Fuming families forced to pay £700 extra after Center Parcs holidays cancelled by Storm Eunice
FAMILIES have been left fuming after they had their Center Parcs holidays cancelled due to the storm - only to find they cost hundreds more to rebook.
Center Parcs was forced to close three of their resorts this week due to Storm Eunice, which resulted in damage across the parks.
Customers were then told they could get a full refund or they could rebook.
However, desperate families claimed they had booked the holidays for their kids months in advance, only to find they couldn't afford to rebook.
Some holidays had jumped in price since, with some up to £700 more expensive.
Twitter user Chris Rowles said: "Hi, I have looked and the price difference is ~£700, why has the price increased so much?"
Others complained, with one person saying: "Having to rebook a much more expensive holiday is hardly acceptable."
One man asked: "So we either get a refund or have to pay double the cost of this week to go later in year."
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Another person agreed: "There are no other 4 night breaks this year in school holidays that are not more expensive than the break you’ve just cancelled this week."
Customer Page McGregor told the : “You could select another date but [Center Parcs] wouldn’t honour the price we paid, so if you picked a week that was more expensive you had to pay the difference, and obviously at this point in the year all other school holiday dates are much more expensive, especially if like us you booked close to a year in advance to get the best price possible.”
Anyone who has been affected by the storm cancellations is offered a full refund, but prices are not being honoured to rebook.
A Center Parcs spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: "In light of the extreme weather forecasted we took the decision to close four of our villages for the weekend break of 18th Feb.
"Due to the impact of the high winds, three of those villages remained closed for the following break (21st Feb) and will reopen from tomorrow (25th Feb). We understand that this has been very disappointing news for those guests who were due to arrive, but keeping everyone safe is always our number one priority.
"We do not take the decision to close any of our villages lightly and we hope our guests will understand why we felt it was necessary to take this course of action.
"We are offering guests the option to either cancel their break and receive a full refund, or reschedule for a different date in the future – however, we are not offering any discount or compensation for rescheduled bookings."
Storm Eunice was one of the worst in decades after it caused disruption across the UK and wind speeds up to 122mph battered the country.
Airlines were forced to suspend flights while train lines urged people not to travel.
Attractions including Legoland and the London Eye were also forced to close their doors.
Here is all the compensation you could claim due to the storm.
