£5.5k taken from elderly couple by cruise line and ABTA write we "cannot force Memb

[Grenegres]

People should know about this.

My wife Lily had her valid passport damaged by Fred Olsen’s who state in their letter, “Ian confirmed that, should the passport scan successfully you would be cleared to travel. Regrettably, the passport did not scan and therefore not able to travel on this occasion” and the passport office write “This will not refuse you boarding any airline”, Fred Olsen’s write Thomas Cook “refused you travel, which is obviously out of our hands” and ABTA write we “cannot force Members to offer specific levels of compensation, or indeed any compensation at all”. This was a package booked with Fred Olsen on a Fred Olsen ship.

This incident occurred as follows:-

We presented ourselves at the Fred Olsen check in desk at Gatwick South Terminal. The only company name on the check in desk was Fred Olsen, so those working on the desks must have been your staff. Several desks were open but there was a long queue. My wife Lily, who is elderly and quite fragile, gave her 23 month old passport to the check-in attendant who followed procedure by first examining the passport quite thoroughly, spending some time on the page which had the photograph on it (biodata page). The check-in attendant then ran the biodata page of the passport through the scanner very roughly and as a result damaged that part of the page. While she was examining the passport prior to scanning, she said nothing regarding its condition, although if there had been significant damage the attendant must have noticed.

When the attendant was in the process of rubbing the passport very roughly against the reader, I made the comment, “Can’t you see it doesn’t seem to read” as I feared that she was damaging the passport. She then looked at the passport again and said the passport was damaged and went off very quickly to find someone to discuss the problem with. She eventually returned and asked if the passport had been damaged prior to us attending the airport, Lily said she had noticed a very minor nick less than an eighth of an inch long, which still can be seen on the passport, after we had flown into Washington DC three months earlier. We had been to Boston and Dubai since then without any problems and she had not noticed any change in the passport’s condition since October last year. Another Fred Olsen representative then looked at the passport, after the check in attendant had damaged it, and said that Lily could not have been able to enter the USA or Dubai with the passport in that condition. However, the representative was observing damage which had actually been perpetrated by the check-in clerk.

Lily was extremely upset and was by now crying. The check-in attendant went off again. We had to stand for about two hours as no seats were available. All the passengers had now gone. There were about ten Fred Olsen staff around us constantly during this time, which made us feel uneasy. The check-in attendant, this time, came back with the check-in manager who was very intimidating and she said to me, that I also could not fly because Lily’s passport would not scan, and that the passport had been damaged before we came to the airport. I said my passport was completely valid and undamaged, so why could I not travel? She ignored my question and mentioned that there was CCTV, I was happy about that as it could be proven that the passport had been damaged by the check-in clerk, but at that moment Lily seemed really distressed and I was very concerned about her health and the lasting damage this could cause her. The check in manager then demanded that we should leave the airport. To save Lily more anguish we did leave.

There could not have been significant damage to the passport before we handed the passport to the check-in attendant as it would not be practically psychologically possible, as her training would have ensured she had developed a habit in following the procedure, and noticed any damage before she ran the passport through the scanner (which she had to do to find out that the passport did not scan), so the passport could not have had significant damage prior to scanning.

The travel insurance company say that they do not cover this.

Fred Olsen has refused to refund us any monies including the money we pre-paid for the excursions which Fred Olsen could easily resell. They have refused to offer us any other form of compensation and now say it is nothing to do with them, even though they are the only organisation we have entered into a contract with, with respect to this holiday. ABTA say they “cannot force Members to offer specific levels of compensation, or indeed any compensation at all”.

What can we do?

[SausPud]

On 9/6/2019 at 9:39 AM, Grenegres said:

Lily said she had noticed a very minor nick less than an eighth of an inch long, which still can be seen on the passport, after we had flown into Washington DC three months earlier.

 

Sorry to hear of all the drama you have experienced. 

The only issue I have is the quoted part above, where Lily has made an omission of damage prior to going to the airport. This would have made you responsible and hence everyone now is not giving any compensation or refund.

Why you couldn't still go and leave Lily behind (which I doubt you would do) is a mystery. 

I understand your anger and frustration, and without CCTV proof of the incident in question, I can only go on the details you have made above. 

Good luck on taking the matter further and let us all know if you do actually get anywhere with this.

[MMDown Under]

I'm sorry for your experience.  I hope Fred Olsen reviews this case and makes amends.  I think they could have done much better!

 

When I had a small mark on my photo on my well travelled passport, I only had to sign a release to the airline, at the airport, in case I was refused entry on arrival.  I have flown numerous times since, with no questions.  

[tring]

5 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

I'm sorry for your experience.  I hope Fred Olsen reviews this case and makes amends.  I think they could have done much better!

 

When I had a small mark on my photo on my well travelled passport, I only had to sign a release to the airline, at the airport, in case I was refused entry on arrival.  I have flown numerous times since, with no questions.  

 

To be fair Fred's instruction before you cruise do say you must check your passport is in good condition (I forget the exact words).  I would expect it to be illegal for her to be allowed to fly if there is a problem with her passport and, as the OP said, it was admitted there was a nick in her passport.  Perhaps there could have been consideration of her husband travelling and her following on when she got a new passport, which (I think) can be done fairly quickly if you pay an extra fee.  I do not see how that could have been prevented and, of course, we only have one side of the story.  They could not be expected to delay the plane if the husband did not board on time. The check in clerks at our airports are airport staff, though there is usually a Fred member of staff at the beginning of the cordoned off area where we need to queue to go to the check in desk.

 

It is a very sad story and something at least others can learn from.  It would be nice if the OP came back to give us an update though.  Maybe a reduction on a future cruise could be considered, but entirely at Fred's discretion I suspect if the passport was not valid. 

Edited October 10, 2019 by tring

[Grenegres]

The UK Passport Office has reported that the passport, even with the damage done by the check in clerk, was legal and should have not been refused on any flight.

[Mickb]

I would consult a firm of lawyers call Bott and Co who were very successful for me in a case where the I was denied a refund. They are on the web. 
good luck - I think you were treated very badly!

[ovccruiser]

Every time I fly to my daughters and return to the UK, my passport never scans and I report to the old style passport check. I am not sure if it is necessary for the passport to scan especially leaving the UK on a package holiday.

[tring]

19 hours ago, ovccruiser said:

Every time I fly to my daughters and return to the UK, my passport never scans and I report to the old style passport check. I am not sure if it is necessary for the passport to scan especially leaving the UK on a package holiday.

 

I think you are right, but I understand that some countries insist on a passport that can be scanned for entry - someone told me the US was one, but I am no expert.  So that may be a useful bit of research.  I assume various airlines/holiday companies have their own policies as well, but have not seen that mentioned either on TC or Fred's T&C's, though Fred does mention passports should be checked.  Always a chance that a plane could land in another country en route to a destination for emergency reasons as well of course.

 

I agree it is a sad story though, but as mentioned by others the only way forward would likely be to seek legal action.  Even if the money is recovered though, it could never compensate for the disappointment of the refusal at the airport.

Edited November 10, 2019 by tring