Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to let you all know that AmEx's verdict is in. I did not get my refund.
To quote AmEx: "The Merchang has advised that on December 15, 2007, there was a 6:05am roll call and that they departed at 6:15am as everyone was on-board that checked in. The Merchant also advised that there are 'no refunds'."
Scuba Center Temecula's letter to AmEx essentially said the same thing and also added: "While I feel bad that she didn't call us and tell us they were running late or anything like that and ended up missing the boat, it was clearly and repeatedly told to her that there is 'no refund' for any reason."
While this whole ordeal was pretty frustrating, I've learned an important lesson from it. Not all dive shops are cut from the same cloth. Some, it seems, are less willing to accomodate its customers for various reasons. While I would have loved to call up Temecula's owner who was on the boat, no one had ever given me his phone number, and the dive shop was, of course, closed at 6:00am and would not have been able to answer its phone. Temecula's owner, however, did have my cell phone number on hand, and it never rung. I understand that he had responsibilities to consider his divers already on the Bottom Scratcher. But as he had clearly stated, departure was at 7am. If I was one of those divers on the boat already, I wouldn't have minded waiting another 45 minutes until the scheduled 7am departure tme that the captain of the boat was informed of. The owner of Scuba Center Temecula did indeed repeatedly tell me there was "no refund"...after I had asked for one after the boat had left. As for any actual forewarning, he had only told me "no refunds" once two weeks prior to the trip when I signed up for the charer. His explanation seemed reasonable, that "if we did that we would lose money on the charter." Fair enough. No refunds for any reason. Very smart. Touche.
There's really not much I can do on the AmEx end now. It's hard not to feel discouraged, but if that changes, I might file a small Better Business Bureau complaint. Other than that, it might be wise to just let bygones be bygones. At least I learned a lesson from this, albeit an almost $300 lesson.
Anyhow, thanks to all of you for lending an ear and providing some good advice. This won't deter me from coming back to Southern California to dive again one day. You guys have an awesome backyard!