On This last Sunday (6th) I tried to book a First Choice holiday online. However, there were problems with the site, kept freezing, so could not complete my booking. On the next day Monday, phoned the Online problem booking number given, and they confirmed there had been a problem. Agent then offerred to do my booking by phone at an additional charge of £20 phone booking. This I accepted. I then ran through the figures of the holiday broken down to cost per person, then total for two persons, then the cost quoted online for the upgrade to premiu. Finally giving the total cost. These costs were agreed with agent and thus no problems.
Today Friday (11th ) have received my confirmation Invoice which shows the breakdown of costs. The total cost is okay , again no problem. but the costs shown against per person and total, were changed, again not a real problem as the total for the whole holiday was correct. However, when we come to the premium upgrade , this had been put down as £9 per person ( yes £9), with a total for 2 persons in premium as £18. Now the problem. should when travelling , First Choice have to use a different aircraft ( for operational reasons) and there is no Premium available, First Choice will refund the Premium cost ,, my Invoice cost of £18 total instead of the actual Total cost of the Premium when I book of £535.80. so in this instance I would lose over £500 just because the agent taking the booking had changed the actual figs. Yes I discussed the figures with agent, but where is my proof. First Choice customer service say, we can only go by the Figures on your Invoice , and yes you would only be given £18 total if your premium seats where not available. so my advice is beware.
that sounds about right for first choice, they cancelled my flight then lied to me about my other options , i got a few alternative airports offered so said i needed to ask hubby got back to them the next day and they denied what i had been offered said they wouldnt have offered me other choices wiht no additional costs and despite me giving out flight times etc i had been given it got me no way , couldnt believe it, in the end i got a refund !!! they are dreadful to deal with on the phone and i ran up nearly £20 in phone calls too, so i sympathise with you
There is a solicitor linked to this site called Ros Ferdinand, I would ring her for advice. It sounds as though it could be bordering on f r a u d if they withdraw premium on the day.
Are the prices for upgrade to premium detailed anywhere in First Choices brochure. I wouldn't be happy with an invoice that showed I had only paid 18 pounds for an upgrade to premium.
If you don't want to go through Ros you could lay it all out in a letter to them and send it recorded delivery then should the worst happen and they withdraw premium service from your flight at least you will have something in writting that might help you get back your 535.80p.
Are the prices for upgrade to premium detailed anywhere in First Choices brochure. I wouldn't be happy with an invoice that showed I had only paid 18 pounds for an upgrade to premium.
If you don't want to go through Ros you could lay it all out in a letter to them and send it recorded delivery then should the worst happen and they withdraw premium service from your flight at least you will have something in writting that might help you get back your 535.80p.
Found this on the FC web site.
Are you sure its not £19 each you will get back.
I find £535.80. an awful lot just to upgrade to premium.
premium upgrades
Jump straight to the front of the queue with priority check in and boarding. You'll get 3kg extra luggage allowance, a premium cabin space with extra legroom seats and free sitting together, all from just £19 per head. Why not treat yourself?
To add Premium upgrades to an existing booking, please call us on 0870 850 3999.
Find out more about our new standard in longhaul flying
Make a new booking
Are you sure its not £19 each you will get back.
I find £535.80. an awful lot just to upgrade to premium.
premium upgrades
Jump straight to the front of the queue with priority check in and boarding. You'll get 3kg extra luggage allowance, a premium cabin space with extra legroom seats and free sitting together, all from just £19 per head. Why not treat yourself?
To add Premium upgrades to an existing booking, please call us on 0870 850 3999.
Find out more about our new standard in longhaul flying
Make a new booking
hi, have you been online to get a quote for the exact holiday in star class then a quote for star class premier, obviously if this is coming up £500 odd different then ring the agent back and tell them of your findings and ask them to explain the difference!!
Everytime I book I have to phone as the payment never processes. One time the booking dissappeared completely and I told them that I refused to do it again in case the first had gone through.
The girls have offered to do the booking over the phone but said they would have to charge extra, so I have a moan about it being the fault of the website and therefore their problem. A quick aside the person next to them and I got "my supervisor has agreed we can waive the charge" everytime.
I would suggest you phone them or email them and say that it wasn't your fault the booking was not accepted on the web site and therefore in reflection you believe you should not have to pay the £20 premium per person etc.. On the other hand if there is only 2 of you the phone charges could be more!
They should have recorded your phone call and so you could email them (cheaper than phone) telling them the time and date of the call, the prices you were quoted and ask them to go over the phone call and rectify the recorded prices on the invoice for you.
The girls have offered to do the booking over the phone but said they would have to charge extra, so I have a moan about it being the fault of the website and therefore their problem. A quick aside the person next to them and I got "my supervisor has agreed we can waive the charge" everytime.
I would suggest you phone them or email them and say that it wasn't your fault the booking was not accepted on the web site and therefore in reflection you believe you should not have to pay the £20 premium per person etc.. On the other hand if there is only 2 of you the phone charges could be more!
They should have recorded your phone call and so you could email them (cheaper than phone) telling them the time and date of the call, the prices you were quoted and ask them to go over the phone call and rectify the recorded prices on the invoice for you.
I used to work for FC and at our shop we would (at a push) match FC website price. We did not make a charge for doing this over the phone so I think the £20 booking fee they are quoting will be the individual shops policy. I could be wrong as it may have changed since I left.
I do think though that the £9 per person upgrade for premium is rather cheap!!! It is usually about £199 per person. As others have said, go back to the website and see what it is showing, unless of course they have changed it.
I do think though that the £9 per person upgrade for premium is rather cheap!!! It is usually about £199 per person. As others have said, go back to the website and see what it is showing, unless of course they have changed it.
I booked with Holidayhyper market (FC) a few weeks ago and they matched the web price exactly for me. I have also booked over the phone and had the price matched.
Sarah
Sarah
Have spoken to agent who booked my holiday, and she agreed all of my statements, and claimed it was the First Choice system that had changed everything. After speaking to her for a solid hour, I am convinced it was not her fault , and after research I find the following.
Because I am booking within 8 weeks of departure, First Choice run different pricing for on line bookings. You can have a really nice discounted holiday price , with no extras. I E book just the basic holiday and travel in the main cabin. Or... you can upgrade to Premier..but here is the catch, if you continue the booking including Premier, your price will have nothing to do with the basic holiday price plus Premier, it will be classed as a Premier holiday booking. This means they will put the majority of the cost against the Book price of the holiday, and heavily discount the Premier portion with any balance, in my case £9 each ( total £18). I still get the holiday at a reduction, and have no problem with the total price, but if the premium is not available to me on the journey, yes, I will lose my £500 plus , because the figures have been allocated to suit the First Choice system. They have not mislead me, merely used a method of allocating the costs in a way that was unaware of. Today for instance , to book upgrade to premier on my flight to Montego Bay the price is £680 for 2 persons, and the basic holiday price has been reduced slightly. we live and learn, I will be more carefull and less trusting in future. all the best
Because I am booking within 8 weeks of departure, First Choice run different pricing for on line bookings. You can have a really nice discounted holiday price , with no extras. I E book just the basic holiday and travel in the main cabin. Or... you can upgrade to Premier..but here is the catch, if you continue the booking including Premier, your price will have nothing to do with the basic holiday price plus Premier, it will be classed as a Premier holiday booking. This means they will put the majority of the cost against the Book price of the holiday, and heavily discount the Premier portion with any balance, in my case £9 each ( total £18). I still get the holiday at a reduction, and have no problem with the total price, but if the premium is not available to me on the journey, yes, I will lose my £500 plus , because the figures have been allocated to suit the First Choice system. They have not mislead me, merely used a method of allocating the costs in a way that was unaware of. Today for instance , to book upgrade to premier on my flight to Montego Bay the price is £680 for 2 persons, and the basic holiday price has been reduced slightly. we live and learn, I will be more carefull and less trusting in future. all the best
If its any consolation I have flown to the Caribbean many time with FC including Jamaica last year and have never known them to not have a Premier cabin on the flight.
If you were very unlucky the normal seating is a great improvement on many other airlines even for a larger lady like myself.
Have a good holiday, Jamaica is brilliant.
If you were very unlucky the normal seating is a great improvement on many other airlines even for a larger lady like myself.
Have a good holiday, Jamaica is brilliant.
Try not to get confused with Premier and Premium.
You can travel Premier in Economy cabin or Premium cabin. Premium cabin has to be booked in addition to Premier holiday. You can also fly Premium and be on a standard summer sun holiday.
You can travel Premier in Economy cabin or Premium cabin. Premium cabin has to be booked in addition to Premier holiday. You can also fly Premium and be on a standard summer sun holiday.
Firstly First choice use two classes on their longhaul fleet Star class and Star class premier, first choice airlines cover the whole of there longhaul destinations no other airline has a contract to do there flights.
Some people are never happy are they!
Some people are never happy are they!
I know what you mean about the web page freezing, have visited FC Website most days just so I know what prices holidays go down to etc.
The Freeze is caused by a memory cookie that FC uses apparantley.
This also happened to me when booking this years hol online.
I wanted to add sit together and take the meals off which it did on the main page but when I went to book this it just remembered the basic price.
We booked it anyway as it was cheap and have since rang First choice Airways to make my meal a veg one and add Sit together on at the same Price as on the web without paying a charge, its only if you book the whole holiday over the phone you are charged twenty quid a person, and with five of us not a chance.
Maybe you should have booked the basic and then added all the extra toppings on after to avoid paying twenty quid each.Alright saying this in hindsight but now you know for next time.
The Freeze is caused by a memory cookie that FC uses apparantley.
This also happened to me when booking this years hol online.
I wanted to add sit together and take the meals off which it did on the main page but when I went to book this it just remembered the basic price.
We booked it anyway as it was cheap and have since rang First choice Airways to make my meal a veg one and add Sit together on at the same Price as on the web without paying a charge, its only if you book the whole holiday over the phone you are charged twenty quid a person, and with five of us not a chance.
Maybe you should have booked the basic and then added all the extra toppings on after to avoid paying twenty quid each.Alright saying this in hindsight but now you know for next time.
Dont believe that FC wont pull a Star Class Premier service, they did it to us in Orlando and flew us home in a 757....
*Admin edit to remove libelous comment - Glynis*
*Admin edit to remove libelous comment - Glynis*
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