Parks Victoria cancellation policy
Posted: Fri 12 Nov, 2010 2:33 pm
I was booked in for an overnight walk at The prom this weekend. The weather forecast is terrible. Heavy rain and flood warnings for some areas. Obviously it's less than desireable weather for an overnight hike. I called their office to say I would like to transfer my booking to a new date. I was told this could only be done with at least 7 days notice. *&%$#! disgraceful in my opinion. Encouraging people to head out in adverse weather conditions..... Surely Parks Victoria must have some duty of care. Pure revenue hunting in my opinion. It's not about money for me......
I wrote them this letter of complaint. It will be interesting to see what their response is:
"I would like to make a formal complaint regarding Wilsons Promontory National Park. I have booked an overnight hike for this coming weekend 13-14 Nov. As you may know, there has been heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast throughout Victoria this weekend. There are also flood warnings for parts of Victoria. I called through to the Parks Victoria office at Wilsons Prom to see if I could transfer my booking to another weekend. Given the weather conditions forecast for Saturday, I definitely don’t want to be out doing an overnight hike. The staff member advised me that bookings can only be transferred with 7 days notice. I feel this is completely unacceptable. It is very difficult to plan outdoor excursions around a weather forecast and give 7 days notice! I also would have thought Parks Victoria would have had some duty of care for the public. By not refunding or transferring bookings when there are flood warnings, you are effectively encouraging people to go out into the outdoors in adverse weather conditions. Is this really a responsible act by a government organisation? This seems very much like a revenue hunting exercise!
I regularly use many of the National Parks in Victoria and am more than happy to pay the fees associated with using them, but I don’t believe I should be punished for making a wise decision and choosing not to go out when there are flood warnings.
I'm aware that recently you have eliminated the entry fees for many of the National Parks including Wilsons Prom. I notice that the overnight hiker fees have not been eliminated or reduced at all. Essentially you eliminate fees for some people and then make up for it by robbing others.........
I would appreciate a response and resolution to this matter.
Kind regards."
I wrote them this letter of complaint. It will be interesting to see what their response is:
"I would like to make a formal complaint regarding Wilsons Promontory National Park. I have booked an overnight hike for this coming weekend 13-14 Nov. As you may know, there has been heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast throughout Victoria this weekend. There are also flood warnings for parts of Victoria. I called through to the Parks Victoria office at Wilsons Prom to see if I could transfer my booking to another weekend. Given the weather conditions forecast for Saturday, I definitely don’t want to be out doing an overnight hike. The staff member advised me that bookings can only be transferred with 7 days notice. I feel this is completely unacceptable. It is very difficult to plan outdoor excursions around a weather forecast and give 7 days notice! I also would have thought Parks Victoria would have had some duty of care for the public. By not refunding or transferring bookings when there are flood warnings, you are effectively encouraging people to go out into the outdoors in adverse weather conditions. Is this really a responsible act by a government organisation? This seems very much like a revenue hunting exercise!
I regularly use many of the National Parks in Victoria and am more than happy to pay the fees associated with using them, but I don’t believe I should be punished for making a wise decision and choosing not to go out when there are flood warnings.
I'm aware that recently you have eliminated the entry fees for many of the National Parks including Wilsons Prom. I notice that the overnight hiker fees have not been eliminated or reduced at all. Essentially you eliminate fees for some people and then make up for it by robbing others.........
I would appreciate a response and resolution to this matter.
Kind regards."