Belarusian Woman's Cuba Trip Was So Bad She Sued for Full Refund
A tourist from Gomel paid for a holiday in a four-star hotel in Cuba but ended up in a different one – with faulty plumbing, broken sockets, and food issues. The woman went to court to get the tour cost back, Onlíner reports .
Photo: vecteezy.com
The woman bought a package tour for herself and her son. According to the plan, last year they were supposed to fly from Moscow to Holguín on October 29 and return on November 9. They were supposed to stay in a four-star hotel.
But problems arose even before the trip. Hurricane Melissa was approaching Cuba, and Holguín airport was closed from October 27 to 30. The woman repeatedly wrote to the travel agent asking to reschedule the trip or find another option. But she was told there were no grounds for this.
On October 29, she arrived at Sheremetyevo Airport, but the flight was delayed by more than a day, making the holiday shorter.
Moreover, the route was also changed: instead of Holguín, the plane was supposed to fly to a different airport, and the tourist only found out about this once she was in Cuba.
Upon arrival, it turned out that the hotel would also be different. Instead of the promised four-star hotel, the woman and her son were accommodated in another place not mentioned in the contract.
In the case materials, it is described as follows: "Complete absence of food between meals, insects in the food, the room had a dilapidated appearance, broken sockets, broken plumbing."
The woman photographed the shortcomings and sent complaints. They reached the tour operator – correspondence confirming the tourist's appeals was preserved in the case materials.
Moreover, before the trip, she was not informed that the route, dates, and place of accommodation would change. She learned about a significant portion of these changes only during the trip itself.
After returning, the tourist sent a claim to the company. She demanded the cancellation of the contract, a refund of 7587.71 rubles paid for the tour, and compensation for moral damages.
The company agreed only to part of the demands and admitted that the tour was shorter. Then the woman went to court.
The court ruled that the tourist service was indeed not provided as agreed. The route, hotel, and duration of the trip were changed, and the accommodation conditions were worse than promised. The court recognized these violations as significant.
Consequently, the contract was cancelled. The travel company will have to refund the woman 7587.71 rubles. The court also awarded her and her son 500 rubles each for moral damages.
The judicial board for civil cases of the Gomel Regional Court upheld this decision without changes. It has already entered into legal force.