A Harrogate couple have spoken of their frustration at spending three days in vain trying to call Jet2 to cancel their holiday.
David and Celia Bishop, both 75, were due to fly to Faro in Portugal on Monday. But after realising their passports were about to expire, they tried to rearrange their flights.
The couple said they have been on the phone attempting to get through to Jet2 for about six hours since Monday. They have tried numerous different numbers but have yet to get through.
Mr Bishop admitted his “stupid error” had initially caused the issue but with a week to go and an appointment booked to get new passports next week, he hoped to be able to rearrange the flights.
The couple paid £824 for the week-long package holiday, which included flights and hotel. It would be their first holiday in two years.
Mr Bishop said:
“It was my own stupidity. After two years of lockdown I just forgot to check them until Monday.
“I’ve tried at different times but I also rang bang on 8am Tuesday and Wednesday, when the lines opened, but there was no answer for over an hour. Surely if I ring at the time they open there can’t be an hour’s worth of people ahead of me? I think the system may have crashed.”
Mr Bishop and his wife even drove to Leeds Bradford Airport on Tuesday to speak to a member of Jet2 staff. But they said when they arrived the woman on the desk told them they would have to ring the same number they had been calling.
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Mr Bishop said the terms and conditions of the deal mean it is possible to change the flight up to the day of departure if an administration fee is paid. There may also be costs for the new tickets.
Automated response
They say they are willing to pay these fees but with no word from Jet2 they are worried they could lose out on the £824 completely. Mr Bishop added:
“For such a huge tour operator to abandon their customers and provide no customer service just struck me as wrong.”
Ms Bishop also tried an email address but received an automated response warning of a 14-day wait. She said:
“We were both really looking forward to this holiday. We understand it was our fault initially but to not answer the phone at all is not on. Hopefully we can rearrange it when our new passports get here next week but I’m not holding out hope.”
Mr and Ms Bishop both said they will continue to call and wait to hear from the tour operator.
Since publication, a spokesperson for Jet2 has responded to say:
“We are pleased to confirm that we have since been in touch with Mr Bishop and the matter is now resolved.”
