Every week, we get an expert to answer your financial problems or consumer disputes. Find out how to submit yours at the bottom of this post. Today’s question is…
My parents booked a holiday with P&O Cruises and were promised onboard spend credit as part of the booking. This was confirmed twice, and they have an audio recording of the discussion where this was promised. After paying a deposit, P&O then changed the agreed terms and removed the onboard spend, despite this appearing on the original invoice. After complaining, P&O refused to honour the agreement. As it was too close to the departure date and they feared losing their deposit, my parents went ahead with the trip but without the agreed-on onboard credit.
Rhys
You sent me all the booking information for your parents’ cruise, and I could see on the first invoice that there was £60 onboard credit each (a total of £120). But by the time a second invoice was issued, this had been removed.
I reached out to P&O Cruises to find out what had happened. Initially, the company said the price of the cruise had been changed under its Price Promise guarantee – this says “if you find the same holiday for less elsewhere within 24 hours, we’ll match it”.
Your parents had found a cheaper quote via a website called Seascanner, and so P&O had agreed to match the price.
But P&O said the agreed onboard credit was not loyalty-related, and was instead about the initial price of the cruise. So, essentially, if your parents wanted the onboard credit, they had to pay the more expensive cruise fare.
I relayed this information to you, and you sent me an audio recording of the call between your parents and the booking agent, in which the price matching took place.
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The recording of the call confirms that the onboard credit was agreed to “because you are part of the loyalty scheme” and that your parents would still receive the onboard credit, even with the cheaper cruise fare.
I sent a copy of the recording back to the team at P&O Cruises, as well as a transcript, and after a bit of chasing, they confirmed they would get in touch with your parents, who could choose if they wanted a £120 refund or £120 towards a future cruise.
You said your parents were “delighted” when they received the refund, but remained “exceptionally disappointed” by the service they received.
“The lack of any sort of customer service is not only disappointing, but it’s actually quite shocking,” you said to me.
“Then, when presented with irrefutable evidence to support the truth, to not even offer an apology… utterly disgraceful.”
I asked P&O Cruises if it had anything further to add, but the company did not respond.
What to do if this happens to you
We can’t intervene in every consumer dispute, and what is disappointing here is that you did everything correctly to try to resolve it yourselves.
You filed a complaint directly with P&O Cruises, including that crucial audio recording.
You said the cruise company agreed to review it, and the firm claimed to have done so, but still said it would not be reinstating your parents’ onboard credit.
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The complaints process was also confusing, because you tried to complain on your parents’ behalf via a website called Resolver to the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), only to be told to complain directly.
Your parents also tried to complain via a tracked, recorded letter (I can see on the tracking that this was definitely delivered), but this was also left unanswered, which is disappointing.
Many cruise customers are likely to be older, so they may not feel as confident making a complaint online.
What you could have done next is file a complaint directly to ABTA or the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA UK).
If your complaint has not been resolved by one of these organisations, you can ask the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to look at your case.
This feature is not intended as financial advice – the aim is to give an overview of the things you should think about. Submit your dilemma or consumer dispute via:
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