Diving in Australia in June

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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.

As you are local, would you be open to suggesting for a reschedule or voucher once their operations are running again? It sounds like Aus law might have you covered and you may have some recourse there but that might take some time. Do you have any option to do a chargeback to your credit card for services not provided? I am trying to think of what other options you have. Please share this in the thread I linked you to so that we can log it. It will be VERY helpful for others.
 
They have closed the offices because the operation is shut down . They won't be ignoring you but no emails are being monitored.

If you can reschedule then that option is best but for a refund you will need to be patient as everyone here in Cairns is shut down temporarily.

I also agree that consumer affairs or your credit card company would be able to take this on for goods not received.
 
They have closed the offices because the operation is shut down . They won't be ignoring you but no emails are being monitored..

Australia is working from home. The Govt is paying businesses and many affected individuals.

It says a lot about Mike Ball (the company) when they behave like this. None of it being good.
 
We were planning a trip to Australia for next year. Based on Mike Ball's behaviour during the pandemic, we will NOT be booking with them.
 
We were planning a trip to Australia for next year. Based on Mike Ball's behaviour during the pandemic, we will NOT be booking with them.

Drop me a PM if you like, but there are alternatives to Mike Ball. Spirit of Freedom for one. We work with them a lot and same trip and sites as Mike Ball.
 
They have closed the offices because the operation is shut down . They won't be ignoring you but no emails are being monitored.

If you can reschedule then that option is best but for a refund you will need to be patient as everyone here in Cairns is shut down temporarily.

I also agree that consumer affairs or your credit card company would be able to take this on for goods not received.

Aquapro, we have just been told that they have refunded certain individuals, but not the majority - ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL BEHAVIOUR !!!
 
Aquapro, we have just been told that they have refunded certain individuals, but not the majority - ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL BEHAVIOUR !!!

WTF??? That's not on at all, and we have been bending over backwards to help a lot of people we helped book. I can only hope here that they are slowly refunding everyone over time if those people cannot reschedule. So I am going to try and stay optimistic, but thanks for the heads up as I will definitely follow up.
Luckily we only had a couple of people booked with them as we refunded everything they paid us as a deposit, and 1 was able to reschedule for next year so no one lost out, but I agree this is not the way to save your reputation.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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