Vantage Deluxe World Travel

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
[ Re: Complaint # *** Re: Complaint # *** Yes, the Tour Participation Agreement includes Vantage's right to modify its itineraries due to low water conditionsWe have encountered that situation on other tours and have accepted it However, the Tour Participation Agreement does not give the tour operator the right to directly lie about the low water situation in an outright effort to persuade the customer to continue on the tripNo participation agreement allows (or should allow) that to happen. As stated in the complaint, we called Vantage Customer Service two days prior to departing on the tourWe were told, specifically, that there were “no changes.” The agent said that he had “double-checked” the itinerary and that he would be “the first to know about any change.” We know that was a LIEWe were told by at least three other participants that they were informed three weeks prior to the tour about the changes in the itineraryAlso, we learned that *** *** *** and some others had cancelled their Elbe River crusies at the same time as oursWhy not ours? Mr** ***, Director of Customer Care and Boston Quality wrote to another customer on September and offered an apology for their “inconvenience” and included an offer of any one of three “complimentary” toursWhy were we, as Vantage customers for over years, allowed additional emotional distress during the trip? Then, receive an “apology” only due to our Revdex.com complaintThe emotional distress was increased during our trip by several e-mail and telephone exchanges with Mr *** ***, Vantage, President, who refused to address the problem. Lying to customers is not part of any Tour Participation AgreementTreating some customers with more respect than others is not “acting in good faith.” We reinstate our request for a monerary reimbursement for one-half the tour cost, not an offer of another “complimentary tour” of Vantages' choiceWe know that those tours are offered only during low travel months and cost Vantage little or nothingThey are “space fillers.”
Regards,
*** ***

We are sorry again that the passengers are not pleased with the overbooking incident. Their frustration is understandable. We do not finalize our inventory until two weeks prior to departure which is when the passengers were advised with their various options as well as offered compensation for the inconvenienceThe rate of the cabin the passengers purchased is based on the promotion they bookedDuring the downgrade, the refund is also based on the same promotion. Namely, they would get refunded for the price difference of the cabin to which they moved based on the same promotion they booked out of. The passengers would not get a refund based upon cabin prices from a different promotion

That is not what happened when I tried to use the travel voucher for a trip more then days in the future. I was told I would have to pay the entire cost of the trip and then be compensated in the future when I mailed in my voucherAt that time the company would have been holding more than $12,of my money! What a disappointment. I will never travel with this company and I will inform everyone I know who has traveled with them in the past the way Vantage has handled this situation
]
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #***I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved.
I have also asked twice to be unsubscribed to email and I am still getting it I am very disappointed in this travel business They can also quit sending catalogs as there are too many other companies that the *** can and will travel with
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #***I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved.
Regards,
*** ***

We regret to hear of any miscommunications between the passengers and Vantage.  This issue was indeed rectified in a timely manner with the passengers.  The passengers were already compensated more than their requested amount via a check (number [redacted]) sent on 10/11/16.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #[redacted]. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
Regards,
[redacted]

It is possible that the procedure was not followed properly in order to remove you from the system, or it could have been a system glitch.  We apologize for the inconvenience.

Thank you for bringing to our attention the concerns of Ms. [redacted].  We regret if the passenger was upset with our booking process.  The passenger was compensated for the trip cost by [redacted] in the form of a voucher as the reason for which she cancelled was not a covered one...

and, hence, was not eligible to be refunded in cash.  If the passenger was trying to book a last minute travel deal, which is a tour departing within 90 days, she would have had to pay the trip in full at the time of reservation.  As described in our Tour Participation Agreement, any last minute travel deals have to be paid in full at the time of reservation.  The passenger can then simply send in the vouchers at which point, the amount of the voucher, as long as it doesn't exceed the cost of the trip, will be refunded to her, excluding travel protection if it purchased.  The voucher cannot be used to purchase travel protection.  If the trip the passenger was trying to book was not a last minute travel deal, the passenger simply has to pay the deposit and then send in the vouchers which will be applied to the cost of the trip.  If the trip is worth more than the value of the vouchers, the passenger would have to pay the difference.  If the trip cost is less than the value of the vouchers, the initial deposit the passenger made would be refunded to her, however, no refunds can be made on the remaining unused value of the vouchers.  We hope the above clarification is helpful.  We look forward to welcoming Ms. [redacted] on a truly Memorable Journey with Vantage.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. 
 Their guaranteed amount of people is in very large font perhaps 24 or more. Am not even sure where to find the disclaimer in my document pack but am pretty sure the font there will be much smaller. Once again after being bumped twice was put on a trip that was personally told it was not overbooked. And in their advertising "guarantees " not overbooked. If this is not false advertising it surely is deceptive advertising. Plus was lied to but [redacted] personally. This should be enough to lower their Revdex.com rating. Please pass this along as to why I am rejecting their responses. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2017/03/31) */
[redacted] ordered a [redacted] truck cap on 05/21/2014 Wed. Truck caps are special order with a$[redacted] deposit. On every invoice it states that special orders are non-refundable. We contacted [redacted] on the following dates:
will try...

for sat. 21/11/2014
in moncton working till Sept 12. Will be back in town to have it installed after that. - ** 05/09/2014
** CALLED 21/08/14 - **
[redacted]
** 13/6/14
[redacted] cancelled his order and we advised him that his deposit was non-refundable. The customer did not pay the full amount of the truck cap he ordered.

Thank you for bringing to our attention Mr. & Mrs. [redacted] concerns.  We sincerely regret that the passengers could not be accommodated on this journey.  The refund in the amount of $12,778 was processed on 24 July 2015.  $11,968 was refunded back to their checking account...

ending in [redacted] on 24 July 2015, and $810 was processed back to their [redacted] card ending in [redacted] on 24 July 2015.  All refunds from Vantage are processed within 30 days.  We thank Mr. & Mrs. [redacted] for their patience and apologize once again for any inconveniences they experienced.

We regret that Mrs. [redacted] was not pleased with our response.  We apologize for any miscommunication or misunderstanding.  The process by which Mrs. [redacted] can use the voucher towards a trip has been previously explained.  Again, unless the journey is one departing within 90 days, she does not have to pay in full at the time of booking, and then send in the voucher to be reimbursed.  The passenger can feel free to browse our journeys on the website, and call us to book her trip and make use of her voucher.  We look forward to welcoming Mrs. [redacted] on one of our Memorable Journeys.

Thank you for bringing the concerns of Ms. [redacted] to our attention.  Due to circumstances beyond our control, Ms. [redacted]’s recent departure on Highlights of the Danube was interrupted by mechanical issues.  We made the decision to provide passengers with an alternative itinerary with...

added features, because beyond enriching experiences, travelers’ safety is our primary concern. As always, we appreciate Ms. [redacted]’s business, but want to note that unique situations like these are covered in our Terms & Conditions. As a goodwill gesture, Vantage offered Ms. [redacted] a complimentary cruise, Classic France Along the Seine in November 2016.  In addition, Ms. [redacted] was offered a future travel credit of $500 that she could use towards the airfare for the complimentary cruise. We regret to hear that Ms. [redacted] was not pleased with the complimentary cruise offered to her as a goodwill gesture.  Hence, an alternate complimentary cruise, Classic Danube Holiday River Cruise, has been offered to Ms. [redacted]. Vantage has gone above and beyond to make it up to Ms. [redacted].   We hope she will take advantage of the offer and travel with us again.

Vantage makes every effort to set correct expectations on our tours so that passengers may enjoy their vacations with a well-informed outlook.  Water levels on the rivers are very volatile and could drastically change within a matter of hours or days.  Based upon the conditions, the Captain and our regional team on the ground makes the decision on whether or not itinerary changes need to be made taking into consideration our passengers’ safety and security as the most important factor.  Accordingly, our Boston team cannot necessarily forecast the water levels upon your arrival and start of your cruise. Emails to all passengers with the complimentary tour offer were sent at the same time actually.  Reasons the passengers may not have received it could be due to not having their correct email address, or the email being delivered to their junk mail.  Again, we regret the passengers were not pleased with the good faith offer Vantage has made to them above and beyond our Tour Participation Agreement.  A member of our management has also reached out to the passengers to discuss the matter further.  We hope the passengers will reconsider their stance and join us on a future trip.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
Business stated that my refund was returned to my checking account on 11/23/2016.  When I checked my bank account activity and balance today, 11/26/2016, it is clear that the money I paid for the cruise was NOT returned on 11/23/2016.  Furthermore, there are no pending transactions on my account from Vantage.  In addition, it is preposterous that Vantage would recommend that their customers not book airline tickets that carry penalties to arrive to a cruise departure.  Practically every airline charges a fee for changes or cancellations.  How am I supposed to get to the cruise?  Do they expect me to swim over to Europe?  It did not take this company 30 days to receive my funds when I booked this cruise.  I think it is absurd that I have to wait 30 days to get my money back for promised product and services that this company failed to deliver to me.   I am very disappointed.   Regards, [redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. . 
[Of course people willingly pay different prices over time. That is not the case here. Your Company forced us to pay this price or lose all of our money. Since your notification was so near departure time, we had no valid choice to rearrange schedules.
Regards,
[redacted]

We thank you for brining to our attention Mrs. [redacted]'s concerns regarding her parents' journey which was overbooked.  Firstly, we sincerely apologize that the overbooking call was not done earlier.  Our operations team is doing their best to adhere to the standard timeline regarding...

overbookings.  The passengers have been fully refunded for the journey in the amount of $20,802.00 back to their checking account.  Furthermore, we have been in communication with the passengers to apologize for this unfortunate incident.  While overbooking is the industry standard, their sentiments are certainly understandable.  We are sorry for their disappointment as well as the inconvenience the overbooking may have caused. As a gesture of goodwill, hence, we have offered the passengers a complimentary cabin on a future French Waterways journey departing in August or September.  We will continue to work with the passengers to confirm a date on which we can accommodate them.     We hope that this gesture will assuage the passengers' concerns and trust we will be able to welcome them on a truly Memorable Journey with Vantage very soon.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted].  
I'm not sure how long this can go on because I all receive is one lame excuse after another from a company that's supposed to care about it's customers but can't even muster a good explanation as to why they were 3 months late responding to our concerns.  That includes numerous emails, with 2 to the head of customer service who promised to get back to us within a couple of days when conversing on the phone and 2 hard copy letters sent to the corporate office and to the CEO himself.  That essentially says all there is to say:  Vantage really blew it and has no plausible explanation/excuse for their actions.  Their numbers as to who left the ship and when are wildly inaccurate as is their claim to the availability of seats on the early morning flights.  I know because I personally checked with the airlines, both the day before when I was begging to be put on one of those flights and again at the airport later the next day after those flights had taken off.  Instead of playing this back and forth game with Vantage where they offer weak excuses and inaccurate reports. I feel my best recourse at this point in time is to let others know what happened so they can make informed decisions as to whether or not they ever wish to travel with Vantage.  As a member of [redacted] to name a few, I will write to all of these organizations and inform them of the events that occurred.  I'll be sure not only to let them know what happened but Vantage's terrible communication skills, total lack of customer concern and the willingness to show preferential treatment to some passengers over others.  I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt and asked them to show just cause for their actions but they haven't and, obviously, can't.  I thank the Revdex.com for trying to intercede and I'm sorry I had to involve you at all but, as you can see, I wasn't ever going to get anything out of Vantage without your assistance.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted].  
If, as you say, I have NOW been completely removed, I would like to know why I was not completely removed before, upon my numerous attempts for removal?  I would like an explanation please.
Regards,
[redacted]