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Real-life MMD: Holiday nightmare - should we forgo £6,000 or pay £1,000 more?

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  • pjsmiffy
    pjsmiffy Posts: 61 Forumite
    OK I read this as.
    There is a dispute on the Rockies railway that means that there will be some union types with placards lurking on the station steps.
    Given that there may be a dispute on the railway that is a quality of service issue. Hence the travel agent may not be able to deliver the promised holiday (refund).
    Google it and find more info.
  • If you are so immature as to stand by your principles, then surely you have answered the question yourself, ie cancel your holiday and either lose your money or try to recover some of it, though your legal costs abroad will be prohibitive.

    On the other hand, if you feel that paying a bit more for your "holiday of a lifetime" is necessary to achieve that aim, then you have no choice other than to cough up. What you have paid already seems ridiculously excessive, anyway, and anyone with sense would pay the extra and have something to look back on, rather than lose the lot.

    Remember that it's only unions which have picket lines and that, as ardent unionists, you would usually have some inherent duty to abide by union rules. In this case, however, you need to look upon yourselves as nothing more than tourists. I can't think that the union concerned has any direct connection with whomsoever you both work for. so what's the point of trying to find one?
  • um5000
    um5000 Posts: 32 Forumite
    Is this something that might be covered (or more likely than not: excluded) in holiday insurance?

    Probably depends on whether it would be an inconvenience, or cause an actual problem to your ability to take the holiday...
  • As others have said, does being a member of a trades union oblige you to support any industrial action, anywhere, by anyone, about anything? That's worse than a religion.

    It's admirable in a way that you have strong principles which you want to stand by, but if it's that important to you, you'll have to pay the money. Or recognise that it has nothing to do with you, and carry on with your expensive holiday, and assuage the guilt some other way, maybe via your own union when you get home.
  • onesixfive
    onesixfive Posts: 498 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    What if it was by tanker drivers, or airline staff at airports, or somewhere where the picket line couldnt be avoided. I dont doubt you'd have to cross the line then in order to simply get from A to B. Offer them your sympathies, contribute some of the £1000 to their strike fund, but its not your fight, nor your country - cross the line.
  • bods
    bods Posts: 24 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    We had this problem on our holiday in 2011 - this was a seriously long running dispute. First let's make sure everyone knows the facts. We are not actually talking about a strike here - the staff were actually locked out by management. Lockouts aren't legal in Britain so people might not understand but literally in a lockout the staff can literally be shut out of their job by management. This was over a pay and conditions dispute. It's not actually legal in British Columbia, except if you work in the railroads!

    My partner did spend some time talking to the picketers, who were apologetic about disrupting people's holidays. And they totally understood that people had paid a lot of money for nice holiday. Their battle - it was absolutely clear - was NOT with the passengers but with the management who had prevented them doing the job they clearly loved.

    The good news is that the lockout has apparently ended - a deal was reached last year.

    But my thoughts on this are simple - this is your holiday. You don't work for the company, you are paying them. It's not your picket line to worry about. What you should do in these situations is take your holiday and enjoy it. And if something stops you enjoying your holiday, complain like hell to the management. The pressure needs to be on them to resolve it.

    Whatever the rights and wrongs of the argument on both sides, Rocky Mountaineer should never have let this affect customers in the way they didl
  • Your principles , your choice ! :silenced:
    :coffee:
  • I understand your principles on this one. Worldwide workers are having their rights taken away - who's aware that this current rotten coalition have passed a law that means employers are not responsible any longer for your health and safety - if you die whilst at work, even if it's totally your employer's fault, they won't have to pay a penny in compensation, that is 100% wrong IMO and I am furious that this corrupt gov' has done this to help their rich friends and they are taking us back to Victorian times.

    You must ask the company you've booked with if they were aware of this picket at the time of your booking. Some picket lines can get quite violent and I wouldn't want to cross one for that reason.

    The company should be looking at dealing with this properly - you shouldn't be put in danger, so point this out to them. Check out if there's been violence before with this lot, if there has - you should be entitled to a full refund IMO.

    You could threaten them with taking them to court if you find out it's been violent before - I can't remember how much you can claim up to in the small claims court but it's something to bear in mind. It's a very good place to get to and get your money back - many companies back down at the last minute!

    I took Thomson's to court before and won against a barrister as well, so nothing to be frightened about!

    Good luck!
  • Sooler wrote: »
    You must cancel, stand firm with your brothers … take the hit on the cost and donate what you get back to the Rocky Mountain Train Workers. Your time staying at home can be used for fund raising and raising awareness of the workers plight. Send food parcels etc.
    Which planet do you live on ?
    :coffee:
  • i appreciate that this is a frustrating situation, but i actually think the answer to the question is quite easy. Assuming you can afford it, you should pay £945 extra. If the travel agent had told you that the cost was £12,945, would it have made a difference? i expect you would have gone anyway, and not even worried about it.

    however, while i am more sympathetic (polite) than a lot of other posters here seem to be, but i do urge you to consider why you are doing this:

    imagine you are a UK train worker, on strike some time in the near future. A tourist approaches you on the picket line in Manchester and explains that they are a working class American train driver and sympathise with your position, but they are catching a flight from Heathrow later that day and want your advice. They can either cross your picket line or get an expensive taxi/hire car (coaches/alternatives are all unavailable), or miss the flight and lose even more money. Would you tell them:

    a) thanks for your support, sorry that you will pay hundreds of pounds, but that's life.

    b) thanks for your support. i suggest you cross the PL and get on the train and save your money. Perhaps donate something to a relevant charity if you still feel guilty.

    i know what i would say...
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