Hi welcome to Holiday Truths I would suggest you give Ros Fernihough a ring, she is a travel law solicitor and she will advise on your rights. Please give her a ring on 01922 621114 for some free impartial advice. And let us know how you get on.

Sarah

I think they are within their rights to do this so long as they offer you an alternative or a full refund. It is a bit close to the holiday to suddenly decide they won't be using this accommodation but they must have good reason to. They should have looked into the children issue when you brought it up when you got confirmation.

When I was about 13 we were informed one week before our holiday departure that they had overbooked and we were moved to a completely different resort. It was a huge disappointment as we'd booked about 6 months in advance and specifically booked a hotel and resort that we'd had a great time in a couple of years before. There was absolutely nothing we could do about it.

It sucks doesn't it? But I say go for the holiday they have offered you, you might end up having a great time.

If you have your heart set on this particular accommodation because of the facilities and are not to bothered about the size of the apartment/room/bed arrangements perhaps you could ask your travel agent to produce some kind of disclaimer for you to sign saying you will not complain about the room size/bed arrangements on your return.
(Make sure it's only about this issue). When you ask you could mention you are going to take legal advice, as you feel the holiday was missold.

A phone call to Ros will clarify the legal position.

This really annoys me as it's so inflexible, you can get a really tall/large 11 year old who presumably can stay there and petit 13 year old who can't.

Good luck & let us know how it turns out.

Have looked on their website and it seems to me as though there is only one sofa bed which is only a 2 seater maybe this is the problem. They do have 2 bedroomed apartments but it's likely that there aren't any of those left at this late stage, plus you would incur under occupancy supplements.

I also notice there is no air cond in these apartments

Here's the link to the apartment details with pictures showing the 2 seater settee:-

http://www.oasisfuerteventura.com/hoteles.php?select_id=4

As this is a major change you should be entitled to compensation as well as a refund. Check with Ros to be certain.

Check round the other tour operators - you may be lucky and they have availability for the same dates as most flights go out roughly on the same days.

Good Luck and let us know how you get on.

Here are our reviews :- http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/reviews/spain/canary-islands/fuerteventura/corralejo/oasis-papagayo-apartments/

Doepsmc has hit the nail on the head - a disclaimer.

Sandc is supportive of the T.Op here and whilst strictly speaking he/she is probably right in the belief the T.Op. can make a change I think Glynis is also on the right lines in mentioning compensation.

Looking at what Delbhoy67 originally posted it appears to me that Thompson is simply responding to previous complaints about the size of the apartment when occupied by a family of 4 - and ensuring they suffer less such complaints of same nature in the future.

But, their method is akin to a sledgehammer and a nut. It's crazy. They should certainly stop FUTURE sales but to arbitrarily cancel previously accepted and fully paid bookings is a simple breach of contract.

We can all accept some reasons for cancellations are outside the control ofthe Tour Op. Hell, they use that excuse often enough to abdicate their responsibilities.

But this situation is well within their control. They could point out to Delbhoy67 the problem (I know they've done this by phone - they MUST put this in writing Delbhoy BEFORE you agree to anything). They are not stating a lack of accomm. as the reason - only their own internal decision.

Ask Thompson to write to you explaining the situation. Then pass letter and details to Ros (assuming you receive written details from Thompson). If they refuse to write to you simply call Ros immed. and explain. Don't accept anything/don't sign anything until you've received legal advice.

Mike

ive looked on the first choice website and they still have flights and accomodation available for the 19th july the lobos bahia aprthotel is comming out at 2335 i dont know how much you origonally paid but it might be worth getting a refund and re booking

Ive had a look at the thomsons website and they are still selling the holiday for 4 with children over 12, dont see how they can do this.

Audbod,
they can do what they like if customers let them.

The knowledge the product is still available on open sale will, IMHO, strengthen Delbhoy's claim and consequently weaken Thompon's position.

I know I'm way too cynical for my own good sometimes - but have Thompson's got some ulterior motice here not related to their hope to reduce complaints re. overbooking ?

Like, maybe, they need that apartment to secure a much larger (and hence more profitable) booking - part of a multi-apartment booking.

Well spotted Audbod.

Mike

Was thinking along the same lines mike , see what families they can bump out , if it was the case that they are stating then they shouldnt be selling the exact same holiday today

This is just my opinion...nothing to do with what's legal or not......but if delbhoy is happy to go on the holiday he booked, knowing that the room is small but the resort/hotel/dates are what he wants...then I don't see why it's a problem?

Perhaps Thomson's could say "OK you can go, but no complaints about the size of the room!?"

It's a first for me to hear that TO's are worried about rooms being TOO SMALL !!

Hope you can work something out delbhoy....

Hi guys, thanks for all the advice, phoned Ros yesterday but she was out, spoke to her assistant instead, basically all you can do is accept a full refund and complain to Thomsons and try to get compensation, this is for cancelling the holiday and not giving you 56 days or more notice, which works out at a maximum of £40 per person, the other personel stuff like dog kennels and airport parking, they may remburse you, if not you will have to take them to a small claims court to get your money back, or you can accept an alternative hotel.

We went to Thompsons this morning and they are still sticking to their story that they will no longer allow familys of four into these apartments, I dont believe this, I think they have either double booked the rooms or the fact that my kids are 13 and 7 and they shouldnt have sold us the holiday in the first place. They offered us an alternative hotel in the same resort for roughly the same price(same dates and flight times etc) but we didnt like the look of the place, asked if there were anymore hotels available and they said they would have a look and get back to us, told them this was no good as we were running out of time, after about 10 minutes of searching I just gave up and told them to just give us our money back(they said they will send a cheque tomorrow). The girl in the travel agents was very apollogetic and she typed us a letter saying we had booked the holiday on the 1st of febuary and paid cash and Thompsons cancelled on the 12th of june, so I am going to Trading Standards tomorrow with the letter to see what we can do.

On a happy note went into Thomas Cook and they have the same dates, same flight times and same resort, they have two choices of hotels left so its up to the wife and kids which one they choose and one is a couple of hundred less and the other is the exact same price as we paid previously.

On the compensation issue if we has lost our holiday altogether i would have been looking for the kennels and car parking to be paid by Thompsons, but the moneys not the issue, you work all year to get a couple of weeks in the sun, pay your hard earned cash 5 months upfront and a month before you go they turn round and say sorry your holidays cancelled, theres your money back, bye now.

I will never use Thompsons again, and although we are going to book through Thomas Cook I will probably never use a high street travel agent after this, I will probably do it myself over the Net as travel agents seem to be able to treat you what ever way they want with total impunity.

Sorry thats my rant over but I will keep you posted on what happens with Thompsons

Thanks for letting us know the outcome. I totally sympathise with you as this must have been very stressful and agree with all you are saying regarding the unfairness of it all.

I hope you and your family thoroughly enjoy your holiday - maybe it was fate that you have changed and now may have an even better time.

Hi,

Not meaning to sound cynical, but have you tried calling Thomson (or getting a friend to) to attempt to book the holiday under a false name? I know you couldn't actually go through with the booking but it would be interesting to see if they are still offering this hotel to families with the same ages as yours! You could then have more force behind your complaint.

Delbhoy

You are right,ditch the Travel Agents and book it DIY..its lots more fun,and saves you a lot of money....best of luck

portland direct are selling the exact same holiday and only states that children must be under 16, i think thomsons are pulling a fast one here

Audbod, you should join the fraud squad

It does stink doesn't it.

I'm dismayed that the law doesn't protect us a little more strenuously from this kind of action - I consider it a breach of contract and if the service being provided was, say, a central heating system, and the plumber demanded a different boiler be fitted at a higher cost or a refund being offered you'd likely have a case against him.

DIY is a good idea - but remember, you have no claims against a T.Op in the event your plans go awry. Always pay for your flights by credit card and hotel deposits likewise - try to pay more than £100 per hotel deposit where possible and where a deposit IS demanded for the hotel - unless such deposits are NOT refundable in the event of cancellation.

The reason ? Section 75 of the consumer credit act offers you some protection should the airline/hotel go bust. You can reclaim the monies paid from your credit card issuer.

Finally, make sure you have insurance booked before you start to pay for flights and hotels - and car-hire. Then, in a medical cancellation case you can recover most of your money back from the insurance. Annual insurances are worth looking at, especially for families.

Be prepared to negotiate directly with the hotels. Ask for free upgrades, breakfast to be included free etc. Beware also, taxes are in addition to hotel published room rates. Small cost in France, can add 11% or more in the U.S.

If you book flights that require connections- the responsibility to make sure to meet those connections can lie squarely with you - depends how they've been booked.

That said, we've d.i.y.'d holidays to France and the US maybe, 20 times and had few problems.

Mike

Hi

I have just tried to book this holiday (internet) for 2 adults and 2 children 1 age 13, 1 age 9, so see if it would let you book. When you get to the important information section it comes up with this:

Important Information

Please read the following important information about your holiday. To continue booking, click to accept, or return to your search results to select an alternative holiday.

MAXIMUM ROOM OCCUPANCY IS 3 ADULTS ONLY OR 2 ADULTS & 2 CHILDREN UP TO 12 YEARS. .

I have read and accept the important additional information.

So they are now not allowing you to book if your children are over 12 years old.

Hope this helps.

Sarah