Back in June I booked online, payment by card , through to 3d secure, after payment said had gne through at the card company, it went back to DFDS and said payment had not gone through.....
Thee ferry i was booking was in the early hours of the next morning, it was 2.30pm at this point
I phoned the bank, the said payment had gone through to DFDS
I Phoned DFDS, DFDS said it was marked unpaid and they would check again , after 5 phone calls it was 4PM , they then decided they would have to get on to the financee department.....but there was no way they could check till the finance department opened at 11AM the next morning as they closed at 4PM
So I drove down and paid in cash, at £250 to get accross instead of £200 return, the bank could not return the payment

So got the ferry for a grand total of £450.....including the return back, I was late by 45 minutes so had to pay another £150 to get the next ferry back to the UK

Did I get a refund from them....Eventually..I think in September

I have used them once since then and had no problems

But today , the same thing , booked online, paid , no payment recorded on site, phoned up cant do anything but take payment again,I need to get ferry tomorrow night, no ferry paid for but the credit card company have it going to DFDS seaways, DFDS say theres no payment, they have the money, cant check finance department till Monday, I need to be in Germany setting up a trade stand at the ToyFair on Tuesday morning,

They are closed now....but they will hold my booking till 11am tomorrow as long as I pay in full before then....,

I love the way its my fault and they will `hold it till then` as if they are doing me a favour!....

Obviously Im still getting there, but Im sure if i couldnt get there and since I have paid I could sue them at least for the 25K for the stand for the Toyfair and then theres the loss of business due to not attending

Has anyone else had any problems with them? or is it just me?

Ah bless will666, you are in the wars :: poor you! really hope you get it all sorted soon but remember to make your formal complaint in writing and keep a copy, This company has caused you financial loss and material stress thought no fault of yours, and not only once but twice It is not acceptable under any circumstances. I for one will give them a wide berth they send me emails with various special offer, if this is their customers services than bye, bye from me. Hope all goes with big hugs :Arrrr: :group:

Pay with Paypal, you have an instant receipt/invoice of the transaction. Book earlier!

Edna Bira wrote:

Pay with Paypal, you have an instant receipt/invoice of the transaction. Book earlier!

Clever girl never thought of that before, I guess you can pay most thing with Pay Pal these day will make a not of that.

I booked with DFDS last year (June) online, motorhome and passengers (incl. dog), absolutely no problems at al. Incredibly cheap too.... 15ft camper, 2 passengers, 1 dog - £29 one way (Dover - Dunkirk).

I still use them but now I pay by paypal so I can refund it if required!

They are not a good ferry though,but they are cheaper.

I have been traveling about 10-15 times a year to europe for about 15 years, in that time as you can imagine you are not always on time, if you break down etc....
In the past I have broken down and been using P&
O or Brittany ferries and they always fit you on the next boat, with DFDS you need to pay more for this, for a 72 hour window , I was late for DFDS one time and they made me pay a whole new ticket cost, everyone who was late paid this much and people who had no ticket booked paid the same.

So now I pay the £15-£20 more for the 72 hour each way of the crossing

It says always get there at least 45 minutes early, I was 1hr and 5 minutes early, having paid for the 72 hour extra so therefore able to turn up early so it said.....

After going through customs, having the van emptied, walking through metal detector etc, quizzed by police for 5 minutes about why I would be going to Bulgaria, they lt me through to check in at this time 1 hr before the sailing , could I enter....No I needed to be given a big paper owl logo to hang on my mirror and drive out of the port and return no more than 1 hr before sailing ......5 minutes to go!

After driving out the port , now 59 minutes before sailing I tried again, I needed to be searched again, xrayed again, quizzed again by the police, by the time I got to the checkin it was 44 minutes before sailing and they said I was too late for security reasons....

After arguing with them they eventually `made an exception....this time!` talking down to me like a naughty kid in school telling me not to be late again and let me into the boat queue, only to sit there some 20 minutes before anyone started going onto the boat

If you get to P&
O or any other early they let you in, DFDS always have before , often they are very nice to you but also they do treat people like rubbish

Cheap ferrry.... Cheap service , I still use them though!

will666 You've had a raw deal from time to time.
I have travelled DFDS many times too and also missed ferries. There was no charge for us to get a later one and also when we have turned up early, they've put us on the next running (always Dover-Dunkirk) without any extra payment. I call the company well in advance of being late and they've always appreciated that. We've always found the food good and the service ok.
We've done Stenna a few times as well. The fares were more expensive (different route), but pretty much the same all round offerings.
I do miss the Sally Line. It used to run Newhaven and Ramsgate-Dieppe and saved going all the way to Dover. Still, what's around nowadays I'm happy with.