The 37 customers each filed a complaint with the Consumer Claims Tribunal, and each

complaint was considered to be justified.

The tribunal ordered the tour operator, whose name was not disclosed, to pay Lm1,380 to the customers plus expenses. The amount payable to each customer ranged from Lm30 to Lm90.

The 37 complaints were among 43 decisions made by the Consumer Claims Tribunal during May 2004. The other six decisions favoured the consumer as well.

The other claims heard by the Tribunal mainly concerned damages caused to clothing after dry cleaning, a pair of shoes that got torn and a pair of jeans which also got torn.

Compensation awarded ranged from Lm400, representing the installation of iron pipes when the pipes were supposed to be of plastic (PVC), to Lm30, being the price of a pair of jeans that got torn after a short period of use.