I paid for a tour on June 25th two days ago and I have never received anything from the company confirming our tour or giving any information about where to show up. I know my credit card was charged because the credit card company called me to confirm the charge wasn't fraudulent. I can see from prior Tripadvisor reviews that we meet up near the Abbey, but I was really hoping for some confirmation of our payment and reservation. I've sent a follow-up email and have called the office, but I haven't had a response. Is this normal operating procedure for this company and I should not worry?
Valerie,
My wife and I took the Mad Max half-day tour from Bath to Stonehenge and Cotswold villages in late 2009, which by the way, I do recommend. A great tour. My memory is a bit rusty, but I seem to recall we had the same problem. The details are vague but I think we eventually contacted them to confirm and did ultimately receive a reply. I should also note that there were no problems: they had received our reservation and had us on the roster, no problems. But bear this in mind, too: Our tour met near a Bath glassware shop in a busy road where several different tour companies' vans were collecting people at the same time. We were looking for a marked "Mad Max" van (Doesn't the website say something about having a picture of the dog on the side?). We watched people coming and going in various vans and we were nervous as the departure time drew near and still no sight of them. Finally we walked up to an unmarked white van that had received all its passengers and asked. Sure enough they were Mad Max. Never an announcement out loud nor any indication of the company on the vehicle. If the wife and I hadn't gotten over our shyness and asked the man, he would have written us off as no-shows and departed despite the fact we were five feet away on the sidewalk. So once you are confirmed, be sure to walk right up to any tours departing at the correct time and make sure you don't "miss the bus"!
Castle Combe was the first stop on both of the full day tours. days. I did both days and enjoyed each. http://www.castle-combe.com/ I remember that the pick up place is South of the abbey in front of a couple of shops. Wish I could pinpoint it a little better. I think there is a 99 per cent chance that you are on the roster. They are a very small business but a very good one.
Here is the link to the ORIGINAL Mad Max Tours (with the little dog drawing on the page): http://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/ Tel. 07990 505970 Make sure this is the one that you have been dealing with. That is the website and phone number for THE REAL Mad Max Tours. There's a different one that turns up when you google the name, and it seems to have NOTHING to do with the original real one. Here's the link to the Mad Max Tours that you get if you google the name: http://www.madmaxtours.com/where.html This site says the domain name is for sale, and indicates you should email some person called [email protected]. So beware; there's an impostor out there.
Thanks, all. I am not sure I could plan a trip without the Helpline. I am definitely dealing with the real Mad Max and so I am going to take Matt's advice and assume all is well even if I never hear back.
Did you check your junk mail folder? If your confirmation is not there, an overseas phone call should not cost much and would be worth the peace of mind. You are going to have to talk to the foreigners sooner or later anyway.