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Pensioner offered compensation for ‘disappointing’ Benidorm holiday
Thomas Cook has offered a pensioner £566 compensation for a holiday to Benidorm, which the 81-year-old says was ruined by too many Spanish guests in the hotel.
However, Thomas Cook made it clear the offer was to compensate for its failure to inform the client and her friend of a last-minute flight change and not due to her disappointment in the choice of hotel.
Freda Jackson, a grandmother of six, had asked for all her money back or a free holiday after her two-week trip to the Poseidon Playa, for which she and a friend paid £1,133.
She claims she cried at the end of holiday, which she says was ruined because the hotel was full of ‘rude’ Spaniards.
"They really got on our nerves because they were just so rude," she told newspapers. "One evening a Spanish guy nearly knocked me flying and he just walked off without even apologising.
"The entertainment in the hotel was all focused and catered for the Spanish – why can’t the Spanish go somewhere else for their holidays?"
She also claimed that even though she had requested a hotel on flat ground because of her mobility issues, she was initially placed on the 14th floor. However, she accepts she was moved on the second night to the second floor.
As there were no reps in the hotel, according to Ms Jackson, she says she had no choice but to write a letter of complaint to Thomas Cook when she returned home.
Thomas Cook initially offered a £75 voucher, but when this was refused it increased its offer to £566 to be split between the two passengers
"Due to a system error Ms Jackson was not informed of a change to her flights until six days before departure," said a spokesman.
"We are very sorry for the inconvenience this caused and are investigating to make sure it doesn’t happen again. We have offered Ms Jackson and her travel companion a gesture of goodwill to try and put things right which we hope she will accept."
The retired care workers told newspapers she hasn’t decided yet whether to take the offer.
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Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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