Upgrading the car provided by Thomson

[Guest]

So here's an interesting dilemma:

We're off in June - 4 adults, one child. All booked through Thomson, flight + villa for 3 weeks + car. Thomson have confirmed that we will get an Economy class car - something like a Ford Escape. Clearly useless for our size of party, as we are 5 people plus luggage plus 2 sets of golf clubs. Ideally we need a 7 seater.

Trying to find out about upgrading the car has sent me spinning into an Orwellian nightmare of incompetence. Thomson have offered to upgrade the car to a 7 seater for the uber-generous price of just over £1,000. Trouble is, we can book a 7 seater for less than that direct with Alamo. We then tried Alamo, who said we can't upgrade in advance with them as our contract is with Thomson. If we leave it until arrival, they can't guarantee that there will be any 7 seaters available. They also could not confirm a price.

So, the only option to be sure we get what we need was to book a 7 seater separately. So I did this, at a price of just over £900. We now have 2 cars, and we only really need one. Has anyone else faced this situation before? I'm hoping when we get to Sanford that if I explain the whole convoluted saga to Alamo, they might agree to charge me just the difference in upgrade fee from the economy to the 7 seater, and then cancel my standalone booking for the 7 seater - thus leaving me with the car I want, and only having to pay a few hundred quid difference to upgrade.

So what do you think - am I wasting my time, or do you think I have a shot at this? It wouldn't be the end of the world if we ended up with 2 cars - we can at least split into groups and go off and do different things. But the holiday has cost so much, the chance of clawing back a couple of hundred quid would be welcome. Thanks!

[Mr Tom Morrow]

High risk I think. You will end up with 2 cars I feel.
Why not ring Thomson and cancel the car they have supplied and get a refund on that?
Then go with a standalone booking for a 7 seater. Try all the usual suspects not just Alamo. Also try Andy at discountfloridacarhire who advertises on here.

[amandajane10]

You dont have to take the car from Thomson,can you cancel, its unlikely you will get any refund from Alamo but maybe someone else can help? I would also be looking at what insurance you get for the Thomson car as it may be you will have to upgrade the insurance. Have you booked through Alamo Brits?

[PPM]

Is the Thomson car a "free" car. If so it's likely that it doesn't have adequate insurance, and Alamo will not let you take it away unless you upgrade the insurance.
If it is in fact a free car, then just don't pick it up.
Book direct with Alamo Brits, VirginHolidays, or check out Andy from Discount Florida Car Hire. They will sort you out with car and full insurance etc.

[PPM]

Just priced up a seven seater via Alamo Brits for 21 days in June from Sanford.
£656.44 c/w fully inc insurance!

I used start date 9th June and a 40 yo driver

[Guest]

I booked through Rentalcars.com, got a Chevy Tahoe plus extra drivers & a tank of petrol for £950ish for 21 days in June.

Not sure what the deal is with the Thomson car - I suspect we won't get any kind of refund if we cancel, but it's worth a try. Luckily the Tahoe booking is refundable up until the day before travel.

[amandajane10]

I would try other car rental companies in that case.

[Guest]

I got the same for a Dodge Caravan - Chevy Tahoe was a couple of hundred more. Also, Brits only seems to give the option for one extra driver, whereas I need 2 extras.

[DFCH-Andy]

Originally Posted by Kevlondon

I got the same for a Dodge Caravan - Chevy Tahoe was a couple of hundred more. Also, Brits only seems to give the option for one extra driver, whereas I need 2 extras.

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If you want to send me a quick email with your requirements, i'll take a look and see what I can do for you.

[colquhoun]

We went with thomson 2 years ago phone thomson cancel free car book what you want through alamo brits and buy the brit guide on amazon for £10 ish much better .