Shouldn’t travel ban override ferry terms?

QIn January 2020, I booked return tickets with Brittany Ferries on the Portsmouth-Le Havre crossing, leaving on May 12, and paid a deposit of £172. When it became clear that, due to the pandemic, we would not be able to travel, we rebooked for September, increasing our deposit to £351. Due to the removal of France from the travel corridors list in August, we moved our booking once again, to May 12 2021.

In March, when the Government announced that foreign travel was prohibited until May 17 at the earliest, we cancelled the reservation altogether. We expected to receive a full refund or, at the very least, a future travel voucher.

But Brittany Ferries says we are subject to its usual terms of business. We bought a Standard fare, so stand to lose 50 per cent of the deposit. The company says we will be given a travel credit for the remainder. Can it do this? Surely government regulations banning foreign travel would take precedence over Brittany Ferries’ terms and conditions? – Dale Thatcher

A

For reservations made after something becomes a “known event”, travel firms can apply different rules. As the pandemic played out, customers knew there was a risk of travel disruption and were deemed to have accepted that risk when rebooking. Each rebooking is considered to be a new contract and as long as Brittany Ferries makes its terms and conditions clear – which it did – it can keep 50 per cent of your deposit if you cancel for any reason.

That said, I do think Brittany Ferries should be offering full travel credits for customers due to sail while travel to France and Spain is banned – even if the law is on its side. I put this to the company. It told me that you were given the option of rebooking the trip once again but chose to cancel. Customers in all booking classes who find themselves in a similar situation can move their bookings to later in the year, or into 2022, free of charge, though they will have to pay any seasonal fare increases.

Like other lines, Brittany Ferries is continuing to sail to France and Spain carrying freight and travellers exempt from the travel ban. Only if it cancels a sailing will it give a full refund. The decision is made late in the day, which doesn’t help holders of Standard tickets, who must amend their bookings at least 15 days in advance of travel. More expensive Flexi fares allow amendments up to four hours before travel.

I understand that Brittany Ferries has provided you with confirmation of your cancellation to make an insurance claim. As the original deposit of £172 was paid before March 16 2020, when pandemic cover was still in place, the claim may be accepted by your travel insurer.

The harbour at Honfleur – just across the Seine estuary from Le Havre, where our reader was due to head until the pandemic struck