Russian tourists denied check-in, all sent back to Russia

Other people's health problems may well lead to the courtroom – the Russian tourist market continues to be convinced of this in connection with “covid” tours. And not only: this is shown by the practice, which was told to the correspondent of the TURPROM infogroup by experts from the company Lawyers for Tourist Business Baiborodin and Partners. Over the past week, the experts participated in 38 trials. Scandals over tours canceled during the pandemic are still at the peak of popularity, but some “health” stories are unfolding into real intrigue …

Thus, the experts presented the most interesting lawsuits:

< ul>

One of these plots, with almost detective intrigue, turned into a suit by a tourist against the Intourist tour operator and a travel agent, whose interests are protected by Baiborodin and Partners Lawyers for the Tourist Business. Tourists were going to relax in the Maldives at the Adaaran Hudhuran Fushi 4 * hotel, from March 14, 2020, having bought a 10-night tour for 305,000 rubles. “The journey began in an unusual way – on the very first day, the flight from Russia to North Male Atoll was delayed and several hours passed in agonizing expectations. When the tourists finally arrived on the island, unpleasant situations continued: at the exit from the airport, no one with a sign of the host company met them, and there was no transfer either. Tourists did not understand anything, they only saw crowds of passengers in protective masks bustling around, just as worried and anxious. Despite the situation, the Muscovites made it to the hotel, but here, too, bad news awaited them – the hotel refused to check in,” experts say. Since the situation was still new, no one could understand what was happening. “We found out the reason for all this later, when the tourists returned to Russia without spending a single day in the Maldives. The rejection of the travel service by the host was due to the fact that a tourist with a positive Covid-19 test was found on the Doha-Male flight, and this led to the return of all passengers flying on this flight to the country of departure. As a result, tourists sued, seeing the cause of all the troubles in the behavior of the tour operator and travel agent. The claim of tourists was considered by the Simonovsky court. The court took into account all the circumstances and refused to meet the requirements. “Tourists did not slow down their turnover and wrote an appeal, which was already considered by the Moscow City Court. In this case, our lawyer Olga Fedorova defended the travel agent and she did it perfectly – the court left the decision unchanged, ”added the experts of the company“ Lawyers for Tourist Business “Bayborodin and Partners”.

Another almost detective story “about health”, alas, without a good end unfolded in St. Petersburg, where the Kalininsky District Court is considering a tourist’s claim against an individual entrepreneur. “It all started on December 14, 2021, when the heroine of this story was sitting on social networks and saw an advertisement that a gathering of those wishing to attend tennis games in Egypt was being organized. The tour consisted of daily master classes with trainers, training and amateur competitions. She, along with her husband, went to a travel agency, where she booked a tour to Egypt for the dates of the tennis event: from January 1 to January 9, 2022. I paid 320,000 rubles, the tour of which included accommodation at the Tropitel Sahl Hasheesh 5 * hotel, an individual transfer, insurance and Aeroflot airline tickets, ”the lawyers said. However, the tourists were let down by their health: on December 27, the couple felt unwell and went to the hospital, where they were diagnosed with pharyngotracheobronchitis and the trip to Egypt was impossible. “Tourists applied for a refund, but the tour operator denied the requirements, instructing customers to contact the insurance company. Tourists filed a lawsuit to resolve the situation. In the lawsuit, they demanded full compensation for the tour in the amount of 320,000 rubles, compensation for non-pecuniary damage in the amount of 150,000 rubles, as well as losses and penalties. The final amount was huge – 905,000 rubles,” the experts said, adding that the study of all documents was carried out literally for days. “In such complex cases, where many individuals and legal entities are involved, maximum competence is required. As a result, the spouses, the hotel, the insurance company, the Aeroflot airline, the Coral Travel tour operator, the travel agent and our lawyers were connected by a judicial thread,” Baiborodin and Partners Lawyers for Tourist Business said. In the process of legal proceedings, the tour operator and the insurance company returned the bulk of the funds, a little later they returned the balance of 87,000 rubles – but the story did not end there: the funds were transferred not to tourists, but to an agent who had not been in touch for a long time. “Tourists were warned about this and asked that the money be transferred to them directly, but the tour operator still sent the funds to the agent. More time passed, while they figured out who was the last one, the agent managed to declare himself bankrupt and disappeared. At the moment, there is a continuation of court cases, ”the experts added. As a result, they have to further investigate the mysterious loss of a travel agent and funds.

The list of “covid” cases opens the tourist’s claim against the tour operator Anex Tour and the travel agent, whose interests are protected by lawyers. The plot here is more or less simple: in February 2020, a married couple purchased a ticket to Cyprus (to Limassol) from August 16 for 14 nights at the Navarria Blue Hotel 3 * for 61,000 rubles at a travel agency. But the pandemic ruined all plans. “Tourists, realizing that the vacation will not be realized soon, began to ask for a refund for the tour. The agent said that the funds would be returned to customers in the amount of 44,000 rubles. The tourists did not like this situation and they filed a lawsuit demanding to reimburse the balance of 61,000 and 15,000 rubles for the tour and moral compensation, respectively,” the lawyers said. The end of the story is happy – at least for the travel agent: unexpectedly, at the court, the tourists abandoned their claim, thereby completing the lawsuit by mutual agreement.

Another “covid” story, where a travel agent also became a client, is unfolding in Moscow, where a tourist’s claim against the Tez Tour tour operator and the travel agent is being considered, moreover, the claim was filed in the amount of half a million rubles for a tour to the Maldives at a price of 281,000 rubles, which was supposed to start March 27, 2020. “In the current situation, the tour operator offered to postpone the tour to a later date with an additional payment of 80,000 rubles. The tourist refused and demanded a refund, to which Tez Tour went forward and offered any other country with a credit for the money paid. The tourist resolutely refused any form of travel and insisted on the return of funds,” the experts said. As a result, the tourist sued the travel agent and tour operator, adding up the amount of half a million out of 281,000 rubles. the cost of the tour, a fine for using the company's funds for the amount of the tour, as well as requesting 100,000 rubles for moral damage and legal services – and that is 587,000 rubles. “Our lawyers, known to many in the travel industry, took up the protection of a travel agency. And this helped, despite the position of the judge’s solidarity with the tourist, the court refused to recover anything from the travel agency, ”said representatives of the Lawyers for the Tourist Business Baiborodin and Partners. tour to Prague. On February 17, two women purchased from the agency a tour to Prague on March 14, 2020 for 6 nights. The amount of the tour was 88,427 rubles. “Fearing the spread of the virus in Europe, customers filed an application for cancellation of the tour and a request for a refund 3 days before departure.

Among the readers of our courts there are many experienced agents who can easily predict that cancellation of the tour in such a short time is practically impossible without the FPR, but the tourists believed that they simply had to receive the amount of 88,427 rubles in full and as soon as possible. In the statement of claim, the tourists demanded a refund, compensation for moral damages of 20,000 rubles each, a forfeit and a fine, in the total amount of 176,000 rubles,” the lawyers said. The tourists did not wait for their own: the court decided the case not in their favor, despite the fact that the plaintiffs were representatives of Rospotrebnadzor. “Our lawyers did a fine job and won this court case,” the experts said.

And, diluting the “covid” cases, the experts of “Lawyers for Tourist Business “Bayborodin and Partners” spoke about the ongoing proceedings over the dispute between a private photographer and travel agency. Travel agency Velikiye Luki published a post with a tour offer to Dagestan, attaching a photo of the local nature – the Sulak Canyon. “The author of these very pictures figured out that his photos were being used by third parties and sued the travel agency, demanding compensation of 100,000 rubles, which is a critical amount for a provincial small agency, given the difficult time in the tourism business,” the lawyers said. The case is not over yet, the next meeting is scheduled for December 1.

For those who care about a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: “Compotes, juices or dried fruits: a nutritionist revealed how it is more beneficial to eat fruits.”