A couple gets 20,000 kronor back from C because the weather was too bad in Thailand.
“It is good to ARN (The Swedish Consumer Watchdog) exist and can make an impartial judgement”, says the disappointed tourists to The Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter.
The couple complained over the treatment from “Select Travel” to ARN, since the trip to Thailand and Bhutan had not met expectations.
The couple went on holiday in October last year. The travel took them to Bangkok and Bhutan. The second part of the trip, they wanted to spend in a sunny part of the area. They had no requirements on where, only that it should be sunny and close to the beach.
Select Travel booked in the couple into a hotel in Koh Samui. When they arrived, the rainy season had lasted for ten days already. The streets were flooded and in front of the doors were sandbags. The hotel staff said that the weather forecast was talking about another five days with rain and wind.
“It is good that the matter is solved. Now we know that we have a responsibility for how the weather is”, said leija Graff. This means that we will be very careful when we talk about the weather with the customer, “said Leija Graf, CEO of Select Travel, to Dagens Nyheter.
The company, which offers exclusive holidays, will now refer customers to a weather site, so they can be aware of the conditions at their destination.
ARN writes in its decision to “Select Travel” that it did not inform about the real weather conditions in the area.
“In this case the rainy season came very early and that was unfortunate. At the same time, the question now is, if thousands of travellers will go to ARN now. Charter operators have trips to Thailand all year round”, said Graf.
In its unusual decision ARN writes “In an overall assessment of the facts of the case the panel finds that a reasonable compensation can be estimated at 20 000 kr.”
Totally the two passengers paid 166,159 kronor for the trip.
