themepark-tickets.com goes into liquidation

[DisneyWorldMad]

just thought id post to let people know that themepark-tickets.com also know as sunstyle have gone into liquidation after the last 3 years of buying tickets off themself without any problems i was one of the unlucky ones that paid via debit card, they took my money knowing they was going into liquidation 4 days later and legged it.

the question i have though is i had a email from attraction-tickets-direct.co.uk and they are trying to reclaim the money back so they can re order the tickets , is anyone else going through this process or done this before as something tells me i have no chance of getting any money back

so now i'm over £1000 out of pocket but it's strange I'm not disappointed since i know im going to disney soon

news report about it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/surrey/6981342.stm

 

[mousermerf]

just thought id post to let people know that themepark-tickets.com also know as sunstyle have gone into liquidation after the last 3 years of buying tickets off themself without any problems i was one of the unlucky ones that paid via debit card, they took my money knowing they was going into liquidation 4 days later and legged it.

the question i have though is i had a email from attraction-tickets-direct.co.uk and they are trying to reclaim the money back so they can re order the tickets , is anyone else going through this process or done this before as something tells me i have no chance of getting any money back

so now i'm over £1000 out of pocket but it's strange I'm not disappointed since i know im going to disney soon

news report about it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/surrey/6981342.stm

Since you paid for it and recieved absolutely none of the service - can't you just call the bnk/credit car company and have them put a stop payment on it?

 

[DisneyWorldMad]

Since you paid for it and recieved absolutely none of the service - can't you just call the bnk/credit car company and have them put a stop payment on it?

if id paid via credit card then id be protected but iv been told lots people have been let down last minute because like me have paid via debit card, I went to the bank today and they said since they took my money knowing they were going to close down it could be looked into as theft / fraud so maybe i have some hope but could be a long shot.

 

[unkadug]

if id paid via credit card then id be protected but iv been told lots people have been let down last minute because like me have paid via debit card, I went to the bank today and they said since they took my money knowing they were going to close down it could be looked into as theft / fraud so maybe i have some hope but could be a long shot.

Especially if this company was based in another country!

 

[fernix]

Same situation

I ordered tickets in May for our holiday in October. I contacted them on many occasions and was given three promised delivery dates, which all came and went.

I telephoned and e-mailed and suspected that there was a problem, as I couldn't believe the blantent shoddy customer service. I pre-empted the problem, luclily for me I had bought tickets with credit card and I contacted my credit card company at the end of July, who have since credited the money back to my account.

When I received an e-mail from sunstyle a few days ago, I called credit card company, who confirmed that I was ok. They said they had already had someone else contact them earlier that day.

It really annoys me that they have known from some time they weren't able to supply and have continued to take hard earned money from people. These people obviously have no concience.

I really hope that you do manage to get your money back, as it's a lot of money to have to spend again. Good luck to everyone who's been affected.

 

[kirst_al UK]

Hi,

Have any UK people recently ordered from themepark-tickets.com? I ordered my (well-priced) tickets a few weeks ago but they still haven't arrived and I'm now only one week away from my trip. Their phone line is permanently engaged and they don't answer emails.

Has anyone else had a problem? I used them a couple of years ago and everything was fine.

Thanks.

mmm, it seems a couple of people have had problems with this company - the above was posted in June and was exactly my problem back in April.

The only difference was that i ordered mine a good 6 months before my departure. I actually recieved my orlando flexi ticket, all be in pushing it slightly, about a week before i left. They said that the disney tickets were coming from America !! 2 days before i was due to fly out - no tickets....... i was having none of it - not only did i now have to race around trying to get the tickets from somewhere else but also had to make sure they didnt make a fuss on the "no refunds" part of their policy !! I told them i wanted to cancel and to be honest i was expecting a big "hoo-haa" but they were fine about it and said they would refund me in due course. I managed to get my tickets through First Choice - they were lifesavers - although had to pay slightly more at that point i wasnt bothered............i had my tickets and i was on my way :sohappy: !!

When i got back i was actually expecting my tickets to have been posted through door !!! I still hadn't recieved my refund so i decided to send a letter, both in the post and via email aswell as giving them a call just to make sure!! Two months after my departure i got my full refund.

I guess i was one of the lucky ones and i am sorry for what people now have to go through but i also don't always use my credit card when i should................dont like the fact there is a % charge................these kind of things just make you realise that that 2% is nothing !!!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

1) If the tickets have been bought on a credit card - inform the CC company - they should re-imburse you.

2) Is themepark-tickets.com not bonded by ABTA ?? They too should be in a position to make a refund.

3) Thanks for the heads up regarding themepark-tickets.com

 

[cabihler]

just curious

Why do you purchase your tickets from someone other than Disney? Someone posted that they are out 1000 pounds and I wondered how many tickets & days that comprised. just curious cause it would seem to me that the safest thing is to just buy from WDW.... I guess I am sort of a control freak over these kinds of things which explains why I rarely go through a travel agent for any event and only 1 time for Disney. 2 times I booked through a TA, once in the 70's & once in the 80's and both were and still have excellent reputations, for Caribbean trips and both times I was disappointed finding that I seem to always do much better overall making my own arrangements. Maybe it’s that I also enjoy the exhilaration that comes with making the plans myself, almost like it extends the vacation itself to beyond the holiday dates to the planning stages. I went through all of that so that you could better understand my way of thinking so that you could better educate me into why you purchase tickets from a reseller.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Assuming UK visitors will visit only once each year there are three ticket choices -

1) Through Disney - either at the WDW ticket booths in Florida, or online (US or UK sites)

2) Through the Tour Operator

3) Online - UK websites

As UK visitors have special 5, 7, 14 or 21 day tickets (all with Hopper and Water Park admissions included) available to purchase before departure, it costs more to purchase at WDW. Also 14 and 21 day tickets aren't available in the US (unless you opt for an Annual Pass)

The UK Tour Operator will usually charge more as it may be easier for a client to purchase flights, accomodation, car hire and tickets all from the same source.

Which leaves the websites - An adults 14 day ticket for 2008 is currently available for between £173 - £193 each. Not a big difference but if you have to purchase several that small saving makes a big difference. Walt Disney UK are pricing their tickets at £175.

It pays to shop around - you just have to be careful who you purchase from

 

[nicnic]

I purchases my DH and DD Disney 14 day ticket (uk) from Orlando-ticket-deals.co.uk, got a great price of £145 adult and £125 child. they came within 7 days special delivery. Also purchased Universal tickets 2 day with 3rd day free back in Aplril (our trip is not till sept 27) through Americanattractions.co.uk and was able to get DD for £56 with child ticket free!! This was a great deal many operators had going and again the tickets were wilth me in 7 days, even by putting my actual departure date on the reservation, they came just after ordering. Luckly I had read the post about the poor guy who just got his tickets the day before going and decided to give that company a miss, so glad I did.
Good luck to all who have suffered because of their dishonesty to customers.

 

[Champion]

if id paid via credit card then id be protected but iv been told lots people have been let down last minute because like me have paid via debit card, I went to the bank today and they said since they took my money knowing they were going to close down it could be looked into as theft / fraud so maybe i have some hope but could be a long shot.

Get a new bank. Any GOOD one will give you 100% fraud protection on your debit card.

 

[cabihler]

thanks

thanks for the info.... so it sounds as if you can get a 14 day pass with the hopper option for somewhere between $300 and $350 american which is a good deal. i guess the only advantage then to purchasing an Annual Pass would be if you could get a discounted room rate with the AP cheaper then the rates you could get from your tour agent. the AP rates IF AVAILABLE could be a big differential with you staying at WDW that long of a time 14 days or longer. i am sure you have considered that...

anyway thanks again for the infor.

 

[kirst_al UK]

I also read the other day that virgin have a price match guarantee on attraction tickets - its in the useful information bit at the back of their brochures. It states that "if, within 14 days of booking your virgin holidays package with an attraction ticket, you find the identical attraction ticket with another UK ABTA/ATOL ticket broker, tour operator or travel agent at a lower price they we match that price". I wasnt aware of this until i read the brochure at the weekend.

This is what i'm going to when i next book - why order them with others when such a good reputable company is offering you this.............

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

virgin have a price match guarantee on attraction tickets - "if, within 14 days of booking your virgin holidays package with an attraction ticket, you find the identical attraction ticket with another UK ABTA/ATOL ticket broker, tour operator or travel agent at a lower price they we match that price".

OK - on the face of it thats a good deal - Virgin currently offer 2008 14 day passes at £193 (the dearest I've seen). If they will match their prices to other web sites they'll drop to around £173.

But, bare in mind, those same 14 day passes for 2007 trips are now just under £150 on the net. Wait until nearer your trip and search the internet for ABTA bonded web sites :animwink:

 

[DisneyWorldMad]

just phoned attraction-tickets-direct.co.uk (the company dealing with the let down customers) and found out that they are requesting from disney free tickets or discounted tickets for the people that have been let down (as they have done this before and disney have helped out (same with universal)

funny though universal don't seem to take pity unless disney get involved, I was told, nice to see universal trying to compete with disney as usual.

 

[santa's surpriz]

if id paid via credit card then id be protected but iv been told lots people have been let down last minute because like me have paid via debit card, I went to the bank today and they said since they took my money knowing they were going to close down it could be looked into as theft / fraud so maybe i have some hope but could be a long shot.

Even if you paid via debit card, it depends on how your transaction was processed. Did you choose debit or credit? If it was processed like a credit card, like most debit cards are nowadays, you are in luck! Processing your transactions like credit gives you the visa/MC protection on purchases. This is why when the clerk asks you debit or credit always choose credit.

If your bank chooses to persue it as a fraudulent charge, you'll probably still get your money back. It will just take longer. Most banks require a police report be filed when persuing fraud or theft disputes.

Have faith it will work out!

 

[kirst_al UK]

OK - on the face of it thats a good deal - Virgin currently offer 2008 14 day passes at £193 (the dearest I've seen). If they will match their prices to other web sites they'll drop to around £173.

But, bare in mind, those same 14 day passes for 2007 trips are now just under £150 on the net. Wait until nearer your trip and search the internet for ABTA bonded web sites :animwink:

Exactly what i was thinking - when a company talks about price beating.......checking other companies prices is something you automatically do !!