making some progress with KOv5522's concerns, but by no means sorted the issues raised. I have escalated within Serhs, and also given some guidance to our Customer Relations team to get things moving. I have to admit we have been terribly slow, but that shouldnt have to concern KOv5522. KOv5522 has escalated to ABTA, which sort of helps us push the supplier more, and also gives us the small kick up the backside that I think we may deserve here because of the time taken to get anything like a response from Serhs.

Hopefully back soon with more news.

It is funny you have a Crystal ad by my name, I used to work for them a while ago, when they were an independent ski company, not part of Thomson/TUI! Brings back memories!

Yesterday I received and email offering me the total taxi fee which I have of course accepted. Its been a long haul and one I dont wish to repeat. Many thanks to Steve from TR whos input I am sure has made all the difference. Thanks also to holiday truths for taking an interest in my problem and for informing Steve. Thanks to anyone else who took time to offer support & advice. I will be wary of using TR again but as I have said to Steve in my private message "Never say never!!"

Many thanks for the update. It is always appreciated by the members when the outcome of a complaint is posted after they have given time answering and advising.

Glad you got it sorted out to your satisfaction.

luci