The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 21st July

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

• Asim says:

  21 Jul21 July 12:46

  “Staying” at Marriott Courtyard Inverness (Gold elite member). Requested early check-in in advance (for which they charge £20).

  Arrived at 10am. They said it would be an hour to get the room ready. Had some coffee / juice in the restaurant. Then told them we were going to city centre and would be back in 90min. Came back at 12.15. Room still not ready. Shift had changed in the meantime. They said 5-10 more minutes.
  Been 30 more min and still waiting.

  Once we finally get out room should I escalate with manager / anyone else? Not experienced anything like this for a while.

  It’s me, wife, 4yr old and 1yr old.

  Have a 2nd room booked for tomorrow for other friends coming over.

  • ChrisBCN says:

    21 Jul21 July 14:03

    I would ask them what compensation they will offer and see what they say. I would be expecting my 20 quid back as a minimum, but also to comp the coffee/juice you had, and maybe they would like to offer you drinks in the bar in the evening.

    • Tony1 says:

      21 Jul21 July 15:02

      +1. Had this happen elsewhere. Ask for 1 night / large number of points / defo the £20 – assume that you had been already given the coffee and juice foc.

      • Asim says:

        21 Jul21 July 15:56

        Thanks. Will do that.
        Agree that it’s reasonable to ask for the £20 not to be charged and the £8 for juice, tea and hot choc or be compd

        • Lyn says:

          21 Jul21 July 16:29

          I would definitely expect the manager to offer a gesture in addition to those two things, considering you have your young family with you and the hotel has wasted quite a lot of your time today. I hope the rest of your stay is enjoyable despite a rocky start.

• Anna says:

  21 Jul21 July 13:06

  Advice re international payments! I’m booking some diving for my OH in Tenerife, dive company looks to be well established with good reviews on Trip Advisor and nice looking social media content. However, they are asking for a bank transfer for the 360 euros for the dives which is ringing alarm bells as presumably we will have no protection if we get there and the company has gone bust or otherwise turns out to be dodgy?!

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    21 Jul21 July 13:15

    Paypal do an international payments option with cash into a bank account. Forgot the name but might be worth a look?

    Not sure if you could have an Amex sat behind the payment but might be worth a shot

    • Anna says:

      21 Jul21 July 13:18

      Thanks – I will have a look. Does this offer some sort of protection if they disappear in the meantime?!

      • Super Secret Stuff says:

        21 Jul21 July 13:22

        I think so but not 100% sure

  • Tony1 says:

    21 Jul21 July 13:56

    This “could” be due to the limit on cash transactions. I am not sure about how much you can actual pay in the EU in cash to someone now legal.

    Play safe, and try to pay on a card if possible.

    • John says:

      21 Jul21 July 14:23

      Each country is different. I think the lowest is €1000

  • Colin MacKinnon says:

    21 Jul21 July 13:58

    Quite common in Spain – Spanish business owners are well aware of the charges card transactions cost and Spanish consumers are not so credit card handy as the UK (just like Germans don’t really use credit cards either).

    Yes, no protection if goes bust or dodgy. Try the hotel and see if they know the people. Unlikely to go bust mid-season.

    • Anna says:

      21 Jul21 July 14:00

      Thanks all – yes I think it’s more likely to be a tax dodge than ripping off potential customers but I don’t want to take the risk. I’d be more than happy to pay them in cash when we actually get there and can see they are a proper diving outfit but it just doesn’t feel right paying up front with no protection in this day and age.

      • Lady London says:

        21 Jul21 July 14:33

        +1. minimal deposit, say up to 75 euros, 0, or credit card

      • iSub says:

        21 Jul21 July 15:09

        When I’ve been checking out potential scuba diving places, I use things like Google streetview to take a look at the shop front (ideally it will be in a touristy spot near the water, then checked recent review on places like Tripadviser, the Padi website, google etc).It’s not perfect but helped me in Marseille, Nice and Athens

        • Anna says:

          21 Jul21 July 15:42

          I’ve done all that, it definitely exists, I’ve just no evidence that the person I’ve been dealing with is going to supply my OH with 10 dives once he’s got our money!

        • Pete M says:

          21 Jul21 July 16:33

          Come on, Anna, be a bit more trusting! 🙂

      • Mikeact says:

        21 Jul21 July 17:15

        Seems to me you don’t have to worry nowadays…the Bank will reimburse you if it’s fraud. What is it…..£300+ ,give or take ,? So do it through your bank or Curve debit. Hang the expense..you’re on holiday.

        • Anna says:

          21 Jul21 July 18:58

          There are plenty of other ways to lose your money than fraud, companies are going bust all the time at the moment and I doubt the bank would cover that. As for it only being £300, haven’t you noticed the lengths people go to for 20 Nectar points on here 😂

• Beardless Hipster says:

  21 Jul21 July 13:15

  Does anyone know if I can join a Network railcard holder halfway through their journey and benefit from the discount? I.e. cardholder travels A-B-C and is ticketed as such and I join them for B-C ticketed B-C.

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    21 Jul21 July 13:16

    If they split the tickets as A to B and B to C it should be alright

  • ChrisC says:

    21 Jul21 July 13:20

    Not a good idea.

    If their ticket gets inspected on A-B then they will be in trouble if they can’t produce their card

    • Super Secret Stuff says:

      21 Jul21 July 13:24

      Other way around, question is asking if the card holder goes A – B – C can a non cardholder go B – C with the discount

      • IanM says:

        21 Jul21 July 13:28

        Why would a third party get a discount anyway?

        • Beardless Hipster says:

          21 Jul21 July 13:34

          Thank you all, splitting the tickets is the way to go. IanM – up to 4 adults and 4 children travelling together can get a discount with Network railcard.

        • John says:

          21 Jul21 July 14:25

          You can take 3 adults with a network railcard

  • Rob says:

    21 Jul21 July 13:50

    Don’t see why not. Presumably there are gates (which you will get though) and not manual ticket checkers at the place you board so no-one will see.

    • Andrew says:

      21 Jul21 July 14:34

      Then there’s the day when there is a manual check, and the individual is unable to present the relevant Network Card when requested.

      A month later they’re in court with with a £400 fine, £400 court costs, £30 compensation, £90 Victim Surcharge and a record of criminal activity for fraud on a DBS check.

      • Pete M says:

        21 Jul21 July 14:39

        Or they just pay the fine and none of this happens, of course.

        • Anuj says:

          21 Jul21 July 15:04

          Some of the TOC’s like Northern have outsourced their fraud team who are notorious for prosecuting innocent people and being very tough.

      • Mouse says:

        21 Jul21 July 17:46

        Have they committed a crime just by going through the barriers? Surely it’s only if they actually get on the train without the correct ticket?

    • Super Secret Stuff says:

      21 Jul21 July 15:10

      Ticket barriers can be set to reject tickets bought with a railcard so you have to go to manual inspection. I had assumed the friend would meet them at the gate which is the safest option

• Anna says:

  21 Jul21 July 13:22

  Well my £35.99 Day 2 trial purchase kit from Expert Medicals has just been delivered by DPD exactly when they said it would be (and 48 hours after purchase). I got so many emails that delivery was imminent I assumed I would have to sign for it but they just put it through the letterbox.
  It seems to be in order, swab, tube of liquid, instruction leaflet, bag to send it back in plus postage label, can’t think of anything else which might be missing?!
  I’ll order them for the rest of the family now and just hope things don’t change so we end up needing Day 8 tests as well 😬

  • Frankie says:

    21 Jul21 July 13:54

    I used them last week Anna for my day two. All went fine with them.

    • Anna says:

      21 Jul21 July 14:14

      Thanks Frankie – can you confirm if the confirmation number on the email is what you put on the PLF to return to the UK? That’s the only number there is but it’s not totally clear if that’s what it is!

      • Frankie says:

        21 Jul21 July 14:36

        Yes. That’s what you put on the form EXMED00xxxxxxxxxx

        • Anna says:

          21 Jul21 July 19:00

          Thanks! We were just wondering if anyone has taken in before they actually travel (when confirmed negative), then stuck it in the freezer till they get back?!!

  • YC says:

    21 Jul21 July 13:56

    DP: I ordered Nationwide Pathology and arrived less than 2 days. It was a marginally more than Expert at £40 but had much better reviews

    • Anna says:

      21 Jul21 July 14:03

      I’ll have a look at them as well – I’m hoping to be travelling a fair bit in the next 12 months with family so even a small price difference will start adding up after a few trips!

• Gary says:

  21 Jul21 July 14:17

  Made it to Menorca.. Was unexpectedly impressed by BA. LHR T5 queue & check in 20min, sighted Spanish PLF QR codes for all, and accepted verbal confirmation we vaccinated. Had plenty of time for South Lounge, order by app & deliver to table a more civilised affair compare to pre covid, great inflight service, first off plane through immigration in 5mins. Then Teams of people checking Spanish PLF QR codes & temperatures of children (& presumably unvaccinated adults), got through in no time. Setting lower expectations for our inbound journey somehow.

• Anna says:

  21 Jul21 July 14:17

  https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15614601/covid-testing-firm-dumping-kits/

  Maybe avoid these!

• Gavin says:

  21 Jul21 July 14:23

  Cancelling a hotels.com Reward night – do I get the night back, also do I lose the extra I paid on top of the reward value (it was approx £4 so not a big deal)

  • John says:

    21 Jul21 July 14:26

    Depends on the cancellation rules of the booking

• Babyg says:

  21 Jul21 July 14:25

  I’m doing a HFP (Heading For Portugal) for a years sabbatical whilst the UK government tests the efficacy of the vaccines on the population. I am wondering if anybody on HFPs has any tips on Portugal Credit Cards etc, eg getting The Platinum International Currency Card or perhaps the TAP Portugal American Express Membership Rewards etc?

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.