Unreliable Layang Layang Resort Malaysia

[cct]

I would like to share my very bad experience with the very unprofessional behaviour of Layang Layang Resort, which cancelled a holiday I had fully paid for, causing me to lose RM400 (US$100), besides suffering severe inconvenience and disappointment. The background to this:

1) On Tuesday, 18 March, I booked and paid the entire sum for a 5 day 4 night Layang Layang scuba diving holiday package with Divestation at MidValley Megamall, Malaysia. The schedule was that I would fly Kuala Lumpur - Kota Kinabalu on Sat 29 Mar. On Sun 30 Mar there would be a Kota Kinabalu - Layang Layang flight. After that, I would fly out of Layang Layang to Kota Kinabalu and then on to Kuala Lumpur on Thurs 3 Apr.

2) Subsequently, Divestation informed me that Layang Layang Resort had cancelled the Layang Layang - Kota Kinabalu flight on Thurs 3 Apr. The reason being that there had been cancellations by other visitors due to the commencement of US attacks on Iraq, making it not worthwhile for them to run that flight. There would be a flight only on Fri 4 Apr. Should I still wish to proceed, I would have to stay another night in Layang Layang; and to rub salt to the wound, the additional night would have to be at my own expense!

3) I was not able to do this due to other commitments and hence the trip was cancelled. Divestation fully refunded the Layang Layang package price.

4) I had also booked my KL-KK return tickets with AirAsia for this trip. Because of this cancellation and Air Asia's no refund policy, I had spent RM400 on air tickets that I would not use.

5) Layang Layang refused to compensate me for this RM400.

I think this is very unfair, as I had booked the AirAsia tickets solely for this holiday. I was not asking for anything for inconvenience or disappointment, only for reimbursement for direct costs I had incurred.

Besides Dive Station who had been cooperating with me to try to get a refund, I also spoke to Lawrence Lee, who I believe is marketing director of Layang Layang (on Tues Mar 25 at about 3.45pm) who refused to compensate me. He also said he would have no problems with my writing complaint letters to the mass media.

Layang Layang's behaviour is most unprofessional. How can they cancel a fully paid for holiday? Also, why cannot the operators of a world class diving destination run a consistent daily flight? If there are not enough divers going there, it must be because of the lack of certainty on Kota Kinabalu - Layang Layang flight schedules. How can they hope to attract local divers, let alone foreign divers who have to plan holidays well in advance, on this basis? It is most disappointing for me to find a national treasure so poorly managed.

So my message to all divers - think twice before making plans for Layang Layang. Either that or make sure you have lots of flexibility in your schedule.

CCTeh
Malaysia

 

[Shanhai]

These are troubled times we live in, and the way I see it, Layangx2 Resort has done nothing wrong. Unless I read you incorrectly, the resort DID refund you fully for their portion of the trip. Regarding the Air Asia portion, you should be complaining to the airline about stringent cancellation policies in these exceptional times. As I know, most US airlines have waived change and cancellation fees due to the war.

While I sympathise with you fully, you really only have Bush and Saddam to blame for the inconvenience. The war has inconvenicenced everyone. Since your tour with Layangx2 started in KK, not KL, there is no reason for them to compensate you. How are they to know where you are coming from. It's not like they left you stranded at KK Airport!

 

[m_a_n_t_a]

Shanhai once bubbled...
These are troubled times we live in, and the way I see it, Layangx2 Resort has done nothing wrong. ...

What bollocks. Shanhai, I would like to see you make plans to travel halfway round the world, prepay everything and find out once you get there that your plans are messed up.

The purpose of pre-paying is so that neither party gets to bail on the other.

In this scenario, both layang layang resort and divestation are at fault. But cct should mostly be concerned about divestation as that is his counterparty, and he will probably never know what agreements exist between divestation and the resort.

I have had a "mis-quotation" experience before. A travel agent once underquoted me for a holiday. They only found out way after I paid for it. They tried to ask for the extra cost from me, but I insisted that they sell the package at our pre-agreed price. As it was a reputable travel agent, they let me have my way.

I have consulted a lawyer before, and he said that I would have had a case since even a cancellation with a full refund would not have compensated me sufficiently for the financial cost I would have had to bear (eg. for cct, the air tickets) for other planned items which were contingent on the package.

Imagine if you bought a house and renovated it only to have the seller go back on his word. Or a stock trading system that allows you to "undo" your trades.

The point is : If DiveStation was not confident of the package/price, don't ask for payment from cct. Otherwise, they should be prepared to bear the downside potential.

 

[Shanhai]

That's why there are insurance companies selling trip cancellation insurance...

Flying from KL to KK is hardly a life changing journey. Besides, airlines have a right to change their itineraries as they choose. As a frequent traveller, I don't like that much either, but it does happen. Layang Layang is letting him fly on the next available flight, but it is CCT that does not want to or is not able to go.

I'm not saying that it's CCT's fault, but he's just another victim of this war. If I were Layang Layang, I would probably just refund him the RM400 that he incurred to cancel his flight to KK, as a good will gesture. IMHO, this was a bad decision on their part, but I can really see where they are coming from.

I still maintain that it is Air Asia that CCT should complain to.

On the side, I have bought in the past non-cancellable, non-exchangable tickets on the web for a flight, only to miss the flight because the previous flight into my connection city was delayed. I got no money back for the unused portion, and had to buy another ticket altogether for a later flight. So now, I tend to pay a bit more for changable tickets; it saves a lot of hassles.

 

[diverkim]

IMHO I would say that Layang X2 Resort could have been more generous in reducing the fees for the extra nite in view of good customer relations. They are not responsible for the canceled flites but they look bad. The lesson to be drawn is that if you want to go to a remote resort like Layang X2 then you should calculate the extra cost of flight cancellation insurance and not be overly expectant of customer being king. I for one, after reading this account, don't care to grace such a resort.
Granted I haven't heard Layang X2's response and my view might change depending on that.

 

[lanun]

hmmmm ...

on air asia's policy - i'd suggest emailing tony fernandes directly if emails to the customer service does not bear fruit. i have seen his replies (or at least someone purported to be him).

as for layangx2 resort - i agree with dk - some 'accomodation' re:room rates for the extra day would have won more smiles than miffs.

cct i hope to hear if anything more came out of it. maybe even pointing out scubaboard to the layangx2 folks so they have the oppty to make amends so to speak.

 

[Snoopy]

For that small extra fee of a trip travel insurance, you get covered and these financial headace would not occurs.

Tell me that you dun have cover for DCS, medi evac as well ?

Yes, bulls to that operators decision to cancel that flight etc etc. You can always not return.

 

[cmdasia]

cct once bubbled...

So my message to all divers - think twice before making plans for Layang Layang. Either that or make sure you have lots of flexibility in your schedule.

CCTeh
Malaysia [/B]

Thats good advice, I for one will follow it.

 

[Northeastwrecks]

nt

 

[Peter Lim]

I had been to Layang2, it is a beautiful place to dive, nice marine life, nice island and good people; kind of ex but what can you expect, it is out in the blue. I will return.

cct, too bad, wrong timing.