Decked by dollar bill

Jan 17 2010 by Mr Justice, Sunday Sun

“The on-board credits that we provide are not daily and are a total amount.”

That’s when I was asked to get involved.

I asked Thomson for an explanation pointing out the discrepancy between their invoice and what Princess Cruises had said.

A spokesman said: “This issue arose as a consequence of a communication breakdown between staff at Princess Cruises and the shop - who then pass information onto the customer.”

He said staff at the First Choice shop understood Mr and Mrs Noble were to receive $50 a day credit on their cruise.

However, he added, Princess Cruises maintained that they were only eligible to receive a total of $50 in total.

What happens now?

Whoever was responsible for the cock-up – and I’m not speculating – it was Thomson who committed it to the invoice.

The spokesman went on: “In this situation First Choice accepts that this issue resulted in Mr and Mrs Noble being given misinformation with regards to the amount of credit they should have received.

“First Choice would like to offer Mr and Mrs Noble £200 as a gesture of goodwill because, although we feel the blame lies with Princess Cruises, we are happy to take ultimate responsibility for relaying the misinformation to Mr and Mrs Noble.”

A spokeswoman for Princess Cruises denied they were at fault.

She said: “We are sorry to learn of the disappointment caused to Mr and Mrs Noble.

“The couple’s Princess cruise was booked by their travel agent, First Choice, and we have taken the opportunity to listen to the recorded telephone conversation between our Princess reservations representative and the First Choice agent at the time the booking was made.

“Our reservations representative communicated the correct information to the travel agent but it seems that unfortunately this information was then relayed incorrectly to Mr and Mrs Noble.

“We’re pleased that Mr and Mrs Noble otherwise enjoyed their cruise with Princess Cruises and we hope that they will continue to travel with us in the future.”

Just as we went to press, Thomson Holidays increased their offer.

They said: “Our retail team in Cramlington will be in touch with the couple to provide full compensation covering the total amount of credit offered, £442, as well as a 5% discount off their next Thomson holiday.”