Best At Travel review: Travel booking 14

Very poor service. Left stranded on holiday. Refused to help whilst there and on return. DO NOT BOOK HOLIDAY WITH THIS COMPANY

Agree with above. Very poor service. Do not book with this company. Put travellers in dangerous situatios and denyresponsibility

wp

Totally agree with this review. I would not recommend this compnay at all.
We used BAT a few years ago and we had a wonderful holiday until the morning we checked-out of the hotel. We were presented with a bill for 7 night room stay plus obviously all our food and drink whilst there which obviously we expected. The bill was extortionate, we were told thet BAT had not settled the invoice on our behalf, although we paid this holiday in full to BAT at time of booking. It was a Sunday morning 8.00am back in the UK and we made a call to the BAT office but could not get through to anyone there was no emergency number to call either. We were told by hotel staff that we would not be allowed to leave the hotel to catch our flght unless this bill was settled and the Police would be called. We were just completely gob-smacked and had no choice but to settle or we would miss our flight back to the UK. It was lucky that my partner had his credit card on him with enough credit to clear this bill. On arrival back to the UK we contacted BAT, who had the could not care less approach "you are home now what is the problem"! It took numerous phone calls and letters and eventually we sent a Solicitor's letter and we were eventually reimbursed without an explanation fo what went wrong or even an apology. We always said that we would not use this firm again. We imagined allsorts this was the most stressful and distressing time of my life!

In June of this year we thought we would ty them again, give them the benefit of the doubt as it were, as they are quite competitive with prices, We asked for a quote in June 2010 but due to work commitments was not able to book at this time. Two weeks ago we requested a quote to stay at the Dar Al Mysaf and the Al Bustan Oman from sales consultant Dharam Patel, he sent us the quote by e-mail saying that he had quoted us for Dar Al Mysaf but not Al Bustan because the restrictions during Ramadan are stringent. We do not worry about this and would have been nice to have received quotes for what we requested! Dharm cheekily added to the bottom of the e-mail " I would appreciate a response this time" I took this with a pinch of salt.
Two days later whilst we were contemplating on what hotel we would like to book another e-mail was sent from Dharam in bold " WAITING A REPONSE"? I could not believe this, so that done it for me and I replied that we would not be going ahead with the booking many thanks. We then had yet another e-mail from Dharam saying "YET AGAIN YOU HAVE WASTED MY TIME". I was left speechless... how rude and arrogent let alone just so very unprofessional and this sums up this firm in a nutshell 'Unprofessional'. I have raised a complaint against this member of staff but I have not had a response and to be honest I won't hold my breath as I dont expect to get one going by past experience.

I have used Best At Travel for a no of years and have never had problems. I normally use Geshan or Dharam and they have helped me with various destinations. I had to change my dates due to unforseen circumstances and they assisted without charge.
I have read posts by PEBBLE63 on other sites and it seems this person is carrying out a vendetta.
I have discussed his post with Best At Travel and they are happy for me to acccess the correspondence between pebble63 and Best at.
However, I have decided it would not be neccessary since I have been happy with their service.
Pebble63 - you should be glad they advised you about the ramadhan restrictions because I have read on some sites where people were not advised and it soured their holiday experience. Also, I do not beleive you that Best At were reluctant to quote other destinations - I am an annoying client and ask for a number of quotes and they havent lost patience with me - it must be the way I deal with them and many others in all walks of life.
Put your pride and ego to one side and give them a try and you will benefit - in fact, tell them Ken Jones has recommended you to them and they will give you a dicount.

Good luck and hope to read future posts from you.

At 12.16pm today I sent an email of complaint to Best Of Travel and I copied in my friend Michael Winner (OBE offered and declined). In this email I provided a link to this website. And what happens next? Surprise surprise….minutes later in comes the first posting praising Best At Travel. Some may think this is quite a coincidence given the previous posting was 14 days ago!

More from me shortly……I totally agree that Rita Sharman’s (OBE offered and accepted) company, Best At Travel are actually worst at travel in my book.

Much more from me to come shortly.

This firm do not do what they promise and they clearly are not going to take my complaint seriously until I instruct solicitors either. Is this their modus operandi? If so, it seems that one must go to the time and expense of instructing solicitors just to obtain compensation from Best At Travel. Their published terms and conditions state that they are responsible for paying compensation on a “package” booked with them. This seems to have produced results for a previous poster. However I doubt whether the previous poster was refunded their legal costs?

Angry of Ascot

My name is Barry McKay and I would not recommend Best At Travel. In my experience they are Worst At Travel. I am currently pursuing a serious complaint against Best At Travel aka BestAtTravel. Bestattravel have so far done everything possible to dodge their responsibilty for placing my family in an unhealthy and potentially dangerous situation in Dubai, in the middle of the night and being in breach of contract. We had booked a very expensive holiday with them, involving flying to Dubai First Class with British Airways, as they claimed to be Dubai specialists. There was no point wasting money on First Class flights, even though British Airways service was very good indeed, only to arrive in Dubai and be badly let down by Bestattravel.

I intend to post full details of our experience with Bestattravel in due course. If I have to pursue Bestattravel through the Courts, there may be some delay in publishing the details of my experience until the litigation and trial is over.

Meanwhile, here are a selection of posts which have been published on Tripadviser:

denningboy
london
posts: 32
“ Best at Travel ”
21 March 2009, 17:59
Has any one had poor treatment from Best at Travel recently. I booked my family of 6 to travel on the 4th April 2009 on an early flight to Dubai last May 2008.

Emirates confirmed my booking in the summer and gave me a flight reference.

Having asked repeatedly this week, where are my tickets, I was told the lady who deals with it is out at the moment we will ring back; but never did.

I was then informed after I insisted speaking to a senior manager from Best at Travel that Emirates had over booked the early flight and my family was now on a later flight.

When I subsequently phoned Emirates I find out my original booking was cancelled by Best at Travel and I had from March 11th two new bookings sending 3 of my family on the early flight and 3 on the later flight.

When I once again tackled Best at Travel I was told it was within their terms and conditions to make the changes, accept the flights or cancel the holiday.

I was getting somewhat annoyed by this time - when would I have found out about the flights, if I had not persistently kept phoning Best at travel.

The Best at Travel finally apologised for their mistake and my family are all on the later flight -

which will ruin my first days holiday.

I informed the Best at Travel manager that I would inform all I could about his company's shabby treatment.

I have also written to Rita Sharma, a director of Best at Travel, not to claim any compensation but telling her of my disgust about her company's values and standards. Was it neglect or caused by Best at Travel hanging on to my £13k as long as possible and nuts to the customer.

I don't believe any of the above was Emirates fault.

Clem

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DesiB0y
Kent
posts: 36
71. Re: Best at Travel
19 April 2009, 22:40
I think this should only finish...when there is an offical apology and the invoice etc you are waiting for..!

Mr Groves might have answered all the others on this post but has failed to address the main concern of the author of this TOPIC.

So hurry up Mr Groves give this topic a rest and the author what he wants!

DB

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
73. Re: Best at Travel
20 April 2009, 13:31
Kayp2

I can assure you all the comments I have made are actual and I will stop posting on this site when I have received the information I need. As for a personal vendetta, I suppose it is - for what do you do when you risk losing £4000?

As for the reply from the MD, I think that it is as unlikely as MR Groves responding to my questions on this site – ask yourself why doesn’t BAT post their side of my complaint? They have my permission to do so.

As for being fair, any other company who stated to have such a low level of complaints would jump at the chance to rectify the problem.

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BestAtTravel
London
posts: 3
74. Re: Best at Travel
20 April 2009, 14:22
Hi All

Im sorry that i was not in at the weekend to answer you denningboy ... i wasnt hiding just do not work weekends .

I have not joined in the debate regarding your booking i have answered some of the other general criticisms we have faced on the forum you started and admitted there are things we can improve on as well as attempting to explain some others .

Going back to yourself i would not discuss an ongoing clients case openly on here, and as a majority of the party still travelled with us it would be unethical to discuss the details openly but as said you have are free to call me whenever you wish .

So regardless of your permission, and being mindful of this possibly becoming a legal issue further down the line we will not discuss actual complaints here . Rest assured though i have intervened to ensure this is resolved as a matter of the highest priority this morning .

A very very small percentage of things go wrong in any walk of life, whilst it is horrible and unfair to those involved there is nothing we can do to stop these very small things going wrong from time to time . Rightly or wrongly that is the world we live in and i would suggest that everyone on here has made some mistakes in thier working lives at some point, it might just be that your mistakes dont have the profound knock on effects that a mistake in our industry creates ?

I am not here to try and change peoples opinions, there is no spin involved . All of you have an open choice as to who you book with and i just encourage people to make thier own judgements .

Kind Regards

Spencer Groves

Manager

BestatTravel

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
75. Re: Best at Travel
20 April 2009, 18:55
Thanks to all of you that have joined in this debate. This is my last addition to the BTA scenario as I have now received my invoice information from Mr Groves and a full apology.

I know we all make mistakes but there are two ways of dealing with them

From Mr Groves

Hello Sir

I am sincerely sorry about the catalogue of errors that have happened with

this reservation, Jason Franklin and Anjam Khan will be spoken to and

warned about their future conduct .

Please find cancellation notes as promised . This has been posted to you in

invoice format (as attached) and also on a letterheaded format so that will

be ample requirements for your insurance claim .

Please note whatever you are deducted as part of the excess I am willing to

deduct from any future travel you may book with us, should you give us the

opportunity to redeem ourselves .

I hope this is all suitable .

Kind Regards

Spencer Groves

Manager

BestatTravel

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
12. Re: Best at Travel
22 March 2009, 14:13
I am sorry that many of you have had like problems with Best At Travel. I think they operate by booking the cheapest economy seats - the trade I understand has different prices for economy seating and when the planes become fully booked, the airlines reduce the amount of cheaper economy seats they allow agents. Hence at times like Easter Best At Travel take what they can get as nothing is paid for until the last minute.

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
13. Re: Best at Travel
22 March 2009, 15:56
I rang Emirates 3 months before I was due to fly out and I was given a flight reference by Emirates but Best at Travel Cancelled it. best of luck

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Choolio
posts: 113
reviews: 1
15. Re: Best at Travel
22 March 2009, 20:40
Hi all,

It seems Best at Travel are just not worth the hassle. Personally after reading so many bad reports about them I wouldn't want my holiday ruined by such a company who offers such poor after sales service.

Mary, we have booked our Dubai holiday with Destinology who offered us the best rate at the time of booking. They were by far the cheapest and were very quick to send us the written and electronic confirmation.

We emailed the hotels and they confirmed that everything had been booked. I recommend them.

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
19. Re: Best at Travel
25 March 2009, 22:02
I think my moan about Best at Travel has received abbot 50% against and 50% supporting Best at Travel -very poor odds when purchasing an expensive holiday.

Having written to Rita Sharma (company director) about my complaint, it should, in any decent company trigger an investigation and a written response.

If I am sent a reply by Best at Travel I will place the substance of it on the forum. If I don't do this in the next three weeks, it's a fair bet which 50% is the most accurate measure of the company’s performance.

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
20. Re: Best at Travel
27 March 2009, 13:50
just read www.bestattravel.co.uk

very dodgy

my reply

I think Best At travel have somehow placed an old blog (www.bestattravel.co.uk dated March 8 2006) on the Dubai Trip Advisors Dubai forum to try and dilute all the recent adverse comments.

In fact, according to the Trip Advisors records mike last visited the site on June 19 2008 – how strange

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Alba20
UK
posts: 48
reviews: 7
21. Re: Best at Travel
28 March 2009, 16:01
I priced up the DAM with Best at Travel, Netflights and also Destinology. Best at travel were cheapest, Netflights next, Destinology were around £300 more.

I called back and booked with Best At Travel, the person who had originally provided the quote was not available, so someone else booked the hotel for me. I was told £130 deposit would be taken from my credit card and a confirmation sent in the post. Two weeks later and no charge to CC or confirmation, I called back. The person I had spoken to originally said "I remember you were looking for 7nts in the Al Qasr", I thought this was odd, as by now they should have booked the DAM for us...or so I thought.

Next thing the credit card was charged for the full amount, not the £130 deposit. I called back and asked for a supervisor, complaining about the treatment. A refund for the amount, less £150 (not the £130 originally quoted) has been processed on the card.

I have an e-mail and postal confirmation, but just hope I'm booked into the correct accommodation following on from all the comments.

I'm not impressed at all...should have gone with Netflights!

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
22. Re: Best at Travel
29 March 2009, 4:45
Flight(s) Flt. No Dep Arr

HFlEigAhTtH(sR)OW -->DUBAI 04-Apr-2009 EK8 08:50 19:45

DUBAI -->HEATHROW 12-Apr-2009 EK29 09:50 13:30

Tickets will be dispatched by Royal Mail directly to the address as given above.

Hotels(s) Call us on [protected]

04-Apr-2009 12-Apr-2009

OCEAN PREMIUM LEISURE/BED & BREAKFAST

JUMEIRAH BEACH / DUBAI

Check In : Check Out :

Room Type :

Travel

just thought I would add a little detail to the best at travel story. the above is a section of the conformation from best at travel in october 2008 confirming my whole family on the early flight before they cancelled it and put half of my family on different planes

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jackoblackpoo...
blackpool
posts: 451
reviews: 1
23. Re: Best at Travel
29 March 2009, 5:17
Clem

I am a person who normally has plenty to say and has strong opionions, and NEVER lost for words, but I'm afraid you've won, or rather Best @ Travel have, I am now lost for words, what awful unprofessional correspondence to recieve, I would not even give it the title of Confirmation.

Thank You for sharing the shabby treatment you have endured from this company with everyone, people should be made aware of what Best are all about.

SHOP AROUND, cheapest price is not always best...

Mary

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
26. Re: Best at Travel
01 April 2009, 12:16
Still no apology after 10 days from the Best at Travel director after receiving my letter for cancelling my flight and splitting my family on different planes.

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Anoif
Lancaster
posts: 361
reviews: 3
27. Re: Best at Travel
01 April 2009, 15:02
Very poor treatment to say the least. We have been twice to Dubai with BAT with no major hitches to speak of. Their sales teams are to the point, like decisions made quickly and don't want to be on the line no longer than is necessary. For some people booking their well earned holidays this is very off putting and If their quotes hadn't have been better than other agents we wouldn't have used them.

Clem, have you told them you were posting on TA? They have received a lot of business through recommendations on here. Have you written to the MD via mail and sent it reg post, sometimes emails get picked up by PA's etc and put to the bottom of the pile!

Also could you speak to ATOL or ABTA and file a complaint against BAT. We Brits are not great at complaining but maybe we should get on the band wagon!

I really hope you get something sorted, it sure puts a dampener on the start of your holiday. You'll have a great time once you're out there so enjoy and deal with them when you get home!

Fiona

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Alli_D
Nottingham...
posts: 104
reviews: 14
33. Re: Best at Travel
03 April 2009, 23:58
I've always been a loyal customer of BAT but when I rang for a quote earlier this year it took the normal agent nearly two weeks to get back to me. And that was only after a couple of email nudges. His price came in at about £50 less than the nearest competitor and we decided to go ahead. He said the deposit would be £150 per person and I have him all of the details he needed. He said he'd ring me back to confirm it had gone through, etc. All the normal procedures. He rang back 10 minutes later to tell me the deposit would be £300 each. It was their new rules. We still said we'd go ahead.

I got a call back after another 10 minutes to say that he'd misquoted and the price was in fact £181 more per person! Needless to say we didn't book with them. At the moment the whole thing is on hold.

My stepson and family have booked with them. They booked and paid a deposit back in October 2008 and was told it was £120 each. They received an email in February telling them the rules had changed and they had to pay £300 each. They've paid but aren't happy about it.

It seems they can now change their rules to suit. When I do book it will be with Lee's Travel Club who have been incredibly helpful in providing quotes.

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
34. Re: Best at Travel
08 April 2009, 21:27
Dear 50% thanks for your support. I did not receive an apology or any reply from the Best at Travel Director. The sad thing is my wife had to go into hospital the day before we were due to fly to Dubai (luckily nothing serious). I suppose it’s a tangle with the holiday insurance company now.

Clem

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hannahengland
Tyne and Wear
posts: 5, 213
reviews: 5
35. Re: Best at Travel
09 April 2009, 6:06
Destination Expert
for Dubai
Good luck with the insurance company and a speedy recovery to your wife!

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Anoif
Lancaster
posts: 361
reviews: 3
36. Re: Best at Travel
09 April 2009, 16:31
Oh that's such bad luck, especially after all the hassle with BAT. I do hope your wife makes a speedy recovery and your insurers pay out quick enough for you to book another holiday. I've just seen a recommendation for another travel company and I've emailed them for prices for early July, we will wait and see! www.eShores.co.uk

Fiona

OldMrsHubb
Chester
posts: 1
39. Re: Best at Travel
10 April 2009, 19:55
Hi Denningboy,

Just seen your message. We had numerous problems last year with BAT. They almost ruined our holiday.

We hadn't received our confirmation and no one seemed to want to help when we phoned up. Eventually when we got it we saw that we'd been booked in to the wrong hotel. At this stage we were annoyed but if they had sorted it out professionally we wouldn't have minded. However getting it sorted was an absolute nightmare. No one would take responsibility, we were told no end of lies and were passed from one person to the next.

We eventually managed to cancel the holiday and we definitely won't be using them again. We had used them prior to this trip and all was ok. I suppose as long as they don't make a mistake your fine but when you're spending a lot of money it simply isn't worth the risk to save a few pounds.

Anyway good look with your trip, hope you don't have any further issues.

Edith

denningboy
london
posts: 32
41. Re: Best at Travel
11 April 2009, 12:52
DB

The main offenders were Jason, who had to be called over and over again and a Mr Khan, who was supposed to be the sales manager (total jobs-worth). Jason even at the very last would not give us the flight details and Mr Khan was the take it or leave it man. As for Rita Sharma, I don’t believe she does not know or care about how her staff conduct her business; if she did I would have had a response from my letter by now

clem

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Pack
Leicester...
posts: 106
reviews: 2
42. Re: Best at Travel
11 April 2009, 18:26
I have also been looking at BAT website now pricing up a July holiday, yes there web states the cheepest price around, however you try and book it for that price, not a chance, I was told all the day flight from B'ham with Emirates were fully booked, utter rubish, I have made my booking now needless to say NOT with these guys!

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DesiB0y
Kent
posts: 36
43. Re: Best at Travel
14 April 2009, 1:51
thanks,

Hope rest of the reviewers do the same...

Please NAME and SHAME the culprits, if you want future regulation on the websites which will help us all in the long run!

DB

denningboy
london
posts: 32
45. Re: Best at Travel
14 April 2009, 14:08
I can understand loyalty to someone who has helped in the past but surely the evidence from the majority of comments would tell any one seeking advice on travel agents that Best at Travel had serious flaws in their structure.

I appreciate good service when I receive it, but when I pay £13000 for a weeks holiday why should I, or any one take a chance with Best At Travel?

clem

Fi2003
Chester
posts: 7
reviews: 4
52. Re: Best at Travel
16 April 2009, 1:51
BAT are cowboys simple as that. Having contacted them to book for a party of 20 (yup 20) to go to Mauritius you can understand why I wanted to check prices against dates. Anyway - I was ranted at by some nutcase that I was wasting his time and then sent me an email following this rant up. It was a genuine request and booking. We contacted, complained etc but I can assure you this person will still be working there. In a moment of madness I only this week thought about using them but there dogey tactics of showing one price and when you call little things started being added - like 300pp transfer for a speedboat - I don't think so and many other things. Would never use this lot if they were the last travel agency on earth. They are completely unprofessional and I would honestly hate to have an issue and need assistance from them.

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BestAtTravel
London
posts: 3
53. Re: Best at Travel
16 April 2009, 20:34
My name is Spencer Groves and i am one of the senior managers here at bestattravel .. i feel compelled to reply and try and answer some of the concerns posted .

I would like to start by apologising to anyone who has ever felt we have let them down on any issues, that is not our intention . We cannot please everyone all the time and whilst some issues are beyond our control we accept some are so apologise for this .

CUSTOMER SERVICE - I am sorry to hear that some of you have found certain members of our res team rude and abrubt . We work on a 60% repeat pax ratio for Dubai so feel we are moving in the right direction but we can always improve, our aftersales care is important to us . We need to be made aware of instances like this in the future so we can act to rectify them, you dont need to have booked to make us aware of any negative treatment and im confident these have been isolated incidents.

RULE CHANGES - This year has been different to any year i have experienced in travel due to the economic conditions With this in mind lots of airlines and hotels have been asking for full payment or high deposits when offering specials so we then have to request that from you, they are doing this to protect thier revenue on the booking as the last 6 months or so have seen lots of cancellations from people struggling with balances, the hotels and airlines then only have a small deposit left from the booking after having rooms and seats blocked for a period of time and not on sale . There is the option of paying the normal low deposits but at the normal higher fares BUT this isnt common even this year and its only been one airline that have insisted on full payment for specials offers that have been on very very low airfares.

GENERAL PRICING - I have seen some comments stating people were worried about how ''cheap'' some of our pricing has been, we are happy to charge you more if you wish (ha ha !) .. I wont go into too many details as the competition are looking but please remember we have supported these hotels through thick and thin, gulf wars, 9/11 etc whilst others have jumped on to Dubai as its grown into this amazing holiday destination . We have a proven track record of helping these hotels through lean periods so have a very close relationship and they have come to us for help during this credit crunch, we work hard with them to produce good enough deals to keep you guys booking so if you have the funds to travel then this is the year.

ONLINE PRICING - Our website does clearly state ''subject to availability'' and does quote on the lowest fare and cheapest room offers . In some situations the cheapest airfare is not available so there may be a minimal increase, it is then your choice . Our website works this way so we can give you back search results for ALL hotels on ALL airlines very quickly, this also exposes you to all of the many offers we have with the various resorts as you may then see something at a great deal that you hadnt considered before.

COMPLAINTS - Things can go wrong in our business, like any business, as there are many factors being pulled together to create a holiday . One of these factors goes wrong and the whole holiday can have a problem and issues can be caused by us, the airlines, the hotels or local ground handlers .. But we are the booking agent so accept responsibility for all parts ! Saying that we have less than 1% complaints when considering we send approx 16, 000 pax a year to Dubai and that is a lot less than the industry standard . We like to think that our response in adversity is excellent and whilst we apologise for any problems we will do our upmost to resolve them to your satisfaction.

RESERVATIONS STAFF - All of our team have different ideas and ways of selling but please be assured ALL of them have travelled to Dubai many many times and were dealing with the region when no one else knew where it was and there was only half a dozen hotels around . My res team honestly do have unrivalled product knowledge of the region so you will find them useful even if you proceed to book elsewhere.

I hope this helps anyone who has booked or is considering booking with us, i have tried to answer as many questions as possible so sorry for the essay . For obvious reasons i cannot post my direct telephone number but rest assured any of you can call our company and speak with me at any time, pre or post holidays if booked, pre or post booking if not .

No matter who you book with we wish you a happy holiday ...

Kind Regards

Spencer Groves

Manager

BestatTravel

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geordie
Jersey...
posts: 317
reviews: 3
54. Re: Best at Travel
16 April 2009, 20:48
hello

Is this a case of genuine concern or sales pitch in case anybody else goes elswhere

Ive got to be honest ive been to dubai twice over the years with bestat and had great prices and no problems but with all these complaints recently it makes you think And ask them for a quote by email for mauritius 3 weeks ago and still no reply

So i suppose its up to the individual what they think and do

cheers geordie

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LondonTabitha
London
posts: 2
55. Re: Best at Travel
16 April 2009, 20:58
We booked our holiday to Orlando for 10 nights from 30th March 2009 with Best at Travel. Paid final invoice at beginning of January 2009. However, when we arrived at our Disney Resort hotel we were informed that although the management had held our reservation open, they had not in fact received payment for our booking so requested the outstanding sum of almost $3, 000! I explained that we had already paid our travel agent in England. Apparently Best at Travel's local USA agent had gone bust a couple of weeks prior to our arrival (Best at Travel were aware of this). Disney were very helpful and we paid again for the first night and agreed we would try to contact Best at Travel the next day (due to 5 hour time difference). I rang Best at Travel at 5.30am US time only to be told by an extremely rude and disinterested woman that I would have to pay again and make a claim when I got home - she knew of the problem but they had fulfilled their contract and made payment to the USA Agent so basically it was now my problem! (this is not in fact the case as my contract was with Best at Travel) No thought was given to my predicament if I didn't have the money to pay again. My Mum in England also apoke with Best at Travel and was met with the same unreasonable dismissive response. Only thanks to the continued persistence and understanding of the Manager at the Disney hotel were matters finally resolved after the first week of our stay. I would NEVER use this company again as it is clear that once you have paid your money they simply are not interested and will do nothing whatsoever to try to help/resolve problems. I think their attitude in such circumstances was unacceptable and entirely unprofessional.

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Fi2003
Chester
posts: 7
reviews: 4
57. Re: Best at Travel
16 April 2009, 21:31
Book with BAT at your own risk. What seems to be consistent is that if you require assistance or follow up their attitude stinks.

In response to the online pricing it amazes me that prices are never actually available. Considering I am talking hundreds and in the most recent case THOUSANDS in price difference the subject to availability clause is just another way of getting around what is paramount to false advertising.

I standby my assessment of this lot - cowboys.

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Fi2003
Chester
posts: 7
reviews: 4
52. Re: Best at Travel
16 April 2009, 1:51
BAT are cowboys simple as that. Having contacted them to book for a party of 20 (yup 20) to go to Mauritius you can understand why I wanted to check prices against dates. Anyway - I was ranted at by some nutcase that I was wasting his time and then sent me an email following this rant up. It was a genuine request and booking. We contacted, complained etc but I can assure you this person will still be working there. In a moment of madness I only this week thought about using them but there dogey tactics of showing one price and when you call little things started being added - like 300pp transfer for a speedboat - I don't think so and many other things. Would never use this lot if they were the last travel agency on earth. They are completely unprofessional and I would honestly hate to have an issue and need assistance from them.

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BestAtTravel
London
posts: 3
53. Re: Best at Travel
16 April 2009, 20:34
My name is Spencer Groves and i am one of the senior managers here at bestattravel .. i feel compelled to reply and try and answer some of the concerns posted .

I would like to start by apologising to anyone who has ever felt we have let them down on any issues, that is not our intention . We cannot please everyone all the time and whilst some issues are beyond our control we accept some are so apologise for this .

CUSTOMER SERVICE - I am sorry to hear that some of you have found certain members of our res team rude and abrubt . We work on a 60% repeat pax ratio for Dubai so feel we are moving in the right direction but we can always improve, our aftersales care is important to us . We need to be made aware of instances like this in the future so we can act to rectify them, you dont need to have booked to make us aware of any negative treatment and im confident these have been isolated incidents.

RULE CHANGES - This year has been different to any year i have experienced in travel due to the economic conditions With this in mind lots of airlines and hotels have been asking for full payment or high deposits when offering specials so we then have to request that from you, they are doing this to protect thier revenue on the booking as the last 6 months or so have seen lots of cancellations from people struggling with balances, the hotels and airlines then only have a small deposit left from the booking after having rooms and seats blocked for a period of time and not on sale . There is the option of paying the normal low deposits but at the normal higher fares BUT this isnt common even this year and its only been one airline that have insisted on full payment for specials offers that have been on very very low airfares.

GENERAL PRICING - I have seen some comments stating people were worried about how ''cheap'' some of our pricing has been, we are happy to charge you more if you wish (ha ha !) .. I wont go into too many details as the competition are looking but please remember we have supported these hotels through thick and thin, gulf wars, 9/11 etc whilst others have jumped on to Dubai as its grown into this amazing holiday destination . We have a proven track record of helping these hotels through lean periods so have a very close relationship and they have come to us for help during this credit crunch, we work hard with them to produce good enough deals to keep you guys booking so if you have the funds to travel then this is the year.

ONLINE PRICING - Our website does clearly state ''subject to availability'' and does quote on the lowest fare and cheapest room offers . In some situations the cheapest airfare is not available so there may be a minimal increase, it is then your choice . Our website works this way so we can give you back search results for ALL hotels on ALL airlines very quickly, this also exposes you to all of the many offers we have with the various resorts as you may then see something at a great deal that you hadnt considered before.

COMPLAINTS - Things can go wrong in our business, like any business, as there are many factors being pulled together to create a holiday . One of these factors goes wrong and the whole holiday can have a problem and issues can be caused by us, the airlines, the hotels or local ground handlers .. But we are the booking agent so accept responsibility for all parts ! Saying that we have less than 1% complaints when considering we send approx 16, 000 pax a year to Dubai and that is a lot less than the industry standard . We like to think that our response in adversity is excellent and whilst we apologise for any problems we will do our upmost to resolve them to your satisfaction.

RESERVATIONS STAFF - All of our team have different ideas and ways of selling but please be assured ALL of them have travelled to Dubai many many times and were dealing with the region when no one else knew where it was and there was only half a dozen hotels around . My res team honestly do have unrivalled product knowledge of the region so you will find them useful even if you proceed to book elsewhere.

I hope this helps anyone who has booked or is considering booking with us, i have tried to answer as many questions as possible so sorry for the essay . For obvious reasons i cannot post my direct telephone number but rest assured any of you can call our company and speak with me at any time, pre or post holidays if booked, pre or post booking if not .

No matter who you book with we wish you a happy holiday ...

Kind Regards

Spencer Groves

Manager

BestatTravel

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geordie
Jersey...
posts: 317
reviews: 3
54. Re: Best at Travel
16 April 2009, 20:48
hello

Is this a case of genuine concern or sales pitch in case anybody else goes elswhere

Ive got to be honest ive been to dubai twice over the years with bestat and had great prices and no problems but with all these complaints recently it makes you think And ask them for a quote by email for mauritius 3 weeks ago and still no reply

So i suppose its up to the individual what they think and do

cheers geordie

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LondonTabitha
London
posts: 2
55. Re: Best at Travel
16 April 2009, 20:58
We booked our holiday to Orlando for 10 nights from 30th March 2009 with Best at Travel. Paid final invoice at beginning of January 2009. However, when we arrived at our Disney Resort hotel we were informed that although the management had held our reservation open, they had not in fact received payment for our booking so requested the outstanding sum of almost $3, 000! I explained that we had already paid our travel agent in England. Apparently Best at Travel's local USA agent had gone bust a couple of weeks prior to our arrival (Best at Travel were aware of this). Disney were very helpful and we paid again for the first night and agreed we would try to contact Best at Travel the next day (due to 5 hour time difference). I rang Best at Travel at 5.30am US time only to be told by an extremely rude and disinterested woman that I would have to pay again and make a claim when I got home - she knew of the problem but they had fulfilled their contract and made payment to the USA Agent so basically it was now my problem! (this is not in fact the case as my contract was with Best at Travel) No thought was given to my predicament if I didn't have the money to pay again. My Mum in England also apoke with Best at Travel and was met with the same unreasonable dismissive response. Only thanks to the continued persistence and understanding of the Manager at the Disney hotel were matters finally resolved after the first week of our stay. I would NEVER use this company again as it is clear that once you have paid your money they simply are not interested and will do nothing whatsoever to try to help/resolve problems. I think their attitude in such circumstances was unacceptable and entirely unprofessional.

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imranm
Manchester...
posts: 66
56. Re: Best at Travel
16 April 2009, 21:22
I've just tried to book with BAT, been told by Parry that they do not email confirmation quotes. I wanted to make sure I had something in writing before proceeding, i.e. % deposit, hotel, airline specifics etc. Going to netflights now!

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Fi2003
Chester
posts: 7
reviews: 4
57. Re: Best at Travel
16 April 2009, 21:31
Book with BAT at your own risk. What seems to be consistent is that if you require assistance or follow up their attitude stinks.

In response to the online pricing it amazes me that prices are never actually available. Considering I am talking hundreds and in the most recent case THOUSANDS in price difference the subject to availability clause is just another way of getting around what is paramount to false advertising.

I standby my assessment of this lot - cowboys.

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
61. Re: Best at Travel
17 April 2009, 14:59
Yes it would be great to move on but the story has yet to be completed.

I asked BAT to send me a cancellation invoice that showed the charges relating to my wife and myself as my daughter & her family went on the holiday (to pursue my insurance claim). After sending clear instructions to BAT of my requirement I received an invoice showing only the total cost for all the family.

I phoned BAT and was promised what I had requested would be obtained from the no phone back Jason.

From a further phone call a week later I was told by another BAT person that the BAT policy was to send only the total information, but after some threats to make BAT responsible for my lose, thing started to go in a better direction.

Only for a little while.

A further phone call (four days later) after I was promised my break-down invoice I was informed that the lady who was dealing with issue had been sick for five days and Jason had just left on two weeks holiday. A normal company would keep records and such information as I had asked for would be available.

I was told BAT doesn’t work like that and I would have to wait for Jason to return.

My insurance company require that they receive all the relevant documentation within 28 days. Whish me luck.

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Gibby W
Kilmarnock...
posts: 740
reviews: 13
62. Re: Best at Travel
17 April 2009, 16:57
Denningboy

You may have already done so but if not try sending a pm to Spencer Groves who has replied on page 6 claiming to be a senior manager and see if he is who he claims to be and get him to push this on.

It probably will not work but at least you have another name to add to the list, or even try phoning BAT and asking to speak to Spencer

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
64. Re: Best at Travel
18 April 2009, 14:29
Mr Groves

As you have now joined in the debate Mr Groves, perhaps you can give me some answers to my original questions – letters don’t work – and ensure I receive the invoice details I have requested before my holiday insurance claim time lapses.

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JANNYUk
UK
posts: 54
reviews: 1
67. Re: Best at Travel
19 April 2009, 3:05
I have used BAT for at least half a dozen of our recent Dubai holidays with absolutely no problems at all. In fact no, I tell a lie, we did have a problem with the airport pick up last year. I emailed Simon at BAT as soon as I arrived at the hotel absolutely steaming that we had been abandoned at the airport on our arrival. To his credit Simon dealt with it immediately. It turned out that it wasn't BAT's fault but the transfer company in Dubai - I can't blame BAT for that. The transfer company got in touch with me following Simon's intervention and everything was sorted out amicably. I can't knock BAT for aftersales service. Yes, sometimes you do have to wait for an email response but that's only because they are so busy (due to their low prices?) but you only need to pick up the phone and they will pull your email to the top and deal with it. And with regard to web prices - the price I have just paid for this year's holiday is £10 less than the web quote. Give the guys a break and as Larasboyz said - let's just move on now.

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
68. Re: Best at Travel
19 April 2009, 3:53
When I get my invoice details I will move on. if I do not have them I stand to lose £4000. As for giving this rubish company a break, I think not.

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jackoblackpoo...
blackpool
posts: 451
reviews: 1
69. Re: Best at Travel
19 April 2009, 4:13
Clem

I agree, DON'T GIVE UP, you have been treated appallingly, so Spencer Groves joined in and gave his version and done his spin, WHAT HAS HE DONE FOR YOU SINCE HIS POST? utter rubbish, they are a bunch of rogues, ITV would be interested in your plight, get in touch with them, you have a great case, oh and by the way, BAT seem to have a new following of supporters, who seem to ant to endorse them and their cheap prices, they are not the cheapest, I booked 2 weeks at DAM at nearly 2K cheaper than them, , , , , , , , , , ,

Clem, I hope your wife is recovering well and soon you will be able to take your well earned break, when you are and the insurance have paid up, give

eshores a ring, they were fantastic with us, first time we used them, won't be the last. As I said when I first replied to your post, I work in a large government building with it's own website, and I can assure you BAT will not get much business from the may employed there, good service gets an ocsassional mention, bad service, mentioned often.

Take care

Mary

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
70. Re: Best at Travel
19 April 2009, 14:50
Thanks Mary

I wonder how bored some people would be if they were treated as a quite a few of us have.

No reply from our Mr Groves - he must read only slected comments.

clem

DesiB0y
Kent
posts: 36
71. Re: Best at Travel
19 April 2009, 22:40
I think this should only finish...when there is an offical apology and the invoice etc you are waiting for..!

Mr Groves might have answered all the others on this post but has failed to address the main concern of the author of this TOPIC.

So hurry up Mr Groves give this topic a rest and the author what he wants!

DB

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BestAtTravel
London
posts: 3
74. Re: Best at Travel
20 April 2009, 14:22
Hi All

Im sorry that i was not in at the weekend to answer you denningboy ... i wasnt hiding just do not work weekends .

I have not joined in the debate regarding your booking i have answered some of the other general criticisms we have faced on the forum you started and admitted there are things we can improve on as well as attempting to explain some others .

Going back to yourself i would not discuss an ongoing clients case openly on here, and as a majority of the party still travelled with us it would be unethical to discuss the details openly but as said you have are free to call me whenever you wish .

So regardless of your permission, and being mindful of this possibly becoming a legal issue further down the line we will not discuss actual complaints here . Rest assured though i have intervened to ensure this is resolved as a matter of the highest priority this morning .

A very very small percentage of things go wrong in any walk of life, whilst it is horrible and unfair to those involved there is nothing we can do to stop these very small things going wrong from time to time . Rightly or wrongly that is the world we live in and i would suggest that everyone on here has made some mistakes in thier working lives at some point, it might just be that your mistakes dont have the profound knock on effects that a mistake in our industry creates ?

I am not here to try and change peoples opinions, there is no spin involved . All of you have an open choice as to who you book with and i just encourage people to make thier own judgements .

Kind Regards

Spencer Groves

Manager

BestatTravel

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denningboy
london
posts: 32
75. Re: Best at Travel
20 April 2009, 18:55
Thanks to all of you that have joined in this debate. This is my last addition to the BTA scenario as I have now received my invoice information from Mr Groves and a full apology.

I know we all make mistakes but there are two ways of dealing with them

From Mr Groves

Hello Sir

I am sincerely sorry about the catalogue of errors that have happened with

this reservation, Jason Franklin and Anjam Khan will be spoken to and

warned about their future conduct .

Please find cancellation notes as promised . This has been posted to you in

invoice format (as attached) and also on a letterheaded format so that will

be ample requirements for your insurance claim .

Please note whatever you are deducted as part of the excess I am willing to

deduct from any future travel you may book with us, should you give us the

opportunity to redeem ourselves .

I hope this is all suitable .

Kind Regards

Spencer Groves

Manager

BestatTravel

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jackoblackpoo...
blackpool
posts: 451
reviews: 1
83. Re: Best at Travel
24 April 2009, 1:07
Devon

I too maybe coloured cynical, as i have noticed 2-3 replies from first time posters almost celebrating BAT and all from the same areas, I also beleive that Mr Groves was not the only BAT employee who has posted on this topic !

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upgrademeplea...
Bedfordshire
posts: 1
reviews: 1
85. Re: Best at Travel
27 April 2009, 18:25
Hi DB,

I am about to book a holiday to Dubai for my family, and looked that this website prior to booking with anyone. I have read with considerable interest all of the correspondence on here about BAT...It's good that people like yourself DB, are prepared to warn would be customers of BAT, about the dismal service you recieved, and the perfunctory correspondence you got from this Groves chap shows a total disregard in respect of customer satisfaction and value for money.

How dare they change your booking, splitting up your family onto different aircraft, not tell you about it, and then have the temerity to blame Emirates!

It is clear that what motivates BAT is 'grab the money and do as little as possible for it..and if anyone complains, who cares'.

I would urge ayone reading this forum to either buy a clapped out minibus, hitch hike, stow away or walk to Dubai rather than use Best At TRavel...Good on you DB, and keep us all informed...Perhaps BAT should stand for Bad Attitude Trading?

Now, where's that Virgin Airways number?

Meldrew Man

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Candid opinions and open discussions on Dubai travel contributed by real travellers

Best of travel are an expensive joke, email complaint twice with no response, have walked away and will never ever use them again, they have lost all of our business which amountsto over 20k this year along. DO NOT USE THEM .yep they take your money and head to the Hills.

Well I have just booked a holiday with them, i couldn't find any reviews at first then stumbled on this, shock horror, i called them back and requested a refund and Arran said he could not see what the problem was, the problem being, no confirmation e-mail of booking, charged my card, booked wrong hotel and he said he would refund card (i wont hold my breath). The guy i spoke to earlier told me to stop butting in! cheeky sod, unprofessional only nice and jolly when taking your money! i was told that the person i wanted to talk to didn't start until 2pm, but miraculously turned up early when i requested to speak to the manager! great who turns up for work 2 hours early! what a con company! they better refund my card!

They are absolutely rubbish. I booked a holiday + car with them. They were well aware that I had three children and only after a deposit was paid did they try charging an additional £420 for car seats! They then said my deposit was non-refundable and I could go elsewhere.

I would never recommend Best at Travel - my advice is to Beware! I blame myself for being so trusting - and it cost me over £8, 000!

I used to use best at travel a few years ago but recently my son used the company and booked from website, the information was misleading when I contacted the company Head of Sales, he was rude, called me a liar, and was totally unprofessional ending his abrupt email with having been in the business for 24 years etc., then have a nice holiday.
I will never use or recommend this Company again, totally unprofessional and there is no need to be aggressive and unhelpful, dont use>

DON'T be fooled here by these crooks, crooks is mild, they are pure pure rip off merchants ! Booked with them and they DOUBLED the charge for the hotel, complained to the office and I was abused by the agent, horid horid vile people ! AVOID AT ALL COST Matter has now been passed to bailiffs to recover money lost along with a lot of charges !

We would not use them again. We made a complaint, they took ages to respond and just gave us excuses about why things had gone wrong. Paltry compensation.

If I could score Best at Travel with a 0 I would. Do not use this company. We paid £6.5 to Best at Travel at Travel in April, the holiday was cancelled due to Covid and we are still fighting to get a refund and it's now the end of June.
They are ATOL and ABTA certified and their website states that you can book with confidence and that they state full financial protection, this is absolutely not the case.
Throughout this process they will not tell you the truth.
They will tell you that they will only give you a credit note. They will say that they haven't received the money from their suppliers.
Do not book with this company and I'm happy to share my experiences. jamespike100@hotmail.com