BRITTANY FERRIES & THE MOTORHOME TICKET CLUB (MTC)

(a) MTC advertises that it offers discounts of up to 10%. It does not say that this is only on return fares, which are already considerably cheaper than singles.

(b) MTC does not mention that it charges an administrative fee of £15 for each and every change to the booked dates (in addition, of course, to any date-related surcharges).

(c) MTC is not telling the truth when it says that only one free change of date is possible if you book directly with Brittany Ferries over the internet. Changes made that way are free of administrative costs, instantaneous and without limit.

(d) Most seriously, a change of date may result in an increased ferry fare, since Brittany Ferries operate a variable fare policy. You have no way of checking the MTC's version of how much extra has to be paid and whether you have been overcharged.

(e) The arbitrary nature of MTC's surcharges was revealed to us, when the price was halved after we disputed the amount.

(f) MTC retains your debit card details and charges you whatever they say the increased fare and fees amount to. You have no other choice but to pay, since you cannot work directly with Brittany Ferries, by phone or internet, once you have started the process with MTC.

(g) It is not clear at the time of writing how long MTC retains debit card details. (Presumably they retain credit card details in a similar way. As that involved another surcharge, we paid by debit card.)

(h) All this negotiation has to be done over the telephone, in MTC's fixed office hours (including an hour off for lunch), with a waiting time if staff are busy. They have to ring you back since it takes them some time to get a quote from Brittany Ferries (and to work out their 'commission'). They may have to ring you back more than once if you want to search around looking for the cheapest dates.

(i) Ringing the MTC and taking a return call can be expensive if, for example, you are using a mobile phone from outside the UK.

(j) Contrast all this inconvenience with booking directly on line with Brittany Ferries, who give a £10 discount for using the internet, and allow instant changes of date with no administration fee. If you take an afternoon sailing, they also offer a free night on a campsite upon landing in France - an offer not made by the MTC – and worth around £15.

(k) If you are certain that neither of the dates on your return tickets will be changed, booking with MTC will save you up to 10% of the fare charged by Brittany Ferries for a phone booking. If you change your dates, the saving is rapidly taken up in MTC admin fees, arbitrary increases in fare and phone calls and you will end up paying more for using its services! Our strong advice is that you book on-line with Brittany Ferries yourself (www.brittanyferries.com).

(l) If MTC does have a complaints procedure, it hasn't told us about it at the time of writing.

Dear MTC

BRITTANY FERRIES CAEN/PORTSMOUTH AND RETURN

BOOKING REF: MTC REF: MEMBERSHIP NO:

We refer to our recent booking on the above Channel crossings, and in particular to Margaret's telephone conversation with you on the morning of Saturday 20 May concerning the change in our return sailing date.

1. Our original booking was for an outward journey from Caen on Monday 8 May 2006, returning from Portsmouth on Monday 15 May. The price for booking directly with Brittany Ferries on-line was £354 return for those dates. Your quoted price of £318.60 gave a 10% saving of £35.40, so we worked through you. You did explain that there would be 'a small amendment fee' if we had to change our dates – in fact, at £15 per amendment, you offered very little reduction if dates had to be changed, but we were not intending to alter our itinerary.

2. A hold-up in leaving Greece meant that we had to delay our departure from Caen. The new dates, which could only be changed through you, were out on Friday 12 May, returning Tuesday 23 May. Your charge for this was £72.60 including the amendment fee, which seemed high to us but we had no choice. Later events have increased our suspicions.

3. Our motorhome went in for some work during our time in England and, owing to an unexpected problem with fitting a new fridge, we had to delay our return to France by 2 days, to Thursday 25 May. Checking on the Brittany Ferries website, we found that the fare for 25 May appeared to be £18 more than 23 May. Of course, we could not change our booking on-line (a considerable frustration, as working through you involves phone calls, delay and amendment fees).

4. Margaret phoned you on Saturday 20 May, when it became apparent that our motorhome would not be ready to sail on 23 May. She was informed that a change to Wednesday 24 May would only cost us the £15 amendment fee, while a change to Thursday 25 May would cost more than £50. When she asked for a breakdown of this price, what the comparative cost of the return leg of the fare was for 23 May and 25 May, you told us that Brittany Ferries did not supply that information. (But they do when a customer books directly with them on-line.)

5. When Margaret pointed out that we would actually have saved money by booking directly in the first place, she was told that Brittany Ferries only allow one free amendment on-line. This is a lie – in the past, we have booked on-line for single journeys with Brittany Ferries (since MTC only offer discounts on return fares) and found it a very easy matter to change sailing dates free of charge. We did this last December, changing the date more than once, instantly and easily, with no extra fees whatsoever.

6. The increased fare for Thursday 25 May was explained as 'some sort of public holiday in France' (actually, it's Ascension Day). When Margaret asked how this affected the fare on a sailing which arrives in France at 10 pm at night, she was told lots of French would be returning home for the holiday!? (The only French we noticed on board was a party of school-children – no French vehicles – and the boat was by no means full.)

7. When Margaret persisted in complaining that your quoted extra fare was excessive, she was asked to hold while you 'checked the details'. Within 2 minutes, you came back with revised fares. Now, apparently, Wednesday 24 May was actually £20.20 cheaper than our booked date of 23 May, so you offered a refund to us of £5.20, rather than a charge of £15.00. If we had chosen that date, and not argued, you would actually have been stealing from us!

8. The supplement for our chosen date of Thursday 25 May also came down, from a charge of over £50 to £35.80, without any explanation for these sudden reductions. This is outrageous. Would the earlier amendment cost of £72.60 have been reduced if we had argued about it? Customers have to trust you and believe your charges are genuine.

9. In a final gesture of 'good will', you reduced your £15 amendment fee to £5, so that you charged us an extra £25.80, nearly half your first offer and nearer to what we had already calculated from the Brittany Ferries website (see point 3).

10. We paid a total of £417.00 for our return crossing. This contrasts sharply with the basic return fare of £312 - hardly the discount you advertise.

11. We were also surprised to find that you held our Debit Card details ready for extra charges. For security reasons, in our experience, customers' card numbers are not retained by reputable firms. We don't know if you still have our card details.

In the end, we paid considerably more in total than if we had booked directly on-line with Brittany Ferries. You offer a small saving if no amendments are made, but an expensive and time-consuming way of making changes.

We shall certainly not book through MTC again, and that is the advice we shall give to readers of our non-commercial travellers' website www.magbaztravels.com, which is very popular with motorhomers (over 60,000 hits in its first year). Had we been impressed with your service, you would have received a recommendation and a link. We will copy this email into our website, along with your reply and any further correspondence that this complaint generates.

We also act as Travel Consultants to the MMM magazine (for Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia and full-time European travel). We write regularly for the magazine, and its readers frequently email us for help and advice on a wide range of problems, including ferries – advice we freely give, based on our own experiences.

A firm such as yours relies on its reputation for its business. If travellers do not trust your integrity, if they think that you are inventing fares, adding your own supplements and margins, they, like us, will not use you again.

We look forward to your comments on the above, with an explanation for the instant reduction in fares when challenged. We would also like details of your complaints procedure, to follow if we do not get a satisfactory reply from yourselves. Since you are a member of ABTA, we can copy any correspondence to them.

Please confirm that you have removed all our data (especially our debit card number) from your records.

Margaret Williamson BA (hons), etc

Barry Williamson MBA BSc (hons), etc

Reply from MTC

Replying to your points, as raised:

We state "up to 10%" as each booking is individual. We try and get a good deal for our customers and we give a price in advance, which can be accepted or declined. For many customers, it is not just about price but the total service offered to reduce the "hassle" of booking direct or on-line. We act as an agent for the ferry companies who set the conditions and Brittany do not give us any discount on single crossings, where we can we will offer a saving dependent on us making a minimum amount towards us covering our costs. In addition, we will often pass on part of the small percentage we receive to customers.

We do mention administration fees, where applicable. This is to cover our costs, which involve running our business and the time involved. This is usual within the travel business. We do operate on low margins and have to try and cover costs where incurred.

We are telling the truth and our terms are clear, we do make charges for amendments and we do reserve the right to make the charge. These are our terms, if you book direct or through another agent terms may vary. If we incur costs we simply look to cover them. Deals and terms will always vary. We try and get a saving for clients and often this is achieved by giving up part of the small commission we receive which means we operate on very low margins. If we made a big profit on each sale we would not need to make charges and I think you forget that we are a business not a free service. We clearly quote our price and terms before any transaction is completed and this can be accepted or declined. Most people phone us and we assume others to get prices and then make their decision accordingly.

Internet terms are often different for many businesses, but you assume that everyone has access to the Internet and wants to use it or has time to do it for themselves. There are many things in life that I could do for myself at a lesser cost e.g. gardening, but I prefer to pay a gardener as I choose to use the time saved in other ways.

As you correctly state, Brittany Ferries operate flexible fares and where a booking is changed they may ask for a different premium. We operate honestly and with integrity and only pass on what we are charged. Any additional costs over that quoted by the ferry company would become apparent by the fares printed on the tickets. But again, we will usually find out availability and cost and confirm acceptance of any costs involved before making any changes. Additional costs are taken from a clients credit or debit card only when instructed to do so by the client.

As with all businesses we can apply charges with discretion and in many instances, where there have been genuine reasons and we felt it appropriate, we have waived any additional charges and even obtained special dispensations from the ferry companies to reflect the situation. The fact that our operator made a reduction for you reflects that we must have felt the circumstances warranted it.

Nearly all businesses operate during office hours. There is no negotiation it is simply a matter of obtaining information so that we can get a price and availability. We try and find the cheapest sailing times and get the best deal, this takes time and it is therefore only reasonable that we often have to phone back. There is no charge for us trying to get the best deals and if we do not get a good price then we do not get the booking. Many customers write or email us in the first instance to cut down telephone costs.

We are no different to any other business in that we have fixed hours and yes our staff do have to eat as well. We choose to close for an hour at lunchtime; this suits us and is the way we wish to operate.

If you call anyone on a mobile phone from outside the UK it can be expensive.

Everyone is entitled to get comparison costs and make a decision accordingly. If the cost and terms we quote are not acceptable, we do not receive instructions to make the booking.

We all have different needs and abilities in life and some of us have more time than others. As with any business we offer our terms which are either acceptable or not. What suits you may not suit another. Cost is only one element of any transaction and many people do in fact book direct. However, we not only try and offer a more competitive price but also provide a personal service and provide help, advice, guidance and often re-assurance about making bookings and going on holiday.

When a crossing has a serious delay or is cancelled, if we learn of this in advance we try and contact those we have booked on that sailing. When you are abroad and decide to come back at a different time or from a different port or even with a different operator, by calling us we phone around for you saving you time and money.

You are making a direct comparison of using us or booking on line and although you have put forward the advantages of using the Internet I feel you have presented a very biased view and not compared like with like. Hopefully, you will now appreciate that we are not out to deceive anyone but simply offer a business service to those who it suits. You are very welcome to come to our offices and see the way we operate for yourself.

Our Response to MTC

Nurmes, North Karelia, Finland

18 August 2006

Dear MTC

Thank you for the reply to our email of 27 May. We have posted your reply on our website, www.magbaztravels.com along with our original complaints and this response from us.

The delay and loss of emails on both sides may be explained, in part, by our life of travel. In the last 3 months we have been in eastern Europe: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Poland and the Baltic Republics. Here in Finland, our internet connection is more consistent and we have more time to attend to outstanding letters and emails.

The first and major point we would like to make, before we consider the detail of your reply, is that ours was an individual complaint. We draw little comfort from your assurance that what happened to us doesn't usually happen or that it didn't happen or that we are not typical customers. We are customers and the things we describe did happen.

If we had bought a car or a holiday or any other goods or services, and they were found to be faulty and not fit for their purpose, the matter is not closed if we are told that most cars or holidays are fine! If we point out specific problems with a product or service, we don't want to be brushed off with statements that they don't normally happen! The service you gave us was not acceptable and not in keeping with your stated purpose or the message given by your advertising.

We do not wish to repeat our list of complaints and the catalogue of what actually happened, but suffice it to say that none of our points have been directly addressed!

We have made our experience available to other potential ferry-using motorhomers through our website and other means, in order to say: 'Look, this is what happened to us, it could happen to you. There are no systems in place to prevent it happening again.' We are also demonstrating to other potential customers the inadequate nature of your complaints procedure, which seems to be one of denial.

The other general point we would make is that most of your customers would not know if they got a good deal from you or not. As pointed out in our earlier email, they have no means of checking the fares you impose when a booking is changed. We didn't take your word for it - although most would have to – we checked and protested and you immediately brought the fare down!

You don't address the general point that once a customer has made a return booking with you (perhaps the only kind that attracts what you call a discount), if they need to change their return date or time, they cannot shop around! They must stay with you and take your word for any surcharge. We did demonstrate, beyond a doubt, that that surcharge can be arbitrary and open to negotiation for those willing to wrangle.

Some specifics from your email:

'Hassle Reduction' is not a feature of your service that we experienced. Whether or not it is generally true, we cannot know and do not say. We have described the hassle we had - you have ignored our complaint.

'Internal problems with Brittany Ferries' are a matter for you – they are the internal problems of your company and the way it does business, like several other things you mention (such as no lunch-time service). They should not intrude into the service you offer customers, contradict the claims you make in advertising or become an excuse for poor service. They are the constraints within which you choose to operate in the market place, not problems you pass on to customers. Again, they have no bearing on our specific complaints.

'We are telling the truth' does not describe our experience on a number of matters which we define in our original email.

'We are a business and need to make a profit' is an obvious statement to make from where you stand, but of little concern to the customer. If we had bought a faulty car, would we walk away satisfied if the dealer told us that it arose and he couldn't fix it 'because he had to make a profit'? We don't think so!

'We operate honestly and with integrity and only pass on what we are charged' is another statement that does not reflect our experience. Most of your customers would be in no position to judge!

Your advertising You do not comment on our remarks about the misleading nature of your advertising of motorhome insurance. You add status to your advertisement by including an image of an American motorhome, but refuse to insure them! Further, we are very familiar with the phrase 'up to' before any offer of a discount, but this does not justify having surcharges!

All your writing to us is about the internal interests of the company – opening hours etc - not the convenience of the customer. If motorhomers ring at lunchtime, in the evening or at weekends and there is no answer, you can't expect sympathy from those keen to get on with their travel arrangements. You are either offering a service to compete with the internet and the ferry companies' direct lines, or you are not.

Overall you have responded in very general and vague terms, as if we were making a general attack upon the integrity and performance of your company. We were not. We made some very specific points that relate to our experience of one particular booking, none of which have you acknowledged or directly confronted. What happened to us is what happened to us, we are not interested or concerned with your general intentions.

Many successful companies do have a majority of satisfied customers: of course, the two should go together. But that does not mean that they won't get genuine complaints, that they don't need to have a complaints procedure, that they don't need to react positively when a complaint does arise. We think that you protest too much!

Two weeks ago in Latvia, a country which only recently started along the path of development after many years in the Soviet Union, we booked a ferry to travel from Tallinn in Estonia (also FSU) to Helsinki, a crossing of some 80 km. Despite the problems of 4 languages being involved, 3 countries, 3 currencies, rudimentary telephone systems, etc, we received much more efficient, effective, honest and friendly service than with MTC (in our recent experience).

Following advice received from ABTA, we have submitted our complaint to you and given you an opportunity to deal with it. Since we are certainly not satisfied, we will now follow ABTA procedures and submit the complaint to them, along with your response and this follow up from us.

Barry and Margaret Williamson