Hi there,
I am posting to ask for your help.
I booked a holiday through Thomson with Virgin holidays to go to Florida for 14 nights in March 2010 for my birthday.
My girlfriend & I were going to cancel this holiday and visit Australia at the end of 2010 but we had a USA brochure from when we booked the holiday to Florida and having looked through this brochure we saw an excursion to Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles which said, "The NEW Universal VIP Experience - Be among the select few to gain ultimate access to the world of film-making with your own exclusive 6-hour tour of closed locations of sets such as Wisteria Lane and CSI. The VIP Experience also includes front-of-line access to all shows and attractions, and reserved seating for shows." so we decided rather than canceling the holiday we decided to change it to visit West Coast USA, it cost us £25 each to change the booking and also brought the holiday cost up considerably but felt it would be worth it as we are huge fans of CSI.
We changed the holiday from 14 nights in Orlando to 7 nights in Los Angeles, 4 nights in San Francisco & 4 nights in Las Vegas (We booked Los Angeles to visit CSI and as the other destinations are only a short flight away we thought we may as well try these also). Approx cost was £2500+ for the holiday but as we booked the hotel in Los Angeles direct there is another £1000 on top.
I contacted the VIP Experience manager at Universal Studios Hollywood and was stunned when they informed me NO tour allows access to the CSI set, she told me even though CSI is filmed at Universal Studios, they rent the stage out to the competitor network so they have no way of allowing guests access to the set as they have no control over it.
I contacted Virgin Holidays as I was very angry as we only booked this holiday to visit CSI - Virgin claimed you could visit CSI, I explained what I had been told by the VIP Experience manager at Universal Studios Hollywood and they emailed me back claiming they would remove all advertisings stating you can visit CSI and update all their advisors about this and as a "goodwill gesture" they would offer us transfers in San Francisco and Los Angeles (we had already paid for transfers in San Francisco) or 7 nights car hire. I emailed back and refused this.
I have now found this advertisement in three different editions of Virgin's USA brochure. I called a few times after this and the agents I spoke with still claimed they could allow us access to the CSI set and tried to sell me this product.
The Universal Studios Hollywood VIP manager suggested I ask Virgin Holidays for the name of their contact at Universal Studios Hollywood who Virgin claim told them guests could visit the set of CSI as no-one at Universal Studios Hollywood know you cannot visit the set of CSI. Virgin would not provide me with this information and said due to DPA I cannot discuss my holiday with them (even though I had been before) and I would have to get Thomson to contact them to get this information and discuss my holiday - Thomson called them but told me I could visit CSI and tried to sell me it. (Even though Customer Relations at Virgin said they would update all their staff and confirmed I couldn't visit CSI).
I called again and the man I spoke with told me "...sets such as Wisteria Lane and CSI." meant it wasn't actually those sets you get to visit, it was sets of shows with a similar concept of these mentioned. I questioned how much money we would loose if we cancelled the holiday now but he said he would have to put me on hold to find out this information, I told him to forget it as I had wasted hours of my time and the phone calls were costing a lot of money.
I got an email from the original staff member at the Customer Relations Dept in Virgin Holidays who said she see's on the notes on my account that I'd been told I'd loose 50% of the holiday cost if we cancelled (we were not told this as we told the agent we weren't being put on hold again) and she offered us the transfers and car hire previously offered plus an additional £50 each for my girlfriend and I as they didn't want us to cancel but if I want to accept this then I have to write to them to accept it and cannot email them as I have been previously doing, I have not made contact since as I think this is totally unacceptable.
The VIP experience manager at Universal Studios gave me the Operations manager's contact details and he confirmed no tour offers access of CSI and they have no control over how travel agents advertise. He also advised me has worked at Universal Studios Hollywood for 30 years and he has never had access to the CSI set. He sent me a copy of the daily call sheet (which the public don't normally get to see) which showed all the productions for that day, which included CSI. On this sheet it states very clearly that there's strictly no access available to the set of CSI unless the shows producers have given prior written notice.
I would really appreciate your opinion of what I should do as I feel we have been mislead due to false advertising.
We do not travel until March 2010.
Regards,
Barry
If you look carefully in the brochure, somewhere it will say something along the lines of: "all information in brochure is subject to change"
The information was never correct so it hasn't changed. They have never allowed access to it.
This is what it says in the 3 brochures -
"The information and prices shown in this brochure may have changed by the time you come to book your arrangements. Although we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the brochure information and prices at the time of printing, regrettably errors do occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check the price and all other details of your chosen arrangements with us or your travel agent at the time of booking"
I did check with Thomson and Virgin and both specifically said we could visit CSI, if I hadn't contacted Universal Studios Hollywood I would still be presuming we are going to see CSI.
"The information and prices shown in this brochure may have changed by the time you come to book your arrangements. Although we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the brochure information and prices at the time of printing, regrettably errors do occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check the price and all other details of your chosen arrangements with us or your travel agent at the time of booking"
I did check with Thomson and Virgin and both specifically said we could visit CSI, if I hadn't contacted Universal Studios Hollywood I would still be presuming we are going to see CSI.
own exclusive 6-hour tour of closed locations of sets such as Wisteria Lane and CSI.
Quoting what you have said - the key words are "Such As" - Whilst I accept what you say it does not guarantee that you will visit a particular set.
Why mention CSI if they no they cannot allow access? I specifically asked this and was guaranteed I could. Not told I MAY visit, I was told I WOULD.
Know**
I agree with Barry's point, when they said "Such As...." and quoted specific sets together with the 6 hour claim I would have taken that to mean that CSI was one of those normally included with a selection of equally famous programmes.
But I can see a problem, even if CSI was available for tours there are presumably some days when it is in use for filming. So if you were making this the highlight of the holiday then you should have got confirmation that it would be open for your date. At which point Virgin would either have withdrawn the suggestion or dropped themselves right in it!
Virgin will say that since you didn't check before you booked it couldn't have been that important (I say this because that line has been used by tour ops in the past when highlights have been dropped). Especially since the tour is just 6 hours in a two week holiday.
I think it's a big gamble to cancel and hope to get the money back through the courts. Took My Travel to court when they advertised a flight from an airport which they should have known was closed (same principle) and wouldn't let me cancel, but I was only gambling with £100.
Is there any chance that you can find a contact in the PR department of the company which makes CSI, email them and explain have you have been treated - possibly with a scan of the brochure - and see if you can have a quick look around whilst there? tell them how much you've paid before you found out it wasn't true (convert it to dollars, it looks more). After all Virgin are using their name so I'm sure they'd be interested.....
And if you do accept the car hire make sure it includes all possible insurance!
But I can see a problem, even if CSI was available for tours there are presumably some days when it is in use for filming. So if you were making this the highlight of the holiday then you should have got confirmation that it would be open for your date. At which point Virgin would either have withdrawn the suggestion or dropped themselves right in it!
Virgin will say that since you didn't check before you booked it couldn't have been that important (I say this because that line has been used by tour ops in the past when highlights have been dropped). Especially since the tour is just 6 hours in a two week holiday.
I think it's a big gamble to cancel and hope to get the money back through the courts. Took My Travel to court when they advertised a flight from an airport which they should have known was closed (same principle) and wouldn't let me cancel, but I was only gambling with £100.
Is there any chance that you can find a contact in the PR department of the company which makes CSI, email them and explain have you have been treated - possibly with a scan of the brochure - and see if you can have a quick look around whilst there? tell them how much you've paid before you found out it wasn't true (convert it to dollars, it looks more). After all Virgin are using their name so I'm sure they'd be interested.....
And if you do accept the car hire make sure it includes all possible insurance!
Hey Steve,
Yeah I understand there may be restrictions if they were filming but knew they wouldn't be filming at Universal Studios every day I was in LA (that's why we stayed longer in LA to give us this option). This is why I emailed Universal so I could find out which day to book the tour for and this is when I found out.
Yeah I understand there may be restrictions if they were filming but knew they wouldn't be filming at Universal Studios every day I was in LA (that's why we stayed longer in LA to give us this option). This is why I emailed Universal so I could find out which day to book the tour for and this is when I found out.
You can't visit the CSI set, the person you spoke to from Universal Studios is right. I have an annual pass to Universal and the backlot tour does absolutely NOT include a visit to the CSI set, nor am I aware of any way to get on it (not legally, anyway!).
With hindsight, you probably should have called Universal to confirm if you could visit the CSI set BEFORE you changed your flights. Yes, Virgin did advertise it but it seems they were unaware that this information was incorrect (so I think it's a bit of a stretch to call it "false advertising", especially as they tried to rectify the problem). One could argue that you shouldn't have to call Universal beforehand, not if Virgin were advertising the tour, but common sense suggests it's a good idea if you are planning to base your entire holiday around it.
Anyhow, why not put it down to experience and just come and enjoy California? Even if you had been able to see the CSI set, that would have lasted for...what...all of 30 minutes? Hardly worth cancelling a holiday over, surely, even for the most die hard CSI fan.
Last year I went to a CSI exhibition at the Science Museum (the free one... it's in LA, near the Colosseum stadium) and that was pretty decent. I don't watch CSI myself (my girlfriend likes it), but I found it quite interesting and they had re-creations of one of the character's offices, as well as mock crime scenes etc. I imagine the exhibition has moved now but it might be worth pursuing. Maybe it just moved to somewhere else in California and you could still find it.
With hindsight, you probably should have called Universal to confirm if you could visit the CSI set BEFORE you changed your flights. Yes, Virgin did advertise it but it seems they were unaware that this information was incorrect (so I think it's a bit of a stretch to call it "false advertising", especially as they tried to rectify the problem). One could argue that you shouldn't have to call Universal beforehand, not if Virgin were advertising the tour, but common sense suggests it's a good idea if you are planning to base your entire holiday around it.
Anyhow, why not put it down to experience and just come and enjoy California? Even if you had been able to see the CSI set, that would have lasted for...what...all of 30 minutes? Hardly worth cancelling a holiday over, surely, even for the most die hard CSI fan.
Last year I went to a CSI exhibition at the Science Museum (the free one... it's in LA, near the Colosseum stadium) and that was pretty decent. I don't watch CSI myself (my girlfriend likes it), but I found it quite interesting and they had re-creations of one of the character's offices, as well as mock crime scenes etc. I imagine the exhibition has moved now but it might be worth pursuing. Maybe it just moved to somewhere else in California and you could still find it.
As I said before the wording "such as" does not specifically say that you will actually visit that particular set. It is all about advertising and anyone with knowledge of that industry is well aware, what it says is on the label has no connection with what you get. They are selling a studio tour and that is all.
The fact that a particular show is filmed there is manna from heaven to the advertising people. They will tell you all about it, suggest you might, but never actually say you will get to see it. Unfortunately the public do not read it the same way Perhaps the TOs need to get some members of the public to read their brochures before they send them out. Ask them what they think they are getting and check that is what they will actually be delivering.
fwh
The fact that a particular show is filmed there is manna from heaven to the advertising people. They will tell you all about it, suggest you might, but never actually say you will get to see it. Unfortunately the public do not read it the same way Perhaps the TOs need to get some members of the public to read their brochures before they send them out. Ask them what they think they are getting and check that is what they will actually be delivering.
fwh
" such as " I would take to meant "these taken out of a group of possibilities"
As CSI was or ever has been a " posibility " according to an educated sourse on site.... I would have thought it was misleading to use its name in a sentence directly after " such as "
The phrase used should have been " similar too "
In a way its offering to sell something you have no possesion of, and with no way to proccure it....so I think it was misleading to use the phrase " such as " prior to CSI
I would have thought same as our OP and expected to visit other less popular sites with CSI and Wisteria being the highlights in my tour...
Dont think it would be seen as reasonable though to cancel whole holiday...incorporating so many elements...and so dont think you will get anywhere going down that road ..
I would contact the CSI powers that be ....explain what has gone on ....say how much you paid just so you could visit the site...and how much it mattered to you....how upset you are....and you may get a personal private tour....
As CSI was or ever has been a " posibility " according to an educated sourse on site.... I would have thought it was misleading to use its name in a sentence directly after " such as "
The phrase used should have been " similar too "
In a way its offering to sell something you have no possesion of, and with no way to proccure it....so I think it was misleading to use the phrase " such as " prior to CSI
I would have thought same as our OP and expected to visit other less popular sites with CSI and Wisteria being the highlights in my tour...
Dont think it would be seen as reasonable though to cancel whole holiday...incorporating so many elements...and so dont think you will get anywhere going down that road ..
I would contact the CSI powers that be ....explain what has gone on ....say how much you paid just so you could visit the site...and how much it mattered to you....how upset you are....and you may get a personal private tour....
They have the CSI experience at the MGM Grand Hotel in Vegas. I did not do it myself, but people were saying that it was very good.
It may be better than nothing
It may be better than nothing
The term 'such as' provides get debate in the legal world, its not as clear cut as others suggest. In defence of FWH, he is not legally qualified so he is expressing his personal opinion on the matter.
I do however believe that the TO will have this covered in their small print.
I do however believe that the TO will have this covered in their small print.
I have read all 3 brochures and the only thing it says is what I posted above. It's not just the brochures though I was guaranteed over the phone by a few different staff we could go to CSI. I have even been told this after someone at customer relations confirmed we couldn't visit and would update all their staff so they didn't disappoint any other customers.
Thanks for letting me know about the CSI at MGM in Vegas - will look it up.
Thanks to all for your comments, except certain rude members!
Thanks for letting me know about the CSI at MGM in Vegas - will look it up.
Thanks to all for your comments, except certain rude members!
blst wrote:Thanks to all for your comments, except certain rude members!
I haven't read anybody being rude. Perhaps they have written something that others may not agree with, but it isn't rude.
Please note that we don't accept any comments that are seen to attack other members.
Thanks
MarkJ HT Mod
Hopefully your persistence has paid off and they have deleted the reference - I can't see it on the Virgin Holidays online VIP experience package
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