Legal Situation when booking a LIveaboard

[Energy58]

Agency is a bloody nightmare - but the only time it went horribly wrong for me (in Burma) I booked direct and sent the cash by bank transfer but on other occasions, including COVID-hit trips, seemingly minute companies in Africa paid up with no issues

[Arbu]

Agency is a bloody nightmare - but the only time it went horribly wrong for me (in Burma) I booked direct and sent the cash by bank transfer but on other occasions, including COVID-hit trips, seemingly minute companies in Africa paid up with no issues

I suppose that a lot of liveaboards are owned by relatively wealthy individuals in poorer countries. The credit card companies don't want to take the risk of accepting their business in case of liability under s.75 Consumer Credit Card Act and similar legislation. So companies in the West say that they are agents for them, even though in reality they have given no thought as to whom the client might then be contracting with. Then, if something goes wrong, the agents can say that they are just agents, and it will be too much trouble for the customer to try to get any compensation. He's probably happy enough just to get his money back, even though cancellation may cause him a lot of inconvenience and wasted time.

What happened in Burma? Did they just disappear with your cash?

[Energy58]

What happened in Burma? Did they just disappear with your cash?

No it all sort of happened but the itinerary was absolutely nothing like what was advertised and we missed out the highlights we went for, the boat ran aground and it was all pretty rubbish (topped off by China Southern bumping us off a flight and putting me up in a brothel, although that was nothing to do with the boat!) tried to get a refund but all I got was an offer of $200 off my next booking if I was ever stupid enough to book again

[Arbu]

No it all sort of happened but the itinerary was absolutely nothing like what was advertised and we missed out the highlights we went for, the boat ran aground and it was all pretty rubbish (topped off by China Southern bumping us off a flight and putting me up in a brothel, although that was nothing to do with the boat!) tried to get a refund but all I got was an offer of $200 off my next booking if I was ever stupid enough to book again

Frustrating when you are using up your holiday time and probably paying quite a bit of cash. I suppose if you book via an agent, at least the agent has a reputation to maintain, even if it doesn't give you much in the way of legal rights. I suppose in ranking of preference:

1. Pay the operator direct by credit card.
2. Pay an EU or UK agent by credit card.
3. Pay an agent elsewhere by credit card.
4. Pay the operator in cash.