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Hi all, we missed our ferry by 40 mins, it was meant to leave at 19.00 ( hull to zebrugge ) we arrived at 18.10 and were told that the sailing time had been changed and we should have been informed we hadn't been ( fair enough we should have checked in at the latest by 17.30 but prob on the road ),  they said they had been trying to contact me on the number i had given as an emergency contact number but no call had been received,  to cut a long story down i had to pay full fair to get over on the rotterdam ferry AND pay for my return trip all over !! anyone had a similar experience? i'm about to start a hell of a fight as i've read their terms and conditions and apparently all i should have paid was the difference between my outward trip to zebrugge and the trip to rotterdam, I still travelled back on the zebrugge ferry as booked, pity really as i've had a happy 6 years dealing with P+O, just wanted some opinions.

Cheers.

Bryan

If you can prove you had not received a call on the number you provided I would have thought that they have no option but to refund you. How far in advance had the ferry time changed? Do you have any recourse through your travel insurance?

David

Can't help re redress - except to say I'd be with you all the way in the fight!  Your mobile company (presuming it was a mobile they were calling) should have a record of all calls made to your phone and you can perhaps prove that no call was received.  I can't see why they made you buy a whole return ticket, when the return half should still have been valid.

BUT that whole experience is one that put us off the longer crossings.  We very nearly missed one crossing at Portsmouth, and would have had to pay an arm and a leg for the next available crossing.  Only a very sympathetic check-in clerk saved the day.  We now always use the shorter routes where if you miss a ferry there's another along in an hour - and if you're a couple of hours early you can get on the earlier ferry (usually!).

I would say that its certainly worth a strong letter to P&O. Many years ago I had a temporary job in customer services for a large company and any letters addressed to the Managing Director or to the Manager, Complaints Department or some such wording were always taken very seriously and seperated from the usual post and dealt with by a specialist team. Worth a try and it sounds like you have a strong case for a refund of some, if not all the cost of the extra fare.

Carol

I tried to reason with P & O verbally and by letter but I got nowhere.

I suggested they try travelling from Aberdeen via the M6 / M1/ M25 et al and arrive exactly on time!  Long term customer etc etc but got the bog standard reply - hard luck.

I once got a reasonable P & O clerk on the French side who allowed us to sail a day early for no charge.

That's why I always sail Norfolk Line these days (well they were good before the take-over). Miss one - get the next (or an earlier one) and no arguments.  Good ferry, - does what it says on the tin - we're not there for a cruise.  Oh, and they are the cheapest as well if you book in good time.

Best of luck with your fight but I'd say you have better grounds than most and you should be ok.  You could try a "watchdog" or consumer newspaper campaigner to take up your cudgels?

As said above, there is an item in the CC mag which says that Hull/Zeebrugge is sailing at 18.30 pm due to "technical difficulties", which suggests you should have been notified. FRankly they have been going early for ages, and arriving late. Rumour has it that they are operating on less than all engines. It has been mentioned on here previously, and also the delays at each end due to customs. The significant bit is the "latest check in time", and did that change ?

Re new ticketing, I would have thought they could have transferred your booking to Rotterdam, given that there were obviously places available, and I always thought that the prices Zeebrugge or Rotterdam were the same, so you would be liable for an "administrative"  cost to change to Hull/Rotterdam, and because technically you were a " no show" on your original Zeebrugge ticket, you would have another cost to change your return route to Zeebrugge?Hull.

Have to say, I have used ferries frequently for years, and inevitably on occasions I have expected to be a bit late. The key I find, is to phone the ferry company as early as possible, and advise them that I am on my way, I will arrive, and what time I expect to arrive. I have had some interesting experiences, virtually jumping on the tailgate as the boat was leaving, but in every case they did their best to accommodate me.

FM

I've been over their terms and conditions and to cut it down it says that the only cost that should be incurred if you miss your ferry and can take a later one would be the difference between the 2 fares if i had purchased at a lower cost, clause 6  (ii) and (iii) then clause 5 (vii) .

And that should only really affect the outward journey as i would be there for the return leg!

Yes FM,  I thought that they would've been able to transfer to the Rotterdam ferry for at the most administration costs, i've had 6 happy years dealings with P+O, i've sent off an email just now, i'll keep you informed!

Bryan

Quote: Originally posted by Val A on 02/8/2010

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BUT that whole experience is one that put us off the longer crossings.  We very nearly missed one crossing at Portsmouth, and would have had to pay an arm and a leg for the next available crossing.  Only a very sympathetic check-in clerk saved the day.  We now always use the shorter routes where if you miss a ferry there's another along in an hour - and if you're a couple of hours early you can get on the earlier ferry (usually!).

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Speak to your phone company and ask them to provide the proof of calls.

We turned up a day late for a Brittany ferry (thanks Siblu) out of Caen for Portsmouth.  Brittany were very good, and put us and a few other cars on the evening ferry - by taking a truck off (or so they said).  No surcharge or Admin fee incurred.

Sorry to hear of this trouble!

Thats why we now drive to Eurotunnel. If you're early or late you still  get boarded onto the next available train! Latest I've been was just under 24hrs. The earliest was just over a day early!

And you can pay with Tesco vouchers!