do we write to holiday genie to complain? I have no idea how much compensation we should request for the problems encountered?

As you can see by the title I am asking on behalf of my grandparents for help as their recent holiday to Florida which they have been saving for many years to take turned into a complete nightmare. I will say sorry in advance for the long post but it’s a large mess 24th Jan 2009 Via Holiday Genie for two weeks in Florida flying from Edinburgh to JKF then to Orlando paying £75 deposit per person for my Gran and Granddad, their Daughter and her Husband And their kids of 8, 13, and 15. ·3 days later a phone call asking for the full price of the flights to be paid before delta issue tickets. £2,856 paid. April 2009 rest of holiday paid total of £4,046. 08.04.09 flight and accommodation details received, then a few days’ later phone call- flights changed to Edinburgh to Paris to Atlanta to Orlando, unhappy but agree to changes. 23.06.09 new flight details received 07.08.09 due to unforeseen circumstances had to ask to cancel a ticket. 09.08.09 email received- no scheduled airlines allow you to make a name change. If tickets have been issued airline will refund airport tax if cancel if not it’s a different story. 11.08.09 email received- delta will refund only £60 as they are different to UK airlines 17.08.09 emailed received confirming accommodation and transfer details 09/10/09- arrive at Edinburgh airport at 3am for the 6.10 flight told at check in flights had not been confirmed even thought seats had been pre-booked. They couldn’t confirm them on the flight from Atlanta to Orlando so refused them to fly. They were told that they could be re-routed via Edinburgh to Newark to Orlando but not until 12.15pm that day. No vouchers or food or drink supplied for the delay They arrived in NEWARK at 3.15pm American time and the connecting flight was at 4.30pm. When they arrived at immigration told computers crashed and were held up Then told too late for the flight. Told they would get another flight the NEXT day but that the party of 3 adults and 3 kids would have to be split up on separate flights. The youngest Child of 8 became very distressed at eventually continental airline gave them a hotel voucher for the 3 kids and their mother. My grandparents had to pay for their own room and paid $170.99 They then had to spend money on food and drink as they were only given vouchers for $6 each for breakfast and $12 each for dinner. They arrived in Orlando over 24hours later than they should have missed a day of their holiday and the pre-booked park tickets they had bought They then had to spend almost the full two weeks contacting holiday genie to confirmation of their return flights, $35 was spent on phone cards ringing holiday Genie and half days were wasted waiting for return phone calls Only two days before they were due to fly did they finally receive the flight details but only after contacting delta directly? Which if they hadn’t they would have missed their flights as Holiday Genie had supplied incorrect flight times. There were also numerous problems with the hotel mainly being that it was flea ridden. Basically I want to complain about this and I would like a refund for them of a substantial amount of this dreadful holiday. Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated

I dont think thats an helpful post to say the least if anything i find it rude and offensive, the op was asking for advice and support not a sarcastic comment. if you dont have anything nice and helpful to say dont say anything at all. Sorry I cant offer any advice Im in a similar situation with my ex landlord so hope your case goes well.

I am asking for some advice on behalf of a friend who has now got herself into such a state over housing and council tax benifit. She lives in Scotland just incase it makes any difference to the advice. Unfortuinatley my friend has only just confided in my the situation now that it has gotten so bad they are threating to take her to court for not paying the council tax. Basically she doesnt work and has a three year old daughter, her partner can only get 16hrs a week in his job and cant find any other work to help with the payments. She has just infromed me that she hasnt been able to pay the council tax at all this year and has had to sell the tv and game stations in order to make the rent on her flat every month because her partners wages just arent enough. She applied for housing and council tax benifit. She them got a letter telling her she wasnt entitled to either benifit as she hadnt handed the forms in on time. She then phoned them to be told that they had recieved them but had lost them and the documents with them, Birth certificates, wage slips, child benifit letter etc.. They have now told her she has 4 weeks to reapply or she wont get anything. Now shes in a state as she doesnt have 4 weeks wage slips because theyve lost them and she has to pay to get new coppies of the birth certificates which wont arrive before the 4 weeks. The council have now threatened to take her to court for the council tax. She spoke to the housing officer who said she cant do anything but reapply even though it was them who has lost the forms. any help would be much appreciated

So 7 days expire today and no letter from the LL so looks like i'll be preparing court papers today to send off on Monday morning. I was going to use the wording from the sticky but what im wondering do I have to mention in the wording about her trying to return the deposit but not replying that It is a full settlement? I know I have to put in as evidence my Tenancy agreement, deposit reciept, letters to and from the LL regarding the protection of the deposit , letters from the TDS confirming non-protection but what I wondered was do I also include in my evidence the postage reciepets from the letters I have sent and can I include like scripts from other similar TDS cases where the tenant has won? Im aware that my LL has a very fancy lawyer and I just couldnt afford to hire one to represent me or even give advice about the case so any help would be great. Many thanks

Thanks for all your advice i've sent a letter off today and i've prepared court papers ready to send off if i dont get a reply in 7 days. My internets been playing up or id have thanked you all much sooner, its not only the admin fees that are shocking she charged us £100 to hire a skip and remove rubbish from the shared back yard which she took days to check and i can assure you we left not even one single sack of rubbish we took it all to the tip!! Reckons she had to remove and replace the carpet and underlayt of the front room due to smell of cat again utter rubbish, shes using the fact that we had cats as an excuse, and also saying that there was a tide mark around the bath, again rubbish and there was dust on the skirting boards again which she took days to check after we moved out. The house was scrubbed clean and carpets washed before we handed back the keys because she wouldnt do a check out with us present as she was apparently on holiday. We had trouble from the moment we moved in 2 months almost without heating or hot water because she wouldnt fix the boiler and not once did we withold or ask for a reductiion in rent and when we served notice to leave we let her come round whenever she wanted to show round tenants and this is how we get thanked for treating her and her property with respect. Its put me off renting for good now. I~ just hope a judge will see her for what she really is because im sickened by the situation.

Ive gone with your suggestion Planner and have drafted a letter heres what ive got Thank you for your letter received on 22 July 2009 with regards to the deposit at the property confirming that the deposit had indeed not been protected for the duration of the tenancy. I have received the cheque included in the letter and have not yet cashed it. I will however be glad to cash it if you will confirm in writing that you considers it full and final settlement in relation to the tenancy and alleged damages, alternativley I will continue with my claim for the return of the deposit plus x3 the depsoit amount, a total of £1700. I look forward to hearing from you. should I add anything else? Im not sure if I should mention her most recent letter threating to take us to court if we dont repay the money to her for alleged damages? Many thanks

Thought it might be helpful if I put in a bit of a time line to see if it helps with anyones advice Aug 2008 - sign tenancy agreement 28th April 2009 - moved out of property 23rd May - LL writes a letter stating she inspected the property on 1st May and alleges damage of £490 so is keeping the deposit of £425 24 May - All TDS confirm deposit has never been protected 23rd June - I write a LBA requesting deposit is returned and proof of protection is issued otherwise court for x3 deposit 17 July 2009 - Letter arrives from LL claiming Celrical error fault why deposit was not protected and included a cheque for the deposit amount. Today - recieved a LBA from LL dated 22nd July giving us 7 days to pay £452.00 for alleged damages to the property otherwise we will be taken to court. Now im stumped on what to do next Im astounded at the gall of this person. Would it make a difference in court for a TDS claim that she has sent us a cheque for the amount of the deposit? Im so angry I could actually scream, Ive heard of some sneaky LL but this is outrageous I mean shes claiming £40 an hour admin fee's totaling £100 thats a shocking amount. Planner woul you be able to help me with writting a letter to the effect of what your said above? She dated her letter 22 July giving us 7 days to repay the money otherwise she will start court proceddings to recover it which the 7days runs out tomorow. We only recieved and signed for it today. She hasnt even provided proof of the damage by photos or invoice and there was no check in or out inventory. Please can anyone help?

I wrote a while ago about my landlord keeping my deposit which she hadnt protected as she claimed we had done damage to the property and wouldnt sent reciepts of photos. I wrote a LBA for to her either return the deposit as it wasnt protected or provide a cerificate or I would take her to the court for the return of the deposit and 3X the amount, So last week I get a letter from her enclosing a cheque for the deposit and saying it was a clerical error that it wasnt protected. Today I recieved a letter from the so and so (i cant use the word i really want to call her ) sending me a LBA for a different amount to what she originaly saying we had done in damage but still more than our deposit. Im fuming, The cheque for the deposit hasnt been cashed, can she acutally do this when she didnt protect our deposit? Im so angry Im tempted to press ahead with the TDS court papers. Have their been cases where the LL has been returned the deposit before court proceedings and the tenant has still won or would it be a nope hoper? Im loathed to let this women steal my money again when the house was left in perfect condition. Many thanks

Im asking on behalf of my 19 year old sister who is currently on day 3 of what is turning out to be an awful two week holiday to Turkey. Basicaly my sister and her boyfriend arrived at their hotel in Turkey early evening on Tue to find that they had over booked the hotel and would need to be moved. The rep told them that because of the overbooking they have been upgraded to a new hotel which has just been built and they are the first lot of guests in it. So great they think when they arrive as its dark they go up to the room and its bigger and has a lounge and lovely kitchen area as they are SC so think its wonderful until the next morning when they are woken up very early to building sounds. What the rep didnt tell them was that the hotel wasnt built it was still being built and had no lounge, bar or swimming pool!! Now this is where the prob is they spoke to the rep and complained about it being unfinnished and about the noise and especially about the pool as my sister has a skin condition which means her skin cracks she cant go near sand incase the wounds get infected. They were just told that they had been upgraded room and it didnt matter if it had a pool or not. They are now really unhappy, being woken in the morning and hearing noise if they are in their room and they have nowere to cool off in the sun as there is no pool. Is there anything they can do to try and resolve the situation theyve just under two weeks left to suffer this and its making them miserable on a holiday that they have spent two years saving for. Many thanks

my bad i didnt even think to look there

Today I am in the process of filling out court papers on a N028 claim for failure to protect my deposit by my landlord, I was wondering if someone could possibly have a look over what I plan to write and Advise if its ok or if i need more or less or need to be worded differently. Also do I mention in it that my landlord has failed to reply to the LBA that I sent and that i know she recieved it because it was sent recorded delivery and signed for? heres what i have so far We make an application to the court in accordance with the Housing Act 2004, to seek repayment of our tenancy deposit of £425 and three times the amount of the deposit on the grounds of: Section 213(1) That the initial requirements of the authorised claim/scheme have not been complied with in relation to the deposit. Section 213(3) That were a landlord receives a tenancy deposit in relation to a shorthold tenancy, the inital requirements of an authorised scheme must be complied with by the landlord in relation to the deposit within the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which it is received. This has not been complied with. Section 214(1)(b) That the tenant has been notified by the landlord that a particular authorised scheme applies to the deposit but has been unable to obtain confirmation from the scheme administrator that the deposit is being held in accordance with the scheme. The Shorthold Tenancy Agreement was signed on the 29/08/2008 in which it stated that the landlord had protected the tenant's deposit using the My Deposit scheme. Upon ending the agreement on 28th April 2009 the landlord retained the deposit. The tenants disputed this and so contacted the landlord to reach an agreement, this could not be reached. The tenancy agreement stated their deposit was held by The Dispute Service and so they contacted them to attempt dispute resolution. Upon contact, The Dispute Service notified them by email and telephone that their deposit had not been protected by the landlord and so dispute resolution could not be used. The remaining schemes were contacted by telephone and email and neither had any record of the deposit being protected by the landlord.

As a bit of an update I made a complaint in writting to the practice manager on friday at the same time as making another appointment with a nurse to have more blood taken as evidently my results came back abnormal and when The secetary asked if I would like an appointment with the same nurse I politley asked if I could have it with another one she then said" your the 4th person in two weeks to ask to see anyone but "joe blogs" To which I wasnt very surprised but felt no need to comment on. So they said my complaint would be dealt with within 14 days and the outcome would be written to me. SO just need to wait now

I'm looking about general advice about if i should make a complaint about my practice nurse or not. I recently moved and joined my local doctors surgery and have only been 3 times previously, twice to see two different nurses and one to a doctor all of which have been very plesant and helpful. Today I had to see the nurse for a routine smear and blood tests to test my thyroid as my previous docotor had been monitorin it as it has been borderline underactive for a number of years. Now this was a nurse I hadnt been to before and was slightly nervious as I hadnt had a smear before, when I got in the room the nurse asked about why I was getting bloods done and I explained about my Thyroid and that it had to be monitored because if it changed I could be given medication. She was very nosey to say the least asking about my weight gain that led to it and so on and when it came to the sear she was very abrupt and rough which left me in more than a bit of pain. The bit that left me upset was as i was gettin ready to leave she turned and mentioned that she had read in my notes that I had, had a gastric band fitted a number of weeks ago by my previous docotor. I explained that It was the last option I had as I was morbidly obese and had tried everything else without sucess.She then proceeded to tell me that I was "overweight by my own doing and shouldnt have been given a band and if it was her she would never do it to her body no matter how big she was" now i was shocked at this as I didnt feel it was appropriate for her to comment, but the comments kept coming and made me feel awful and about 2 inches small and evidently when I left I burst into tears. Im only 22 and hate to cause a fuss especially with people who are older than me as I feel they deserve respect but my mother was angry as hell when I told her and phoned the practice manager to complain. He basically just dismissed it and said I had picked it up wrong anf that unless I phone to complain myself he cant do or say anything more. I just wanted an opinion on what to do next my feeling is that hes already said he feels i picked the comments up wrong so what more will he do or say about it? his mind seems made up? Do i complain or just see a dif nurse in future

Id be eternaly greatful if someone anyone could advise on my situation, the worry of not getting the money back which i so desperatley need is playing havock with my health which already was in a poor state.

Does anyone know if I were to take the case of non protection to the court and lose if I would have to pay the LLs court costs?

Sorry for the very long post but im really stressed out and felt this was the only place i could turn to for help and support now with having to face another TDS case along with looking for a job and suffereing health problems Im just about to lose my mind. Earlier this year I settled out of court with my previous landlord for TDS as he failed to protect my deposit. Knowing this when I moved into the new property under a different landlord in Aug 2008 I checked with the Dispute service whom my landlord and AST stated our deposit was protected with that they held our deposit. The agent said that there was something for our address but not in our name but that might be because it hadnt been transfered over so I wasnt worried especially after speaking to the landlord before we moved out who assured us that the deposit would be returned and explained that we would both have to agree on the amount to be returned and it would be signed before any money be realsed so great I thought. We severed notice ot leave the property on 28th of April 2009 with no problem and about a week or two before we are due to move out the LL asks if she can come round for what she called a "pre-tenancy" inspection to which I agreed. She turned up with a camera and walked round and took notes and photos which I thought was strange as we hadnt moved out yet and the house was a mess from the packing (it was a big move from England up to Scotland) she spoke to us afterwords and confimred there was no problems and explained about the return of the keys and hat she would do a check out inspection. On the day of moving out and handing the keys back the property was cleaned head to toe including carpets shampooed and only one black bag left in the backgarden (the tenancy agreement stated we could do this altho it states to be placed out for collection which we cant as we would have been fined for fly tipping as bin day was 3 days away) which is shared by 6 other properties. I arrived at the agents in the afternoon as requested by the landlord and was informed that they wouldnt be doing a check out with me there as the landlord was on holiday and she wanted to do it herself when she returned 5 days later:-x They basicaly said that if we kept the keys until then we would be charged extra rent which I just couldnt afford and as we were moving to scotland not just up the road I felt I had no choice but I had taken Photos of inside the house so wasnt worried espec since I had checked it was TDS registered. Imagine my surprise when two weeks later no deposit and no contact from the landlord so my partner contacted her and was told that she felt there was a smell of cats and so she had put down £40 worth of chemicals and may need to replace the living room and under stair carpet which she said were new at the start of the tenancy and that were just cheap so wouldnt be more than £50. We had alot of people helping us move and none of them have pets and all agree that none of them could smell cats espec after the carpets had been shampooed however we didnt want an argument and said if its how she felt then we would agree. Another week goes by and we ring again to find out whats going on with the deposit. Today I recieved a voicemail to tell me she wouldnt be returning the deposit as she had to replace the carpets and undelay as the underlay was badly stained , now im unsure why it would be stained but my only though would be that it was because of the shampooing of the cheap carpets or the chemicals she put down because there were no marks on the carpet when we left certainly no stains. Then she said she had to hire a skip to remove the rubbish from the backgarden!!! I was gobsmacked hearing this as there was only one black bag however as I stated she didnt check the property for 5 days and the backyard is shared by other houses and quite often rubbish sacks would be put in the outhouse as ours was the only one without a door! Stupidly we didnt take any photos of the backgarden and there was no inventry at the start of the tenancy so were do we stand with this? To add to it i phoned the TDS to request ADR and was informed that they couldnt because infact my deposit hadnt been protected with them and what I should have been told when i originaly called was that there was a deposit registered at my address but it had been paid out long before we moved in and nothing else had been registered, I then phoned the other two schemes and was told nothing was registered with them. So relaly im looking for advice and reassurance, Im aware my next step is prob a letter before action requesting the return of the deposit as it hasnt been protected which is against the law. However can the landlord counter claim if i do this with the above claimed damage? On what grounds would she win this either in court of if she subsequently protects the deposit and ADR is used? Also can the deposit be protected after the tenancy has ended because im sure that if she can protect it when she gets the LBA she will. Im not bothered about the 3x the deposit I just want what is owed to me, but does the fact weve now moved to Scotland even tho the Tenancy was originaly in England Effect court proceedings? Many thanks in Advance A very stressed Miss Elle

Sorry for taking so long to reply I had a number of severe panic attacks due to the stress and was admitted to hospital for monitoring and signed off work again. I called work to speak to the head of HR to complain about the situation and was promptley told that they wouldnt discuss it as I was now being dissaplined for bullying so they couldnt comment on the on-going case. I wasnt aware that any disaplinery procedures had started so I was very shocked. I was then put through to my manager and asked to reconsider what I wanted to do and to do as they requested and no further action would be taken. I refused and informed them that I will be handing in my resignation. My health is far more important than the job and to be honest the office gossip has already started and so my names already dragged through the mud. I refuse to work for people who can treat people like that. Thankfully my doctor has signed me off work for the period of my notice and she has also written to the company stating how their polices have had extremely adverse effects on my health. So onwords and upwards as they say, its just a shame I live in such a small town where everyone knows everyone and I cant go to the shops without whispers or people talking about what I have apparently done. Seems I may have to move town now aswel as Job.

After being on long term sick from Sept 08 due to bullying from my manager I decided to return to work because quite simply i couldnt manage on half pay and couldnt afford to resign as I havent been able to as yet find another job. On my 2nd day back I was sent an email by my Line manager asking if they could have a word with me in one of the interview rooms when I got there basically they said that since I had been off sick there had been a complaint made about me making rather nasty comments about a team mate who was at the time was pregnant which they are classing as bullying. I asked when this comment was meant to have been made and what I was meant to have said as I havent seen anyone or spoken to anyone from work since I was off sick with stress and depression. They basically said that I had been talking about the paternity of the girls baby and about her relationship with her boyfriend and this apparently happend in July 08!!! I then stated that yes I did remember the conversation which took place at the bank of desks which I sat at it was between the girl who sits across from me and her friend from another team and that I was not involved in the conversation at all apart from being sat at my desk doing work whilst they spoke. I remeber the conversation clearly because i was so shocked at what they said about this girl. My line manager then said that he wanted to go speak to the SEO and see what he wanted to be done. He came back and basically said that he wanted me to tell this girl what "I" had said about her and say sorry and that when she returns to work after her maternaty is finnished to stay away from her. It became apparent to me that I was being blamed and that no1 else was being named. I then asked if i had been the only person named to which he said yes. I then told him that I hadnt made the comments or even been involved in the conversation and I told him who had been and who had said what. He then said it didnt matter as I had only been named by the person who overheard the conversation and no-one else. I then pointed out that it was impossible for me to have a conversation by myself and hasnt he wonderd why no-1 els has been named and requested it be invstigated properly and said I will no admit to something I havent said or done therfore I wont be telling the girl or saying sorry. I was then told that It wouldnt be investigated as the witness is very reliable and that If i dont take the action set out then I will be dissaplined for bullying. Ive been in such a state all weekend over this so much so that my panic attacks are back and im scared to leave the house again and Im considering going back to the doctors first thing tomorow to ask to be placed back on my anti-depressants and being signed off work again as i really think this time if i return Im going to have a break down. I honestly dont know what to do and I cant go to the union as they are useless

You need to send a letter before action stating that you are planning to take him to court and will be seeking 3x the deposit as compensation as per the housing act then you would have to go fill in the court froms which i cant remeber the name of however someone else such as planner would be able to help on that. It will cost you £150 to file however if you win this will be added to the costs and you will get it back.

In that case im not really sure I havent heard of any cases like that maybe planner or someone will be along soon to help out as they are more knowledgable on the subject

I dont believe that you have much chance of winning this one as the LL has now protected the Deposit all he has to do is serve a new S21. Recent cases suggest that once the deposit is protect albeit late there is no case to answer to. I may be wrong hopefully someone more experience may be along to help you

I was wondering if anyone could advise on my situation. I gave my landlord the one months notice needed to end my tenancy today in writting on 29th of April 2009. My partner recieved a phone call tonight from the LL stating that in my letter I had stated i would be cancelling the standing order for rent this month as we had paid a month in advance however the LL called and said this is inncorrect and its not in the TA so we still owe a months rent and that I shouldnt cancel the standing order due to leave my bank on 29th and that the LL would call back nxt week as she is busy. Now a bit of background I paid a deposit of 425 and rent of 425 on 29th aug 2008 which i have a reciept for which is also the day we got the keys to the house and signed the TA. The TA states for term of 6 months and month to month thereafter commenincing 29th aug 2008 rent £425 per calander month and therafter month to month. Payment in advance by equal monthly payments on 29th day of every month. It also states under the section headin rent 1.7 rent 1.71 the rent shall be £425.00 per calander mointh payable in advance. 1.73 te first paymet of 425 due on 29/08/2008 prior to the date of taking possession. Am I right in sayin the LL is talking crap nd the TA clearly states that rent was paid in advance or am I wrong? Also would I be right in cancelling the standing order as I dont owe anymore rent or would I be breaking the TA? Many thanks

I may be wrong but i dont believe you are doing anything wrong as he is no paying any rent or bills he is merley a guest staying over a few nights. I wouldnt worry about the legal side but if you are then perhaps talk to shelter or CAB about it they should be able to help to tell you if there is anything wrong with it.

Thank you guess ~I'll just have to ask my work and see what they say or how generous they feel really. As a side if they do decide to give me themas im on half pay for my sick does it mean those days will also be paid at half pay? Many thanks