i think people are going off the subject i thought it was £10 for seats on plane not anything to do with paying for your visa , evrybody who goes to turkey knows you pay £10 each visa when you arrive not when you are going home or am i wrong dont think so lindie

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vrybody who goes to turkey knows you pay £10 each visa when you arrive

When we went about 7 years ago, we had booked the holiday about 12months in advance, and it wasn't mentioned by the travel agents in any conversation (neither did it appear on anything in the shop or brochure). It was 1 week before we were due to go that we had a chance conversation with a couple we hadn't seen for ages. We got talking and they had been to Turkey and said and don't forget they need to be crisp tenners in your passport... We thought it was some sort of joke as we didn't have a clue what they were talking about !!

Well Cy, it looks like a case of older and wiser. Visa taxes are imposed on everyone entering Turkey, not just holidaymakers. You can offer explanations or rant or bamboozle as much as you wish, but I do not consider this to be in any way excessive, considering the level of poverty in the country and the attempts to make the way of life there more progressive.

Now, if you consider the cost of visiting the good old US of A, the cost of all governments to introduce acceptable passports to the US immigration service, and the cost of getting a visa, let alone the prices paid for dodgy green cards, says far more about the financial greed of this country than a simple visa fee. And don't forget that the UK imposes fees for other nationals to purchase (sorry, acquire) a valid visa to enter this country too.

I'm sure you'll find plenty to disagree with in this post, but I think that I am old and realistic enough to let you have your say and not lose any sleep over it.

Back on topic.... again. Have you contacted Cosmos Jo?

luci

Just to let you know Cosmos have responded to me complaint and agreed that their rep was in fault & should have made proper arrangements with the airline before selling pre-allocated seating! They also refunded my £10

Well done JO!
Shorty

Nice one Jo! Thanks for keeping us updated.

luci

I am pleased that Cosmos have responded to your complaint Jo.
I sent an e-mail and photos to their customer complaints department a month ago, rang and had it confirmed that they had received them, which they had, and do you think I have heard a word from them since...some hope.
this complaint has been ongoing now since we arrived back from Tenerife (Paradise Park Appartments in Los Christianos ) in october.
Usual story, building works near our hotel ( 20 yards from our balcony) and they managed to move us to another room after a week of our holiday.
All this after we were assured by Cosmos and Lunn Polly before leaving for the holiday, that the building works would not have any adverse effect on our holiday.
Just wish I knew where to go next with this as it seems Cosmos don't give a monkeys.

Martin

Martin contact Ros Fernihough who specialises in Travel Law, she will offer you free advice regarding your situation. She may be reached on 01922 621114.

Thanks for that Glynis

I tell you something ..... I am glad I found this site, it is an absolute goldmine of info.

Martin

Just a quick comment re. the tourist visa argument...

In the days before the Euro, British tourists travelling to Turkey paid a visa fee on entry, but German tourists did not have to pay. The reason for this was that Germany did not charge the Turkish for visas to visit Germany, but the British government did. Unfortunately, Germans lost out when the euro was introduced as visa charges were unified.

Therefore, if anyone has a gripe about paying, then this should really be directed at our government, as Turkey is only treating us on the same basis that we treat them!

Given that this is a 'tit-for-tat' charge imposed by the Government and you will have to pay as long as we continue to charge the Turks, would you rather send in your passport to the Turkish Embassy in advance of travel to obtain your visa, or would you rather simply pay on arrival at the airport. It seems to me that rather than attempting to 'scam' the British out of money, the Turkish have tried to make it as easy as possible for us to visit...ie. they are doing their best to welcome tourists given the political circumstances.

Hi everyone
The good news from our little problem with Cosmos is that we have agreed a settlement on compensation It wasnt as much as we would have liked but it was double what they had originally offered.
Just goes to show that we have to stick it out and go for it.
I will add though that even with the photo evidence etc. the attitude of their customer complaints department left a lot to be desired.
I wonder if they realise that we are their customers and that if we are complaining about something then maybe, just maybe, we have something to complain about.
The attitude towards me even when they were faced with the photo's seemed to be that they were right and I should be grateful that I was allowed to use their company to travel with and that I was stupid to complain that building work was being carried out 20 yards from our balcony window and that they could tell better than I could ( from 1500 miles away that this building work was " just the finishing touches" and that the other people demanding to be moved and in some cases leaving the hotel totally were just whingers.
Well if anyone from Cosmos is reading this then I will let you into a little secret.......we pay for your wages and to keep your company in business and if you think that your company is going to stay in business with an attitude like the one I saw no matter how big you think you are, then you will all have a massive shock coming very soon.

Sorry everyone....rant over now and I feel a lot better for getting that off my chest.

Glad to hear that things are now settled Mart.