Two people who rented a bus for a church group trip will get $3,000 back, B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal ruled Nov. 22.
Michael Habib and Samuel Guindi chartered a bus from D.W. Cholin Inc., for a round trip from Vancouver to Kelowna in July 2023, according to tribunal member Peter Mennie's decision. Habib and Guindi paid $4,137 before the trip.
The pair told the tribunal the bus needed repairs in Hope which delayed their trip by over an hour. They also claimed the bus’s air conditioning was not working from Hope to Kelowna; the driver was "rude, aggressive, and made disparaging comments" about their religion in email exchanges; the bus broke down; and the company refused to return them to Vancouver. The two claimed a full refund.
D.W. Cholin, however, said the bus’s AC was working. It provided a copy of an invoice for “AC recharge” due on May 28, 2023, as proof that the air conditioning was serviced shortly before the trip.
As for refusing to drive back to Vancouver, D.W. Cholin said that was because "individuals travelling with (Habib and Guindi) damaged the bus."
Mennie said he preferred Habib and Guindi’s evidence to that of the company.
“I find that the respondent’s invoice for an ‘AC recharge’ was likely to refill the bus’s refrigerant,” Mennie said. “The respondent does not deny that the bus needed repairs in Hope. This indicates that the bus was not in good working order. So, I accept that the air conditioning broke during the second half of the trip.”
Meanwhile, Habib and Guindi provided the tribunal with the emails from the bus driver.
"I find this reflects a pattern of behaviour, so I accept that the bus driver was rude, aggressive, and made disparaging comments about the applicants’ religion during the trip to Kelowna,” Mennie said.
The bus eventually broke down after arriving in Kelowna.
The pair provided Habib’s text messages with the bus driver as evidence.
"On July 23, 2023, the bus driver wrote that the bus was not safe to drive, no mechanic was available, and the respondent’s other buses were in use,” Mennie said. “The applicants hired another bus company for their return trip to Vancouver. They provided an invoice which shows they paid $2,473.80 for the return trip.”
The company, however, said it refused to take the church group back to Vancouver because the church group damaged its bus, did not wear their seat belts when travelling to Kelowna, and because Habib allegedly threatened the bus driver.
"It provided photos which show a fire extinguisher on a bus seat and some ceiling panels which were removed. It says the church group caused this damage."
Mennie did not accept the arguments that the passengers caused the damage.
“I find it was an implied term that the bus would be in good working order and that the bus driver would behave professionally,” Mennie said. “I find that the respondent breached the contract because the bus’s air conditioning broke for part of the trip, the bus driver was rude, aggressive, and made disparaging comments about the applicants’ religion, and the respondent did not return the church group to Vancouver.”
Mennie ordered the company to pay Habib and Guindi $2,473.80 to compensate them for having to contract another bus company to complete their trip.
Mennie also ordered the company to pay $526.20 for the driver’s behaviour and AC problems.
