A Tyneside couple who are due to get married in Jamaica next year have slammed TUI for the "stress" caused after their flight was cancelled.
Jarvis Henry and Megan Brown, from Gateshead, paid £5,400 to the travel agency for their flights and a 17-night stay at the five-star luxury Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort & Spa in Lucea for their wedding and honeymoon in February.
However, the couple were told on December 15 that their return flight to Manchester Airport was cancelled. Jarvis set about finding a resolution, only to be told that they would have to change their dates and pay extra or cancel altogether.
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The news came while over 20 guests, including friends and family, had already booked flights to the Caribbean island ahead of the nuptials.
"Back on December 15, TUI sent me an email pretty much telling me that they were going to cancel," Jarvis said.
"We initially booked 17 nights essentially as we wanted to get there four days before the wedding and we thought we didn't want to miss out on the all-inclusive. Obviously we were spending quite a lot of money so we thought we might as well have got the extra three days in there.
"Initially when I rang up TUI they weren't really willing to do anything. They advised me to rebook but I told them it was impossible for me to rebook as I had already booked with the hotel and it had already been confirmed that I had the room for 17 nights."
He added: "I asked them to shorten the hotel stay down to 16 nights to fly back the night before. They told us that we would have to be charged [for this].
"I told them this was non-negotiable as at that point we were fifty days away and I'd already paid for my holiday."
After rejecting this initial proposal, the couple, who had already paid for their wedding venue and suppliers, claims they were then offered earlier return flights and a downgraded stay at a four-star hotel on the same complex for an extra £79.
"Initially, we were offered a resolution but I would have to pay extra. I said 'that's impossible'. [The TUI member of staff] spoke to her manager and this went back and forth until she turned around and said she had a resolution which would guarantee we would be there for the wedding.
"She said it would be an extra £79 and this would mean we have to switch our hotel. The hotel was part of the complex but was a rated as a four-star rated resort by TUI.
"At the time, I wasn't aware that this side of the complex had recently undergone refurbishment but I wasn't happy to spend an extra £79 to shorten my stay by three days as I'd already paid £1000 to extend my stay initially."
Jarvis claims he was then told that he would receive 10% off if he was to pay more than his original booking but he was refused the previous price that he'd paid when he first booked.
"I didn't want to spend more than my original booking [but] they told me there was nothing more they could do for me. At this point I said I would speak with the hotel group.
"I said to [TUI], 'the hotel won't want me cancelling as I have the wedding booked with them and if I have to cancel then the whole wedding party will have to and they'll have 22 other guests not turning up'. That was obviously my last resort."
"In the afternoon, I contacted TUI's complaints department and was told I would have to wait 72 hours for a reply. In the meantime, I spoke with our hotel who said they would honour our original room rate and it would mean I would be eligible for some kind of refund from the hotel.
"I mentioned this to TUI but was told it could take three days for someone to get back to me."
The Gateshead couple's frustration was then compounded as when TUI did get back to Jarvis, he claims he was told that the £79 and three days fewer of the holiday was still the best they could offer in the circumstances- otherwise he would have to cancel.
"I was told there was nothing that they could do and this was pretty much going to be it. I would have to completely cancel or pay the £79.
"I said 'I don't have the extra £79 to pay. It's literally the week before Christmas and I'm not due to be paid until after Christmas- this is impossible for me to do'.
"A manager then called me back to say they could shorten my stay free of charge as a goodwill gesture. However, I was still losing three days of my holiday which I'd originally paid an extra £1000 to have."
"I'd also had no compensation for the stress I'd been under so far. They said they did understand but that was all they could do.
"At that point, I thought if my only other option was to cancel then I'd take the 14 days as at least then I could still get married. I took that on the chin and accepted the deal."
The following morning everything came through from TUI from what Jarvis had agreed with them the previous night. Following a chat with a friend, however, he decided to escalate the complaint straight to the TUI director's office.
By 3pm that same afternoon, he received a phone call from the director's office and was offered compensation to the amount of £1,143 to cover the extra three days they were missing.
They were also offered £150 as a goodwill gesture to go on an excursion while they are in Jamaica. The couple decided to take this offer and the compensation has since been transferred into Jarvis' bank account.
Jarvis was made redundant from his job just before Christmas but he did say that the funds would provide relief following what he describes as a "stressful time".
"I've been a little bit happier since the money landed back in my account, so Christmas wasn't all doom and gloom," Jarvis admits.
"On the Monday I was told I was potentially going to be made redundant and on the day I received the money, that was the day I was made redundant.
"So there was a lot of stress for us around this time but it has been one of those things where we've had to get it sorted and out of the way."
Jarvis now hopes that lessons can be learned from their plight and that TUI give more consideration in future to how the stress of such situations can affect customers.
He said: "I'm a lot more relieved and feel I can really get excited for the wedding now. I do know, however, that I'm not the only person this has happened to.
"I feel like when I spoke to the director's office, [the compensation they were offered] should have happened at the first point of call. If that would've happened, I wouldn't have been stressed at all.
"It would have alleviated everything [but] the fact that I spoke to people and was still getting nowhere just made it more frustrating.
"It has been stressful. I wish it hadn't happened in the first place. It's a lot of stress for people to be told they are going have to spend more just to get a discount."
He added that the ordeal led to stress for his wider family with more elderly relatives now vowing to not use the company's services in the future.
"The family as a whole were massively stressed because if we'd have cancelled they'd have lost money and that's what added to our frustrations at the time.
"I think TUI in the future should be a little bit more considerate towards customers, especially anyone booking long haul flights because for someone like my dad, who is 71-years-old, he is spending £4,000 of his pension to come to my wedding.
"It's diminished his thoughts of flying with TUI in the future as it's not the kind of stress he wants as a 71-year-old after he's booked a holiday."
A spokesperson for TUI confirmed that the couple have been issued a refund and further compensation in recognition of their experience.
They thanked Jarvis for his patience and apologised for the couple's experience, while sending their best wishes ahead of their upcoming wedding.
A spokesman said: "We are really sorry to hear about Mr Henry’s experience, and we thank him for bringing this to our attention.
"TUI always prioritise wedding bookings and endeavour to speak with those customers as a priority when there is a program change. However as this wedding was booked independently, we were unaware.
"Our teams have been in contact with Mr Henry and issued a pro-rata refund and further compensation in recognition of his experience.
"We would like to thank Mr Henry for his patience, and wish him all the best for his wedding next year."
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