I received £1,000 on the Premium Bonds and determined to deal with my household with a last-minute journey to Alton Towers. I booked a keep for my son, his spouse and my three granddaughters for February 19 and 20 at a price of £590.50.
On arrival the ladies have been excitedly asking concerning the rides they’d be happening the following day, solely to be instructed that the theme park ones weren’t open. They have been so upset and in tears from the frustration. Nowhere was I instructed through the on-line reserving course of that the park is closed in winter.
They have been so disenchanted they stayed just one night time and left the following morning – not even staying for breakfast.
Once I complained to Alton Towers, it supplied to reimburse £236.36. However I believe I ought to get again the total quantity.
P.T., Cranwich, Norfolk.
SALLY HAMILTON REPLIES: On studying your letter I had the sensation that Merlin Entertainments, proprietor of Alton Towers, had met in you a nemesis as formidable as its well-known theme park experience of the identical identify. You weren’t going to be fobbed off with a partial refund. What grandfather would, within the face of three granddaughters’ disappointment?
The famend amusement park rides are the principle draw for guests, so I wasn’t shocked on the depth of their despair and your fury while you have been knowledgeable of what occurred. You mentioned your son had overheard different households voicing related upset.
Illustration: Andy Ward
You instructed me after your full refund was denied that you simply requested three mates to try the reserving course of and see (with out hitting the cost button) whether or not there was a warning concerning the closures within the park. None of them noticed any point out of key rides being closed.
By the point you got here to me in late June, it was many months after the occasion, when all of the rides have been open once more for the season, so I couldn’t strive the identical experiment.
Nevertheless, the Alton Towers web site states that between November and March ‘its largest rides go into hibernation’. Regardless of this, I felt you wouldn’t have booked the particular deal with had you been made totally conscious of the scenario, so I requested Alton Towers to rethink your grievance.
The resort investigated and got here again to say that elements of the resort have been open that February half-term for its particular ‘Pirate Takeover’ occasion, together with some rides and reveals however not the massive ones. It despatched me screenshots of the reserving course of that you’d have encountered wherein it acknowledged that areas Mutiny Bay and CBeebies Land have been open.
It may argue that this implied that the opposite rides have been closed, however there was no specific point out of the principle rides within the park being shut. Regardless of you saying different guests had grumbled concerning the closures, the agency mentioned it had obtained no different complaints from prospects.
A spokesman for Alton Towers says: ‘The Alton Towers Waterpark and our Extraordinary Golf have been additionally accessible for friends to take pleasure in right now and included within the value of the keep. E-mail communication was additionally shared with the visitor following their reserving and forward of their arrival reiterating particulars of the occasion, together with the supply of rides and points of interest.
‘All year long, the resort provides a variety of experiences outdoors of the principle season and we’re dedicated to making sure each visitor has a enjoyable and memorable time with us.’
Whereas I used to be in dialogue with Alton Towers about your case, you knowledgeable me you had determined to take motion in opposition to Merlin Entertainments by means of the small claims court docket, so adamant have been you {that a} full refund was owed. Discussions halted as we awaited the end result.
Sally Hamilton is Cash Mail’s shopper champion – and can struggle your nook
It took me again to a birthday journey for my eldest daughter some years in the past the place I accompanied her pal on Oblivion, certainly one of Alton Tower’s scariest rollercoaster rides. I recall the rising panic felt together with more and more sweaty arms as our cart inched in the direction of the highest of the 180ft drop.
By mid-August, the judgement had been determined – in your favour – and Merlin was ordered to refund you in full.
Once I requested Merlin for a remark, it mentioned that you simply had been granted the judgement by default as a result of, because of a member of workers leaving, Merlin didn’t submit a response to the declare by the deadline. However it confirmed your full refund.
You have been overjoyed, and once we caught up final week you instructed me you had used the refund to purchase £200 of Premium Bonds for every granddaughter – certainly one of whom received a £50 prize this month. I assume there have been tears of pleasure on this event.
I’m writing to you with a determined plea for assist regarding two penalty prices obtained from Dart Cost. Its system failure, and failure to recognise my repeated makes an attempt to be trustworthy, authorized, and first rate, imply I’m being unjustly pursued and threatened with bailiffs over a loopy £235 high quality for a toll cost I repeatedly tried to pay.
L.C., Wickham Market, Suffolk.
SALLY HAMILTON REPLIES: The Dartford Crossing incorporates each the bridge that takes drivers southwards over the River Thames from Thurrock in Essex to Dartford in Kent, and the tunnel that takes them underneath the river in the other way. A toll should be paid from 6am to 10pm daily and prices £2.50 every manner for vehicles or £2 for these with a Dart Cost account.
The charge is due on the newest by midnight the day after a crossing however will also be paid prematurely.
An unpaid cost can set off a £70 high quality to be met inside 28 days of receiving a penalty cost discover, decreased to £35 if paid inside 14 days. If not met by these deadlines, the high quality retains rising.
You have been totally conscious of your obligations, so on October 24, 2023, you made no less than six makes an attempt to pay for 2 crossings – one for October 23 and one for the return on October 25. You used your financial institution card, however every time you tried, you noticed an alert stating: ‘Fee not taken.’
You checked together with your financial institution HSBC which confirmed the funds as ‘pending and listed’. This was a reduction of types however you then feared you’d paid an excessive amount of. On phoning Dart Cost to examine, you have been flabbergasted at a recorded voice saying you have been 93rd within the queue. You suspected you weren’t alone in dealing with a cost glitch that day.
You hung up and despatched an e mail to Dart Cost requesting it verify that the right cost had been taken. This e mail was acknowledged however not responded to.
You let issues lie and thought all was properly, till three months later while you have been fined. You appealed however weren’t instructed the end result. Then one other high quality arrived primarily based in your ‘perceived inactivity’. If you phoned once more, you have been instructed to make one other enchantment. No phrase on that consequence both.
Then final month you obtained an ‘order for restoration’ telling you the debt had been transferred to the Site visitors Enforcement Centre and that your ‘possessions could also be eliminated and bought to pay for this cost’, which now amounted to £235 (two counts of £117.50).
You’d hit gridlock so that you got here to me.
As soon as I contacted Nationwide Highways, the federal government company that runs the crossing, it lastly received into gear – practically a 12 months after you made your journeys.
It could be in cost, however it outsources the working of the scheme to Conduent, a personal firm. It has not been a very easy experience because it took up the function in the summertime of 2023, with stories of many motorists struggling to pay the cost and others being charged erroneously as a result of the automated quantity plate recognition system was misreading some drivers’ plates.
On investigating your case Nationwide Highways agreed it had failed you. It swiftly received in contact and took your £5 cost for the 2 crossing and wiped the £235 penalty. You expressed reduction that the agony was over.
A spokesman says: ‘We’re sorry for the problems this buyer has skilled which fall beneath the excessive requirements we purpose to ship.
‘We’re continuously striving to enhance our service, correcting any points shortly, all the time with buyer suggestions in thoughts. Our precedence is offering a easy and stress-free expertise for our prospects who make the 55 million journeys on the Dartford Crossing every year.’
Straight to the purpose
QUESTION: I booked a service and MOT with Halfords in August and paid £207.30. However its equipment was damaged so I transferred my appointment to a different department. Once I arrived, I used to be instructed no appointment had been made. I’ve now been refunded my preliminary cost and supplied £50 compensation and protection of the MOT appointment I received elsewhere at £48, however I would like extra for my time.
C.C., through e mail.
SALLY HAMILTON REPLIES: Halfords apologises and has despatched you £150 as a goodwill gesture.
QUESTION: I missed a flight from Faro Airport in Portugal to Birmingham final month after Ryanair emailed to say that our flight was delayed by two hours. The app mentioned this too, so we took our time within the airport however later discovered the flight had left on time with out us. We wish a refund for the price of rebooking the flight.
N.M., through e mail.
SALLY HAMILTON REPLIES: Ryanair says the flight was initially delayed however ultimately left on time. Passengers have been despatched a cell notification to examine airport show screens and it’s their duty to current themselves on the boarding gate.
QUESTION: In April I purchased a listening to help for £2,585 from Boots, however my Benefit factors have been by no means credited to my account. I’ve visited the shop 3 times to chase this and emailed a number of instances however I nonetheless don’t have the factors.
S.W., through e mail.
SALLY HAMILTON REPLIES: Boots says the problem has been resolved and you’ve got been given additional factors.
QUESTION: My telephone was stolen in July and it was unlocked when the thief took it. I used to be capable of remotely lock the telephone after I received residence however I noticed the thief had received into my cryptocurrency app and transferred out £11,300 price simply earlier than I locked it. The app says it may well’t get better my cash so received’t reimburse me.
N.C., London.
SALLY HAMILTON REPLIES: The cryptocurrency app says it can reimburse prospects solely the place it’s discovered to be at fault for the loss.
Write to Sally Hamilton at: Sally Types It, Cash Mail, 9 Derry Road, London, W8 5HY or e mail: sally@dailymail.co.uk — embody telephone quantity, deal with and a word addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to speak to Sally Hamilton. Please don’t ship authentic paperwork as we can not take duty for them. No obligation may be accepted by the Day by day Mail for solutions given.
Scamwatch
Cell phone customers ought to watch out for a rip-off textual content impersonating community supplier Vodafone, shopper web site Which? warns.
Fraudsters lure in victims with the promise of 5,131 factors of their account as a part of the ‘Vodafone UK Factors Program’ and declare they may expire immediately.
The rip-off textual content messages present a hyperlink to redeem the factors – however this can be a dodgy phishing hyperlink, in keeping with Which?.
Don’t click on on the hyperlink. As a substitute, ahead the textual content to 7726 to report it.
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