Ilminster resident complains after 'nightmare' trip

Mhoragh Giles has 'repeatedly complained' to Bakers Dolphin about her ‘nightmare holiday’ return journey back in June 2025, which caused her 'serious distress'.

Mrs Giles, who suffers from mobility issues and heart problems, paid for the Gold Trip, which she said guaranteed pick up and drop off at her home after her trip to Ireland; however, in the end, she and her granddaughter found themselves stranded.

In a letter sent from Bakers Dolphin to Mrs Giles, it was confirmed that the taxi booking had been placed in advance with their regular supplier, but the company experienced an ‘unexpected operational issue on the day’.

This meant the taxi did not attend as arranged to pick them both up.

She said she had to wait near the roundabout in Hankridge for around an hour and a half, late at night, for her other granddaughter, who was out at the time, to pick them up from Yeovil.

She said: “He just dropped my granddaughter and me at the end of the road, there were no toilets, no shelter, it was late, we were worried sick.

“My granddaughter suffers from her nerves anyway, and she was in an awful state. What should have been a lovely holiday turned out to be a nightmare.”

She said this was a ‘real shame’ as it left the end of her holiday off on a sour note when the outward journey and main holiday experience met her expectations.

Mrs Giles said she has since been receiving back-and-forth correspondence from Bakers Dolphin, in which they did apologise for the issue.

In a letter from Bakers Dolphin, a spokesperson for the company said: “We are so sorry — and frankly ashamed — that this left you and your granddaughter without your planned transfer, forcing you to arrange alternative transport late at night.

“This is highly unusual, and certainly not the standard of service we expect from our partners.

“We have raised this matter formally with the supplier and will be introducing additional checks to ensure we are alerted immediately to any such problem in the future so we can put alternative arrangements in place without delay.”

Mrs Giles requested a 50 per cent refund due to the ‘inconvenience and distress’ this caused her, which Bakers Dolphin said in a letter is 'not proportionate' as the remainder of her holiday was ‘delivered in full.’

However, due to the impact this incident had on her, as a ‘gesture of goodwill’, the company has offered a £100 voucher which she can redeem on a future trip.

Despite this, Mrs Giles is 'not satisfied' as she feels unsafe using their services again and claims initially, she was offered £50, which ‘wouldn’t have even covered a taxi’.

She said: “It wasn’t a cheap holiday, but it wasn’t just that; there was a concern about our safety. Had I been on my own, I don’t know what I would have done. 

“I just feel like they should be held to account for doing something like that to me. As far as I am concerned, nothing has been sorted out.”

She added: “I’d hate for it to happen to anyone else because it was frightening. I still feel really upset about it.”

A spokesman for Bakers Dolphin said: “We apologised to Mrs Giles last year after a taxi booked to take her home at the end of her holiday did not arrive.

“The taxi firm experienced an unexpected operational issue that day, and we were unaware of the problem at the time.

“Mrs Giles was given a £100 voucher as a gesture of goodwill in summer 2025 to
say sorry for the problem on her return journey after the full holiday.

“We have not had any contact from her since, and we are more than happy to engage with Mrs Giles so that we can bring this matter to a close.”