BC Ferries customer still without refund after his booking was cancelled

BC Ferries customer never got compensation after his booking was cancelled

A BC Ferries customer who got left on the shore during the May long weekend still hasn’t been able to get his compensation.

Forest Eaton was booked on a 5:30 pm sailing set for Friday, May 19, from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale. He and his family had plans to travel on the May long weekend.

“BC Ferries screwed something up, and as a result, all of the reservations for that weekend were double booked,” Eaton told Daily Hive Urbanized. His reservation was cancelled, and even though it happened more than 14 weeks ago, BC Ferries has been dragging its feet on connecting Eaton to his compensation.

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BC Ferries responds to delays

“We certainly apologize to this customer if he feels he’s had a poor experience with BC Ferries,” Daily Hive’s public affairs team said by email.

“We endeavour to respond to our customers in a timely manner, however currently we are experiencing high volumes of refund and compensation requests. We’ve hired additional staff to assist, but are still experiencing a back log,” BC Ferries said.

In a notice on its website, BC Ferries claims that it is experiencing a “high volume” of compensation and refund requests, so responses “may take longer than usual.”

BC Ferries said its response time is typically up to two weeks, but now it may be closer to four to six weeks. “To improve our response time, we are hiring additional staff and working on process improvements,” reads the notice from BC Ferries.

Issues getting money back

According to Eaton, after his May long weekend travel plans were scrapped, he was set to receive compensation, including a voucher for a vehicle and driver for one sailing.

“I was happy about that,” said Eaton. “It was my understanding that they would mail it out to me.”

But by the time the middle of June rolled around, Eaton still hadn’t heard from anyone. So, he called the customer helpline.

“I was informed that I should have received an email from BC Ferries to initiate the process,” said Eaton. “I checked my email, and in the spam folder, found an email from them containing a link to a customer satisfaction survey, which I then completed, expecting that this would get the ball rolling.”

By August, Eaton was still without answers.

Given the run-around

Eaton called the helpline again and was told that his file would be forwarded to a customer relations expert who would be in touch within five business days.

“A full 10 business days went by, and still no contact. So I called them again,” said Eaton. When he called this time, he expressed his dissatisfaction with how the issue was being handled and was told to reach customer relations directly.

“Much to my surprise, it wasn’t customer relations, but just another BC Ferries helpline,” said Eaton. He spoke with another agent, was given another phone number, and was assured that it was the direct number for BC Ferries customer relations.

“Well, that phone number was not for customer relations. Not at all. As far as I can tell, the agent just gave me a random phone number to get rid of me,” said Eaton. Later, an agent told Eaton they weren’t authorized to give out any phone numbers for customer relations.

No clear resolution in sight

After a call made on August 24 to BC Ferries, Eaton was told by an agent that they’d never received a “voucher request form” from him. It was supposed to be emailed to him, but he never got the correct email, just the customer satisfaction survey.

“Why did it take all this time and this many phone calls from me to BC Ferries to figure this out? Where is the customer service here?” said Eaton.

“I have been brushed off and outright lied to by various agents on their customer support line, and I feel like they are just hoping I will forget about this and go away.”

Now, Eaton is waiting for a call from customer relations. They should get back to him within two weeks.

“I am just sitting here, waiting for some follow-up from BC Ferries. Needless to say, my expectations are fairly low, and I figure I will be making the call to them in two weeks’ time.”

Daily Hive Urbanized reached out to BC Ferries to learn more about the refund process and Eaton’s case but did not hear back from the company.

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