 Poster: A snowHead
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Anyone else had a similar experience??
I booked a whole chalet 3 months in advance for a group of 28 friends and was repeatedly reassured on the phone that;
(1) we had it exclusively to ourselves;
(2) that we had filled it up
(3) that no other bookings would be accepted from other groups
(4) that the computer booking system was showing some of us sharing 3-to-a-room, because it could not deal with the fact that we had booked so far in advance on a special offer...
B*******DS......... on the day before we arrived at the exclusively booked chalet, we were told that there were an extra two couples in the chalet, not from our group, and so A DOZEN OF MY GROUP HAD TO SHARE 3 TO A ROOM, despite having paid for two to a room under a special offer, and having booked the whole chalet 3 months in advance.
THE LESSONS:
(1) Never, ever, ever, trust verbal assurances on the phone from ski companies.
(2) Always, always, always get it in writing
(3) Never ever, ever accept reassurances that it's "problem with the computer, and it won't cause any hassle"
As of now, nearly 6 weeks after the holiday, I have yet to have had a response to my complaint letter from the offending company.
Which is a shame, coz up to now I was willing to believe it was a genuine mistake.
I now thoroughly regret the effort I put into reassuring my group that it would be sorted out in the end.
MY RECOMMENDATION; Do not trust any holiday booking from any company unless it is writing. And always, always double check the details.
( for info - I have also posted this to "SCGB" forums so that I can alert everyone to this risk. I will **not name the particular company**, I think its just better to assume they are all capable of this kind of appalling treatment of their customers )
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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sale of goods act. not goods or services as described.
pretty simple really.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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What does your paperwork say? If it says three to a room, you might be screwed.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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TJon, chalet companies are not all like that. Name them here and give them a public opportunity to refute. Verifiable facts only, dated conversations, any correspondence, etc.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
| TJon, chalet companies are not all like that. Name them here and give them a public opportunity to refute. Verifiable facts only, dated conversations, any correspondence, etc. |
Check with the mods first, they get very touchy and delete posts with tou operator's names in sometimes 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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TJon, I would have expected the chalet company to confirm the details in writing, or at least by e-mail. We often book 9 months in advance and always have confirmation in writing within a couple of days.
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You should always get something in writing It is also in the best interests of the other party for you to do so - they have a business to run. If you hadn't received anything in writing, you should have followed it up and asked for something. Then, if anything does go wrong, you have it down in black and white.
Best of luck
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TJon, get a grip, it's not the end of the world. My sympathies lie with the other two couples who had to share with your group of 28.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Name & shame!! If you don't, then your post is of little value: otherwise how are we to know the good chalet operators from the bad??
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| Quote: |
As of now, nearly 6 weeks after the holiday, I have yet to have had a response to my complaint letter from the offending company.
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ABTA T&Cs give 28 days max for the company for respond
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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the ice perv, you beat me to it. Come on TJon, who are these jokers ?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I will not name the company while I'm still chasing an amicable solution.
In some respects, the name does not matter....
THE LESSON IS ALWAYS GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING,
no matter how nice the people, no matter how plausible the reassurances that it will be looked after.
All you need is for your primary contact to move on, or for a booking error by another salesperson, and you are in deep doo-doo.
So sorry everyone, I'm not dodging the question. I will not name the company at this stage.
After all, everything else about the holiday was perfect.
And my group remained v supportive of the resort reps while we there. Assuming everything would be resolved when we got back.
It just seems to be taking them a v v long time....
Wish me luck for now.
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TJon, Good luck. Perseverance is the name of your game.
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You know it makes sense.
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TJon, Yes good luck, would be interested to hear how you do get on.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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TJon,
I can understand that you are spitting mad. The same happened a number of years ago with a company that now only operates to N America. Chalet girls sister and partner took a room and we had to triple up in a similar fashion. To make matters worse they insisted on smoking in the chalet despite my group being non smokers. Complaints were made and the company denied responsibility...at a local level. Head office could find no reference to the booking and it transpired the resort rep had been complicit in the fix, resulting in Chalet girl being sacked and resort rep reprimanded, and a free sweatshirt for each of our group of 14. Not that satisfactory really, and we haven't travelled with them again.
I wish you better luck!
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
| THE LESSON IS ALWAYS GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING |
I don't want to be harsh because I'd have been spitting mad too, but why is this in any way news? Of course you should get everything in writing, why would it occur not to?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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TJon, I organised a trip for 70 last year and was told a couple of days before departure that insurance would not be included, despite having been told on the phone that it would be, and it being in the contract. As there was no time to argue the matter I paid up under duress out of my own pocket and am still involved in the legal process of getting it back, and still several thousand out of pocket. As it's an ongoing legal thing I won't name the company at this point.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Our children were given a bunk room by a chalet company that was smaller than a cupboard, while a last minute booking had been already allocated the larger room on our invoice. As we arrived very late, and they were already in bed, we didn't feel we could make too much fuss about it. We were told over the phone on our return that as we had child discounts on the room, we should accept it and not complain. As they still paid less than our children I didn't think that relevant but they refused to budge. The remainder of the hol was great though
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Helen Beaumont, Another example of the great travelling with children rip-off! How do tour operators get away with under-occupancy charges when travelling with children or assuming that because they're kids they take up less room. It's total bobbins.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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A reason we stopped using them. You only actually save a few pounds by the time underoccupancy is taken into account anyway. They all need a bed after all.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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eng_ch,
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I don't want to be harsh because I'd have been spitting mad too, but why is this in any way news? Of course you should get everything in writing, why would it occur not to?
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you're right. It's not news. Like you, I thought that I had learnt the lesson to get everything in writing long ago.
Then I got suckered by a nice phone manner.
Just reminding everyone that we can all be taken for a ride. 
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| Quote: |
How do tour operators get away with under-occupancy charges when travelling with children
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Are you suggesting your kids should go for free or what? Not understanding this bit.
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assuming that because they're kids they take up less room
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Last time I looked kids were smaller than adults, therefore taking up less room.
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Lizzard, no we weren't, they add ridiculous supplements onto the adult fares when offering you a discount for the child. We still use the same no. of beds as 4 adults, but the tour op chooses to think that only 2 adult beds are being used so charges extra i.e. an 'under-occupancy supplement'
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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TJon, fair enough
Helen Beaumont, you mean they're actually charging you twice over for the 2 children's beds? Child fare plus underoccpancy on the same beds?
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Helen Beaumont, I should ignore Lizzard as his posts generally imply that TO's are wonderfull & offer great value!
I recently booked a quick week with a TO & it was £105.00 cheaper to say that my 2 kids were adults, so large were the child supplements, that was even ignoring a so called free child place! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I think some large operators are very confusing with their kids prices. The ones we use give £200 of the adult prices when sharing in a triple or quad room (£150 in the busiest weeks). Clear and concise.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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provenjohn, Helen Beaumont, my point exactly, I think Lizzard, is being a bit obtuse here.
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Sounds bizarre to me - I should book with someone else.
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You know it makes sense.
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TJon, yes, point taken.
But unlikely you'll get any compo from the company.
If upon booking you got nothing in writing, then you're screwed.
If you've got something in writing from the website, then you're stuck with wot the website quoted (i.e. yr screwed).
You arrived for your holiday, and you took it. Services were provided and you accepted the quality thereof.
Even if at this late point you could get the TO to admit their mistake, such an admittance wouldn't bind them to offer any compo.
Even if (hell froze over and) you could prove their liability, have you actually suffered any compensatable loss? I mean, did you actually suffer any loss as a result of having to share? e.g. did you specify to the TO upon booking, that you COULDN'T possibly bare sharing with anyone else and that sharing would mean you wouldn't possibly consider continuing the holiday? If that's the case then you might have a leg to stand on. Otherwise, not a hope in hell.
Sorry.
Having said that, an ethical company might, out the goodness of its wallet, offer you some form of inducement to retain your goodwill (e.g. reimbursement/discount on future bookings). But remember they're not legally bound to do so - it means nothing other than they don't want you to go around slagging them off.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Manda, Not entirely true. I've recently had £150 from a well known TO because they buggered up our accomodation and specs weren't as promised. The company had insurance to pay us with so i assume it they must realise they're screwed by the Sales and Goods Act or something like that. It took some doing for them to admit negligence but they did cough up in the end. You just have to be sure to be pin-point accurate in your complaints and not to under or over-emblish claims.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Lizzard, bizzare indeed, but until quite recently it was impossible to go on hilday from here by any other means than tour ops.
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FAQ
