Thomson told terminal cancer victim’s wife ‘take someone else’
A woman who asked Thomson for a refund after her husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer claims she was told: "Take someone else with you."
Chris Quick, 58, and her husband Keith, 61, had booked a holiday Benidorm to celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary when he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.
The couple’s daughter Kelly contacted the tour operator on her mum’s behalf to cancel the holiday but was stunned by the response, reports the Daily Mirror.
Kelly, 36, said: "The attitude of the person on the phone was appalling – I was told to ‘shut up’ at one point.
"There was no empathy to my dad’s situation. Instead they suggested my mum should go on holiday with someone else.
"Mum and dad have used Thomson for the past four years and thought they would show more compassion."
The couple, who visit Benidorm about four times a year, said it wasn’t about the money but the way they were spoken to.
Keith, from Southsea, near Portsmouth, said: "I never expected to get cancer, yet this isn’t an exceptional circumstance for them."
Thomson has so far agreed to pay back £538 for one holiday booked in June, which cost £1,900.
A refund for another holiday, booked for October, has not yet been arranged.
A Thomson spokeswoman refused to disclose whether any members of its customer services team had been reprimanded over the incident, or whether or not the call had been recorded.
She told TravelMole: "Thomson is very sorry to hear that Mr and Mrs Quick were unhappy with the service they received when cancelling their holiday. We sympathise with their situation and understand that this must be a very difficult time.
"Our customer service and retail teams always aim to offer the best possible service to all customers and this includes providing them with details of all the options available to them. We would like to reassure the couple that we never intended to cause offence or undue upset by providing this information.
"As their holiday has now been cancelled we have advised Mr and Mrs Quick to contact their insurance provider to settle their claim."
Diane
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