'We feel so let down': Bride-to-be’s battle for Northants hotel hen do refund

A woman who was due to celebrate her hen do at a Northamptonshire hotel last month is locked in a battle for a refund.

The bride-to-be was looking forward to attending an event, followed by an overnight stay at Whittlebury Hall on May 24 with eight of her friends and family.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic the hotel is closed and the event was cancelled.

The hen party, who had spent more than £1,000 on the stay, were given a credit note.

The disappointed hen, who does not wish to be named, said: “We booked a hen do earlier in the year for myself and and family members and friends.

“Obviously it was cancelled and we have no problem with that whatsoever.

“My mum didn’t get any confirmation that it was cancelled so she sent an email asking for a refund.

“She has a response saying they would get round to us whenever they could, which was fine.”

However, the party heard nothing until they were issued with a credit note that they did not want as they believe the hen do will have 'been and gone' by the time they can spend it. The hotel has explained that this was due to a incorrect email address, an issue that was addressed.

The woman from Northamptonshire added: “My mum emailed back to say she didn’t want a credit note.

“So I posted on Facebook asking for a refund, as did my mum and other members of the party.

"The comments were just asking for them to get in contact and when they didn't we asked again if they could get in contact and said that we were getting fed up.

“Then they started to delete any comments on their page asking about refunds.

“I have also been blocked from the page and some of my friends have too.

“I know about five other people, outside of my hen do party, that are having similar problems. They’re completely ignoring everyone.”

The situation has left the hen party feeling deflated and annoyed.

“We’re so frustrated by it all,” the bride continued.

“I know a lot of staff have been furloughed so I feel for them, but it’s the way the company has been dealing with it.

“It’s disgusting and we feel so let down.”

In response to these claims Whittlebury Hall, in a statement, has said the comments made on social media were ‘aggressive’.

The statement says: “We have sadly been left with no choice but to temporarily close our venue due to government guidance.

“We sympathise deeply with people who have bookings over the coming weeks and months and will continue to offer the highest level of professionalism during this unprecedented time.

“The party did email us on 27 May to discuss the gift vouchers and this was picked up by the team who were unable to respond immediately due to processing emails in chronological order to be fair to all customers.

“However, we then became aware just a few days later of comments on our social media pages which were, in our opinion, abusive and aggressive.

“As soon as we became aware of the views of the daughter on social media, we advised her to contact our guest relations team who would be happy to assist her further.

“Since the weekend, Managing Director, Charles Sargeant has been in touch and invited the group into Whittlebury Park, when it is safe to do so, to discuss the options available to them.

“We are presently working with a very limited number of staff who are doing an amazing job at responding to customers as quickly and positively as they can in these difficult times.

“However, the welfare of our staff continues to be a key priority for us and we do not expect any member of staff to have to deal with the type of comments being left by the group.

“Inappropriate, unreasonable or aggressive messages on social media will continue to be removed and offenders blocked to protect our staff.”

The hotel has offered the party a 100 percent credit note valid until March 2021, or given them the chance to re-book on the event's new date.

Editor's note: In an earlier version of this story, it was stated that the party had been blocked on Facebook "as a result of asking for a refund". We have been asked to make it clear that the reason Whittlebury Hall blocked the party on Facebook was due to concerns over offensive messages, as highlighted in the statement published in the original article. Whittlebury Hall has also stated that the party was asked to contact guest relations, but they did not receive an approach. We are happy to clarify the situation and the copy has been amended accordingly.