Totally confused and a little bit angry!

[Junglejuice30]

So - we have booked for Feb 2015. Two weeks, Coronado Springs. My 10 year old son is already bouncing off the walls! But here's the problem ......

We have booked to fly on a Monday, direct from Manchester to Orlando with Virgin. We were booking direct with Virgin Holidays for a diff date but We got a competitive quote from a high street travel agent so booked through them instead. Prior to booking I asked for confirmation that this flight was correct as according to Virgin schedules there is no direct flight from Manchester on a Monday in Feb. they checked with the holiday company who said it was fine - they fly daily.

However, I thought I would email Virgin Atlantic myself and double check. They have replied informing me that from Nov 2014 to end of March 2015 they fly daily from Manchester EXCEPT for Monday!!!!

I have spoken to the travel agent who has again spoken to the holiday company who are still insisting they fly daily. The travel agent has recommended not doing anything until March when the schedules will be published and if indeed Virgin don't fly on a Monday then they will move our start date to the next day.

My concern is that by then hotel may be booked up for a different date OR we have to stick with the date we've booked but end up flying with another airline with stop-offs in goodness knows where! The travel agent has said if we swop now they will charge us £150 admin fee as they haven't had official confirmation there are no flights - isn't the email I got from Virgin Atlantic enough?!

I'm beginning to wish we had stuck with Virgin Holidays for our original date (a Wednesday). I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place with the conflicting info.

Anyone got any suggestions on the best way forward ?

 

[velvetsqueeze]

My advice: change airlines. You have to weigh the extra cost of changing airlines against the cost of your sanity and peace of mind. That way you can book your lodging now without worrying about the hotel booking up.

 

[Vixster]

You are right I just did a holiday and was given tue to fly with virgin maybe speak to someone else see what they have done cause they can't have a flight number hopefully you get it sorted

 

[wiigirl]

My advice: change airlines. You have to weigh the extra cost of changing airlines against the cost of your sanity and peace of mind. That way you can book your lodging now without worrying about the hotel booking up.

 

[Junglejuice30]

You are right I just did a holiday and was given tue to fly with virgin maybe speak to someone else see what they have done cause they can't have a flight number hopefully you get it sorted

They have given me a flight number on the confirmation invoice which DOES fly daily but only from the end of March! Winter months the same flight number does not fly Mondays.

We will probably end up changing but I object to paying £150 to sort out a problem that I pointed out prior to booking but was assured was ok!

 

[DLPDreams]

They have given me a flight number on the confirmation invoice which DOES fly daily but only from the end of March! Winter months the same flight number does not fly Mondays.

We will probably end up changing but I object to paying £150 to sort out a problem that I pointed out prior to booking but was assured was ok!

If you haven't already, you need to bring it to the attention of their manager and say you insist you do not pay the £150 fee. You have confirmation from Virgin that they will not fly that day - what more does this TA want?

If you are really fed up, I would insist on a whole refund and go off and book elsewhere. When did you book? Aren't you eligible for a 14-day cooling off period? Look at your T&Cs and see if there is a 'get-out'.

 

[Junglejuice30]

If you haven't already, you need to bring it to the attention of their manager and say you insist you do not pay the £150 fee. You have confirmation from Virgin that they will not fly that day - what more does this TA want?

If you are really fed up, I would insist on a whole refund and go off and book elsewhere. When did you book? Aren't you eligible for a 14-day cooling off period? Look at your T&Cs and see if there is a 'get-out'.

We booked a couple of weeks ago. I've just checked the T&C and if we cancel then we lose the deposit. Seems we are stuck with them.

 

[tinkerpea]

I truly doubt that the hotel your looking at will get booked up by changing out 1 day, Coronado springs is a big convention resort.

However saying that your TA is completely out of order asking you to wait that long or pay a fee to change when the airline has sent out confirmation of the flight plan!!
Have you spoken to a manager? If the flight is wrong they have to move you, I don't see the problem with doing it right now. I would keep on wanting to speak to higher up until the matter is resolved, but dont worry too much.

 

[joolz1910]

Escalate your complaint and put it in writing. I think every travel agent is bound by certain rules and there is usually a complaints procedure set out in the T&C's of your booking confirmation. It sounds like they have made a mistake and they should rectify it asap, at no additional cost to you - that is why you book through a TA and not DIY!
Good luck x

 

[Minniesgal]

Escalate your complaint and put it in writing. I think every travel agent is bound by certain rules and there is usually a complaints procedure set out in the T&C's of your booking confirmation. It sounds like they have made a mistake and they should rectify it asap, at no additional cost to you - that is why you book through a TA and not DIY! Good luck x

I totally agree I would get in touch wih their customer service manager in writing, explain the problem and also tell them how you would like them to fix it.

 

[flortlebap]

It was a fundamental term of the contract you made with them that you could fly with VA on that day. If they cannot meet that fundamental term, you shouldn't have to pay to rectify their error!

Definitely complain. As politely as possible of course

 

[Junglejuice30]

Thanks everyone - will put it a complaint in writing and see what happens!

 

[tigger137]

I hope you manage to get this sorted out.

Whilst I realise that many people find TAs useful, it's issues like this which put me off using a TA in the UK. Many years ago I got fed up of finding that the TAs had such a poor knowledge of what I felt to be simple aspects of their own industry that anyone can check online.

If you can't trust a TA to either know or check the details, where's the benefit in using them? In your case, it's all very well them offering a saving over booking direct with VH, but is it really a saving if their lack of knowledge or incompetence messes up your holiday?

As someone else suggested, I'd cancel it and start again elsewhere. As for losing your deposit, did you pay that with a credit card? If so, you can dispute the payment through your credit card and get it refunded on the grounds that you will not be getting what you paid for because Virgin have confirmed that the flight doesn't exist.

 

[joolz1910]

I hope you manage to get this sorted out.

Whilst I realise that many people find TAs useful, it's issues like this which put me off using a TA in the UK. Many years ago I got fed up of finding that the TAs had such a poor knowledge of what I felt to be simple aspects of their own industry that anyone can check online.

If you can't trust a TA to either know or check the details, where's the benefit in using them? In your case, it's all very well them offering a saving over booking direct with VH, but is it really a saving if their lack of knowledge or incompetence messes up your holiday?

As someone else suggested, I'd cancel it and start again elsewhere. As for losing your deposit, did you pay that with a credit card? If so, you can dispute the payment through your credit card and get it refunded on the grounds that you will not be getting what you paid for because Virgin have confirmed that the flight doesn't exist.

Agreed - I wouldn't trust a high street TA, as I'm pretty sure my knowledge of WDW would be better than theirs! That is why I booked with a TA who was recommended and has actually been to WDW many times. I also trust the people on the Dis to give me good advice.

I hope the OP gets this sorted.