B.C. Ferries appears to be getting richer, while the travelling public - its valued customers - is just getting poorer.
The frustration and anger continue to mount as the public learns of B.C. Ferries' decision to keep more than $1.2 million in pre-paid fares. The Lower Mainland media broke the story recently using a freedom of information request that shows B.C. Ferries does not intend to honour more than 15,000 prepaid trips bought through assured loading tickets or the popular Coast Cards. Passengers bought the prepaid passes, which were valid for two years and, in the past, could always be redeemed (or reloaded, in the case of the Coast Cards). But last April, B.C. Ferries changed the rules, making the cards all but worthless after six months.
B.C. Ferries did notify cardholders via email, if there was an email address on file attached to that customer, and they did do a media information campaign, but those methods of notification obviously didn't work, because hundreds, maybe thousands, of passengers were unaware of the new rules.
So instead of correcting the errors and making sure the money is refunded, B.C. Ferries is keeping the cash.
The decision that B.C. Ferries has made reeks of sneakiness. It's unethical and quite possibly illegal. In fact, the Consumers' Association of Canada and some of the travelling public are considering filing a class action lawsuit against the company.
President and CEO David Hahn is defending the corporation's position, saying it's the responsibility of the travellers to know what is going on and understand the terms and conditions of the fare structure. And he is right - but in this instance, the communication has clearly broken down.
The optics of the corporation keeping the $1.2 million don't look good either. Remember that Hahn took in more than $900,000 in salary and bonuses last year, and three more executives earned more than $400,000. Wonder where that extra $1.2 million is going?
Social-media standoff
The standoff over social media and access to those sites between the B.C. New Democrats and leadership candidate Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons was settled this week in a situation that has made Canadian history.
Simons was asked by the NDP party to hand over his passwords as they vet their leadership candidates. Simons said all the information was viewable to the public and had no privacy settings. The issue prompted an investigation by the province's privacy commissioner, whose findings won't be known for a while.
This is an interesting debate when it comes to respecting one's privacy and what a company can or can't do when vetting potential applicants for employment. We'll be interested to see what the privacy commissioner comes up with.
