So don't take our word for it, see what thousands of our customers are saying about us!
Local staff fabulous ABC staff not so!
05 Jun 2024
Thankyou for your feedback. I have forwarded your comments onto our Customer Service department and they will be in touch shortly.
07 Jun 2024
Thank you for your feedback regarding your Canal Boat hire out of Falkirk Marina. We advertise Edinburgh to Glasgow within a 7-night break on our website and all of our customers travelling for 7 nights complete this route. We would always advise you to travel to Edinburgh first as the Marina would check our guests into the Falkirk Wheel as this runs at specific times of the day. The locks on the Scottish canals are also manned during your day hours. In relation to the points raised above, we have completed a full investigation and have addressed all boat operational issues through our complaint process directly with yourself. Our customer service department discussed all issues you raised with the Marina Manager and Director. You have mentioned that the boat only reached a speed of 3.4mph, the legal limit on the canals is 4mph, this doesn’t mean our boats travel at this speed. Regarding your refund, due to Government Fraud Legislation any payments or refunds must be returned to the original card, this was dealt with by our Booking Office Manager she explained that if the original card was now inactive you would receive a cheque from the Card Company for the amount, this was confirmed by our Accounts Team as the correct process for a refund in these circumstances. Our offer to resolve the complaint was received well by yourself and you thanked our Customer Service Coordinator for how the complaint was dealt with.
12 Jun 2024
First of all if your are booking 7nts Edinburgh & Glasgow - there is no way you can do this even with the recommended sailing times, adhering to the rules of the water way that’s if you want to leave the boat & sight see! Even the Scottish canal staff say so. The Scottish canal staff at Falkirk are fantastic and couldn’t do enough to help. This review in no way reflects them. We had a great time at the Falkirk Wheel, Linlithgow and Harrison park Edinburgh. HOWEVER As all year around motorhomers for at least 15 years we rarely plug in & know how to shower efficiently to conserve water & power etc. On arrival at Falkirk we were advised that our boat the desert lark had broken down & the engineer had had to go to a&e, we were sorry to hear of this & didn’t make a fuss. However the technicians were trying to fix it. We were allowed to board with our luggage including fridge items. The only items that were working were the toilets and the gas cooker. One of the other passengers is an engineer in the RAF & my husband a qualified electrician so they were talking to the technician but he was unable to locate the problem. In the morning thankfully the engineer was better & returned to fix the boat we sailed 24 hours later. We were advised by the local staff to choose which city to visit - we chose Edinburgh. The leisure batteries on our boat were clearly faulty as even after 7 hours sailing they did not hold their charge & keep the fridge cold never mind charge the phones etc. Bear in mind it’s mid May, light nights & there was a heatwave bar one day. They were failing after 8 hours never mind 2 days! We were also having to shower when the engine was running. In addition to this the mattresses are appalling, you can feel every spring, you can hear every movement & the bed sheets / protector do not fit / elastic gone. They are certainly not memory foam as claimed! Two passengers have severe back issues & none of us got a full nights sleep the whole holiday. On the final night returning to Falkirk we handed the keys back early as we needed a full nights sleep before departing for a 5 hour drive home. Once again the staff in Falkirk were brilliant & even refunded the fuel without request. In Heindsight we should have called them to get them fixed but did we want to be waiting around & loosing more time? No! We made the best of it. The dessert lark though a little dated was internally well appointed & you wanted for nothing except a quiet comfy mattress. The cleanliness was superb. I might add that the dessert lark achieved 3.4mph top speed and not the 4mph as the speed limit is. Doesn’t sound much but makes a vast difference! This boat is not fit for purpose & all matters considered has ruined what should have been a relaxing enjoyable week. On writing to ABC on our return, they picked holes in our letter, insulted our intelligence which we corrected them on. We requested a substantial refund to which we were minimally satisfied with. We requested debit card refund as our credit card has been cloned on holiday - they said it had to be the card we paid on. When we re explained this we were advised we would only receive a cheque which we were happy with. A week later nothing. Only to find the refund on our credit card. So now to refund members of our party we will incur more charges! Had they have handled things better at head office this review would have been much different or wouldn’t exist. In summary - the local staff were brilliant. The boat in that state is not fit for purpose. ABC are overselling their itinerary’s. They have some serious customer service issues to address internally. You shouldn’t come back early from a weeks holiday needing another holiday! In fact we wish we just cancelled it there and then when we were told it had broken down. Choose another company to book your barge with!
05 Jun 2024
Thankyou for your feedback. I have forwarded your comments onto our Customer Service department and they will be in touch shortly.
07 Jun 2024
Thank you for your feedback regarding your Canal Boat hire out of Falkirk Marina. We advertise Edinburgh to Glasgow within a 7-night break on our website and all of our customers travelling for 7 nights complete this route. We would always advise you to travel to Edinburgh first as the Marina would check our guests into the Falkirk Wheel as this runs at specific times of the day. The locks on the Scottish canals are also manned during your day hours. In relation to the points raised above, we have completed a full investigation and have addressed all boat operational issues through our complaint process directly with yourself. Our customer service department discussed all issues you raised with the Marina Manager and Director. You have mentioned that the boat only reached a speed of 3.4mph, the legal limit on the canals is 4mph, this doesn’t mean our boats travel at this speed. Regarding your refund, due to Government Fraud Legislation any payments or refunds must be returned to the original card, this was dealt with by our Booking Office Manager she explained that if the original card was now inactive you would receive a cheque from the Card Company for the amount, this was confirmed by our Accounts Team as the correct process for a refund in these circumstances. Our offer to resolve the complaint was received well by yourself and you thanked our Customer Service Coordinator for how the complaint was dealt with.
12 Jun 2024
Nice comfortable boat and a beautiful canal to travel on.
04 Jun 2024
Nice comfortable clean boat, everything worked well. Very thorough handover.
04 Jun 2024
Although not ABC's fault and there is nothing they can do about it; the trip was curtailed due to problems with the maintenance of the canals by CRT. This was the fourth year we have tried to do the Cheshire ring. The alternative extended Four Counties ring was not possible due to the "planned" repairs at Tyrley Locks. Therefore it ended up as a trip to Birmingham and back along the Trent and Mersey.
04 Jun 2024
The holiday boat provided by ABC is fine. It was clean, well maintained and there were no major problems. The boat is a bit dated, the inverter was unable to hold a charge in the evening and tick over was set high leading to a annoying vibration. The inventory is good and the towels and bedding plentiful. We are aware of the minor kitchen issues as we use ABC regularly; so we brought things like a decent frying pan with us. The staff at Anderton are very good, they are professional, efficient and helpful.
04 Jun 2024
Very friendly staff, great boat, ready on time and lots of local knowledge and advice with routes and moorings. Very helpful and quick to communicate when necessary. Personal touches much appreciated especially anniversary celebration card! Also dealt with locks and strong stream advice on our behalf, for which we were very grateful.
03 Jun 2024
Scenic trip on River Nene to Overton Lake via Whittlesey and Peterborough as well as visiting Upwell and Outwell on Middle Levels due to strong stream advice during holiday.
03 Jun 2024
We did 7-days on the canal and made it up to Brecon and back to Goytre leisurely. We had plenty of stops along the way and a very relaxing time. The boat was perfect everything as described.
02 Jun 2024
When we arrived everything went seamlessly as we were educated on the boat and procedures. We were gone within an hour. Excellent.
02 Jun 2024
I don't know how the service could have been better!
01 Jun 2024
We decided to complete the Warwickshire Ring but the landslide at Brinklow meant that we had to change to Anti Clockwise and hope the repairs were completed in time! They were - just!! Also the Aston Locks were out of action so we couldn't go through the Birmingham Gas Basin. More importantly we had a water leak in the engine area which necessitated an Engineer Call out - which was very quick and efficient. We had to check the engine regularly as the pipe continued to leak!
01 Jun 2024
The design of the boat interior was not well enough thought out. When I looked for a place to sit down to put my shoes on the only place I could find was on the toilet. The boat was rated for 12 people. I can't even conceive of how that could be an enjoyable experience. There we 5 of us and we found it very difficult to move around without other having to stop what they were doing and move out of the way. The seating in the dining area made it impossible for those sitting on the seat behind the table to get in and out. It would seat 4 people but for people in from the end to get out, everyone between them and the end had to get up & out so they could get out. When it wasn't raining, having some folding chairs to use on the back would been i major improvement. I would never rent a boat with this design again
01 Jun 2024
The journey across the aqueducts, winding through the countryside was amazing, very relaxing and easy. A great weekend break over 3 nights.
01 Jun 2024
Smart, clean boat with all the facilities we needed. Friendly, helpfull staff who answered all our questions. We felt safe and looked after. Any issues were handled quickly and professionally. A fabulous trip and great service from all involved, would highly recommend ABC for your next trip.
01 Jun 2024
