Diving in Australia in June

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Absolutely do Yongala, it's an amazing experience !! Spirit of Freedom is also a great outfit.

We are locals and had a very expensive trip booked with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions. (Please note the business is not owned by Mike Ball anymore). They cancelled the trip and have refused to refund anyone for the upcoming trips. We are out of pocket $3,800 !

They cited that all customer guarantees are now null & void because of Corona Virus. This is absurd !!! On contacting the Australian Consumer Commission they also confirmed this is not correct.

A truly terrible experience and service! We cannot believe we have been treated like this, especially being locals! So would not recommend you dive with them.
 
They cited that all customer guarantees are now null & void because of Corona Virus. This is absurd !!! On contacting the Australian Consumer Commission they also confirmed this is not correct.
That's terrible to hear and unfortunately we also had a customer who was given the same information, Luckily he could reschedule for next year, and for others we have managed to refund deposits etc, but hopefully they will reverse this decision later in the year otherwise the reputation damage will be huge.

Right now all operations here in Cairns are closed and I doubt much will be running in June to be honest.
 
Absolutely do Yongala, it's an amazing experience !! Spirit of Freedom is also a great outfit.

We are locals and had a very expensive trip booked with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions. (Please note the business is not owned by Mike Ball anymore). They cancelled the trip and have refused to refund anyone for the upcoming trips. We are out of pocket $3,800 !

They cited that all customer guarantees are now null & void because of Corona Virus. This is absurd !!! On contacting the Australian Consumer Commission they also confirmed this is not correct.

A truly terrible experience and service! We cannot believe we have been treated like this, especially being locals! So would not recommend you dive with them.

Not sure if you've seen it but in other threads there are cases where the booking agent is trying to rip-off the client but the actual dive op is not ripping-off the agent.

Not doubting your message but here's an earlier offical announcement in this thread from Mike Ball D.C: Covid-19 (coronavirus) Updates - Liveaboard Cancellation Policy (post 64).

Did you book direct? and if not, please let us know your agent so they can join the @outofofficebrb's SS with the appropriate comments.

They're BS;ing you re Aust Consumer Law, (really surprising they try that with local's in the know) but perhaps they're playing some grab and run game with the $ and will fold their biz meanwhile.
 
Not sure if you've seen it but in other threads there are cases where the booking agent is trying to rip-off the client but the actual dive op is not ripping-off the agent.

Not doubting your message but here's an earlier offical announcement in this thread from Mike Ball D.C: Covid-19 (coronavirus) Updates - Liveaboard Cancellation Policy (post 64).

Did you book direct? and if not, please let us know your agent so they can join the @outofofficebrb's SS with the appropriate comments.

They're BS;ing you re Aust Consumer Law, (really surprising they try that with local's in the know) but perhaps they're playing some grab and run game with the $ and will fold their biz meanwhile.

@NQtraveler76

Hi - Are you requesting a refund or a voucher/reschedule? When you mean they are refusing to refund, do you mean that they are refusing to credit your credit card back/write a cheque or do you mean they are refusing to give you a voucher or reschedule you? When is your trip?

I think it's reasonable to try to request a refund, but most ops are not obligated to either due to their terms and conditions (even during "normal" times") as they probably have a Force Majeure clause. I am not familiar with consumer protection in Aus and if there is something that is different there. I would say that they should at the very least give you a voucher for the same product (same itinerary, boat, cabin class) or give you a 100% credit based on what you have already paid to apply to a future sailing, or offer to reschedule you at no additional fee at a later date of your choosing.

What does this mean: "customer guarantees are now null & void" - are these deposits or payments already made are void meaning they are just going to swallow it?!

You are welcome to elaborate more on your situation and provide us more info here: Cancelled/postponed trips due to COVID - please share your outcomes

Once you have your final outcome, we can log it.
 
@NQtraveler76

Hi - Are you requesting a refund or a voucher/reschedule? When you mean they are refusing to refund, do you mean that they are refusing to credit your credit card back/write a cheque or do you mean they are refusing to give you a voucher or reschedule you? When is your trip?

I think it's reasonable to try to request a refund, but most ops are not obligated to either due to their terms and conditions (even during "normal" times") as they probably have a Force Majeure clause. I am not familiar with consumer protection in Aus and if there is something that is different there. I would say that they should at the very least give you a voucher for the same product (same itinerary, boat, cabin class) or give you a 100% credit based on what you have already paid to apply to a future sailing, or offer to reschedule you at no additional fee at a later date of your choosing.

What does this mean: "customer guarantees are now null & void" - are these deposits or payments already made are void meaning they are just going to swallow it?!

You are welcome to elaborate more on your situation and provide us more info here: Cancelled/postponed trips due to COVID - please share your outcomes

Once you have your final outcome, we can log it.

Hi outofofficebrb,

We requested a straight refund. They cancelled the trip one week before it was due to leave and we got a flimsy email saying they were not offering any refunds. Now they will not answer their phone or emails.

They also cited that they were not obligated to offer refunds. Their terms and conditions of sale do NOT include Force Majeure. (btw Force Majeure from a contract law sense only covers natural disasters or weather developments, not pandemic / epidemic). They mention cancellations for bad weather on their sales receipts and that is it.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission states that all merchants must offer a refund or other agreeable remedy if the customer so wishes. Since we paid for this trip in full more than 2 months prior to the start date, they really have everyone by the proverbial ..... I can only imagine how much money they have kept (at least 2 months worth of full trip costs).

To make matters worse they sent a "generic" email to everyone saying they were shutting the business down for 6 months and would see how things went ..... with all our money in their pockets :(

Then we have just seen last night that they have let all their staff go ..... poor people! This was on facebook.

In Australia all businesses are receiving a stimulus package plus guaranteed business loans. They are also receiving $750 per work / per employee to ensure that everyone keeps their jobs.

Considering all this, the fact that they will not refund their customers is appalling.
 
Not sure if you've seen it but in other threads there are cases where the booking agent is trying to rip-off the client but the actual dive op is not ripping-off the agent.

Not doubting your message but here's an earlier offical announcement in this thread from Mike Ball D.C: Covid-19 (coronavirus) Updates - Liveaboard Cancellation Policy (post 64).

Did you book direct? and if not, please let us know your agent so they can join the @outofofficebrb's SS with the appropriate comments.

They're BS;ing you re Aust Consumer Law, (really surprising they try that with local's in the know) but perhaps they're playing some grab and run game with the $ and will fold their biz meanwhile.

Hi Jay,

Yes we booked direct and yes I think they were hoping we were out of towners!

We have contacted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and they have informed us that as we are Australian customers we are entitled to a full refund if we desire.
 
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That's terrible to hear and unfortunately we also had a customer who was given the same information, Luckily he could reschedule for next year, and for others we have managed to refund deposits etc, but hopefully they will reverse this decision later in the year otherwise the reputation damage will be huge.

Right now all operations here in Cairns are closed and I doubt much will be running in June to be honest.

We are very sorry to hear this :( As I said above, I think they were hoping we were out of towners! Not once have they taken into consideration anyone's circumstances and that $3,800 would be very helpful right now. Not to mention the annual leave we lost because the trip got cancelled (and the leave did not).

It's shameful really ..... I would like to think Mike Ball never ran his operations like this ..... the new director obviously has no scruples.
 

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