African American Travelers Reviews (%countItem)
African American Travelers Rating
Address: 7645 Front St, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, United States, 19012-1433
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I was setting up to go to the Cartagena,Colombia trip in Jan 2020 but then finances became tight. I contacted AAT numerous of times to ask to cancel only to be left days and even weeks(about 2) without any communicating at all. I first asked if I could get my monies back but they still never responded until I told them I would take them to small claims court. They suddenly responded and stated because I didn't cancel within the time frame, I couldn't get my monies back. So I accepted and wrote again and stated what is the next step and what of my credit that is offered? Another couple of weeks go by and they didn't contact me until I threatened againto take them to small claims court so to get some proof of my credit towards another trip and still they took days again to respond. At this point I didn't want to use their services because their customer service is horrible. They leave you hanging and when they respond its weeks and their response is not of concern for their customers. Be very wary of booking with them amd make sure to keep every email so that you'll have proof of your attenpts at communicating with them. I still have my emails for legal reasons.
As Ms Cynthia stated, she made payments towards a trip to Cartagena that departed 1/17/2019. She reached out during Christmas break to tell us she could no longer go. Because we were hosting trips over the holidays we were not immediately able to get back to her. However, when we returned we immediately informed her that because of the timing that she cancelled she was not eligible for a refund as per the refund policy that's clearly stated on the website she used to book, at which point she berated us with every disparaging remark she could recall to describe our business.
I'm sympathetic towards whatever situation forced her to cancel her trip 2 weeks prior to departure. However, that does not give her the right to unfairly damage the reputation of our business that has taken 8 years to build. She should be ashamed of herself, especially when the refund policy was already stated to begin with.
African American Travelers has been very difficult to get in touch with on multiple occasions, but the one time I was able to get through I was able to talk to Lawrence and tell him that I am involved in a lawsuit regarding my property. A lawsuit was supposed to end in December (in my favor, I hoped). It's still going on.
As this is an emergency, and there should be some provision for such unavoidable things, I've asked twice to cancel the trip and have the money applied to another trip. I spoke to Lawrence M the last time -- who didn't answer my e-mails until I asked him why he hadn't very publicly on facebook. Mr. Lawrence was very careful to never answer my question. He said no refunds are allowed except for payments made less than 30 days ago -- when I didn't ask for a refund
I asked that whatever funds he can be applied to a future trip. He has avoided answering this repeatedly
As per our refund policy, her most recent payment collected 2/5 towards our trip to Senegal has been refunded to her as of 2/29, 2 days after she sent in an email requesting the trip be cancelled. She should expect that money to hit her account by 3/3 the latest, if it's not already there. With that established I must say that this is nothing more than an attempt on Ms. part to bully us out of money she know she isn't entitled to. Our refund policy for every trip is clearly stated on the website she used to book the trip, and we ALWAYS encourage our travelers to get travel insurance to cover them for moments just like these. We personally had a conversation with her in January further explaining that she would lose most of her money if she cancelled now(2 months before the trip) and should consider getting travel insurance with the uncertainty surrounding her personal life. She agreed not to cancel at that time and would follow up with us on the issue. While I wish her nothing but the best in her personal matter, however, SHAME on her for thinking she is entitled to more that what ALL of our customers are promised for all of the 8 years we've been in business...Sincerely,Lawrence M
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: Mr. M continues to be deceptively evasive. As African American Travelers had ignored e-mails before, I gave African American Travelers a deadline to respond to my e-mailed request for refund. They missed that deadline, so I wrote to the Revdex.com to preserve my right to the refund portion of my complaint. The other part of my complaint, Mr. M has ignored again. I have not asked for a refund beyond the monthly payments. The other portion of my complaint: I asked that $1800 I've paid for a trip I will not be taking be applied to another trip with HIS COMPANY. I did not ask for a refund and I've said this to him in writing and by phone several times. He is only pretending to be confused. Furthermore, when I spoke to Andrea she told me it was possible that 50% of my deposit might be applied to another trip. That's what she said by phone. Instead of Mr. M putting this in writing to the Revdex.com there is feigned outrage. Coronavirus being deadly and in its initial stages as a pandemic, I shouldn't be forced to travel now as opposed to later when the tests and drugs are in place.
Regards
Hello ***,Below is the refund/cancellation policy for the trip Ms. purchased, which is still posted on the web page she used to book the trip. Your deposit is fully refundable for 15 days after it has been paid, or until July 20th, whichever comes first. 50% of your deposit can applied to a future trip within a years’ time of this trip being cancelled.Each monthly payment becomes non-refundable 30 days after the due date for that payment.The trip becomes 100% non-refundable on/after March 15th.Refunds can take up to 30 days from the date requested to process. Travel/Cancellation insurance is highly recommended for ALL AAT trips. Please contact an AAT rep for assistance in getting you a quote.It clearly establishes that your MONTHLY PAYMENTS are non-refundable/transferable 30 days after it is received. However, 50% of her deposit is indeed transferable. Her $100 deposit was received July 8th. Half of that($50) can be used to book a trip within a years time of her cancelling(2/26/2021). I would happily have her on another trip. Below you will see the email received 2/26 by Ms. requesting to CANCEL the trip because she is in jeopardy of losing her home and asks that we REFUND her. STOP PAYMENTS & REFUND PAYMENT(S) for SENEGAL 2020 -2 Please be advised that I will not be able to go on this trip for reasons already disclosed. In short, I am a homeowner and my home is in jeopardy due to crossing lawsuits. Therefore, please refund my last payment as it was paid less than 30 days ago. Please refund any money available to me if you cannot apply the money to a future trip. Please consider this a withdrawal of my approval for you to take any more money from my accounts or credit cards. Please acknowledge receipt of this e-mail by end of business today --especially if you require any further information regarding this matter. *** You will also find attached the invoice where Ms. was refunded her most recent payment of $317.17 received on 2/7 no more than 3 days later on 2/29, despite the refund/cancellation policy stating we have 30 days to refund it. It's beyond why she feels that she can define the timeframes we are to respond beyond what is already stated. And while we are certainly taking the CoronaVirus outbreak seriously, Ms. never mentioned it in any of our correspondence until AFTER her trip had already been cancelled and refunded. I find it somewhat offensive that she would dare use such a situation as a scapegoat to lay claim to money she knows she isn't entitled to!We have 100% complied with the refund/cancellation policy that Ms. agreed to when she registered for this trip. We even attempted to help her get travel insurance in January when she indicated that she was uncertain if she would be able to attend. Again, I have the utmost sympathy for Ms. and the situation with her home. However, her personal matters does not mean she doesn't have to comply with policies she agreed to when she purchased the trip! Sincerely,Lawrence M
During my travel with African American Travelers to Ghana on December 26-January 6th 2020.
On the dates of approximately January 3rd through January 4th my luggage was lost. I have sent multiple text message through group chat "***" to Lawrence M who is the coordinator for this travel to Ghana. I never received a text from him.
I have also tried communication with David who is from the tour bus company and to no avail nothing has done. I asked David who works for the tour bus company for the name of the tour bus company so that I could write the company and to no avail I did not receive the company name or telephone number.
Today January 9th,2020 approx. 615a I sent a message through the company's (African American Travelers) email to Lawrence M addressing my lost piece of luggage.
I would like to resolve the issue concerning my lost piece of luggage, but I cant do anything if I don't hear from responsible partners.
I can make snap shots of the *** messages and email messages later to attach to this letter.
Respectfully,
***
***@***.com
The owner of this travel company has questionable business practices. He's not very transparent in what his consumers are paying for up front besides what's written in an itinerary template and later fills in the blanks as time goes along.
A group of travelers, myself included, went through his travel company on a trip to South America and was charged over $6,000 for a 2-week trip. With a $6k+ trip, one would expect everything to be flawless. Not the case.
Anyone looking to book with this company, do so with caution. It is likely your itinerary will change, and very likely more than once. One of the airlines' planes he booked us on, was repossessed and filed for bankruptcy 4-5 months prior to our departure. He did not do a "research trip" (as he usually does, so I'm told) before our arrival. Therefore, any surprises that came about, we were not forwarned and all found out at once. He states that hotels will be of a certain star rating, but in person, they are hit or miss.
We stayed in a total of 4 hotels. 2 of which, breakfasts were well below average, and another, we didn't even have closets, just a rack to hang clothing on. The same 2 hotels had subpar breakfast, with average rooms and deplorable wifi. The other 2 hotels were aesthetically nice with great service.
You will not get a breakdown of what your money is paying for besides a bare-bones invoice with very little information. It seems as if he bids on airfare and lodging via *** and *** or something similar. Basically what you could do but instead commits to price gouging.
Ultimately, this was a low budget trip that he outrageously overcharged for. Also, at no time were we invited to enter our airline and hotel rewards numbers to get credit for our points. After asking for the confirmation and flight numbers, for redemption, he denied my requests to do so.
*** offers classier accommodations for more than half the costs, with greater customer service and professionalism.
<***@***.com>Dear ***,I represent African American Travelers. Attached please find the response in reference to Revdex.com file ***.Best,*** Esq.-- As always, your referrals and business are greatly appreciated.
***Better Strategy. Better Business. Better Life.