William Hall, a campervan fabricator, rode for three hours through the early hours of Friday morning from Brighton to Poole, but was not allowed on the ferry because of the new rules.
But the 42-year-old said that as the new policy was not a legal requirement, staff at the port could have used their discretion.
‘I did not read my booking confirmation which did say in faint grey writing that I would need photo ID from 1 March. Having always travelled without ID I did not really think much about it,’ he said.
‘There was no mention on the e-ticket of ID either. Apparently, they sent me a text about that, which I did not receive, but I would have got it after I’d left anyway.
‘They were just really dogmatic about it. It is not a statutory or legal requirement, it is just Condor’s policy. It goes against our civil liberties. People died so we did not have to carry ID.’
Mr Hall added that he had been travelling back home from the UK to surprise his mother for her 80th birthday. He also claimed to have showed staff photos on his phone of his driving licence and passport.
‘I told them that it was my mum’s 80th birthday and they must have some discretion. They made we wait, with the expectation that I might be allowed to board, only then to be told that “the computer says no”,’ he said.
‘It was the first day that the policy had come into force and I had ridden a long way in the cold – travelling three hours from Brighton on wet roads before 7am. They just did not seem to care and it was just out of order.’
Responding to the complaint, a Condor spokesman said they were disappointed that Mr Hall ‘felt’ he had not been told to bring photographic ID with him.
‘On the original booking confirmation, the instruction is printed at the top of the document and the passenger also received an SMS prior to travel. These measures have been in place for all bookings since December 2018,’ he said.
‘Foot or car passengers checking in at Guernsey, Jersey, Poole and Portsmouth from the beginning of this year have been reminded of the ruling, the website has been regularly updated, social-media platforms have been deployed and our awareness campaign has been widely covered by the Jersey Evening Post and other media.
‘It is passengers’ responsibility to read and act on information sent to them so we genuinely believe everything possible has been done to notify this customer of the change. The passenger was rightly refused carriage but, as a gesture of goodwill, given this is day one of the new policy, we have provided a refund of their travel from Poole to Jersey.’
