Are cruise contracts legal and binding ?

[travellady09]

We found a great deal on RCCI yesterday and called and booked a cruise tour trip to Alaska for 2016. I asked the agent if he was sure this great price included the land portion as well as the cruise, and he said yes.

So we booked it and put our deposit down.

 

Today the cruise line called us and said OOPs! there was a glitch in our system and we cannot let you have that trip unless you pay us $5800.00 more.

 

I feel the contract is binding for both sides. I have a receipt that indicated each day of the land tour and each day of the cruise for the price I found on their website.

 

They had several people that found this deal on their website and bought

it. They are contacting each of us and telling us the same thing.

 

I feel they should honor what they advertised and sold. Isn't it the law in the US that they cannot advertise something and then renege on the deal?:(

 

Dee

[zqvol]

We found a great deal on RCCI yesterday and called and booked a cruise tour trip to Alaska for 2016. I asked the agent if he was sure this great price included the land portion as well as the cruise, and he said yes.

So we booked it and put our deposit down.

 

Today the cruise line called us and said OOPs! there was a glitch in our system and we cannot let you have that trip unless you pay us $5800.00 more.

 

I feel the contract is binding for both sides. I have a receipt that indicated each day of the land tour and each day of the cruise for the price I found on their website.

 

They had several people that found this deal on their website and bought

it. They are contacting each of us and telling us the same thing.

 

I feel they should honor what they advertised and sold. Isn't it the law in the US that they cannot advertise something and then renege on the deal?:(

 

Dee

 

 

It may or may not be binding, without a lot more information it is impossible to determine. You need to consult an attorney.

[fishywood]

Isn't it the law in the US that they cannot advertise something and then renege on the deal?:(

 

Dee

 

Nope. By law an advertisement is nothing more than a solicitation for you to inquire of the merchant. Nowhere does the law state that any statements made in the advertisement are automatically included in the terms of the purchase once one is made. You can argue that once you made a deposit or payment to the agent that a binding contract was executed, but RCI can easily claim that because said contract contains an egregious error (the price being off by $5800) that it is void.

Edited November 14, 2015 by fishywood

[travellady09]

It may or may not be binding, without a lot more information it is impossible to determine. You need to consult an attorney.

 

That's what I was thinking. I told them I wanted to find out what my rights as a consumer were. Hmmm.

Dee

[travellady09]

Nope. By law an advertisement is nothing more than a solicitation for you to inquire of the merchant. Nowhere does the law state that any statements made in the advertisement are automatically included in the terms of the purchase once one is executed. You can argue that once you made a deposit or payment to the agent that a binding contract was issued, but RCI can easily claim that said contract contains such an egregious error (the price being off by $5800) that it is void.

 

That is exactly what they are doing. They are saying it was a system glitch and that they are not responsible. I feel it is their error, they should absorb it. Their agent absolutely agreed that it included everything.

 

I even told the agent that I had some friends that might want to take advantage of this deal and he said "Well you better tell them to jump on this cause I have never seen this before and it won't last long".

 

Dee

[broberts]

If you read the contract I suspect you will find that the cruise line is well within its rights.

 

TN has a consumer protection agency. You may want to contact them to see if there is anything they can do or to file a formal complaint.

[BlueRiband]

I'd be disappointed and pi**ed too if I signed on for a too good to be true deal and than was told it was indeed too good to be true.

 

Unless you have the time, energy, and expertise to mount some kind of social media campaign about it there is really nothing you can do. Sometimes airlines make an oppsie and honor very low fares but it probably depends on the total amount of money involved for the company.

 

A lawsuit would cost a lot more than $5800 and what personal harm done could you claim?

[travellady09]

If you read the contract I suspect you will find that the cruise line is well within its rights.

 

TN has a consumer protection agency. You may want to contact them to see if there is anything they can do or to file a formal complaint.

 

Thanks for the tip.

Dee

[travellady09]

I'd be disappointed and pi**ed too if I signed on for a too good to be true deal and than was told it was indeed too good to be true.

 

Unless you have the time, energy, and expertise to mount some kind of social media campaign about it there is really nothing you can do. Sometimes airlines make an oppsie and honor very low fares but it probably depends on the total amount of money involved for the company.

 

A lawsuit would cost a lot more than $5800 and what personal harm done could you claim?

 

If there was a roll call for this trip I could check to see what the others were going to do , but the roll call for this trip is only for the cruise portion. There is power in numbers, if I could manage to contact those other buyers, but that would be almost impossible.

 

Dee

[sail7seas]

I'm not an attorney but wonder if this sort of error doesn't fit into the description of scribner's error. A mistake....... a mistake that can be corrected.

 

While I understand it is tempting to hold their feet to the fire are you sure that is a moral thing to do? Are you sure you could fully enjoy a trip knowing you actually cheated them because of a typo/entry error? I wouldn't feel very good about that. They made a mistake and I don't think I'd want to 'cash in' on such an error. Either pay for the trip what one would expect to pay or give up on it. IMO

 

How about hiring an attorney to fight it? :D How much to you suppose that would cost per hour?

Edited November 14, 2015 by sail7seas

[cb at sea]

It's like that "mistake" with the slot machine....they paid $80 on an $8 million jackpot....

[travellady09]

I'm not an attorney but wonder if this sort of error doesn't fit into the description of scribner's error. A mistake....... a mistake that can be corrected.

 

While I understand it is tempting to hold their feet to the fire are you sure that is a moral thing to do? Are you sure you could fully enjoy a trip knowing you actually cheated them because of a typo/entry error? I wouldn't feel very good about that. They made a mistake and I don't think I'd want to 'cash in' on such an error. Either pay for the trip what one would expect to pay or give up on it. IMO

 

How about hiring an attorney to fight it? :D How much to you suppose that would cost per hour?

 

Actually , I don't feel I am cheating them...I worked for a major corporation for 30 years and if we made a mistake, we made it right for the customer. It's not fair or just for a major corporation to sell something one day and then come back the next day and tell you that you have to pay more money because of an error on their part.

That would be like making a great deal on a car and then the sales person telling you to pay another thousand dollars before you could pick it up.

 

I'm not a greedy person, but I verified it with their agent before booking it. He stood by the website price. That's not the consumer's fault.

 

It's not my intention to sue anyone....I would much rather the company accept their error and do right by the customer. :)

Edited November 14, 2015 by travellady09

[travellady09]

It's like that "mistake" with the slot machine....they paid $80 on an $8 million jackpot....

 

LOL I never saw that machine! I would probably lose at that as

 

well. :(

[sail7seas]

Actually , I don't feel I am cheating them...I worked for a major corporation for 30 years and if we made a mistake, we made it right for the customer. It's not fair or just for a major corporation to sell something one day and then come back the next day and tell you that you have to pay more money because of an error on their part.

That would be like making a great deal on a car and then the sales person telling you to pay another thousand dollars before you could pick it up.

 

I'm not a greedy person, but I verified it with their agent before booking it. He stood by the website price. That's not the consumer's fault.

 

It's not my intention to sue anyone....I would much rather the company accept their error and do right by the customer. :)

 

Another sort of issue we each decide for ourselves.

You get to choose.

 

[broberts]

I'm not an attorney but wonder if this sort of error doesn't fit into the description of scribner's error. A mistake....... a mistake that can be corrected.

 

While I understand it is tempting to hold their feet to the fire are you sure that is a moral thing to do? Are you sure you could fully enjoy a trip knowing you actually cheated them because of a typo/entry error? I wouldn't feel very good about that. They made a mistake and I don't think I'd want to 'cash in' on such an error. Either pay for the trip what one would expect to pay or give up on it. IMO

 

How about hiring an attorney to fight it? :D How much to you suppose that would cost per hour?

 

Unless companies have to pay for their mistakes, they will never correct them. It is in fact against their interest to correct errors since it adds to costs.

 

Typo/entry errors are very preventable. The fact that a company chooses not to implement suitable prevention protocols is a company's choice. I do not think consumers should have to bear the cost of errors that result.

[Waynetor]

In a case like this the cruise line basically says pay up or get your money back -in this case by cancelling the cruise, instead of paying, the only loss would be the loss of an enjoyable vacation at a great rate.

What would of happened if the customer after booking the great rate, then turned around and bought air fare only to find out there had been the pricing error. In that case they would have to pay the $5,800 or loose the air fare.

[travellady09]

In a case like this the cruise line basically says pay up or get your money back -in this case by cancelling the cruise, instead of paying, the only loss would be the loss of an enjoyable vacation at a great rate.

What would of happened if the customer after booking the great rate, then turned around and bought air fare only to find out there had been the pricing error. In that case they would have to pay the $5,800 or loose the air fare.

 

Excellent point. The cruise company surely would not fix the airfare issue for me...and the airline would "hold my feet to the fire" on the tickets. Even tho I was the victim of a cruise company error, the airline would not refund my money. Even if they thought it was the moral thing to do. Business is business, right!

 

Dee

Edited November 14, 2015 by travellady09

[travellady09]

Unless companies have to pay for their mistakes, they will never correct them. It is in fact against their interest to correct errors since it adds to costs.

 

Typo/entry errors are very preventable. The fact that a company chooses not to implement suitable prevention protocols is a company's choice. I do not think consumers should have to bear the cost of errors that result.

 

Exactly!

[iheartbda]

I know an attorney whose specialty is contracts but he's not available at the moment.

[fishywood]

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/legal.do?cS=MFTR#2 (emphasis mine):

 

Disclaimers

The Company has used reasonable efforts in collecting, preparing and providing quality information and material, but does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or currency of the information contained in or linked to this website or any other Company Website. Users of information from this website or any other Company Website or links do so at their own risk. We assume no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content of any Company Website. The Company is not responsible for pricing, typographical, or other errors and reserves the right to cancel without liability any bookings made at erroneous rates. While the Company may make changes to the information in any Company Website or to any Company service or product at any time without notice, the Company makes no commitment to update the information on a Company Website.

 

So even if you are successful in arguing that you have a binding contract, the language of the contract (implicitly agreed to by you simply by acknowledging you have visited the website) allows the contract to be unilaterally cancelled by RCI. Meaning you have to find a way to hold them liable outside of contract law, since if you prove you have a binding contract you are bound by the language in the contract that makes it not binding.

 

You only move may be to claim that you never saw the price on the website, simply randomly called the cruise line to inquire and decided to book on the spot. (Which of course would be perjury given the tape of your conversation has surely been archived).

Edited November 14, 2015 by fishywood

[sail7seas]

Unless companies have to pay for their mistakes, they will never correct them. It is in fact against their interest to correct errors since it adds to costs.

 

Typo/entry errors are very preventable. The fact that a company chooses not to implement suitable prevention protocols is a company's choice. I do not think consumers should have to bear the cost of errors that result.

 

One can justify most anything if they want to badly enough.

 

People are human and make mistakes. Data entry operators hit wrong keys.

Who of us is mistake free?

For ME, it is not okay to leap in and grab when an error has been made but as I wrote above, each of us decides for ourselves.

 

We all know our own moral compass.

 

[fishywood]

One can justify most anything if they want to badly enough.

 

People are human and make mistakes. Data entry operators hit wrong keys.

Who of us is mistake free?

For ME, it is not okay to leap in and grab when an error has been made but as I wrote above, each of us decides for ourselves.

 

We all know our own moral compass.

 

 

I was just going to stick to the practical rather than moral arguments--and then I remembered this:

 

We all know the price of eggs went nuts this year.

At my local Wal-Mart a dozen Land-O-Lakes Organic Brown Eggs were marked $4.27 but at the self check out registers they scanned at $2.47 (less than what generic white eggs were going for).

I bought five dozen and didn't look back.

 

I realize this is a molehill compared to the OP's mountain--but moral compasses are not relative, yes? So should I have put them back? Or stopped at just one dozen?

 

I do completely sympathize with the OP's position, but the grad school business law class I took a few years ago is shouting louder. (Though I guess it was tuned out at Wal-Mart).

[sail7seas]

Whatever works for each of us.

 

It's all the same to me what someone else wishes to do.

As long as I can look in the mirror, that is as far is it matters to me.

[Hlitner]

Errors can usually be corrected. When these things happen with our airlines (and it seems to happen every week) the airlines will sometimes bit the bullet, absorb the loss, and honor the ridiculous fares. They do this because it is great PR. Whether a cruise line would do the same is questionable. If it was truly an error, then the cruise line can offer to refund (or not complete the charge) for any deal. At that point your option would be to sue them (which would have to be done in FL) and perhaps there would be some kind of accommodation (assuming you can find a FL law firm to take on the cause). But the fact that the error was detected so quickly would make one wonder what harm has been done...and whether one should simply accept that we all make mistakes.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

We found a great deal on RCCI yesterday and called and booked a cruise tour trip to Alaska for 2016. I asked the agent if he was sure this great price included the land portion as well as the cruise, and he said yes.

So we booked it and put our deposit down.

 

Today the cruise line called us and said OOPs! there was a glitch in our system and we cannot let you have that trip unless you pay us $5800.00 more.

 

I feel the contract is binding for both sides. I have a receipt that indicated each day of the land tour and each day of the cruise for the price I found on their website.

 

They had several people that found this deal on their website and bought

it. They are contacting each of us and telling us the same thing.

 

I feel they should honor what they advertised and sold. Isn't it the law in the US that they cannot advertise something and then renege on the deal?:(

 

Dee

 

It is a stretch to call a telephoned order for a cruise (at an almost unbelievably low price) to be a legal and binding "contract"; especially when you were notified the next day that there was an error involved - and where you yourself had reason to think there must have been a mistake.

 

If you think you have a case, get a lawyer and pursue it -- but I doubt any attorney would proceed on a contingency basis.