To Bookworm, Thank you for this information - we have sent one letter and so will follow it up, being a little more 'forceful' this time. It is just a relief to know that we may have a case.

I travelled to France over Christmas, with a return journey booked for December 30th. When we got to the port we were told by the ferry co. that their boat was out of service and we would have to make our own way home. It cost us £130 to come back via Eurotunnel but Speed Ferries have said they are not liable - although we have sought the advice of the public side of the OFT and they say it was breach of contract. We wanted to see if anyone else had had this problem, especially over this new year period, and what they were doing about it. Thanks.