Due to length of issues I will try to be as brief as possible:
In Oct 2007, I booked 2 week holiday, (commencing 24th May '08), for me and my partner at the IFA Hotel Continental, Gran Canaria through Thomas Cook.
2 weeks prior to going on hols I was notified by Dutch friends (who we were meeting up with), that their Tour Operator had informed them the hotel pool was closed. As a result they cancelled their holiday.
I contacted T. Cook via phone and email to query why they had not told us. The Customer Service advisor said she would speak to technical operations and they would get back to us. Despite a follow up email to the Customer Service advisor, we never did get a response/explanation, nor the opportunity to cancel or change hotels.
I visited the hotel website which informed the pool had been closed since 5th May and completion date was estimated as 26th May, so surely the T. Cook rep would have been aware of such considering he visits everyday and during wlecome meetings shows guests around the hotel and its surroundings?
Tickets were supposed to arrive 7-10 days before our holiday but with 3 days to go there was no sign of them. Phoned T. Cook who said we could pick them up from the desk at Gatwick.
On the day we were due to fly out, I received an email confirming this. In addition, I received a letter from T. Cook (dated 20th May) with an attached information letter for revised flight times dated 1st March!
It stated that our return flight from Las Palmas had been revised and we were due to fly 5 hours earlier than the time on our tickets but our outbound journey from Gatwick would remain the same.
However, when we got to Gatwick at check-in we were informed our 22:40 flight would be delayed by 1 hour 40 minutes.
We were called to the boarding gate at around 23:45, only to be kept waiting 1 hour. It was then announced that the plane had a cracked windscreen and another plane was available but there was insufficient crew to man it and the pilot could not fly this particular aircraft.
We were returned to the departure lounge and told to wait at the information desk for vouchers to spend on food and non-alcoholic drink and await a further anouncement at 01:30.
At around 01:30, we were given an estimated flight time of 08:15 and a £12 voucher.
By this time, the only place open for food was McDonalds, who were serving just muffins and coffee.
Having been in the airport for some 6 hours, several of us smokers requested to be taken somewhere for a cigarette. At 14:20, a T. Cook representative took us on a long trek to do so and instructed us to 'just come back the same way'. He had taken us through a couple of combination locked security doors, so we found it impossible to do so and ended up back at check-in. We went to the T. Cook desk to explain and were told that we would have to wait until 06:00 to get back in the departure lounge. After many complaints, it was decided we could go back through at 03:20.
However, we were told that we would have to take back any liquids we had bought in duty-free back to the shops for a refund. As this was impossible as all the shops were shut, we were told we would have to throw them away. I, for one was not prepared to incur such a loss and argued the point. In the end, I had to put it in my shoulder bag and check it in as hold luggage, even though there was no way it could be secured appropriately.
We eventaully arrived at our hotel 10 hours late and after dumping our luggage in the room went to the main pool, which was fenced off with notices saying it was closed.
We went to the small pool but there was no room or any available sunbeds. As a result, we returned to the main pool area and grabbed 2 sunbeds but there were no mattresses so we ended up going back to our room for the rest of the day for a lie down.
The pool did open the following day but the knock on effect of the closure meant the daytime activities were not up and running as per normal, (we have used this hotel twice a year for the past 5 years, so know what to expect). Adding to all this, the sports court was in a dangerous state (I took photos) and table-tennis was unavailable for a whole week as there were no bats. We also bought Li-Lo's to lounge on in the pool but on our 3rd day were told by the Lifeguard they were no longer allowed. I pointed out that the main notice board outlining pool regulations has no mention of this whereon he took me to the opposite side of the pool to show me an A4 piece of paper that was pinned to a tree trunk that said 'no inflatables'....hardly noticeable unless you are standing right next to it! So, we had wasted 20 euros all because the hotel could not be bothered to inform guests by putting the notice where it should be....on the pool regulations board! (I also have photos showing the location of each notice).
To top it all, as we had received written notification from T. Cook of a revised return flight time of 22:20, we were ready and waiting in the hotel lobby at 19:30 for the coach. However, it did not arrive until 01:00 which was the scheduled time for our original flight time of 03:50 from Las Palmas. At no time did T. Cook inform us that the revised time had been nullified.
So, not only did we lose 10 hours at the start of our holiday, we also lost 5 hours at the end!
We spoke to several people from the UK who had booked through T. Cook. It appears some were informed in advance of the pool closure and given the option of changing hotels or cancelling but those who were not informed were upgraded from half-board to all-inclusive as recompense. Unfortunately, we did not see them again to be able to get their contact details.
What are our chances of being successful at claiming compensation and what is considered as a reasonable offer?