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. These se statements are simply untrue. There are communications from you regarding billing and a contest to win a [redacted]: nothing about policy.Please point out where the small print you referenced by the link says there will be $750 per person cancellation fee. It isn't there. Why is there no link to the travel insurance that we paid for I should be refunded by them also.Finally, we shouldn't have been told that we could choose our airline and upgrades. We wouldn't have booked. Please get me the info requested. Our teacher has had issues with communication as well. Maybe you should look internally instead of assuming I was sent the appropriate documentation. I have all the emails from you....unless they were sent by someone else. Regards,
[redacted]
Thank you for your response. A manager reached out to you on 10/20/2016 at 4:15 pm to discuss this and left a message. She contacted [redacted] which is listed on your account as the primary phone number. Please feel free to contact our company at your convenience. Our phone number is ###-###-####. As we have stated, the global travel protections plan is a fee that is paid out to a separate insurance company to cover pre-tour and on tour emergencies for [redacted]. It is a premium that is not refundable. Best, EF Tours
Thank you for being in contact. Our insurance policy covers cancellation due to many reasons. A complete list of coverage can be found at eftours.com/coverage.We have a peace of mind policy that allows groups to change their tour or date for any reason.This decision needs to be made a group level. The tour group your daughter signed up with traveled on their tour to Paris.At this time, we cannot provide a refund or credit for future travel to your daughter.Please feel free to contact EF with any questions or concerns.Thank you.
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].
My family paid over $13,000 on a tour based on their company’s website that promised EXPERT tour guides. Instead, EF Tours hired someone who was completely unqualified and inept at her job. The fact that they fired her for these very reasons is an admission from EF Tours that this person was not what they promised us and not at all what we paid for. I have spent an entire year trying to get a response and, now, through Revdex.com, they have admitted, again, that they are “disapointed that the Tour Director did not meet the expectations of EF.” Consequently, an offer for one free meal is completely unacceptable.
Regards,
[redacted]
Thank you for reaching out and expressing your concerns. We apologize if you are unsatisfied with our cancellation policy.
Upon enrollment online on September 30th, 2015, you agreed to our booking conditions which clearly outline our cancellation policy as follows.
EF' Standard...
cancellation states that 150 days or more prior to departure you will receive a full refund, less the $95 non-refudnable deposit, all non-refundable fees and a $300 cancellation fee.
Another option is EF's cancellation with replacement option that if another individual replaces you on tour, at 150 days or more prior to departure, you receive a full refund, less the $95 deposit and all other non-refundable fees.
EF's Booking conditions are also available for your reference on your online account found under "forms and resources." It states next to the booking conditions link " These terms and conditions must be read by every traveler on an EF College Study Tour." We do not allow individuals to travel unless they have signed our booking conditions.
The Traveler Support Team spoke with you on November 16th, 2015 and reviewed our standard cancellation and cancellation with replacement options and sent you a follow up email including our booking conditions.
The cancellation fee should have been $550 ( $95 non-refundable deposit, $155 for our Global Travel Protection and $300 cancellation fee.) Since you have paid $496 towards the program, we have made the exception to waive the additional $54 and offered you the opportunity to find someone to take your spot. This option would reduce your cancellation fee to $250.
If you have further concerns, please contact EF College Study.
Best,
EF College Study Tours
Thank you for being in contact. The Group Leader did change the tour to Costa Rica due to the Zika virus to a European tour. All parents and students must agree when a tour changes for this reason. If a traveler does not want to go on the new tour, they have the opportunity to...
cancel at that time. We are willing to be flexible with our fees if your daughter would not like to travel to Europe. We can reduce the cancellation fee to $500, plus the non-refundable fees instead of 50% of the program cost.Please let us know if you would like to move forward with this cancellation.Sincerely.EF Education
Hello. We are sorry your school cancelled your trip. After looking into everything, it seems as though there are still two trips available to you. One is going to Ecuador and one is traveling to Paris, The Loire Valley, and the Riviera (almost identical to your previous...
trip). Both [redacted] and [redacted] have tried to contact you several times to go over these two tour options. We would be happy to reinstate both [redacted] and [redacted] on either of those trips if that is agreeable to you. It seems as though the school has enacted our Peace of Mind policy for this situations. The policy provides three options up until 45 days prior to your scheduled departure: Change the departure date of your tour, Work with EF to amend your existing itinerary or Cancel your tour and each member of your group will receive a future travel voucher for all monies paid (less the $95 enrollment fee and other non-refundable items). They chose to amend the existing itinerary. Again, we are sorry to hear that the school has canceled the tour but hope that this information provides more clarity around the options that are available. Best, [redacted] EF Tours
We remain committed to finding a positive solution and assisting Ms. [redacted]. Upon learning of her experience via this report with the Revdex.com, our Customer Service Manager swiftly reached out to speak with her personally and review possible solutions. Ms. [redacted] has since emailed our Manager to let her know that she does not wish to engage in additional conversations with us at this time, such that we have not been able to connect directly. We of course respect Ms. [redacted]’ wishes, and remain available at her convenience should she like to talk with us further about her cancellation and rebooking options. It would be our pleasure to welcome her on another trip that may work better for her schedule and interests, and would be happy to look into availability for all departure dates presently available. If she would like to rebook, we kindly request that she contact our Manager by December 15th in order to be eligible to do so. As a service gesture, we would gladly reinstate the value of the $450 cancellation fees and apply those funds towards the new trip; please note that if she were to subsequently cancel the new trip, however, the $450 remains non-refundable. All of us at EF College Break are committed to providing our travelers with clear information about our policies and procedures. We have carefully reviewed Ms. [redacted]’ account and can confirm that the cancellation terms were accurately presented at the time of her enrollment on August 11, 2016. The cancellation terms & fees, which have not changed since her enrollment, were outlined in our Booking Conditions which Ms. [redacted] agreed to and accepted online on this same date. When Ms. [redacted] requested to cancel her trip on November 2, 2016 (183 days prior to her trip’s departure), the cancellation fees were $450 which can also be found on our website: [redacted] All payments above $450 were refunded to Ms. [redacted] on November 10, 2016. We also reviewed Ms. [redacted] selections for our Automatic Payment Plan, and can document that upon enrollment she self-selected to have her account charged on the first of each month. We can confirm that EF debited her account accurately on November 1st. This deduction was automated and unrelated to the timing of her cancellation request. We recommended that she follow up with her bank with any further questions about the date they posted the charge to her account; on our end, the true processing date was November 1st. We believe in transparency and keen attention to detail, and hope that this careful review provides Ms. [redacted] with reassurance about our procedures. We genuinely appreciate Ms. [redacted]’ feedback, and will continue to seek opportunities to best prepare our travelers about what to expect in the event they need to cancel their trip. We want all of our travelers to have a wonderful experience at every step of their journey, and sympathize with Ms. [redacted]’ disappointment about the financial implications of cancelling her tour. We hope to hear from her so that we can extend the rebooking options mentioned above and welcome her on a future trip.
Thank you for being in contact. We appreciate your feedback and and would like to assure you that we have taken the appropriate steps to avoid it happening in the future to another group. We are reviewing our internal policies to ensure that our Tour Directors meet expectations appropriately. Again, we are happy to provide a gift card for your family to enjoy dinner out, on EF. Please feel free to contact us with any other questions or concerns. Sincerely,EF Education
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 will be forwarding this complaint to the Board of Education and anyone else who will listen, in reference to your unreasonable practices. The tragic event that has happened in Paris is not an everyday occurrence, but you making it so.. and evidently are not reading the contents of my correspondences to you. I am not going to state our reasons again because they are being overlooked. I will state again that no one affiliated with this tour knew or conveyed your suggestions/amendments that you stated went to effect after the attacks, so we do not trust what you are stating. We are not concerned with what the group has decided but are only interested what is best for our child. We request that this matter be sent further up in your chain to discuss further.
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].
Hi There,We apologize for your frustrations. Please feel free to call [redacted] if you would like to review these options again. We will review this with our customer service rep to ensure that all options are communicated.Best,EF Education
Thank you for being in contact about your concerns. All travelers must sign that they agree to our booking conditions before they can register for a tour with EF Education. You agreed to EF's terms and conditons on 05/27/2015 when you registered.
A copy of this policy can be found at www.eftours.com/BC
Please contact EF Traveler Support with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
EF Education
Thank you for your response. After speaking with your group leader, it was determined that there were no Educational Tours employees at the school. There were also no commitments made to the group regarding special exceptions for our cancellation fees. While you can cancel for any reason, the insurance covers specific emergencies that happen before the tour. If you would like to review the policy please visit [redacted] Once again, we are very sorry to hear that you are unable to travel. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us at 1[redacted]- EF Tours
Thank you for your correspondence. When you spoke with a representative back in April, it was explained to you that EF had the authority to keep all funds due to the cancellation time period you fell under. After review, we decided to waive all cancellations fees due to your very unique...
situation. Our online application does not screen for gender because the requirements for each group are at the discretion of the group leader. We were happy to offer you this exception but we do stand by our decision to withhold the enrollment fee and protection plan cost. If you would like to talk further about this, please feel free to contact us directly at 1-[redacted]. EF Tours
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].
If they can put my money towards another trip, there is no reason they cannot refund my money. Cancellation fees were never talked about when I signed up. I was under the impression that if I signed up for their insurance plan, I would be able to get some or most of my money back if I had to cancel. They told me they couldn't refund my money because they already started to book for hotels, etc. but if I sign up for another tour they can put that money towards that trip. So if they really did start booking and can't refund the money because of that then why are they able to put that money towards another trip? There is no reason I can't get even part of my money back.
Regards,
[redacted]
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]. .
[That response could have been summed up as a "sorry for your luck". I would never accept to automatically deduct payments from my account, specially and specifically on the first of a month because I get paid monthly on the 1st and have to go make the deposit to my bank myself, so in other words there would be no money in my account to deduct. I actually have an email stating my payment is on the 3rd. I emailed September 1st in concern to my first payment because when I checked online it said my next payment was due October 3rd and I was confused why I wasn't suppose to make a payment for September. A couple days after that when I looked at my bank account is when I found out September was automatically deducted, so which day was it due again? I only kept it on automatic because I figured 3 days was enough time for me to make my deposit. There is no way that that has been the cancellation policy this whole time or maybe my eyes and your representative are lying. There was nothing more your company could accommodate me for when I called to cancel as far as options for a later date besides September and I still couldn't go at that time, but the company website advertises I can reschedule a later date before 99 days. There is nothing saying how much later it can or can not be, but it does say how flexible you are. $450.00 (that I would never and did not agree to) is absurd particularly for seven months out, no accommodations that could help me, and clearly getting charged on, wait, which day was it again???....]
Regards,
[redacted]
Thank you for your correspondence. We are very sorry to hear that [redacted] will be unable to travel with us. It looks like when you spoke with one of our representatives on July 15th, 2016 they reviewed with you the cancellation policy that you are referring to. You had $2,578 paid into...
the account for [redacted] and EF refunded back $2,028 electronically on 07/18/2016 in accordance with the cancellation policy outlined in our booking conditions. If you need further clarification on this please contact us EF Tours at [redacted] Best, EF Tours
EF Tours mailed a written response to your concerns on 11/22/2017 to your address at [redacted]. We will send it to you via email. Best, [redacted]
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. These se statements are simply untrue. There are communications from you regarding billing and a contest to win a [redacted]: nothing about policy.Please point out where the small print you referenced by the link says there will be $750 per person cancellation fee. It isn't there. Why is there no link to the travel insurance that we paid for I should be refunded by them also.Finally, we shouldn't have been told that we could choose our airline and upgrades. We wouldn't have booked. Please get me the info requested. Our teacher has had issues with communication as well. Maybe you should look internally instead of assuming I was sent the appropriate documentation. I have all the emails from you....unless they were sent by someone else. Regards,
[redacted]
Thank you for your response. A manager reached out to you on 10/20/2016 at 4:15 pm to discuss this and left a message. She contacted [redacted] which is listed on your account as the primary phone number. Please feel free to contact our company at your convenience. Our phone number is ###-###-####. As we have stated, the global travel protections plan is a fee that is paid out to a separate insurance company to cover pre-tour and on tour emergencies for [redacted]. It is a premium that is not refundable. Best, EF Tours
Thank you for being in contact. Our insurance policy covers cancellation due to many reasons. A complete list of coverage can be found at eftours.com/coverage.We have a peace of mind policy that allows groups to change their tour or date for any reason.This decision needs to be made a group level. The tour group your daughter signed up with traveled on their tour to Paris.At this time, we cannot provide a refund or credit for future travel to your daughter.Please feel free to contact EF with any questions or concerns.Thank you.
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].
My family paid over $13,000 on a tour based on their company’s website that promised EXPERT tour guides. Instead, EF Tours hired someone who was completely unqualified and inept at her job. The fact that they fired her for these very reasons is an admission from EF Tours that this person was not what they promised us and not at all what we paid for. I have spent an entire year trying to get a response and, now, through Revdex.com, they have admitted, again, that they are “disapointed that the Tour Director did not meet the expectations of EF.” Consequently, an offer for one free meal is completely unacceptable.
Regards,
[redacted]
Thank you for reaching out and expressing your concerns. We apologize if you are unsatisfied with our cancellation policy.
Upon enrollment online on September 30th, 2015, you agreed to our booking conditions which clearly outline our cancellation policy as follows.
EF' Standard...
cancellation states that 150 days or more prior to departure you will receive a full refund, less the $95 non-refudnable deposit, all non-refundable fees and a $300 cancellation fee.
Another option is EF's cancellation with replacement option that if another individual replaces you on tour, at 150 days or more prior to departure, you receive a full refund, less the $95 deposit and all other non-refundable fees.
EF's Booking conditions are also available for your reference on your online account found under "forms and resources." It states next to the booking conditions link " These terms and conditions must be read by every traveler on an EF College Study Tour." We do not allow individuals to travel unless they have signed our booking conditions.
The Traveler Support Team spoke with you on November 16th, 2015 and reviewed our standard cancellation and cancellation with replacement options and sent you a follow up email including our booking conditions.
The cancellation fee should have been $550 ( $95 non-refundable deposit, $155 for our Global Travel Protection and $300 cancellation fee.) Since you have paid $496 towards the program, we have made the exception to waive the additional $54 and offered you the opportunity to find someone to take your spot. This option would reduce your cancellation fee to $250.
If you have further concerns, please contact EF College Study.
Best,
EF College Study Tours
Thank you for being in contact. The Group Leader did change the tour to Costa Rica due to the Zika virus to a European tour. All parents and students must agree when a tour changes for this reason. If a traveler does not want to go on the new tour, they have the opportunity to...
cancel at that time. We are willing to be flexible with our fees if your daughter would not like to travel to Europe. We can reduce the cancellation fee to $500, plus the non-refundable fees instead of 50% of the program cost.Please let us know if you would like to move forward with this cancellation.Sincerely.EF Education
Hello. We are sorry your school cancelled your trip. After looking into everything, it seems as though there are still two trips available to you. One is going to Ecuador and one is traveling to Paris, The Loire Valley, and the Riviera (almost identical to your previous...
trip). Both [redacted] and [redacted] have tried to contact you several times to go over these two tour options. We would be happy to reinstate both [redacted] and [redacted] on either of those trips if that is agreeable to you. It seems as though the school has enacted our Peace of Mind policy for this situations. The policy provides three options up until 45 days prior to your scheduled departure: Change the departure date of your tour, Work with EF to amend your existing itinerary or Cancel your tour and each member of your group will receive a future travel voucher for all monies paid (less the $95 enrollment fee and other non-refundable items). They chose to amend the existing itinerary. Again, we are sorry to hear that the school has canceled the tour but hope that this information provides more clarity around the options that are available. Best, [redacted] EF Tours
We remain committed to finding a positive solution and assisting Ms. [redacted]. Upon learning of her experience via this report with the Revdex.com, our Customer Service Manager swiftly reached out to speak with her personally and review possible solutions. Ms. [redacted] has since emailed our Manager to let her know that she does not wish to engage in additional conversations with us at this time, such that we have not been able to connect directly. We of course respect Ms. [redacted]’ wishes, and remain available at her convenience should she like to talk with us further about her cancellation and rebooking options. It would be our pleasure to welcome her on another trip that may work better for her schedule and interests, and would be happy to look into availability for all departure dates presently available. If she would like to rebook, we kindly request that she contact our Manager by December 15th in order to be eligible to do so. As a service gesture, we would gladly reinstate the value of the $450 cancellation fees and apply those funds towards the new trip; please note that if she were to subsequently cancel the new trip, however, the $450 remains non-refundable. All of us at EF College Break are committed to providing our travelers with clear information about our policies and procedures. We have carefully reviewed Ms. [redacted]’ account and can confirm that the cancellation terms were accurately presented at the time of her enrollment on August 11, 2016. The cancellation terms & fees, which have not changed since her enrollment, were outlined in our Booking Conditions which Ms. [redacted] agreed to and accepted online on this same date. When Ms. [redacted] requested to cancel her trip on November 2, 2016 (183 days prior to her trip’s departure), the cancellation fees were $450 which can also be found on our website: [redacted] All payments above $450 were refunded to Ms. [redacted] on November 10, 2016. We also reviewed Ms. [redacted] selections for our Automatic Payment Plan, and can document that upon enrollment she self-selected to have her account charged on the first of each month. We can confirm that EF debited her account accurately on November 1st. This deduction was automated and unrelated to the timing of her cancellation request. We recommended that she follow up with her bank with any further questions about the date they posted the charge to her account; on our end, the true processing date was November 1st. We believe in transparency and keen attention to detail, and hope that this careful review provides Ms. [redacted] with reassurance about our procedures. We genuinely appreciate Ms. [redacted]’ feedback, and will continue to seek opportunities to best prepare our travelers about what to expect in the event they need to cancel their trip. We want all of our travelers to have a wonderful experience at every step of their journey, and sympathize with Ms. [redacted]’ disappointment about the financial implications of cancelling her tour. We hope to hear from her so that we can extend the rebooking options mentioned above and welcome her on a future trip.
Thank you for being in contact. We appreciate your feedback and and would like to assure you that we have taken the appropriate steps to avoid it happening in the future to another group. We are reviewing our internal policies to ensure that our Tour Directors meet expectations appropriately. Again, we are happy to provide a gift card for your family to enjoy dinner out, on EF. Please feel free to contact us with any other questions or concerns. Sincerely,EF Education
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 will be forwarding this complaint to the Board of Education and anyone else who will listen, in reference to your unreasonable practices. The tragic event that has happened in Paris is not an everyday occurrence, but you making it so.. and evidently are not reading the contents of my correspondences to you. I am not going to state our reasons again because they are being overlooked. I will state again that no one affiliated with this tour knew or conveyed your suggestions/amendments that you stated went to effect after the attacks, so we do not trust what you are stating. We are not concerned with what the group has decided but are only interested what is best for our child. We request that this matter be sent further up in your chain to discuss further.
The traveler may make an insurance claim to cover the cancellation fees if they have purchased the all-inclusive coverage.thank youEF Education.
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].
Regards,
[redacted]
Hi There,We apologize for your frustrations. Please feel free to call [redacted] if you would like to review these options again. We will review this with our customer service rep to ensure that all options are communicated.Best,EF Education
Thank you for being in contact about your concerns. All travelers must sign that they agree to our booking conditions before they can register for a tour with EF Education. You agreed to EF's terms and conditons on 05/27/2015 when you registered.
A copy of this policy can be found at www.eftours.com/BC
Please contact EF Traveler Support with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
EF Education
Thank you for your response. After speaking with your group leader, it was determined that there were no Educational Tours employees at the school. There were also no commitments made to the group regarding special exceptions for our cancellation fees. While you can cancel for any reason, the insurance covers specific emergencies that happen before the tour. If you would like to review the policy please visit [redacted] Once again, we are very sorry to hear that you are unable to travel. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us at 1[redacted]- EF Tours
Thank you for your correspondence. When you spoke with a representative back in April, it was explained to you that EF had the authority to keep all funds due to the cancellation time period you fell under. After review, we decided to waive all cancellations fees due to your very unique...
situation. Our online application does not screen for gender because the requirements for each group are at the discretion of the group leader. We were happy to offer you this exception but we do stand by our decision to withhold the enrollment fee and protection plan cost. If you would like to talk further about this, please feel free to contact us directly at 1-[redacted]. EF Tours
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].
If they can put my money towards another trip, there is no reason they cannot refund my money. Cancellation fees were never talked about when I signed up. I was under the impression that if I signed up for their insurance plan, I would be able to get some or most of my money back if I had to cancel. They told me they couldn't refund my money because they already started to book for hotels, etc. but if I sign up for another tour they can put that money towards that trip. So if they really did start booking and can't refund the money because of that then why are they able to put that money towards another trip? There is no reason I can't get even part of my money back.
Regards,
[redacted]
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]. .
[That response could have been summed up as a "sorry for your luck". I would never accept to automatically deduct payments from my account, specially and specifically on the first of a month because I get paid monthly on the 1st and have to go make the deposit to my bank myself, so in other words there would be no money in my account to deduct. I actually have an email stating my payment is on the 3rd. I emailed September 1st in concern to my first payment because when I checked online it said my next payment was due October 3rd and I was confused why I wasn't suppose to make a payment for September. A couple days after that when I looked at my bank account is when I found out September was automatically deducted, so which day was it due again? I only kept it on automatic because I figured 3 days was enough time for me to make my deposit. There is no way that that has been the cancellation policy this whole time or maybe my eyes and your representative are lying. There was nothing more your company could accommodate me for when I called to cancel as far as options for a later date besides September and I still couldn't go at that time, but the company website advertises I can reschedule a later date before 99 days. There is nothing saying how much later it can or can not be, but it does say how flexible you are. $450.00 (that I would never and did not agree to) is absurd particularly for seven months out, no accommodations that could help me, and clearly getting charged on, wait, which day was it again???....]
Regards,
[redacted]
Thank you for your correspondence. We are very sorry to hear that [redacted] will be unable to travel with us. It looks like when you spoke with one of our representatives on July 15th, 2016 they reviewed with you the cancellation policy that you are referring to. You had $2,578 paid into...
the account for [redacted] and EF refunded back $2,028 electronically on 07/18/2016 in accordance with the cancellation policy outlined in our booking conditions. If you need further clarification on this please contact us EF Tours at [redacted] Best, EF Tours