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Ex-politician loses legal battle with Thomson Cruises
A well-known ex-local politician who claimed he was woken "unreasonably early" on a cruise has lost his legal battle with Thomson Cruises and Thomas Cook.
Former Derbyshire County Council leader David Bookbinder was trying to get a refund of the full cost of the holiday for himself and his brother, but the small claims court ruled against him and ordered Bookbinder to pay half Thomas Cook’s legal fees, about £560, reported the Derbyshire Telegraph.
The district judge said Bookbinder’s case was built "not so much on thin ice but on no ice at all".
However, the judge did not order him to pay Thomson’s legal fees as he said it was not unreasonable for him to bring the case.
Bookbinder had complained that he and his brother had to get up at 3.30am one morning when the Thomson Celebration stopped at Israel’s Eilat port. Bookbinder said staff asked passengers to be ready by 5am so they could be interviewed by Israeli officials before being allowed to enter the country, but he claimed the early start was to enable staff to sell excursions.
Bookbinder, aged 71, said the early start for him and his brother, who is disabled, ruined their holiday.
He was trying to reclaim the cost of the holiday – about £1,500 – from Thomson Cruises and Thomas Cook, his booking agent.
The court heard that Celebration has been forced to cancel a planned stop in Egypt due to political unrest and headed instead to Eilat, from where staff offered passengers excursions to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
The district judge ruled that it was not unreasonable for Thomson to change the itinerary or to dock at 5am. He also threw out Mr Bookbinder’s claim against the booking agent, Thomas Cook, ruling there was no contract between the two parties.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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