Mum who booked £3,000 dream holiday realises hotel is nine hours from airport
A family on their perfect holiday were shocked to find out their hotel was nine hours and a ferry ride away from the airport.
The mum, from Edinburgh, booked a trip to Tenerife with her husband and two kids, aged 11 and 12, looking forward to their first holiday in three years. But they soon found out that getting from Tenerife South Airport to their hotel in La Oliva, Fuerteventura, would take a very long time. They were really upset when they couldn't get their money back after paying for the holiday.
Expedia told them they couldn't get a refund or change the booking, so they had to talk to the airlines about any changes to flights. Last March, the mum shared her story with Edinburgh Live, explaining how they ended up having to book a different hotel nearer to the airport.
The unnamed woman explained: "It was a package holiday so first, you choose the hotel and then the flights. The first flight options were Edinburgh to Tenerife South Airport. We'd never been so we just assumed that was the closest airport to the hotel. I've never been on a package holiday where they give you the option of a nine-hour drive to the hotel from the airport, so we made the booking. The hotel said it was 'fully refundable' and we planned to get travel insurance to cover the flights.
"An hour or so after booking, I checked the distance from the airport to the hotel so I could arrange transport. I realised it was roughly a nine-hour drive with a ferry trip in between. I immediately messaged Expedia and, bearing in mind I'd only booked one hour before and the transaction hadn't even reached my credit card, they said there was nothing they could do."
Passenger spots graffiti begging Jet2 to stop playing 'moronic' Jess Glynne song
She was then told that she could get a full refund for the hotel if she cancelled it herself, but sorting out the flights was "up to her". The following morning the mum spoke to Jet2 who told her that no refund could be issued for online bookings.
The journey they would have had to take from the airport to the hotel (Edinburgh Live)The mum said: "A customer rep told me that all their flights are non-refundable. She refused to put me through to a manager or to help me escalate my complaint. When I insisted on escalating, I was put on hold for 20 minutes and then she came back on, reiterated that there was nothing they could do and again refused to escalate it.
"So I hung up, and we decided that we'd just have to book a hotel near the random Spanish airport. We haven't been away for three years and the kids are so excited."
After our sister paper Edinburgh Live reached out, Expedia decided to give the woman 20,000 reward points for a new hotel. Expedia's spokesperson said: "Upon review, we've confirmed that according to the individual airline policies for this booking, this ticket was non-refundable and non-transferable, and any voluntary changes or cancellations must be handled directly with the airlines."
"However, as a part of Expedia's commitment to advocate on behalf of travellers, our customer service agents have contacted the airlines on behalf of the customer to assess possible resolutions. Our team has also added 20,000 reward points to her Expedia account to help cover a new hotel booking and should she wish to change the trip date, we are providing information on flight flexibility options."
A Jet2 spokesperson explained: "Jet2.com flight-only bookings are non-refundable, and any amendment or cancellation to the booking is subject to our normal terms and conditions, and this is made very clear. As the customer booked her package holiday through another company, we have advised her that she would need to liaise with them about amending or cancelling the holiday."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
