The Complaint Shop

Last update

05/11/2007

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I was getting married in June 2004 and I was looking to book a honeymoon holiday for myself,  my wife to be and our little daughter, aged two.

Whilst browsing through the Teletext Pages on Sky I came across Global Late Deals advert promoting holidays for couples with children and I phoned the number given in the advert to make further enquiries. 

I spoke to a Jackie Smith and I explained that I was looking for a holiday for my honeymoon, that I would like to go to Gran Canaria and that I would like a 3 or 4 star Hotel to mark the occasion.

The young lady was very polite and helpful and she suggested to me the Beach Flor Bungalows which, so she told me verbally were a 3star rated accommodation complex, which she could recommend personally as she had been there herself previously.

She explained that the price quoted would be for an ‘ALL INCLUSIVE’ option which meant that all food and all alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks would be included, that the complex had its own daily entertainment programme and that it would be the ideal place for a young couple.

Her sales patter was so convincing that I accepted her proposal and I booked the holiday by phone and paid the amount in full with my Debit Card.

The next day I received my confirmation together with a Hotel Voucher and I was asked to sign an insurance waiver as I had my own insurance and did not require theirs. I was also sent a Booking Authorisation Form which I signed and returned as I had no reason to doubt that the information given to me verbally was false or incorrect.

The holiday turned out to be a 'holiday from hell' with food being limited and unavailable at times with no variety whatsoever. The 'All Inclusive' drinks option was severely restricted and the overall  holiday was so disappointing that we were forced to eat and drink outside the complex. What was supposed to be one of the happiest times of our marriage turned out to be a total disaster.

Upon return from my holiday I found out that the so-called 3star hotel was actually a 1key rated accommodation complex, the lowest rating in Spain and I consequently wrote to GlobalLateDeals and complained bitterly how they could possibly market such an accommodation as a 3star hotel.

The first letter remained unanswered forcing me to write again and I finally received a reply on the 8th October when they sent me a copy of a website from Medhotels which showed this complex as a 2star+. They also confirmed for the first time that it had an official rating of 1key but they denied that they had sold it to me as a 3star, claiming that is was marketed as 2star+ instead. Later on I also received a letter from Medhotels which confirmed that the star rating applied to this complex was not the official rating but their own which, so they said, was based on their experience, knowledge and customer feedback. They also offered me a compensation of £ 38.20 as a gesture of good will which I rejected outright as being an insult.

A long exchange of letters followed which in the end lead nowhere and which resulted in the refusal of GlobalLateDeals to increase their compensation forcing me to issue a Default Summons in the County Court for a compensation payment of £ 300.00 + costs.

The first court hearing in July 2004 had to be postponed as I could not attend and the second hearing was adjourned due to the failure of GlobalLateDeals representative failing to make it to the hearing, but it finally went ahead in November 2005 when after some deliberation by the judge the Court found in my favour and awarded me a total of £300.00 inclusive of the Court Costs.

A Note and Addendum from the editor

Mr. Slater happens to be my nephew and I represented him in Court. GlobalLateDeals which is part of the Global Travel Group PLC was represented by a Lisa Griffiths (Head of Customer Services ) who, during the Court Hearing complained to the Judge that the Complaint Shop had tried to intimidate the defendant, but the trial judge dismissed this complaint as being inappropriate and irrelevant to the case.

Lisa Griffiths, on behalf of the Defendant also claimed that no blame should fall on the Global Travel Group as Mr. Slater had signed the ‘Booking Authorisation’ form accepting the conditions of Medhotels and that they, GlobalLateDeals, were merely acting as agents for Medhotels.

However, this was not accepted by the Court as the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 clearly states that the responsibility for the correctness of information is the responsibility of the Travel Agent if he sells a ‘Package’ i.e. transport and accommodation together, in which case the contract is between the organiser and the consumer. Consequently, Mr. Slater had no contract with Medhotels; his contract was with the Global Travel Group and consequently the Court found in favour of the Claimant and awarded a compensation of £200.00 plus costs to Mr. Slater.

I am sure the case is self-explanatory and needs no further clarification but the moral of it us quite simple:

If you have a genuine complaint, don't be discouraged by the response and if you feel strong enough about it then take this matter to the Small Claims Court.

It's not as difficult as it seems, you can do it yourself and you don't need a solicitor.

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