Thomas Cook responds to soap star’s ‘holiday from hell’ legal threat

Thomas Cook has responded to complaints made by EastEnders actor Shane Richie, who is to sue the company for a ‘holiday from hell’ family break he booked in Mexico.

Richie, who plays Alfie Moon in the BBC soap, booked the Moon Palace Cancun for his family and in-laws for 17 nights on the recommendation of a friend.

But a few days into the stay, he emailed the agent he booked through to complain and is now suing Thomas Cook – despite the fact the company gave him £10,000-worth of complementary upgrades while in the resort, as well as offering him the option to move to an alternative property.

Richie emailed the store saying he felt like he had been ‘ripped off’. His main complaint was that there was seaweed on the beach, however he also complained about UK holidaymakers taking pictures of him, having to get up at 5.30am to put towels on sunbeds, loud music by the pool and queuing to get eggs in the morning.

He told the Sun newspaper the trip, which was ‘supposed to be a holiday of a lifetime’, was ‘f*****g horrendous’ and his ‘worst nightmare’.

"It was a holiday from hell. I was recommended the five-star resort. It cost thousands," he added.

Richie has received a barrage of criticism from the public – and members of the travel trade – since the story broke at the weekend. After his outburst, he tweeted: "Still hoping it’ll get sorted out amicably."

However, Thomas Cook, which also offered to move the family to the Moon Palace Grand hotel next door, has said the situation has become ‘a legal issue’.

A spokesperson said: "We always want our customers to enjoy their holidays so we’re disappointed Mr Richie didn’t like the hotel he asked us to book for him.

"We did everything we could to help in resort, including complementary upgrades and an offer to move to the premium hotel next door. Given the circumstances we can’t justify a full refund so sadly this has become a legal issue."

Thomas Cook said Richie specifically asked the store to price up Moon Palace Cancun on the recommendation of a friend who travelled with him and had been there before. The agent simply booked what he asked for.

Some Travel Gossip members criticised Richie, calling him ‘pathetic’, ‘moron’ ‘waste of space’ and ‘diva’, among other adjectives.

One agent said: "I love the Moon Palace and I have always been treated well there."

Another posted: "I’ve booked much bigger-known people and never had any issues with any of them."

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