Private Balloon Flights, LLC

The guest DID place reservations for a flight on October 5th as statedThe customer was made aware of our cancellation policy at the time of reservation(ALL FLIGHTS during the Balloon Fiesta in October are NON CANCELABLE after 9/(NOT 9/23) regardless of whether the reservation was made months or days prior(ALL other flights throughout the year have a hour cancelation policy.) The Revdex.com has previously been made aware of this policy, thought it has been many years since this issue has come upThis guest violated Either and Both of our cancellation policies Because of the high demand for our flights during the Balloon Fiesta, we do NOT have a “waiting list” as we do not believe in being dis-honest to customers by letting them believe there will be “last minute availability”It would be unfair and contrary to our own policy to “re-sell” or “double book” a space which has been contracted to another guest(s)This is also why we require the extra notice of cancellation for these flights, so we can make reasonable attempts to mitigate any loss to us by reselling a space that was properly cancelled by the guest with the require upon (contracted) amount of notice We NEVER make any guarantees as to the proximity to or the number of other balloons that may fly on any given dayIt is impossible to control the wind direction or speed, or how many other balloons may fly, outside of our company fleet Our meeting site has been used for over decades as an official meeting site for many balloonists both commercial and private, due to it’s convenient location and easy accessALL balloon companies meet in or launch from parking lots or commercial properties for the convenience of the customers (and a place to park their cars!)There are no “Private Property”, “Non Commercial” areas for launching owned by ANY local ballooning companies There WAS a slight “weather hold” on Sunday 10/which caused ALL BALLOONS to launch a bit later than we would, had there NOT been a weather holdThe guest’s claim otherwise is simply false Private Balloon Flights is the ONLY Albuquerque balloon ride operator who advertises “ACCIDENT FREE”, so any claim the guest makes to questioning the “safety” of our flight is COMPLETELY unfounded, as we have NEVER had an accident When the guests called back we did nicely and professionally inform them that the reason for taking (having) their credit card # on file was for the purpose of securing (guaranteeing) their contract with us to show up and occupy the spaces reserved by themOnce they breeched their contract with us by “no-show” or “canceling” mere hours before their flight, we are legally and contractually allowed to charge for their flightThis is the same policy the airlines haveThey do NOT give a refund in the event of a missed flight or cancellationAs the airlines do, we DO give credit for the flight to be used by 9/30/We do not believe in taking someones money without providing a service, and this is why ALL FLIGHTS have a cancellation policy as stated in ALL of our ads and onlineThe guests claim that they were “not informed” or otherwise unaware of a cancellation policy is also falseALL GUESTS are reminded verbally when reservations are placed of our cancellation policy as this guest was (as well as it being printed where the guest saw our ad and phone number) As an Accredited Member in Excellent standing with the Revdex.com, it would not be a good faith business practice to violate our own cancellation policy by applying it arbitrarily to some guests, while not applying it (i.egiving a refund) to others Our record with the Revdex.com attests to our many years of fair and honest dealing with all of our many thousands of customersThere WERE several balloons that had hard landings and hit power lines as a result of the weather on this first weekend of Balloon FiestaALL of these balloons originated from Balloon Fiesta and had nothing to do with our very safe and Accident Free operations, however out of town guests hear about this and get nervous about going for a flightSince the guest did NOT re-book a flight with any other local ride company, we can only guess this is what happened in this case, but we have seen this occur more than once in decades of ballooning here in AlbuquerqueAs a result they file a complaint full of non valid/reasons for violating our cancellation policy resulting in the fair and accurate chargeWe will not be issuing a refund that is contrary to our cancellation policyWe apologize that we cannot randomly make exceptions to this policy Sincerely, Pamela L [redacted] Owner

Ms [redacted] wanted to use a donated flight voucher the day after it expiredWe are under no obligation to honor the voucher, but we were going to make an exception, however, the weather conditions on the date of the flight were not conducive for a safe flight, so the flights for that day were cancelledSince her voucher had already expired, we were under no obligation to extend itWe have no legal or financial obligation to this woman, and if she insists on taking this matter to court, we will counter sue for extortion and slander since she has tried to go to every public outreach to not only disgrace my companies name, but me personally as wellShe has no standing in this matter as that all of her allegations are false

Dear Sirs, We have issued Mr [redacted] a full refund, as there was an error made while processing his cancellation (Please see attached email to Mr [redacted] .)We hope this easily resolved situation will not negatively impact our otherwise outstanding record with the Revdex.comThank you in advance for your prompt handling of this satisfactory resolution.Incredible Journeys, [redacted] Reservation Team Manager

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:I stand by my account of the events described in my letter of October 17, 2015. Their cancellation policy was not made known to me when I made the reservation on October 2, 2015. Contrary to MsL***'s response, I neither violated "EITHER OR BOTH" of their cancellation policies because I was not aware of their policies.It would seem prudent and productive for the management of Private Balloon Flights to take advantage of modern electronic communication measures to email or text message confirmation of their reservations to customers and include their current cancellation policies, especially since their policies are not clearly included on their brochure or their website.I will not consider my complaint against Private Balloon Flights resolved until our current credit card charge of $1,is refunded
Regards,
*** *** [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the responseIf the consumer does not provide a reason if he complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because: This company gave a voucher to a school knowing that the school would use the voucher to generate moneyI paid $on December 5, for a voucher for two balloon rides and a complete package of extras (see original complaint that included entire package promised)The voucher was to expire on April 16, I called the company several weeks in advance prior to the expiration datePamela L*** said she could NOT do the ride on April 16, but could however schedule the ride for April 17, this was her doing not mineShe arrived minutes late on the 17th and informed me she would not honor the voucher and give us our balloon ride or anything included in the package that I paid for her excuse was due to bad weather- note the weather was fineNO wind, weather was fineShe arrived with one older man in his 70's with no balloon crew so she had no intention of honoring the voucher I paid $forI told her since she was the one cancelling the ride she needed to rescheduleShe refused and became belligerent with meI feared for my safety and minor child's safety and was forced to call from the owners behavior. I ask the lady to give me the other items included in the package and she refusedAll I want is either her to honor the voucher and everything in the voucher or reimburse the amount I paid for the serviceThis is very unethical and extremely bad business practiceI have never been treated so poorly by a business owner in my entire adult lifeI would like this company to do the right thing and make this issue rightI did request a refund from the school and they called the business to find out what was going on and the business owner lied to the school and told the school they gave me a two week extension and then I never scheduled an appointment and then tried to use the voucher two weeks after the expired date after they had offered me a two week extensionThis is just another example of the unethical practice of this businessThere was never an extension issued of any kindI filed a police report as a civil matter on April 17th the day the company scheduled the ride and then refused to honor the voucherThe voucher expired on April 16th. Now because this business has know not only been faulty with me and my minor child they have lied to the school that they gave the voucher to and as a result of this business dishonest statement to the school the school is unwilling to refund the money I paid for a service I never receivedThis needs to be resolvedAll I am asking is for this business to do what is right and ethical and stop this horrible nightmare, stop lying to the school and make right for the money I paid for a service that I did not receive that is rightfully owed to me and my children Regards,*** ***
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the responseIf the consumer does not provide a reason the complaint will be closed Answered]

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
Regards,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
You can close if you like but I am rejecting this response because:Apparently we have agreed to disagree. I had contacted my bank immediately while the charge was still pending. Thankfully, the bank agreed that the cancellation policy was not clearly conveyed to me and refunded the entire charge
Regards,
*** ***[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the responseIf the consumer does not provide a reason if he complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Ms. [redacted] wanted to use a donated flight voucher the day after it expired. We are under no obligation to honor the voucher, but we were going to make an exception, however, the weather conditions on the date of the flight were not conducive for a safe flight, so the flights for that day were...

cancelled. Since her voucher had already expired, we were under no obligation to extend it. We have no legal or financial obligation to this woman, and if she insists on taking this matter to court, we will counter sue for extortion and slander since she has tried to go to every public outreach to not only disgrace my companies name, but me personally as well. She has no standing in this matter as that all of her allegations are false.

Dear Sirs, We have issued Mr. [redacted] a full refund, as there was an error made while processing his cancellation (Please see attached email to Mr. [redacted].). We hope this easily resolved situation will not negatively impact our otherwise outstanding record with the Revdex.com. Thank you in advance...

for your prompt handling of this satisfactory resolution.Incredible Journeys,[redacted]Reservation Team Manager

We stand by our cancellation policy. We have included on of our ads, clearly stating that a "cancellation policy applies". If the guest was "unaware" of or did not understand the policy as explained to him, it would be a reasonable measure for him to ask for further clarification. "Ignorance of the law" or in this case "ignorance of the cancellation policy", AND "the rules don't apply to me" or in this case "the cancellation does not apply to me" has never been an acceptable excuse to release a party from its legal / contractual obligation in a legal or professional business environment.When a reservation for a hotel, rental car, attractions or air travel REQUIRES a credit card to secure, you can expect there will be a charge for a no show, cancellation or change, otherwise, a credit card would NOT be required. The customer has initiated a dispute with his credit card company, without waiting for a Revdex.com resolution so we consider this matter now closed.SincerelyPamela L[redacted]

The guest DID place reservations for a flight on October 5th as stated. The customer was made aware of our cancellation policy at the time of reservation. (ALL FLIGHTS during the Balloon Fiesta in October are NON CANCELABLE after 9/25 (NOT 9/23) regardless of whether the reservation was made 4...

months or 4 days prior. (ALL other flights throughout the year have a 24 hour cancelation policy.) The Revdex.com has previously  been made aware of this policy, thought it has been many years since this issue has come up. This guest violated Either and Both of our cancellation policies.
Because of the high demand for our flights during the Balloon Fiesta, we do NOT have a “waiting list” as we do not believe in being dis-honest to customers by letting them believe there will be “last minute availability”. It would be unfair and contrary to our own policy to “re-sell” or “double book” a space which has been contracted to another guest(s). This is also why we require the extra notice of cancellation for these flights, so we can make reasonable attempts to mitigate any loss to us by reselling a space that was properly cancelled by the guest with the require upon (contracted) amount of notice.
We NEVER make any guarantees as to the proximity to or the number of other balloons that may fly on any given day. It is impossible to control the wind direction or speed, or how many other balloons may fly, outside of our company fleet.
Our meeting site has been used for over 2 decades as an official meeting site for many balloonists both commercial and private, due to it’s convenient location and easy access. ALL balloon companies meet in or launch from parking lots or commercial properties for the convenience of the customers (and a place to park their cars!). There are no “Private Property”, “Non Commercial” areas for launching owned by ANY local ballooning companies.
There WAS a slight “weather hold” on Sunday 10/5 which caused ALL BALLOONS to launch a bit later than we would, had there NOT been a weather hold. The guest’s claim otherwise is simply false.
Private Balloon Flights is the ONLY Albuquerque balloon ride operator who advertises “ACCIDENT FREE”, so any claim the guest makes to questioning the “safety” of our flight is COMPLETELY unfounded, as we have NEVER had an accident.
When the guests called back we did nicely and professionally inform them that the reason for taking (having) their credit card # on file was for the purpose of securing (guaranteeing) their contract with us to show up and occupy the spaces reserved by them. Once they breeched their contract with us by “no-show” or “canceling” mere hours before their flight, we are legally and contractually allowed to charge for their flight. This is the same policy the airlines have. They do NOT give a refund in the event of a missed flight or cancellation. As the airlines do, we DO give credit for the flight to be used by 9/30/16. We do not believe in taking someones money without providing a service, and this is why ALL FLIGHTS have a cancellation policy as stated in ALL of our ads and online. The guests claim that they were “not informed” or otherwise unaware of a cancellation policy is also false. ALL GUESTS are reminded verbally when reservations are placed of our cancellation policy as this guest was (as well as it being printed where the guest saw our ad and phone number).
As an Accredited Member in Excellent standing with the Revdex.com, it would not be a good faith business practice to violate our own cancellation policy by applying it arbitrarily to some guests, while not applying it (i.e. giving a refund) to others.
Our record with the Revdex.com attests to our many years of fair and honest dealing with all of our many thousands of customers. There WERE several balloons that had hard landings and hit power lines as a result of the weather on this first weekend of Balloon Fiesta. ALL of these balloons originated from Balloon Fiesta and had nothing to do with our very safe and Accident Free operations, however out of town guests hear about this and get nervous about going for a flight. Since the guest did NOT re-book a flight with any other local ride company, we can only guess this is what happened in this case, but we have seen this occur more than once in decades of ballooning here in Albuquerque. As a result they file a complaint full of non valid/false reasons for violating our cancellation policy resulting in the fair and accurate charge. We will not be issuing a refund that is contrary to our cancellation policy. We apologize that we cannot randomly make exceptions to this policy.
Sincerely,
Pamela L[redacted]
Owner