Brittany ferries rip off,

[BruceM]

fesspark - 2020-04-04 1:44 PM

 

Derek,now i will put you in the picture,what a lot of rubbish, 2 months extension.? How about this then, My original booking was for a return trip to France at the cost of £245.00.Due to my health and the fact that we were advised to rebook our travel arrangements home on the 11th Mar.I tried to cancel the 5th April ferry and rebook, The return ferry for 5th april was cancelled any way. The Ferry company have taken£752.00 from my account compared with the £245,I paid.originally,I eventually booked a ferry for the 18th Mar which ironically was the last one they sailed. they have given me a credit note for £140.00 you are kidding Mr Brittany ferries. Fesspark.

 

Would you clarify how these numbers were determined? Presumably they went through them when you agreed to pay?

 

As I see it, your original trip was a return for £245 for which you cancelled the return leg of so they would have charged you the one way rate that was applicable at the time and cancellation charges and presumably provided a partial refund of £xx?.

 

You then booked a one way ticket back to the UK for £xx?

[yoko8pups]

Derek, did you get the feeling they would extend everyones membership or will we all need to apply?

[fesspark]

I presume that when you are warned that the ferries are being cancelled the sensible thing to do is book another if you want to get home, loads of campers I know are only just getting home after being stuck in France and coming via the tunnel so how do you think they stand with compensation of refunds,:? As far as I am concerned.this is unpressidented and the Ferry club should not kick you in the teeth after all the trauma you have suffered, that;s if they want you to stay loyal to them.fesspark

[Keithl]

Fesspark,

 

Was the money taken from your bank account or a credit card?

 

Either way, approach the bank or credit card provider and ask for a charge back as you did not authorise the amount and see what they say.

 

Keith.

[crocs]

yoko8pups - 2020-04-04 3:03 PM

 

Derek, did you get the feeling they would extend everyones membership or will we all need to apply?

 

The extension was included in a newsletter from BF today, so it includes all members of the scheme.

[fesspark]

Thats an Idea , I have sent Brit Ferries an email stating my concern so if they do not answer monday I will contact my Bank Fespark

[witzend]

So you had a refund of a voucher for £140 from your original return trip to France when you cancelled the return half That sounds fair

 

You said earlier in this thread that booking wasn't made directly with BF but with one of the clubs so BF wouldn't have known to credit your next booking with it

 

Then you booked a return from Spain direct with BF which cost £750 which is around the going rate for that sailing

[Derek Uzzell]

This is the scenario as I understand it..

 

Robert (fesspark) booked a return ticket to France with Brittany Ferries (BF), crossing to France from the UK in January 2020 and returning from France to the UK on 5 April 2020. The booking was made within BF’s Club Voyage scheme where the France version costs an annual subscription of £75. Club Voyage membership provides a 30% discount on the standard ticket price, plus other benefits. A BF ‘France’ return ticket starting in the UK comprises two separate fares - outwards from the UK and inwards from France - with the cost of each fare being priced separately. Robert’s January-outwards/April-inwards ticket cost £245 - but that price would have included Club Voyage discounts. Robert’s plan was to travel through France to Spain, stay there for a while and then travel back from Spain through France to pick up a BF ferry to the UK.

 

Because of the coronavirus issue and his health concerns Robert decided to return from Spain in March. However (either due to oversight or by choice) Robert’s Club Voyage membership had now expired. Robert has said that, when he wanted to amend the date of his France-to-the-UK crossing "the lines on the internet were not working” but I don’t know if that means BF’s computer system was unavailable, or he had problems where he was in Spain.

 

(I suspect that, if a Club Voyage membership has expired, it should be anticipated that logging in to a Club Voyage account will no longer be possible and, if a booking has been made originally through the Club Voyage scheme, that this would prevent that booking from being amended/cancelled on-line.)

 

Because Robert was unable to amend/cancel on-line his April France-to-UK crossing he had to resort to contacting BF by telephone and (perhaps unsurprisingly) it took three days before he could get through. Then he was able to book a crossing on the last BF ferry leaving from northern France before BF suspended their passenger-carrying services.

 

For amending a booking by telephone BF charges a fee

 

If you change your booking via our Contact Centre more than 5 days before your outward travel date, there will be a £15 amendment fee. All amendments made within 5 days of your outward travel date will incur an amendment fee of £25.

 

What seems to have happened is that BF cancelled Robert’s 5 April fare and has given him a £140 refund in the form of a travel-voucher, which - on the face of it - is what their normal terms and conditions would appear to state should occur.

 

Robert has not said how much the 11 March France-to-UK fare cost, but subtracting from his quoted £752 figure £270 (£245 for original booking + £25 for a telephone amendment) produces a price of £482. This sounds a LOT for a single France-to-UK sailing, but (I assume) there would have been no Club Voyage discount and - if it had been an overnight crossing - Robert might have chosen to book a cabin (and there’s a premium for his vehicle being a motorhome of course).

 

I’m doubtful that Robert has actually been ‘ripped off’ by Brittany Ferries: it’s more likely that his particular circumstances (Club Voyage membership expired, need to contact by telephone, etc.) have conspired to produce the large additional expenditure. Plainly he is very unhappy over the way BF have applied their normal booking cancellation/amendment/refund conditions to him when the coronavirus issue makes everything very much abnormal and, hopefully, he will receive a sympathetic response to his email to BF.

[Bojitoes]

Further to my earlier contribution on this subject and my previous post that the M &CC could only commit to providing vouchers for unspecified future crossings their last e mail advised that they have been unable to contact BF via any method and consequently my name has been added to a list of passengers requesting a refund. I am not hopeful!

I did quote the paragraph from BF's T's & C's provided by another but M&CC state this only applies if you turn up at the port and the ferry is then cancelled.

Effectively it appears we are donating £660 to BF's bank balance for an indeterminate period and with no guarantee of gaining any benefit.

Bob

[witzend]

Part of email today from BF

In recent days, we've received a wealth of thanks and understanding which we simply have to acknowledge. It all makes a huge difference to our teams, working tirelessly to help out everyone affected by this situation.

 

At the same time, we are aware that many have had their travel plans disrupted, and we are working hard to finalise credit note refunds for the full value of any unused sailings. In these uncertain times we know it can be difficult to contemplate making travel arrangements given the current context, so with that in mind, these travel vouchers will now all be valid for a period of two years. This is the case even if you have received a voucher showing a validity of one year.

[Derek Uzzell]

Coronavirus-related FAQs are on this Brittany Ferries webpage

 

https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/information/coronavirus/faqs

[Mickydripin]

Sorry if you think I am going off track, But I have booked a package holiday for June and paid a deposit the balance (over 3,000) is due this week and I am wary of paying the balance in case they go Bump so they said the only options were to pay the balance now and claim it back if you can not go, cancel the holiday and lose the deposit,

or book the holiday for a later date and pay a forfeit of over £200, Lose lose whatever I do.

So they are no different than the ferries.

Mike.

[Derek Uzzell]

Mike

 

Yes, your posting is off-topic as this discussion has been about Brittany Ferries.

 

You don’t seem to be asking for advice (having an understandable moan, really ;-) ) but there is a good deal of information about this sort of issue on-line that may be helpful.

 

https://tinyurl.com/tgnffhb

 

A few months back my wife booked a river-cruise holiday. That isn’t scheduled until September, but who knows what the situation will be then. At present she tends to suffix any discussions about the future with “...if we are spared”, which is realistic if not exactly optimistic.

[Bojitoes]

Hi

I have just heard from M&CC this morning. They have had a reply from BF who are adamant that refunds will only be made in the form of travel vouchers valid for 2 years from date of issue.No indication of what happens if you are unable or do not wish to travel on their routes in the future.

Rather angry and disgruntled.

Bob

[Brian Kirby]

It was, and I have no reason to suspect this has changed, the case that discounted crossings sold en-bloc to the clubs by the ferry operators could not be varied by the club member, because the club member was not regarded by the ferry operator as the "booker". In effect, you have no rights under consumer legislation against the ferry operator, because your booking was made via an agent (the MCC), and the agent's ability to change or refund the booking is limited by the terms of their contract with the ferry operator.

 

Had you booked direct with BF, you might have been eligible for a cash refund, or to claim against your (presumably) credit card issuer. As it is, you seem to have been offered compensation in kind, which is at least compensation.

 

I think the coronavirus pandemic would be regarded by any court as force majeure, leaving your consumer right to be decided on the basis of what, under the circumstances, would be a reasonable settlement.

 

It might be worth enquiring whether the voucher is personal to you, or whether you can dispose of it to friends or family (or whoever) if you no longer wish to use it (or you may consider this to be the equivalent of poking a stick down a hornets' nest :-))

 

It is bad luck, but the outbreak was no more the fault of the Club, or BF, than it was yours. You will have greater leverage with the service operator if you book direct with them in future, but by booking via the MCC you got your (expensive) ferry crossing at a discount - so some consequence has to be expected.

 

Have you spoken to your credit card issuer to explore their reaction? Failing that, if any of your insurance policies include legal advice, why not try that service to see if they can explain exactly where you stand legally?

[Bojitoes]

Thanks Brian, wise advice as always

Keep safe

bob

[davidmac]

Hi , have been talking to CaMC today about my Stenna and P&O bookings. Stenna I can rebook foc until the end of 2020 or cancel for £3 .P&O, I have cancelled but have credit for 12 months

Regards David

[Derek Uzzell]

Brian Kirby - 2020-04-09 1:07 PM

 

...It might be worth enquiring whether the voucher is personal to you, or whether you can dispose of it to friends or family (or whoever) if you no longer wish to use it (or you may consider this to be the equivalent of poking a stick down a hornets' nest :-))

 

 

This Brittany Ferries webpage includes a Cancellations and Refunds section

 

https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/information/terms/general-ferry-booking-terms

 

Regarding travel vouchers, this advice is given

 

The travel voucher is valid for a limited time and cannot be converted into cash. The voucher, which is non-transferable, will be issued in the Lead passenger name on the booking. Please see additional terms and conditions on the voucher.

 

I’m still perplexed by how Robert’s (fesspark’s) ferry crossing back to the UK was processed by Brittany Ferries and why the return crossing cost so much.

 

Logically (one might think!) what needed to be done was to amend his original 5 April 2020 France-to-UK booking to an earlier date, not cancel that crossing and book a completely new replacement. Amending the original booking would have attracted a service-charge if done by telephone. There might well have been a further charge if the replacement fare were more expensive than the original one, but probably not a huge amount.

 

 

[witzend]

Derek Uzzell - 2020-04-10 8:20 AM

I’m still perplexed by how Robert’s (fesspark’s) ferry crossing back to the UK was processed by Brittany Ferries and why the return crossing cost so much.

 

Logically (one might think!) what needed to be done was to amend his original 5 April 2020 France-to-UK booking to an earlier date, not cancel that crossing and book a completely new replacement.

 

His first booking was France return with the CMC who he could not contact.so

He then booked to return from Spain direct with BF who would have no knowledge as to his original booking as it was with the CMC I've just looked and Prices are between £562 to £942 depending on time of year and cabin choices etc I guess that as it was a last min booking all the cheaper options where taken up

[fesspark]

There appears some confusion here,I booked a return crossing,Poole to Cherbourg and Roscoff Plymouth return.That is the way we wanted and that is the way we travelled albeit at a earlier return than originally booked due to events beyond my control.B,F;,are dealing with my complaint and apart from a refund in the form of a voucher up to now they seem to be helping me.Sad thing is my wife is not happy to book another crossing as the stress of the last holiday is still telling on her, She is 85 yrs old this year, healthy but now nervous So a voucher and also another year paid into the ferry club is a waste of our money. Fesspark

[Derek Uzzell]

witzend

 

I’m uncertain how you concluded Robert booked his ferry crossings with the C&MC and returned using a Brittany Ferries Spain-to-UK route as it seemed clear enough to me that he used BF’s UK-France/France-UK routes in both directions and originally booked via BF’s Club Voyage (CV) scheme. (Robert has now confirmed this.)

 

In Robert’s case BF’s cancellation policy would involve providing a refund travel voucher and - while I appreciate that a voucher may be of no use to Robert - that’s what BF’s terms and conditions state.

 

Robert’s Club Voyage membership having lapsed when he sought to bring forward the date of his France-to-UK crossing almost certainly complicated matters, and it’s possible BF’s computer systems are not set up to handle amending a booking made by a traveller within the CV scheme when the traveller is no longer a member of that scheme.

 

BF’s fares are ‘flexible', so the cost of a Roscoff-Plymouth fare for a specific date/time in April 2020 and booked several months previously might well be significantly lower than a Roscoff-Plymouth fare for a different date/time booked in March 2020. However, even taking the original fare’s 30% CV discount, the cost of Robert’s Roscoff-Plymouth trip back to the UK seems unusually high.