QM2 Change of Itinerary

[lansonlady]

Hello again Fireman 999.

 

I am pleased to hear that you have won your case and hope you will share the deatils of the evidence and argument with us so that we may understand the judgement more clearly.

 

I have a few questions that I would like to ask:

 

1.What did your Travel Agent advise you when you originally raised the complaint with them? and how did they deal with your complaint?

 

2. When did Cunard authorise the TA to give you a full refund, prior to the cruise or after?

 

3.Was the Court informed of the reason why the TA chose not to inform you of Cunards offer of a full refund, if yes, what were those reasons?

 

4.Did Cunard state their reasons for offering a full refund (via the TA)?

 

If their offer was before the cruise was it because of their responsibilities within the travel package regulations or,

If their offer was after the cruise was it because they had failed in their responsibilities under the travel package regulations?

Or was it for some other reason?

 

5. Assuming you have now recieved your full refund, is your compensation being paid by the TA or Cunard?

 

6. Did the judgement rule that you should be reimbursed for costs other than the cost of the cruise eg those additional costs incurred through your TA eg flights, hotels, transfers etc?

 

7.Did Cunard say whether other dis-satisfied passengers had been offered full refunds either prior to or after the cruise?

 

8. What reason/law was sighted by the Judge for awarding in your favour?

 

Sorry - there are actually more than a few questions aren't there! I hope you will spare me some time to explain in detail what happened.

 

Thankyou.

lansonlady

[fireman999]

I will try and deal with your questions in the order that you have raised them:

 

1. The first question is easy as they did not reply to Fax, Recorded Delivery Letter and emails.

2. Cunard presented evidence to the Court to prove that they had authorised the refund prior to cruise starting, however the TA did not share this fact with me.

3. I can't answer this one as the TA was not in Court and had submitted their evidence by letter. Obviously. I would have asked that question if they had been there. They stressed urgent business reasons why they could not be there - I cannot think of a more urgent business reason.

4. I can't really answer this one either as I was very surprised when Cunard presented the evidence. The one comment that was made by them was that they could see by my letters, faxes and emails that I was not a happy person and I think this was the reason that they made this decision.

5. No I have not received the compensation and the Judge ordered that the TA should pay it - of course they may lodge an appeal.I have made a formal complaint to the TA's parent company about the way the TA treated me prior to the Court hearing as he accused me of being difficult and suggested to the District Judge that my evidence should be disallowed.

6. No, but Cunard did make an offer outside of the hearing which I accepted.

7. No

8. Both Cunard and the TA relied on the "small print" in their brochures and booking forms which essentially gives them the right to alter the itinerary as they think fit. I argued that I felt that this clause was more appropriate in covering situations that occur during the cruise eg bad weather. I think that the part that was most important was that under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations it is considered unfair to bind someone to a contract for something that happens as a result of the company eg an accident. The other fact that was important was that the TA had produced their own brochure clearly highlighting the stop in Fort Lauderdale and Salvador de Bahia and the Judge concluded that I had not received what I had paid for.

 

I hope that this answers your questions but if anyone has any further questions please feel free to raise them.

[2moose]

congrats on your success!!! great to see someone stand up to the 1,000 lb gorillas in this world!! sounds to me that the t/a might possibly be charged with punitive damages for denying your rights under a fiduciary relationship!!

(i.e. fraud and /or misrepresentation)

[lansonlady]

Thankyou for your answers Fireman999.

 

For those of us who received similar treatment from our TA's, probably the very same TA as you used, has your victory set a precident, ie become caselaw for use in other complaints? (- I may have watched far too many TV courtroom dramas over the years!) I know there are a few other passengers from the same cruise who are still persuing their complaints regarding the changes and how they have been dealt with. I wonder how your result will impact on our cases, if at all?

 

lansonlady.

[fireman999]

Hi Lanson Lady, Sorry for the late reply I have been away on business - meeting with the MCA discussing marine safety. There will be a precedent if the circumstances are very similar - which I suspect they may be. Certainly if the same TA is involved it would undoubtably help your case as the Court had no doubt about blame after they heard the facts. I did write to the TA following the Court case expressing my concern about the way they had acted during the booking and leading up to the hearing and they responded with one paragraph "No action will be taken" - not even an apoology. I have now sent the details to the organisation that oversees the work of UK TA's - I will keep you informed on the progress.

It is unfortunate that I am not allowed to name the TA as I did ask Laura about this but she responded saying that it was felt that this was a fair policy. I did make the point to Laura that it appeared a little unfair to able to name Cunard but not the TA who was the main cause of the problem.

Obviously, this does not help you or the other passengers that suffered the same problem and I will be sending details of the case to the media in the hope of some wider media coverage. If you decide to register a complaint with body that oversees UK TA's there is a 9 month deadline which is fast approaching. Best of luck with your complaint.

[lexxity]

Just going back to the 16th September 2001, QE2 crossing.

 

As far as CUNARD is concerned - they would not bring the QE2 into NY Harbor & yet expected me to somehow get 50 blocks north, get on a bus for a 5 hour trip & then board a ship that can certainly be considered to be a possible target....all during a time when the airports here were shut down & they had no way to ensure I could return from Europe. I was not alone....

 

They COULD not bring the QE2 into New York, there was no would not about it. I was on this crossing and many Americans elected to take the trip anyway. We only booke this because our airline (not a British carrier) refused to change our tickets and would not let us leave the US earlier, our travel insurance didn't cover us for this either.