P&O Cruises faces lawsuit over alleged predatory behaviour at sea
P&O Cruises and its parent company Carnival Corporation are facing a first-of-its-kind class action lawsuit, which will allege that passengers were subject to predatory lending and incentives to keep gambling.
The class action lawsuit, organised by Carter Capner Law, alleges the cruise ship operator plied guests with alcohol, allowed them to gamble beyond their financial means, and illegally held them on board until they paid their debts.
Peter Carter, legal practice director at Carter Capner, said consumer protection laws shouldn’t stop applying in international waters.
“The flag state has laws that are of a consumer protection nature that will prevent the giving of on-the-spot loans for gambling without conducting proper investigations to the capacity to repay and the vulnerability of the borrower in terms of their gambling tendencies,” he said.
“Some ships are registered in Bermuda, Bahamas, the United Kingdom and all over the world, but most of those countries have consumer protection laws not unlike those that apply in Australia.”
He alleged that P&O had committed “egregious conduct for which there is legal remedy and compensation should be paid”.
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“[About] 30 per cent of the people we’re getting inquiries from were withheld at the time of disembarkation,” he said.
“People didn’t have the money to be able to pay it out, so they were interrogated as to what their intentions were and not allowed to leave until the cruise line was satisfied and in some cases were told get the money now by calling a relative.”
Changing conduct
The law firm has heard from people who were allegedly offered free drinks and a $5000-a-day credit limit despite claims Carnival Cruises was aware of prior gambling problems and debts.
P&O Cruises changed its policies following the death of a man who went overboard on one of its ships, allegedly after spending thousands across two nights gambling at the casino on board.
Carter said that by the firm’s initial estimates, about 10,000 people have been affected by the conduct over the past six years.
“It was a very widespread practice, the free credit, the detention and the other means of luring people to gamble money,” he said.
“Everybody, including the cruise ships, believes that anything goes at sea, so this is the first time this is being raised.”
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The New Daily contacted P&O about the class action lawsuit, but did not receive a response.
P&O told News.com.au in a statement that it had “Responsible Conduct of Gaming Policies in place on all P&O ships and take those policies seriously”.
Retirement
Carnival Corporation is retiring the P&O Cruises Australia brand in March after 180 years of operation, citing “significantly higher operating and regulatory costs”.
P&O owner Carnival Cruises is shuttering the brand following a difficult period for cruise ship operators in Australia. Photo: AAPCarter said the class action lawsuit will be filed imminently.
“We expect to file either December or January,” he said.
“It will proceed … we have to see what the cruise lines have to say.”
He said he expects more people with similar experiences to come forward as it progresses.
“They can do that by going to the website that’s been set up and everything’s completely confidential,” Carter said.
“Some people are naturally included to not want to reveal that they were duped in this way, but they can be assured of confidentially.”
