Should Thomson offer refunds ?

[davecttr]

At the risk of repeating myself, this is what it says in the Thomson brochure:-

If they make major changes to flight or accommodation you can either

i) accept the changes

ii) accept a replacement OR

iii)Cancel and receive a full refund

 

Well a different ship is a MAJOR change imo and I would certainly ask for my money back if there were no shows. We love them as we don't really go to the theatre very much, saving our money for our holidays:) It just finishes off the evening after a nice meal.

Well, it appears our opinions don't count to these corporate types. They get to say what is a major change not us. The only way to test this is to go to court and see what the judge thinks. I am not volunteering to be the victim, I don't need the stress. :(

[glittergal1]

I would class it as a MAJOR change Thomson class it as a MINOR change we couldnt get a refund and I cant get any compensation out of them either , they just dont care how this had made the customers feel and after this cruise I will never be a customer again

[Keith Jackson]

I would class it as a MAJOR change Thomson class it as a MINOR change we couldnt get a refund and I cant get any compensation out of them either , they just dont care how this had made the customers feel and after this cruise I will never be a customer again

 

So ask yourself "why" ..."whats the difference"? between us .. you and me ...it wont solve anything I know but may help you see where the opposition[ Thomson's ] are coming from in their attitude to refund me but not you. As I see it, it all hinges on how they define "major"Have you asked for an explanation?

[glittergal1]

Who do you seek answers from? Who is at the top to complain to?

All I am getting so far are scripted answers .

My opinion is that they have handled this all wrong , if they had informed us of the change before it happened and offered us £50 each OBC as a good will gesture I would have been happy

[imajica]

Well I don't want £50 OBC thank you very much. I do want my deposit refunded as I booked this holiday according to my requirements.

I am not in the habit of booking a "magical mystery tour". I chose the ship according to my needs. It was not a last minute booking where you take your chances and let the travel company choose your hotel.

In my opinion it is absolutely disgraceful that they treat some customers in such a cavalier manner.

[kalos]

Well I don't want £50 OBC thank you very much. I do want my deposit refunded as I booked this holiday according to my requirements.

I am not in the habit of booking a "magical mystery tour". I chose the ship according to my needs. It was not a last minute booking where you take your chances and let the travel company choose your hotel.

In my opinion it is absolutely disgraceful that they treat some customers in such a cavalier manner.

 

You really have my sympathy and all the others who are in the same situation :) Just an Idea but .. if enough of you were to complain

to lets say BBC Watchdog ,that would put thomson back into the spotlight which i'm sure would be the last place they would like to be :eek:

[ranger mac]

I am not happy that I had booked on Destiny and found out by chance last week before we went into pay our account that we are now booked to go on The Majesty ship. We booked in December to travel on 1st June. We find that this ship will not have the same entertainment.Our new cabin has partly restricted view - our previous cabin had no restricted view. We had no official letter prior to having to pay this account and we have no alternative but to pay or lose our deposit. (If we could have got our deposit back we would have cancelled). But they have us over a barrel 'Previously our cabin supplement was £238 and is now £168 which gives the impression of an inferior cabin situation. But our final bill was still the same. Thomson are adament that this is a better ship etc and although the girls in the office are very pleasant Thomson are unwilling to give any compensation however small.

Has anyone had a similar experience in the last couple of weeks or getting any compensation??

 

Have we paid for a Rolls Royce and got a Mini??

[imajica]

Maybe then we should see how many of us would be willing to stand together as a group?

[imajica]

I have left a message on BBC watchdog site outlining my complaint

[gran2b]

thomsons charge £35 per person to change holidays, should everyone not be getting a minimum of £35 per person to change ship??????:rolleyes:

[glittergal1]

I have written 4 emails of complaint up to now and have got no where with the compensation Im going to wait to see what the reply is to my last email and if unsatisfactory I too will write to Watchdog I am sure they will be interested after the Dream saga .

 

let us know what happens if we stand united Thomson might listen

[imajica]

It's an online form you fill in on the BBC watchdog site.They might take up our case if there are enough of us.

[glittergal1]

I have just filled in the form on consumer direct aswell to see what their advice is

[kalos]

I have just filled in the form on consumer direct aswell to see what their advice is

 

This may be of help to you as well . Good luck ;):)

[Keith Jackson]

I am not happy that I had booked on Destiny and found out by chance last week before we went into pay our account that we are now booked to go on The Majesty ship. We booked in December to travel on 1st June. We find that this ship will not have the same entertainment.Our new cabin has partly restricted view - our previous cabin had no restricted view. We had no official letter prior to having to pay this account and we have no alternative but to pay or lose our deposit. (If we could have got our deposit back we would have cancelled). But they have us over a barrel 'Previously our cabin supplement was £238 and is now £168 which gives the impression of an inferior cabin situation. But our final bill was still the same. Thomson are adament that this is a better ship etc and although the girls in the office are very pleasant Thomson are unwilling to give any compensation however small.

Has anyone had a similar experience in the last couple of weeks or getting any compensation??

 

Have we paid for a Rolls Royce and got a Mini??

 

I have....sorry if this sounds smug

[Lady@Sea]

I am booked to sail 4/5/12 and spent the whole day yeaterday trying to make contact with Thomson re the change of ship. There is nothing wrong with the Majesty, but as I am travelling as a single, traditional dining was my main reason for choosing this cruise, as the Destiny had traditional dining but Majesty has Freestyle. All day I was passed from pillar to post, to sum up the response can be done in one word. 'Tough', and 'They feel very sorry for me having to travel alone'. How patronising is that? I feel I should be offered the option of a refund as I would never book freestyle dining when cruising alone. Yes I can cancel at a cost of £642. Who changed the cruise? They did!. I am not giving up with them yet!! My mother did not raise a 'dumb broad'.

[Jakanne1]

I am booked to sail 4/5/12 and spent the whole day yeaterday trying to make contact with Thomson re the change of ship. There is nothing wrong with the Majesty, but as I am travelling as a single, traditional dining was my main reason for choosing this cruise, as the Destiny had traditional dining but Majesty has Freestyle. All day I was passed from pillar to post, to sum up the response can be done in one word. 'Tough', and 'They feel very sorry for me having to travel alone'. How patronising is that? I feel I should be offered the option of a refund as I would never book freestyle dining when cruising alone. Yes I can cancel at a cost of £642. Who changed the cruise? They did!. I am not giving up with them yet!! My mother did not raise a 'dumb broad'.

 

As this is a significant alteration/fundamental difference for you personally I think you should have a good claim. Check out Regulation 13 of Package Travel Regulation. It is on http://www.holidaytravelwatch.net site.

 

Good luck

[davecttr]

As a solo cruiser myself who finds the open dining less than ideal you have my sympathy. What i do is go into dinner shortly after it opens, say 6.30 to 6.45 and ask for a large table. If the waiters are OK I ask if it is OK if i go to the same table on other nights. This has never been a problem so far. Also, you might be lucky if the solo greet and meet throws up a group of solos that go into dinner together. This happened to me on Spirit and when we were invited to dinner by the social hostess the usual waiters were most upset.

 

May I ask did you book a specific cabin on Destiny and what cabin have you been allocated on Majesty?

[jungez]

We have the opposite - we are cruising in a large group and fixed dining suited us to ensure we all could dine together, at a set time safe, in the knowledge a table would be ready and waiting - past freestyle experience on other cruises, even as a couple, sometimes means waiting for a table. I wonder how long we may have to wait with the opening dining now forced on us with Majesty?

As a matter of interest, as badminton players we were looking forward to continuing playing on the sports deck aboard Destiny. No mention has been made of any sports facilities on the Majesty!

[imajica]

I posted on their blog

http://www.thomson.co.uk/blog/2012/03/thomson-majesty/#comments

Try that and see if it helps you

[Grez]

I posted on their blog

http://www.thomson.co.uk/blog/2012/03/thomson-majesty/#comments

Try that and see if it helps you

I don't know if it was just me, or something more sinister, but the blog won't let me comment.

[glittergal1]

that happened to me it shut down my whole internet

[imajica]

Ooooer. I don't know...it let me post....maybe they're worried about people asking for refunds ?

Try again in the morning in case there's a blip with the site.

[imajica]

I have spoken to Thomson who have advised me that even though they have changed

- the ship

- the dining, traditional to freestyle

- the entertainment (no broadway style shows)

They are entitled to do so under their terms and conditions!

In my opinion this is daylight robbery and we should be able to get a refund. Therefore I am now recontacting the Passenger Shipping Association 020 7436 2449,

Consumer Direct 08454 040506

ABTA

BBC Holiday Watchdog.

[kalos]

Thats a few more who have contacted BBC Watchdog :cool:

 

Has anyone had a response from them yet ?

 

The more they get sending in ,the more chance of them taking up the cause.:cool: