Travel links are important to the Channel Islands, but sometimes things go wrong and disruptions, whatever the cause, can be a nuisance and inconvenience.
Condor Ferries recently apologized after making a number of changes to its summer schedule.
What are your rights if your ferry trip is interrupted or delayed?
We spoke to Karl Walker, chairman of the Jersey Consumer Council.
What rights do passengers have?
As with passengers affected by airline plan changes or delays, there is some protection. However, it appears that you will only be compensated if you start your trip and then start late or fail to leave on time, which has a knock-on effect.
As long as your travel agent has given you sufficient notice, you are entitled to a full refund or to be rebooked for another date and time that suits your plans.
The problem we are seeing for consumers in the Channel Islands after Condor's schedule change is that there is no longer an hourly fleet, which is having a knock-on effect on people's hotel bookings and perhaps subsequent travel. Or the event they are going to see.
How can travel insurance help in this situation?
People often make the mistake of booking a vacation or trip and don't purchase travel insurance until a few days before departure.
If the company changes your reservation, you will not be covered if your travel plans change at the last minute.
Therefore, those who take out annual travel insurance, those who already have travel insurance, or those who booked through a travel agent as part of a travel package will be liable for any additional costs incurred due to changes in shipping or sailing times. You should be able to claim. they.
If I decide not to travel with my amended booking, can I cancel?
You should not be charged a cancellation fee. If so, I highly doubt it.
They caused the problem, they caused the problem. It's not right that when people change the terms of a contract they have to pay to get out of the contract.
Does a company have the right to change published departure times?
absolutely. All airlines and ferry companies have the right to change departure times for any reason. This happens a lot with airlines.
For example, for major airlines, if your flight is changed within two hours, you must abide by it. We have to roll with it. There's really no choice.
If you are delayed for more than 2 hours, you can reschedule your reservation. You can either get a credit back into your account or get a full refund, no questions asked.
Am I entitled to compensation if my departure time changes?
Compensation only applies if you start your trip with us or if a delay occurs after you have checked in.
Unless of course the weather is nice. Weather has a huge impact on ferries, much more so than airlines.
But you can't do that if it was actually decided by the ferry company and they gave you enough notice.
What does Condor say about compensation?
A Condor spokesperson said that if changes were made for operational reasons, BBC passengers may be entitled to make a claim under EU Regulation 1177/2010 in certain cases. Passengers can file a claim within two months of the accident.
If your arrival time is delayed, you can claim a refund of 25%/50% of the affected leg, depending on the distance traveled.
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