Huntington couple's Mediterranean cruise turned sour after mobility scooter damaged (From York Press)

Huntington couple's Mediterranean cruise turned sour after mobility scooter damaged

8:24am Wednesday 1st July 2009

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IT was supposed to be a dream holiday – but a York family’s Mediterranean cruise turned sour after ship staff allegedly caused hundreds of pounds of damage to their mobility scooter and refused to foot the full repair bill.

Mother-of-one Anne Jarvis, who was disabled in a car accident four years ago and uses a mobility scooter to get around, said her family’s two-week Italian cruise with Royal Caribbean had been completely ruined by the incident.

She said staff put her mobility scooter into a storage room when they arrived because – despite having specifically booked a family room that would be big enough to house it – there was unsufficient space for the vehicle in her cabin.

Anne, 48, said when staff returned the scooter to her at the end of the holiday, the front bumper had cracked and other parts were damaged, and the family now faced a £426 repair bill.

“We can’t afford to get it repaired because we spent everything on the holiday – it was a once in a lifetime thing for us,” said Anne, who lives with her husband, Jonathon, 42, and ten-year-old son Sam, in Huntington.

“I lost my job because of the accident and my husband has also had to give up his own business to look after me. We used my insurance payment from the accident to go on this holiday.

“I feel totally let down and frustrated.”

Anne said she had received a £426 quote from B&W Mobility Ltd – a company that carries out repairs for her brand of scooter – but Royal Caribbean was refusing to stump up the full amount.

“Royal Caribbean claims it has got a quote of £186 from the company and says it won’t pay any more than that,” said Anne, a former nurse.

“They have offered me a £250 voucher towards one of their cruises, but I sent it back because we haven’t got the money to go on another cruise and even if we were to, I wouldn’t go with them.”

When The Press contacted B&W Mobility Ltd, we were told by the company director, Madelaine Waters, that nobody from Royal Caribbean had been in touch to get a quote.

“Nobody apart from us would know how much the repair would cost and we have not spoken to anybody from that cruise company,” she said.

“£186 wouldn’t be enough to cover the labour and travel costs, let alone the parts.”

A spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean said she was not able to comment on the complaint, but confirmed the company’s customer service team was dealing with the family’s grievance.

She also said the complaint would be reviewed by the Passenger Shipping Association.

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