Holidays 2020

ancient_mariner said:
Kinda hoping we might make it out to see our son in NZ around the turn of the year, but not too hopeful NZ will allow anyone from here in without a 2 week quarantine.
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Sadly Toni, I can't see that changing at least this year. Are they doing the Australia thing and limiting arrivals to citizens and residents? (as well as limiting numbers to 50 on an international flight, which is making getting a flight home both tricky and expensive)
 
Just got an email from EasyJet, my flights to a from Sevilla in October have been cancelled.
 
Just renewed my travel insurance, start date no 5th August 2021 unless I request otherwise, ie book a holiday before then, way things are going it might just correct.
 
mj4456 said:
Just renewed my travel insurance, start date no 5th August 2021 unless I request otherwise, ie book a holiday before then, way things are going it might just correct.
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Renewed ours from July 1st, covered if you get Covid and need treatment abroad or repatriation, but no cancellation cover.
Hoping to get away somewhere like Germany or Austria in December, just seeing how it goes for now.
As I see it getting on a train to Paris is no different than catching one to London.
 
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Anyone coming to the UK from Belgium has to quarantine for 14 days.
What happens if I get on a train for London at Lille that started out from Brussels?

Presumably just show my ticket, but what about all those passengers that boarded in Belgium that I mixed with?
As you may have guessed this is a bit more than just a what if type question
 
Well, after a lot of searching, decided on a week in Centerparcs. Glad I didn't book abroad now!
 
cambsno said:
Well, after a lot of searching, decided on a week in Centerparcs. Glad I didn't book abroad now!
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I wouldn't have to search much to find an alternative to Centerparcs, can't think of a less inviting place during this crisis.
Possibly being a bit harsh because I would never choose there, but why go somewhere teeming with people from all over?
 
We have a week in the Highlands coming up in August, bit of a champagne to our planned Santorini holiday that ended up being cancelled. We’ve booked two overseas breaks for Christmas and next February but in truth I’m not confident of them going ahead.
 
tijuana taxi said:
I wouldn't have to search much to find an alternative to Centerparcs, can't think of a less inviting place during this crisis.
Possibly being a bit harsh because I would never choose there, but why go somewhere teeming with people from all over?
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Everywhere is by all accounts, we normally like Cornwall but firstly sold out and secondly friends there this week say its really busy. CP is nicely spaced out, they are massively limiting access to pool and would be far less busy than many places.
 
As I mentioned elsewhere
Coming back from East Anglia this morning ( traveling West-ish) I've never seen so many cars & traffic queues heading East in a very long time, and that
includes the time well before lock down. And school break up week.
I wonder where they are going?
Its gonna be a hot week - end or so they say.

At least they can't be stupid enough to be heading for the coast. ...... can they?
 
Cobra said:
As I mentioned elsewhere
Coming back from East Anglia this morning ( traveling West-ish) I've never seen so many cars & traffic queues heading East in a very long time, and that
includes the time well before lock down. And school break up week.
I wonder where they are going?
Its gonna be a hot week - end or so they say.

At least they can't be stupid enough to be heading for the coast. ...... can they?
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Well it is a nice day, where better than a day at the seaside?
Make the most of it, might never get a government paid holiday again.

More puzzling is why did you go West, you obviously had a head start on them
 
tijuana taxi said:
More puzzling is why did you go West, you obviously had a head start on them
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It's POETS day (y)

I was returning from a days work out in East Anglia West bound is home bound,
where I shall remain until my next trip that way Monday morning.

I have a great job, I work alone. rarely come within a dozen yards ( closest) of anyone.
Being an essential service provider, & sensible work practices, have kept me going right through the lock down. (y)
 
Cobra said:
It's POETS day (y)

I was returning from a days work out in East Anglia West bound is home bound,
where I shall remain until my next trip that way Monday morning.

I have a great job, I work alone. rarely come within a dozen yards ( closest) of anyone.
Being an essential service provider, & sensible work practices, have kept me going right through the lock down. (y)
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I was only joking, furthest i'm going today is my garden.
Virus notwithstanding I wouldn't want to be at the coast on a hot day like this
 
Cobra said:
At least they can't be stupid enough to be heading for the coast. ...... can they?
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Why?

I went last Friday - loads of space. No jams, easy to park.

3 friends went to 3 different Norfolk/Suffolk beaches this week and from their pics, looked similar (if anything even quieter) - one view along the beach you could barely see anyone!!
 
cambsno said:
Why?

I went last Friday - loads of space. No jams, easy to park.
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The traffic heading that way, today, tells a different story
As above the amount of traffic gotta be 4 x more than anything I've seen since the lock down eased,
and the sun worshipers were allowed out ( Not really but they were going anyway. )
 
Heading to the lakes for a few days next week, forecast-is not great but hey, travelling from Scotland it’ll be like home, and my skin is waterproof. Just want a break from looking at the garden.
 
So. We were booked to go to Crete in June. Earlier in the year my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. So we put the holiday back to 30th august. No problem, TUI said there was a standard charge of £50 per person for the change so £100. A few weeks ago we paid the balance of £2,400. Several days ago my wife got an email saying the 100 charge for the change was still outstanding. She went online and the account said £100 outstanding. She put in the bank details and authorised the 100 payment.
Later in the day we checked our account online for something else. TUI had taken £2,500!
The 100 plus the 2400 again.
We rang them and the girl was very apologetic and said it would be sorted Friday (yesterday).
All we got was an email to say the refund had been authorised and would be returned in 10 to 14 days. WTF?
We are quite lucky we have not incurred overdraft charges and no standing orders or other payments have been affected. For some this could be catastrophic.

I have trawled their website for a complaints process. Every avenue is a dead end.
I posted on their farcebook page and was asked to DM them. On doing so they have a disclaimer saying they will only deal with refund enquiries that are over 28 days.

I hate big business hiding behind procedures and processes.
Well they've picked on the wrong guy.
 
Cockney said:
and would be returned in 10 to 14 days. WTF?
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WTF indeed I hate that, they take the money instantly. And yet take up to a couple of weeks refund :(
As you say you are lucky that you can "Cover it" many people wouldn't have.
Good luck in your quest ;)

If I get hassle like that I go straight to the CEO via email.
Yes I know it ends up in his office for some lackey to deal with but even so ..

In this case its Friedrich Peter Johannes.

Friedrich.Joussen@tui.com

Wigmore House, Wigmore Lane, Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, LU2 9TN

01293 645700 ( that is NOT a Luton phone number BTW its Crawley )
 
Cobra said:
WTF indeed I hate that, they take the money instantly. And yet take up to a couple of weeks refund :(
As you say you are lucky that you can "Cover it" many people wouldn't have.
Good luck in your quest ;)

If I get hassle like that I go straight to the CEO via email.
Yes I know it ends up in his office for some lackey to deal with but even so ..

In this case its Friedrich Peter Johannes.

Friedrich.Joussen@tui.com

Wigmore House, Wigmore Lane, Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, LU2 9TN

01293 645700 ( that is NOT a Luton phone number BTW its Crawley )
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Cheers Chris.
I will drop him a line.
:mad:
 
Cockney said:
So. We were booked to go to Crete in June. Earlier in the year my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. So we put the holiday back to 30th august. No problem, TUI said there was a standard charge of £50 per person for the change so £100. A few weeks ago we paid the balance of £2,400. Several days ago my wife got an email saying the 100 charge for the change was still outstanding. She went online and the account said £100 outstanding. She put in the bank details and authorised the 100 payment.
Later in the day we checked our account online for something else. TUI had taken £2,500!
The 100 plus the 2400 again.
We rang them and the girl was very apologetic and said it would be sorted Friday (yesterday).
All we got was an email to say the refund had been authorised and would be returned in 10 to 14 days. WTF?
We are quite lucky we have not incurred overdraft charges and no standing orders or other payments have been affected. For some this could be catastrophic.

I have trawled their website for a complaints process. Every avenue is a dead end.
I posted on their farcebook page and was asked to DM them. On doing so they have a disclaimer saying they will only deal with refund enquiries that are over 28 days.

I hate big business hiding behind procedures and processes.
Well they've picked on the wrong guy.
Click to expand...

Disgraceful. All I can advise is be all over Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn posting this in a constructive way (not to say you have not on her but some people complain on social media in the wrong way)
 
Cobra said:
WTF indeed I hate that, they take the money instantly. And yet take up to a couple of weeks refund :(
As you say you are lucky that you can "Cover it" many people wouldn't have.
Good luck in your quest ;)

If I get hassle like that I go straight to the CEO via email.
Yes I know it ends up in his office for some lackey to deal with but even so ..

In this case its Friedrich Peter Johannes.

Friedrich.Joussen@tui.com

Wigmore House, Wigmore Lane, Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, LU2 9TN

01293 645700 ( that is NOT a Luton phone number BTW its Crawley )
Click to expand...

Friedrich has mail. (y) :)
 
Cockney said:
Friedrich has mail. (y) :)
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Mistakes can be made but what's important is responding to complaints and rectifying them immediately. Unfortunately, too many times, this doesn't happen .I listen to Saturday 12 noon Money Box each week ( It's not running now for a while..back in September,I assume ) and similar programmes, I also avidly read the letters page (re Money matters) in my weekend paper in which people complain and if it offends some on here, so be it but my opinion of businesses is that they are all too often run by shysters otherwise why do we have TV programmes like 'Rip Off Britain'..Watchdog, Whistleblower. You and Yours (often deals with complaints) etc etc..? I suppose we don't get to hear of the good businesses. After a programme or a newspaper approaches a company often the problem is put right and compensation and flowers are forthcoming for the victim and I wonder why it took an approach from a newspaper to sort it thus attracting bad publicity when it was obvious from the start the customer was being treated poorly. I once had a run in with the Nationwide BS. I won't go into it all but I spoke to 5 customer care people, 2 agreed with me..another included a manager who also agreed with me and said that something had gone 'awry' .I wrote to the top person (no longer the same one) and the deputy chief exec responded giving me a load of flannel and didn't even address my issue. I complained to the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency)who said it wasn't within their remit and informed me that they'd sent my letter to Nationwide who then wrote to me saying they were sorry that their response hadn't satisfied me. It was never sorted. As a current customer I'd bought insurance on the basis of an advert. So..each time I get a call from them asking me if I'd like to take up one of their financial products I say no and tell the caller why. On a few occasions I've had an apology ..not the caller's fault, I assure them. I absolutely loathe these people..with a vengeance too.. especially in finance. I won't go into the auto-renewal (insurance) ding-dongs I've had after saying I don't want it..On one set of car insurance papers, after renewal, it had written on the back of the last page of about 5.... "You have chosen the option to take up auto renewal. Trying to recall what they call it..got it..not that... 'Continuous payment option" I suppose they would call it that as auto-renewal has a bad name. I asked for a confirmation letter that I wasn't on that system which I got..just that..confirmation... no apology for placing me on that system after I'd said I did't want it. I checked with a customer care lady that it was on the computer screen on renewal that I didn't want it..yes, it was. So someone along the line ignored that...deliberately imo. hoping it would slip through unnoticed.

If insurance or renewal is taken up over the phone or as now re COVID (short staffed)..by 'speaking' to "an agent"..by text, that question re auto-renewal isn't asked, nor is 'would you be happy with us sharing your details with other service providers which we think you'd be interested in' then, if you don't want either then make sure that neither is included.
 
JohnC6 said:
On one set of car insurance papers, after renewal, it had written on the back of the last page of about 5.... "You have chosen the option to take up auto renewal.
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Like you I hate that option with a vengeance, and of course they make out they are doing you a huge favour!

So far, I've been lucky I guess, most of my insurers give me between 14 -28 days written notice of renewal,
(the renewal dates are all written down anyway.)
Giving me plenty of time to get on comparison web sites usually that one run by the Russian Mafia Meerkat.

Strangely for the last 2 years my car insurance has gone DOWN while the status quo remains on all "circumstances"
Not by much, about £20 a time.

What made me chuckle, I also get a reminder from the Meerkat telling me that I could save up to £XXX on my renewal this year. Followed by a "Quote"
Errr I am already paying less than that, from that insurer :D
 
Got a renewal quote from my insurer on Friday - £35 more than last year. So, considering I have done around 500 miles since February in the car, I think that is taking the proverbial. I did read somewhere back in April that French drivers were up in arms about car insurance hikes, when they had hardly used their vehicles.
 
andya700 said:
Got a renewal quote from my insurer on Friday - £35 more than last year. So, considering I have done around 500 miles since February in the car, I think that is taking the proverbial. I did read somewhere back in April that French drivers were up in arms about car insurance hikes, when they had hardly used their vehicles.
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LV did that to me. Upped it by 50. I rang them and they immediately dropped 30.
 
Admiral automatically refunded Mrs Nod £25 per car for this year due to the much reduced use during lockdown. No chasing, just an automatic £75 refund.
 
We're only 24 hours in, but Dorset isn't letting us down once again.

Early in the caravan yesterday, stocked up on supplies, chilled out in the evening, went to shoot sunset and Milky Way last night, day on the local beach today and even the sea isn't that cold :) :) I just didn't bring a beer with me! And we forgot to freeze the ice things for the cool bag!
 
andya700 said:
Got a renewal quote from my insurer on Friday - £35 more than last year. So, considering I have done around 500 miles since February in the car, I think that is taking the proverbial. I did read somewhere back in April that French drivers were up in arms about car insurance hikes, when they had hardly used their vehicles.
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Mine increased £10 from July. I thought that was ok so renewed.
 
Cockney said:
LV did that to me. Upped it by 50. I rang them and they immediately dropped 30.
Click to expand...

LV are consistently top of the Which? tables. Just shows what you can save by giving these peope a call. Having said that, a few years ago I had a renewal quote rise on our home insurance of 23% .They wouldn't budge so I didn't renew and got the insurance £85 less with...er..the parent company...lol. Some years ago I called my card company re the 19.7% APR when in the T&C it stated from 9.9% to 19.9% depending on 'status'. It was clear that status meant how a customer conducts his/her account. I hardly ever failed to pay in full and in plenty of time so I called the company. I pointed out to the lady that the criteria was risk and as I was no risk I should qualify for the 9.9%. On top of that I also said that I would, on occasions, not pay in full and something was better than nothing...in terms of interest. She agreed and ever since my APR has been 9.9% :) What's funny is that when I do this I get a letter offering to raise my limit..Lol.
 
Just had a late think. Top is NFU followed by LV..Direct Line and then Saga.
 
Cobra said:
WTF indeed I hate that, they take the money instantly. And yet take up to a couple of weeks refund :(
As you say you are lucky that you can "Cover it" many people wouldn't have.
Good luck in your quest ;)

If I get hassle like that I go straight to the CEO via email.
Yes I know it ends up in his office for some lackey to deal with but even so ..

In this case its Friedrich Peter Johannes.

Friedrich.Joussen@tui.com

Wigmore House, Wigmore Lane, Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, LU2 9TN

01293 645700 ( that is NOT a Luton phone number BTW its Crawley )
Click to expand...
cambsno said:
Disgraceful. All I can advise is be all over Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn posting this in a constructive way (not to say you have not on her but some people complain on social media in the wrong way)
Click to expand...
JohnC6 said:
Mistakes can be made but what's important is responding to complaints and rectifying them immediately. Unfortunately, too many times, this doesn't happen .I listen to Saturday 12 noon Money Box each week ( It's not running now for a while..back in September,I assume ) and similar programmes, I also avidly read the letters page (re Money matters) in my weekend paper in which people complain and if it offends some on here, so be it but my opinion of businesses is that they are all too often run by shysters otherwise why do we have TV programmes like 'Rip Off Britain'..Watchdog, Whistleblower. You and Yours (often deals with complaints) etc etc..? I suppose we don't get to hear of the good businesses. After a programme or a newspaper approaches a company often the problem is put right and compensation and flowers are forthcoming for the victim and I wonder why it took an approach from a newspaper to sort it thus attracting bad publicity when it was obvious from the start the customer was being treated poorly. I once had a run in with the Nationwide BS. I won't go into it all but I spoke to 5 customer care people, 2 agreed with me..another included a manager who also agreed with me and said that something had gone 'awry' .I wrote to the top person (no longer the same one) and the deputy chief exec responded giving me a load of flannel and didn't even address my issue. I complained to the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency)who said it wasn't within their remit and informed me that they'd sent my letter to Nationwide who then wrote to me saying they were sorry that their response hadn't satisfied me. It was never sorted. As a current customer I'd bought insurance on the basis of an advert. So..each time I get a call from them asking me if I'd like to take up one of their financial products I say no and tell the caller why. On a few occasions I've had an apology ..not the caller's fault, I assure them. I absolutely loathe these people..with a vengeance too.. especially in finance. I won't go into the auto-renewal (insurance) ding-dongs I've had after saying I don't want it..On one set of car insurance papers, after renewal, it had written on the back of the last page of about 5.... "You have chosen the option to take up auto renewal. Trying to recall what they call it..got it..not that... 'Continuous payment option" I suppose they would call it that as auto-renewal has a bad name. I asked for a confirmation letter that I wasn't on that system which I got..just that..confirmation... no apology for placing me on that system after I'd said I did't want it. I checked with a customer care lady that it was on the computer screen on renewal that I didn't want it..yes, it was. So someone along the line ignored that...deliberately imo. hoping it would slip through unnoticed.

If insurance or renewal is taken up over the phone or as now re COVID (short staffed)..by 'speaking' to "an agent"..by text, that question re auto-renewal isn't asked, nor is 'would you be happy with us sharing your details with other service providers which we think you'd be interested in' then, if you don't want either then make sure that neither is included.
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Just an update. On Saturday I mailed the CEO. Also continued on their Farcebook page, although once you've commented they block you making a new comment.
Also DM'd their team.
Sunday my £2500 was returned. (Not the 10/14 days quoted). So success.
I asked for details of their formal complaints process. They say it has been shelved because of Covid. The current system is to raise it as a DM on facebook and they would pass it on.
What a crock of s***e.
 
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Wondering about trying to get to Lesvos in September after the kids go back to school & things quieten a bit.
 
I'm out in the Greek house now. Managed to get a cheep flight to Athens then the ferry over from pireaus. Everyone over here is super chilled. Going to stay here until end September when I un furlough myself.
 
Quarantine on return from Crete. So close. :oops: :$
 
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I’ve just booked a few days in North Wales next month to replace the trip to Sevilla.
Can’t say I’m massively excited, but it’s supposed to be picturesque up there.
 
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