When a liveaboard trip is cancelled the day you arrive....

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You may be missing the point here. The OP paid Aggressor $0 for the dive trip since it was free. So the OP's out of pocket costs due to the LOB default is $0.

No I am not missing the point. IMHO the issue is not the free trip Aggressor but the expense the OP paid to get to there to find out the trip was canceled. That what I would call a trip in vain. As such the OP is out monies for their flights because if not for the free trip they would not have flown half around the world. It was completely with in Aggressor's control to notify the OP in a timely fashion BEFORE they boarded a plane. Further, it does not matter that the OP made lemonade from lemons once they arrived at the destination.

As such, I disagree the issue is complex. The agreement is that Aggressor offered a free trip if the OP spent their monies to be a particular location at a particular time. The OP held up their end, Aggressor did not. Further, given that this issue is a booking issue (rather than a boat issue) and bookings are done through Aggressor's office in the USA that is where one should be looking.

Lorenzoid being a lawyer, instead of being a nabob of negativism step up to the plate. Especially as you are in Georgia you might have some knowledge of the magistrate courts. And given that you have followed this thread a law clerk could have the paper work for a claim filed in a couple of hours.
 
I don’t practice in this area, but a few questions come to mind:
  • Was there a valid contract?
  • Who were the parties to such contract, if such contract does exist? Erica and Aggressor and/or Oman liveaboard?
  • If no valid contract exists, was there another legal relationship created when Erica filled out her draw ballot, that would create some kind of obligation on Agressor and/or Oman liveaboard?
  • Does some statute exist in Illinois, Georgia or some other relevant jurisdiction that might cover such circumstances?
  • Did the ballot have any fine print that specifically allowed substitutions at the liveaboard’s discretion?
  • And so on.
As @Lorenzoid stated, complicated. I don’t think @Lorenzoid is being negative. I think he’s being realistic and thinking like a good lawyer. He’s not going to tell Erica to pursue legal action just because she can.
 
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Lorenzoid being a lawyer, instead of being a nabob of negativism step up to the plate. Especially as you are in Georgia you might have some knowledge of the magistrate courts. And given that you have followed this thread a law clerk could have the paper work for a claim filed in a couple of hours.

I do live in Georgia and am aware Aggressor is HQ'd in Augusta, but I regret contract law isn't my area of expertise.

I still disagree with your belief that this is the kind of case that only takes "a couple of hours," even for someone who regularly deals with consumer contract law. You know, filing the complaint is not the end of a case--it's just the beginning. The real time that has to be put into it comes later. Even if the case is settled early on, that takes some hours of negotiation.

What I'd really like to see is Aggressor reply to the OP's inquiries. I don't know about the OP, but nothing annoys me more than being completely ignored. If Aggressor at least replied "we're looking into it and will get back to you," my opinion of them would not continue sinking as it is.
 
@Dogbowl , that reads like a law school exam, and it's spot on. And those issues, relating to whether there was a contract (or some other relationship) and what the terms of the contract were, are all things that need to be dealt with before even reaching the issue of how to assess the OP's damages. The airfare is the biggest item the OP is out of pocket, if I understand correctly. But the OP mitigated her damages by salvaging part of the trip, doing some land-based travel, etc. I don't know how that factors in, but it clearly isn't a straightforward check-the-box kind of issue.
 
What I'd really like to see is Aggressor reply to the OP's inquiries. I don't know about the OP, but nothing annoys me more than being completely ignored. If Aggressor at least replied "we're looking into it and will get back to you," my opinion of them would not continue sinking as it is.

I completely and utterly concur with this sentiment.

On the one hand that is.
On the other hand (warning, some minor level of level of poking with a stick) :poke:, it's almost like as if Aggressor was acting as if advised by a lawyer... "Your honor, on advise of my legal counsel, I will elect to bla bla bla, 5th. bla bla" ...

Or on "advise" of their statistics, which might e.g. potentially (wild and unsubstantiated stipulation on my end) show rather nicely that once you ignore such things for long enough, most complaints go away and only have to deal with a very, verysmall fraction of complaints that way... and most LOB divers still will go diving on your LOB sooner or later anyway if their personal experience was OK and that coupon for the right trip at the right location at the right time for the right price shows up...

Edit (Addendum): Anyway, to me this looks like the kind of gray area (not really worth a lawsuit, the suit costs more than what can be gained, even if won) where consumer protection laws could be improved... but that then would be the government mingling in private affairs again... .
 
My last comment, Lorenzoid and Dougbowl you need to go to a few small claims court sessions. I have been multiple times. Many of the issues you bring up become moot. The judge may ask about signed contracts but lacking those my experience it that they use common sense.
 
My last comment, Lorenzoid and Dougbowl you need to go to a few small claims court sessions. I have been multiple times. Many of the issues you bring up become moot. The judge may ask about signed contracts but lacking those my experience it that they use common sense.

As my final comment on this, uh, sidebar, I'll add that when a person represents himself in court rather than having a lawyer, the judge is often more forgiving about the formalities. If I were to represent someone in Small Claims Court, I'm certain the judge would not let me ignore the issues Dogbowl mentioned, especially if the defendant's lawyer raised those issues--which they almost certainly would. The issues don't "become moot"; the judge is just more forgiving when someone without a lawyer representing him neglects to address them.
 
Yes :) Since this is the show that I won it at last year I was planning on stopping by their booth and asking what is up. First and foremost- I have yet to have ANYONE reply to emails or phone calls, let alone my voucher be extended as promised.

Erica, did you win the voucher from the Aggressor booth? I have a couple questoins for you and perhaps we can help with this. Please email me at bendavison@undercurrent.org

Undercurrent, the consumer newsletter for serious divers
www.undercurrent.org
 
Since there was some chatter on this thread about dive travel insurance policies and cancellation coverage, I wanted to copy and paste this post over that I wrote in another thread since I think it is somewhat relevant.

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I wanted to post an update. I put a deposit down for a liveaboard/trip in October 2019 and as always, I am interested in purchasing dive travel insurance with a liveaboard rider from Dive Assure. I have purchased many policies from them before but this one was a bit different. Unfortunately, Dive Assure's online system does not allow you to purchase coverage this far in advance; they only allow you to purchase coverage for trips up to 18 months in advance. I shared with them that this poses to be a problem because many liveaboard operators publish schedules and accept bookings 2-3 years in advance and even have sailings selling out this far in advance. It is even more crucial because they are the only insurance provider (to my knowledge) that extends specific liveaboard coverage. In order to receive trip coverage for financial default, the fine print stipulates that you must purchase coverage within 14 days of initial trip payment in order to receive that benefit. In addition, trip cancellation is also an issue. That is where the 18 month window poses to be a problem. Airlines in financial trouble are not unheard of - even in Europe. My travels take me back to Indonesia this time and that is always a worry, along with the other companies I am paying money to.

I e-mailed customer service to explain my situation. Their standard response was that I would not receive financial default coverage because it would not be purchased within 14 days of initial trip payment (my first deposit). I replied that I did not think I should be penalized for this because their online system does not allow purchase of it, not because I did not want to purchase it within that time frame. I asked if I could purchase coverage via phone instead. They said that they would look into it and respond in a timely manner. Since I was close to the 14 day window, they said that when approved, either way, it would count as though my policy were purchased within the 14 day window. Communication was excellent and they kept me updated.

I just received an e-mail this morning confirming that they are able to register me for coverage manually. However, they are only able to extend trip cancellation coverage starting at 18 months prior to departure. This would allow me to have coverage for financial default but if I need to cancel my trip between now and the 18 month before departure mark, I would not be covered. Once I am within the 18 month window, trip cancellation coverage would become active. It isn't ideal, but this is a compromise that I am willing to accept. I have excellent credit card coverage for trip cancellation which covers this "hole" but I thought this experience was really interesting and I wanted to share it with others who are considering dive travel insurance/liveaboard riders with Dive Assure. I think if I did not have such good credit card cancellation coverage, this would not have been acceptable. The take home message is if you are purchasing a trip that is more than 18 months from now, you can call or e-mail to have an exception made with caveats.

I hope this helps someone else.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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