DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I booked a visit for 2 to Costa Rica via Abroad Journey Journey final 12 months. It included pre-trip and post-trip extensions and round-trip airfare from San Francisco. I additionally paid for a enterprise class improve, which value $2,032 per individual.
In late December 2022, I obtained a name from Abroad Journey Journey advising that it had canceled the pre-trip portion because of a scarcity of curiosity. I needed to rebook the airline tickets as a result of the departure date would now be completely different. As a result of we had been solely two months from departure, the fee for this rebooking was an extra $1,056 per individual, which the agent suggested I must pay.
I appealed the choice to the chief contacts in your web site, however by no means bought a response.
Throughout the journey, I spoke to a few of the vacationers who indicated that they had inquired final October in regards to the pre-trip. Abroad Journey Journey informed them that the pre-trip had been canceled, however the firm waited one other two months to advise me of the cancellation. If it had informed me instantly, as soon as the choice was made, that the pre-trip was canceled, the airfare would have been a lot lower than it was two months earlier than departure.
— Julie Brown, San Ramon
ANSWER: You’re proper. Abroad Journey Journey bears some duty for the rise in your prices. If it knew that your pre-trip was canceled, it ought to have informed you instantly. As a substitute, it seems the corporate waited a number of months, and it’s no secret that airfares begin to rise as you get nearer to your departure date.
Abroad Journey Journey’s phrases are clear that the “firm is just not answerable for any losses chances are you’ll incur” on account of cancellations.
I’m additionally troubled by the best way the corporate dealt with your request for assist. You began with a well mannered cellphone name after which adopted up in writing, first via the customer support division after which to an Abroad Journey Journey government (as you word, I checklist their names and numbers on my shopper advocacy website, Elliott.org).
“After I spoke with a number of customer support reps at Abroad Journey Journey, they informed me that they by no means reply to written correspondence and that we would have liked to name them, not write to them,” you informed me. “Additionally they refused to let me converse with a supervisor or supervisor.”
I’ve an issue with that type of “customer support.” An organization ought to at all times reply its clients, even when it’s to politely say “no.”
In the event you’re contemplating a tour with Abroad Journey Journey, it’s useful to know that they are going to maintain you answerable for their schedule modifications, at the least in relation to airfare. Additionally, they might not reply to your emails.
I contacted Abroad Journey Journey in your behalf. A consultant responded to me.
“Relating to Ms. Brown’s expertise with customer support, we’ve got expanded our traveler assist crew and prolonged our hours of operation to handle the excessive quantity of inquiries,” the consultant informed me. “We spoke with Ms. Brown, and he or she accepted a $2,100 certificates in compensation for this difficulty.”
Christopher Elliott is the founding father of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit group that helps customers resolve their issues. E mail him at chris@elliott.org or get assist by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/assist/.
(c) 2023 Christopher Elliott
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