TT Line Ripoff. Insensitive and Untruthful Behaviour

At the end of May TT Line refused to allow me to board the Spirit of Tasmania in Devonport. It was a cold and dark night. I was about seven minutes late. I had a problem in Hobart and was forced to travel slowly in the dark on the Bass Highway. I forfeited my fare, and was obliged to pay for two nights accommodation until the next sailing two nights later.

Naturally I wrote an email of complaint. The response came from the corporate spin doctor, the Manager of their complaints department, with TT Line using the American euphemism Customer Relations. The youthful Manager, a person paid to answer such complaints by TT Line but a lowly person in the TT hierarchy, replied with a word processed letter that was not just condescending. It omitted any comment about certain facts and contained statements that are demonstrably untrue.

I’m not suggesting their so-called Manager of Customer Relations is a liar. She is paid to respond with spin and this is what she did.

Several points are worthy of comment.

conditions are applied equally to everyone therefore we cannot be accused of favouring one person over another

Spirit of Tasmania does not delay the vessels for passengers or freight.

I believe these comments are demonstrably untrue.

“Operational reasons” is the spin used when circumstances change. For example when traffic is bad in Melbourne sailings have been delayed, as was demonstrated in a previous Tasmanian Times article in relation to Cedric Tuffin. http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/weblog/article/my-fury-at-tt-line.-what-tt-says-/

Several people have told me that sailings have been delayed to allow some truck or other to board. I have a personal experience of this. On a daylight sailing in November last year the Spirit was delayed by over one hour. Just before departure a Toll Holdings B-Double was allowed to board. The so-called Manager of Customer Relations makes no reference to this, although I referred to it in my email. Obviously TT Line had documented the time I arrived, but for reasons of duplicity will not reveal the time of arrival of transports belonging to corporate customers.

Who are the directors of TT Line? The most recent Annual Report of the company, a Tasmanian government owned monopoly, gives their names as

D Rogers, AO, S Currant AO, Ms J Wilson, M. Grainger, A Tobin, Dr J Hawkins, R Chadwick, B Dwyer, C Griplas.

Mr Griplas is the CEO.

These directors and the CEO are responsible for TT Line policy. They are paid well, and it is they who decide to sponsor mainland football teams. I would not expect a paid servant of TT Line, who has her job on the line, to comment about this, but TT Line directors need to consider better public relations or find there will be community or political pressure for their replacement.

Lara Giddings is currently supporting a “save a mainlander” campaign to sponsor Tasmanian tourism. She is not being helped by the inflexible attitude of TT Line. If her new Justice bureaucrat, former Police Commissioner in Victoria and also a neighbour of mine Simon Overland is seven or eight minutes late on arriving to board the Spirit will he receive the same treatment as I was. I don’t think so.

From: Customer Relations [mailto:customerrelations@spiritoftasmania.com.au]
Sent: Thursday, 5 July 2012 11:03 AM
Subject: Spirit of Tasmania – feedback

Dear Lyle

Thank you for your feedback. I was sorry to read of your predicament and can understand your frustration on this occasion, however our terms and conditions are applied equally to everyone therefore we cannot be accused of favouring one person over another.

Upon making a reservation via Spirit of Tasmania’s website, as was the case in this instance, booking confirmation in the form of an E-ticket was emailed to you on the 12 May 2012 advising of the date/s booked along with departure/check-in times and fare conditions. To be able to secure a reservation with Spirit of Tasmania these terms and conditions have to be accepted before proceeding to payment.

Check-in commences 2.5 hours prior to scheduled departure and closes 45 minutes prior. Passengers who arrive after check-in closes will be refused carriage and their fare will be forfeited.

The terms and conditions above have been applied as you failed to arrive on time for the sailing you booked. It is up to our passengers to ensure their travel details are correct and to be on time for their scheduled departure. Your reservation had been no-showed/cancelled at 6:53pm eight minutes past the usual check-in closure time of 6:45pm. Spirit of Tasmania does not delay the vessels for passengers or freight.

Please be assured I can sympathise with your situation and we have endeavoured to assist as far as possible by providing space for you to travel. I have double checked your reservation and the sailings availability for Monday 28 May and can confirm that the staff have offered you the best available fare at that time. Spirit of Tasmania fares are demand driven and are more likely to cost more when booked/changed close to or on the day of departure, this method of pricing is similar to that which airline companies use.

You may wish to consult your travel insurance provider, if taken, regarding the extra accommodation costs incurred and I hope to welcome you back as future passengers onboard Spirit of Tasmania.

Kind regards

XXXXXX
XXX Customer Relations
SPIRIT OF TASMANIA
TT-Line Company Pty Ltd
The Esplanade (PO Box 168E)
East Devonport Tas 7310
Ph: 1800 634 906 Fax: 03 6427 0588
www.spiritoftasmania.com.au

From: Spirit of Tasmania [mailto:no-reply@spiritoftasmania.com.au]
Sent: Sunday, 1 July 2012 8:56 PM
To: Feedback
Subject: Email via website

Name:
Lyle Allan
State:
VIC
Enquiry type:
Feedback
Your message:

Dear Sir or Madam I visited Tasmania for two weeks during May. I was meant to come back on the Spirit on Saturday May the 26th. I had a problem in Hobart and I arrived at the Spirit terminal seven or eight minutes late. Not only would TT Line staff refuse to let me board. I forfeited my fare (just over $300) and I had to pay another $300 for the next sailing on Monday night, plus I had to pay $200+ for accommodation for two nights. I stayed at the Edgewater Hotel which I forgot was owned by TT Line. I didn’t eat there when I remembered. I won’t stay there again. The modus operandi of TT Line is likely to have consequences to the bottom line of its operations if it continues to treat people so harshly. I think that legally there is nothing I can do in respect of my experience last May, but I can complain about it. On boarding on the Monday night I said that I would be spending not one cent on the Spirit, and I kept my word. I slept on a recliner, the cheapest I could get, and it was more than I paid for my forfeited fare which included a bunk. I drank from mineral water I took on board, and my evening meal was at McDonalds. The lady at the reception gate told me I should have phoned in and they could have made some arrangement for me. Much nicer than the way I was treated on the Saturday night, but it doesn’t of course do any good. Perhaps this is what Toll Holdings did in November last year on a daylight sailing. The Spirit left Devonport over an hour late and a Toll Holdings B-double boarded the vessel just before departure. I have probably spent over $100-$150 on the Spirit each time I have travelled, and I have made the journey about eight times. If I travel on the Spirit again, and it is a monopoly and I have no choice if I wish to take my car to Tasmania, I will do as I did on May 28th and not spend one cent aboard. Some of my forfeited fare goes to inflated salaries for directors and the promotion of Victorian football teams. By being unreasonably harsh it has lost my goodwill.
Yours faithfully
Lyle Allan

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