Sunsail customer who almost went to jail accepts revised compensation
The family of a man who almost went to jail in Thailand while on holiday with Sunsail say he has accepted a revised offer of compensation from the operator.
Dr Hubert Egloff, a 68-year-old retired doctor and experienced sailor, was arrested by Thai police in October when his anchor touched protected coral off Racha Yai, an island south of Phuket.
His passport was confiscated and he had to pay around €5000 in fines, legal fees and other expenses.
Dr Egloff’s family claim the Sunsail manual for the area wasn’t clear enough and say Sunsail failed to provide support throughout his ordeal.
Sunsail insists it wasn’t responsible but has since updated its guidance for the area.
Although Sunsail refused to accept liability, it has offered to pay the client €5000 as a gesture of goodwill, plus a week’s worth of rental costs to be used on a similar-sized boat during low season.
The sailing holiday specialist had earlier offered €3000 but this had been refused.
Dr Egloff’s daughter told TravelMole her father had decided to accept the revised offer.
"We are keen for this ordeal to be over and we hope this incident will serve a higher purpose and protect future customers," she said.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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