| Author |  Topic  | |
orchidvilla
 USA
120 Posts
Joined: 14 Oct 2006
Status: offline |  Posted - 29 Sep 2007 : 09:51:05  
|  Just warning that Thomas Cook Direct are well overcharging on villas. I was contacted by an owners guest who booked a villa through TCD and was charged over £420 to heat the pool, the owners only charge £220 for the same period, the guest has challenged this after i supplied villa owners proof thet they only charge £220 for the 2 weeks but TCD wont budge saying thats the price. The guest is now talking to ABTA and Trading Standards to get her money back.
Malcolm |
Edited by - orchidvilla on 29 Sep 2007 17:10:25 | | Report this post to a moderator |
|
dsv77
 United Kingdom
153 Posts
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
Status: offline | |
andrewmckay5
 Canada
2432 Posts
Joined: 11 Feb 2004
Status: offline | |
steph_goodrum
 United Kingdom
7214 Posts
Joined: 12 Feb 2002
Status: offline | Posted - 29 Sep 2007 : 10:15:36
| Malcolm
I have to say I suspect the guest will be wasting their time (if not money) trying to follow up and get the money repaid by TCD (or any other tour operator). Somewhere, either in the terms and conditions or where the pool heating was paid, must be a figure which will be charged for pool heating, and by agreeing to pay it the guest has effectively chosen to accept that price. It was a choice made by them, as they could have left the pool unheated.
Just as when booking a cheap car hire quote, you have to check out all the extras which are either compulsory or optional and add them all together, you often find that what on the surface, appears to be a cheaper option, works out more expensive.
The only hope may be that the court (if it came to that) would decide that it was a disproportionately high charge, but no doubt that would be contered by TCD who would say that it aslo reflected their agents time to contact the owners management company to have the pool heating turned on and their charge for the call out etc. |
Babblin Boo
http://www.orlandovillas.com/villas/92.aspx
| | Report this post to a moderator | goto top of page |
|
Snapper
 United Kingdom
4412 Posts
Joined: 11 Apr 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 29 Sep 2007 : 11:13:02
| Steph's absolutly right Malcolm; and while I'm sure we all feel for those folks I too don't think they will get much joy from either ABTA, or the small claims court.
The following is going to sound like a very blatant sales pitch but in the circumstances I think it's warranted.
When you book through a tour operator like TCD (or any other) you are almost certainly paying more for the villa than if you book direct with the owner. Let's face it, TCD need to make a profit. The intermediate consolidators also need to make a profit. And in almost all cases the management company allocating the villa also will be making a profit.
When you book direct with the owner you cut out all these layers of middle-men. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that this saves money!
Very often tour operators like TCD will sell with a very low headline rate. Two weeks in Orlando for just £299! They then make all the real money by adding on all those 'extras' that aren't really extra. Ahhhhhhh, you wanted a villa with a pool? Sorry, that's £99 per person extra to guarantee a villa with a pool! You want a villa with a spa too? Sorry, that's another £59 per person extra to guarantee that. You want a nice villa rather than a tatty one? Sorry, that's another £19 per person per night to guarantee that. You want a car that will fit luggage as well as people? You don't want to pay $65 for that first tank of fuel? You didn't know about the airport access supplement? Top up liability insurance? In-flight meals? You want what? You want one of those blindfolds to help you sleep on the flight back home! Sorry, that's extra.
And of course we never should forget that when you book 'a villa' through a travel company you don't actually know which villa you will get until you arrive in Orlando. It's called allocate-on-arrival. If you figure that the nicest villas (as listed on the above sites) typically sell-out months or even years ahead (yep! they are that nice!!) you also don't need to be a genius to work out which villas are left for the likes of TCD to allocate same-day. I dare say you won't find them listed on the above sites where quality is the key measure! Sometimes one might get lucky, but it's a bit of a lottery.
In summary, the obvious answer is to do what more and more people are doing every year. Book direct with the villa owner. You know what you are getting. You know what you are paying. And you know it makes sense!  |
Steve.
http://www.orlandovillas.com/villas/1418.aspx | | Report this post to a moderator | goto top of page |
|
Robert5988
United Kingdom
1536 Posts
Joined: 15 Apr 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 29 Sep 2007 : 13:45:43
| | If they are reporting TCD to ABTA they will have to get in the queue; I wouldn't be surprised if they have a whole dedicated section in ABTA to deal with that dreadful company. | | Report this post to a moderator | goto top of page |
|
MarkJan
 United Kingdom
2640 Posts
Joined: 21 Oct 2004
Status: offline | |
ravtino
 United Kingdom
1219 Posts
Joined: 15 Dec 2003
Status: offline | Posted - 29 Sep 2007 : 16:30:34
| | So many people book through this company thinking that they have a great deal, only to find that it is not, we once tried to get a flight price off them, but there were so many conditions, like it can only be in 7 or 14 days, so we didn't bother, we sorted our own out using the flight link. | | Report this post to a moderator | goto top of page |
|
stabard
 3099 Posts
Joined: 31 Mar 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 29 Sep 2007 : 17:09:00
| | I have just been speaking with a family who booked a villa via TCD last year. Let's just say they won't be doing that again. I have flown TCD a couple of times and it was OK the first time, second time was awful so will stear clear as it is just too much of a lottery. I think it is the same with any company that allocates on arrival - you will never know till you get there and by then it is usually too late. |
Jan and Lee
http://www.orlandovillas.com/florida-vacation-rental-1399.aspx | | Report this post to a moderator | goto top of page |
|
orchidvilla
USA
120 Posts
Joined: 14 Oct 2006
Status: offline | Posted - 29 Sep 2007 : 17:18:33
| Hi... i see so many times on this and other forums about TCD and VA when people are disgruntled about the villa or something to do with booking a villa. Yet often you must think they read other posts but maybe they have the "wont happen to me " attitude and still book with these travel agents.
They just dont listen to owners telling them best way to book after all we owners are seasond vetren travelers and know the pros and cons.
Malcolm | | Report this post to a moderator | goto top of page |
|
alanandjude
 United Kingdom
407 Posts
Joined: 04 May 2005
Status: offline | |
Bex
 United Kingdom
70 Posts
Joined: 25 Feb 2007
Status: offline | |
Robert5988
United Kingdom
1536 Posts
Joined: 15 Apr 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 30 Sep 2007 : 09:51:07
| quote:
Agreed this thread lost me when people were talking about Travel city direct, when the thread was started about TCD - as Thomas Cook Direct
The original post just said TCD.(which everyone recognises as Travel City Direct) - which is why the second post asked who TCD were.
It was edited at 17:10; some 8 hours later and after several posts.
Anyway, criticism of TCD(Travel City Direct) cannot be repeated often enough as there are new people reading this forum every day. |
Edited by - Robert5988 on 30 Sep 2007 09:52:27 | | Report this post to a moderator | goto top of page |
|
Katys Grandad
![]() United Kingdom
1292 Posts
Joined: 11 Oct 2004
Status: offline | |
orchidvilla
USA
120 Posts
Joined: 14 Oct 2006
Status: offline | Posted - 30 Sep 2007 : 14:22:58
| Hi... i corrected my post when dsv77 asked about the initials, as i dont deal with travel agents as they are a pain in the ..... as they overcharge, confuse and agrivate customers.
My appologies to those that i confused or offended
Malcolm | | Report this post to a moderator | goto top of page |
|
Susan J
 United Kingdom
1145 Posts
Joined: 13 May 2003
Status: offline | Posted - 01 Oct 2007 : 10:41:14
| Well, the thing is, when people book a villa through ANY travel Agent -what are they getting? They book their holidays a year ahead or more, they read the villa description, and think yep thats the one for moe- better book with a reputable TA, then I know what I am getting -DO THEY THINK THE TA OWN THESE VILLAS?!?!
Let me tell you what happens -they hold onto your money, then at the most, two weeks before you go on the holiday of a lifetime you have saved for and looked forward to, they ring round villa owners and management companies, and find out if you have availability -I get these phone calls -they want a villa still available on the last minute, and they want it for nothing. What kind of villas are available at that time? Exactly.
All the decent 'home from home with every luxury' villas are well gone- booked by regular clientele months and years in advance [I have a booking for 2010!!] who like their position/pool/luxury beds/large TV with ultimate channels/games room etc etc and like to be in control of their holidays.
How many of you have turned up at hotels to find the room barely adequate or not clean enough -well there are villas like that too -not on this site, it is controlled- but others for sure- I have even seen adverts for homes in celebration -when they turn out to be on the I27 -
So people, spread the word -holidays are precious, they cost lots of money and create unforgettable memories to savour for years- make those memories good ones by taking control of yours!! And that is exactly how we came to buy our first home in Florida- we stayed in the grubbiest villa imagineable -never again!! |
Susan J
http://www.villasflorida.com/Villas/113.aspx | | Report this post to a moderator | goto top of page |
|
orlandobabe
 United Kingdom
4518 Posts
Joined: 12 Feb 2002
Status: offline | Posted - 21 Nov 2007 : 15:31:38
| still confused-is it travel city or thomas cook the original poster meant.
This is my 4th trip with travel city this year. I have paid no more than £259 for flights and £160 was my lowest.
Yes-we got stung a bit on the car paying about £400 for 2 weeks.
Flight one in January everything went like clockwork-excellent really.
Flight two in May -outward journey fine-homeward bound-well had a 9 hour delay-not pretty!
September -travelled with two babies-everything fine -huge sigh of relief!
Now-2 hour delay at manchester-new plane-no films! We got here safely-so not too bad!!
Will let you know about the homeward journey in December! |
Orlandobabe
http://www.orlandovillas.com/villas/63.aspx | | Report this post to a moderator | goto top of page |
|
orchidvilla
USA
120 Posts
Joined: 14 Oct 2006
Status: offline | |
mfairhurst
 United Kingdom
2370 Posts
Joined: 07 May 2005
Status: online | Posted - 23 Nov 2007 : 12:52:34
| One of the main reasons we bought our villa was to be sure we were not put somwere we did not want to go or the area we did not want as well .
We booked a flight with TCD a long time ago and had to go to BLACKPOOL office to pick up tickets 4 days before we were due to travel and we spent a few hours in the shop as they said they had posted them to our home .
To cut a long story short when we got back 2 weeks later they were not with our mail at the back of the door .
We have never used them again .
MAUREEN
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/1683.aspx
| | Report this post to a moderator | goto top of page |
|
| | Topic | |
Go to first unread post
TCD overcharging
