smarTours

Thank you for forward [redacted] ' letter concerning her planned trip to Morocco Please be advised that [redacted] is not refuting the fact that our deposits are non-refundableThis is not only the industry standard, but also clearly stated on our tour page on our website and the full terms and conditions on our website Further, [redacted] cites Ebola as the rationale for cancelling her trip to Morocco, which strikes us as quite confusingMorocco is not currently affected by Ebola, and Morocco is thousands of miles away from the affected areas in AfricaIf the situation in Morocco were to change and if it became unsafe (which is completely hypothetical at this point), we would absolutely not put our clients' safety at riskWe have cancelled departures and provided full refunds when there are safety risks, including recently in the Ukraine [redacted] , our terms and conditions are very clear, and there is currently no safety risk in Morocco related to EbolaIt is worth noting, for your information, that [redacted] was offered to apply her deposit for a future tour if she pays a change fee of $per person We thank you for giving us the opportunity to address [redacted] ' concerns and will be glad to provide additional clarification, if necessary Sincerely, [redacted]

We actually had the opportunity to speak with the client earlier today, and we tried several times to address the misconception that "all major cultural/historical sites in Nepal" were destroyed. The reality on the ground in Nepal is very different, and despite some devastation, many of the key...

cultural/historical sites are intact. In fact, we offered to send the client detailed information and photographic evidence supporting this reality, but they refused to even consider that they may be misinformed. Thank you.
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]
   There're only two world heritage sites out of 14 left for tourists now. Those photos in my email are not from media and aren't exaggerated  
We're reluctaly to accept your point of view.  you have nothing to lose if you allow us to change tour without penalty, you may  gain more customers due to word of mouth. It's nobody's fault.  Anyway, this will be our last trip with your company.  You're not flexible on how to do business.
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]
 Greg of smarTours ignored the fact that the major historical/cultural sites were destroyed by earthquake in Nepal.  I forwarded him an email showing the photos before/after the earthquake as evidence, but he insisted that there are still something else for us to see.  As tourists, we are greatly interested in historical/cultural sites, not something else or the ruins from the disaster.
According to their receptionist _ there are similar complaints from other customers. 
 I tried to comprise (not a refund) by requesting a change to another tour without paying penalty fee  of $300 because there is no faulty of any one and smarTours has nothing to loose; otherwise smarTours may loose many customers (word of mouth)
However, all we want is allowing us to change to another tour without paying penalty 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

The amount they sent me is far from adequate for this long-awaited, extremely expensive trip.  I could have planned  this trip on my own, but chose to save myself a lot of work and research expecting a tour guide to explain things about the country, the people, etc.  All I got from Smartours was air and hotels so deducting these two items--WHICH I COULD HAVE BOOKED MYSELF--I think a minimum of $1,000 is expected.  I have already received $500 (in dribs and drabs), but considering that I paid $4,348 this is an insult.  I wrote them that even if I took off the most expensive air (which they certainly did not pay with a group rate) that would have  been $1,148 (the air on the day I checked ran from $776 on Air China to $1,148 on American--all direct, non-stop to Tokyo).  $1,148 from the total of $4,348 leaves a balance of $3,200 and frankly half of that would be the amount I should get from them.  That would be $1,600 but I will accept a total of $1,000 or a balance due me of $500.  They also promised local English-speaking guides in each city and we got NOT ONE LOCAL GUIDE.  Did they all have family emergencies as we were told the original tour director who was to have accompanied us on the entire trip had?  Is this such a chintzy organization that the agency they deal with in Japan did not have one decent English-speaking tour director to accompany us?  THEY SHOULD HAVE CANCELLED THE TRIP.  We learned nothing about Japan on this trip.  We travel to learn.  Our whole group was screaming, some even called Smartours from Japan, with no adequate response.  We had several long bus trips where not one word was spoken, nothing pointed out along the way.  Hey!  I'm nearly 78 years old and have been travelling all my life, frequently with the former Smartours group (these new owners are BAD) and never had this experience before.  I will not/can not let this go.  It's too expensive a loss for me. 
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:At this time, I have not been contacted by smarTours regarding complaint ID [redacted].  I have not heard from ST since filing the complaint with Revdex.comNYSincerely,[redacted]

Dear [redacted], Thank you very much for assisting with this problem. smarTours has had extensive conversations with the client regarding this matter, and we had come to an agreement. This complaint has been addressed, and we have been very generous with reimbursement for this issue. Thank you,...

and we trust this brings this matter to a conclusion. Kind regards, Linda N[redacted]

Thank you for forward [redacted]' letter concerning her planned trip to Morocco.
Please be advised that [redacted] is not refuting the fact that our deposits are non-refundable. This is not only the industry standard, but also clearly stated on our tour page on our website and the full terms and...

conditions on our website.
Further, [redacted] cites Ebola as the rationale for cancelling her trip to Morocco, which strikes us as quite confusing. Morocco is not currently affected by Ebola, and Morocco is thousands of miles away from the affected areas in Africa. If the situation in Morocco were to change and if it became unsafe (which is completely hypothetical at this point), we would absolutely not put our clients' safety at risk. We have cancelled departures and provided full refunds when there are safety risks, including recently in the Ukraine.
[redacted], our terms and conditions are very clear, and there is currently no safety risk in Morocco related to Ebola. It is worth noting, for your information, that [redacted] was offered to apply her deposit for a future tour if she pays a change fee of $150 per person.
We thank you for giving us the opportunity to address [redacted]' concerns and will be glad to provide additional clarification, if necessary.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
[redacted]

Review: several weeks ago I sent a d eposit to smartours for an april trip to morocco.

shortly after, the ebola situation appeared and I decided it was unwise for m(or anyone)

to go to Africa until we know it is not a threat.

I contacted smartours less then 3 weeks after I sent in the deposit. I know they hold the deposit but I thought under these unusual circumstances, they would refund the $300. I was told they wouldn't but if I took another trip within the year, they would apply the deposit.

that seemed a solution. Today I got a letter saying they would apply the deposit AfTER taking $150 off for a change fee.

I have been a customer for years, although that is not significant, but I think it is unconscionable that under this unusual

health threatening situation they would penalize me ( and others?) for what I consider a logical decision.

i

sDesired Settlement: return $300 for apply it all to future trip, no $150)penalty

Business

Response:

Thank you for forward [redacted]' letter concerning her planned trip to Morocco.

Please be advised that [redacted] is not refuting the fact that our deposits are non-refundable. This is not only the industry standard, but also clearly stated on our tour page on our website and the full terms and conditions on our website.

Further, [redacted] cites Ebola as the rationale for cancelling her trip to Morocco, which strikes us as quite confusing. Morocco is not currently affected by Ebola, and Morocco is thousands of miles away from the affected areas in Africa. If the situation in Morocco were to change and if it became unsafe (which is completely hypothetical at this point), we would absolutely not put our clients' safety at risk. We have cancelled departures and provided full refunds when there are safety risks, including recently in the Ukraine.

[redacted], our terms and conditions are very clear, and there is currently no safety risk in Morocco related to Ebola. It is worth noting, for your information, that [redacted] was offered to apply her deposit for a future tour if she pays a change fee of $150 per person.

We thank you for giving us the opportunity to address [redacted]' concerns and will be glad to provide additional clarification, if necessary.

Sincerely,

Review: In December, 2013, family members asked my husband and me to join them on the SmarTours Adriatic Tour departing May **, 2014. They had heard wonderful things about your agency from friends who had traveled with SmarTours, and we were enthused. We made a telephonically reservation on December **, 2013. I had not seen, read, or been made aware of SmarTours' cancellation policy and sent a $600 deposit to your agency the first week of January 2014. It was not until after we paid the deposit that SmarTours mailed its "Terms and Conditions" to us on January *, 2014. Your corporate attorneys would concur with our position that the terms and conditions must be unequivocally accepted in writing prior to acceptance of the deposit money in order to be legally binding. [redacted] in her letter of May **, 2014, admits our deposit would have been refunded if we had notified us of your concerns in a timely matter. The fact, I did raise my concerns in my February **, 2014. In a timely matter is subjective, particularly when you had not made us aware of your policy. Your corporation was in fact notified in a timely matter.[redacted] goes on to say we went ahead and made commitments on your behalf. Unless you can provide documentation that your cooperation made payments on behalf of my husband and I you have not been damaged. You and I both know your cooperation substituted another couple in our place. My family members were on the tour and it was book to capacity. Your corporation at no time lost any money but profited on my misfortune. Your corporation is being unjustly enriched and in a court of Equity the courts would require your corporation to disgorge the profits.Despite the medical evidence of my husband's condition, and the considerable advance notice of the cancellation, we have been advised that SmarTours' "Terms and Conditions" allows the company to keep our $600 deposit. We believe it is not only unreasonable but potentially illegal to impose a penalty based upon terms and conditions before such terms and conditions are expressly stated and accepted. We have no contract. This appears to be an illusory contract that is one sided and therefore is not a valid contract to confiscate the deposit.I appreciate the offer of extending the ability to go on another tour for 24 months but this is not feasible. Since February by husbands medical condition has deteriorated and will no longer be able to travel. Please reconsider by request for a refund.Desired Settlement: I am writing to demand the return of the $600 deposit for a tour dated May **, to May **, 2014 which we were forced to cancel due to my husband medical condition, which we already documented. I believe my husband and I are being unjustly penalized for a situation that is out of our control.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

Thank you for forwarding to us [redacted]’s letter concerning her planned trip to Croatia and Slovenia.

We were previously contacted directly by [redacted] and responded to her via mail on May [redacted], 2014. [redacted] continues to make unsubstantiated claims about our terms and conditions, and she only objected to these very clear terms and conditions once it suited her to do so. [redacted]’s claim is simply inappropriate for the following reasons:

1. The tour page on the smarTours website clear stipulates that the deposit is non-refundable.

2. The full terms and conditions on the smarTours website clear stipulate that the deposit is non-refundable.

3. The terms and conditions mailed to [redacted] on January *, 2014 clearly state that the deposit is non-refundable.

4. [redacted] did not raise her concerns about the deposit being non-refundable until February **, 2014, approximately seven weeks after receiving the terms and conditions in the mail. If she was truly concerned about our terms and conditions, she would have notified us upon receipt, not seven weeks after the fact when it was clear that she stood to lose her deposit.

[redacted], our terms and conditions were clearly made available to [redacted] and therefore we are unable to refund her deposit. It is worth noting, for your information, [redacted] was offered to apply her deposit for a future tour if she pays a change fee of $150 per person.

We thank you for giving us the opportunity to address [redacted]’s concerns and will be glad to provide additional clarifications, if necessary.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

Re: [redacted]

Dear [redacted]

I have two issues with [redacted] response.

As I explained in my letter I did not go on the website to

make my reservation on 12/**/2013. My husband’s

brother handed me the phone and I was given information as to what was needed

to make a reservation. At no time was I

informed the deposit was nonrefundable. When the letter of January 2014 it did

not say that I must return the letter within a given time and I was bound by

the terms in the letter. I am maintaining

that SmarTours is holding me to terms I did not agree to. Not sure about New York law but in California

this is not a valid contract. When I

looked up your website I had to agree to your terms. When you send me the complaint response you

gave me a 6 day deadline.

In [redacted] letter of May **, 2014 she is adding a condition

of time in which to send the contract back.

SmarTours is the writer of the contract and with her letter of January 2014

the burden was on them to make the term clear and request the contract be sign

and returned by a certain date. This was

not done. It did not say you have two

weeks to review and return. I wrote to the company to cancel February

2014 and she states if I notified her that I did not agree she would have

returned my deposit in full in her letter of May **, 2014. That is what I did. But where is that

condition in the contract.

SmarTours has been very generous in extending my ability to

take a tour with the next two year with a penalty of $150 of each of my husband

and myself. The problem is that my husband will never be able to travel. He

had a [redacted] in February and has resulted in numerous medical conditions

and has accelerated his [redacted] and [redacted]. He has been hospitals

and had over fifteen visits to his doctors.

SmarTours refusal to return the deposit is an illegal penalty imposed on the consumer. They

have unjustly been enriched by my misfortune. They were able to sell the package to another couple because the tour

was completely booked.

I appreciate anything you can do for me.

Sincerely

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

[redacted]

Dear [redacted],

Thank you for forwarding to us [redacted]’s second letter to you (and third letter overall) regarding her planned trip to Croatia and Slovenia.

Please note that our original response to [redacted] directly on May [redacted], 2014 and our letter to you on June **, 2014 correctly and fully summarize our position.

We thank you for giving us the opportunity to address [redacted]’s follow up letter and will be glad to provide additional clarifications, if necessary.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

It appears SmarTours has very strict terms and conditions which does not promote customer service or customer/consumer satisfaction. I have a medical impossibly because my husband will not be able to travel now or in the future. I believe what they are doing is improper and may be illegal. As stated before I have no agreement or contract with them. They are holding me to terms and conditions I have not agreed to. They rebooked my tour and are wrongfully holding my money. I have asked for documentation showing they have paid money on my behave, which they have not provided. I appreciate Revdex.com time and effort and I will pursue further action.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Review: Reservation for African Safari made in early March 2013. My priimary residence address is in Jamaica since 1995; however because I am an American Citizen I use my cousin's Maryland adderess in Lanham, Md. as my U.S. mailing address. Because of the length of time it took for me to receive initial documentation in Jamaica from Smartours, I called and requested an email contact address, and on March [redacted] requested that all future communication/receipts, invoices and other forms be sent to me via email because the Jamaican postal system is very slow, and frequently mail is not received .

I made payments on this trip thru Citibank in Maryland in April, May, June, and July, 2013. On July [redacted], I sent an e-mail, requesting the unpaid balance so I could make the final payment which was due August [redacted]. In response, [redacted] sent me an email, informing that the final balance, including travel insurance was $1837 per person. (I made all payments for both me and my cousin. Through Citibank, I paid the full amount of $3674. on August *. On August [redacted], I received a Revised Invoice from smarTours, advising that I had made an overpayment of $1000. I called and asked them to send the overpayment to my cousin in Maryland. They advised that the overpayment check would not be issued until the final travel documents were sent in early October (3 months later). Despite the fact that the overpayment was due to the screw-up of someone in their bookkeeping department, I decided not to complain because I would have the money available to spend on the trip.

I received the final travel documents around the beginning of October; however, when I asked about the overpayment check, they responded that they mailed it to Jamaica. Since this poses a problem because of the unreliability of the Jamaican postal system, I called and requested that they put a stop payment on the check sent and reissue another check to either be mailed to my cousin's mailing address in Maryland, or hand me the reissued check at the airport in New York on the day and I would sign for it. They refused both options and told me if the check did not surface in another month, then they would consider it lost. I AM BEING PENALIZED FOR THEIR BOOKKEEPING ERROR - WRONG INFORMTION CONCERNING THE BALANCE OWED.Desired Settlement: THAT SMARTOURS STOP PAYMENT ON CHECK SENT TO JAMAICA. AND THAT SMARTOURS ISSUE ANOTHER CHECK TO EITHER BE MAILED TO MY MARYLAND MAILING ADDRESS OR TO BE HAND DELIVERED TO ME AT THE AIRPORT BY ONE OF THEIR REPRESENTATIVES ON THE DAY OF TRAVEL - OCTOBER **, 2013. I WILL SIGN FOR IT UPON RECEIPT.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

Thank you for your letter dated October *, 2013 requesting our comments to [redacted]' s letter. We regret to hear that [redacted] was not satisfied with our refund policies, which we trust are very reasonable and straightforward.

[redacted] had an overpayment of $1000 on her trip to South Africa scheduled for October **, 2013. We advised [redacted] that the refund for the overpayment would be mailed with her final travel documents. On October * we mailed her a check for the overpayment of $1000 to her Jamaica address, which was the only address we had on file. This is the address she had given us when she made her initial reservation as well as the address listed on her tour registration form.

[redacted] then called our office and advised that she wanted the check mailed to another address in Maryland. We then advised her that we cannot stop payment on a check that just went out and since she did not give us the address in Maryland originally, she has to wait for 2 weeks until we verify that the check that was mailed to Jamaica was not cashed. On October ** when we verified that the check was not cashed we put stop payment on it, at our own expense and issued a new check that was mailed to [redacted]'s Maryland address on October **. We feel that it is completely reasonable for us to take precautions to make sure that a check issued is not cashed before we issue another check. Moreover, we did not have clear instructions from [redacted] to mail the check to the Maryland address until after we sent it to her Jamaica address that she provided.

We thank you for giving us the opportunity to address [redacted]'s concerns and will be glad to provide additional clarifications, if necessary.

Sincerely,

[redacted] Manager

Review: My wife and I made $600 deposit for a 15-day trip (10/* - **/15) to Nepal and India on March *. We are sad and disappointed by the earthquake which destroyed all major cultural/historical sites in Nepal and it left us nothing to see. We're more interested in Nepal than India or we would take a cruise (more comfortable) due to our age of 76.

We sent smarTours a certified letter on May * requesting a change to other tours without paying penalty $300 because this is nobody's fault. I called smarTours the following week, and they acknowledged receipt of it; but two weeks has gone, we've never gotten an answer so far.

Now we just want a refund of $600 and go on with our life to book another cruise before our health gets worse.

Thank you.Desired Settlement: Hope to hear from you before June because we'll be gone 06/** -**/15.

Business

Response:

We actually had the opportunity to speak with the client earlier today, and we tried several times to address the misconception that "all major cultural/historical sites in Nepal" were destroyed. The reality on the ground in Nepal is very different, and despite some devastation, many of the key cultural/historical sites are intact. In fact, we offered to send the client detailed information and photographic evidence supporting this reality, but they refused to even consider that they may be misinformed. Thank you.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

Greg of smarTours ignored the fact that the major historical/cultural sites were destroyed by earthquake in Nepal. I forwarded him an email showing the photos before/after the earthquake as evidence, but he insisted that there are still something else for us to see. As tourists, we are greatly interested in historical/cultural sites, not something else or the ruins from the disaster.

According to their receptionist _ there are similar complaints from other customers.

I tried to comprise (not a refund) by requesting a change to another tour without paying penalty fee of $300 because there is no faulty of any one and smarTours has nothing to loose; otherwise smarTours may loose many customers (word of mouth)

However, all we want is allowing us to change to another tour without paying penalty

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

There're only two world heritage sites out of 14 left for tourists now. Those photos in my email are not from media and aren't exaggerated

We're reluctaly to accept your point of view. you have nothing to lose if you allow us to change tour without penalty, you may gain more customers due to word of mouth. It's nobody's fault. Anyway, this will be our last trip with your company. You're not flexible on how to do business.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

Thank you for continuing to moderate this case. We have provided detailed information about the current situation in Nepal, but the clients have chosen to ignore the information that we provided. The tourism infrastructure (hotel, airport, etc.) is in very good shape, and our sightseeing itinerary will be almost exactly the same as before the earthquake, with the exception of just one visit. Thank you.