To urge my mother to make a formal complaint?

[PennyHasNoSurname]

For reference I work in customer services and generally hate the "blame / complain culture" that is so prevalent at the moment. However I feel her experience warrants a formal complaint and compensation.

She and three friends booked a weekend city break to Liverpool, which is four hours away from where we live. The trip was billed as "Two Days In Liverpool", included coach there, three course evening meal plus a Tribute Act, then bed and breakfast, time in Liverpool the day they arrive and the following day, departing at 1pm to get home.

After boarding the coach they were informed that the company had had to seek alternative accomodation and they would now be booking into a hotel in Mold, North Wales. This added a further hour onto their journey there, and pbviously had a knock on effect on their trip.

Their evening meal moved to 4.30pm (three courses at that time of day anyone?), in order that they could make the show in Liverpool, coach driver then insisted on returning to the hotel immediatley after yhe show (understanably he needed to keep within his legal drive hours), which meant no time in the city that day. My mum and her friends decided to chip in for a taxi together which cost them £50 in the small hours so they could at least have a few drinks in the city.

The following morning they had to be up and breakfasted by a set time for the coach to drive into the city (rather than the freedom to get up and out whatever time as the coach was already in the city).

They then had roughly 2 1/2 hours in the city.

The trip was chosen as one of the women was turning 50, and she not only loves the tribute act (well, who he impersonated hahah!), but also is a massive Beatles fan. They had wanted to fit in a City Bus and a river boat trip.

I certainly think that the experience why had was so far removed from what they initially booked, and am shocked that they werent informed of the change until they boarded the coach.

The company no doubt has some small print about changing Hotels, but for a trip in England to then get moved to a stay in Wales, and subsequently cut all but two and half hours off their visit to the city is shocking.

If it were me Id have written by now!

Write for her if she won't and also a review on their FB page. They should demand a compensation.

I might just have to

I also work in customer service

And i agree that she should complain. Changing hotels is reasonable and it will be in the T&Cs, but I would expect it to be a hotel of similar standard and in the same city as the original. As you've described here, the change didn't just affect where they were sleeping at night, it meant extra travel time and much less freedom to enjoy the destination city than they had been led to expect. Not the drivers fault, and he obviously did what he could within his legal driving hour limits, he's not going to be the one who made the decision (I know you didn't blame him btw).

Complain, was it this weekend? that is the only justifiable reason why the alternative was in another country (Wales).

I'm in Liverpool, there's always accommodation available, accept when the Grand National is on, or a big Liverpool game.

Then you have to look towards Knowsley/Warrington/St Helens etc. even Southport.

There's no way that Wales was the only alternative.

I agree she should complain, Yanbu to urge her to make one.

However I don't agree for complaining for her, without asking her if she wants to first.

She is an adult. If I didn't want to complain and someone went ahead and did it anyway I would be furious. It's my decision. Especially if that person wasn't part of the trip or had been asked to complain on behalf f the whole group.

They are in breach of their contract with her and she should certainly complain or they will continue behaving like this. There are good template letters on the CAB website or Resolver.

Why the hell did they stick them in bloody Mold? If you've ever had the misfortune of visting you'll know that there's nothing there!!! Chester would have made more sense, but in all honesty how can they justify moving them out of the city. I can only assume they double booked and because of The Grand National they couldn't find anywhere else in Liverpool, but like I said, Chester is only 20 minutes away,

They should complain, and I doubt they will be the only ones to do so.

That's ridiculous? Was it this past weekend because if so, I bet they got bumped because of the National. Hotels in Liverpool charge silly money for rooms at this time.
Which hotel were they supposed to be staying in?

They were supposed to be at the Adelphi. Mum isnt sure whether the Hotel bumped the coach party (in which case the Hotel surely will have compensated the company who should have passed some of that onto the customers) or they never had accomodation booked and subsequently couldnt find any (or any within the right price), when the time came.

Apparently this company always use the Adelphi.