Explorica, Inc.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ***
I do not accept Explorica's response since there is a travel warning to Ecuador, and Latin America In order to resolve the case, I would like a full refund of $599.
Regards,
*** ***

This is regarding complaint #*** against ExploricaI received an e-mail today saying that this complaint has been closed because you did not receive a response from me within daysFirst of all, when you said days I assumed you meant BUSINESS days! Secondly, I needed to ask my students if they had received their refunds, and I couldn't because we have been on holiday, plus we have had several snow daysThis is unfair! This matter is not resolved! I received my refund, but I told Explorica that they were to reimburse us for interest we would have received had we left our money in the bank instead of giving it to ExploricaI know that you earned interest on our money, Explorica, so hand it over! Three times $= $and this will not break youDo the right thing! You stole our interestGive it back! $x = $Give it back!

Dear *** ***We regret that you have not been satisfied with Explorica As discussed, Explorica is willing to offer you a 100% refund of your son’s trip ($4043) as well as a credit of $for anyfamily member on any future Explorica tourExplorica is willing to consideradditional reimbursement for your personal expenses should you provide receiptsand detail around these expensesFurther, you purchased travel insurancethrough Tripmate and we suggest you reach out to the insurance provider to seewhat additional coverage is availableIf you do not have the insuranceinformation we would be more than happy to provide it for you. Best regards,Explorica Inc

Dear Ms***, We are sorry that you had to cancel your tour to QuebecYou are correct, we do offer insurance through a third party which handles all of our claimsOur Customer Care team has just confirmed that your final refund check was sent on December to the address we have on
file, so you should receive it within the weekIf you do not receive it, or would like to confirm the address that we have on file, please contact our Customer Care department at *** Thank you for your patience, Explorica

Mr***, We are sorry to hear that your daughter will not be traveling with usAs you are aware, we processed your cancellation and refund according to our Terms & ConditionsWe apologize for any miscommunication during the cancellation process, as it is very important for us
to receive the written cancellation as soon as possible to stop future payments Our Customer Care team has discussed this case and come to what we believe to be a fair solutionA representative will be reaching out to you directly to discuss the details If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to call that team directly at *** Best Regards,*** *** explorica

Hi ***, We apologize for the delay in receiving your refundWe have confirmed that a check has been sent out today (4/6/18)If you do not receive this check, please contact our Customer Care team directly at 1-***Thank you, Explorica

Dear
***,
Thank
you for taking the time to share your feedbackWe are sorry that our services
fell short of your expectations
Tours
with Explorica (and most other educational travel companies) are priced based
on a group travel model: at least people
sharing a tour busTherefore,
small groups get combined with one or more other groups traveling on the same
or similar itineraryThis allows small groups like yours to enjoy the same low
pricing as larger groups, but it does require flexibility if enrollment minimums
are not metThis was explained to you during the tour planning process, and is
clearly stated in our agreement with you
***, our mission is to help students experience the world, so we do
everything in our power to help small groups like yoursWe are glad that you,
your personal program consultant and her manager were able to communicate
directly and reach a satisfactory resolution
Respectfully,
*** ***
Explorica
Educational Travel

Dear ***,As previously stated I understand how you feel and your perspective of the situation, and although I may I agree at a certain level, we also need to be reasonable and enforce the policy that is applicable for the current situation and that every participant agrees to when initially signed for any tourAs stated in the Terms and Conditions, group travel implicates a different setting of deadlines and a limited flexibility and the group leader is empowered to make decision on behalf of every single participantUnfortunately in this case the decision was to cancel the whole tour and regular policy was appliedBut because you purchased the insurance you were able to recovered most of the investment and your cancellation fee was reduced to $plus the standard non refundable fees($deposit and $insurance cost).At this point we have send two checks to the address on file, one for $and a second one for $as previously offered and agreed.I apologize once again for any inconveniences caused. Best Regards,Explorica

Dear Ms***, First of all, we are sorry to hear that your daughter won’t be able to join the trip due to illnessWe send our best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. Thank you for communicating your experience and frustrations, and we apologize for any confusion
regarding the insurance information received during enrollmentWe reviewed the account that you created in September during the process of enrolling your daughter on the tourInsurance was indeed included in your total cost breakdown because your group leader opted to include insurance in your trip feeHowever, during the check-out process, you removed the insurance from your purchaseWe sent you an email on November 19, letting you know that you had not elected to take advantage of the travel insurance provided by Explorica and that there was still time to add itUnfortunately, you did not respond to that email At this point, all travel reservations and accommodations for the trip have been confirmed and paid for by ExploricaTherefore, penalties for cancellation are applicable from our suppliersAs your program consultant explained during your recent conversation, your cancellation request has been received and a refund of $is being returned to the credit card on file Thank you once again for your feedback, and best wishes to your daughter Best Regards, Explorica

Dear Ms***, Thank you for taking the time to notify us through Revdex.com of your disagreement with the policyI've done a research about the situation on your tour and the reason for the change on dates was required by the school in order to give additional time to recruit more participants
Base on the Terms and Conditions you agreed to upon enrollment, we clearly stated that any change done or requested by the school or group leader will be applicable to all existing participants and if any cancellation, regular policy will be applicable. I totally understand your perspective of the situation and really apologize if this was not communicated to you properlyIn order to help you with the situation I have agreed to waive the $transfer fee that was applied as the dates changed and I'm willing as well to reduce the cancellation fee by $100.By doing so the total lost will be $on each account. Please find attached the Terms and Conditions agreed to upon enrollment. Best Regards, Explorica

Dear ***,Thank you for your message regarding your discomfortWe highly appreciate any feedback as it is through those that we are able to make pertinent changes to deliver better experiences to our customersAs you are already aware of we have fully refund each participant the cost of the
*** show.I really apologize for the inconveniences caused.Best Regards,Explorica, Inc

Dear *** ***,Thank you for taking the time to report your experience as we highly appreciate any feedback in order to make improvementsI would really like to apologize for the inconveniences cause and the way the communication was handled throughout the whole processWe have ensure that the
tour director assigned to the group would not be participant any more in any other Explorica tour.As we reviewed all the information and steps that were taken during the situation at all time the group leader was on top of the situation and controlling the situation with the guidance of the tour director as the local expert, although there was opportunity to do more and better to facilitate the steps towards the solution, we are glad things were solved in a timely manner within the possibilities.At this point and s as you have discussed with the Director of Sales, I would like to reiterate the offering provided by him and this I to fully refund you the cost of the trip as well as an additional $credit for future travel for any family member.It is important for you to reply back to *** *** letting him know of your acceptance in order to make the pertinent adjustment on the account to fully refund you.I really thank you for your time in advance and apologize for all the inconveniences caused.Best Regards,Explorica, Inc

Dear Mr. [redacted], I regret your dissatisfaction with our response and will further investigate your complaint. We will contact you directly to follow up. Sincerely, [redacted] Executive Vice President ExploricaTell us why here...

Dear [redacted],   Thank you for your reply, just to clarify we did not close your case; it was closed by the Revdex.com. The 10-day limit is their requirement. We refunded your students in full, per the terms and conditions that each of your students agreed to upon enrollment. We do not pay interest on top of returned funds because we do not "earn interest" on your funds—we use them to make reservations for your tour. As soon as the first student enrolls we begin making deposits on bus reservations, hotel reservations, meal reservations and more. In the case of your tour, the group leader who set up your tour anticipated a group size of 20, so we paid (and lost) deposits for 20 people. We extend our continued condolences that you and your students are not able to travel with us to Québec and Montreal. It is our mission to help students experience the world through incredible educational travel, and we hope that we can provide this service to you and your students in the future.   Sincerely, Explorica Educational Travel

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
 
I still don't see how we can be penalized 25% when we didn't want to cancel the trip...also they said they would credit an additional $100 but, it wasn't in the check we received.Regards,
[redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted],Unfortunately under group travel any decision taken by the group leader is applicable to all active participants. I totally understand your position and the school's position feeling fear about traveling abroad. We had similar cases and we offer the same options whether to transfer the...

whole group to another des[redacted]tion or do it individually. But at the end of the day if that option doesn't work for the leader and cancellation is requested, regular cancellation policy is applicable.  I have attached the copy of the Terms and Conditions in case you would like to review those.Thank you for your timeBest Regards,

Hello Ms. [redacted],First of all I would like to apologize for any misunderstanding throughout this time. I totally understand your perspective of the situation but would like to go over certain details on [redacted]' account. At this point we have refunded $144 via check that is basically the cost of...

the insurance, just like you mentioned, because you got refunded that cost of the insurance you were no longer eligible to make a claim through [redacted]. We have also agreed to refund you $300 additionally of the cancellation fee that at the time of cancellation it was for $1490.The total lost at this point is for $299 ($99 non-refundable deposit + $200 cancellation fee). Based on the Terms and Conditions you agreed to when the account was created online back in September we clearly stated that in case the tour is reschedule or canceled due to low enrollments or upon request from the school, still regular cancellation policy will apply.I'm really sorry your expectations were different. I have attached the copy of the Terms and Conditions for you to review.Thank you for your time.Regards,Explorica educational travel

Dear [redacted],   Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, and we are sorry that your son will not be able to join the tour.   We admire your decision to keep your son home, but unfortunately, as our Customer Care team has explained, the basic Travel Protection plan you...

purchased does not cover a voluntary withdrawal from tour. Such a cancellation is subject to our standard cancellation policy that you agreed to upon enrollment, which states that cancellations made between 105-66 days prior to departure entitle you to a refund of the total amount paid minus: 50% of all fees, the $99 non-refundable deposit, and the cost of insurance. In your case, as of today (72 days prior to departure), if you cancel this week your refund will be $481.   In your conversations with our Customer Care team you also proposed the idea of transferring your son's reservations to another participant, but again, per the Terms and Conditions you agreed to upon enrollment, reservations are non-transferrable. We have already issued airline tickets in your son's name, which we cannot transfer.   To move forward with cancelling your son's reservation and claiming your refund, please email [email protected] as soon as possible. And as always, if you have questions, please feel free to give us a call at [redacted].   Sincerely, Explorica

Dear [redacted], We are sorry that you and your students will not be able to travel with us to Quebec and Montreal. Tours with Explorica (and most other educational travel companies) are priced based on a group travel model: at least 35 people sharing a tour bus. Therefore, smaller groups usually get...

combined with one or more other groups traveling on the same or similar itinerary. The upside of this consolidation process is that it allows smaller groups to enjoy the same low pricing as larger groups. The downside is that there situations like yours do happen where a certain amount of flexibility is required. This was explained to your group's original group leader when she planned the tour, before you took over the trip. Because the new itinerary does not work for you and your travelers, your group will receive a full refund. And, in accordance with our Terms & Conditions, the funds will be returned within 6 weeks after cancellation. The refunds have been processed and are on their way. If you have further questions, please contact our customer care line at 1.[redacted]. Thank you for your patience and understanding, Explorica

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
As stated previously, your repeat of a previous offer does not change what you have offered.   It is unacceptable for me to submit for "possible" reimbursement and place trust in Explorica to do the right thing when you have not on multiple occasions.  Yes, I can submit some things for insurance but those would be minimal.   The other expenses probably will not be covered but are due to effects by Explorica and their decision to have as a foreign representative someone who had no care for the well-being of the children he was touring.  Really, to leave a tour and say you will check on my son in the hospital in a small city in a developing country but instead to be found an hour later having beers in the bar is proper care by an Explorica representative?!!   Also you still do not address the "gag order" and legal agreements which you asked me for offline via phone and/or email.  
Regards,
[redacted]