I have recently had some problems with Hotelopia, booked via the Travelsupermarket.com website and was looking for some pointers.

I booked and paid to stay 4 nights at a 4* hotel in Bangkok. On arriving at the hotel, I was told that they had no record of the booking from Hotelopia. On contacting Hotelopia I discovered that a) the booking had not been sent to the hotel by their local agentm b) there was no room in the 4* I wanted to stay in (!!!), and c) they (Hotelopia) had no more 4* rooms in BKK and that I would have to stay in a 2* across town.

I suggested that this was hardly my problem and, just having travelled 6,500 miles, I was not going to stay in a 2*, especially as Bangkok is empty at the moment. I asked them to cancel the arrangement and refund me - I was told ' it will take 5 working days' - it is remarkable how fast they can take your money at booking time and how slow they are to refund it!?

My concern is as follows: I have had little feedback from Hotelopia regarding my refund - I have now been told that a refund may take 20-30 days and that they are doing an investigation??!! Question is, are these guys in some sort of financial bother? Should I be worried that I won't get my money back?? Also, is there an ombudsman I can report these guys to as their behaviour has been reprehensible??

Thanks

Pedrof