Butlins break cancelled because "we aren't on the electoral roll"

[Butterlins]

Firstly - we are on the electoral roll, always have been, have voted in every general and local election, and can provide proof of being on the electoral roll.

We got a letter from Butlins today - I only picked it up at 6pm because I was working today, so I haven't been able to ring customer services. The letter says (happy to post it on here) that because we aren't on the electoral roll, our break has been cancelled, our money will be refunded, and this decision is final and cannot be reversed. *
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A small amount of googling has shown me that Butlins do this for anyone with an Irish/traveller sounding surname. Surprise surprise, we have a surname common in the travelling community.
There is a number to call to "arrange your refund", and my googling has shown that when others who have received this letter ring to explain actually they are on the E.R and can provide proof of this, Butlins say "tough" and refuse to reverse their decision.

And I can find many many instances of people with "English" sounding names (Bishop, Cooke, Pitt, Patel) who AREN'T on the electoral roll who have never had any problems with booking at all. It seems to be directed only at those with "blacklisted" surnames, even if they are on the ER.

I imagine I'll have a battle on my hands when I ring Butlins tomorrow - anyone help on how to approach this? I'm fuming tbh. Me and DH have both booked time off work, the kids have been so excited.

I've been doing my family ancestry and like thousands, if not millions of other brits I have Irish ancestry, it is only because of marriage along the way that I'm not a Mcmanara.

My last Irish born relative was my great, great grandfather born in 1868 who immigrated to Selby from Mayo!

Absolutely bloody ridiculous.

Go to see your MP. Most hold surgeries on a Friday or Saturday, still time to get an appointment. It’s amazing what a letter from Parliament can do.

But links deserve to go under for this

Butlins go a bit weird about their Christmas breaks. I remember we were homeless over Christmas one year but going to Butlins and our details didn’t match the electoral role. I was so stressed they would cancel us last minute but they didn’t. I guess that’s just the difference between having an Irish name or not.

It’s very unfair and discrimination. But can they get away with it because the way they are set up? I remember going through their terms and conditions once and something jumped out but I can’t remember what.

I’ve been getting some full on customer market research stuff from them the last couple of months. Looks like they are really trying to change the kind of customers they are getting.

They are really robust with their anti-Irish stance though. I’d noticed it before.

But surely whatever they have in terms and conditions cant overrule the inequalities act

An horrendous event involving who? OP?, no dear! Travelers. Surely you can understand it makes people cautious! If it weeds out the wrong people, then that is not great, but from my point of view and from the point of view of the people who suffered threats of violence and actual violence, then that is not so bad as letting the wrong people in!

Travellers are the wrong people? This is a bigoted statement. You are negatively stereotyping a whole group of people who share a single characteristic.
Replace the word traveller with the word black/asian/muslim/jewish.
Not so acceptable or reasonable now is it?

When I was a kid some pubs in town had signs "no travellers, no Irish, no dogs".

Quite rightly this was stopped and is illegal. So no idea how Butlins are getting away with this. I hope the OP employs a solicitor and sues the arse off them.

If Butlins decided to not accept bookings from anyone with a Muslim sounding surname in case they were a terrorist there would be outrage. This is no different. Caravan sites are a bugger for this, I know people with a certain brand of caravan who have been refused a booking because the brand of their caravan is favoured by travellers!

I come from an area with lots of travellers. The common names are well, just common names. Surnames anyway. There arent many non traveller 12 year olds called Kathleen i guess.
It seems crazy, especially bearing in mind the god awful themed weekends they do where crowds of pissed people stagger along minehead high street.

This sounds like blatant discrimination. Can you contact the Equalities Commission? Can you imagine the outrage if they banned those with names that sounded a bit Muslim?!?

Walnut it is different because they are factual incorrect (reason given is not on ER but they are on ER)

It is also different because they didn't refuse a booking they accepted a booking, took money, put Op in a position where she books and pays for table and other associated expenses and then cancels leaving her out of pocket on the Tavel and possibly unable to get an alternative booking as time has passed and it become more last minute.

That's before you even consider a discrimination angle.

I agree with a pp that you should explain that you have been many times before and this has never been an issue. Highlight that you have not moved addresses (if true) and that you are on the register. I'd be tempted to email proof to their generic customer services before making the call and then say "check your email it's with you".

Failing all of this I would take them on. I would also phone around other holiday park chains and ask to speak to the PR poeple. I would explain my plight and that I would be taking Bultins on and that when they get negative publicity, you'd be able to say xxx saved the day. This way you might not have to pay inflated last minute booking prices and just the cost of your original trip. Might not work but it's certainly an idea. As another poster said, phone the government discrimination people to see whether you have a fight here. I wouldn't let it drop. Awful racism. Even if they had had problems in the past this process is awful.

The ones in the wrong here are the travelling community

What, all of them? You haven’t read the thread have you?

This is a bigoted statement and completely unacceptable.

Some people in the travelling community behave badly, just like some people who live in houses, some people who are Drs, some people who are male.

Hoseasons here we come

''They are also going to have a massive PR issue and lose many good customers as a result when the shit hits the fan.''

I really really don't think so. All the traveller threads on MN (except this one) end up deleted because people are so anti traveller.

Wow. Not had time to read the whole thread yet to see if someone else has mentioned this but I live in an area with a fair few members of the travelling community who are invariably called Smith... (sometimes Cook, or Loveridge, admittedly less common that one)

My Grandma was Irish ironically but my parents married our of the name.

As I have posted I am unable to attend under the not on the electoral policy as are any escapees of domestic violence who are registered as anon.

Why not ask for passport or proof of address such as Council Tax?

The electoral roll policy is on their website, it's open to anyone and I have linked above to someone without an Irish name who had theirs cancelled but it does seem to be Irish names.

I'd contact BBC Radio 4, consumer affair programme. They regularly discuss holidays so should hopefully cover it and maybe the media glare might help shame Butlins and also find a resolution for you.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qps9/contact

What a disgraceful policy

I have an Irish surname and 2 children under 3, as soon as I could bear taking them away I was going to go on holiday to Butlins. Sod that!!

On another note, Butlins remains perfectly happy to book its accommodation out (given it ahs family style accommodation) to very large all male and al female groups obviously on hen and stag dos and has whole weekends devoted to raucous 80s nights etc. Utter hypocrisy.

I've nothing to add except join in the outrage that Butlins have done this. What's more worrying to me is that I presume they have decided that legally the risk to not allowing 'Irish sounding names' there is low which paints it's own picture as to how they consider Travelling community.

As an aside, I wouldn't touch Butlins with a shitty stick anyway, I went once a few years back for a day trip and the place was a hole.

Might be worth taking to Twitter about this OP, someone might pick up the story.

I normally avoid Traveller threads on here as they do tend to take a turn for the worse but glad to see that, mostly, this one is fairly balanced.

You know it was a load of travellers who did that. It is them you have to blame for this

The OP is going to have difficulty finding an equivalent holiday at the same price with 11 days notice

Replace the word traveller with the word black/asian/muslim/jewish.

This, 100%.

(I am, however amused by "with "English" sounding names (Bishop, Cooke, Pitt, Patel)"... that fine English name Patel :))

This is one story which the Daily Fail should run with! Can't believe a big company like this would discriminate in this way.

(Disclaimer - only read the first page so apologies if the thread has moved on, or this has already been suggested. Rushing to get kids up etc)