 Poster: A snowHead
|
ed.bremner, I'm so sorry to hear the bad news. I've been reading this thread and am absolutely appalled by the complete lack of customer service and what appears to be sadly lacking in customer rights too. Afraid I have no legal knowledge with which to help, but having also had a TO try to change my accomodation/resort after booking (I opted to cancel and re-booked with another TO as I still had time) I am very, very interested to hear how you get on. Huge amounts of good luck to you - sock it to 'em! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Agree - what a disgusting way for Neilson to do business  How guttingly disappointing for you all
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Somewhere in a parallel universe...
It is Christmas Day. A boy, eight years old and tremendously excited, runs down the stairs in his parents' house. Beneath the brightly lit tree is a large package, wrapped in gold paper, with a huge glittering bow on top. The boy looks into his father's eyes. "Open it, son", says the father, but the smile on his face seems slightly forced. The boy, sensing something is wrong, hesitantly tugs on the bow, and the wrapping paper falls open.
"What is it, daddy?"
"It's a belt sander, son. It's a kind of machine tool, used in carpentry."
"A.... what?". His eyes well up.
"Son, come and sit by me. You know that mountain bike you wanted?"
The boys eyes light up, he knows the bike his father refers to.
"I bought it for you."
All better now, the child excitedly asks, "Where is it Daddy?"
"I don't know son. Listen to me now, and be brave. I ordered that bike for you from a catalogue shop called 'Neilsons'. Unfortunately though, yesterday night - Christmas Eve - they telephoned me to say that they had 'double sold' it."
The boy looks on uncomprehendingly.
"You see, Neilsons have some small print in their contract that allows them to substitute anything a customer orders for anything else of the same value. So they have sent this... belt sander instead."
"Where's my bicycle, daddy?"
"You don't have a bicycle, son, I'm sorry. You'll have to make do with this belt sander."
The boy runs upstairs, and cries in his room until eventually tears give merciful way to sleep.
Downstairs, though, his father still weeps.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Tue 6-01-09 13:14; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
It made me weep 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
It would do, I really feel for you. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
ed.bremner, I am so sorry - but not as surprised as I would have been if I not also had a massive messup with Neilson in the past. I'm going to pm you with a contact that may be useful 
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Tue 6-01-09 13:47; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The little boy tried attaching his little bell (that his grandmother had bought him using her meagre pension, to go with his new bicycle) to the belt sander and riding it around the streets (like a sort of skidoo with a huge car battery balanced on the back to provide power) ringing the little bell over and over, but all the other children laughed at him and punched him and kicked him and spat on his shoes.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Tue 6-01-09 14:35; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
His shoes were supposed to have a picture of a spaceman fighting a dinosaur with a laser gun, and they light up and make whoosing sounds from a little speaker, but unfortunately the boy's favourite uncle had ordered them from 'Neilsons' who had sent a pair of size 12 pink PVC stilettos instead.
He is no longer the boy's favourite uncle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pretty shoddy behaviour from Neilsons. Hope you manage to come to some sort of acceptable settlement. For what it's worth I would have said hold out for Courchevel if that's what you wanted. No matter how good or otherwise the alternative is, if you had carefully selected a particular resort that's where they should have taken you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
| ed.bremner wrote: |
| Their belief was that they had looked for a holiday in Courchevel, bought a holiday in Courchevel and had a contract for that holiday and that it should be honoured. |
As I said, IANAL, but I'm totally with them. A change of accommodation within resort could have been acceptable providing the conditions for the 4 year old were reasonable; the change of resort was not, especially at such short notice. Well done you for sticking to your guns, I think that ought to help your case. The TO screwed up, resulting in breach of contract and ABTA terms. The very very very least they should have done was a) make damned sure you were not out of pocket, b) made sure the alternative accommodation in the new resort met your needs and c) added a little something on to smooth things over, even if it was just a bottle of bubbly to say sorry. I find it very hard to believe that they didn't know about the problem long before they notified you. I think a short session with the CAB or a solicitor doing free initial consultations is in order
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
ed.bremner, Having read the thread all I can say is how sorry I am that they have done this to you. This is a quiet week in the Alps, and I can't believe they could have not found something else for you. I can understand the other family's view about the ski school and the lifts for the 4 year old, as we were there last year with our then 4 year old. Ring Nicky campbell on Watchdog, phone GMTV. I would ring them for you, thier reputation should be effected by such an attitude. They could have given you the small amount of compensation to cover the ski hire etc. They will never get any business from me and I will tell anyone I know the story, maybe every snowhead should do the same.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
it's a pity we can't go back in time to see if the holday ed.bremner got was on a late-availability deal before it got allocated to ed.bremner. an argument that he should be refunded the difference between what he paid and what he could have got it for had he cancelled and rebooked?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
This is starting to show on Google now. Might come to Neilson's attention, I'm sure they must monitor publicity on the internet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Terrible story - feel gutted for you, Ed.
At the risk of sounding like I'm trying to defend the indefensible (I'm not!), I've seen Neilson deal with this kind of problem fairly well before. I'd guess the problem was caused by a break-down in communication between Neilson and FastTrack. That might also make it harder to get to the bottom of who should cough up compensation...though I think Neilson probably have most to lose reputation-wise, so worth going after them.
It would be worth seeing if you can find the email address of someone reasonably senior in Neilson customer service, and forwarding the link to this thread on to them. I suspect it'd make uncomfortable reading for them...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Especially if it was the employee responsible for that whole 'belt sander' incident.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
| Colin B wrote: |
| This is starting to show on Google now. Might come to Neilson's attention, I'm sure they must monitor publicity on the internet. |
so it is, i just googled "courchevel neilson" and this thread came up in 6th place !
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Perhaps you may want to link to this thread in their Forums - which (they say) "are great for getting honest opinions from guests"
Might help you get a response http://www.neilson.co.uk/Forums.aspx
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Awful scenario Ed. Hope you get something re-booked asap.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
ed.bremner, So sorry that you didn't get away and I just cannot understand the atittude of Neilson. I would have thought the least they would do was pay the extra expense and add extra compensation for inconvenience. I have taken five year olds on skiing hols and proximity to ski school has always been the most important consideration, nobody wants to carry a 4year old in ski boots and all his equipment 1200m.
I've never booked with Neilson and wouldn't dream of doing so in the future after reading this. The sign of a good company is how they behave when things go wrong.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Eeek, we're booked with Neilson for next Saturday! We haven't got the tickets yet .......
I would have just gone, and continued the fight afterwards. Which is what they rely on, I guess. Very sorry for you ed.bremner. Hope you get a result. In my experience, ABTA are useless. I would go to the small claims court.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ed.bremner, sorry to hear that you haven't gone. Might be worth a word with BBC's Watchdog programme.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Found this mildly amusing....
http://www.neilson.co.uk/Meet-the-Team.aspx
.Quote:
Erica Werner - Senior Purchasing Manager
Erica's role at Neilson is to make sure we have enough hotels, chalets and apartments to accommodate Neilson's guests. Her main area of responsibility is France, a country she knows very well and our most popular destination
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Or further down the same page:
Quote:
Clare Warman - Overseas Purchasing Executive
Clare spends much of her time ensuring that we have enough hotels, chalets and apartments to house the thousands of you who join us in France each winter. She has lived and worked in France for several years.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dear all - this is Neilson speaking. We've been aware of this thread for a while now - but I felt that the matter was a private one between us - Fast-Track as the 'agent' and the client - but it seems some are expecting us to respond.
There are always two sides to any story and whilst I can understand the frustration around this issue - I can assure you all that we did not manufacture this nor 'sit on it' till there was no other option - it was a genuine overbooking by our accommodation supplier in resort - they are a large and respected supplier but simply made a mistake. We informed the agent as soon as we heard of it and they in turn contacted the client. We tried our best to find alternative accommodation in the original resort but could not find anything.
In this situation our rules are quite straight forward - the client is offered a full refund of all their money plus compensation in line with our booking conditions. Aware that this is not always what the client wants - they want a holiday - we also sourced an alternative holiday - sadly in a different resort - but using the same flights we offered a significant upgrade to the accommodation originally booked as well as substantial cash compensation - we also offered to cover the cost of the 'lost' ski equipment rental - although it was not booked by either us or the agent.
Our customer service team and the agent both worked hard to rescue this holiday and at close of play on the Friday we still weren't clear whether the client was going to travel or not - we held the holiday open in the hope that they tipped up at the airport on the Saturday. But sadly they chose not to.
Overbookings - sadly - are a fact of life - some businesses do it to ensure they have the highest possible loadfactors - we don't run our business this way and would not have the good reputation we have for delivering great holidays if we did. Holiday arrangements are complicated and we have to rely on a lot of suppliers to make one happen - mistakes are very, very rare but when they do happen our team do all they can to resolve it and we have a great reputation for being as fair as we can be when rescuing the situation.
There's not a lot else I can really say here - I am truly sorry that we couldn't offer the client the holiday they booked - we did all we could to offer a sensible alternative and as is always the case with us - the client is always due a full refund if they choose not to take the alternatives we offer.
Pip Tyler
Overseas Director
Neilson
ps Maggi - you don't say when you booked - but I'm surprised you haven't got tickets yet - can you contact our admin team here in Brighton so we can check up on the whereabouts of them - don't panic as a last resort they can be collected from our ticket desks at the airport but nicer to have them in your hand.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
PipT, top marks for posting - don't want to get into specifics about your post, but the fact you have posted any sort of response deserves some respect.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
PipT, Welcome to SnowHeads. I don't think anyone expected you to reply here..... but well done for doing so. Unfortunately the actions of the agent may as well be your actions, frustrating, but true. Glad to see that full refund is due.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ed.bremner or PipT,
are you willing to provide details of the original and alternative accomodations ?
| Quote: |
we offered a significant upgrade to the accommodation originally booked
|
I'd just be interested to see how signicifant the offered upgrade was ?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
PipT, well done for responding in public - I wish other companies monitored this type of forum and responded accordingly (MK Xscape I'm talking to you!!!!)
I would suggest that this thread should be gracefully put to bed now that a refund has been provided and Neilson have responded publicly. The matter of acceptable alternative and upgraded is very much open to personal perception and could go on for ever.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
just wanted to say this thread should be shown as an example of how to vent/deal with problems with dignity.
It is a real shame that the issue wasn't resolved to anyone's satisfaction really. It's upsetting that a holiday so many people were looking forward to can be ruined at such short notice...
That said despite being understandably angry and frustrated ed.bremner always posted politely and without making it about the staff involved... and credits to Neilsons for not ignoring us and posting an equally civil answer..
Kudos..
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
PipT, thanks. I will chase the tickets tomorrow if they haven't arrived. We have used Neilson before and everything was fine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Wooaaahh - you guys are quick!
Agree with Boris that 'beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder' - we try to offer something 'pretty' but the full refund fallback is always there.
We've established a great reputation for not only delivering great holidays at great prices here at Neilson - but on listening to our customers. Funny thing the more you listen the more they say - but it's all useful stuff. We're in the game of delivering dreams so we need to be in touch with what people are dreaming about.
Forums are not the best places to resolve disputes but are great information sharing sites - with the beauty of immediate feedback on issues. Forum lovers may want to visit our own forum on our website and you can see that we are open and honest as we can be.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
A very interesting and full reply PipT. Thanks for taking the trouble to register and make us aware that there are yet more stages that have to go right "back-stage" to make TO holidays work.
Like the OP, I have gone independently and also taken packages, and I feel that the choice depends on many factors e.g. size of party, type of accommodation, ease of organising own travel etc. etc. (e.g. I'm not sure that I would be happy to drive to Austria after the threads about winter tyres  )
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
[PipT, like the others, kudos for the response. However, I'm astonished to hear that there was no accommodation whatsoever to be had in any of the Courchevel villages in what is usually the quietest week of the season - the resort must be on course for one of it's best years ever! It's also a little worrying that the double booking wasn't discovered until so late, by which time a happy outcome was always going to be difficult and unlikely. No doubt you will be "making enquiries" about the matter yourselves and I hope the OP will be able to come back to us in due course and report a satisfactory resolution to a distressing and disappointing situation that was not of his making
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
eng_ch
Mistakes aren't often spotted till the last minute - sometimes they're hidden in the hope they'll resolve themselves - we'll probably never know but hopefully a lesson has been learned by all involved.
Despite all the doom and gloom here in UK - it is the best snow in many years and the resorts are having a boom time. But a bed isn't simply a bed - a Neilson bed has to be 'inspected' to ensure the property meets our health & safety standards. We've worked with the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) to produce a code of practice to ensure that our properties not only meet local regulations but meet the recommendations from the experts we employ to audit all our properties. Sounds complicated and it is but we want to be sure that the properties we put our guests in are not only comfortable but also safe.
Sorry I'm starting to sound like a tour operating bore but with DIY packaging more and more common many forget the (often hidden) benefits that booking with a reputable operator can bring.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| PipT wrote: |
| with DIY packaging more and more common many forget the (often hidden) benefits that booking with a reputable operator can bring. |
Well, it IS safer to stay in the UK rather than fly off to the Alps and throw yourself down the slopes...
Sorry PipT just couldn't resist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PipT, Well done to your company for authorising you to reply to this thread. Out of interest what prompted the descision to respond here, I am surprised that a large company didn't simply threaten the forum with legal action to remove the posting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Agree 'horizon' - we and our guests do a lot of crazy and potentially dangerous activities - but nice to know you can sleep peacefully!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
There's no way a company would get away with that in any other industry... so why should 
- and they think that is fair 
