John and Alison Kerrigan from Dublin are an example of one couple who finally decided against arbitration and settled with the tour operator after a disastrous package holiday on the Costa Teguise in Lanzarote last Summer. After a lengthy process of writing letters to the operator and an appearance on RTE's consumer programme Streetwise, the couple decided to pursue the tour operator through arbitration. But weariness at the "long-drawn out process" they had already endured to get satisfaction, fear that they would end up paying all the costs if the `sealed offer' worked against them in arbitration, and Alison's advanced stage of pregnancy led them to accept a settlement of £500, a third of the cost of their holiday.
The Kerrigans went for an all-inclusive package in a three-star apartment complex, which meant that all meals and entertainment were included in the price of the holiday. The poor quality of the food on offer, however, meant that they were forced to buy meals out each evening.
"The food could only be described as atrocious. The scrambled egg not eaten at breakfast would be served up in a salad at lunch time. We spent a lot more than we anticipated because we went out for so many meals. Luckily enough we brought our Visa card with us," says Alison Kerrigan.
The food was only the first of a catalogue of complaints.
"It was one thing after another. It was our first family holiday with our 15-month- old daughter and we would have to queue up each evening to book her into the creche for an hour-and-a-half the next day. We discovered there were cockroaches in the creche and it was left to the parents to pick them up. They then sprayed insecticide in an effort to kill the cockroaches but they sprayed it all over the place and all over the children's toys.
"The apartments were very nice but the playground was quite dangerous for children. It had a finely ground volcanic rock base and there were sharp edged little pieces everywhere. The swings and see-saws were in a terrible state. We complained when we were there but the reps were run off their feet with complaints," she says. The Kerrigans complained to the tour operator as soon as the plane touched down on Irish tarmac. They received a reply six weeks later which said their grievances were "unfair" but that the matter would be looked into.
"They took nothing on board. If they had treated us as if we had a legitimate complaint things might have been different but they were so rude about the whole thing, they basically told us to get lost. It was like fighting with the big chief, they are so big and powerful you get the impression that they really don't care about their customers. They finally offered us a third of the price of the holiday in settlement which we decided to accept. This summer's brochure came out in December and the same apartments are featured. It is now a two-star complex but the price has gone up, although I have heard that they have made a few improvements."
