By Claudia Trotman Dan Hall Sarah Tulloch
A British couple were left in Corfu after being kicked out of their hotel and barred from their return flight to the UK, accusing TUI of abandoning them. Paul Bell, 64, and his wife Ellie, 65, from North Shields, had booked a week’s half-board stay at the Terezas Hotel in Sidari, Corfu, a place they’d previously enjoyed. Their holiday took a turn for the worse when TUI abruptly removed them from their accommodation and denied them their homeward flight, despite having booked a package deal. Paul was left confused as to why they were given the boot, leaving them several hundred quid down as they had to organise a last-minute Jet2 flight back to the UK, fork out for a taxi to the airport instead of a pre-arranged transfer, and find alternative lodgings for the rest of their trip. In correspondence viewed by ChronicleLive, TUI justified their decision citing multiple incidents during the couple’s stay that were deemed unacceptable and disruptive. However, Paul disputes this, arguing that TUI never sought to hear their side of the story. Earlier in their stay, Ellie had expressed her disappointment with the food quality to the hotel manager, which Paul described as “tepid” and “not very nice”. He recalled: “Some of the things you would get were rice with sprouts, or another time you’d have rice with a slice of beetroot in it. “My wife spoke to the manager twice, she complained about the food being inedible and he didn’t seem interested. She asked him to join us for breakfast the next day so we could show him what we meant, but he never turned up.” After a day out, the couple returned and had a chat with the representative. However, they were left shocked when they received a letter the next day, just as they were gearing up for a trip to Corfu town, stating they were no longer welcome at the hotel. Dated 20 May, the letter stated: “You caused a serious disturbance by shouting inside the hotel restaurant in front of other guests, resulting in significant distress and disruption to the peaceful environment of the hotel,” and “you directed aggressive and disrespectful language towards both hotel staff, the hotel owners, and TUI representatives on site.” Paul is adamant that they did nothing wrong, pointing out that no one from TUI bothered to hear their side of the story before making a decision. He said: “I don’t remember anybody shouting. “We only spoke to the rep when she was present at the hotel, and there was no disrespect towards her. They’ve made a decision based on the manager’s account without hearing us out. But surely every story has two sides? I was livid; it completely ruined our plans for the day.” Paul and Ellie were directed to reach out to the UK consulate for further help, instead of being offered a chance to rebut or appeal. On 21 May at 22.28, they got another letter stating that Ellie was barred from getting on the TOM1531 flight on Friday, 23 May. Just over half a day later, another email dropped in saying both Paul and Ellie were off the flight. TUI justified this move as per their terms and conditions, citing “due to your conduct and behaviour”. On Thursday, 22 May, Paul sorted out flights back home from Corfu with Jet2 for later that day, setting them back €328.56 (£284). However, after making it back to North Shields, they got another email from TUI stating that “the refusal of carriage for Paul Bell and Eleanor Bell has now been revoked, and you will now be allowed travel on your inbound flight”. Paul said: “That doesn’t help us now, because we were told we have to make our own travel arrangements and we came home. We had to fork out €60 (£50) for a taxi to the airport as well, because we weren’t allowed on the transfers. “When we go on holiday, we try to go somewhere nice and quiet, sit and chill, try the local stuff, go to the towns and see the scenery and to have food like we did (in the hotel) was really disappointing. We got no back-up whatsoever from TUI. “They took whatever the manager said as gospel and came to a decision just like that. Had we been drunk and disorderly, fine, but we weren’t – we’ve never had any bother on any holidays before, until this time with TUI.” ChronicleLive has reported that TUI intends to reimburse the couple for their Jet2.com flights home and their airport transfer. TUI chose not to provide further comment. Paul isn’t the only holidaymaker from the North East to return from Corfu feeling disappointed. Earlier in June, Westerhope gran Susan Edwards swore off booking with the tour operator again after grumbling about the lack of “no English food” at the Lido Corfu Sun Hotel. The Daily Star has reached out to TUI for comment. For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here .