I chose ebookers.com to book a flight to New York and a hotel to stay in for my fiancees birthday at the end of last year. We both wanted to come and show support for the New York people by going xmas shopping there after 9/11.
On a cold dark rainy evening, my fiancee and I arrived tired after a long flight at our hotel in New york. It was supposed to be a comfortable hotel suitable for tourists, yet when we arrived we were shocked to see rubbish stacked up in store rooms, and radiators ballancing on chunks of wood. The place looked like a fire hazard.
I was in half a mind to call ebookers to demand another hotel there and then, but I thought I would see what the room was like first. I went to the desk and handed the voucher that we were sent to give in on arrival. The receptionist didn't know who ebookers even were and told us there was no room booked for us!
I asked her to speak to the manager, but when she phoned him at a sister hotel (the Malibu) he wouldn't speak to us on the phone and told us that they hadn't got a room for us. We tried to find the Malibu hotel to speak to him in person, but at that time of year it was no easy task trudging around a foreign land after the long flight we had, so we went back to the broadway to see if we could phone ebookers.
They wouldn't let us use the phone unless we bought a phone card, which we did. We then spent half an hour trying to get a phone number that would work for them. I ended up having to phone my father and he used the web to find a number that actualy worked.
When we finaly got hold of ebokers they said they were going to fax the hotel with conformation and all would be fixed. We waited for an hour, and in that hour found out the whole first floor was given out to social security people. There were decriptions of how rooms had been trashed and people attacked on the wall!
This had my fiancee in tears, and I decided enough was enough and that I wanted a new hotel from ebookers. I called them to ask why no fax had come through and told them I wanted another hotel now anyway. They appologised and said they would look into getting us another hotel staright away.
While they did this we looked through a tourist guide we bought at the airport to see if we could source a hotel incase ebookers let us down. It was getting late and our short 4 day stay was in danger of being ruined by us sleeping on the streets. Ringing around taught us that at that time of year in New York, most places are booked up.
2 hours passed and still no call from ebookers. We finally found a hotel, which was more expensive than we could really afford, but it was that or no bed for the night. I phoned ebookers and they told me that they could not source another hotel due to the fact it was high season!
I told them I had found a place, and they told me to book it, enjoy our stay and it would be sorted out when we got back. This we did and after very poor start, we enjoyed a gread few days in New York, a remarkable city!
On returning to England however, the nightmare returned. Ebookers no longer felt the need to give us the money to pay for the hotel we booked, but also deemed it necessary not to refund the money for the hotel that we didn't stay in. Instead they offered us a voucher for 10 (15$) as a token, towards our next ebookers purchase.
Weeks of letters followed, with threats made by myself about legal action, and eventualy they offered a refund of the original hotel bills cost 50 (70$) compensation. This was not good enough as it didn't cover the more expensive hotels cost (which is all I wanted) and they should have paid me compensation for the stress caused.
I refused the offer and demanded they pay for the other hotels bill and some compensation. With this they withdrew all offers of any money. Luckily my credit card refunded the first hotels costs anyway as I had not recieved the goods, but this still leaves the other hotel compensation.
Unfortunatly I do not have the money or will to take this any further through the courts now. How can I prove everything I say in a court of law? I can't, so I have to take the bullet this time. I will however make it a life mission to stop everyone using ebookers as they are a thoroughly dishonest and non-caring company!
Matthew
Woking, London
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