CalMac warned over costly challenges over 'unlawful' plans for ferry booking cancellation charges

Those who give less than 24 hour notice or do not show up will not get all their money back.

But one user group has warned that the move would be unlawful as CalMac are using a law loophole to avoid doing an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA). And it said that the ferry operator would face a series of legitimate claims from islanders if penalised as part of the scheme.

The concerns have surfaced after the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee met with CalMac managers who told them an ICIA would not be carried out on the "draconian" charging policy.

Any policy or service being applied to the islands must have an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) carried out on it by a "relevant authority" under the terms of the Islands (Scotland) Act (2018).

This comes into force when the impact on an island community would be significantly different from its effect on other communities.

Government guidance on the Act stresses the importance of robust community engagement so that islanders are given a platform to voice their opinions, concerns and suggestions.

But the user group says that CalMac are trying to "dodge their responsibilities" through a loophole in the law with managers telling them that CalMac owners David MacBrayne Limited (DML) were the 'relevant authority' in the Islands Act but the Scottish Government-controlled ferry operating subsidiary was not.

In a letter to CalMac, seen by the Herald, the Mull and Iona Ferry committee said that they were "shocked and appalled at the cynical approach" to the Islands Act.

"It appears that rather than respect the Islands Act both in spirit and law, CalMac are seeking to dodge their responsibilities toward island communities with a contrived and highly questionable technical interpretation of the legislation," they said.

The only reason for including David MacBrayne as a relevant authority under the Islands Act is in relation to the ferry operations of its subsidiary. That CalMac Ferries Ltd should seek to undermine the Islands Act and the protections it gives to island communities by attempting to interpret the Act in such a cynical manner is an affront to the island communities the company exists to serve."

The committee has previously written to transport minister Jenny Gilruth to warn that neither CalMac nor the Scottish Government agency Transport Scotland have followed their legal obligations under the Islands Act over what they call a "discriminatory" booking service for lifeline ferries.

CalMac have said the move towards charging comes to "address a significant problem" of people cancelling or changing bookings at short notice which resulted in unused deck space - denying other customers the opportunity to travel.

The plan involves customers seeing a 75% cut in the total vehicle fare if they give between 24 hours and seven days notice of cancellation. Those who give between eight and 28 days notice would get a 50% cut and the rest would get a 25% cut.

The details of the consultation have not yet been made public, and were distributed to certain elected representatives.

The committee criticised the level of consultation, saying it only learned about the proposal through a media leak.

It warned that the system, together with its limited list of exemptions will result in "costly, frustrating, time-consuming administration, particularly for the company itself".

It told CalMac: "For example - passengers who have missed a ferry because of a hospital appointment running late will not be exempt from the charge, but those with a cancelled appointment will.

"Passengers who themselves are too ill to travel will be exempt, but those cancelling a trip because the person they are visiting is ill will not.

"Someone involved in a road traffic accident will be exempt from the charge, but someone delayed by a traffic jam caused by an accident will not."

It added: "There are innumerable scenarios where a claim against a CalMac charge will be reasonable and strongly argued, which will inevitably consume huge amounts of passengers’ time in appealing, and the time of CalMac staff in dealing with it.

"This will only add to the cost and inconvenience of customers, and also the workload, stress and expense of employees.

"The potential for dispute between staff and passengers at check-in will only be heightened. Port staff will be in the invidious position of having to adjudicate between passengers who have fallen foul of CalMac’s terms and for whom the stakes will have become much higher. They face loosing their fare, as well as their place on the ferry if they arrive two minutes after check-in."

A spokeswoman for CalMac said: “When making any change to our processes, we always ensure that communities are properly consulted, using measures similar to the Islands (Scotland) Act.

“We are currently carrying out a comprehensive consultation into these proposals. We are engaging with all eight ferry committees and transport forums across the network, genuinely listening to, and responding to, their views.

"The consultation also seeks views on what exemptions might apply in exceptional circumstances.

“More rigorous application of our terms and conditions is an essential step in making sure spaces are available for those who want them. The aim of this proposal is to encourage people to stop making multiple reservations, and then cancel the ones they no longer require at late notice, which is often too late for us to reallocate the space.

"Demand is growing for ferry services and we have to look at how we maximise the number of spaces available for all customers."