Holders of the Merlin Annual Pass who do not show up for pre-booked admission will potentially face penalties under a new system.
In a change to terms and conditions effective 17 August, Merlin today announced that it would freeze further bookings for passes which were linked to three ‘no-shows’ at its UK attractions within a a 90-day period.
An email will be sent after each individual pre-booked no-show, with the three-strike booking suspension lasting for 14 days, Merlin said.
Passes’ expiry dates will remain unchanged, with the suspension effectively serving as a form of penalty.
Today’s announcement has attracted considerable criticism from annual pass-holders on Merlin’s social media platforms.
Changes
RideRater has independently verified that not all current Merlin Annual Pass holders have received today’s email notification of the terms and conditions changes.
It is not clear on what basis emails have been sent, or if this is simply a system fault.
The terms and conditions across all annual passes are expected to be changed to match the new penalty system, however.
Pre-booking admission for Merlin’s UK attractions has been a mandatory requirement since the COVID-19 pandemic first emerged.
Currently, cancellation of advance bookings can only be made by phone or online form, but existing bookings dates can be amended.
However, Merlin today said that it was looking to implement cancellation via its online booking systems in the near future.