A FURIOUS holidaymaker is suing TUI after his two-bedroom “family” apartment in Greece was downgraded to just one bedroom.
David Stacey is demanding a refund of almost £4,000 plus compensation after TUI dropped the bombshell just 10 days before the holiday was due to start.
David, an NHS executive from London, was informed by TUI that the downgrade was the result of the hotel not having any two-bedroom rooms available.
The 35-year-old was not offered any compensation despite getting less for his money.
David was due to fly to Crete on August 1 from London Gatwick for a 10-day break in Elounda with his wife, Ruth, 35, and their two children, Arthur, four, and Agnes, 15 months.
On Monday he got an email from TUI which informed him: “You may already know that the Elounda Breeze is a brand new hotel and with all new hotels, facilities and features can change.
“Therefore, following a review your chosen room has been amended and is now described as a one bedroom family room with sliding doors and balcony or terrace rather than a two bedroom family room with a balcony or terrace.”
The email explained: “This is because the hotel owner has contacted us to say that they do not facilitate any two bedroom apartments in the hotel.”
David responded the following day by posting a copy of the court document showing that he is suing for a refund and compensation.
The document states the claimant’s details, which David has blacked out apart from his name and the defendant’s detail, which is TUI UK Limited. The document confirms he is making a civil money claim.
David, a hospital finance director, asked TUI on Twitter: “Do you think it’s appropriate to change my holiday from the two bedrooms I booked to one, for a family of four, with 10 days’ notice?
“I’m appalled and you’re not answering the phone. Help? You sold me a holiday you can’t fulfil, which surely puts you on shaky legal grounds. After a 20 minute chat. You confirm that your website description is wrong and still is.”
“The one bedroom is divisible with screens and is not equal to two bedrooms. It’s now my burden to seek an alternative and pay more, you’ll waive the change fee but I’m not eligible for a refund.”
He added the following day the court document captioned with: “I’ll let the court decide.”
@PsTeddiebear wrote under David’s post: “TUI should know what their hotel accommodation is like when they sell the holiday.
“Surely, like other operators, they send staff out to these hotels to inspect them? Demand a full refund, and don’t use them again. Black list them on Tripadvisor.”
@LedgerSomeone added: “They advertised a hotel with the rooms you want but the rooms don’t exist? That’s false advertising.”
@buddc1 said: “Shameful, don’t mess about and go legal straight away. They are taking the mickey. No wonder they are losing so much every year.”
@sgrove35 wrote: “I ended up in a cupboard with my father (dementia) & daughter. He couldn’t even fit his feet between the beds.
“I couldn’t get in touch with the rep moved to better hotel. Not a penny did they give me in compensation. The photos are not true to life.”
Speaking today, David said: “It was almost £4,000 for the holiday. Our most expensive ever and our first package gig. We chose it for the kids’ clubs really.
“We have booked a new holiday with another agent. We were staying for 10 days.”
TUI’s website shows the firm is still selling two-bedroom family apartments despite claiming none were available.
A spokeswoman for TUI UK said: “We would like to apologise to the these customers for their experience. Unfortunately, there was a technical issue with our website resulting in this particular room description being incorrect. This has now been resolved.
