Virgin on the Ridiculous

[Red-Snapper]

I have always been a fan of VA and VH however I am currently not impressed.

I booked for July with VH in April via their website. have done this many times before with no problems. You input your Frequent Virgin Club number and they send a revised invoice upping the 5% online discount to 10% and upgrading the hire car.

A few weeks went by and no revised invoice so I rang - no problem I am told the revisions have been done and an invoice will follow. 2 days later I get a payment reminder letter based on the incorrect initial price.

I wait another 2 weeks and still nothing so ring again as I need to pay in 3 days time. Finally get through to the FV club itself (note: even if you ring the club number you still have to choose the last option or you get the normal call centre !!).

The person I talk to tells me I have to ring & tell them or the invoice doesnt get amended - I point out thats not what has happened before or what their website says - I get just silence to this !

Anyway she amends the booking and tells me the correct price, confirming a revised invoice will be sent out immediately - which a week later I still havent recieved (I paid the corret amount without seing the invoice)

Not impressed & now wondering just what the tickets will show when/if I get them.

 

[gilld]

I must admit when I joined the FVC years agao, I was told you must ALWAYS inform them of any bookings. I usually just e-mail them the details now, but in the past always called.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I usually e.mail I know a few times it has taken more than one amendment to get tickets, car hire discount etc correct, at one point i received a £100 customer service discount from a fault on the plane added it to my booking, and then that dropped off again later.

Usually their service is good but at the start of the booking process if you ask for anything other than the norm including FVC it seems to be a lottery if it works.

One of the strange things is booking PE or UC, the brouchure comes out but VH have limited allowance from their sister company VA, and they cannot confirm bookings until VA releases its seating about 11 months before departure date.

So they advertise a price but you cannot book it, and they often will not put you on diary for the upgrade you have to keep calling back

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

I have recently done extensive research into both Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic (gauging other customers' opinions). This is because our recent ski holiday of a lifetime was marred by both VH and VA - the bottom line of which was that neither could give a fig and sadly this seems to sum up the Virgin Group as a whole.

They appear to have gotten too big and have forgotten the people who have made them big, especially customers like us who have used them for many years handing over thousands and thousands of pounds.

I am still awaiting correspondence back from both - just sums it up.

What was especially galling this trip was that it was our friends first experience of both VH and VA - needless to say they certainly won't be using them again.

We have been lucky to have travelled both UC and PE with VA, but the lack of inflight entertainment on an 11 hour flight (both legs for my poor DH, and everyone on the plane on the return flight) was simply ridiculous - and when people in economy complained we were told "UC have all the DVDs and since they've paid more money than you that's all there is too it" That was our 16th flight with VA - and our last.

Ooh, I can feel my blood pressure rising, so I'm going to stop now

Hope you get it all sorted - we've often had the problem of not having our 10% FVC discount being taken off, but have then received four or five identical new invoices, so perhaps they're trying to cut down!

 

[carolfoy]

As an agent I've noticed a massive change in Virgin over the past 3 or 4 years and not for the better I'm afraid, invoices either don't come or come through wrong, they've booked clients for the completly wrong things (booked Quebec ski passes for clients going to Banff!) clients have had problems when getting their 'free' upgrades on car hire, room types etc.
I think Mrs Dazzle has it right, they've got too big for their boots

 

[wideeyes]

we to have had problem with VH, they booked us into the wrong hotel and I did not know for 2 months as that was how long it took to get the booking confirmation! When I noticed they would they wanted to charge us the extra to change it however ate TA got tapes in which they made the booking in which showed what hotel we had requested and they eventually amended our booking and knocked £250 of the price... I still have no new Invoice though showing the new price or correct accommodation though!

Have not yet experinced VA yet though so fingers crossed!

We booked a wdw holiday with Airtours they charge you to make amendments even though the new holiday cost more! They have had £120 in fees even though the price of our holiday increased by £1000 virgin do not do so this I guess there is good and bad things about all TO!

 

[angel659]

Hi

Can we use our frequent flyers discount if we booked via TA. The TA has quoted me a cheaper holiday than VH. If not it doesnt matter I will just collect the points like I did last year.

 

[Red-Snapper]

Well here we are ..another week and still no sign of an invoice.

By now I should have had 3 copies of the invoice if they had sent them out each time I rang up - as they said they would.

They obviously have the correct address as the original invoice got here ok.

I asked for a receipt with my payment but I wont hold my breath.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Can you gain access to your ressie on VH website, that always shows the up to date position and also you can request an invoice.

Under manage my bookings

 

[Claire L]

I must say VH have always been very quick for invoices for both booking and then amended ones. I will now always look on 'manage my bookings' though just to check them prior to their paper copies arriving, just to make sure and everything seems ok to me.

Claire