Mudplug Ltd is a small family owned company (to our North American visitors, a "Mom and Pop" shop).
We operate our tours to give our guests the maximum of enjoyment on the tours, and go out of our way to assist anyone who has any problems with their vehicles during the tours, or last minute problems immediately before departure. We listen to what our customers tell us, and we have continually refined and improved the tours over the 4 years that we have been operating our tours. This policy works as we have many repeat bookings, and it was at the request of our regular customers that we have introduced our new tours in the Massif Central, and will soon introduce tours incorporating a visit to the famous "Cinq Pilliers" (Five Pillars) quarry- based off road site north of Paris.
There were some basic conditions about the tours on the site which all of our customers thought were quite reasonable and sensible. We have always assumed that our customers were in full possession of their faculties, and that common sense would prevail in our dealings with them, and we have been proved correct. There has not been a dispute with a single customer, and we have believed that what you actually do counts for more than vague "Mission statements" and pointless "Procedures" and that Common Sense should prevail.
Unfortunately the "tick box" culture has caught up with us. Last August a sad "jobs worth" who was not interested in coming on one of our tours e-mailed us (carelessly omitting to add his name) saying that "he did not believe our Conditions", and that he was reporting us to the Office of Fair Trading.
Yesterday a package thudded through our letter box from the Office of Fair Trading. It appears that they have spent the last 9 months "investigating" our conditions, at goodness knows what expense, although they did not feel that it might have been common courtesy to inform of the investigation, or to ask us any questions.
Tried in "absentia".
Their decision was to take no action, but they made “suggestions” as to how to improve the wording of our Conditions.
As they are now too long to put on the site they will be e-mailed to people considering booking in PDF format.
Site Last Updated dimanche, juin 12, 2005. 23:10:00