GETAWAY TRAVEL 7 Bridge Street, Comber, Newtownards BT23 5AT

"Claire at Getaway Travel has in our option been very unprofessional with us and, as commented in other reviews, also quite rude. Then again, why should management bother to help a customer losing a lot of money when Getaway Travel already have theirs…. We had to cancel our holiday due to illness and our insurance provider asked for a cancellation invoice from our travel agency to process our claim. My husband and I have contacted Claire at Getaway Travel so many times by phone, since our 9 emails over 8 weeks have been literally ignored. When we phone we get given a host of excuses as to why we don’t have it yet - hearing technology being blamed rather than any accountability being taken for the inaction and then we are promised a cancellation invoice is “no problem” and will be with us “in the next ten minutes” We provided multiple email addresses to overcome Claires suggested firewall issues (although i received previous payment requests and booking documentation emails no problem….) and we also suggested good old fashioned mail as an option to send the paperwork to us. Still nothing. The fact that we have been told it can be provided leaves only that Getaway either didn’t want or couldn’t be bothered to send it to us. Being 8 weeks down the line and with our insurance company about to close our claim, it took email no 10 to Sharon explaining that our only remaining option would be legal action if we could not reach amicable resolution as Getaway Travels constant excuses for not providing us with documentation to show we cancelled and did not attend the holiday was making any insurance claim impossible and costing us hundreds of pounds. Funnily enough, after months of waiting, the suggestion of legal action and going through someone other than Claire resulted in us receiving our cancellation documentation within the hour. By email. No evident “firewall” or “technology issues” this time around, amazingly enough. The portion of the same holiday we booked and had to cancel through a large reputable online travel firm was invoiced and paid out by our insurance weeks ago…. so much for the better customer service you supposedly get from local companies. I wouldn’t trust Getaway Travel to book a bus ticket never mind a holiday."

"Booked a city break as seen a great offer on FB. Claire’s attitude was awful, so unprofessional and rude. We won’t be booking with them again and certainly haven’t been recommending them to family and friends, rather the opposite. Refund was very slow and as problematic as the booking process. No FB review section unsurprisingly, I’ve since heard that there is no point complaining as Claire’s the daughter of the owners."

"We would like to see more of these family-owned businesses instead of the impersonal high-street agencies. The staff is super friendly and available during the trip. We booked our trip to South Africa among others."

"I have booked holidays for myself, family members and friends for years now with getaway travel comber. Long story short Claire didn't book our suitcases going to benidorm or coming home again. We only found this out at the airport which meant it was an expense we hadn't planned to pay before going on holiday! So between numerous phonecalls (at my expense again) and calling over to the travel agents we still haven't recieved any of our money back. Not an apology or nothing! I will never be booking with this travel agent again so they have just lost out on a lot of custom as i have booked with them at least 2 or 3 times every year for years.. Clearly they need the money more than me so the money doesn't matter anymore they can keep it! It's the fact of how we have been treated over a mistake they made!!"

"Highly recommended. Very friendly staff who go out of their way to accommodate your needs."