I am at the end of my tether with Thomson Holidays. My two sons and I had a lovely week-long all-in holiday with the company in Cape Verde in July. The package cost me about £2,200.
Unfortunately, the flight home was cancelled. There was terrible customer service from the reps in the hotel and while waiting for the plane the next day, resulting in us arriving home almost 24 hours late.
I had no sun cream or toiletries left as we had donated everything to the charity Thomson supports. So my kids and I had a difficult afternoon trying to stay out of the sun to avoid burning, but with no room to go to. One of my sons ended up with sunstroke.
I lost a day’s holiday from work and the children missed a football course they had booked. I emailed my complaint on 4 August. According to Thomson’s website, a flight delay should be investigated and responded to within 56 days. After hearing nothing, more than 70 days later, I posted a letter. It responded by email to say it would give me an answer within 28 days. That has come and gone, and still nothing.
In the meantime I posted on its Facebook page and immediately got a response telling me that it was being sorted. That was more than 30 days ago. Still nothing.
As I write, it is 110 days after I submitted my complaint. You pay a lot to have a relaxing holiday, but as soon as there is a problem there is appalling customer service with a couldn’t-care-less attitude. B da S, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
This was poor customer service, particularly from a major player like Thomson, and a shame that this blighted an otherwise enjoyable holiday.
As you note, Thomson has a legal obligation to investigate and respond to flight delays on this scale under EU regulations that came into force in 2015. The company also requests that holidaymakers notify it of any problems that have not been resolved through the Thomson representative on site – again, disappointing in your case – within 28 days of returning from holiday.
The company told us: “Thomson Airways would like to apologise to B da S for the time it took to process her compensation claim. Like all airlines we operate a fair and thorough process to handle delay compensation claims, in line with EU regulations, and we can confirm that we have contacted the customer directly and the situation is now resolved. We would like to reassure customers that we do everything possible to minimise delays and are committed to maintaining excellent on-time performance across our flying programme.”
The company promised you a full refund of the flights element of your package – that’s £1,620 (€600 per person) within 21 to 28 days.
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