Infant car seat not provided by holiday firm for whole trip

oysteroyster

We’ve just returned from a villa package holiday to Greece using a well respected firm who we’ve previously used. However, this was our first time using them as parents, taking our one-year old with us. As part of the package, they informed us that an infant car seat would be provided, to save us having to bring our own, and indeed this was the case in our hire car at our end destination.

However, in order to reach the end destination, the company also provided private car taxi transfers to and from the Greek airport, and as we discovered upon their arrival (on both legs) did not contain infant seats. Given the relatively short journey length and having little other choice in that split second, we risked it, but surely this is quite a serious dereliction of duty by the holiday firm, and indeed illegal on the part of the taxi drivers involved?

Where do I stand on this from a consumer / legal perspective, and what would you deem to be reasonable recourse? I will most certainly be making a complaint to the firm in question.

HampshireH

Doubt you have any legal recourse. Taxis in Greece are exempt from being required to use carseats.

They are required in normal cars and they provided this.

They followed the law of their country. Really if you wanted extra provisions outside that you should have taken your own.

JGB1955

I don't know about the legal situation in Greece but, in the UK, there is no requirement for child seats to be provided in taxis.

oysteroyster

Removing the legal position, it still seems a reasonable expectation of the holiday firm, in my opinion. They actively discouraged us from bringing a car seat on the presumption we would not require one for the trip. This feels a very grey area.

HampshireH

Because they provided you a seat for the car you hired

Unless you asked for one for transfers it probably didn't even cross their mind and legally it's not required.

You can't remove the legal aspect when that's what their decisions would be governed by.

We just got back from Spain and we specifically asked about the transfer and arranged a car seat as the same applies there

PHK

oysteroyster said:

Removing the legal position, it still seems a reasonable expectation of the holiday firm, in my opinion. They actively discouraged us from bringing a car seat on the presumption we would not require one for the trip. This feels a very grey area.

I don’t understand your logic at all. They provided you with a hire car that had a seat. 

And anyway, no harm was done. You won’t get compensation for something that didn’t happen. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Let's cut to the chase.  How much are you after, as compensation for (twice) willingly "risking it"?

Taking the risk the first time I can partly understand, but why, if it was such a dangerous dereliction of duty on the part of the holiday company and the taxi driver, didn't you make different arrangements for the return transfer (a week?) later?   That would be a logical defense from the holiday company.

As for the legal position, you'll need to inspect your contract to see whether the holiday firm breached it.  Even then, you suffered no loss.  If you were sufficiently alarmed by the lack of a car seat in the taxi you should have made different arrangements and then pursed the holiday company for the cost arising from them.

user1977

oysteroyster said:

This feels a very grey area.

I don't see it as being grey at all. You had not booked a taxi with a child seat, and you didn't get one.

outtatune

It's no different in the UK; taxis don't need to provide child seats; the child can travel without one.

Flugelhorn

those of us who were brought up with absolutely no seat belts let alone car seat in cars probably wouldn't feel the risk and hence wouldn't see the problem. as others have mentioned taxis don't need to have car seats - very tricky to have a range of sizes etc to suit everyone  

photome

I don’t think the holiday company did anything  wrong, they provided what you asked for. 

I have never seen a car seat in a taxi in Greece and you didn’t ask for one, It would be interesting to know how they would provide one in a taxi if asked