Lost dive holiday whilst in the Maldives - do I have a case?

[flots am]

I live in the UK

I wanted to do my PADI Open Water course with my kids - 2010.

We decided to go to the Maldives.

The only think you really did wrong was to not take the class locally. Trying to get certified on vacation cheats you out of the class you should have had and makes the trip much more risky in terms of actually getting your certification, to say nothing of the additional risks you would incur by getting certified quickly in warm water, then returning to the UK with completely different conditions.

While it's certainly disappointing to fly half way around the world to be told "no, all of the medical questions that require a doctor's approval are there to prevent you from injuring or killing yourself during training, and while you have every right not not be happy about it, the dive op's requirement that you follow PADI's procedure prevented you from orphaning your children or giving them someone they need to take care of for the next 40 years.

It's great that you got everything taken care of and that you're OK, however there really is nobody (productive) for you to be angry with.

flots.

 

[go-scuba-dive]

I live in the UK

I wanted to do my PADI Open Water course with my kids - 2010.

We decided to go to the Maldives.

After some googling we settled on Velassaru

I contacted the island and asked them to put me in touch with their onsite dive centre.

I emailed the dive centre explaining precisely what we wanted and ask if there was any paperwork or anything (e.g. any books I could buy here in the UK and read before I arrived, or any medicals or any other paperwork)

They wrote back saying that they'd sell me the books there anyway, and also there is a medical form to fill out.

After a few more exchanges I booked in, flew out and looked forward to my diving lessons.


The next day morning I turned up in the dive centre and was given the usual paperwork.


This was a badly photocopied medical form and I answered "YES" to one of the questions.


The dive centre said I couldn't dive without a medical. "No problem" I said, "Tell me where to go."


"You can't." came the response.


Thus I was stuck on this small island and my diving holiday was destroyed.


Upon returning to the UK, I'm now a PADI Instructor complete with an HSE Dive Medical. I have also become aware that he could have (as I do for my students) emailed me the pdf of the medical form and said something like "We'll need you to say 'NO' to all of these - if you say 'YES' to any of them both now and on the first day of your course, you won't be able to dive without a doctor's medical" - I send this out to give people a chance to not have a wasted journey.



This dive centre on Velassaru could have done the same. PADI agreed with me, although because he hadn't technically breached any standards they couldn't take it further.



In short I feel I wasted quite a lot of money on this holiday that I'd never have gone on otherwise - the sole purpose (as detailed in my protracted emails with both the hotel and the dive centre) was for a dive holiday.



Comparing it with my pilot's licence in the USA ten years ago, the school said they send all students for a medical that will cost X; that was done, and I expected, from the wording of the dive centre's emails, that I'd turn up and be sent for a medical, only to find that no such facilities existed.



So: opinions: did he do wrong?


And if so, anyone advice how to go about getting damages through the Maldives legal system?

Wow. I can't imagine how frustrating that must've been for you. You planned your holiday, only to have it shot down by the dive center. While I can sympathize with you, the dive center actually didn't do any wrong. In fact, they did so in order to protect both you and them. If there had been a doctor on the island then the problem would've been solved, but because there wasn't, they said you couldn't go diving. That is the way things go especially if you're following the PADI standards.

They could've informed you previously that there wasn't a doctor on the island, and to obtain a medical statement. That's what I would've done at least.

I actually worked for a dive center in the Maldives, Dolphin Base, that did the exact opposite of your dive center. The owner asked his instructors to tell the guests to dive even if they had written a "NO" on the medical forms. Because there was no doctor on the island, the right thing would've been to say, "You can't dive." But the owner was more worried about the money than the safety of these people. *For the record, they were mostly DSDs and a few Open Water and Scuba Diver students.
He even asked the base leader to inform the guest to forge her daughter's date of birth so that they could take her out diving.

Anyway, I digress. The point is, it's always better to be safe than sorry. Especially from the dive center, and instructor's point of view.

 

[darren_uk]

They could've informed you previously that there wasn't a doctor on the island, and to obtain a medical statement. That's what I would've done at least.

Exactly Spot on my opinion.


Others on this thread have thrashed me saying it's my fault. Keeping in mind that at the time I didn't know a thing about the paperwork or process, and the dive centre did:

• I didn't know about medicals; the dive centre did
• I didn't know about that medical form; the dive centre did
• I didn't know the medical form is readily available on the PADI Pro website and can be emailed out; the dive centre did
• (from my previous experience of going to Florida for my pilots licence which also needs a medical and I was informed I'd see a doctor when I was there): I was fully expecting a doctor there to give me a medical; I didn't know that a doctor would not be available; the dive centre did. Even when I was there I said "No problem, send me to the doctor for a medical" and they informed me there was no doctor...

Only now, now that I'm a PADI Instructor, do I know what what dive centre knew, and I came to the same conclusion as you.


Why, after my extensive correspondence with them, they couldn't have attached the medical form to at least one of their replies and encourage me to get it done before I left I will never know; but I'll speculate it's a complete lack of care and customer service on their part and was wholly responsible for my damaged holiday.


Yes, blah blah blah, "should have done your certification in the UK" etc etc as the others have said - hey, at the time I was Joe Public, didn't know about such things: the dive centre did though. Just a basic duty of care or customer service element would have prevented what happened.



Thanks for your response which balances this thread out a bit

 

[rob@diveinutila.com]

I send a medical statement off to potential customers because it is better customer service and it also will increase my business. The doctor here is very conservative when it comes to clearing due to a lack of medical facility. So any doubt in his mind and he doesn't clear. The upshot of that is that often a customer would have been cleared by a doctor at home with better facility and knowledge of medical history whereas the only local doctor here worth his salt will not because he simply does not have the information available to make a positive decision.

Better customer service better, and better business for me. It shouldn't be remarkable to anyone how those two go together.

 

[TSandM]

Darren, I feel for you . . . but it isn't just shops in the Maldives who get disorganized and fail to take the extra step for customer service. We've had the same thing happen at our own local shop, where folks aren't given the medical ahead of time, or aren't told (and don't read) that they can't start the class if they have any yes answers. It was bad customer service, but you did have the ability to do some research at home to prevent getting blindsided when you got there. Even if you hadn't planned on getting certified where you live, you certainly could have called or visited a local PADI shop to ask them what the medical form looked like, and what it asked -- especially since you knew you HAD a medical condition.

Having had some experience with pursuing legal action in a foreign country, I would not consider it for even a moment, unless a matter of great import and continuing impact were involved. Understanding and using the legal system in your own country is hard enough; one gets little sympathy from the legal system of another country.

 

[darren_uk]

I send a medical statement off to potential customers because it is better customer service and it also will increase my business. The doctor here is very conservative when it comes to clearing due to a lack of medical facility. So any doubt in his mind and he doesn't clear. The upshot of that is that often a customer would have been cleared by a doctor at home with better facility and knowledge of medical history whereas the only local doctor here worth his salt will not because he simply does not have the information available to make a positive decision.

Better customer service better, and better business for me. It shouldn't be remarkable to anyone how those two go together.

Great attitude, and exactly the professionalism that deserves business; this was precisely what was lacking in the Velassaru dive centre.


Great response

 

[deragoku]

Is this your experience and knowledge, this particular problem is not that these special circumstances, the risk is a better way.

 

[GrandpaScuba]

The PADI medical form is on the PADI website. If you read the form, it says " If any of these items apply to you, we must request that you consult with a physician prior to participating in scuba diving." http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/forms/pdf/10063-ver2-0.pdf

 

[ktomlinson]

Couldn't you have just went to another shop in the Maldives and completed a new form?

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

I Know this is an old post, looks like the OP would have taking his classes in the UK and just did the checkout dives in the Maldives, so that way it couldn't be spoiled. Also you were Joe Blow who at first just wanted to dive on vacation because had you went to Padi or any other dive organizations web site all that information was there!!