HOLIDAY HELL
Distraught Brits locked out of hotel room & forced to pay £2,700 or face being kicked out after tour operator goes bust
Natasha said 'we immediately felt sick and it was like we were living some kind of nightmare'
A BRIT family of five were horrified after being locked out of their hotel room and forced to fork out an extra £2,700 to stay.
Natasha Oakden and fiancé, Courtney Bogacki went through the holiday from hell after arriving in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
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The couple were expecting the trip of a lifetime with the rest of their family - but could never have predicted what happened next.
Courtney’s parents Emma and Sam Lewis, along with their four-week-old baby Ava, were also stunned when their dream vacation fell apart.
We immediately felt sick and it was like we were living some kind of nightmare
Natasha
They claimed they were locked out of their hotel room and asked to pay £2,700 or be forced to leave.
When Natasha and Courtney went to try their key cards, they were denied.
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A note had also been attached to the door informing them to go to reception.
It transpired Natasha had booked the trip, on Sunday June 2, with Loveholidays for £5,724.
She was beside herself sobbing on the phone. This almost made me physically sick
Natasha
But tour operator, FTI Group filed for insolvency the following day.
This was the parent company of Loveholidays' accommodation and transfer partners Youtravel.com and Meeting Point.
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Natasha and Courtney claim hotel staff told them because of the insolvency - their holiday was not paid for.
They demanded payment upfront or the family would be kicked out so they begrudgingly handed over the money.
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Natasha has had one message from Loveholidays.
The message reads: “Our dedicated team will shortly contact the hotel on your behalf to make the payment and further arrangements.
“They’re working through the bookings they have as quickly as possible so please bear with them.
“Don’t worry we’ll get this sorted as quickly as we can.”
'DISTRAUGHT'
Natasha, of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, told Luxury Travel Daily: “We as a family feel drained and are so disappointed with how the company has gone about the situation.
“We are so let down and feel on edge constantly.
“It’s been a very upsetting and difficult situation for us.
“We would not wish this on anyone, it's truly heartbreaking.
“We were distraught throughout this whole process.
“The anxiety this caused the whole family is indescribable.
How to complain
- If your dream holiday turns into a total flop, you can hit back.
Under Package Travel Regulations, customers can seek compensation if a tour company does not deliver what has been advertised, if booked in the UK. - When booking travel and accommodation separately, you still have rights.
- If you bought the trip through a UK company, you can try to claim your money back under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 if it has not provided what was promised, such as a clean room.
- But if you booked your hotel directly and it is abroad, you will be dealing with the laws of that country.
- Always use a credit card so there is the option of claiming under Section 75 of the act if anything goes wrong.
- Raise issues immediately with the hotel or tour operator.
- They might try to put things right on the spot.
- If they don’t, collect evidence, including clear photos and videos.
- If you become ill or have an accident and believe the hotel or company is at fault, find out if anyone else is affected and get their contact details.
- Also, make a note of any extra expenses you might have racked up.
- Then send a letter of complaint spelling out why you are upset about your holiday and state how it was different to the advert.
- If it is a package holiday, send this letter to the tour operator.
- If your complaint is deemed justified, the company should then make an offer of compensation.
- If you are not satisfied, take the complaint to travel industry trade association ABTA, or AITO — the specialist travel association — if you’re a package holiday customer.
- For bookings directly with the hotel, complain to them.
- If that fails, make a Section 75 claim against your credit card provider.
“We immediately felt sick and it was like we were living some kind of nightmare.
“We rang friends in the UK to check out if the company has actually gone insolvent to ensure we weren't being scammed.
“Me and my fiancée, Courtney, stayed upstairs in the one room we had due to Emma already being in the room with Ava while our parents went down to speak to the hotel.
Emma rang Courtney around 10 or 15 minutes after they got to reception.
“She was beside herself sobbing on the phone. This almost made me physically sick.
“This was our first holiday away with Ava, we wanted everything to be perfect and it felt like a nightmare.
“I’ve had one message off Loveholidays on Instagram, other than that we have had no contact regarding our stay or any help from them.”
A loveholidays spokesperson told The Sun: “Earlier this week the FTI Group, the parent company of one of our many accommodation and transfers suppliers, Youtravel, filed for insolvency.
"Only a very small portion of our customers are affected by this and we’re working hard to minimise disruption to their holidays.
“We are aware that a small number of hotels are asking affected customers who are in-resort to pay for their rooms again.
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"We are absolutely committed to covering these costs and are working with affected customers, and the hotels involved, to make sure this happens.
"We are very sorry to hear of Ms Oakden’s experience with her hotel and are in touch with her to reimburse her."
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