Recent Problems on a Virgin Holiday

[scraggy55]

Any ideas please? Furious about service provided on flight by cabin crew - have written complaint to Virgin Holidays/Virgin Atlantic but have received back unsatisfactory reply so far from Virgin Atlantic. Have written to Virgin Group also but as yet no response. Who else should I write to? I am so angry at the way we were treated after purchasing a very expensive holiday to Florida. The letter back from Virgin Atlantic was just what I expected and full of platitudes and excuses, will write back to them but want to write elsewhere also. Please advise.

[ojread2]

Try the CEO direct?

Have you tried the agent you booked with?

[boxtops]

Trading Standards? ABTA?

[boxtops]

Sir Richard Branson? - he's a very hands-on CEO.

[boxtops]

He's got a twitter and a blog http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/blog

[237SJ]

Write to Branson. What did they do that was so bad? (just wondering)

[atalanta]

The Saturday Times has a Travel Doctor, who sorts out one big holiday complaint every Saturday. He/she often gets travel companies to change their minds and offer compensation so they don't get the bad publicity in the newspaper. You can threaten the company that you will do this. Or buy next Saturday's Times to find the details so you can complain to this Holiday Trouble-Shooter yourself.

[boxtops]

Simon Calder's always interested in travel news stories http://www.simoncalder.co.uk/

[scraggy55]

OK - thanks for all your suggestions. I think I will try one or two or all of them! Basically, very very poor service before the outward journey, difficulties checking in, booking seats only to find we no longer had the seats we had booked, not being allowed into the Virgin Lounge when we were told at point of booking that we could! Return flight awful - cabin staff rude and unhelpful - no snacks to purchase on an 8 hour flight, not offered duty free purchases, being told to sit down as we might disturb the staff who were resting when we had been without any refreshment for up to two hours - seat belt lights left on for approximately 2 hours with no turbulence! I really do believe they did that so they would not be disturbed! No tea, coffee available with breakfast meal, were given a cup of water! Unable to move around - which is advisable on long haul, due to the seat belt lights being on for so long, not being able to use the loo also, due to the seat belt lights being left on - trust me, I am not the best person on a plane and if there had been turbulence, I would have been panicking - there was NO turbulence, and most definitely not for the two hour period the seat belt lights were on! I now officially hate Virgin! Rock Star Service - my eye! No star service definitely!

[jno]

complaints about 'poor service' are pretty nebulous and will get you a nebulous answer unless you're lucky.

The things to really complain about:
difficulties checking in - maybe, depends what sort of difficulties.
wrong seats - no, happens often, it's almost certainly in the T&C.
denied entry to lounge - yes, if it was Virgin who told you you were entitled.
confined to seat - if weather really was calm, this is worth a try though hard to prove. Ditto no snacks, loos, duty frees, which I suspect were all part of the same problem.
no coffee - unusual, but did anyone promise you coffee?

If you write to anyone be calm, be factual, put forward any hard evidence you have. Good luck.

[237SJ]

You might get somewhere with the technical queries ie use of the lounge. No snacks to purchase - do you have to purchase snacks (I would have thought they were free). Were the seatbelt signs on when they did breakfast? Hot beverages can`t be served if the signs are on. Were you near the front of the plane? You might just have a slight wobble at the front but it can be a different story down the back. You won`t get clarification on why the signs were on. Believe me no little office bod is going to challenge a Captain as to how he flies the plane so you won`t get clarification on that one.

[Cathyhuns]

In terms of lounges, I believe that there are two Virgin lounges at Gatwick. On called the v-Room for those going on holiday (which you might have top pay for) and the normal Upper Class / Gold Card holders lounge. Did you go to the right one?

Rest of the trip sounds awful though!

[New Judge]

Whenever I have trouble with a big organisation I try to find the name and business address of somebody at board level just below the “big cheese”. I had trouble on a Virgin Holiday (with my accommodation, not the flight) about 18 months ago. I set out all my problems and received a superb reply, all my points had been investigated and addressed and they also sent me a bit of compo (which I had not asked for).

So, if your holiday was a Virgin package don’t write to Sir Richard (he’s too busy taking bookings, flying the planes, serving you coffee and cleaning your room out). Try this person:

Amanda Wills
Managing Director
Virgin Holidays Ltd.
The Office
Manor Royal
CRAWLEY
West Sussex
RH10 9NU

However, as 237SJ says, you will get absolutely nowhere with your complaint about being held in your seat for so long. The Captain has absolute authority over this and only those on the flight deck that day know the circumstances that prevailed during the flight. Not even Sir Richard is going to challenge his aircrew’s authority.

[scraggy55]

Thanks again for the new answers. I will continue on regardless, they have really wound me up and the letter I had from Virgin Atlantic has in no way calmed me - in fact it made me more mad as the woman who wrote has completely ignored a couple of the points I raised. The letter, to be frank, is an insult. I will write to the Managing Director of Virgin Holidays as advised. I never give up where things like this are concerned. All of you out there, pass the word on that Virgin has definitely lost its attraction as far as I am concerned and they are definitely advertising things they do not deliver. As regards the lounge issue, we were told we could use the 'V' room and that is the lounge we went to! V E R Y embarrassing exchange of words with the 'hostess'?!!!!

[scraggy55]

Dear All,

In my quest to bring Virgin Airways to everyone's attention - as a WARNING and not a recommendation, I found this website with some great information regarding this airline. I thought I had had a dreadful flight until I read the experience of the guy who started this website!
http://www.virginaircrewlies.com
Enjoy - fascinating!

[B00]

scraggy- as mad as you are, may I suggest you don't covey that in your further letter? If you, do they'll be instantly dismissive of you. As jno has stated, be factual, and to the point. Do not ramble on and on- you'll bore the reader to tears before they get to the end. Bullet point your concerns. Also stipulate what you'd like as an outcome- you might not get that, but least they've something to work with.

[scraggy55]

No Thanks BOO - I am much calmer than I was and left it about three weeks before writing any letters, so they are very - to the point! What disappoints me most I think is that I have always though anything with the 'Branson' brand was fantastic, how wrong can you be? I just wish I could convey my disappointment to the Man himself - I am shocked with the indifference so far shown, as I don't believe that is what Mr. B would want at all!