Lost Bay Helicopters Reviews (%countItem)
Lost Bay Helicopters Rating
Address: 3190 Airport Dr, Gulf Shores, Alabama, United States, 36542-2818
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My husband and I booked a helicopter tour with Lost Bay Helicopters in Gulf Shores on October 25, 2019 for $391.25. When the COVID-19 pandemic took off in the USA in March 2020, we cancelled our trip. Lost Bay specifically states in their reservation emails (via the order voucher) and on their website booking page that customers can cancel at least 24 hours prior to their arrival date to receive a full refund minus a $5 service fee, so we called to cancel our appointment on March 12, 2020. I was assured over the phone that I would receive a refund after *** asked if I would take a future visit voucher instead - I said no due to the nature of the COVID-19 crisis. She said she would call me back with a cancellation notice, which she did just a few minutes later. At this time, she said she was not able to refund directly to the card that we paid with due to a date issue but that she would have a check mailed to the address on file as soon as possible. When two weeks passed *** no refund received in the mail, I called back. All *** would say at this time was "not to worry, the refund has been processed." When I asked when we would receive it in the mail, she would not give a date. On April 3, I became increasingly leary of receiving a refund and decided to document further communication via email - I emailed to ask again on this date. I received a response on April 7 saying our refund had been "filed" on March 19 but that the company could not provide a refund timeframe at all since they do not have the funds to cover the refund (which they had not earned yet, so it should not have been spent). On April 18, I received a reminder email of my "scheduled tour" for the next day, which should have been cancelled. I emailed the company asking for a cancellation email that day since the policy states cancellations within 24 hours won't be refunded, and it seemed like they had not actually cancelled. No reply received, and on April 20, I received an email asking me to review my trip on the 19th.
Order_Number: ***-XXXXXX
Refund I would like to actually receive my refund of $391.25 as soon as possible as assured in multiple locations (booking confirmation email, website, etc.). Nearly $400 is a lot of money to just not get back when you book with the assurance that you will receive the refund if needed - which we do, in this case. Every other business I cancelled with for this same trip (VRBO, Shore Shooters Photography, Cetacean Cruises, Orange Beach Catboat Tours, and XIT Escape Rooms) refunded our money immediately.
Good afternoon,
This matter was resolved with our customer directly on 4/30/2020. They received their refund in full, cancellation fee was waived, and they confirmed receipt with us.
Thank you
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
We did receive our refund on April 30, after a rude an accusatory phone call from the business owner.
When we began the phone call on the afternoon of April 30, Rachael (the business manager who I had spoken to already on numerous occasions) first told me that she was very unhappy with us calling the authorities on her. She informed me that their company is currently facing bankruptcy and that she does not like "being accused of stealing." I responded by telling her that, while I am sorry for the situation, I don't like being stolen from - and then I explained that every other local business we worked with had refunded our trip money two months' prior, when the trip was cancelled. She then told me that she had mailed a check almost two weeks prior (which we had not received) and, when I told her we had not gotten it in the mail, she accused us of trying to "pull something over on them." I assured her that I just wanted my $400 refund that was promised two months ago and that I would be more than happy to wait if the check was actually sent when she said it was, but that we had not received it. She then asked for my bank account information so she could "transfer the money automatically." I told her that I was very uncomfortable with handing her my bank account information and would not do so, especially if what she said was true about their company filing bankruptcy and all the issues I'd already had with the company. She then backtracked and said she only needed an email address to send a payment that way, and told me that she was more than ready to "be done with me and all the authorities that are hounding them about our stolen money." I told her we were equally, if not more, happy to be done - all we asked for was the money that we gave them for a service that was NOT rendered that they used to pay their own bills for before earning. I then asked her why they didn't have a practice in place for unearned income, to which she had no response whatsoever.
One other thing I would definitely like to make note of is that, according to Revdex.com records, you first made contact with the business on April 21st about this claim. We actually did receive the check in the mail last Monday, May 4th (we have official records of this from the USPS Informed Delivery service - just in case the business owner decides to argue that point, since she said we were trying to "pull one over on them" when we spoke on April 30th about not having received the check at that time). As stated previously, you first approached her on the 20th, and the post-mark on the mail shows that the original check was not sent until April 23rd, although it appears that the check was backdated to April 17th before being put in the mail on the 23rd, after you had made contact.
I tell you all of this because, even though we finally received our money after two months of hassle, Rachael was undeniably rude and seemed very sneaky in her business dealings. It was absurd to respond by acting as if I was the ridiculous one for simply wanting my refund after numerous encounters where she told me they didn't have it. If this business actually stays in business after their supposed bankruptcy, they need to be held accountable for far better business practices.