1770 Getaway Holiday Retreat -Rip Off

[mermaid]

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UPdate,Told today by Vera cheque sent Monday and taking out 10% from our $480.00,another call back to Michael and he said cheque sent yesterday,so tell me should we be angry about this.I also would like to say to Agnes Jack thanks for your advice about Agnes Water but Vera and Michael at 1770 Getaway Holiday Retreat are not nice people and do not seem to want to give our money back which we gave them 3 months ago.I am sure if you give someone 5 months notice to cancel you cannot take 10% of their money so i guess it must be going in their pocket. I feel this episode with them does not say a lot for having a holiday at Agnes Water.
Thanks

[Derek Bullock]

Mermaid

I have done a bit of checking around and it is quite common and acceptable for holiday places to take a cancellation fee. Justv trawling through quite a number of websites most of them do advertise it and in most cases it is 10%.

It sux I know but I am not sure you can do much about it.

I hope by posting here that other people planning a holiday will be made aware of this.


Derek

[big_red]

Hi Mermaid,
The "1770 Getaway Resort" is 9 km from the Town of 1770 on the south side of the nearest town to 1770..Agnes Water.
I think what the owners meant when naming it is that you GETAWAY from Town of 1770, which is the main tourist drawcard in the area and very attractive.
The name is a misleading on its own let alone your complaints re owners. The "resort" is nowhere near 1770. It is a brisk 15 minute walk to the top of a cliff which then leads down a 100 metre steep track to the beach south of Agnes Water. You would have been more disappointed if you had have arrived at the "resort" and realised you had a 9 plus km drive to Town of 1770 beach and boat ramp.
Dont write off Agnes Water/1770 because of your bad experience...its a gem, and still untouched comparitively, and you can camp right on the water's edge.. The attitude you encountered does not reflect the genuine honest attitude of most locals. Go and take a look..its only a half days drive north of Brisbane.

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

It sux I know but I am not sure you can do much about it.



in no way is this aimed at you Derek. You give compassion where it should not be offered.

We are talking $48 because YOU mermaid changed YOUR mind.

Assuming they fill the spot with another booking - they still have costs associated with YOU changing YOUR mind.

Then there are the possible bookings, perhaps a single bigger than yours declined to honour your booking, perhaps 2 smaller ones with a higher daily rate on each were declined on the assumption your were coming.


They banked a cheque, have had to issue a cheque, have some accounting changes to tweak associated with the quarterly payment of GST etc etc.

Walk in the other guys shoes. Imagine they played the "safe" game of "100% utilisation" (it happens in the car rental trade - i'm sure same goes with some accomodation cowboys) & they took your booking but required no prepayment but you rocked up on the day & were informed just prior they were booked out. You'd be pretty happy huh.

The delay in a refund may be their cash flow is low at this time of year - or they've just spent up on maintenance. Don't ya hate places that don't do maintenance - unreliable cash flow is a contributing factor.

If they didn't advertise the policy on a brochure / website or verbally to you - they have acted inappropriately in the application of what should be a legitimate fee through their neglect & it should be refunded. If you had reasonable access to that information & thru your own neglect didn't read it or chose to believe you should be exempt from it - pull ya head in.

just my thoughts,

chris

i've got nuthin' to do with the business concerned & hope no-one takes the above as a personal attack - it is not - i just dislike the general attitude.

[jimbamb]

Chris AKA its a good thing ya not associated with this crowd. ya coulda got really upset!!!!an give Mermaid a real serve...

[Derek Bullock]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Food for thought Chris but I still think it sux.


Derek

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

places like that ask prepayment to show bookings are serious; to establish a contractual obligation.

If you are not serious or not willing to pay what is a standard & reasonable cancellation fee - DON'T BOOK. They have wages to pay - a business to run & keep afloat when the cash flow is low offpeak. If there is not some punitive remuneration what exists to keep the punters serious. A contract exists in law at the point of exchange. The moment Mermaid issued & allowed the cheque to clear she made a contract, the village were willing to obviously honour it - she then chose to break it.

Its a selfish attitude that pervades our society that I should be able to do what I choose & have what I want without consequence or responsibility to others.

Sounds a long bow to draw given the topic of camping but isn't that what mermaid is asking for?

This is actually an excellent thread in the camping forum to make people aware of the responsiblity when you book something.

Better business practice though (PR) may be to waive the cancellation fee. However if cancellations are a problem - strict adherence to policy can be a nescessary evil far a business

chris
ps it is of course not MY $48. ;)

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

If they didn't advertise the policy on a brochure / website or verbally to you - they have acted inappropriately in the application of what should be a legitimate fee through their neglect & it should be refunded.

although I stand by what I wrote - I need to say YOU ARE TOTALLY CORRECT IN YOUR POSITION MERMAID.

I just tracked down the original thread in full & Dereks link to their website, thanks Derek.

Sorry, the disjointed nature of the topic (in three seperate threads) threw me & I didn't have all the info. I had attempted to see the big picture by looking at Mermaids last ten posts before posting but only the original entire thread shows it all.

You deserve your money in full Mermaid - CHEERFULLY refunded as is clearly advertised.

chris

[mermaid]

hi Chris, thats ok i forgive you.
Well a cheque arrived on Monday no letter just a cheque for $436.36 ,they took out $43.64 for what? so now we are going to try and get back that amount.Have a think about it ,we gave them 5 months notice to cancel our booking so there is no way they can lose money on re-booking.
Anyway life goes on and thanks again.
I wish we had your weather here in Melboune as it is very windy and to cold to take out boatie.
happy fishing

[jimbamb]

Well done Chris AKA.
It takes a decent bloke to admit his mistakes.You are one of those...
Cheers.

[Derek Bullock]

Chris, thanks for all of that. I do think they deserve their money refunded in full.

Mermaid, can you please keep us posted.


Derek

[Needmorerum]

To save the search, OK I'm lazy, can someone lead me towards the initial posts. I am very interested in reading these as I am close to Agnes and have been planning a trip down there. If I can boycot someone who has done wrong by this group then I most certainly will.

Corry

[MY-TopEnder]

Really i mean its $43.... i mean if it was $430 then yeah sure but cmon... $43 is cheaper than a good carton of beer.

[bruce4x4]

Sh..t where do u buy your beer My-Topender ;D lol

[MY-TopEnder]

A carton of crownies is around $50, and a carton of black rats is around $55 ;D

[darren]

She all tastes the same after about 6/7 u just have to climatise same as the weather cheers Darren ;D

[agnes_jack]

Mermaid
Only just spotted this thread. Yours is the first complaint I have heard from Getaway.
I can understand why they should be able to take a cancellation fee out of a refund as there are costs involved in a cancellation and the buisness should not have to wear the costs of you changing your mind, however, he has advertised that your money would be refunded in full and that is what he should do. They have always struck me as very friendly people and I was suprised to read that you have had a problem. Please do not take this incident as an indication of how the rest of this town treats people as this is not the case. It is a rarity to hear of a problem like this and it is no indication of how other accomodation houses and buisnesses in this area treat there visitors. I made the recomendation in good faith and beleived you would be well looked after, which I am sure you would have been if you had gone ahead with your holiday. As I said he states a full refund so that is what it should be.
I am sorry you have had this problem.

Regards, Tony

[Lucky_Phill]

Mermaid,

Tony is right, Myself and many others, from Brisvegas, have ventured to 1770 / Agnes Water on many ocassions and found people good, fishing good, accomadation good and even the beer tastes Ok.

Hope you still intend, at some stage, to visit this part of the world soon.

Cheers Phill

[jimbamb]

Tony,
If you know these people maybe you should show them a copy of this thread/or introduce them to ausfish,If they knew how much bad publicity they recieved they would prob give the $43 BACK and Apoligise.I can asure them they have lost more than $43 as a result of a BAD public relations exercise.Maybee its not too late to salvage any creditability they may have left.
Heres hopin sanity can prevail

[agnes_jack]

Yeah Jim
I will do that as soon as I see them. It comes down on me too for the recommendation.

Cheers, Tony

[travolta]

I've had a chance to visit 1770 Getaway three times so far and I have to say that this looks and sounds like a public execution... I've had a great time there. Vera and Michael are kind and generous people and units are stunning in their natural surrounding and I will recommend 1770 Getaway to all my friends.

Next time when you go on a holiday leave your bad attitude at home.

[MAHI_MAHI]

Mermaid,

I just returned from Getaway 1770, with Michael + Vera as hosts.
I originally booked 3 days , but extended for the whole week.
I was offered the cheaper weekly rate , even though I didn't seek a rebate<<<good business practice by the proprietors of Getaway .

NOW, I understand your position, and it is NOT a question of whether they are nice people...or great people.

Rather , it is a question of >>>TOTAL REFUND of deposit monies as opposed to REFUND of monies , minus a cancellation fee.
I have spoken to Michael today, personally, and I have been informed , that where it is standard practice to apply a cancellation fee, IT NEED NOT BE ADVERTISED...

This is an industry practice , and most people are aware of it.

Booking so far in advance , you must have asked about refunds IF unable to take the period booked.

A question , if I may...did you pay for the booking/reservation...
personally, and if so by credit card or cheque...and were the funds deducted from your own personal account?

I may have something more formal for you by end of day.
IF you feel yours is a special case, and outside industry practices ...email me , and I may arrange to send you the money...personally!

[MAHI_MAHI]

" Please do not take this incident as an indication of how the rest of this town treats people as this is not the case." [/quote]

Agnes Jack, I think I met you whilst visiting Agnes W.,

I have to disagree with you re-your post above.

It only became an incident when standard practice in the hospitality and tourism industry was NOT UNDERSTOOD, with everyone being bound by the same rules + regs.

I would say that booking cancellation fees are levied across the board, FULL refund means >>>LESS cancellation fee.
IF some holiday houses choose not to levy , it is at their discretion.
BTW, I talked to you about crabpot design, I appreciated your taking time out to chat*

[mermaid]

hi guys,since you brought up this subject again we had another cheque sent to us for$24 and odd cents,so they kept about$24.The point all along was we were very fair to them,they kept us hanging on for 2 months to return our money,and in the last email they sent my husband was they could not care less about what we thought.It would have been just so simple to return our money straight away and not lie and take 2 months to do so.
just incase you think we dislike people in Queensland or something the reason we had to cancel is that we are hoping to move there and we have to stay in sunshine coast as a base to look around.
Thanks again for your comments wish we were there now fishing.

[MAHI_MAHI]

mermaid,
I am sure you could always re-negotiate a new deal with Getaway, Mike + Vera will bend over backwards for you(honest), to iron things out...my guarantee

DISAGREEMENTS happen so easily.I know for a fact Mike is NO WHIZZ on the computer, and 2 relatives have been incapacitated by accidents recently.

A nice place for a second honeymoon for the two of you , ...give it a try!

Hey, I thought you weren't married , and that the wedding plans had been called off, hence the cancellation...

must have misheard...that would have meant there was a mermaid on the loose:) oh well

[agnes_jack]

Good to see this getting sorted out at last.
As I have stated, Michael and Vera are great people and have a reputation for looking after there guests extremely well. I must say though robotic that it sounds like you have the immpression that I was bagging them? That is definately not the case!
I have the utmost respect for Michael and vera. If not I would not be recomending them to so many people. I personally feel that it would be a lot easier to state that a cancellation fee will apply, than to assume everybody can read between the lines. Then situations like this one would not occur. My comments all relate to other posts placed on this thread.

Regards, Tony