Move on Labuan ferry ticket refunds

Labuan: The Labuan Marine Department is considering the Labuan travellers' grievances to standardise the refund practice of ferry tickets sold to all ferry operators. Its Director Benjamin Bijon said the Labuan consumer body must forward an official letter to initiate a meeting with the department in the presence of the Ministry of Transport (MOT) officials.

"The consumer body must detail the dissatisfaction of consumers with regard to the no refund of ferry ticket fare or related ferry services," he said, Friday.

Benjamin said the current ferry ticket tariff was set by the MOT and as such, any proposal and recommendation on fare refund should be the prerogative of the ministry.

The current ferry ticket tariff per trip is set at RM40 for sedan type of vehicles and RM50 for four-wheel-drive vehicles.

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The tariff for lorry is varied and depends on the tonnage of vehicles from two tonnes to 10 tonnes at a range of RM50 to RM550 with no cargo and RM650 for 10 tonnes of lorry with cargo.

The tariff for a trailer (20-footer) is RM770 (no cargo) and RM870 with cargo, and for a 40-footer trailer without cargo, the rate is RM980 and RM1,080 with cargo.

The Labuan State Consumer Council has urged Labuan ferry operators to practise a friendly customer service and not merely on a total-profit-oriented service provider.

Its President Fauziah Datuk Mohd Din said ferry operators must place emphasis on providing satisfactory service with a win-win and reasonable approach.

"The operators should be thankful to travellers and visitors who have been demanding for additional ferry services and giving them business and profit, and not like what the travellers are experiencing now," she said.

Fauziah was commenting on the public outcry over the "no refund practice" by the new ferry operators.

"We are suggesting the Marine Department being the authority to oversee the ferry operation to call for a meeting to look into this issue and how we can standardise the practice," she said.

"Tickets which have been sold, we consider the service as having been rendered which involves the fixed operating costs such as fuel, manpower, maintenance and insurance," said LML Director Zaid Zain in a statement.

He reminded travellers to notify the ferry ticketing counter staff for cancellation at least 24 hours before departure for refund of 50 per cent of the ticket tariff.

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Vehicles owners going from Labuan to Menumbok and vice versa also forwarded complaints to the consumer body over the vehicle arrangement on the ferry which was found to be too close to one another and caused difficulty to drivers and passengers in getting out of their vehicles.

An incident occurred late last year when several vehicles which were onboard a ferry from Menumbok to Labuan were badly damaged after hitting one another when the ferry was sailing on a rough journey.

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