International Travel Network, LLC

The passenger never paid any money directly to ITN, nor was ITN aware of any of the passenger's plans to cancel.On April 21st, 2017, an authorized representative of the purchasing organization contacted the agency and requested a refund on behalf of the passenger.As the ticket belonged to the...

organization, the refund was processed and the refundable amount of $166.86 was credited back to the original form of payment, i.e. the organization's account. By the companies rules, any refund should go back to the original form of payment only. The confirmation was also sent to the organization's e-mail address, as it was the one attached to the booking.ITN regrets the apparent mis-communication the passenger had with the organization leader, and invites the passenger to collect the refunded amount directly from them.

The customer already posted almost the same complaint in February and updated it now. 
She purchased the tickets on November 27, to travel in January of 2016, under the condition that they are non-refundable, and changes come with penalties. The customer agreed to these conditions on the credit card authorization form and it was also mentioned verbally during the conversation. 
On December 14 she asked to change the tickets for early March and was quoted a total of $636.80 for the change.
That was presumably too expensive, and she requested to cancel the reservation for a future exchange with penalties, sending an e-mail confirmation on December 17.
New exchange options were sent sent on December 30 and January 8, at around $580 each. But neither were acceptable, and on January 21, a refund request was sent to Air France for an exception policy due to the Ebola cases in Sierra Leone that the customer had reported.
The response came on January 25 that no exception policy is in place, so full fare restrictions must apply. The customer was again informed that the tickets are non-refundable, and the credit with Air France can be used within 1 year of the issued date for travel to any destination serviced by this airline, with the applicable change fees.
The fare conditions are set forth by the airline, and ITN has no power to override any restrictions. We have tried our best to request a waiver, but the airline refused. 
As a nice gesture, the ITN fee has been lowered by 80% to a nominal $50, in order to better assist the custome
Recently ITN advised the customer of the exchange cost to depart on November, 7 and to return on November, 21. 
ITN fee remained lowered by 80%. The customer has not responded to that e-mail with her confirmation to proceed with the exchange, but she confirmed in her recent update that she received this information from ITN. The agency tried  to reach the customer on the phone and left a voice message.
Back in December 2015 the customer was advised that exchange must be processed and the new trips completed before the tickets' expiration date on November 27, 2016.

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID[redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, Kyle[redacted]

(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

While ITN understands the customer's outlook on the situation, we are not able to override the compensation requirements which the customer agreed to prior to purchase. The bag was lost on the flight that arrived on the morning of May 15th, and the claim had to be made by the same time on May 16th, but ITN received no notification until June 6th.ITN has mechanisms and/or connections in place that could have helped locate and expedite the luggage prior to the time that reimbursement was due, but this is only possible to do within 24 hours after a bag is delayed or lost. The customer did not manage to follow the protocol in effect, making it impossible for ITN to make use of those mechanism and/or connections.As a one time courtesy, however, ITN can refund the $99.45 Ticket Protection cost.The customer needs to contact ITN's Customer Service department for confirm that this will be an acceptable resolution to the matter.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: I am requesting the full baggage claim in the amount of $500. My claim is valid because my bag is missing and from the day of the purchase you agreed to pay me the amount of $500. If we are unable to resolve it amicable, I will take all necessary step to defend my right, even if it means going in front of a judge.Sincerely,[redacted]

The customer was advised prior to purchasing the tickets that they would be booked as separate tickets. They mentioned they had transited through Russia previously and were good to go.ITN is not responsible for the passengers' travel documents, the visa requirements were not verified and...

the customer was denied boarding at the counter on the flight date. On the authorization forms, it is also stated that ITN is not responsible for denied boardings due to insufficient travel documents. At the customer's request for a refund all agency fees were waived, however ITN cannot influence the airline's penalties, therefore the tickets were refunded against the applicable charges from the respective airlines. ITN has no power to override the airline restrictions. However, as a nice gesture, ITN will reach out to the customer and offer to cover a portion of this refund penalty.

complaint was assigned ID [redacted] money was what I had paid International travel for the plane tickets and travel insurance for those tickets but do to the company not responding to the airlines when they change the flight we were unable to use the tickets.

To whom it may concern,
 
I made a complaint on 03/06/2017 regarding a refund from International Travel Network. The complaint ID is [redacted]. The compliant have been handle to my satisfaction and I would like for the complaint to be removed. 
 
Thank you for...

getting this resolved.
 
Regards,
[redacted]

A reimbursement amount has been agreed on March 31st. Due to a transfer fee that the bank deducted, the received amount was slightly less, as mentioned by the passenger, however the difference was shortly refunded back to the customers card.
The transaction is currently complete the matter is considered closed.

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted]. They have asked me to wait a little longer because they are trying to get an answer from the airline company. So I will give them more time to solve this problem with the airline company.Sincerely,  [redacted]
 
 
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:  As per our previous email communications, I have not reported it the day of the incident because I have expected that the airline would be able to return my scooter back to me.  But since, it did not happen, I rerported it the day after.  Also, as I mentioned in my previous emails, it is a check in luggage and according to the protection, if a checked in luggage is lost/stolen or damaged, the client would be compensated.  This lost not only affected my entire vacation, it has also affected my health, because as a result of this lost/mishandling of my assistance, I broke my knee and ankle bones.  Because of this, I am now having difficulty walking and doing my personal activities like bathing etc.  So, pls assist me in this.Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/02/04) */ The customer purchased the tickets on November 27, to travel in January of 2016, under the condition that they are non-refundable, and changes come with penalties. The customer agreed to these conditions on the credit card authorization form and...

it was also mentioned verbally during the conversation. On December 14 she asked to change the tickets for early March and was quoted a total of $636.80 for the change. That was presumably too expensive, and she requested to cancel the reservation for a future exchange with penalties, sending an e-mail confirmation on December 17. New exchange options were sent sent on December 30 and January 8, at around $580 each. But neither were acceptable, and on January 21, a refund request was sent to Air France for an exception policy due to the Ebola cases in Sierra Leone that the customer had reported. The response came on January 25 that no exception policy is in place, so full fare restrictions must apply. The customer was again informed that the tickets are non-refundable, and the credit with Air France can be used within 1 year of the issued date for travel to any destination serviced by this airline, with the applicable change fees. The fare conditions are set forth by the airline, and ITN has no power to override any restrictions. We have tried our best to request a waiver, but the airline refused. As a nice gesture, the ITN fee has been lowered by 80% to a nominal $50, in order to better assist the customer. Thank you Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2016/02/14) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/10) */
Before users run a search on our website, there is a clear disclaimer on the search box stating "Dates are for informational purpose only. Fares about to be displayed may not necessarily be for the selected dates."
During the...

search-in-progress page, there is the following disclaimer: "We are searching for the lowest unpublished fares in our data base. Dates are for informational purpose only. Fares about to be displayed may not necessarily be for the selected dates."
On the result page our visitors can see three offers: Deal of the Week, Best Seller, Top Rated. And on the left side of the page they can see Our Special Fare Price this special offer comes with a set of restrictions set by the carrier, which can be seen by clicking the asterisk: *"ASAP Special Fare" is an economy class airfare with advance purchase requirement of up to 21 day and is based on weekday travel Monday through Thursday. Travel period: September 16 through November 30. Minimum Saturday night stay is required. Maximum stay allowed is 7 days."
When the customer contacted ITN agent on 05/26/15, he provided an ID for a Special Price to [redacted], and on the phone he said that he was actually looking for a flight to [redacted] for $633.00, while the fares for [redacted] are higher then to [redacted]. Thus, the customer was interested to receive quotes for both destinations to [redacted]. The ITN agent explained to the customer that the deal for $633.00 was a Special Fare Price. It is an economy class airfare with advance purchase requirement of up to 21 day. The customer read the fare restrictions on the website, and the agent drew his attention that the travel period should be in low season from September 16 through November 30 (while the customer needed the flight for June - July, which is a high season).
The customer was flexible only for a couple of days, thus the agent looked for the best available fare at that moment and called back to advise of an option on Aeroflot for $1100. The agent mentioned that he would be able to provide the desired price in case the customer could travel in low season.
On the bottom of the result page our visitors also are advised of the following:
"ASAP Special Fare" is based on weekday travel Monday - Thursday during the low season (September 16 - November 30). Minimum stay - Saturday night, and maximum stay - 7 days. Advance purchase of up to 21 day is required. Other advertised prices "Deal of the Week", "Best Seller" and "Top Rated" are valid for travel Monday - Thursday during the low season (September 16 - November 30). Minimum stay - Saturday night , and maximum stay - 30 days. Advance purchase of up to 14 days is required.
Advertised Fare Guarantee: All the fares advertised on this website are guaranteed to be reasonably available within the specified travel period in the fare restrictions. If the fare is not available, ASAP Tickets will honor the advertised fare and sell the fare at the advertised level.
Although the Special Fare Price has increased, ITN still has sent to the customer two options on 06/10/15 for $633 to travel to [redacted] or [redacted] during September-November as a proof that we advertise real fares, but they come with a set of restrictions set by the carrier.
The Special Fare Price feature is a result of market observation. We have noticed that travelers' budgets have grown tighter and passengers [redacted] ready to significantly alter their travel plans in exchange for a lower fare. This pattern became stronger in the last years as we have seen numerous passengers [redacted] their trips months earlier or later to save on their airfare. In response to this trend ITN has developed a special feature for travelers' convenience, i.e. our Special Fare Price, that would allow users to view the best available price for the destination of their choice at the time they check for availability for a given travel date range. This tool is a great means for fare comparison given all the corresponding fare restrictions are provided online and customers can always decide whether the price difference would justify the tradeoff.
We understand that our customers would like to travel only on the desired dates and at the lowest rates, however ITN has no control over the availability and restrictions.
We thank you for your kind understanding. Please kindly contact your agent to book the options that were sent to you.
Your ITN Team

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/04/30) */
The customer found this deal on our Specials Page. However, this deal is valid for travel only from Honolulu. If the customer wishes to travel from a different city, he would need to run a search on our website from his specific departure...

city.
Our Super Saver Fares have the following restrictions:
*"Super Saver" is an economy class airfare based on weekday travel Wednesday through Thursday. Travel period: November 2 through November 20. Minimum Saturday night stay is required. Maximum stay allowed is 4 days. The advertised fare is for individual travel and cannot be used for group travel. Ticketing is required the same day when the reservation is created. The fare displayed is per adult person in USD, and includes all taxes, fees and applicable surcharges. Some flights of your itinerary may be provided by other airlines. The fare is subject to seat availability in the corresponding booking inventory.
On 04/23/15 the agent sent a $609.00 Super Saver Fare option matching the travel time for this November fare, routing restriction and maximum period of stay which are posted on our website.
There were other quotes sent by another agent during these days to travel from Atlanta, GA which are more expensive due to lack of seats offered by the airlines to match the lowest fares for the chosen destination.
On 04/30/15 the agent sent two options for $1,138.00 and $1,147.00 to travel in November from Atlanta GA, which is a low season, so the customer could decide if he would like to travel in summer time while the fares are higher, or he would like to save his budget and use an opportunity to book a least expensive ticket while these prices are available.
We suggest the customer to make a search by inputting the complete city pairs. If the customer is flexible with the travel dates to meet the conditions of the Super Saver fare, please contact [redacted]@itncorp.com to book the Super Saver fares.
Thank you so much for your kind attachment
Your ITN Team
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/05/07) */
They do not offer the deals that they advertise AT ALL. My wife and I are both retired, we can travel at any time. I asked them for reservations for ANY of their $600 or $700 flight to The Philippines for the next year, they had nothing. They can not book more then a year out, so ware are the seats. THEY DONT HAVE ANY.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/05/20) */
Thank you for the feedback.
All the deals posted on ITN's website are real. ITN is able to provide the deals posted on the website as long as the travel restrictions are met and the passenger [redacted] some flexibility on the dates if necessary.
Please kindly take a screenshot of the current deal you would like, and e-mail it to [redacted]@itncorp.com to book the deal (subject to seat availability).
Thank you for the kind understanding
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/05/23) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
My wife and I are both retired and can travel whenever we want to. I told the agent to book me ANYTHING at ANYTIME in the next year at the advertised sale price and they had nothing.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
The airline staff accepted my motorized scooter as a checked in baggage.  Additionally, they did not allow nor tell me that I needed to hand carry the battery as they have mentioned.  Also, I was also told that I will see my scooter in every stop over.  Yes, I saw my scooter in LAX, however, they did not bring it out when I reached China.  And as part of the ticket protection, I should be compensated for every lost or damaged check in luggage.  I have checked this assisstive technology with confidence that it will be handled with care and assurance that I will get it in one big piece.  I NEED THIS ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY IN ORDER FOR ME TO MAINTAIN MY INDEPENDENCE.  AND FOR YOU NOT GIVING IT BACK TO ME IS A VIOLATION OF MY CIVIL RIGHTS.  SO GIVE ME WHAT I PAID FOR.
 
Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/30) */
ITN has investigated this case, listened to the numerous call recordings between the customer and the travel agent and looked at the outgoing e-mails with the provided fare quotes.
Initially, the customer rrequested a flight from Cincinnati...

to Adana, Turkey, departing on December, 10 or 11. The agent asked for how long the customer wanted to stay there and she said "may be a week", depending on price.
In all other conversations and sent fare quotes the discussed dates were December, 10 or 11 for departure and December 17 for most options or 18 for a couple of quotes for the return flight. The travel agent repeated on several occasions that the coming back date was on December, 17. When the customer spelled her name to book the chosen itinerary, the agent sent her the booking form and drew her attention to the inbound flight on December, 17.
The customer filled out the form and ticketed the following check box to finalize the purchase:
* I have checked the Itinerary and Flight Information and confirm hereby that it is correct
The confirmed itinerary was ticketed and a purchase confirmation with that itinerary was sent to the customer. The flight was on the following day and she had a chance to inform the agent of any changes in her travel plan or of any discrepancies on the received itinerary. The customer contacted ITN in a bit more than 24 hours before her scheduled return with a request to push back her departure. A follow up e-mail with the applicable fees and penalties was sent. There was a high fare difference to be paid for December, 26 in addition to the exchange penalty, and the customer chose to use her return as booked.
Thus, ITN did not find any confirmation that the customer was requesting other return date rather than December, 17. Call recordings can be provided at customer's request.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2016/01/12) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I was also contacted by ITN and told that after they conducted their "personal" investigation and listened to the numerous calls that the agent booked the correct flight and date according to the conversations. However, that is not correct. When I asked the Investigator how many minutes did they listen and how far back did they check the recordings she said it took her a total of 2 hours to listen to the conversations in their entirety. This is when I knew she was either lying or she listened to a few minutes per conversation and made a quick decision.... BECAUSE... one of my conversations early on in the day.... cause remember I have 20 or so phone calls back and forth... 12 emails...etc.... one of my conversations about possibly the fifth time we spoke... the agent and I spoke for 45 minutes. We were on the phone for 45 minutes. So how did she listen to "EVERY" conversation in its "ENTIRETY" in less than 2 hours. That is physically not possible. One conversation was 45 minutes, another was over a hour long. And others were lengthy as well. The company was trying to blow me off and buy time so that they would not have to deal with the return flight since it was days later. Also, the timing in which I complained is also not accurate. Immediately after I booked the flight, this is of course after 12 hours of going back and forth with the Agent on the phone and email. I started before 11AM that day and it went on till almost midnight that night I called and said that he scheduled the wrong date. I yelled saying how did you mess that up. First, he got the city wrong multiple times (this should have been my sign to not deal with this company at all), then he got finally he got the city right but the departure date wrong. It is all in the recordings. Then the customer service woman. She repeated the date wrong back to me when I was filing a complaint with the company. Apparently, the whole company has employees that cannot get the return date correct even when saying it moments before in conversation. So after finally getting the Agent to correct the city, and then departure date, I was exhausted. My husband told me of the error. I immediately talk to the Agent, I had his direct line. He said I had to talk to customer service so I called them and also got transferred. I spoke to her that same night, December 9th I believe or 10th. She said let me get your number and we will have to look into and call you back. She said it would be 3 days. So I waited till the 11th. I got nothing. Not a single phone call, not even from the original Agent. He could have called to follow up and make sure customer service was being handled. I got NOTHING!!! So I called on the 12th and was told she was on vacation. I called later on the 12th and was told she would be back the next day. So I called back on the 13th to see if I could check the status. Again, I was told she was on vacation. So this time I had my husband call. They told him that she either left the company or had been fired, I cannot remember but she was no longer with the company since the 10th. So all those days wasted waiting for someone that was no longer with the company. My husband spoke to a woman who said she would look into and get back with him. She did look into it and she called him back. But this point it was too close to my mother's return date. So my mother had no choice but to return that date. We were offered to pay the difference but that would have been so costly. A whole new ticket would be cheaper due to the extra fees. This whole experience was terrible. The terrible customer service, and the back & forth, especially with so many errors, then the investigation (which was clearly a way to buy time to avoid the problem), everything... all of it... was TERRIBLE!!! Their response is so inaccurate.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2016/01/29) */
ITN Compliance listened to all call recordings between the customer and the agent, and as it appeared these were recordings up to the moment when the purchase was finalized and the ticket was provided.
A report on the customer's communication with the agency's customer service was received after the customer drew our attention that she had more calls made to the agency, thus ITN sent a request to also check the calls between the customer and ITN customer service agents.
The customer indeed contacted us to say that the return date was booked wrong after she received the tickets with the itinerary she had confirmed. She truly believes that she asked the return date to be on December 26. However, no recording were found to prove it, and as previously provided the customer asked to book her return in a week, and she confirmed the outbound flight to be on December 17 while filling out the form. The customer was quoted the applicable exchange fees and penalties to be paid in order to reschedule her flight, which was not acceptable for the customer as she firmly believed that the travel agent made a mistake.
ITN is trying to address all customers complaints withing a few days, while most airlines take time up to 2-3 weeks for a more simple cases. Unfortunately, the Compliance department was overloaded with other requests received previously. One of CS agents made an effort to assist the customer who was expecting positive results of the investigation in order to have the outbound flight to be rebooked at no cost. The agent asked to give her a few hours to listen to the calls. As we found out now, she listened to the available calls up to the moment when the form was filled out, and she advised the customer that when she called ITN, the travel agent asked her for how long she wanted to stay there, and she answered "may be a week, it depends on the price".
We are sorry this situation could not be fully address earlier, before the booked return flight on December 17. However, the dates were booked as confirmed by the customer, and no records have been found that the customer asked for another return day. In addition, when the customer was filling out the form the agent drew her attention to the inbound date on December 17.
Considering the customer's experience with the initial travel quotes for the wrong city, ITN will refund its service fee. Also, we would like to offer a discount voucher for $200.00 that can be used towards a purchase of any private unpublished fare.

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Thank you for your assistance. My calls did not get responses until I had filed the complaint. I appreciate your services!Sincerely, [redacted]

Records indicate that the customer was subject to a detailed credit card verification process. We apologize for any inconveniences associated with it. Due to the high number of credit card fraud attempts in the industry, we try our best to secure our customers from any unauthorized use. ...

 
The tickets have been issued as requested and are ready for use.   
We hope the customer finds comfort in the fact that they will not need to go through the same process the next time(s) they purchase a ticket with us. Once the card has been duly verified and a working relationship has been established with the card holder, the same level of security will be excessive.  Thank you.

According to the Terms and Conditions of the Ticket Protection Plan that the customer agreed to prior to purchase, only baggage that is lost/mishandled by the airline is eligible for compensation.In the customer's case the checked scooter was in non-compliance with the airline regulations that say that "The breakable, vulnerable and perishable items and lithium batteries cannot be transported as checked bagged or put into baggage". Source - China Eastern Air's official policy posted on their web-site ([redacted]).The same information can be found in the rules posted by the Federal Aviation Administration that state that "The lithium ion batteries must be carried in carry-on baggage only."Source - FAA's official web-site: [redacted]Since the customer failed to comply with these regulations, the security personnel at the airport acted according to the rules in effect by detaining the scooter.This does not however mean that the scooter was either lost or mishandled.The passenger is fully responsible for the contents of the bag they have packed and the same policy would have applied had the baggage been detained due to containing fireworks, weapons, or any of the substances forbidden from transport.While we do sympathize with the customer and would like to again offer them a refund of the $59.45 Ticket Protection cost, as far Ticket Protection coverage is concerned, there is no compensation due.