Problem is that, in resort, with 30 mins to spare before businesses close for the afternoon, we had no chance of being able to sort anything out for that day. We did get a car booked for the next 2 days - a lower category than the one I wanted, but you take what you can get in the time available. So I can't actually claim the difference cos we only got 2 days hire.
You got offered an alternative car when you had a problem - That's what I wanted but apparently they didn't have any!
As for using them again - I'll give them a chance and see what they have to say in response to my complaint.

i would have thought that it was quite a good way of resolving the problem, as long as you had enough spare credit on your credit card.
they have admitted the error, promised you a refund and promised to pay the difference in price. taken together with an apology, i would have thought that it was a good solution in the circumstances.
you were at the car rental office and could leave with a car.
if TR had said we will look at you complaint and get back to you in 24/48 hours, andd you had to keep phoning them, got messed around etc you would justifiably feel very bitter.
mistakes happen
i would be grateful that they admitted the error quickly, made the promises they did, and honoured them,asi would have been able to get on with my holiday with minimum inconvenience

sorry, i posted before i saw the last 2 entries

You got offered an alternative car when you had a problem - That's what I wanted but apparently they didn't have any!
As for using them again - I'll give them a chance and see what they have to say in response to my complaint.

I'm sorry if I didn't express myself very well - I was pointing out that it's not always the agent that is at fault, even if they acknowledge responsibility as TR have done in your situation and that I had experience of a situation were it was the car hire firm at fault, not the agent I booked my accommodation and car hire through. It was the car hire firm that had acted in bad faith and the agent was never going to be able to force them into providing something it turned out they didn't have and there was little that they could do about it. It was clear that the car hire firm had always intended to palm us off with the minibus, insisting that we hadn't booked a people carrier and I dealt with them direct re re-negotiating the price. I didn't regard the agent as being at fault in my situation - they had been as badly let down by the car hire people too.

As for using them again - I'll give them a chance and see what they have to say in response to my complaint.

What is that you are wanting them to do over and above what they've done already? If you have just complained, I think that you'll probably only get an apology. If you are looking for compensation or some sort of gesture from TR, you need to be able to itemise what it is that you are claiming compensation for - hence my suggestion re phone charges.

SM

you were at the car rental office and could leave with a car

No we weren't! Car booked for 10am. Final call from TR at 12pm. How long would you sit in an office that says they've never hear of you?

not always the agent that is at fault,

I agree and I never said I blamed Travel Republic for the initial problem. But my contract is with them and they are responsible for the booking.

assuming that you were able to arrange a car hire with another supplier

that's the point - we couldn't. We lost one day out of the 3 and therefore any right to claim anything back.

as long as you had enough spare credit on your credit card

They assumed this too. But why should I have to pay a second time? Refunds take longer to process than payments.

there's not a lot more they could have done in the situation.

Supply a car is all - we discovered later that day that there were still plenty available on-line, including TR web site They could easily have sorted something out with another local supplier. Infact, if we'd had internet access at the time, we could probably have managed it ourselves.

If you have just complained, I think that you'll probably only get an apology

You know what, if an apology is all I get, at least I'll feel they know at this stage what they are apologising for, rather than feeling fobbed off with a solution that is easiest for them but no use to me. We lost a day's sightseeing (a holiday highlight) over this and I'd like to know why. I am not a habitual complainer and only do so when i feel badly let down. Sorry if you think I'm over reacting.

my contract is with them and they are responsible for the booking.

It usually isn't - their T&Cs make it clear that your contract is with the supplier of the service you are booking not TR and to get anything other than an apology for what happened from them you would need to prove that this happened as as result of something that TR did or didn't do rather than the care hire firm.

SM

And when the supplier says they aren't the supplier?
I don't know who did or didn't do anything, apart from some limited partial & conflicting information.
Maybe they will let me know who to complain to instead.

Hi

I was hoping somebody on this thread can point me in the direction of 'human contact' with Travel Republic.

To summarise, back in January, I booked and paid for hotel only in Majorca for 4 nights in June. Hotel was overbooked when I arrived, and tried to move me to a sister hotel, elsewhere on the island. Eventually moved me to a 'lesser' hotel nearby. Since my return, I followed the 'grievance' procedure, and TR replied, acknowledging receipt of grievance. I'm now 10 weeks into this, and but for 2 stalling letters highlighting that TR have been unable to get a reply from the agent, I'm no further down the road of closing out this issue.

Can anybody offer any advice, contact details etc?

Thanks.

Hi fbshd01, I am indeed human! If you can send me a PM with your booking ref I will find out what is going on. Post on here if you cant send PM, and I will PM you, so you can reply!

Carol77#, I have seen your post and have just found your booking. It took me longer than I hoped, we have had 1100+ car hire bookings travelled so far in August! Will reply soon. Trying to get to bottom of what is happening.

Steve

Thanks Human Steve

I don't appear to have any pm rights, so booking ref is ** Booking reference removed now Steve has seen it ** luci HT Mod

Regards

TB

Thanks, I can see us chasing the hotel provider, but nothing coming back. Am getting our Customer Relations teams to send me details, then I will escalate to a Director on the provider side. Sorry for delay.

Hi Carol, it is busy time of year for our Customer Relations team. They are just sending your concerns and claim to the car hire provider. Will post more tomorrow when this is complete as I can then start to chase them for a reply!

Steve

Thanks Steve
Much appreciated

I just wanted to make a comment about the customer service I received back in July, just before we went to Mallorca. Due to awful reviews, I decided I did not want to go the hotel we had selected and emailed and phoned to see if we could change hotels, the staff checked and could not find anything for 6 of us at short notice. I was livid that I had to go to this hotel with four children. The problem seemed to be with the all inclusive package regarding this hotel and Gemma who helped me was tireless in replying to my numerous emails and moans and groans and managed to get us self catering and half our money back. We eventually had a great time and thanks to Gemma used the money to keep us fed and watered for the week.

Hi,

I think Carol77# has a reply, I will let her advise if it met her expectations, or those of others on here. To be honest, it is more that I initially expected from this provider. I cant claim credit for moving it along, as it had just been sent to the provider when I asked our Customer Relations team, and then the provider answered the very same day!

fbshd01, we have a reply for you as well, which I believe is on the way to you. I will send you a PM.

Steve

Yes, I have a response, and fair dues to Travel Republic for passing this on up the line for investigation. I am satisifed in that I feel I have a proper apology and a financial compensation which I'd say is token, but at least it assures me this was taken seriously.
I still don't know what the problem was, other than "technical error", or, more importantly, why cancelling my contract rather than providing another car was the only solution., but I do appreciate now that Travel Republic were really only the messenger in this regard.

I do now feel reassured about using them again, which is good because I have a few outstanding bookings with them which will hopefullyl be incident free.

Glad to hear it's sorted carol. Steve's come up trumps for quite a few of us here although he says it wasn't down to him. I'm glad you're giving TR another go as I think they're a very competitive and fair company.

They get a fair bit of my business with no complaint (says she, holding her breath that everything will go well with her present hotel booking for next April)

As usual Travel Republic come up trumps again - as we have come to expect!! Well done Steve! x

Hi Steved1

I thought I'd drop you a quick update to let you know where I am with my complaint.

On the subject of TR's reply, which I got on Monday, you were correct. . .not what I was hoping for. I was hoping for a bare minimum of Customer Service from TR, and not for TR to look for an exit strategy at the earliest opportunity. I thought if somebody had read Sehr's reply, at the very least they would have asked Sehrs, where is this 'Hotel Spoilt' I was re-located to, that was a higher standard than the 4* Delfin Playa? Maybe I imagined staying in the 3* Mimosa Park. When I went to school, I was taught that 3* was NOT 'regime superior' than 4*. Has this system changed now?

Anyway, I also received some interesting advice from The Consumer Council, Trading Standards and Citizen's Advice - I've been busy .

If TR don't want to play anymore, and think it best that 'little old me' moves my point of contact away from the agent and directly to the provider, after it took them 3 months to respond to you, I'm not confident of seeing a response, never mind a positive one! After all, the clock is ticking, and there are certain time frames which need to be met to keep the law on my side. This would push me towards Small Claims. Unfortunately, the pitfalls of SCC are many, and, the fact that the aforementioned expert bodies, believe on the evidence provided (and I think even you agree, Steve?), I have a very strong case, does not guarantee success. In fact, even winning, in many cases, does not guarantee refunds, especially when dealing with non-uk companies.

So, I did find out that there is another option, one that brings TR back in the game. The fact remains, I paid Travelrepublic.co.uk for this stay. The fact remains that I did not get what I paid for. The fact remains I am not the only customer of TR this has happened to at a Delfin Hotel (check your on-line reviews). The fact remains that TR seem phlegmatic to this practice on their customers. The fact is, I can submit a 'chargeback' claim to Visa with regard to this transaction.

I have appreciated the candor and speed of your responses so far Steve, and I firmly believe, that if I am to succeed in firstly getting TR to acknowledge and stop this premeditated practice of double booking by Delfin, and secondly, to be suitably recompensed, then you are the pony I need to back.

If on the other hand, TR still don't want to play anymore, then thanks for your help, all the best, I'm off to Visa.

Regards

Trevor

Hi Trevor, will get your concerns sent back to Serhs for further comment, and will stress you expect more than just 'comments' back from them.

Steve