Legal Question in Consumer Law in New York

Re: Company refused to refund charges for services not performed

You asked about a refund for a sailing trip.

The problem is that such a trip is governed by maritime law and not consumer law. Even under consumer law the doctrine of _force majuere_(act of god) would often let a company make such a change.

Under maritime law the time for which a ship sails is strictly subject to force majuere. If the captain won't sail because of weather then it is his call and the company can at most be held to provide the trip at a later time. Strictly speaking, the seller could have chosen to provide your specific trip at a specific time and if you hadn't been there did not have to rebook.

If you can't use the trip then find someone who can. Give the trip as a gift to freinds or relatives heading toward the city. Donate the trip to a social service organization in the city for use as a prize in a charity event, sell the trip on eBay or Craigslist.

Regards,

Roger

Re: Company refused to refund charges for services not performed

You haven't provided quite enough information for us to render an opinion. If you booked the trip with the company online you may have been subject to it's 'terms of service' which you may be able to find on its website. You should check there to see if you can find anything written. If you can't find anything, ask the company to prove that you agreed to that no-refund policy.

This will probably be difficult to do on your own if you booked over the phone of if they can't prove that you ever agreed to the 'no refund' policy.