Tony Hetherington is the Financial Mail on Sunday’s star investigator, battling readers’ corners, revealing the truth behind closed doors and winning victories for those left penniless. Find out how to contact him below.
Mrs. JE writes: I was very interested in reading your report on Tui’s Mistletoe and Rin cruise.
My husband and I, my sister and my brother-in-law are booked. We are deeply upset by the casual attitude that Tui has shown us.
We paid almost £3000 for a cruise to visit five Christmas markets in Germany, now reduced to one cruise visiting three markets.
Tony Hetherington replies: Two weeks ago I reported how Tui had just informed a couple who had booked on the same cruise, starting November 23, that the Frankfurt Christmas fair and market would not have opened yet, and that today’s planned visit to The Koblenz fair would not be possible because, like much of Germany, it would be closed to commemorate ‘Totensonntag’ (‘All Souls’ Sunday’), a holiday on which people remember the dead.
Tui insisted that this was new information that had come to light since they planned the cruise. It refused the refund, claiming that although its marketing emphasized the five fairs as the main reason for booking the cruise, the loss of two attractions out of five made no difference. The couple canceled their booking, but I was told Tui had refunded just £599 of the £1,997, with the company keeping the rest as a cancellation penalty.
Tradition: Tui passengers will not see the Frankfurt Christmas market
I asked Tui to tell me exactly when he found out that the Frankfurt and Koblenz fairs would not be open. After asking for time to consider this and more time to consult his lawyers, Tui offered no response. Almost unbelievably, I discovered that they were still advertising the same cruise with the same false claim that passengers would visit five Christmas fairs along the Rhine.
Now to catch up. This is what the official Frankfurt tourist office says: “Traditionally, the Frankfurt Christmas market always opens on Monday and always after the so-called ‘Totensonntag’.” This is the last Sunday before Advent in the German Protestant Church. This year’s Totensonntag is November 24, so the market opens on Monday the 25th. The opening date has been confirmed for over a year as November 25.
As for the Totensonntag, the date is known years in advance, just like Easter. So the mystery is, why didn’t Tui know this? Tui is a German company. Didn’t anyone at Tui check the dates in their German diary? Didn’t anyone at Tui check their advertising and see that they offered visits to Christmas fairs that didn’t exist? Or did no one at Tui care, which seems like a real possibility?
Tui told him that “because the impact on your itinerary was due to local operating hours and public holidays, this is outside of Tui’s control.” He apologized for the “necessary changes to your itinerary.” This is garbage. The ship’s itinerary remains the same. It is the advertised attractions that have evaporated. Tui’s misleading advertising is no one’s fault but itself.
He tried to make a complaint, but Tui responded: “Tui does not have a pre-trip complaints process, so if you are not happy with your cruise, you can fill out a post-trip form once you have returned.”
In short, I’m sorry that our advertising misled you, but we keep your cash; Enjoy the boat trip!
I raised all this with Tui once again. He responded: “We are looking into this for you.”
Since then, silence. There are no answers. No explanations.
No apologies.
However, I suspect there was panic behind the scenes.
After questioning Tui, I was offered a 20 per cent refund, but on the same day I contacted the couple whose complaint we published a fortnight ago and they were offered a 100 per cent refund.
They told me, I told you, and you told Tui what he could do with his 20 percent offer.
A few hours later, Tui gave in and paid you and your husband in full, along with your sister and her husband.
A bank mix-up has lost my £300
Mrs. GW writes: My Barclays account has been closed and the balance has been transferred to Nationwide.
Unfortunately, a payment of £300 was recently made to the old Barclays account.
Barclays has attempted to transfer the money to Nationwide but says the building society will not accept it. However, Nationwide says there is no problem.
Problems: Barclays has tried to transfer the money to Nationwide, but says the building society will not accept it.
Tony Hetherington replies: The root of the problem is that the system for transferring money from your outdated account to your new Nationwide account expired after three years – and those three years ended in July, just before your £300 landed in the old Barclays account! That’s why the transfer failed.
Barclays told me: ‘We apologize for the delay experienced on the customer’s old Barclays account. Attempts to automatically transfer the funds to the new Nationwide account were unsuccessful. The transfer has already been made and Barclays has added interest and a further £100 as an apology.
If you believe you are a victim of financial irregularity, please write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the large volume of inquiries, it is not possible to provide personal responses. Please only send copies of the original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
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