Who to escalate a complaint to when your tour is not as described?

[FlyingFiona]

Putting this out to the brains' trust for some help.

A train tour my family took last year in Australia was not as advertised and I'm wondering the best avenue for escalation.

We were required to take two bus replacements for significant sections of the multi-day trip due to bridges being compromised. We are seeking compensation for one of these because it was not communicated to us in advance of the tour despite the company knowing about the issue both at the time of booking, and at the time that full payment was required (we booked with a deposit months in advance, and paid in full 45 days before the tour). We were not, therefore, given the opportunity to cancel our booking in light of the changes to the itinerary which is the basis of my complaint. We would likely have done this (and forgone the deposit) because the major section in question that we had to be transferred to a bus was the most significant section of the itinerary for us.

I have complained to the company who, after two emails, finally responded to say tough luck, you agreed to the terms of the booking which is that we can make whatever operational changes we like. I have pointed out that the ACCC is clear, "Businesses can’t take away a consumer's right to a refund or replacement for faulty products or services. It’s illegal for businesses to rely on store policies or terms and conditions which deny these rights."

I can make a complaint to the ACCC now, but that won't resolve the situation for us. (We are seeking a refund of 1/3-1/2 the booking fee as a concessionary point, but in light of their lax response time and nonchalant reply now feel that we ought to go for a full refund).

What other avenues do you suggest? The Ombudsman for the state they are in? Small claims tribunal? (Is that likely to be worth it?)

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I would start with consumer affairs in your state. They provide free advice including next steps.

I believe there was an Australian court case in this very issue… ‘loss of enjoyment’ or something similar. That’s possibly a starting point for something like this.

Consumer affairs is well across these issues and will have all the information you need.

For some background, have a read through this… Roy, Victoria --- "Ruined holidays: Disappointment compensable once Moore" [2021] PrecedentAULA 15; (2021) 163 Precedent 4.

This analysis covers the case law to date, so there are some ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ before you get to the current law. Which seems to be in favour of your claim. In reasonably similar circumstances even?

(of course it could have changed since 2021, but consumer affairs will have the latest on that)

 

[Haplo]

It depends on what kind of train you are talking about. If it is NSW country link which is a standard commuter train, then you don't really have any chance since country link has the right to use bus replacement if train is not available. A bus replacement in this case would be an acceptable substitute for the train service. Also where you get the train or the bus is beyond the control of the tour operator.

If it is Indian Pacific or similar premium product, you would have a right of recourse against the tour provider since replacement bus is not a sufficient substitute for a premium service.

 

[moa999]

Think it would very much depend on the t&c.
Plenty of European river cruises where bus replacement due to flooding is somewhat common some years.

 

[randompunter]

Savannahlander? Their website says the damaged bridge near Forsayth is not even excepted to open in 2025.

 

[Pushka]

I would start with consumer affairs in your state. They provide free advice including next steps.

I believe there was an Australian court case in this very issue… ‘loss of enjoyment’ or something similar. That’s possibly a starting point for something like this.

Consumer affairs is well across these issues and will have all the information you need.

For some background, have a read through this… Roy, Victoria --- "Ruined holidays: Disappointment compensable once Moore" [2021] PrecedentAULA 15; (2021) 163 Precedent 4.

This analysis covers the case law to date, so there are some ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ before you get to the current law. Which seems to be in favour of your claim. In reasonably similar circumstances even?

(of course it could have changed since 2021, but consumer affairs will have the latest on that)

Yes we used this with Viking when our cruise became a bus trip with their knowledge in advance. Moore Scenic Cruises case was settled in the last two years in the High Court. Search out some more specific terms and go back to them with that. I'd contact the company again reminding them of this case as a first step. As it was a Known event and it was a significant change then it comes into play.

 

[Cynicor]

I’d just initiate chargeback to some lever of compensation to bring them to the table. Has worked well for me for other companies (non tour) before

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes we used this with Viking when our cruise became a bus trip with their knowledge in advance. Moore Scenic Cruises case was settled in the last two years in the High Court. Search out some more specific terms and go back to them with that. I'd contact the company again reminding them of this case as a first step. As it was a Known event and it was a significant change then it comes into play.

Good to hear!

If the OP goes down this route I would suggest either having ‘attention legal department’ as part of the subject of the email, or including a sentence in the body of the email saying ‘please forward this to your legal department’.

Too many times customer service agents either (a) have no understanding of the law or (b) just stick to scrip and don’t really care. The legal department is the one that will likely need to consider this, so try and save the back and forth.

I had a dishwasher that was 7 years out of warranty and customer service refused to provide a repair free of charge. Once I asked the email to be forwarded to legal… got the full repair authorised the next day!

 

[Mwenenzi]

A train tour my family took last year in Australia was not as advertised and I'm wondering the best avenue for escalation.

I can make a complaint to the ACCC now, but that won't resolve the situation for us. (We are seeking a refund of 1/3-1/2 the booking fee as a concessionary point, but in light of their lax response time and nonchalant reply now feel that we ought to go for a full refund).

Was 33%~50% of the total distance by bus?
Would get a far better response if route., train operator & tour operator are fully disclosed.
But expect you will get zero or minimal refund, as you took the trip.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Was 33%~50% of the total distance by bus?
Would get a far better response if route., train operator & tour operator are fully disclosed.
But expect you will get zero or minimal refund, as you took the trip.

That would be inconsistent with the case law and ACL.

The OP says they weren’t notified, or given the option to cancel before the tour.