I am really disappointed with the service received by Travel Republic.
We booked a holiday with them in August for September - shortly after the booking we receive an email saying the prices had changed and they tried to charge us an additional £400. We found the holiday cheaper on hotels4u so cancelled the holiday with Travel Republic who agreed no money would be taken as they couldn't honour the original price.
I get my card statement through after the holiday and they have taken £480 from my bank and are refusing to refund it. When I cancelled the holiday with the customer service representative Toby apparently he only cancelled the flights. I am at a complete loss with them, have called in about 11 times and keep getting told conflicting information. Today I was told to email them and wait 14 days for a response! Despite raising the initial grievance over month ago.
I have even sent them the booking confirmation with hotels 4U to prove we booked with another company and the price was significantly cheaper.
It has kind of hit a 'my word against there's' situation but surely I shouldn't have to pay twice to stay in the same hotel having cancelled the original reservation?
I also never authorised for just an accommodation booking with them - the booking was a 'holiday' and cancelled as a holiday.
Anyone have any advice on what to do with them? The holiday was booked in memory of my dad who died a year before and they have managed to turn it into a complete nightmare.
Thanks,
Sam
Travel republic [and i have not used them] are no better or worse than many of the on line booking companies..
as a member you have a direct contact to TR in that Steve one of their managers is a member of HT ....steve@travelrepublic.co.uk this is his direct e-mail. don't expect an immediate answer send him a short e-mail outlining your problem with your booking ref. and he normally sorts thing out fairly quickly
please keep us up to date as to what hapens
wizard
as a member you have a direct contact to TR in that Steve one of their managers is a member of HT ....steve@travelrepublic.co.uk this is his direct e-mail. don't expect an immediate answer send him a short e-mail outlining your problem with your booking ref. and he normally sorts thing out fairly quickly
please keep us up to date as to what hapens
wizard
Travel Republic do not use 'live ' flight prices on their website so it is common for the price you think you have booked at to go up, especially if it takes them 2 or 3 days to book your flights with Easyjet, Ryanair etc as if the flights have just been released they go up in price in a matter of hours let alone days. There are warnings about this on their site though.
Still doesn't really explan why they have refunded the flight and not the hotel, very odd. Try Steve who Wizard has mentioned many members have managed to get things resolved by pming him.
Good luck and let us know how you get on, it must be most frustrating keep speaking to different people but with nothing getting resolved. Sorry to hear about your Dad.
Still doesn't really explan why they have refunded the flight and not the hotel, very odd. Try Steve who Wizard has mentioned many members have managed to get things resolved by pming him.
Good luck and let us know how you get on, it must be most frustrating keep speaking to different people but with nothing getting resolved. Sorry to hear about your Dad.
even though people on here think travel republic are the bees knees there is still a lot of complaints about them.on here.
TR don't usually sell complete holiday packages but instead sell the flight and hotel components separately and when these sort of complaints have arisen in the past it's usually the flights that haven't been refunded when there has been a problem with the hotel booking. So I'm at a loss as to what to suggest other than doing as Wizard and doe suggest and contacting Steve. if you search around here you'll see that he has a good track record with these sort of problems.
Having said that, I'm sorry to hear about the reason for your trip and hope that the holiday itself once you got there went OK.
SM
Having said that, I'm sorry to hear about the reason for your trip and hope that the holiday itself once you got there went OK.
SM
As it wasn't a package that was bought, the two elements are completely separate. You have separate contracts, one with the flight provider, another with the accommodation provider. You booked accommodation only and a flight only, but only the affected part is subject to be refunded.
It is all in their terms and conditions,
If unexpectedly in the short time between your payment and us seeking to confirm your booking with the travel provider the travel product has become unavailable and we cannot obtain an alternative acceptable to you, you will of course receive a complete refund of the money you have paid for that product. You must also understand that this refund will only apply to the product which is unavailable and any other bookings will not be affected, that is, you will be committed to any other products which were booked for travel at the same time.
You are only refunded for whichever part is affected by the price increase. You still have a confirmed contract with the other supplier.
Before you can book your have to agree to their terms and conditions. Before entering into any contract it is vital to know what you are paying for, but all to easy to check the box agreeing to them, without checking the terms and conditions first.
So many complaints about online booking companies are because of this.
It is all in their terms and conditions,
If unexpectedly in the short time between your payment and us seeking to confirm your booking with the travel provider the travel product has become unavailable and we cannot obtain an alternative acceptable to you, you will of course receive a complete refund of the money you have paid for that product. You must also understand that this refund will only apply to the product which is unavailable and any other bookings will not be affected, that is, you will be committed to any other products which were booked for travel at the same time.
You are only refunded for whichever part is affected by the price increase. You still have a confirmed contract with the other supplier.
Before you can book your have to agree to their terms and conditions. Before entering into any contract it is vital to know what you are paying for, but all to easy to check the box agreeing to them, without checking the terms and conditions first.
So many complaints about online booking companies are because of this.
johndoe wrote:even though people on here think travel republic are the bees knees there is still a lot of complaints about them.on here.
I think a lot of the complaints (not this one though) are due to people not really understanding what they are booking and that travel republic are putting together three seperate elements of a holiday and that the price they see on check out can actually increase after booking.
Many folk seem to think they are booking a package holiday covered by the package holiday legislation.
Thanks for all of your comments guys, really really helpful.
I am going to email Steve and hopefully will get somewhere with all of this. I called my bank early on today and they have said I can put a claim through the unauthorised payment team as long as I have proof of the same transaction with a different provider (which I do) and have tried to resolve the issue with TR (which I have).
They seemed to think I have a pretty strong case of getting the money back if I process a claim so that seems like a good alternative if I don't get anywhere further with Travel Republic. I just didn't really want to have to resort to such methods to get the money back, plus the time wasted on administration and form filling.
The irony is I have used Travel Republic for quiet a few different holidays and have never had an issue until now but reading some of the other posts it seems I was lucky.
I am going to email Steve and hopefully will get somewhere with all of this. I called my bank early on today and they have said I can put a claim through the unauthorised payment team as long as I have proof of the same transaction with a different provider (which I do) and have tried to resolve the issue with TR (which I have).
They seemed to think I have a pretty strong case of getting the money back if I process a claim so that seems like a good alternative if I don't get anywhere further with Travel Republic. I just didn't really want to have to resort to such methods to get the money back, plus the time wasted on administration and form filling.
The irony is I have used Travel Republic for quiet a few different holidays and have never had an issue until now but reading some of the other posts it seems I was lucky.
Hi Samantha2012, and others. I have been off for a week, and until Thursday am attending a large travel trade show in London. So am a bit tied up. I started reading up the notes on your booking and on first read it doesnt look like one I can sort here and now. Let me fire of a few internal questions before I go out for the day, so I can look at the matter in more depth on Thursday when I am back in the office.
Just a quick note to Doe, we do use live flight prices, and automatically make bookings with flight and hotel providers.
Back in more depth on Thursday.
Steve
Just a quick note to Doe, we do use live flight prices, and automatically make bookings with flight and hotel providers.
Back in more depth on Thursday.
Steve
f unexpectedly in the short time between your payment and us seeking to confirm your booking with the travel provider the travel product has become unavailable and we cannot obtain an alternative acceptable to you, you will of course receive a complete refund of the money you have paid for that product. You must also understand that this refund will only apply to the product which is unavailable and any other bookings will not be affected, that is, you will be committed to any other products which were booked for travel at the same time.
That seems to me to be an excellent reason NOT to book with them.
Totally impractical to commit to buying something dependent on the purchase of another item, unless both are firmly confirmed together.
If this is not possible then there should a robust system for mutual cancellation of the components, as although the components are individual they are mutually dependent.
I have used TR and other similar companies with no problems.
Most OTA's are exactly the same, so unless you understand what you're booking, and are happy with it, best to stick to booking a package holiday. They don't have to be restrictive. Just find an agent that packages their own, and you get all the flexibility you need, but sold with package regs protection.
steved1 wrote:Hi Samantha2012, and others. I have been off for a week, and until Thursday am attending a large travel trade show in London. So am a bit tied up. I started reading up the notes on your booking and on first read it doesnt look like one I can sort here and now. Let me fire of a few internal questions before I go out for the day, so I can look at the matter in more depth on Thursday when I am back in the office.
Just a quick note to Doe, we do use live flight prices, and automatically make bookings with flight and hotel providers.
Back in more depth on Thursday.
Steve
Apologies then Steve if that is the case but I remember reading a huge thread on a rival forum to this stating that TR was using flights with LCC 's and there was a time lag between taking a booking and booking the flights which was causing differences and hence problems .
Are you saying that when you press the submitt button on a Travel Republic booking the final price you see is always 100 % the final price you will pay ?
Only that clearly isn't what happened to the OP, her costs went up after booking, hence the desire to cancel.
As I read it doe, the OP's problem wasn't with the flights, which where successfully cancelled, but with the hotel booking. And whilst I have never had any problems with hotel bookings made via TR the documentation has always made it clear that the booking isn't confirmed until the hotel supplier sends confirmation of the booking having been accepted (as opposed to the booking having been placed by TR). I have always there T&Cs to mean that there is the outside chance that the price would change but that if it went up I had the option to cancel and get a refund.
I have never been bothered about the situation that Del49 outlines because I have only ever used TR in situations where whatever happened I was still going to go and in fact often book the flights way ahead when they are at their cheapest and only bother sorting the hotel etc out nearer the time. But then I'm not usually trying to book a busy beachside hotel in the school summer holidays. As Sunaddict says, the likes of TR and other online agents aren't for those who do want the security of a package that is covered by the package regulations.
SM
I have never been bothered about the situation that Del49 outlines because I have only ever used TR in situations where whatever happened I was still going to go and in fact often book the flights way ahead when they are at their cheapest and only bother sorting the hotel etc out nearer the time. But then I'm not usually trying to book a busy beachside hotel in the school summer holidays. As Sunaddict says, the likes of TR and other online agents aren't for those who do want the security of a package that is covered by the package regulations.
SM
I understand SMa. I just hope it gets resolved.
Provided people understand what they are booking the likes of travel republic, onthebeach etc have a valid role in an ever reducing sector, problem seems to be that a lot of their clients don't understand it's not initially a confirmed booking.
Without the likes of them there would be no competition left in the market and you can't blame people who are on a budget wanting to save a few hundred quid compared to what TUI and TC charge.
Provided people understand what they are booking the likes of travel republic, onthebeach etc have a valid role in an ever reducing sector, problem seems to be that a lot of their clients don't understand it's not initially a confirmed booking.
Without the likes of them there would be no competition left in the market and you can't blame people who are on a budget wanting to save a few hundred quid compared to what TUI and TC charge.
This was obviously a dynamic package where the hotel and fight are booked separately.
I often book these with Hays Travel but always take out the supplier failure cover which is only £10.
This is surplus to our existing travel insurance but is worth it for peace of mind.
At least we are covered should this happen and Hays always sell it with this type of holiday.
Maybe the on-line companies should include this insurance for their customers.
I often book these with Hays Travel but always take out the supplier failure cover which is only £10.
This is surplus to our existing travel insurance but is worth it for peace of mind.
At least we are covered should this happen and Hays always sell it with this type of holiday.
Maybe the on-line companies should include this insurance for their customers.
Supplier failure cover wouldn't cover for this type of incident, as the supplier isn't insolvent. The flight plus Atol would cover anyway for supplier failure, providing the two elements were booked within the allowable timescale.
Would you advise me not to pay my tenner to Hays every time I book a dynamic package as its usually companies like Thomson they book the flight with and Med hotels etc for the hotel/apartment?
I mainly pay it in case the dreaded Ash cloud comes back when we are going on holiday.
I mainly pay it in case the dreaded Ash cloud comes back when we are going on holiday.
Jaytrip, if that's why you are buying it and it covers you for that, then keep paying it. If you are buying it because you think supplier failure cover insurance would cover you in the OP's situation then I'd say you were wasting your money.
As I understand it, the OP didn't want to pay the additional £400 as a result of the price going up between them making the reservation on the TR website and the hotel supplier and/or airline confirming that the booking had been accepted so she accepted what she thought was the offer of a cancellation of the entire booking and a refund from TR. Her complaint is that TR only cancelled the flights and that she has still been charged for the hotel and has now paid twice for the same hotel. I don't think that Supplier Failure Cover would provide cover in these particular circumstances where one component of a dynamic package has been cancelled and refunded but not another part.
SM
As I understand it, the OP didn't want to pay the additional £400 as a result of the price going up between them making the reservation on the TR website and the hotel supplier and/or airline confirming that the booking had been accepted so she accepted what she thought was the offer of a cancellation of the entire booking and a refund from TR. Her complaint is that TR only cancelled the flights and that she has still been charged for the hotel and has now paid twice for the same hotel. I don't think that Supplier Failure Cover would provide cover in these particular circumstances where one component of a dynamic package has been cancelled and refunded but not another part.
SM
Jay Trip wrote:Would you advise me not to pay my tenner to Hays every time I book a dynamic package as its usually companies like Thomson they book the flight with and Med hotels etc for the hotel/apartment?
I mainly pay it in case the dreaded Ash cloud comes back when we are going on holiday. :yikes
There is no need to pay for supplier failure cover. They are already charging for the flight plus Atol I think, which will cover you for supplier failure, (as long as you book the elements either at the same time, or within a day of each other), and as long as the airline holds an Atol as Thomsons, Thomas Cook do, you are protected for them failing anyway. Neither will help in an ash cloud scenario. Both only cover in the event of insolvency.
I always make sure my insurance covers for natural disasters/trip interruption/independent traveller. If you are prevented from travelling due to an ash cloud you will get a full refund for your flight, but nothing for the accommodation, unless you have the correct insurance cover. If you are stuck abroad the airline has to take care of you, although you may have to pay out and then claim it back.
Sorry - can't edit.
Neither supplier failure or Atol will help in a case such as the OP's.
Neither supplier failure or Atol will help in a case such as the OP's.
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