Our experiences of TUI Customer Service
We had booked an 11 night all inclusive trip to the Dominican Republic with First Choice Holidays flying out on 13th September 2020. We made the booking back in November 2019.
Given the FCO advice regarding travel to the Dominican Republic and our health position we felt that it would be better to postpone this holiday and book next year.
We realized that there would be delays due to the Pandemic - some delays were inevitable.
Kyle was helpful and gave us hope - all that we needed to do was speak to the TUI Call Centre by telephone....
When we did manage to get to speak to someone they seemed to cut us off after about 15 - 20 seconds,... Others appear to have had similar problems and TUI indicated that this was less of an issue in the afternoons...
Crossing the T's, dotting the I's and putting U in the middle?
Rachel eventually spoke to someone that was able to help and took all of the details and then asked "are you the lead passenger?" - "Could I speak to the lead passenger to get their authorization?" - Rachel explained that I was at work "sorry, has to be the lead passenger" - frustrating.com but understood the reasons why he said this.
I came home early to get in touch - seemed that all that was needed was my confirmation and we could transfer our deposit to a new trip next year.
Surprise, surprise, three times I tried to call and each time I got cut off - not sure who TUI are using for their telecoms... and their call center close at 5.30pm..
We then sent an e-mail asking for a copy of their complaints procedure - who do we complain to?
The next morning I try again - determined to resolve this issue. After a 15 minute wait I get to speak to someone - very nice gentleman and helpful - until he realises that we are flying with BA and not their airlines - "Sorry Sir, you have to dial another number".
Crossing the T's, dotting the I's and putting U in the middle?
After a further two an a half hours wait I eventually get to speak to someone - only to be told that there would be a £50 per head charge to transfer - and that we would need to book there and then. At no point was any indication of other options made and it was presented as "take it or leave it". When I asked about an email address to contact TUI he simply stated "no point as there is no one available to monitor or reply." We had no choice other than to cancel.
As a business owner I am well aware of the difficulties that the Covid 19 Pandemic has caused - but at no point did any of the TUI team explain to Rachel that what we had wished for was not possible.
Within 15 minutes of cancelling our holiday we received confirmation by email that the holiday had been cancelled and that we had lost our deposit. Certainly crossed the T and dotted the I.
We then receive on 19th June an email from Andrew Flintham regarding our forthcoming holiday. "As your holiday approaches I wanted to share a few updates on how we are getting ready to take you away".
We then receive a further email on 22nd June about our holiday this summer.
Crossing the T's; dotting the Is and putting U in the middle?
Perhaps if you listened to three hours of the pre recorded "on hold" message from TUI then you too would understand my frustration.
It will be interesting to see what response that we get from the DSAR request and also the complaint that we have sent to TUI.
24th June
Well the post has arrived at TUI Registered Office : clock ticking - see if we get a reply by 24th July.
25th June - update from the Daily Express
...and we can't wait for you to answer our calls and e-mails.
10th July update
Still waiting for a response from TUI....
Late afternoon we get a response from TUI Data Protection team with a 4 page form for us to complete and return with proof of our identities.
Not sure how a vulnerable customer or someone without access to a printer would cope - Crossing the T's, dotting the I's and putting "U" in the middle ?
Leaving until 2 days before the 30 day period in order to "reset the clock" is, in my opinion, underhand and hardly Treating Customers Fairly.
We are still waiting for an acknowledgement regarding our Complaint...
Friday 21st August update
Having reminded the Data Protection team at TUI that we still had not received a reply we get a response. The file that they provided was incomplete - still nothing regarding the complaint that we had made on 22nd June....
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