AIBU to think we were miss sold this short break by Haven?

[givemebooks]

I could really do with some advice with how to take this complaint we made to haven holidays forward

Just before the may bank holiday we looked for last minute getaways in the UK and we found a good deal for 4 nights min to fri to Haven Church Farm.

Even more great as we wanted to check the site and look in to buying our own caravan at haven

So i contacted Haven by chat as last year we discovered that both my son and husband were Coeliac so i want to check if the site did any gluten free food

As this was a break to relax!! Quick breakfast at the van but main meals would be at the restaurant while the kids enjoyed the pool and other facilities.

I was assured that they provide gluten free options and could ask for the menu or the allergy list in the restaurant, so we booked

Drove from yorkshire to sussex and arrived van was nice and we were happy we headed to to main complex and had a drink decided to ask about the gluten free menu or allergy list to look over while we settled in with a drink and order later.

The young lad on the bar just said we dont do gluten free stuff sorry!?

I was a bit shocked as so far we had never been anywhere that could not do something?

So i asked a waitress thinking as working more with the food she might know more what i meant! But again was told as they don't have 2 kitchens they don't do allergy food?? They could tell me the ingredients if i wanted but they were not 100% and she said they were very busy and really did not have time for stuff like this!!

I was quite shocked, we had our drinks and drive out to chichester to eat and go to tesco so long story short we spent the whole trip driving around to eat or trying to cook for 5 in the cara an with 1 shelf in the tiny oven!

I was so angry as i would never have booked this break if i had known the issue with the food so i tweeted haven to be given an email to contact customer relations

Not only did the chat service say they provided allergy food, they had a sign in the resturant and it was printed on the menus!! It is also in havens own terms and conditions!! On the website!

I was then told that haven would not respond until 14 days after the end of the trip???

I did mention it to the reception onsite they put notes on my booking but the only option they had for dealing with complaints was resutrant vouchers!! Which was they very thing we could not use!

So it took after much chasing 23 days for haven to FINALLY respond to the complaint

And the stated that they do not provide gluten free food it is a company policy all parks for bourne leisure follow this and they were sorry but that was it!

So AIBU to think i was miss sold my break? And request a full refund!? I replied to haven with all my evidence and its been a week and they have not answered yet!

I expect it will be weeks again!

So i am right? Should i keep going with this??

Also a heads up to ANY food allergy or Coeliacs Haven is a place to avoid!!!!!

I will try and attach pictures of the signs and email!

Go through abta rather than social media. We did for euro camp and got a substantial but not a total refund.

Could you contact Coeliac UK - they might be able to advise/assist? I'm sure they'll have encountered this sort of thing before and may have more clout.

For me, I see that you have two issues:

1. That the agent you spoke to via Chat outright lied (whether knowingly or not) about there being GF food available and that based on this information you proceeded with the booking - you would not have done so if you had been told GF food wasn't available
2. That once on site, the restaurant staff were unhelpful, rude and did not follow Food Standard Agency policy in being able to supply you with correct and accurate ingredient lists for all foods available so that you could make an informed choice.

A full refund is too much, I expect, as though you wouldn't have booked had you known, you were in SC and were able to feed your family. But I think you are entitled to something.

As others have said - Social Media is your friend here - utilise the Coeliac community, go to your local paper or try the nationals - many are crying out for stories and being as the issues around food and food safety are so high on the agenda many might jump at this.

This is appalling behaviour from a company clearly bent on profits - from the agent who falsely sold you the holiday, to the restaurant staff clearly hoping you'd just put up and shut up, to the woeful response from Customer Service. They know they're in the wrong but are hoping you'll drop it. I bet they'd be able to find the chat on their servers if need be - do you know the day/time?

I work for a tiny B&B and we have to have an allergy book, I don't see why big companies wouldn't?

My son is gluten intolerant (not coeliac though) and it is a BALLACHE trying to find places that he can eat, especially as all children's menus seem to be breaded something and chips! Fortunately for us, cross contamination doesn't seem to bother him so he can eat chips from the same fryer as everything else, just not a honking slice of pizza/bread/fish fingers etc.

They have worded their menus and disclaimers to make it sound like they are being helpful but in reality, they aren't. It's a shame. I don't think you'll get much of a refund out of it but I do understand how it will have impacted on your holiday.

Ok I don't think you are being grabby at all. You wouldnt have booked a holiday there if you hadnt been told they had gluten free options. Unfortunately without proof of the chat I think you might struggle. I would pursue the claim anyway and see if they can offer you a small amount if compensationalso complain about the rudeness of that waitress given the signs she was completely out of order to say she was too busy to deal with your request. I would also tell everyone you know how crap haven are

Was it a self catering break, but with onsite food options? So you could enjoy the break without eating there. Not sure why you feel a Full refund is due. They could tell you the allergen ingredients and you choose if suitable. Or buy food outside or order take away, it si not so remote that it would you take hours to fidn alternatives. Had you prepaid for meals and had none suitable available then you could claim that element back,

We are Coeliac UK members so i will look at getting in touch and see what they say

Its even more confusing as since this happened my MIL has been in direct contact with the primrose valley haven as she has booked a weeks break there in august and she is taking my son who is coeliac

She was put in touch with the restaurant manager who stated they provide gluten free options!?

We are going to be unable to send my son as we cannot risk it it looks like even haven parks are confused

You have a right to complain that you feel you were misled, but if you took this to small claims you'd need to demonstrate that the misleading information was material to your contract (very difficult when you booked self catering) and hence, there was a breach of contract, and that you incurred losses as a result of the breach.

How much were the meals elsewhere/ shopping from supermarket/ petrol in comparison to the restaurant meals? Site restaurants don't tend to be cheap, is there much in it?

Beyond that you might get a small goodwill gesture for your inconvenience and the poor customer service in the restaurant.

Leave bad reviews wherever you can, but in terms of what you're entitled to in compensation, it's not worth a great fight.

@givemebooks If you paid by credit card you could try to use chargeback to get a full refund. I did this with Groupon when they sold me something which was not 'as described'. Which and Moneysavingexpert are useful for this. I used the template letter from Which, or you could use Section 75 legislation as I assume you spent over £100?
www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-do-i-use-chargeback
www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/visa-mastercard-chargeback/

I did say a full refund I did not mean to be grabby

And i fully understand peoples views that its too much

Yes I stayed in the caravan, yes the beach was lovely and the sun was shining, yes it was our choice to eat out and travel

But I would have never been there had haven not stated they provided something they don't!

The trouble is that Haven holidays are sold as self catering. Most people cook in the caravans. The terms and conditions/signage do not guarantee gluten free, only that staff will assist you in choosing something to eat. Your only complaint is with the staff in question who were a bit rude and presumably felt they didn't have time to assist (IME of Haven the restaurants are woefully understaffed).

@givemebooks Reviews on TripAdvisor state that Primrose Valley do offer gluten free options.

A chargeback (or s. 75 claim) would require evidence that the service purchased was not as described. The OP booked a self catering caravan, and that's what they got. A lack of appropriate food is not sufficiently material to a self catering contract to warrant a chargeback.

The bottom line is that you got what you paid for OP. Everything was to your satisfaction except the restaurant, but you didn’t pay for that.

You’re not entitled to a full refund. You chose to stay, use the caravan and use the facilities. Those don’t come for free. You have to pay for them.

None of the notices you’ve posted help your case. They can tell you what foods contain gluten, sure, so you don’t order them. But they don’t say they can offer you a gluten-free alternative. They didn’t have the capability.

You got what you paid for. You paid for the accommodation and the facilities. Restaurant meals were not included. Whether you spent your money in the on-site restaurant or an off-site restaurant is irrelevant. It’s annoying, sure, but you’re not out of pocket. You would have had to eat somewhere. You got the facilities you paid for - you stayed and used them, you have to pay for them.

You lost out on convenience and time, which doesn’t have a monetary value, although they may recognise this and offer you a goodwill gesture.

Haven have clearly made a decision here that they can’t be bothered with coeliacs and don’t want their custom.
If only they were honest about this in their advertising!

If it’s any consolation OP I expect the food wasn’t very nice anyway, especially if they can’t be bothered to answer a few simple questions about it, they can’t go to much care to make it.

I don't think you were Mis sold as such, because what you paid haven for was the break which you got, it wasn't inclusive of meals. I do however think it was really shitty of them and they should offer you some level of compensation.

Was the holiday sold as ‘all inclusive’ or did you need to pay extra to eat in the restaurants? If it was self catering then I guess they have room to say well, you weren’t forced to eat at the restaurant and hadn’t paid extra to eat there.

Do you have evidence of them stating they sold GF food? You may be able to go for a partial refund but I doubt you’ll receive a full refund, you still stayed there for the full four nights and used their facilities. It wasn’t as if you hated the whole trip and had to leave early as a result, just the food that was an issue.

We holiday with haven every year for 5 breaks per year, Easter, May bank holiday two separate weeks in the summer September weekend and October school week. My dd has food allergies, quite severe reaction to egg. We use Craig Tara in Ayrshire and tbh have never had any issues with using the onsite food facilities. I understand my dd doesn't have the same medical as your dc. But I do think it's perhaps a little unfair to tell people with food allergies to stay away from Haven.

It's is a self catering caravan holiday and throughout all our holidays over the year we manage to cook for a family of six in one oven. Whilst I agree they should have told you they didn't provide meals suitable you still used and slept in a caravan which I assume was clean and comfortable? Used the on site facilities like swimming entertainment venues bar area. So I agree with the previous poster who said that a full refund is unreasonable sorry!

I wish i could post pictures!!
I have the chat!! A couple of screenshots, DH just got back in and mentioned i used his phone at the time as mine was dead! Turns out i took screenshots on his phone.

I asked if they provided gluten free options they answered yes we provide gluten free

I asked if they had a menu, they replied they dont have a dedicated menu but there are option on the menu and they are marked

There was not and they weren't!?

My husband is coeliac and we stayed at the same resort earlier this year, we ate at the restaurant the first night no problems, I think they had an allergy folder as many places do?! He had steak IIRC and was fine (he does suffer quickly when there is cross contamination or a mistake.

Haven isn’t all inclusive, I think the best you can hope for is a goodwill gesture as people have said above, as you didn’t pay for meals you couldn’t eat.

Sorry you had a crap time :(

But I would have never been there had haven not stated they provided something they don't!

It’s irrelevant! You were there, you stayed there. You stayed in the caravan. The beach was lovely and the sun was shining. This doesn’t come for free.

It’s aggravating, yes, but it’s not as though you paid for something and didn’t receive it. You haven’t lost out financially or materially.

I seem to remember there were symbols on the menu but maybe they have changed it (it was March that we went)

Can you try and do the chat again as if you are ordering for the summer? Maybe from a different email if you used yours to complain. And see what they say about having food available for coeliacs.

Going forwards, if you’re booking a break and are booking it on the basis of there being coeliac food available so that you don’t need to go off site to get food (ie check they have several different coeliac options because you’re going to want to eat different things at different meals; you’re not going to want to eat the same meal twice a day for five days in a row!) and that this is a critical factor in choosing this holiday rather than another one then ask it all in the chat and make sure you keep a copy of it. If you get away somewhere and the same happens again, do the chat thing again pretending to book in the future to see if they are still promising actual food and again pointing out that your booking is dependent on it. And keep it. And then if you have a miserable holiday you will be in a much better place to complain and get compensation (because it is miserable to go away having checked something out only to discover that they have flimflammed you with waffle to deliberately misinform when you would have gone elsewhere if they had been truthful). But hopefully it would have stopped you from ending up in an inappropriate holiday to start with.

As PPs have pointed out, the allergies notice that you have posted does not say they will cater to allergies. From your description, it doesn't sound like the restaurant sign said they'd cater either.
We have lots of allergies in our family. The fact is most places don't have two kitchens. If you choose to eat out with allergies, you need to determine the level of risk you're willing to accept. In your case, we would have picked a specific meal on the menu (usually a salad for our coaliac tbh) and then asked them to speak to the chef to confirm it didn't have gluten, etc in any dressings.
There are very few places, our coeliac hasn't been able to find something on a menu even though there aren't two separate kitchens.
Haven were leaving it up to you to determine the risk you were happy to accept. If you were only comfortable with a separate kitchen then they couldn't accommodate you but that doesn't mean someone else with allergies wouldn't have found something they could eat.

I asked if they provided gluten free options they answered yes we provide gluten free

Then they owe you an apology for misleading you.

I asked if they had a menu, they replied they dont have a dedicated menu but there are option on the menu and they are marked. There was not and they weren't!?

This is wrong and should be brought to their attention.

May I ask how much research you did into the resort before booking, or did you take their word for it on the chat? Did you read any reviews? Not that I’m excusing them for misinforming you, but as a family with allergies we have to do our due diligence too.

You’re still not entitled to any money! You chose not to use an optional restaurant. They inconvenienced you and that’s annoying, but you haven’t lost out on anything you paid for.

I'm really pleased you've got the chat.

Why don't you post in legal to get some advice.

Good luck!