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-   -   In light of TC how many dibbers actually use a high street travel agents (https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1146736)

Sue 23 Sep 19 01:03 PM

Almost always self book all the separate components of a holiday, but then we usually do road trips.
So this can involve a combination of airline websites and other online sites.

Nimbus 23 Sep 19 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minnie29 (Post 14088365)
I do both online agent or direct with airline,

Ditto.

For our short haul holidays we usually book a package via an online agent. I think the last couple of times we used Jet2.

For our forthcoming holiday to Orlando, we booked flights direct with the airline - in this case Thomas Cook airlines. We did this last time we visited Orlando as well.

We have used high street travel agents in the past, but not for about 4 or 5 years now. I think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bozza (Post 14088383)
Surely a more pertinent question is those who use an agent (high street and/or online) v those who book DIY.

Perhaps a better question would be who uses an agent to book packages versus who books things separately themselves? Travel agents can book things separately for you and you can book a package deal yourself online (some people call this DIY).

Nimbus 23 Sep 19 02:58 PM

BTW, Thomas Cook did all three options listed in this poll.

So, you can't say they didn't provide all options.

ChrisS 23 Sep 19 03:10 PM

We're flight only via airline direct or online via LastMinute, Expedia et al., never, ever pay via debit card, credit card only, even if one asks family/friend to use their card. Stunned re the Dibber who booked nigh on £10k of TC flights via debit card and may lose his money, fingers crossed not.

Whilst Section 75 doesn't necessarily cover cc paid flights booked via a 3rd party, MSE advice is to persevere with ones cc company.

Voldemort 23 Sep 19 04:19 PM

I did like discussing my holidays with a real person & getting ideas plus keeping someone in a job. I did prefer using an on street travel agent until I realised I generally knew more than them (especially about Disney) & tbh they generally weren’t very helpful & they gave me the wrong advice. Last time I enquired in store at Thomas Cook about Disney it took them a couple of days to come back to me via email, they couldn’t answer me in store & by that time I’d got a good rate from Virgin via telephone calls. I’m still not a fan of just booking a holiday on the internet but unfortunately it’s often the only way to do it.

Joelin 23 Sep 19 04:45 PM

We booked a package with Thomson online on our first visit then the next time I was a bit more savvy and booked the villa direct with the owner and used Charter Travel for the flights and car hire - tried to diy it but their price came in cheaper than my own searches.

Went to Vegas in June and booked with TC online and was pricing them for Florida next year as their package prices were really good and I loved being able to book with no deposits then pay each month by direct debit.

Trusty ian 23 Sep 19 09:17 PM

Lat time I used a high street agent would have back in the early 1990's

JudgeJ26 23 Sep 19 09:27 PM

We have booked all our holidays at our local TC store. We live in a very small town so the store is small. I love to be able to talk about my holiday requirements face to face. The staff in our store were always friendly and helpful and always got us the best deal they could. They were fantastic during Irma with our holiday rearrangements.

Feebee2 23 Sep 19 11:04 PM

I think travel agents can be good. My local independent one is great for long haul flights.
The last time she got me flights to India with great luggage allowance and minimal layover time.
Much better than anything I could get online.
She also got me the visa which were a nightmare at the time.
I certainly wouldn't dismiss them.

Mo&Chris 24 Sep 19 07:06 AM

I think our first trip to New York was booked as a package online, other than that, we've booked DIY ever since.

We did use Thomas Cook regularly for travel money, though.

Given some of the horror stories I've heard on here about various travel agents - from not knowing basic info like whether or not you need 6 months on your passport, to some of the mess ups I've seen people frantically trying to fix - I'd be reluctant to use one for something I knew I could book myself. The only time I might use a specialist would be if I was booking something like the 6 week trip round Australia and Asia a friend is currently setting up!

/Mo


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