Via Holiday

Negative experience: My friend booked a holiday with this company to Auschwitz Poland for the 1st of November to the 6th November 2024! We went to the Airport on the 6th for our morning flight to return back to Scotland only to be told our flight was not till the 8th of November!! The company we were travelling with had e mailed Via Holiday to advise of these changes and no one bothered to tell us we were stranded in Poland with no money for flights or accommodation 16 hours later we had to borrow the money to get home £250 each!! Still can’t get any info from them they just keep ignoring our request for a refund….I urge people to NEVER use this company!

Negative experience: We contacted ViaHoliday directly to book a Groupon deal including flights and a hotel overlooking Barcelona's cathedral. By their own admission, ViaHoliday booked the wrong hotel - one by the same name but in an entirely different town in Spain. They have confirmed there's nothing they can do since the holiday booked was non-refundable. Had the holiday been booked as advertised, there would have been no need to cancel or refund our booking. This cannot be considered a serious or professional company. Beware!

Negative experience: Completely avoid at all costs, we bought tickets to Venice off Wowcher for my birthday and ended up getting scammed, the original price of Wowcher offered isn’t the actual price and we were asked to pay more just to get decent flights that were not late in the evening and to upgrade our room. My partner expressed concerns to Chris and his team about the reviews the company had online and the man on the phone started screaming at us telling us that if we accuse them of being scammers that he’ll hang up (bare in mind, my partner didn’t mention that they were scammers at all and he did end up hanging up on us and we couldn’t get back through at all). Go through a reputable sight, this company isn’t ABTA approved either, please don’t end up in our position.

Fantastic experience: Booked my holiday today with Sam and he was really helpful and accommodating… had to change dates and I was worried it would be a nightmare.. thank you so much for putting my mind at rest and giving me a good service… happy customer

Fantastic experience: I spoke to Chris on the phone from via holiday and he was very helpful and helped make sure our holiday was booked!

Positive experience: Chris was great on the phone when I called to redeem my Groupon vouchers. Slightly concerned now after seeing the reviews. Really hope Via Holiday can turn this around. Looking forward to writing a good review when I return from our 3 night Malta trip in November!

Fantastic experience: Hi, Sam has been a great help book this through for me. Thank you

Fantastic experience: Found experience of dealing with customer service great. Looking forward to booked holiday in Prague. Thankyou Sam

Negative experience: Definitely would not recommend. Bought a voucher through groupon in June this year. Still have not had any booking reference for flights or hotel for travel in December. Contacted hotel who have no knowledge of our booking. I have contacted them three times now and have had no response. My advice, avoid .

Fantastic experience: Went to Italy with them. Everything was very good except the hotel was too far from where we wanted

Negative experience: No to use! They advertise on wowcher and other website with the lake garda hotel and flight! Totally scammers, they will sell you a different hotel location that you agreed for! No response to your emails or calls.totaly waste of time and money!

Fantastic experience: It was great customer service provided Evan.

Fantastic experience: a good experience

Negative experience: Very bad service. No information were provided for train cancellation. Big communication gap. We ended up paying for flight tickets. Will never use the service in future.

Positive experience: We had an amazing holiday! I almost thought the holiday wasn’t happening because we had an issue which took Via Holiday almost 2 weeks to resolve. But it was well taken care of in the end by Liza.

Fantastic experience: I bought 2 Vouchers for Madeira. Via Holiday has helped my wife and I all step of the way, from booking the flights, Hotel and even transfers. I have nothing but to Thank the VIA HOLIDAY team that have been there every step of the way! We arrived in Madeira and all went smoothly, a lot more than expected! Thank you Via Holiday! We will be definitely recommending you and coming back for future Holidays!

Negative experience: Sold an European Escape 2 nights away. No contact from company with the details. Now I have been told its going to be 100s of £ more. So no flights or break. Was a Christmas gift for son and his GF. AVOID AVOID AVOID

Negative experience: Another scamming fake 'travel operator'. They will scam you, lie and when you try to contact them you cant. I will complain to Groupon about using this absolute rubbish. AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Positive experience: Had to chase them up re our Christmas break. Difficult to get hold of. However, once all sorted, went ok. The hotel was good and in a good location!

Fantastic experience: Had a great holiday in Malta, Sam who works there did a fantastic job with sorting out the flights and hotel.

Negative experience: Don't use it.. at all Fraud alert Wowcher and this company as well as probably they are aware of it. After they call to book adn give you details about it want to find alternative flights for you to pay more if you do not agree to pay more for the flights or hotel... they can't do it cause its nothing available and maybe you want to go to a different location ... tried to charge me a extra of 49£ for 4 people to change flights when actually the flight were 33£ per each person return ... to make me change the flights he just said they only have available crazy hours we get there 22.00 a clock in the afternoon and leave 6 in the morning...

Negative experience: Scam company, please avoid

Negative experience: Terrible company with appalling customer service. They have booked my 2.5yo son as an infant and after I reported it to them no one can give me any information regarding the changes I requested in the booking. People answer the phone saying they can’t give me any information as they haven’t booked the holiday and the person who did is not ringing me back. I have also emailed them and the person who booked the holiday directly and received no response for over 2 weeks (I sent 5 emails and been calling every day) They are not cheap either! Avoid! Further to my review above my holiday has never taken place due to them not being able to fulfil the booking dates. They are refusing to issue refund for cancelled package holiday or issue relevant paperwork (eg. Flights bookings etc.) so I can get refund from my insurance company. Management is not reachable and not responding to emails. Post is being returned with note no company at this addresses. I’ll be reporting to HMRC Scammers!

Negative experience: Rude staff that have absolutely no customer relation skill at all ….won’t ever be dealing with them again

Negative experience: Avoid this company like the plague!!!

Fantastic experience: Booked a holiday through Groupon. It was quite easy to book with Via holiday. Thanks to Chris who made me feel comfortable after reading such reviews. Good customer service. Would surely recommed to friends.

Negative experience: Doesn’t deserve the 1 star DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! Absolute scam artists. Purchased a voucher through wowcher for a short break. This company phoned to ask if we wanted to upgrade flights to an earlier time in the day paid £68 each. When the documents came before the flight we were still booked on the late flight. The flight they supposedly booked took the money for didn’t even exist. Customer service is the worst I’ve ever experienced. They repeatedly say they will call back but never do and when you speak to them they speak to you terribly. No money back either for the flights. Wowcher need to stop custom their way immediately!!

Negative experience: Rude phone caller. He swore at my neice over the phone. Tried complaining seems only 2 guys work these phones, no supervisors, no manager. What a scam Does no deserve any stars

Negative experience: AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!! terrible communication, chasing them constantly for booking, travel documents and general details/ confirmation.

Negative experience: I bought 2 wowchers for a 2 night trip away in October. I’m very disappointed that this so called company cannot change my tickets as there’s been a change in my circumstances beyond my control. They have been unprofessional the whole process and have given me no resolution to the matter despite holding nearly £500 of my money. I’m disgusted at their customer service and perhaps they should reconsider who they staff as staff appear to be unable to uphold basic telephone etiquette or basic manners. Definitely would not recommend using this company. Don’t waste your money.

Negative experience: THE WORST customer service. After easy jet cancelled my flights I have still not got my compensation back from Via Holiday. They are keeping the money easy jet have refunded to them. I have been trying to get this money back since May and they are ignoring me. Never use this company. Disgraceful.

Fantastic experience: Părerea mea este că în acest loc lucrează niste profesioniști care pe mine m-au ajutat. Toată stima

Positive experience: Great deal on a trip to Venice. Thanks!

Negative experience: AVOID AT ALL COSTS! Booked through wowcher and they cancelled my hotel and won't give me a refund

Negative experience: Absolutely APPALLING. Avoid at all costs!

Fantastic experience: I only went in to find out the directions to somewhere and they were very nice and polite I’m just not sure what there like as a travel agent but if u need to find a local place where ur going then they were brilliant

Negative experience: Would NEVER use this company again! They have absolutely NO understanding of covid rules and regulations and how these are MANDATORY and not just a ‘choice you can make’ as to whether you ‘choose to follow the rules’ They were awful to deal with, charged us extra to ‘upgrade’ our flights to sensible times of day, took AGES to actually send us our tickets, in the end we matched the flight times they’d told us on the phone to an airline and contacted them directly and the same with the hotel If you have any kind of anxiety or want anything done quickly or even any kind of semi decent customer service, these are NOT the guys for you!

Negative experience: FRAUD ALERT!!!!!!! do not buy with this company. It is run by two individuals with questionable names (prehaps one) I brought via hoilday through wowcher deals. From the first contact they increased the price of the deal by £220. Now with restrictions changed, they have been completely unprofessional , unhelpful and incompetent. They have avoided my calls for an entire week! And when they have answered I have been shouted at. I have completed actionfraud! I would suggest anyone else to do the same! THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM AND PEOPLE WORKING FOR THIS COMPANY ARE AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE.

Negative experience: Avoid avoid avoid!!!!! Still haven't received hotel bookings. Staff are rude, they say I can only talk to the one who has booked the holiday. Problem is that the staff member is completely uncontactable and still hasn't called back after numerous times of asking. Company of thieves, they just take your money and hide. Believe the reviews and look for a professional company

Negative experience: They just terrible This campaign has been advertised for two-day Madrid holidays from the wowcher application. I also bought from the wowcher it for 2 day city break holiday , I wanted to booked after buying it and called the this company i spoke with Chirst, Sam ..they keep me wait 10 days. I bought this City Break £69 but they dont accept the their offer and then gave me their new price is £800 sterling for two nights .. definitely stay away

Negative experience: My holiday was cancelled and viaholidays only gave me a partial refund. 15 months later they threatened me with legal action over a miscommunication caused by Ryanair and demanded more money off me than they initially refunded me! They only gave me 7 working days to pay and ignored my emails for a week until it was the deadline! The customer service is a joke and I will never book with the company again!

Negative experience: Please avoid this company at all costs. I'd chosen to travel with ViaHolidays as there was an associated deal with Groupon. As Groupon is reliable, I assumed this company would be too, oh boy was I wrong. They are practically scammers. I am unsure how they are able to legally operate, and I'm almost certain it isn't from their office in London where they claim to be. The holiday was set for March 2020 but was cancelled due to Covid. I was told (in writing) that I would receive a partial refund and would lose out on the cost of the flights. I was then told for the next two months that I was not allowed a refund as the holiday was 'non-refundable' or that the 'insurer should cover it' etc... etc... After several phone calls, doing my research, and reaching out to Groupon it was resolved. Or so I thought... Today I received a phone call from 'ViaHolidays' demanding that I pay them money as the refund broke a contract. There is no such contract. The person on the phone proceeded to shout at me before I disconnected the call. Groupon have been informed of their harassment and claims and are now investigating. Please save yourself the trouble.

Fantastic experience: Excellent service. Especially chris as he gave me the best options available for my holiday. Would definitely recommend.

Negative experience: Be warned using this unprofessional, terrible company. I am disabled and my mum is elderly and when I asked for my money back for a holiday we can't go on I was shocked to be yelled at to ring the government and ask for my money back. The operator went on to say the government doesn't give him back the money he has to give me. I reminded him it is my money and my holiday is ATO protected and Foreign Office advised I travel. It has left me very upset and stressed. I warn anybody be careful, when things go wrong they don't want to know

Negative experience: I have big problem with refund my holiday on Venice

Negative experience: Staff are ridiculously rude and they have no customer care skills. I would avoid this company - they care more about their relationship with Wowcher than servicing their customers and doing the right thing. So glad we were able to get our money back and book our holiday through a reputable company.

Negative experience: Really disappointed with the service. They tried to charge me more than the provider for transfers, claimed they were unable to cancel as they had already paid the supplier. Upon evidencing it was their miscommunication and several e-mails they miraculously managed to cancel and refund. If I were Groupon I would reconsider using them as a partner company

Negative experience: The holiday we booked to Iceland has been ruined as all the excursions have been cancelled however the rest of the hotel we are staying are going on their excursions namely the Northern Lights. We were not told that it had been cancelled by via holidays or the excursion company. Unable to contact viaholiday holiday ruined.

Fantastic experience: very efficient

Fantastic experience: Absolutely pleased with their service. Evans particularly was very helpful and was prompt and efficient in providing the best holiday package deal. Many thanks Via holiday!

Negative experience: They don't even deserve 1 star, unfortunately there is not option yo give 0 stars. The staff very rude and pushy. They will ask you to change flights time a and charge you twice mire to what you will get from airline themselves. When you complain to them, they don't even respond to your emails. Bring so unprofessional I'm surprised they are still up and running. AVOID AT ALL COST

Negative experience: To be honest 1 star is because I am unable to give less than one star! Disgraceful service (I got shouted at by the staff, and refused the name and email address of the manager to complain). It is a money making ploy and I would not recommend via holiday unless you want lose money and be frustrated.

Fantastic experience: Via Holiday sales Team was very helpful and listened to all my needs with the holiday. Very pleasant to talk to and should be given a raise!! :)

Negative experience: ZERO STARS! We have been scammed by this company, wish we had seen reviews before booking... Please do not take any notice of the good reviews, these have been done falsely!

Fantastic experience: Good service and good prices. Would recommend.

Fantastic experience: i was reluctant to book after reading the reviews here and reserved my review until i returned from our Holiday. Everything was as promised - cannot fault anything. Big thumbs up to Hazel who was very helpful and professional through out the whole booking process.

Negative experience: DO NOT USE! DO NOT TRUST! DO NOT GET SCAMMED! Me and my friend use this agent to book a short trip at a good price. Once the money had been paid I had tried to call them 3 different times to confirm the booking in which they never returned a call. When they finally did, they try to tell us the booking is full and that we need to pay £50 more in order for them to book the holiday. They are only trying to get more money out of normal people which is sickening. I never trusted agents and this is the reason why. We have open a dispute and will hopefully receive our refund. DO NOT BE STUPID LIKE US. They deserve no stars but I needed to post this review.

Negative experience: 0 Stars DO NOT TRUST!!! I have been totally scammed through the Wowcher website. I booked a two-day voucher for Berlin (with trips to holocaust memorials etc) and was soon contacted by John at Via Holidays, who told me that the flights the voucher booked me on would only give us 14 hours in Berlin, rather than the 40 hours advertised on the Wowcher booking.. he then told me he could put me on different flights for £35pp to give us more time in Berlin, I agreed to pay the £70. He then told me the hotel was in a great location, very close to the centre of Berlin, however the name of the hotel was not disclosed, nor was the airport the flights would take me to. Following the booking confirmation, a quick search told me that my hotel is 40 minutes outside of the city in Lichetenburg, and the airport was miles away, with another airport closer to Berlin itself. John then tried to book me a taxi to/from the airport, asking me to pay £60 each way, saving me a minimum of £20 per journey, thankfully I declined. This Wowcher booking included a visit to the Holocaust memorial and a tour around one of the concentration camps. After booking the holiday, John informed me they will sadly not be operating for the dates of my trip and no compensation will be available. I have done my research on various airline websites and found that flights are far cheaper than what I have paid. I do not think I will be going on the holiday, wasting £300, because of this total shambles and I will NEVER be booking a holiday through Wowcher, or Via Holiday ever again.

Negative experience: I purchased in full a 3 night trip to Disneyland Paris back in March this year. On arrival we were told the hotel room (explorers hotel) had been cancelled due to non payment. I immediately got in touch with Via Holiday who told me very apologetically "for me to pay for the first nights accommodation and that they will deal with the following 2 nights the next day" and reimburse me for the first night. After many emails of a promise of reimbursement I still haven't received any money (5 weeks now). The guy who was dealing with my reimbursement (Nash) ignores my calls and never calls back to to deal with this issue. They like to blame their suppliers, which I've noticed in responses to other reviews, they need to get a grip! I am now in the process of taking legal action to recover my money (£224). If you are thinking of using this travel agent be warned you will lose money. They are not members of any organisation such as ABTA to safe guard travellers/holiday makers. If any one wants proof I will gladly send all correspondence from this company and myself. UPDATE!!!! Finally been paid by Via Holiday. It has taken 7 weeks. They didn't even bother to tell us they had refunded us it just turned up in our bank account? At least now I can stop the legal action against this firm of amateurs. I initially booked this deal through living social who were very helpful and did offer to refund us if Via Holiday failed.

Negative experience: ***Update3: Day before flying we checked our flight reservations and they had got one of our names wrong. They fixed it, but can't believe for this one holiday we had to phone them up 3 times in total, during which they were not apologetic in the slightest, and emails were left completely unanswered. Oh and they had booked us into an 8 bed dormitory originally, which was still booked when we arrived at the hotel as well as the double room. So many things that could have gone wrong on this little holiday, will never use these travel agents again. **UPDATE2: After calling again on Monday they have finally sent the Hotel Reservation, and lied on the call making out that they didn't need to send the confirmation, and that I was not understanding, when they had stated twice (once in the reply to this review that you can read) that they would send the confirmation of the hotel and they did not. Was made to feel like I was in the wrong, when I had already had to send an email and call up twice about this. Great example of how NOT to do customer service. Also they were asking me to remove this review. I will update again after the holiday.** *UPDATE1: Week after their reply - Still nothing, will call again on Monday* They booked a shared 8 bed dormitory for me and my girlfriend instead of the double room they quoted, we emailed and waited about a week, no reply so I called and was told it will all be sorted and not to worry. Now another week later and still no new hotel reservation. So I will have to call again. I do not think companies should mess up in the first place, but sometimes things go wrong and I understand that, but two times is just sloppy. Communication is awful, don't bother to email them, you won't get a response. I still haven't!

Negative experience: Booked holiday with Via Holidays to Iceland, which included a couple of tours while out there. Everything seemed to go fine when booking (except they did try their best to "up sell" the hotel with me). The problem is when we got to Iceland one of the tours got cancelled without informing us!! This left us standing in -2 degrees for nearly an hour waiting for a tour bus that was never going to come. Maybe this was Via Holidays problem, maybe not. It appears we will never know though because we have emailed Via Holidays 3 times over a period of 9 days with NO response / acknowledgement from them what so ever!! Simple customer service by acknowledging a customers query is not that hard but it appears it is for Via Holidays. Won't use again.

Negative experience: Poor communications and service. Do not use these guys.