TroggieDo I know anyone who is knowledgeable about the Equality Act in England who wouldn’t mind me picking their brains?
Specifically the access to goods and services side of things.
NatalyaD@Troggie I probably count for "non lawyer" values of knowledge.
I am a cofounder of http://www.reasonableaccess.org.uk which is a tiny charitable org aimed to help people understand and assert their disability access rights.
I've added you and you're welcome to private message me. I'm also happy to do email and share my email address in PM if you'd like a bit more privacy.
@NatalyaD hey! Of course, thank you. It is regarding the cruise, though there’s not much to be done now as it appears to be fully booked either way.
I understand the SOLAS thing. I don’t necessarily agree but I appreciate why they are allowed to require people to book accessible cabins and make sure they’re assigned an evacuation chair.
What I don’t understand is how they’re allowed to charge extra. Especially if they’re not giving you a choice.
@Troggie Section 20.7 of the Equality Act is where it is unlawful to charge extra for the cost of making an adjustment. (section 20 is all about adjustments)
But ON the boat itself, the Equality Act doesn't apply so they can charge what they like.
The boat service can also refuse to provide any access at all. Cruises may do so cos clientele who are rich + elderly as large part of market.
Some boats provide no or poor/dangerous access and there is no legal recourse.
It's utterly shite.
@NatalyaD That is disgusting. I’m not even surprised at this point. Thanks for clarifying.
@Troggie I'm sorry I didn't have a happier answer although in practice even if there's clear discrim, challenging it against big orgs is hard. A lawyer once told me the Equality Act is a shield not a sword, meaning you can only enforce after discrim which takes forever, you can rarely use it to prevent discrim and most orgs know that most disabled folk don't have the time/money/capacity/cope/desire to litigate so they get away with it. We need monitoring & centralised effective enforcement!