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Trip Cancelled Due To Local Lockdown


Broads01

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4 hours ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Sadly nothing is certain for perhaps many months  to come.

We are sadly beginning to realise that. Next year's Suffolk Show has already been cancelled, the first of many events I suspect. The next chapter in our world's history is worryingly vague.

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25 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

The next chapter in our world's history is worryingly vague.

All the same, the situation is clear.

If you are prevented from travelling by "legal" * government restriction then you are entitled to a refund.  You may have booked direct, but I assume WRC should be most keen to follow Hoseasons conditions of hire.

 

* I use that word with tongue in cheek.

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Thanks very much to those who've sympathised and for pointing out the Hoseasons full refund thing (which I didn't realise). 

Good news, I phoned WRC earlier to politely query their refund policy and they've just phoned back and offered a full refund. I've gained some comfort from that, not least because my insurance policy has a £95 excess so I'll be very pleased not to make a claim. 

I notice the new rules in the North East just announced include a "Do not travel" instruction so maybe the Welsh rules aren't so draconian after all. 

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We've been waiting with dread for a further announcement about lockdowns, as we too are due to start our holiday on Monday. So far things seem OK for us, but we really feel for people who have planned a holiday which they really need and then not only have to forgo it but also have the stress of getting their money back.

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On 01/10/2020 at 12:57, marshman said:

If they persist, then others booking direct through WRC or intending to do so, should take note  - or at least thats my view!!!!

The downside we've just found, booking with Hoseasons, is that they are uncontactable by phone and don't reply to any messages. The only messages we've had from them are auto-generated ones when they wanted payment - on time, or they'd cancel the holiday and keep our deposit - and when they sent details of the accommodation with a form we should post to the owner.

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4 minutes ago, Malcolm Withell said:

The downside we've just found, booking with Hoseasons, is that they are uncontactable by phone and don't reply to any messages. The only messages we've had from them are auto-generated ones when they wanted payment - on time, or they'd cancel the holiday and keep our deposit - and when they sent details of the accommodation with a form we should post to the owner.

This is something we’ve been hearing more and more of over the last 6 months. I think a lot of people will be steering clear of booking through Hoseasons in future. It is so unfair on folk.

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Not only did WRC agree to refund in full, they did so immediately and I had the money back on my credit card the same day. That's been a help to me psychologically because I feel I can draw a line under it and I've avoided having to battle my way through a travel insurance claim. Credit where it's due, WRC came good in the end. 

I'm in the fortunate position of having flexibility in when I take leave from work, so as soon as restrictions allow I'll be booking again. 

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On 02/10/2020 at 14:00, vanessan said:

This is something we’ve been hearing more and more of over the last 6 months. I think a lot of people will be steering clear of booking through Hoseasons in future. It is so unfair on folk.

I can understand their having problems with customer service at the beginning of lockdown, but surely most companies can get that sorted to a reasonably satisfactory degree in six months.

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3 hours ago, Malcolm Withell said:

I can understand their having problems with customer service at the beginning of lockdown, but surely most companies can get that sorted to a reasonably satisfactory degree in six months.

It's an interesting one. I work in customer service and transferring a service desk of somewhere around 100 people to a home working situation was tricky. For a start more than 50% of those in the office were still on desktop computers not laptops and these could not be taken home as they're not encrypted and we handle confidential data. And then there's the issue of how you manage inbound and outbound calls when you're not in the office. Only about three or four of us have a company mobile so something called a soft phone option needed to be found. But none of this happened overnight. Our IT team did an amazing job and we soon got laptops rebuilt and issued to everyone and our incoming call lines back open but not at full capacity. Once that was sorted out we still had to get a large number of people able to make calls out to customers ... and that has only recently been resolved so everyone now has that capacity with 30% of the team able to work back in the office. If we get locked down and they get sent home then this may all change again. Yes we have a business continuity plan but it didn't cover this scenario!

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our office went several routes at once, anyone with a laptop was told to take it home every day, then anyone using a desktop that had a computer and internet available was able to log in via rds to their desktop computer, these people were not contactable by phone, eventually (after about a week) laptops started being issued, our mitel phone system worked on the laptops using headsets, then covid measures were put in  place, offices were gutted and new desk layouts went in with 'hot desks' these were a desk with laptop dock and 2 screens, nothing was allowed to be left and these desks were cleaned daily, so it was your desk for the day, keyboards mouse and headset all taken home with you, and issued to you personally. i now have a laptop with peripherals so i can work in the office if needed (the desktop machines are plugged in around the walls with no peripherals attached - no keyboard, mouse or screens, just plugged in and network cables.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hoseasons contacted us only when they wanted money. They ignored all messages and were uncontactable by phone. I wasn't best pleased at getting only the second message from them (the first was an autoresponse when we booked), saying they wanted the balance of the money by the end of the week, and would cancel the booking and keep the deposit if we hadn't paid by then. Nice way of putting it, and predictably I had no reply to my message about it. They won't be getting my business again.

The houseboat is a rotting hulk that lists alarmingly. The swans come and peck at the rotting wood. We had to go and buy wedges to hold the interior doors open so that they didn't slam shut and rattle (because the floor slopes). Let's hope we get out before it goes to the bottom of the river...

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Plus a review on their website (unless they have had so many complaints they’ve disabled the reviews function).
There are some lovely looking houseboats on the Broads, sad to hear that the one you are staying in isn’t up to what you hoped for.

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Malcolm, has it got heating and if so is it working? Hope you're at least warm and comfortable even if rolling off the bunk!

Re the listing, a vessel of vintage may have fibreglass tanks which should be watertight and any list may simply be down to an emptyish fresh water tank perhaps (or/and opposing full foul tank if fitted). All the houseboats I've ever been on seemed to have been 'self-draining', viz rainwater in a well area just drained out of a hole level with the floor over the side. If fibreglass tanks start leaking its normally glug glug and down as you fear, but wouldn't be a slow gradual process I shouldn't think?

Hope you enjoy the rest of your stay as best you can and come back to Norfolk again. I don't know what's gone wrong with the weather, not normal for us local folk.

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3 hours ago, marshman said:

Having said that, anyone want a stab at how old they are? I doubt that they are less than 50 years - although that in itself is not necessarily to their detriment. My guess is they are getting a bit "tired"!

I remember them as a child so at least I would say. 

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1 hour ago, DAVIDH said:

Lots of cancellations coming in for the October Half Term next week (for the Broads) if anyone is still looking. I've counted 17 for that week since Monday. Sure there will be more now that South Yorkshire has been added to Tier 3.

Credit to those who've cancelled if in they're in Tier 3 and following advice. Unlike the Wales lockdown, as I understand it for Tier 3 travelling isn't against the law, just "not advised". 

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Well, it stayed afloat! We had a dayboat out last Thursday and cruised past the houseboats. It looks as though most of them have some sort of tilt! My wife would be glad to come back here - she thinks she prefers the quiet setting (bigger boats can't get under Wayford Bridge) and a mediocre houseboat to a busy setting and a better houseboat. I mentioned to the owner when we checked out that a couple of times we'd been kept awake at night by the mooring chains groaning and scraping. It felt as though one at least was grinding on the hull. He said he'd check it out. He did at least get the wooden path to the houseboats pressure washed while we were there. It had been lethal as there was a lot of rain.

So....

Good points: clean; well-equipped; lots of power sockets; comfortable bed; nice setting; warm; can fish from balcony; rowing dinghy provided

Bad points: tilts alarmingly, so you're constantly off balance; weaves noisily on its moorings; settee should have been replaced several decades ago; shower drain hole is at the top of the slope (!); cupboard doors loose on hinges; balcony rails not safe to lean on; water heater overheated and steam poured out of hot tap; doors need to be wedged open to stop them banging and rattling (as they close downhill); towels not provided (although bed linen, shower mat and tea towel were); wooden pathway from car park uneven, worn and sunken; overhanging trees overgrown, limiting view; no wifi or mobile signal; window frames and other woodwork rotting to bits. I could probably think of others...

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On 16/10/2020 at 09:18, marshman said:

Having said that, anyone want a stab at how old they are? I doubt that they are less than 50 years - although that in itself is not necessarily to their detriment. My guess is they are getting a bit "tired"!

Here they are in September 81.

596a Chris Julie Wayford Bridge r. Ant.jpg

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