Advice re: discriminatory policies from BA Holidays

RaginSpice

Thanks Spoonie_Turtle, the question I was hoping answered was about the pros and cons of small claims vs ABTA approach. They both offer positives and negatives and that was really what the point of my posting. I hadn’t appreciated there are legal firms who may help too.

One thing has become pretty clear to me though, which is that several people in responses seem very keen to critique but not to offer any useful comment (not you) I suppose that’s the nature of the internet!

It’s also really clear that the attitudes of people towards those with any disability is that we should ‘just get on with it’ and that a wish to be treated equally is a ‘moan’ This goes some way to explain why businesses don’t bother to uphold legal directives. Unfortunately that also comes from people who have disability themselves. They might perceive that as being brave or as wanting to appear as ‘normal’ as they can but it strikes me as being pretty defeatist. 

[Deleted User]

RaginSpice said:

I believe the contract is between me and BA Holidays and from what I’ve read on Bott & Co, UK law applies in terms of provision of services.

As to the wisdom of travel during a pandemic mentioned by 2 forum members, at the time I travelled Greece wasn’t on the quarantine list, I made the decision to travel with full insurance and followed all measures recommended by U.K. and Greek governments. Neither response added anything to the discussion but I hope you enjoyed having a go

No one was "having a go" in fact i offered good advice, but i stick by my comment that travelling abroad during a pandemic wasn't imho wise.

RaginSpice

venison said:

RaginSpice said:

I believe the contract is between me and BA Holidays and from what I’ve read on Bott & Co, UK law applies in terms of provision of services.

As to the wisdom of travel during a pandemic mentioned by 2 forum members, at the time I travelled Greece wasn’t on the quarantine list, I made the decision to travel with full insurance and followed all measures recommended by U.K. and Greek governments. Neither response added anything to the discussion but I hope you enjoyed having a go

No one was "having a go" in fact i offered good advice, but i stick by my comment that travelling abroad during a pandemic wasn't imho wise.

I wrote in the post that I’ve already raised my complaint, I was asking about next steps for dispute resolution. That was the reason I posted, it’s quite clear 

Spoonie_Turtle

RaginSpice said:

Thanks Spoonie_Turtle, the question I was hoping answered was about the pros and cons of small claims vs ABTA approach. They both offer positives and negatives and that was really what the point of my posting. I hadn’t appreciated there are legal firms who may help too.

One thing has become pretty clear to me though, which is that several people in responses seem very keen to critique but not to offer any useful comment (not you) I suppose that’s the nature of the internet!

It’s also really clear that the attitudes of people towards those with any disability is that we should ‘just get on with it’ and that a wish to be treated equally is a ‘moan’ This goes some way to explain why businesses don’t bother to uphold legal directives. Unfortunately that also comes from people who have disability themselves. They might perceive that as being brave or as wanting to appear as ‘normal’ as they can but it strikes me as being pretty defeatist. 

I disagree. The reasons are complex and varied - wanting to be seen as brave or 'normal' may be the case for some people, but other reasons include not wanting to feel like they're making a fuss or being awkward, not wanting to inconvenience anyone else because society has taught everyone that our needs are inferior, not wanting to feel like / be made to feel like a burden, not having the energy to fight, or not even realising that they have a right to equal access (well, as long as it's 'reasonable'!). Much of this is rooted in ableism, both in wider society and internalised because that's what people have been taught, both explicitly and implicitly in various situations.

Unfortunately legal rights and the reality of what we can expect really haven't aligned just yet. If you have the energy to be able to raise awareness and educate, especially if that's by fighting for your rights, more power to you! But we also need realistic expectations about outcomes in the short-term, whereas widespread change takes much longer no matter how hard people work for it.

RaginSpice

Able-ism is absolutely the root of many of these issues, if nobody complains then nothing will ever change. 

born_again

While I fully get exactly what the OP is saying and how it effected the holiday they took.

One of the biggest issue here is any brochure produced of what was expected will have been approx a year ago at least. As we are all aware Covid 19 has messed so many things up. So many of the advertised facilities will have had to be changed to bring them in line with local covid regulations.
This year will have been a hard learning curve for many hotels etc, as they try to open, service customers to the best of their ability, while still staying within regulations. With possibly less staff than normal.

As anyone with a disability some places deal with this better than others. 

[Deleted User]

RaginSpice said:

Able-ism is absolutely the root of many of these issues, if nobody complains then nothing will ever change. 

I would disagree so much has changed and for the better, but it all takes time, patience is a virtue

RaginSpice

An update, after raising a Section 75 claim through my credit card I was refunded around 30% of the cost of the holiday which I was very happy with. The decision took a long time (understandably) and came through just after Christmas last year.