Can Virgin Holidays do this to me?

[Andy Lou & Meg]

After the joy of booking our holiday on Tuesday, today our holiday has now turned into a nightmare.

I booked with Virgin Holidays (via one of there travel agency in a Debenhams store) for our August trip and the price agreed upon was £3962.69, however they price matched for me so the total agreed was £3441. I duly paid my deposit of £545.00.

I received my booking invoice confirmation with the original amount shown and the deposit received, however the email stated that my payment would be adjusted (tomorrow - Tuesday) to the agreed £3441.

Today I receive a phone call stating that they will no longer charge me the amound agreed and wish to charge me an additional £800.

Can they do this to me. My joy of planning has turned into a nightmare..

 

[wilma-bride]

It really depends what the additional £800 is for. Without knowing why they have stated they are increasing hte price, it is impossible to say. If, however, they have accidentally quoted the wrong price for something, you might find their Ts & Cs will cover them for charging you the correct price.

What I'm pretty sure they do have to do is offer you the opportunity to cancel without penalty (i.e. without loss of deposit) if you do not wish to pay the increased/adjusted price. Out of interest, who did they price match against?

 

[Andy Lou & Meg]

They priced matched me against a quote I got from BA.

They are now saying that they will not do the price match but not only that the price is more than the original price they quoted me in the first place.

We have been loyal Virgin Holiday customers for years and I am really annoyed.

How can they agree one thing then change their minds

 

[Samaya]

After the joy of booking our holiday on Tuesday, today our holiday has now turned into a nightmare.

I booked with Virgin Holidays (via one of there travel agency in a Debenhams store) for our August trip and the price agreed upon was £3962.69, however they price matched for me so the total agreed was £3441. I duly paid my deposit of £545.00.

I received my booking invoice confirmation with the original amount shown and the deposit received, however the email stated that my payment would be adjusted (tomorrow - Tuesday) to the agreed £3441.

Today I receive a phone call stating that they will no longer charge me the amound agreed and wish to charge me an additional £800.

Can they do this to me. My joy of planning has turned into a nightmare..

Did they give a reason for the increase?

It might depend on when your are going, did they say it was a provisional booking as if your holiday is over 10-months away then check out this T&C on the Virgin web site at http://www.virginholidays.co.uk/info/important/terms_conditions/booking_conditions/

Out of date range flights

Some airlines only load their seats to sell approximately 10 months before the departure. If this applies, we will tell you at time of enquiry, quote a provisional price, issue a provisional invoice & take a deposit, but a contract will not exist between us.

When available, if there is no price increase we will confirm the booking, issue a confirmation invoice and a contract exists between us. If the price increases we will contact you and give you 7 days to either accept the increase or receive a full refund. If accepted, we will issue a confirmation invoice and a contract exists between us.

Then check out section 7 Your Holiday Price

 

[Andy Lou & Meg]

Also they have said that they refund my deposit. The point is I want to keep my holiday at the price agreed. I was also going to pay my balance today. Good job I didnt

 

[wilma-bride]

Also they have said that they refund my deposit. The point is I want to keep my holiday at the price agreed. I was also going to pay my balance today. Good job I didnt

Sadly, they are well within their rights to do this. It is similar to the Disney price glitch last year where people were able to book deluxe resorts with free dining for just the price fo the tickets. No way were Disney going to honour it, everybody who booked and got the glitch price knew that. The only difference here is you didn't know that they would increase the price but, as I said before, their Ts & Cs will allow them to do it.

As long as they have offered your deposit back then cancel and go with whomever the company was that they price matched with.

 

[T16GEM]

As long as they have offered your deposit back then cancel and go with whomever the company was that they price matched with.

After reading the thread I was just going to suggest this, we have been with Virgin once, I personally wouldn't go out of my way to go with them as there are so many other great airlines and holiday companies out there.

 

[Andy Lou & Meg]

I would but BA prices have now gone up!!!

Honestly if I went into full details about this it would make your blood boil. The travel agent has lied through her teeth to us on this.

We have writted everything down and even have logs of calls made/recevied and all emails.

Regardless of the outcome they will be getting a very strong letter of complaint.

I have never had problems with them before, we travel very regularly with them and Virgin Atlantic.

I am not suprised they are in trouble, I will never use them again.

 

[queendisney]

post on to their Fb page as they do tend to get in touch with you and sort things out..its worth a try.

I hate all this price match thing they do..they really should be on the ball and be more competitive so that you don't have to do the searching. If they say they can price match why can't they offer it at that price in the first place I suppose it's not as simple as that in reality..

 

[catherine]

Who was it that phoned you from VH? If it was me I'd phone their Customer Service people and complain big style and if you don't get anywhere ask to speak to a supervisor. I had an issue with VH and I had to phone and e-mail them several times. Eventually they let me speak to a supervisor and the issue got sorted there and then.

BTW I posted on their FB page and it didn't get me anywhere!

 

[wilma-bride]

Honestly OP, it really isn't worth getting stressed about. Maybe you're right and your story would make my blood boil but a lot of things that go on in the world probably would. For the sake of my health, I have learned that, unless something is hurting me or my family, it is really not worth getting upset or losing sleep over. Write a strongly worded letter if it makes you feel better but that isn't going to get you the holiday at the price you want to pay (or maybe it will - sometimes if you shout loudly enough people might give in just to make you go away ). Personally, I would just concentrate on getting your deposit back, starting to go about finding a good deal and get something else booked so you can start planning again.

It really doesn't matter whether you've got a record of phone calls, Emails, whatever, if their terms and conditions state that they can get away with it, then there is not very much you can do about it.

I'm very sorry they have treated you this way but speak with your feet, walk away and take your business elsewhere. Their loss!

 

[crabbie1]

When are your dates ,hotels flights etc ? Which tickets were included?
I would get your deposit back asap and start again. Yes its frustrating and VH are expensive anyway. Have you looked at complete orlando if you want a package? Or looked at booking your flights only through VAtlantic . I can imagine your anger but it obviously wasnt meant to be and I dont understand any company that can quote a price then put it up just because they can. You dont get a quote for a new car or decorating then they wop another £500 on it!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[darthtatty]

From my experience, they can and do, do things like this all the time-esp to loyal customers. Even complaining about it gets nowhere.
As Wilma-bride said, dont waste your time worrying over it.
I hope you find a great deal that youre happy to pay.

 

[laalaa]

Hi,


I had a similar situation with Virgin (also booked through a Debenhams store). I was part paying with Tesco vouchers & told them this before quote. Price given was approximately £1900 & I paid a cash deposit instore. A few days later they called to say that I shouldn't have been quoted that price as it was slightly discounted & you are not eligible for discounts when using vouchers. Only solution given was to pay the extra £370 or move offsite.

I complained to head office & they forwarded to store manager. Got nowhere over a period of 2weeks. I then complained on twitter to virginhols & Richard Bransons account and within 24hours I had my holiday at original price quoted.

Hope you get somewhere x

 

[Rain]

We had awful problems with VH this year and I don't think we will ever use them again. Like you it started wih a price match. The problem arose when we decided to bring forward the date.
It is like a catalogue of disasters.
Gave me EC seat instead of PE on one invoice also wrong amount.
Then gave me studio instead of one bedroom again wrong amount.
Then they only took one deposit off when they made us pay a second deposit for changing date as well as changes fee.
Then I had so many emails saying that they had taken our deposit to price match.
I posted twice on facebook with no response
Eventually after weeks it got sorted out but it caused me so much stress that we will not do it again.
I did not even realise I was booking with a shop as I rang the direct number. Apparently if the number is busy it diverts to shop.

If you can get your deposit back I would find someone else to book with.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Why not look at DIY? You will find it comes out cheaper in most cases and you can get better value for your money.
It's very easy and you don't have to pay travel agents commission

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

We had awful problems with VH this year and I don't think we will ever use them again. Like you it started wih a price match. The problem arose when we decided to bring forward the date.
It is like a catalogue of disasters.
Gave me EC seat instead of PE on one invoice also wrong amount.
Then gave me studio instead of one bedroom again wrong amount.
Then they only took one deposit off when they made us pay a second deposit for changing date as well as changes fee.
Then I had so many emails saying that they had taken our deposit to price match.
I posted twice on facebook with no response
Eventually after weeks it got sorted out but it caused me so much stress that we will not do it again.
I did not even realise I was booking with a shop as I rang the direct number. Apparently if the number is busy it diverts to shop.

If you can get your deposit back I would find someone else to book with.

I didn't even realise they did "price match" to other prices

 

[Rain]

I didn't even realise they did "price match" to other prices

Yes they do, this is off the Virgin website but I feel fairly sure that they have only just altered it to read or a refund!!!



Q:



Do you price match?





A:



If within 14 days of booking your holiday, you can supply a brochure or a written quote from another ABTA Tour Operator, offering an identical holiday at a lower price, we will either match the lower price or offer you a full refund. Please email

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

Yes they do, this is off the Virgin website but I feel fairly sure that they have only just altered it to read or a refund!!!



Q:



Do you price match?





A:



If within 14 days of booking your holiday, you can supply a brochure or a written quote from another ABTA Tour Operator, offering an identical holiday at a lower price, we will either match the lower price or offer you a full refund. Please email

Interesting .... thanks