Trafalgar Tours West Inc

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Aon insurance will not open a claim, therefore, the insurance was worthless.   why push this insurance policy on travelers as a hard sell when it doesn't serve a purpose?good faith from this multimillion dollar company would be a credit for future travel for same trip and not the 10% offered as suggested.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted] ...

[redacted] This credit was sent to my Bank America credit on 12/30/2014.  Today is 01/05/15 and I still do not see in on my account.  How long is this going to take?

Review: Trafalgar Tours advertises that it utilizes "first class" hotel accommodations for their patrons. During my tour of England, we {the tour group) were put up in what, I would consider, substandard hotel accommodations. Toilets, did not flush (oh the smell!), showers did not work properly, lamps in the rooms did not function except as pure decoration, hotel staff would not answer the phone - one night, in fact, I had to walk all the way from room downstairs (no elevator), to the front desk to request a wake up call which I did not even receive the next day. I have filed a formal written complaint with Trafalgar and followed up numerous times with other Emails and phone calls, sadly, to no avail. I have been lied to, put off and also purely ignored by various Trafalgar staff. I feel that monetarily wise, I was cheated on this tour and paid for something which I did not receive which was decent and "first class" accommodations.Desired Settlement: Partial refund of the money I paid for this tour. I do not expect a full refund - but do expect some form of remuneration. Also, a formal apology would be nice due to being given the run around for three weeks currently.

Business

Response:

Thank you for this message. I do show that [redacted]

[redacted], our Manager or Reservations has spoken with [redacted] directly just this week to review and

respond to her concerns.

We consider

this matter closed as [redacted] advised that [redacted] has been pleased with our

resolution.

Thank you again!

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: Below I've listed the complaints for our London portion. Compared to our Paris visit,with the heavy fees for all excursions which we paid and felt were worth it, London had no organization, cooperation, communication, nor implementation. The difficulties included:We received before our trip a generic itinerary with no set dates/times and specifics. I called and was not able to get a response about this before May 31st. I had assumed that when we arrived at the hotel, specific instructions and directions would be available to our party of four. We arrived London a day before the tour began at [redacted] Hotel in London. When we arrived, there was no information, in fact, we were not included on the Trafalgar tour list. The next morning on Monday, June 1, there was still no communication and/or information from Trafalgar. The frustrating part was that we had our first day in London not knowing what to see in case there were plans made by Trafalgar for the following few days. We spent two hours trying to communicate with Trafalgar to get some kind of itinerary for the next few days. There was never a specific itinerary given to us with specific dates/times of anything available. No host was available. We worked with [redacted], the concierge, at the hotel. We planned that day in it's entirety thanks to his help. That evening at 6 PM on Monday, June 1, when we returned to the hotel there was still no host, no written communication of any kind as to what was happening for the following three days in London. Wednesday night, still no papers/communication from Trafalgar. London: Our family was so stressed and arguing during our entire stay because there was no guidance at all. There was no structure, communication, options given. This is a stark comparison to our Paris visit. You stated on the London and Paris Moderate web page a "variety of Optional Experiences" and"The services of a Trafalgar Local Host in London and Paris" would be available. "NOT!"Desired Settlement: In addition to the invoice of $8,200 paid in full and the additional 1,800 in Euros or the approximately $2,000 paid for the excursions in Paris, we are requesting a $1,000 refund for the lack of organization and false advertising we received on the London portion of our trip. No excursions were printed and/or offered ahead of time or communicated before, during, or after our trip. We did the entire London portion of our trip on our own, and that's not what I paid for. A total of $10,200 was paid, and the London portion of our trip was unacceptable, inexcusable, and simply will not be tolerated. As stated earlier, if compensation of $1,000 is expected in acknowledgement of the London difficulties related to our trip. Thank you for your trip.

Business

Response:

Thank you for your enquiry! Attached you will find the initial final letter sent to our guest which completely explains our Operations in London. We have since received her rebuttal, and are revisiting this case in detail. A final response will be sent to our guest as soon as possible. Dear Mrs [redacted],July 13th, 2015May we thank you for your correspondence regarding your recent trip London and Paris Moderatewhich has been received by our Guest Relations Department in Geneva, Switzerland. Guest feedbackis a valuable resource to our company that allows us to continually improve the quality of the servicethat we offer, and so we appreciate the time you have taken to share your concerns with us, and weare grateful for this opportunity to address the issues you have raised.To begin, we were truly sorry to read that you and your family had difficulty with communication andassistance from our staff in London, which resulted in your time with us there not meeting yourexpectations. May we highlight that we were aware that you had a pre night accommodation for thistrip arriving on 31st of May. However, day 1 of this group tour has no planned itinerary as majority ofour guests use this day for travel, and the actual sightseeing is scheduled for day 2 as per our pre tripdocumentation. Therefore, the 1st of June, was an independent day, and the 2"d of June was day 2 ofthe itinerary with included sightseeing. Nonetheless, we are deeply apologetic for anymiscommunication with the information provided regarding the timetable of this itinerary, and thatthat you felt insufficient assistance was provided.Having investigated your concerns with our London Reception Centre, we are aware that you wereable to speak with our Duty Manger, [redacted], and that unfortunately, there were issues withphone reception. We fully sympathise with how frustrating it can be trying to gather information withbroken communication lines. However, we can assure you that our London Team did there utmost tocontact you via your room, your mobile, text messaging and the hotel reception in order to assist youand your family. Nevertheless, we truly regret that you may have felt otherwise, and have passedalong your comments to our Operations Team for their review.We provide a local host for this tour, and these hosts are available to assist our guests at specific timesand dates, to offer directions and answer questions, as per our documentation. We understand that onthis occasion, our local host [redacted] was available at the hotel on the 2"d of June, whilst you and yourfamily were enjoying London independently. As [redacted] was unable to make direct contact with you,she has advised she left a voicemail and our tour pack with vouchers for you at the hotel. We canassure you that we have informed our Operations Team of your impressions, so that they may reviewthe points you have raised with our staff and the hotel staff, we truly regret any negative feelings youexperienced due to this.www.trafalgartours.comTrafalgar Tours Ltd Correspondence address: Travcorp SA 58 Avenue Louis-Casa'i CP12, 1216 Cointrin (GE) SwitzerlandRegistered Address: Picquel House, St. Peter Port, Guern sey, GY1 1 AF, Channel Islands Registered Number: [redacted]Turning to the sightseeing portion of London, we were disheartened to read that you found theinformation provided by our Local Guide, Brad, to be insufficient, whilst on our Windsor ExpressCity Break tour. May we highlight that our guests are provided headsets as dictated by Windsor andour Local Guide is generally a fountain of knowledge of local eateries, sights, and shopping info.However, having said this we understand that you felt this to not be the case and for this we are verysorry. We have forwarded your comments to our Itinerary Team to consider for future tours, and toBrad's manager for his professional development.We are aware that you are seeking financial restitution for your time in London, and we regret that wecannot meet your request, as this tour was carried out as per our terms and conditions. On a positivenote, we were pleased that you and your family enjoyed your time with us in Paris, and we hope thatyou took home some fond memories of your overall time in Europe. Should you consider affording usthe opportunity to host you once more and win back your faith in our company, we are confident wewould not disappoint. It would be our great pleasure to welcome you and your family back toTrafalgar, however until such a time, we remain,Yours sincerely,[redacted]Guest RelationsGenevaCC: TTNYK

Consumer

Response:

[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.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me until I hear a response. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. However, if Trafalgar does not comply with reimbursement/compensation of $1,000, I will continue with Revdex.com to post and discuss dissatisfaction with Trafalgar via social media and Revdex.com.

Regards,

Review: The Californian 2015. Bait and switch. Route change from what was depicted in 2015 Trafalgar tour catalog. May be legal but immoral. Disappointed and dissatisfied. Incompetent tour guide, among many other issues. Nothing but an expensive bus ride.Desired Settlement: Refund.

Business

Response:

Good Morning! I am very well aware of this situation and appreciate the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com with our findings. We have offered a 10% Discount Voucher per person on this file as we feel no monetary compensation is due. Attached is the itinarary our guest purchased and I can confirm that all items listed were provided as we brochure. There were no itinerary change to this 2015 trip. Our guests expected to travel along a route to Monterrey called "Big Sur" which, as you can see, was not included on Day 5 of this deaprture. We did not brochure or promise a drive through this location, and therefore it was not provided in accordance with what was purchased. Since all aspects operated as we brochure, we are unable to meet their request for monetary compensation, however we are still willing to issue the 10% Discount Voucher should our guests accept this offer. Thank you,[redacted]Guest Relations Manager

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Review: I booked the Californian Trip for me and my wife in March 2014 thru AAA. I was told to get a discount I had to pay for the trip in full by the end of April. By April 24th the trip was paid in full. We were ready to go on the trip when my wife started have some health problems and we were forced to cancel the trip. We canceled on Sept. 25th. We were told since we canceled late there would be a cancelation fee of $2744.84. We were also told that we would receive a credit on our credit card statement and it would take a few months. I has now been three months and when I call tofind out the status I am told one more week, call again ten days. I havewaited three months and I think that is long enough. The amount I am due is $3057.66. I keep paying credit card bills when I should have a credit.This is the first time I have used this tour company and it will be the last.Desired Settlement: I feel I should receive $3057.66 plus any interest Trafalgar made by holding onto my money for three months.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Regards,

[redacted] This credit was sent to my Bank America credit on 12/30/2014. Today is 01/05/15 and I still do not see in on my account. How long is this going to take?

Business

Response:

Thank you for your response! Our guest will need to follow up with his credit card company as we show the refund was placed.

Thank you again!

Review: Booked tour of London & Paris with Trafalgar through Vacations To Go, [redacted] St., Ste [redacted], [redacted], (800)[redacted], for four(4), myself, wife & grandchildren (ages 7 & 11) in the amount of $15,116.00. Was provided with information that reflected 4 or 5 star accommodations for four(4). Upon arriving at Thistle Marble Arch hotel, London, 06/22/2015, was assigned a room that contained a double bed & a "love seat sleeper." When the porter opended the "love seat sleeper" there remained no space for our four(4) suitcases or to walk within the room. Complained to the front desk and was advised that I would have to pay 70 lbs. per night or approx. $457.00 to upgrade to a room size that would accommodate four(4) people & suitcases. Upon returning to US contacted Vacations to Go & Trafalgar to request reimbursement for the approx. $457.00. To date, Trafalgar has refused to reimburse me. There appears to be a clause under Trafalgar's "Terms & Conditions" that would require that I take legal action in Orange County, CA. Difficult to read & not able to download from website.

Booking #[redacted] - Case #[redacted]Desired Settlement: Reimbursement for approximately $457.00.

Business

Response:

Good morning and I hope this finds you well! I wanted to provide you with our response regarding Mr. [redacted]’ case to better explain our reasoning when declining his refund request. As you are aware, hotels outside of the United States are built with very different floor plans that do not always meet our expectations as travelers. The rooms are historically rich properties which means they may be smaller than what we are accustomed to here. This is why our brochures and website state that any guest booking triple or quadruple room accommodations may only have one bed and a pull out sofa, cot, or rollaway bed to accommodate their rooming requests. It appears that the room provided to the [redacted] party while in London was indeed of this configuration meeting our contracted requirements at this location. As a result, Mr. [redacted] found the rooming inadequate and elected for a change in accommodations which was at his own expense. As you can see, we brochure the rooming configuration for all guests booking triple and quadruple accommodations as we wish to inform all who travel with us of what to expect. We are most apologetic to know that Mr. [redacted] feels otherwise. I have also attached a copy of the final email sent to Mr. [redacted] which further explains what transpired and our stance on his case.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Regards,[redacted]

Dear [redacted]I would like to express my thanks to the Revdex.com for giving consideration to my complaint against Trafalgar. I really appreciate and urge the Revdex.com to publicly post my complaint against Trafalgar as the public needs to be aware of the fact that at its core, Trafalgar seems to act in an unscrupulous manner.

By way of background, I will again reiterate that my wife and I booked a European trip with Trafalgar to expose our two grandchildren to Europe this past summer. When doing so, we booked the trip for four (4) people, without any discount being given for children. Stated differently, we paid the same rate for myself and my wife, as well as we did for our minor grandchildren, that being in excess of $15,000.00 for the tour, including 4 or 5 star accommodations for four (4). Despite that, the accommodations were less than adequate in that once the porter opened the "love seat sleeper," there was no room left at all for us to place four suitcases and be able to walk around within the room.

I was forced to pay an additional 70 lbs. per night just to have adequate accommodations. Depite their admission that "hotels outside of the U.S. are built with very different floor plans that do not always meet our expectations as travelers," Trafalgar has refused to reimburse us for the additional cost we incurred. Instead, seeking to justify their position, Trafalgar cites their brochure, but Trafalgar's unscrupulousness is actually reflected by the handling of its so-called brochure. The so-called brochure, which was mentioned in its response to the Revdex.com, which allegedly contained its "terms & conditions" was buried in a link provided by its agent, Vacations To Go, was provided only after the full payment was tendered. The link proved to be constructed to prevent the client from discerning its contents.

Trafalgar's position that hotel rooms outside of the U.S. are smaller than what we are accustomed to is misleading at best. My wife and I have traveled extensively outside of the U.S. to places such as Banff, Munich, Madrid, Marbella, Cairo, Barcelona, Paris, etc. and contrary to Trafalgar's deceitful statement, we found the room size to be more than ample and luxurious in part because we always insisted on 4 or 5 star accommodations, which is what we supposedly paid for in this instance and what we were supposed to get in accordance with Trafalgar's itinerary provided by Vacations To Go.

Regardless of Trafalgar's continued misleading and distracted statements on the configuration or equipment in the room, the fact remains that the room size was simply too small to accommodate four (4) people and their suitcases as represented in the attached Trafalgar itinerary provided by Vacations To Go, which stated, "hand-picked 4 or 5 star accommodation...it's the right hotels with our insider knowledge, we've handpicked quality hotels to compliment this trip."

Notably, the hotel did not seem to be surprised by Trafalgar's misrepresentations at all. Their reaction to my complaint led me to believe this was a regular occurrence and immediately offered me a larger room size to accommodate four (4) people, suitcases and space to walk within the room for an additional 70 lbs. per night. Thus, standard or larger room sizes were available and this was simply a scam on the part of Trafalgar and the hotel to extort the additional payment amount.

In conclusion, I paid for 4 or 5 star accommodations for four (4) and shouldn't have been required to pay the additional amount to obtain what I had already paid for. Did Trafalgar expect us to leave our suitcases in the hotel's hallway outside of the room and walk on the bed and "love seat sleeper" to get around the room or place the suitcases on top of the bed and "love seat sleeper" and sleep in the hallway of the hotel?

Sincerely,

[redacted] A. [redacted]/ID #[redacted]

Attachments

Business

Response:

I am sorry to learn of our guests' continued dissappointment with the room allocated to them. We have checked our records and asked the hotel again to reimburse our guest, however they have declined as they met our contractual agreements. Our Terms and Conditions, which serve as the legal contract between Trafalgar and those we serve, are not only available within our brochures. We understand that guests may book online which is why we have this information available on www.trafalgar.com. We brochure that rooms above twin accommodations will have a cot, sleeper sofa, or rollaway bed and therefore provided what is contracted with this property. Any costs incurred by our guest to upgrade to a room not within our contracted space is outside of our control and will be at their own expense. Thank you again for your time!

Review: Documents had us spending the 1st 3 nights in [redacted]. We did not question it, as having been on a Trafalgar tour in the past, staying that far out was/is pretty common.

On Thursday night we stayed at the Double tree next to Amsterdam Central station, which as it turned out was 10 minutes from the Golden Tulip (Hotel we were supposed to be at).

We cut our personnel touring short on Friday, knowing that we had to get back to the Double tree to pick up our bags, get a cab, and still be at the hotel in time to check in and meet the group at 4:00 PM.

We did this arriving at the Hilton [redacted] in plenty of time.

We went to check in. and of course they had no clue why were there.

They helped us get a hold of the Trafalgar London office, which was the number on the ticket package. I was told that they could not help but that I needed to call the US number. This is the 2nd major issue. In todays computer age, how can they not have the data.

We called the US number. when I explained the situation to the Trafalgar agent, she had no idea how to help. put me on hold and talked to her supervisor. she got back on and asked me to read the info on the ticket to her. She asked me to hold on and assured me that she new I was telling the truth (REALLY). :05 later she got back on and asked me to hold as they were working on it. finally after :20 minutes we were told to head all the way back to Amsterdam and the Golden Tulip. we were lucky in that the cab driver waited for us.

She did call ahead and notify the tour director of the problem. we got there just as the bus was pulling away. they stopped. the tour director got us checked in and we were able to join the tour for that evenings functions.

The tour director paid us back for the cabs and gave us a free excursion to cover the cost of the phone calls and exchange fees for the cab credit card expenses.

What we later found out was that many people were caught off guard by the hotel change, and that their families had the document of them staying in [redacted]. The difference was that they took the Trafalgar shuttle service that day from the airport.

We on the other hand had already been in Amsterdam for three nights, and per the documents were on our to get to the hotel.

While they covered the cab expense, and some additional costs, Trafalgar caused us to lose a half day of sightseeing, and most important, caused us much grief. we felt stranded, helpless and unsure what to do. If they had no idea where we were supposed to be, imagine how we felt. Not sure an excursion covers our grief, yet alone the calls we had to pay for.Desired Settlement: Part refund or credit for wasted time and inconvenience

Business

Response:

Good Morning!

We show that we have been in direct contact with their Travel Agent and have asked for any receipts showing costs incurred as a result of this situation. Our guests were immediately refunded for their taxi expense while traveling with us, and we are more than willing to offer compensation for their phone calls made to resolve this matter. While we are unable to offer any further monetary gestures of goodwill, we can certainly extend a 10% Discount Voucher to be used on a future vacation with us booked within five years. This voucher is combinable with any other applicable discounts at the time of booking to provide even more savings! Please have our guest follow up with their Travel Agent to provide all requested documentation.

Manager, Guest Relations

Trafalgar Tours West Inc.