David Burling, Managing Director for Thomson and First Choice, rolled up his sleeves on Saturday 21st January to help out at one of our retail shops and go ‘Back to the Floor’.
“January is always one of our busiest times of year as people’s thoughts turn away from the misery of January to holidays and sunshine. Traditionally it’s one of our busiest sales periods as all the tour operators and airlines launch sales to encourage customers to book their holidays early.
Nowhere is busier then in our network of over 850 retail shops, which see thousands of customers passing through the doors requesting brochures, quizzing our agents on where the best hotels are and booking holidays to make sure they get a coveted free child place!
On Saturday 21st January I, and many of the board directors here at Thomson and First Choice, went back to the floor to help out our retail staff on what is traditionally one of our biggest weekends of the year.
I joined the team at the Thomson Uxbridge shop, not just because it’s near to where I live, but also because it’s where Billy Leighton, our travel advisor of the year for 2011 works. I wanted to see what great looked like and pick up top tips from one of our best agents.
Our retail network has had a strong January overall, and I was pleased to see that despite the current economic climate and the depressing news stories we are affronted with by the media , customers were very upbeat. If anything it seemed that their holiday is more important than ever, and people are looking to sacrifice other luxuries and treats to save for it.
I was really impressed by the customer service offered at the shop and our agents’ knowledge of destinations and hotels. They did not just have a good understanding of Thomson and First Choice hotels, but also knowledge on cruises, multi-centres and more complex itineraries, to really assist customers in booking the right holiday for them. In particular. people were asking about our exclusive hotel concepts Sensatori and Holiday Villages, and those that had visited one of them were keen to try out another one. This was wonderful to hear as we pour a lot of resources into getting these hotels right – from ensuring that we have a great hotel to start with, to training a team of entertainers, child care reps and holiday advisors and then marketing and promoting the hotels.
Unsurprisingly a lot of our customers were looking for a good deal, and the team used all of their resources to try and find the right holiday for them. Knowing where the best offers are is vital to closing the sale. In head office we have a large team of people working on our pricing and deciding how much all the holidays should cost. It was fascinating for me to see how these decisions the commercial team make, are trickled down to the store. The staff knew all the offers we released on Friday, and in some cases had also worked out where there were free child places on peak dates so they could quickly and easily give the offers to their customers. This greatly impressed me, and more importantly our customers.
I spent a lot of the day making tea for customers and the team and chatting to them whilst they were waiting to be seen to by our agents. In terms of lessons learnt I saw how important it was for the agents to have excellent product knowledge as customers ask so many different questions. I think the Uxbridge shop is really well run, and in terms of improvements the only things I can think of are to provide more things for kids to do whilst their mums and dads are booking their holidays. And also buy a bigger kettle so the January Saturday assistant (me) can make the tea quicker when the shop is full!
Amanda Hawley the Retail Manager of the Uxbridge Branch said: “We really loved having David with us on the Saturday and he was a fantastic asset to the team making tea and keeping the customers chatting whilst they were waiting to see us. I was very impressed by his product knowledge and the level of detail he knew about the hotels we go to and sell. I hope David can pop by another time, when we are not quite so busy!”
My father and his partner were due to go on a platinum package holiday to Turkey on 02/04/12 to aid his recovery from cancer treatment. Since the booking was made his partner has caught tetanus and thypoid from the vaccinations she had for the trip and is now seriously ill in hospital. The terms and conditions state he can only change the passenger details 14 days before departure (after 14 days he will pay the original cost price – useless). However I have spoken to 2 staff on 0844 8710878 on extension 3 who say he can change the details 14-0 days before departure at a cost of £70. I called a travel agents and they said 14-3 days before departure at a cost of £90. I cannot seem to get a straight answer from anybody and do not know what to believe.
Hi Megan, Have you booked online, or in store?
Today is 14th March 2013. I am due to fly to Hotel Logs Gigantes on 190
9th March 2013. There are continuing reports of Norovirus at this Hotel. I have made many calls this week to try and get some help to stay at another hotel to avoid any illness. I am told this is not possible and I must travel to Los Gigantes or lose all of my money. What happened to Thomsons Duty of Care. I phoned hotel two days ago who actually owned up to approx 5 rooms in quarantine. How many people are there ill? I advised Thomsons, as I have no choice, I will hold them responsible should I or my partner fall ill. You should be listening and not sending people into an area where there are obvious problems. I advised I am happy to move my booking to another hotel but I am told this is not possible.
Hi Jean, I’m very sorry you feel this way. We’re aware that has been cases of sickness at this property previously, however after monitoring the situation closely, this is now under control. Currently in the UK and Europe there are raised levels of seasonal viral illness which is a very common and spreads easily from person to person. It appears very likely that this may be the cause of the previous cases of illness.
We do take any sickness very seriously and along with our UK based Health & Safety consultants and the resort team, are working closely with the hotel management to minimise the spread of any infection. We’re confident that the hotel is fully cooperating and they’ve implemented all of the recommended procedures. In any case, we’re confident that the health of our customers isn’t being compromised at the Los Gigantes. With this in mind, normal booking conditions apply.
My partner and I travelled to Cuba in October and on arrival discovered that her baggage was still at Gatwick. We were assured that the luggage would be with us in a couple of days, however, mistake after mistake meant that my partner was without lugage for the next 6 days. This is in a country where you can not go to the local Hypermarket to replace items. No support was provided By either Thomsom reps or the 24/7 helpline, and we had to rely upon the good nature of other holiday makers. When we returned we made a complaint, however, this has proved to be as difficult as dealing with the lost luggage in the first place. It has now been 4 months and they have only just sent a cheque for £147.92, which was my out of pocket expences, expecting us to accept this in full and final settlement.
The above is only a brief summary, the whole situation would be funny if it did not ruin a weeks holiday, one that we were so looking forward to. I intend to persue this further, however, given all the other comments I have read I do not expect this to be easy as this company really do not seem to care.
Hi Les, I’m sorry to hear about your experiences. If you wish to seek third party advice, you’re well within your rights to do so.
I can only agree with your comment that this company does not seem to care!
We booked a 2week holiday to Mexico travelling on the 2nd feb 2013.
I was taken ill on the 30th Jan and was hospitalised and unable to travel.
All I need to make a claim from my travel insurance is a simple no show form. Not that simple as it turns out. 12 phone calls and 6 visits to the CO-OP Travel agent later…..still no form and no idea how to get one.
Incidentally the CO-OP travel agent has been just as unhelpful.
It seems that once they have your money any semblance of service stops!
Still I suppose that there are hundreds of thousands of other customers ready and waiting to use their “services”. My strongest advice is don’t!!!!!
Hi Lynn, I’m sorry to hear you’re having problems with obtaining a no show form. Is the team you’re trying to contact our After Travel Team? If you’d like to confirm your reference with us, we can take a look at this for you.
We have holidayed with Thomson Gold and Platinum so many times over 20 years I have lost count and this is during school holidays where 2 weeks cost us £2,000+ a shot. I have asked Thomson on a number of occasions why they don’t recognise our loyalty and reward us but I am always fobbed off with “all customers are the same”. Shame on you Thomson there are other products out there so don’t be complacent with your customers or you will lose them. Due to the gradual decline in the Thomson Gold entertainment over the years we are seriously looking at other options. Please let me know how you plan to recognise and reward your loyal customers it seems you dont have a single customer view as bookings made online cant be amended in store (apart from taking payments of course)
Hi Stephen, It’s a shame you feel this way, We do have a loyalty scheme in development however we currently don’t have any details of this at this time. As soon as it’s ready we will announce it so keep an eye out for the new scheme.
I recentley returned from a package holiday with Thomson, in canary Islands the masplomas hotel and wasnt informed at all about building work being carried out, this was for the whole complete week and when I returned made a complaint to Mr Davud Burling who fobbed me off with his complaints team and NO COMPENSATION was given I was lied too saying no other customers had made a complaint
Thomson have certainly gone down in the quality of service they used to give to customers.
Mr David Burling you have distroyed Thomson Holidays to what Margret Thomson and her husband created back in the 60′s
You have lost your direction in what customer service is and close your ears to what we require.
Hi Mr Hall, If you would like to send me your booking reference then I can look into this for you.
how much do we pay to world care fund on our holiday
Hi, You can choose to donate £1 per adult to the world care fund or 50p per child.
After reading the comments posted on this page I am not surprised that it took Thomson three months to reply to my letter of complaint regarding our honeymoon to Cuba in August. I have been disappointed with Thomson throughout our whole holiday experience, one which cost us £3300 may I add, the poor response times to complaints and downright disgusting customer service all from a company who claim to be ‘genuinely grateful for your feedback’. It is ironic that we actually chose to go into a store and use a supposedly reputable company to ensure our honeymoon was perfect…. quite frankly a waste of time. When we finally received a response it did not address half of the issues we had raised, asked me for info I had already provided, patronised me to the point of tears and to top it all off offered me a pathetic holiday voucher in form of the compensation for a honeymoon from hell. What made me laugh the most was the fact that when the travel advisor called Thomson to say we were not prepared to accept this voucher (she herself was disgusted with the letter and value of voucher offered) she was told to tell me that I would have to write yet another letter to explain how I wanted the situation to be rectified, if this wasn’t clear enough in the three page letter I had previously sent twice to them. So, I wrote again stating that I would not accept insulting offers of compensation and that I wanted an offer of compensation that I considered to be appropriate for the honeymoon which I have since tried to forget. I have yet to hear from Thomson again, I just hope it won’t be another three months waiting for a letter which will no doubt be full of excuses and will not address any of the issues which I have raised. To be quite honest I have never felt so appalled by a company in my life, I hope Thomson are ashamed of themselves. My husband and I have no happy memories of our honeymoon and only a heart full of anger and upset when we think of it. Thanks Thomson…. for nothing.
Hi Holly, I’m disappointed to read this. If you can send me your reference number I can check this for you.
Ref: departure date 15/08/2012
Hi Holly, I’ve checked this with our After Travel Team who’ve advised if you’ve not happy with the response you’ve had from them you’ll now need to seek third party advice. I’m sorry if this isn’t the answer you were hoping for.
After reading through two years of complaints, firstly I claim the record for responses to letters, September through to January 2013 one letter from Thomson full of useless bland responses that do not address serious complaints, at present been waiting for reply of our letter dated 25/10/12 and yes I am supposedly dealing with the right department.
The one run by Delboy and Albert. seemingly I am wasting my time according to what I have read so far, wouldn’t their answers make a good book to read on anything but a Thomson holiday.
Hi Jackie, It’s disappointing to read this. Can we help with anything?
I have just booked a holiday with Thomson – the first package holiday with 2 teenagers, as I managed to get a free child place, although this is booked out of school hoilidays the aduly price is actually cheaper the week after which is in school holidays, so not exactly a free child place. I always book accomodation and flights seperately and have had no issues over the years. I have to say that all these complaints certainly do make a good read and I have just spent the last hour reading them all!
I, like other people, paid my inital deposit and realised that the coach transfers are automatically selected for you and you have to deselect. However once the deposit is paid if you change the transfers the admin fee was £60 which is the price of the transfer. When I selected the transfer again I was not charged for this so to amend a booking you have to pay a fee ( even though I didn’t select transfers in the first place) but to amend a booking where there is a cost involved there is no fee!
I was actually contacted by Thomson call centre by a CSA who I could not understand, straightaway after my original booking to see if I wanted to upgrade to a private taxi. This would have cost £110 and she pointed out that the coach transfer is one hour and a half but the taxi is only 40 minutes. On the hotel description it clearly states that the transfer is 40 minutes but it does not state that you take a private transfer. How misleading!
I have not paid my balance yet, which is due today ( actually yesterday but the Thomson website was down) .
I would like to deselect the coach transfer that Thomson so very kindly automatically selected for me but I do not want to pay £60 for the priviledge of clicking a mouse to do so.
Hi Kim, I’m sorry to hear about this. If you could provide us with your booking reference, we’ll look into this for you.
Thomson have lost there standards Mr Burling Dear Mr Burling I have just returned from Columbas HotelTenerife and am not happy with the condition of the [hotel cleanliness food rooms clientel dirty sun beds rep entertainment condition rooms ect] I could go on and on, When my husband and I arrived at the hotel our room was not clean we reported this to reception they had it cleaned but not up to the usual Thomson standard which we expect, the wardrobe door fell off three times before it was fixed properly the shower head was leaking and the shower head flew off three times when I run the bath dirt was coming from the taps [ health hazzard] I and my husband travel withyour firm often and I am sure you can check your recordsto find this out my husband and I cruise with you and are always yery satisfied withour holiday ,I cant believe a firm like yours would associate with a hotel such as this, with a clientel that were not up to thomsons standards. As far as the hotel management and your staff were concerend nobody seemed to care how people acted or were even bothered about the language in front of small children I would not have liked my grandchildren to have heard or seen it.I booked this holiday for my husbands birthday as he was born on christmas day but am sorry to say this was just a waste of good money ,and felt it for my husband and am sure from speaking to different people they were certainly not happy ither, We also had taken smart cloyhes to dress up at night but the standard of the hotel meant we were over dressed as people were going into the dinning room a night with shorts on we had to go out at night as the entertainment was rubbish ,I could go on and on but im sure you will not be interested as we are only a number. I feel under the surcumstanses we are due a refund for what we have been through as we have been faithfull customers to your company for the last i dont how many years and have never had to complain I am also forwarding some photoes of the state of our room dirt cobwebs a crisp that was on the floor from the day we arrived torn sheet chips in bath and also the towels were well by there sell by datem Mrs Rena Weir PS Please dont insult me offering voychers off my next holiday, I hope to hear from you soon , please pass this on to your md.
Hi Rena, I’m disappointed to read this. If you wish for this to be investigated you’ll need to contact our After Travel Team. They can be contacted on our on line form at the following link – http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/send-us-an-email-postTravel.html.
We had a honeymoon from hell with Thomson Sensatori hotel in Tenerife. We were moved three times because of thick black mold in each of our hotel rooms. The second room we lasted five minutes, and that was only to take pictures of all the mold, bath panel hanging off of the bath. Should i go on? I am so happy to share the photos with you along with Trip Advisor to show what you consider to be 5* – I have merely held off to allow you time to deal with this matter. I filled in four complaint forms and since we got back to the U.K on November 6th we have heard nothing from Thomson. This hotel was meant to cater for the disabled, it did not. There was no toilet i could use throughout the hotel as disabled male or disabled female and my husband had to repeatedly push me back to our mold ridden room every time I needed the toilet. One guest took kindly to me and took me in two and guess what I could not reach the tap, the soap, the sink, the hand dryer as not lowered for the disabled. There was no pull cord in cases of emergency inside the toilet. One toilet had no assistance rail. You isolated me as a disabled guest, with equal human rights, from the facilities with your dishonesty. We would have happily chosen another hotel but the welfare team said it was catered for the disabled and i would have no problems. Have you thought about hiring disabled people so they can confirm this supposed fact of yours regarding hotels?
The place stank of sewage, especially around the infinity pool and spa area. No one helped us at meal times. I was told the coach provided was three steps, a complete and utter lie – took photos. Do you know how utterly humiliating it is to have a complete stranger take pity on you and drag you up the steps , and then down them at the other end? This was meant to be a honeymoon to remember. Boy do we remember it for all the wrong reasons. I am so disgusted by the way I have been treated as a disabled person by Thomson whose welfare team should be ashamed of themselves. Even more so I am disgusted with Thomson for not handling any of the complaints. An apology would be a start. Will you please tell me why you are not handling my complaints or are you going to go silent too? If so I am very happy to hand my photographs over to any major newspaper interested and will also go to trading standards. I am horrified that a company such as yourselves can conduct themselves in such a manner.
Hi Lucy, I’m very disappointed to hear this. If you could send me your reference number I will chase this further for you.
Having used Thomsons for the last four years and booking at least two holidays a year costing at least four to five thousand pound in total each year. I have usually been impressed with the service I recived, from inital contact in the shop until my return home. That was until the one in 2010 to Tunisia when two weeks before we departed to be contacted by the local office that our hotel was not completed and we were booked into a hotel in hammett that we did not want to go to as we had been before, also on the same holiday we paid to pre book our seats and on arrival at the airport we did not get the ones we had booked, worse still on the way home we were not even sat together at first. I complained on return and Thomson complaints departmant should be called Thomson we don’t give a dam, the way the speak to you is disgusting, so no appoligy there or refund of my booking fee. Last years holidays went well, but just recived an e mail that the cruise we are due to go on Jan 24th that the sports deck has been shut off, now you may think this is not a big issue but it is when you upgrade your cabin to be on the same level as the sports deck so you can use it. Then when you ring up to complain they as good as tell you due to T&C’s they can do what ever they please. If I had known this (1) I would have not booked this cruise (2) I would not have upgraded my cabin. I have complained in the local shop and they have been very supportive but they also hit the same brick wall as myself when trying to sort this issue. We were about to book a cruise for Sept for our 30th wedding anniversary and my wifes 50th Birthday at a substantial cost, but this will not now be happening and I will also be contacting my solicitor because I feel that I was sold a holiday under false pretence. So let’s hope someone contacts me soon to try to sort this issue out.
Hi Kevin, So we can check this can you please send me over your reference number.
Thank you for your prompt response which is far quicker than your complaints department . My booking reference is Thank you In the e mail sent it clearly says that the sports deck is closed for the winter cruise and does not imply that this a decision just taken so why was there no notice when booked, also there is still no notice when you go to book this holiday.
Hi Kevin, I’ve checked your booking and can confirm the sports deck will be closed during your stay. Our Programme Change Team would have made you aware of this as soon as possible and this information is available to new bookings. If you’re not happy with the response you’ve received you’ll need to contact the agent you’ve booked through to discuss this.
Elaine I spent over an hour in my local shop yesterday and they tried to change my booking, but they also recived the cold shoulder from your cruise dept. I was prepared to pay extra for another cruise that went on the 27th sept only 3 days later but was told I could only change to one that departs before my departure date, and as none fitted in with our time off work this was impossible. What I need to know when was this discition taken to close the sorts deck ? Also why can I not change my date by 3 days at a greater cost to myself? If this is customer service from Thomsons god help us, and I will not be giving you my business in the future.
Hi Kevin, I’ve checked with our Change Control Team and can advise you that we were made aware that the Sports Deck would be closed on November 4th 2012. If you’re not happy with the response you’ve received you can contact our Programme Change Team on 0844 854 1311.
I have just emailed the directors of Thomson holidays, lets hope they contact me, although judging from all your comments I think not.
We booked a holiday to Dubai for Christmas this year, by pure luck after contacting the hotel direct – because the Huddersfield office hadn’t done so on our behalf!
I was shocked to find out we were not even booked into the correct hotel, we booked and have in writing our holiday confirmation booking a five star beach resort, thomson have booked a 3 star city hotel!! Whilst they have acknowledged in the shop that it was their mistake, they and we have had no success in finding anybody that can deal with this situation. They promise to call back and don’t, pass your details from one manager to another, and send you round in circles.
This will be the last holiday I ever book with Thomsons despite being a loyal customer for many years!
You need to sort out your non existent customer service department and employ some staff that are capable of dealing with errors and taking responsibility. We are supposed to depart in just over two weeks!! And I want what I have paid for and what you have out in writing – a five star beach resort, incidentally the hotel does have rooms available, as I have checked.
Hi Julie, I’m sorry to hear this. If you’ve got a complaint about the service in store then you’ll need to speak to them directly. Our stores have their own internal escalation process.
I have done that already and as most other comments on here state the speed of resolution is very slow ! i just hope this proceeds a little quicker now it has finally been escalated
thomson “holidays designed just for you” i didnt realise when i booked my holiday that i had designed theft from my hotel room and then constant ignorance from thomsons when i had the audacity to mention it and to think all this was included in the price. dont bother with the aftercare e-mail it will just be ignored time and again and if anyone wants david burlings email address i have got that but he just ignores you also.
Hi Steve, Have you received a response from our After Travel Team?
So sad that Manager’s in Thomson’s shops, particularly Glasgow Fort, do not check what they are quoting for. The Manager stated, after asking us for another £210 for same holiday, that she only checked the top price and not the components. How could she make a like for like comparison then?????? Assumption is that all customers are liars as they only believe what their staff have put on the system – even although they do not show it to the customer at the time and the customer queries it as soon as they see it in writing. Mr Burling please sort this out or you will be loosing customers who will have been on 3 cruises in 18 months. Are you real Mr Burling please remedy the ABTA fine situation where Thomson’s fail/mislead to give accurate information to customers.
Hi Anne, I’m sorry to hear this. Have you booked a holiday with us and now this is cheaper as a component? I am a little unsure from your message your exact complaint with the store. If you can pass me more details I can advise you further. Thank you
Hi I would appreciate David Burling’s email address please I am so disappointed with the lack of after care and customer care
Hi Betty, I’m sorry you feel that way. You can send your concerns to -
Directors Support Team
Thomson Holidays
Wigmore House
Wigmore Lane
Luton
LU2 9TN
This will then be picked up by our Directors support team. I Hope this helps.
Im sure he did help out in the shop, he would have been better off working in the complaints department.
Just back from Kos where my 10 year old and 14 year old sons were physically assaulted by a kids club worker. Apparently an assault isnt something they deal with. If they had been injured in a fall then that would be a different matter. A family orientated company…. i think not.
Hi Jason, I know you’ve been in touch with us and our After Travel Team will be looking into your complaint again.
Mr Burling, please see below the several attempts I have made when trying to contact your complaints team and they just choose to ignore me please can you ensure the contact me ASAP on thank you
Hi Donna, I’ve sent you an email to your direct email address about this.
Dear me, having read about some of the awful experiences other people have suffered, my reason for frustration with Cruise Deals/Thomson seems minor in comparison. However, I recognise many of the same problems: the actual booking experience bearing no relation to the glossy promises on the website; misleading advice and pricing; no clear response to specific questions; having to phone/email repeatedly; not following their laid down complaints procedure, ie, feeling seriously fobbed off!
First and last time booking with Thomson I feel, which is a shame as the staff on board the ship (Thomson Spirit) were excellent. I just can’t face the awful customer service at the booking stage again.
Having ‘exhausted’ their complaints procedure, and feeling pretty knackered myself at this stage, the only recourse now seems to be legal action. Since the amount I feel we’re out of pocket is luckily relatively small (although I would love a solicitor to finally confirm whether or not Thomson broke one of their booking terms), it’s not worth running up further costs to pursue an answer I could never get from them. Something no doubt they rely on.
I did try the ABTA route but having gone from their letter ‘We shall be writing to TUI UK Retail Ltd, requesting their observations on the matter you have described’ to an email from them ‘We have been advised by Thomson that this booking has been resolved’, you have to question their impartiality.
As Adrian says back in July, ‘Customer Obsessed’ ? More like Customer Repressed and Depressed!
I’m sorry to hear you feel that way, Jo. Did you speak to the After Travel Travel Team again to say you were unhappy with their response?
Thanks Rhiannon, apologies for delay in response – when I didn’t see my post pop up after a couple of times of checking back, I thought Comments might be closed on this blog.
If you are able to give me an email address for someone in the After Travel Team, I would be grateful to at least get an explanation why clause 11.5 of the booking T&Cs did not apply in our case. Many thanks
Hi Jo, I’ve sent an e-mail to you for some more details.
Hi i really need to cancel the holiday i have booked but don’t want to loose the 100 pound deposit i put down for this. Am i able to get my deposit back as it has only been 7 days since i booked the holiday?
Hi Jessica, If you choose to cancel your holiday, you’d incur cancellation charges. The cancellation charges do depend on the departure date of your holiday and are non-refundable. You might be able to pay an admin fee and transfer your holiday to another holiday or even make some name changes. If you’d like further information about this, Please contact the Pre-Travel Team on 0844 871 0879.
Re last message, we have been to the same hotel before, in fact it was in june and we never had no problem in getting a drink and something to eat, we are that disgusted with hotel we are never going there again even the rep who was on the coach did not want to know.
We paid for a breakfast and end up with nothing, we are upset with thomsons as a whole and will never book a holiday with your company again and we are not the only people who think that way after the way we were treated on tuesday.
Hi David, I’ve just replied to your first post.
Hi, Me and my wife have just come back from a week in Salou, Spain.
We stayed in The Belvedere Hotel from the 25th September till 2nd October, we had gone Half board.
We were picked up tuesday morning at 06.45, but were up before that and made our way down to the restaurant to get some breakfast where we were told very rudely that we were not entilted to anything and go to reception and again the man at reception was also very rude and said go to the restaurant,we were not the only ones who got no breakfast.
I’m sorry to hear that, David. Have you raised this with our After Travel Team as they can investigate this for you? – http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/send-us-an-email-postTravel.html
Can you exlain why after we enquired about a luxury honeymoon,requesting we do not get sent anywhere in the rainy season, you so called trained staff who have ruined our honeymoon sent us to Mexico in the tropical rain season….We were sold a luxury honeymoon package but have yet to see it!! The room is bog standard and is not a honeymoon suite. How can you take our money, feed us false information and expact to get away with it…
I nwork hard for every penny we have paid and am sat in a room in tears because your staff in Poole have ruined what should be the best two weeks of my life. All i will say is thank god for watch dog, trading standards, The sun newspaper and the internet…If it costs me more that my honeymoon I will take this to court and sue Thompson for false advertising…..
Hi Teresa, It’s disappointing you feel this way. Have you spoken to our After Travel team about your concerns?
i have tried nand tried to get through to you with no success
you make it quie clear you dont want to hear complaints even before we travel because of that you have lost a lot of buisiness which my friends and i give you every two or three times a year you would not take my complaint but i have now gave up and decided to cease any other bookings with you you hav e lost the bookings of ten people
Hi Ellen, I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t had a reply to your pre-travel complaint. Can I ask how you contacted us, was it by phone, email or letter? ^Hollie
Dear thomson,what are you playing at, i had to cancell my holiday,as my husband was rushed into hospital,i have phoned 7 yes 7 times 0844-871-0878. 0844-871-0882. spoke to Amy-Sky-Garry-Amar.all i wanted was a canellation invoice.for the insurance company,but still have not received this,what is wrong with this company,why do the staff lie to its customers,they all said they would send the form,but never did, the staff all need training in customer care,what is David Burlings direct phone number please. Jackie Gibbs, holiday date 31st August cancelled 26th August 2012.
Hi Jackie, It’s disappointing to hear you’ve not received your invoice yet. Can you confirm your booking reference for us so we can check this for you?
I have recently came back from a holiday from hell in Tunisia, i went online to make a complaint but your only allowed 5000 characters my holiday was worse than 5000 characters worth! Id like an email to contact someone directly please. I have emailed David Burling personally from an online blog , but not sure if the email is expired so would like help in contacting others. Thomson don’t make things easy, there customer services is definitely something to be desired.
Hi Hannah, I’m disappointed to hear that. In order to make a complaint about your holiday, you’ll need to fill in the online form, or contact After Travel direct on 0844 871 0882.
Hi Hannah,
Do you have David Burlings e-mail address? I would like to send my complaint to him also.
Regards,
Jodie
Hi Jodie, I understand you’d like to contact one of our Director’s, however if you’d like to send any concerns over to us we can take a look into them for you. You can write to us at thomsoncares@thomson.co.uk.
Complaint Ref:
26-06-12 emailed letter of complaint to General Manager of Holiday village Sharm El Sheikh.
13-07-12 Complaint letter handed into Thomson Shop in Plymouth with approximately 20 emails and approximately 40 photographs of the pig sty that was passed as a room.
04-08-12 Two letters arrived same day, written by the same person with exactly the same content ( we need up to 28 days to investigate) 1 letter was dated 24/07/12 and the other dated 25/07/12, the frank on both envelopes were dated 02/08/12 and I received these letters on 04/08/12. In short, the writer of the letters took nine (9) days to post the letter to me! Why 2 letters exactly the same?
11-09-12 After waiting Forty Nine (49) days I have still not received a reply (please note, everyone from Thomson and their so called Customer Support Team state to customers Twenty Eight (28) days.
11-09-12 At 09.20 am today I telephoned Customer Support Team on 0844 871 0882 and was told that a manager will definately telephone me today, I gave my Mobile Telephone Number and this number was repeated back to me. I repeated the words ” It will be today a Manager will telephone me” you got it the answer was “YES” and guess what? I am still waiting for that telephone call at 23.00 pm. I was also rudely cut off without warning, did they telephone me back on my mobile…. NO. Did they telephone me on my Land Line which they have NO. Did they contact me via Email which they have NO.
As a Customer Support Team goes, David Burling, Managing Director, Thomson should disband this team and put in place an outside body who would be willing to meet their obligations and for once put their customers first.
I am now wondering shall I hold my breath waiting for a reply/telephone call or should I go to ABTA, Which and WatchDog? Shame I cannot post the photographs on here. Trip Advisor sounds good doesn’t it?
Without being rude, Thomson couldn’t give a monkeys about their customers just as long as the money keeps rolling in.
Stephen White
Hi Stephen, I’m sorry to hear about this. I’ve passed your reference over to our After Travel Team to see if someone can look into this for you.
I have just been reading your replies to complaints and talk about side stepping you have not given a straight answer to a single question I was wanting to know why you discriminate luggage allowance in may we went to Mexico and our allowance was 20kilo just got back from tukey allowence 15kilo these two totals was for 14 day holidays there is no way 15kilos is enough so every body has to buy 5kilo extra this is what we know in the trade as a big con and you seem to be getting away with it but not for much longer
Hi William, The Social Media Team are unable to deal with complaints directly, we can only advise customers who they need to speak to. We’ll always do our best to assist with any general queries. With regards to the luggage allowance, I can confirm that we made a business decision to move our baggage allowances in line with other industry operators to ensure that we remain competitive whilst still offering excellent value. Less weight on the aircraft means less fuel usage, which will in turn lessen our impact on the environment which is also an important benefit. I’m sorry for any disappointment caused and will make sure that your feedback is passed on. ^Hollie
Booking ref:
I have emailed your complaints department regarding a complaint that i had to make regarding our return journey home. As yet i have nit had a reply ir even an acknowledgment of receipt. Do u have another e-mail address i am able to forward the email onto..preferrably a CEO address. Look forward to your response thanks.
Hi Kevin, I can see the After Travel Team received your complaint on 28th August so they do have 28 days from receipt to respond. If at any point, you do need to chase this, you can contact the team directly on 0844 871 0882.
Hi have not been able to go on my holiday due to depression and anxiety .It is bankholiday i have rang all the numbers the agents office is closed i have been on the telepone since morning no response can you please help me to reshedule my holiday .what happens if u cant go for health resons i would like to talk to someone thank you for your help.
Hi Nadia, I’m sorry to hear that. I’ve just checked and our Pre-Travel Team are open until 5pm today and can be contacted on 0844 871 0879. Please contact them as they’ll be able to advise you.
Below is the bulk of an e-mail I sent to the after-travel department back in the middle of July, having received no reply I sent a further one, still no response.
This is not customer service.
“Actually my “reason for contacting “is the fraudulent action of certain employees of Thomson.
To explain; I find the normal seating arrangements on planes cramped and claustrophobic and so I pay extra for seats with more leg room. In addition to this my fiancée had never flown before and I wanted to make the experience as pleasant and stress free as possible to encourage future travel.
For our flight out your check-in staff looked at my e-ticket and gave me our boarding passes, we boarded the plane and our seats were as I had chosen i.e. next to the emergency exit, window and middle.
We then had a truly wonderful 2 weeks at the Elizabeth appartments in Corfu; I would even go so far as to say it was perfect. We went on 2 of your excursions and had a lovely time, this was my fiancée’s first “sunshine break” and we plan to return next year when it will hopefully be our honeymoon.
Then it was time to leave, we arrived at Corfu airport and on the check-in desk was a sign offering seats with extra space at a discounted price and the thought went through my head that they obviously had some that hadn’t been pre-booked. I handed over my e-ticket and your staff removed the top page (I had printed all 5 pages) and returned the remaining 4 pages to me along with our boarding passes.
We boarded the plane and found our seats, 18E and 18F, which to my surprise weren’t extra space seats and so I spoke to a flight attendant who apologised and asked to see my e-ticket which of course I couldn’t give her as your staff had carefully stolen the evidence at check-in, she then confirmed our seats had been resold and helpfully, that we can apply for a refund later! I was livid but simply said that was no help whatsoever now and she repeated her apology.
We then had a less than pleasant flight in conditions I had made every effort to avoid and which tainted what, as I have said before, was an excellent holiday.
I’m sure you will see that there are a number of possible explanations for this situation, the least of which is that your staff can’t read and didn’t therefore know I had booked extra space seating, or Thomson do this as a matter of course and hope that the injured party don’t bother to claim a refund and the company make more money. The last option is that this is a fraud entirely perpetrated by the local staff, who knowing the system and covering themselves by destroying the evidence, think they can get away with it.
What it clearly wasn’t was a mistake.
As you will agree, sadly none of these conclusions cast Thomson in a very favourable light which, having happily used both Thomson and First Choice in the past, I think is a shame.”
What do you think?
Hi Roger, I’m sorry that you haven’t received a response from our After Travel Team as of yet and I’m sorry to hear about the issues which you had. Can you send us your reference number so that we can chase a response for you?
I did eventually hear from the after travel team who abdicated all responsibillity claiming that as the staff at Corfu aren’t Thomson’s staff but merely agents so it’s not down to Thomson’s. Well, my understanding is that if you pay someone to do something on your behalf you are still liable for their actions on your behalf.
All I have been offered is a refund for the extra I paid for the additional space seats on the return journey, provided I send in the boarding cards!
What is the point of Thomson’s selling extras they won’t
guarantee you will get? More to the point, why buy them?
I am still unsatisfied by the response I have had and await further comment.
It’s disappointing to hear you’re unhappy with the After Travel Team’s response, Roger. The Social Media Team who monitor this blog aren’t able to personally respond to complaints so if you’re unhappy with the response, you’ll need to contact After Travel directly to see if they can help further. Their telephone number is 0844 871 0882.
just been ripped off £50 to change to letters because someone spelt a name wrong on an email not happy wont use thomsons again and will tell every man and his dog not to use them
Hi Rick, If you’ve entered a name wrong then there will be an admin fee to amend this. It depends on how long after that you’ve contacted us as to the charge. It’s all shown for you in our terms. Sorry you’ve been disappointed.
DEAR SIR/MADAM
my wife and i booked a holiday with your company on friday 10th august 2012 .
after reading negative reviews on the quality of the food and the staff ,we realised that we had made a genuine mistake .
we decided to go back the very next day to cancel as only less than i day had passed we believed that we would get our deposit back as we had checked your terms and conditions which states 0-14 days after booking we assume you get 100% back , we have a problem with your terms and conditions ,there is an element of ambiguity on your terms and conditions .
staff at your coventry shop would not entertain giving back our deposit ,so we sought a compromise of booking somewhere else with your company but not at the expense of losing 100.00 pounds which we feel is not justified, especially as it all done on the push of button and you call that an admin fee, this is totally unacceptable.
we have booked with you on numerous occasions, and feel let down by the negative response of your staff in store . would like a response to this email a.s.a.p. in view of the fact we are willing to compromise.
yours faithfully MRS THERESA MOZID
Hi Theresa, I’m sorry to hear that. Our admin fees are stated in the terms of your booking and if any changes are made then this will incur a charge. I’d advise to speak to the store to escalate your complaint as this is where you have booked. Or you can contact our Pre Travel team through the Contact Us page at http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/send-us-an-email.html.
Thank you thomspon for being the most insensitive company that I know. My father is in his last hours of life with pancreatic cancer with a family holiday booked with you on the 19th of August. My fathers last wish is that my brother and his family go on the holiday with my mother and your company will not postpone his holiday, it is too late to cancel for a refund and the insurance will only cover my mothers costs. It is disgusting. I hope that you enjoy the £7800. We have been loyal customers with thompson for years and I can guarantee that will no longer be the case. The holiday was booke far in advance of diagnosis over a year ago, we was told 3 uptop a year, it looks like its days! Sorry for the rant but can not believe that you value share holder dividends over a greiving family and my fathers last wish!!!
I’m sorry to hear this, Spencer. Which department have you spoken to about this?
How do I go about trying to claim for flights I had to get back to the uk due to a bereavement. My mother in Law died suddenly, so my husband had to get flights the next day, we used Easyjet
Hi Jackie, I’m really sorry to hear of your loss. I can confirm that you’ll need to contact your insurance company and ask whether this is something they can offer a refund for. I hope that helps. ^Hollie
Hi I am extremely upset and annoyed with the Thomson website booking and customer service, I tried to book a holiday online on the 31st of July but after my payment being taken it then froze and said the payment could not be confirmed. After ringing several numbers and being passed from person to person (leaving me with a big phone bill!!) The next day I managed to speak to someone and was told there was nothing they could do, just wait for the money to be returned 3-5 days and it was up to my bank to help me. I was left with no holiday and no money. My daughter had kindly lent me money to book another holiday (as mine was still with Thomsons! and the holiday was suppose to be for my 50th birthday) Unfortunatly the original flight was now no longer available (but it was the original day i tried to sort this out) Another one close by was still available at an extra £200 which i did not have. However the guy i spoke to on the phone would not match the price-even though it was Thomsons fault and I am a year after year Thomson customer. The following day we decided to have another look on line and tried to book another holiday (with my daughters money) and the same thing happened. You have now taken our money (now over £3000) and still no holiday. I would like to speak to someone of senior authority-preferable David Burling himself if he can spare 2 mins of his time for a very dissapointed, upset and angry customer who was suppose to be celebrating a 50th birthday.
I would also like to add…I spoke to Issac today on number 08712314691 and was again told that there was nothing they could do to help. I feel that this just isnt good enough and after ringing every number given would like contact with the directors or senior management from the company.
Hi Josie, I’m sorry about that. You’ll need to send your complaint to the address which Rhiannon has already provided, as we will then be able to investigate this for you.
Hi thanks for your response. I have been emailing pre travel team (with no satisfactory response) and I understand about the ‘holding’ procedure with the money. However, if Thomson had not requested the money to be pre authorised for holidays, that were not available, then it would never have gone into holding anyway and left myself and my daughter without £3000+ for a week. As for the web time and customer service , I feel very let down by as not only I have spent a fortune on my phone bill being passed from person to person, I was also lied to about an issue! Considering you are such a large, well known company I feel that the whole procedure is a shambles and after reading reviews on the internet and on this very blog I know this is not just a one off (or 2 in my case!!!)
I’m sorry to hear about that Josie. Our Pre Travel Team should have investigated this for you. I understand that you’re unhappy with the response which you’ve received, and I’ll pass your feedback on. ^Amarita
I’m sorry to hear about the problems you’ve experienced, Josie.
After reading your post, I believe that the payment taken from your account was what is known as a pre authorised payment. This means that our payment system has requested payment from your bank however the money was never physically taken by us for this payment. Pre-authorised payments are moved to the holding account of your bank in order to prevent you from withdrawing funds.
In such cases, the authorisation given to us by your bank to take the money is cancelled, however a number of banks don’t respond to this cancellation message from ourselves and therefore hold funds in order to honour the payment to us. The authorisation is only valid for a limited amount of time before it expires, therefore because we don’t take payment the funds are released back into your account within a couple of days, depending on your bank. But I’m sorry for any inconvenience this has caused and would recommend if you haven’t done so already, speaking to our Web Team again on 0844 871 0878 about this happening for the second time.
In regards to contacting the Board of Directors, they have a team in place who are fully trained to investigate and respond to any correspondence addressed to them. You can either contact the Pre-Travel Team using the online form and addressing this to our Board of Directors. Here’s a link to the online form – http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/send-us-an-email.html or you can send a letter to them at -
Pre Travel Services
TUI UK
Columbus House
Westwood Business Park
Westwood Way
Coventry
CV4 8TT
After following all the correct procedure in lodging my complaint I now have to admit defeat. Basically the accommodation at the Econolodge in Orlando of was such poor quality it was spoiling the overall enjoyment of our holiday. After 9 days trying to endure the worst conditions I have ever paid to stay in we could stand it no longer so we booked out 5 days early to find a more suitable hotel. Since returning at the beginning of April 2012 we have tried to get a refund for the unused nights but your customer service department feel we have been treated fairly by offering £100 voucher of our next holiday. I am surprised that after the experience we had that you were expecting us to continue our custom with you. I do not expect to have to pay for a Hotel I could not stay in. I do not live in the conditions of this Hotel and certainly do not want to on holiday . Our last ditched effort to try for a refund is arbitration but the costs involved make it seem hardly worth it. We have over many years used your company but feel so let down we will not be returning.
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been unhappy with the response from our After Travel Team, Mr Reaney. If customers are unhappy, we do advise them to contact the team again to say that they’d like this to be investigated again but if their position is final, then you’re well within your rights to contact a third party. If you have any other questions about the complaint process, let me know.
My elderly parents (Both in their late seventies) travelled to Australia in April to visit family. As they are not seasoned travellers, they decided to book through Thomson in order to receive professional advice and service, and be assured of a relaxing, stress free trip.These do not seem unreasonable expectations, particularly given the declared TUI Travel Group vision (“Making travel experiences special”) and values (“Customer Obsessed”). The arrangements, which included stop overs during their outbound and return journeys, were made by staff at your Sleaford branch using Austravel (A sister company within the TUI Group).
Sadly the “TUI Spirit” is not what they experienced during their trip, or subsequently while trying to seek compensation for the extra costs incurred as a result of a series of errors made by your company.
The airport hotel booked for them in Bangkok as a stop over during their outbound journey was not close to the airport as stipulated but approximately 25 miles away (Your Customer Services team have subsequently acknowledged in writing that this occured because your Consultant misunderstood the location of the hotel). Additionally the hotel transfer which was booked failed to materialise (This booking is clearly stated in my parents’ travel documentation – Although such a booking was denied in your initial response to their claim!). As a result, after alot of time and stress, my parents had to take a long taxi ride at their own expense to a hotel miles from the airport. Not only does this level of service fail to meet the standards your company apparently aspires to, it brings into question whether you have met your duty of care to my parents. It is unacceptable, particularly at their age, that they should arrive after a long flight, only to find themselves abandoned late at night in an unfamiliar city.
Having suffered the distress of the outbound journey, and to avoid further anxiety while in Australia, they understandably wanted to change their return arrangements. Frankly by this time they no longer had confidence in your ability to make proper stop over arrangements, and had no desire to risk a repeat their unfortunate experience in Bangkok. You insisted on charging them an extra £398 to return via Singapore instead of Bangkok. They reluctantly accepted to pay this at the time to secure their flights, on the understanding that they would take up the question of payment with you on their return.Their fears would seem to have been well founded as their pre-booked transfers in Singapore en route home also failed to materialise, and their hotel booking in Dubai was inexplicably cancelled by your agents. After several hours of stressful waiting, the hotel was finally able to offer them a room.
While we accept that mistakes can sometimes occur, we would have thought that a reputable company such as Thomson/TUI Travel PLC would have been keen to resolve this matter as quickly as possible. Instead you have exacerbated the distress caused to my parents by the appalling way in which their complaint has been handled :
After choosing to delay responding to their letter of complaint for as long as possible (because “we have upto 28 days” ) a derisory offer was made by Austravel of less than half the additional costs they incurred with the majority of the offer being in the form of a travel voucher.
I have witnessed the unseemly behaviour of two TUI Group affliliates blaming each other for the situation, rather than working together on behalf of the TUI Group to address a serious customer service issue . Thomson shop staff told me that they were “shocked at the inappropriate compensation offer ” when it was finally made by Austravel. The Austravel representative told me during a call I had with him that he would expect the agents (Thomson) also to offer compensation as they were also at fault. This behaviour reflects very poorly on both affiliates and the TUI Group as a whole.
We immediately rejected the offer and pointed out several errors in the offer letter relating to what had actually occurred, and what was booked (and confirmed in the travel documentation received).
An E Mail acknowledging receipt our follow up letter was sent by another Customer Relations Admin Executive stating that “We will be in contact with you again within 28 days”. This period elapsed on July 10.
On July 17 we received a letter from Austravel offering to re-imburse the extra out of pocket costs my parents had to pay (£453) but only £55 in the form of a refund (The remaining £398 was offered as a holday voucher). My elderly parents have no more holiday plans for the foreseeable future – We have previously pointed out that payment in the form of a holiday voucher is inappropriate and not acceptable. My parents simply want to be refunded the additional costs they incurred as a result of the series of errors your company has acknowledged making. Why is this proving so difficult?
Thomson branch staff and the TUI UK Regional Sales Manager (Humberside and Lincolnshire) have apparently tried and failed to expedite resolution.
This is no longer simply a matter of seeking a re-imbursement for a few hundred pounds. It has now also become a matter of principle : It is totally unacceptable for your Customer Relations staff to drag this clearcut case out in an apparent effort to evade your company’s responsibilities (If it’s not deliberate, it’s very insensitive and unprofessional to put it mildly!).
We will continue to pursue this complaint until it is satisfactorily resolved. As a next step I will send a copy of this correspondence to David Burling (TUI UK MD) to seek his personal intervention.
What response do I expect I will get to this post? …… A bland, non-commital reply from one of your Social Media team saying “I’m sorry to hear etc” before referring me back to your Customer Service Team
What do I want? ……. Someone in your organisation to step up, do the right thing, and sort this out quickly.
I’m sorry to hear about the experiences your parents had with their holiday, Adrian. Unfortunately, this blog is for mainstream Thomson package holidays so you would need to contact Austravel directly if you wish to contact their Board of Directors. Although we’re part of the Tui Group, there are lots of companies under this umbrella and although this was booked in a Thomson store, as the complaint is about the holiday, this would need to be discussed with Austravel. I’m sorry I can’t help any further with this.
Am I to understand that you are not only refusing to help, but you are telling me that, as retailers, Thomson has no obligations in relation to the proper performance of their supplier (Austravel) under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992?!
Hi Adrian, As part of the Social Media Team who monitor and respond to customers on this blog, I’m unable to personally respond to your complaint as we have departments that are specialised in this area. However, as this is a complaint regarding Austravel, I’d recommend that you speak with them directly regarding the refund that they offered to you. I notice in your original post that you stated that the Austravel Advisor said that we would also need to be contacted regarding the information your parents with given so this is something you’d need to raise with your Thomson Travel Agent.