Rossendale couple win payout from Thomas Cook after ‘holiday from hell’ (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Rossendale couple win payout from Thomas Cook after ‘holiday from hell’
4:00pm Friday 10th February 2012 in Burnley
ORDEAL Charlie Berry.
A RETIRED couple have won a payout after their trip to Tenerife turned into a ‘holiday from hell’.
Grandparents Charlie and Joan Berry endured a three year battle through the courts after a luxury holiday turned sour.
They were put in a room next to a sewage treatment scheme, moved to a room near building work and then at the end of the holiday their hotel-arranged airport transfer was late, meaning they missed their flight and had to pay for a new one.
At Burnley County Court the couple were awarded £1,463.44 compensation.
Kester Dean, manager at Rossendale CAB, who supported the couple in their legal row, said: “Too often big companies walk all over people. Mr Berry has shown it doesn’t have to be that way.”
The couple, of The Moorlands, Weir, had booked a two-week holiday with Thomas Cook costing nearly £2,000 at five-star hotel Arona Gran in Los Cristianos; a hotel they had visited successfully several times before.
But when they arrived in April 2009, the tour operator had neglected to tell them the hotel was undergoing extensive refurbishment.
Mr Berry said: “Outside our ground floor bedroom they had installed a machine to dispose of all the human waste products.
“It was 40 degrees and the stench was so bad it made my wife Joan physically sick. We demanded to be moved but the hotel charged us £252 to do so and the new room was adjacent to the noisy renovations.”
Their nightmare continued at the airport on the way home when Charlie, 71, and Joan, 65, along with eight other passengers, were refused permission to board the plane.
Charlie, a former landlord of The Sprintman in Rawtenstall, said: “We were all in plenty of time to check in for the flight and were just told that a captain can refuse anyone a place on the plane without giving a reason.”
The couple had to pay a further £220 for a flight home.
Comments(16)
Blurta
says...
5:00pm Fri 10 Feb 12
To add insult to injury, we met a Spanish speaking friend of mine after a few days and the prices of everything suddenly halved when ordered in Spanish!
burner
says...
7:06pm Fri 10 Feb 12
ghanto
says...
7:21pm Fri 10 Feb 12
we all have bad and good days
and after all they gave you something to make u smile
now u should have some decency to stay quiet
If u want more money to print a story then i suggests u print a book and sell it
Thomas cook have been running for years and years and as people get sick or make mistakes they do as well
gazzandste
says...
12:27am Sat 11 Feb 12
juanbbien
says...
12:18pm Sat 11 Feb 12
Blurta wrote:I went to Tenerife about six years ago to Los Christianos it's a real dump,full of restaurants with barkers out side trying to lure you in,we stayed at a complex called the Green golf club I think,to access the route to it you had to walk passed the area were all the Lady's of the night plied their trade,happy days
I've only been to Tenerife once, it was about as "Spanish" as Fleetwood all the "restaurant" menus had photographs of place of descriptions and the place (Los Christianos) was infested with cockroaches the size of mice.
To add insult to injury, we met a Spanish speaking friend of mine after a few days and the prices of everything suddenly halved when ordered in Spanish!
RAyzer
says...
12:25pm Sat 11 Feb 12
hamneggs
says...
1:01pm Sat 11 Feb 12
4 years ago, the robbing barstewards thieved almost £1000 each from ourselves and another family two days before we were due to fly to Majorca after going back on a free child place offer they gave us at the time of booking. The details are complicated but after going through the usual, your word against ours routine they told us that without proof of the conversation taking place they would do nothing. ABTA promised much but delivered on nothing and Trading Standards apparantly investigated but, suprise suprise the colleague who carried out the booking no longer worked for the company and the Manager who authorised it remembered nothing whatosever about the offer plastered all around the branch that weekend. It was even suggested by Thomas Cook (no longer called Cook in our circles but by another 4 letter word sounding very similar) that we should have recorded the booking process. Even though i swore to never set foot in a shop of theirs again, i did do so asking to book an holiday and then proceded to take our a video camera, needless to say with an amusing few minutes and several turned heads before i was asked to leave. Just to rub salt in it, at the end of our very much more expensive than we planned holiday; we were delated by 5 hours at Palma and then flown back to Leeds rather than Manchester because they needed the aircraft there that morning. To this day and after countless emails, we've never had as much as an apology for either the holiday or flight issues.
If their arrogance is such that they don't even consider an apology is warranted then all i can say is that Mr & Mrs Berry were very lucky and for anyone considering going with Thomas Cook.
Don't forget the video camera!
And thats just to book it.
Jimmy Jambone
says...
5:59pm Sat 11 Feb 12
hamneggs wrote:I am glad I read this. I was about to book a holiday with Thomas Cook. I get the feeling I have saved myself a painful experience.
Well done Mr & Mrs Berry for getting your compensation, from what must be the worlds nastiest holiday company.
4 years ago, the robbing barstewards thieved almost £1000 each from ourselves and another family two days before we were due to fly to Majorca after going back on a free child place offer they gave us at the time of booking. The details are complicated but after going through the usual, your word against ours routine they told us that without proof of the conversation taking place they would do nothing. ABTA promised much but delivered on nothing and Trading Standards apparantly investigated but, suprise suprise the colleague who carried out the booking no longer worked for the company and the Manager who authorised it remembered nothing whatosever about the offer plastered all around the branch that weekend. It was even suggested by Thomas Cook (no longer called Cook in our circles but by another 4 letter word sounding very similar) that we should have recorded the booking process. Even though i swore to never set foot in a shop of theirs again, i did do so asking to book an holiday and then proceded to take our a video camera, needless to say with an amusing few minutes and several turned heads before i was asked to leave. Just to rub salt in it, at the end of our very much more expensive than we planned holiday; we were delated by 5 hours at Palma and then flown back to Leeds rather than Manchester because they needed the aircraft there that morning. To this day and after countless emails, we've never had as much as an apology for either the holiday or flight issues.
If their arrogance is such that they don't even consider an apology is warranted then all i can say is that Mr & Mrs Berry were very lucky and for anyone considering going with Thomas Cook.
Don't forget the video camera!
And thats just to book it.
hamneggs
says...
7:37pm Sat 11 Feb 12
We had the painful experience, you may have a **** good holiday.
All i will say though is that we were a little naive when we booked by imagining that we would get what we were promised...how silly of us so please make sure that they are fully clear on what you want and you on what they are providing. Never take "it won't be a problem" as an answer.
In the end we had a decent enough holiday. My issue was that we were backed into a corner due to something which wasn't our fault and with two days to flying we were left with a stark choice. Pay up the extra money, do nothing and take a chance on going but probably being refused at the airport or cancelling and losing everything we had paid, so in the end, a holiday to the med cost the same we would have paid for Mexico or the Dominican.
What was really ironic about it was that we never intended to book with Thomas Cook on the back of bad reports we had heard so went with Airtours with who we had been abroad on several occasions without incident but then found that within 2 months they had merged. We even seriously considered cancelling although with hindsight, not seriously enough.
I must admit that although i have no wish to see people out of work; when i saw the recent financial problems they were facing i did have a little smile on my face.
Oh and by the way with TC don't assume that the airport you take off from will be the same one that you land back at.
amir
says...
2:15am Sun 12 Feb 12
I think with your ordeal you were promised loads but got very little, I don't think customers would need to record the conversation whatever travel agent they use.As long as the booking has been confirmed on paper there is nothing to wory about.
In your case it was "word of mouth" so it was your word against theres, as long as its written on paper then they have to honour the booking.
everywhere is sh1t
says...
4:40pm Sun 12 Feb 12
globetrot
says...
10:48pm Sun 12 Feb 12
ghanto
says...
7:43am Mon 13 Feb 12
if thomas cook offer good bargains tomorrow then all the above comments makers would be first to run there even the one compensated
FULL STOP...
all you lot need is ejoyable world without a hint of trouble which is impossible
You can get lots of trouble in your own "house" like burst pipe, washing machine fault etc
globetrot
says...
8:13am Mon 13 Feb 12
ghanto wrote:Your comment makes no sense at all. You cannot speak for individuals you dont know.
all above comment makers are liars liars iars
if thomas cook offer good bargains tomorrow then all the above comments makers would be first to run there even the one compensated
FULL STOP...
all you lot need is ejoyable world without a hint of trouble which is impossible
You can get lots of trouble in your own "house" like burst pipe, washing machine fault etc
I personally would never use TC ever again. I reside in Australia and TC dont operate in Australia. So obviously Ive just made a mockery of your statement. Fool.
makaveli96
says...
11:55am Mon 13 Feb 12
Its expected of you isnt it?
Theres always something you can find!!
jgb12348 says...
4:19pm Fri 10 Feb 12