Traveling Fowlkes Reviews (%countItem)
Traveling Fowlkes Rating
Address: PO Box 67, Woodstock, Maryland, United States, 21163-1335
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Initiated through a friend, I was planning a trip with some friends that I decided to cancel my contribution to the trip. A friend of mine decided to work with a travel agent that she was familiar with under the name of Traveling Fowlkes run by Debbi *** Once the destination was decided, Debbi forwarded an email listing details and prices regarding the trip. Leading up to giving my deposit (in the amount of $100), based on her emails, it was never acknowledged the deposit would be completely put towards the insurance (All-in-one travel protection). Based on the terms and conditions, it mentions two insurance selections that I did not have the option of selecting but was selected for me without my approval. Prior to this, I asked numerous times for a quote listing everything to be included with the pricing, which I never received upon multiple requests. It almost seemed as if she was avoiding the question during the entire process. I did not received a quote/policy/terms and conditions until after I made my deposit on the trip.
Throughout the process, Debbi has failed and avoided answering questions regarding the trip details, which remained a mystery while working with her. The business practice is very questionable. Because I had additional questions, I contacted the parenting company *** XXXXX (XXX)XXX-XXXX) to address my concerns regarding Debbi and the lack of effort and bad business practice but no managed to contact me back regarding my concern.
When I initially planned no canceling my trip with Debbi via a phone call ***@gmail.com), she never mentioned anything about the insurance being non-refundable or keeping 90% of the deposit. I eventually received a refund in the amount of $9.01 back to my account after two weeks. Also, I informed her I would be willing to take a penalty of $50, which was mentioned in the terms and conditions if I could not receive the full refund in the amount of $100. She recently responded to my email saying,
'All-in-One Travel Protection and Travel Protection Plus are the same thing. They are the travel insurance policy offered by the travel supplier .
The cost of the travel protection was $90.99.
Travel Protection Options: Funjet Vacations offers Travel Protection Plus, which includes a Pre-Departure Penalty Waiver (Part A) and Post-Departure Travel Insurance (Part B). To cover your cancellation and change fees, you may purchase Travel Protection Plus within 7 days of the initial deposit on your booking, but before final payment (except for group passengers who are subject to the terms under their group contract). If you have purchased Travel Protection Plus, your entire refund due will be made in the original form of payment. The Travel Protection Plus payments are non-refundable and non-transferable'
Debbi *** ACC
Travel Consultant
Traveling Fowlkes, LLC
Independent Affiliate of Uniglobe Travel Center Secretary PTANA MD Chapter ***@gmail.com
www.travelingfowlkes.com
***
*** XXXXX
(XXX)XXX-XXXX
Refund Based on the information provided, I have been misinformed about the insurance and would like to know if it's possible for you to retrieve my remaining $90.99 and possibly penalize Traveling Fowlkes for bad business practice.
Mr. booked his vacation on September 16, 2019. At this time , I provided an invoice that included a description of all components included in the vacation. The Travel Protection of $90.99 was identified. The invoice also included the Terms and Conditions associated with the reservation. The terms and conditions clearly stated that the costs of his vacation would be refunded if he cancelled with the exception of the costs of the travel protection. I also asked Mr. as I do with all my clients to never hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or if you don't understand something. Mr. did ask about other elements of his vacation but he raised questions about cancellation until January 11 , 2020 almost 4 months after booking his trip. When I cancelled his trip I processed it promptly with the travel supplier and even waived my normal cancellation fee of $50.00.
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The information provided is not entirely true. I have asked on multiple occasions via email regarding rooming, pricing, quotes, etc. I would not receive a response for several days and some questions were completely unanswered. Upon canceling, none of my emails were answered. This led to me calling her to discuss the unaddressed questions about canceling. During that call, she never mentioned withholding my $90.99 or the insurance being non-refundable. The only thing she mentions is the $50 penalty and agents "assume" the customer won't cancel since an agent is involved and a deposit has been made, which does not seem professional to assume when relating to business practice. She also fails to mention the quote along with terms and conditions were never sent upon several request until after a payment was made (e.g. the deposit). I find it as an unfair business practice to hold the customer to conditions undisclosed that were not only withheld prior to the deposit being made but to not hold herself accountable for the lack of communication relating to questions regarding documents being sent, failure to ensure I (the customer) understands fully what the trip and policies entailed (as stated in the T&C: the travel agent is responsible for providing information to you, examining and verifying all information, and ensuring that you understand all of the policies, fees and requirements to which you are subject. Any travel agent who makes a reservation on your behalf acknowledges this responsibility), not providing the travel insurance pamphlet detailing the policies, misleading information per her emails (example: All-in-One Travel Protection and Travel Protection Plus are the same thing), etc. The terms and conditions referenced "Travel Protection Plus" while the reservations stated, "All-In-One Travel Protection". If they were to be the same thing, this should've been mentioned, which it wasn't. However, if the T&C specify two insurance and the agent takes upon themselves to purchase something outside of the T&C, the customer should be notified of this change or suggestion. In this case, that was never provided or made an option. As the customer, I should have been informed that insurance was going to be purchased first. Per emails sent, I was under the impression, the deposit was for reserving the room and pricing for the trip. If the deposit was going to be used to purchase insurance, this should have been brought to my attention with my approval due to the change in direction of execution.
I have reviewed this rebuttal and it is appears that Mr *** is trying to project an image of me as incompetent , unresponsive and uncaring which is absolutely not the truth. I am a Travel Consultant because I believe vacationing is important and people work hard to pay for their vacations . I work very hard to understand my client's preferences and their budget to give them the best vacation option possible. My objective is to make sure that when they are ready to book they are comfortable with all aspects of their vacation and they have chosen something that they can afford. I actually worked on this vacation for 12 months helping the group to look at various destination and resort options for their special trip. I had 9 exchanges directly with Mr. before he booked his vacation and I responded promptly and completely to all of his inquiries. I have reviewed this rebuttal and I can't identify any new information that makes his travel protection refundable. Just a restatement of what was previously shared which clearly states that travel protection is non-refundable. During the 9 exchanges with Mr. between Aug 20 - Sep 16, 2019. He asked all types of detailed questions about the vacation options and inclusions. When he booked I provided him his reservation details including Terms and Conditions . I repeatedly offered to answer any additional questions because there is a short window to make changes. . I sent him several messages but there were no additional questions from Mr. about his vacation until Jan 12 when he asked about backing out. The only signed document I have is attached. Mr. actually owes me a fee for cancelling the trip and I waived that fee for him.I provided outstanding service to Mr. and his group and received no compensation for the time I spent on Mr. vacation. I am really sorry Mr. decided to cancel and not join his friends . It is my understanding that the selection of the destination and the resort were heavily influenced by Mr. and he did not notify his friends that he was no longer attending. His friends are actually changing the location now that he is not attending.