A furious Englishman on a visit to New York was left with only £20 spending money after finding his pre-booked hotel had not been paid for by Hays Travel.
Michael Hulme booked a package holiday costing over £1,000 to visit Times Square, walk down 5th Avenue, and see the Statue of Liberty, he has since vowed to boycott the holiday company.
Following his arrival at the hotel Mr Hulme discovered the accommodation had not been paid for. He was subsequently required to pay security deposits costing a total of around $900.
He raged: "Someone should be held responsible for what happened to us. I'm not going to use Hays Travel again.
"It was very stressful and I don't want anyone else to go through the same thing. It just spoiled the holiday."
Statue of Liberty
ANDREW KELLY
He told Birmingham Live: "The trip was a surprise for my partner and a once-in-a-lifetime break as it was somewhere she had always wanted to go
"I paid for the package holiday in monthly instalments and it was all paid up by March, 2021. But when we got to the hotel they said our room had not been paid for.
"I told them I would ring the travel agent up the next day and I paid a $100 security deposit for the room.
"When we got up the next day and went to do a bit of shopping my card kept getting declined and I couldn't understand why.
"When we got back to the hotel and checked the banking app it said the hotel had taken $800 from us.
"I went to the reception and they said they had taken the money to pay for the room. They said not to worry and that they would reimburse the money when the travel agent had paid.
"I got in touch with Hays Travel and they said by the looks of it, the holiday had been cancelled and re-booked. But as far as I was concerned it had been paid for. If it had been cancelled why were we still told we could still go on the holiday?
"I think it may have been cancelled and re-booked because of Covid.
"But the travel agent said they would look into it and see what was going on.
"At 4pm reception rang us. They said the travel agent had sent the payment through and I had been reimbursed - but it can take up to 28 days.
"We were only there for four days and couldn't wait 28 days, that was our spending money for attractions. I only had $28 left on my card. Thankfully I had $400 in cash that we could use for food."
A spokesman for the travel company said: "We were extremely sorry to hear of the mix-up regarding Mr Hulme’s hotel arrangements. We arranged for him to receive a full refund, plus compensation, as quickly as possible."