£14,000 refund for wedding disaster
In March we told you about newlyweds Caroline and Ed Whiffin whose Thomas Cook honeymoon was ruined by noisy drilling. They were staying at the Riu Tropical bay resort in Jamaica. Read the story here.
After we featured the story, Watchdog was contacted by another couple who'd stayed at the same hotel. Julie and Douglas Dixon hadn't just gone to the Riu Tropical bay Resort for their honeymoon - they got married there.
Julie and Douglas paid over £14,000 for their wedding ceremony, honeymoon and for 11 of their loved ones to join them for the special occasion. They'd booked with Thomson.
The couple were only informed of the building work when they arrived at the hotel and Thomson weren't able to relocate the wedding party.
Deserted hotel
Instead, they had to put up with constant drilling on the complex and a deserted Jamaican hotel with most restaurants and bars being empty or closed.
Thomson offered Julie and Douglas £1,800 compensation, which they didn't think came near to making up for their ruined wedding.
Thomson's response
When Watchdog contacted Thomson the company agreed to give Julie and Douglas a full refund. A Thomson spokesperson said: "Thomson is concerned to learn of Mr and Mrs Dixon's dissatisfaction with regards to their wedding and honeymoon in Jamaica in the summer of 2008. Mr and Mrs Dixon are genuinely valued customers, and we would like to apologise if our original correspondence and reimbursement did not address their concerns in a manner that reflected this.
"Thomson prides itself on providing a high level of service for its guests and was disappointed to hear of the inconvenience caused to the Dixons by the refurbishment of the Riu Tropical Bay resort in Negril, Jamaica.
"The building work at the Riu Tropical Bay had originally been scheduled to take place at the end of the season, but this was brought forward to the 4 August. Unfortunately, Thomson was only informed of this significant rescheduling on 29 July 2008, the date on which Mr and Mrs Dixon departed for Jamaica. Customers departing the UK for stays at this hotel after this date were informed of the refurbishment prior to travel. Unfortunately as there was no alternative accommodation available to accommodate the whole Dixon wedding party, we were unable to change their hotel for the duration of their stay.
"Thomson agrees that the Dixon's stay at this hotel was negatively impacted by the refurbishment and has since been in contact with the Dixon's to offer a full refund.
"Once again, Thomson would like to apologise for the delay in the resolution of this matter, and would like to assure Mr and Mrs Dixon, and indeed all our customers, that we are confident that those due to travel in the future to the Riu Tropical Bay resort will experience the holiday they have come to expect from Thomson."
Your comments
Have your say on this report below. However, if something similar has happened to you but with a different company, write in to Got a story? so that our story team can investigate.
Comment number 1.
At 21:24 22nd Apr 2009, merrycandle wrote:just to say my husband bo and myself got married in 2006 at riu tropical bay hotel. it was true paradise and the wedding was wonderful,it was just unfortunate that the other two couples had a bad time they should blame the travel company not riu. the people of jamaica made us more then welcome and we still talk about it like it was yesterday it was very memorable.
linda ward.
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