how to get a full refund from ef tours

We waited for an hour-and-a half for him to return to the motor coach. Recently I was notified by EF Tours that my child was cancelled from the tour after paying off almost whole trip price. We were assured that our tour director would be with us around the clock, handling local transportation, hotels, and meals while also providing their own insight into the local history and culture.. Our first group dinner in London was at a Korean restaurant where the group was served a hot stone bibimbap with chicken. How Does PTO Work for Salaried Employees? Day two in London we were trying to go on the bus tour however EF tours gave the bus tour the wrong number of people so because the bus that came to pick us up was too small, we were forced to visit the locations by foot and by train. Against my better judgement. By the first week I was already begging to go home and I kept hoping, thinking and praying that things would get better however they never did. we signed my son up for a trip to England , Paris, and Rome. Visite nuestra pgina web de Trminos y Condiciones de los Crditos de Viaje Futuro aqu. I just felt like it should have been planned better. Trips like this EF Tour require students to be pretty mature when it comes to safety. So your kid just came home from school with a gorgeous full color brochure about an upcoming trip to Europe with EF Tours that one of their teachers is leading. But he did recommend that our group stop at an Austrian "crystal factory" for "a short 30 minute" visit. After travel is completed on the fi rst tour, repeat travelers will receive a $100 Repeat Traveler Discount off future tours. Our tour guide didnt seem to have this mentality. I booked a trip with our homeschool "trip club" to do EF's Great Britain tour with a 2 day extension to Paris. Finally, make sure youre dealing with the right company. I just hope the tour goes well. It is a total scam! Half staying for exchange program arrived to our destination early. Thats why weve enhanced our already top-tier, industry-leading coverage programs to provide even more choices, and to give travelers, families, and school communities the widest range of safe and flexible plans. Parents are upset that a student tour company won't give full refunds for canceled European vacations. He went as part of a group of senior high school students on a school sponsored trip. EF has the group leader/teacher set up deadlines for signing up to go on the trip, sometimes including small discounts to encourage enrollment. I would NEVER stay at a truck stop, nor would I deceive students into thinking they were going to be safe on a trip and then place them there. If I cancel, I lose about $400 in cancellation fees. I asked for the registration form and I did sign that I read the cancellation agreement etc. Senior trips that were canceled by EF Explore America Tours due to the Coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak should be refunded in FULL, ALL travelers' trip costs minus the travel protection plan cost per traveler since the reason for cancellation was out of the school or the travelers' control. It sounds great, but as a responsible parent, you want to know exactly what youd be sending your child off to do, and how things would actually work on this trip. For travelers who had booked their program by redeeming a previously issued COVID-19 Future Travel Voucher, the cash refund option available will be based on the originally issued voucher terms (e.g., travelers who received a COVID-19 Future Travel Voucher for a tour originally scheduled to depart between March 1, 2020 and May 14, 2020 may exchange their voucher for all monies paid, less $565). It's just all circular and I can't get anywhere. I had to do this for a foreign airline that owed me a partial refund for a flight originating in the U.S., and they wound up giving me a full refund, voluntarily.. It is very expensive, and I'm just hoping for a positive experience. Although it did seem that everywhere we went in Italy, anyone who was gluten free or dairy free was served watermelon for dessert. If you pay by credit card, you should receive a refund to that credit card. She and her husband, Jerard, had to pay $437 for new tickets. My moms stairlift has a big problem it does not work outside! The COVID-19 Future Travel Voucher cannot be used for: When I redeem a COVID-19 Future Travel Voucher, can I split the value across multiple accounts? Im normally a big fan of Korean food, but this wasnt great. And honestly I'm a little sad about canceling, but even trips on groupon are more affordableand a little less PG haha. The deduction of $500 includes items such as the non-refundable deposit and other non-refundable fees. Not only did I make a complaint to the Better Business Bureau but I also requested that a manager call me and I have yet to hear from anyone. We got to listen to an orchestra perform in Piazza della Signoria in Florence. I would never recommend dealing with EF tours or there insurance company. Three weeks after enrolling, our circumstances changed so I called to cancel, expecting to pay the $95 cancellation fee x2. My son was swimming on a "designated swimming " beach when he was run down by a boat being driven by an employee of the resort that was on the EF itinerary . I could go on and on. Im extremely glad we made those decisions. We've got you covered. Consumer Alert: No more automatic refunds for skipped ports? "You can accept a travel voucher with no penalties, or you can accept a refund minus $1,000 per person. What EF products can a COVID-19 Future Travel Voucher be applied to? They are making a profit off of cancellations!!!! I'll look into that. (Love to travel? Make sure to include all relevant information, such as the date of the transaction, the amount of the refund requested, and any evidence you have of your dissatisfaction with EF Tours. There are mice in my vacation rental! I was super excited to go experience 6 countries however from day one everything seemed to go wrong. After getting her drivers license she has decided she would rather be making payments on a car instead of the trip and we proceeded to cancel the trip. The local tour guides who showed us the sights of each city were the most informative folks on this trip, with extensive knowledge of the history and culture at each stop, but we were forced to use amplifying devices called Whispers in order to hear the guides. Worry-free guarantee; If you cancel the booking within 60 days from the reservation date, you are entitled to a full refund. It was absolutely fantastic. I am out of $4,200.00, what is EF Tours out of??? The Versailles excursion seemed overpriced as well. Although she sent Expedia all of her receipts, the online travel agency refused to refund the unused leg or the new ticket she had to buy. OH man! Meals on the tour ran the gamut from weird to stellar, but overall were not to bad. If you want to make sure you get your travel refund every time, remember to use a credit card, keep every email and be ready to appeal your case. Foguth says details matter. Hi, I recently made a deposit to my bank of 12,400. Global Travel Protection plans | Coverage & flexibility | EF Tours Help Center: Payments & policies EF's industry-leading safety & coverage programs When you travel with EF, you get the benefits of our 55+ years of experience and our unmatched global network. I think I would, but I would definitely choose a slower paced itinerary with more time in each destination. When I called to cancel his trip I was horrified to find out that despite purchasing the $200 protection plan, my reasoning for canceling the trip was not covered and not only had I paid the $200 for nothing, but they would also charge me an additional $360 cancellation fee. Overall, unless an excursion is of special interest to you, I wouldnt recommend participating in them, simply because they seem overpriced. Flights Cost, airlines we use, booking flights, baggage, requests, and managing your flights. A money grab. First, was the chance to rebook the tour at no additional cost to any cities offered . to a single room. Overall, breakfasts were adequate throughout the trip. Just another site how to get a full refund from ef tours I checked our beds for bedbugs and thankfully did not find any. My son didn't create this problem, and it's not his fault. 2/22/2022. We also didnt have a way to contact our Tour Guide directly. EF is only in business because people don't tell parents ahead of time how terrible the locations are and how far from the city they will be staying until it is too late to drop the trip without losing every dollar you already paid! Lodging: Some hotel chains may be loosening their cancellation policies, waiving change and cancellation fees that would normally apply to non-refundable rates. She had us walking everywhere (1 1/2 mile from our hotel to the bus stop each day. Edited: 11 years ago . If you booked a trip like this as an adult, you would scream from the rooftops for a refund but since these are kids, apparently EF doesn't have to listen because there will be another crop of unsuspecting students waiting to go next year. What can a COVID-19 Future Travel Voucher be used for? My AT&T bill is wrong. We had ample notice and knew what to expect. We had to accept them. Those options were usually something like a burger, pizza or a cold sandwich. A freaky feel to it. Im not sure what EF added to the experience to warrant that upcharge. The EF Go Ahead Tours app supports and connects our global community. Four students are continuously placed in rooms meant for two people. They along with their team canceled the tour and refuses to refund the full amount. Breakfast and dinner every day were included in what we paid for our tour. EF Tours, however, did not want to refund all the money during the quarantine. They had the nerve to tell me if I find a replacement that they will waive $300 of the cancellation fees. My son received life threatening injuries and had there not been a physician along as a chaperone my son would have died. Empowering Lives with Nutritious and Delicious NDIS Meals! Did we mention it's free? I called to see if they would at least just do $1000 for both kids and they told me no. All breakfasts were served at our hotels. Were always here to help. Settling with a debit card, a check or even a wire transfer means the money is gone. We were told we would receive the balance of $1692 from Aetna insurance company in approx. Imagine being in London not able to tour anything because you don't have the proper tour bus that you were promised?? We use cookies to improve your experience on our site and to show you personalised advertising. But on her return flight, one of the legs, on Flybe from Paris to Manchester, England, mysteriously vanished. Consumers who booked domestic trips through the EF Explore America tours program should call 888-333-9756 to request a refund. It felt like a complete waste of time to travel and waste that many days. If EF Tours still refuses to issue a full refund, the next step is to contact your credit card company. It was kind of like a tasting menu, where you got a little bit of each destination. Thanks. EF Tours makes a big deal out of their tours being focused on education. I am now leaning towards not going with this tour and planning our own itinerary and trip. One student got up in the middle of the night and tripped on the mattress and smashed her head into the wall. Would I go on another EF Tour? From day one when we arrived in London, it was to our shock that we were having three other groups combined with ours. Airlines hate it when you get a third party involved, and may respond favorably. This place was truly one of the worst hotels Ive ever had the misfortune to stay at (and as a travel blogger, Ive stayed at a LOT of hotels). This hotel was a bit older than the Hiltons wed stayed in, but it was clean, spacious, and comfortable. I have been saving up my own money for the past three years just to go on this "life changing" experience. We did not have enough free time (which we were promised). Its completely impossible for 40 people to make use of just a handful of bathroom stalls in five minutes. - Get inspired with the latest travel guides, tips, and stories from our team. Trip management Picking a trip, how . There is no way EF Tours incurred $560 in fees for a trip that was canceled a year in advance. I find that unreasonable - they initially said another roommate, now I am finding 4 kids in a room. When will I be issued a COVID-19 Future Travel Voucher? All I know to do is make this issue public. This was the only true hostel on our trip. They even bragged later about being the first one's out on the street), the food SUCKED, and the time spent on the buses was more time spent in the actual locations. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. She was frequently the last person downstairs at our hotels to meet our bus 15 to 20 minutes after the time she told us to meet her, and did not budget in adequate travel time to most of our destinations. . It was a disaster. It is a trip run by a business who just happens to recruit participants through the school system. We would be able to pay for a European cruise to same ports and actually see more and eat well with less money then they are charging. Our hotels along the trip started out stellar but seemed to go downhill from there, unfortunately ending in truly unacceptable accommodations. This caused problems for a few kids on our trip who werent expecting these costs, and they unfortunately had to miss out on some of the better additions. I think our experience would have been better with a more seasoned Tour Guide. They both were on the higher end of what I expected based on the descriptions provided by EF Tours of what our hotels would be like. That's the advice of Laurie Guest, an author who specializes in travel and customer service. She usually did a count to make sure everyone was there when we were ready to leave, but she did leave people behind at least twice during our trip and have to go back and get them. Unfortunately, our family was naive enough to believe that this was supposed to be an educational tour. Whatever happens, weve seen it. What should I do? If not used for travel, a COVID-19 Voucher can be exchanged for a refund of all money paid into a travelers account less $565. This company is a fraud and steals money from families. We simply got information from our Tour Guide when and where to meet up with the group after dinner and selected a nearby local pub so we could have a traditional English dining experience. Said she would pay for it herself as the total cost for her to go alone would be enough to take my entire family on a nice vacation. how to get a full refund from ef tours. How to get your money back from a Zelle scam or accidental money transfer, This PayPal invoice scam almost got me. Feel free to ask me in the comments!! Can I get a refund for my Marriott Vacation Club Points? They were giving us the runaround, says Jose, a medical technologist from DeLand, Florida. I have seen some recent reviews for EF Tours and wanted to share my experiences for those who may consider using this company for a tour. We were combined with a group from upstate New York consisting of 14 travelers: one teacher, one adult, one child and 11 students. EF Tours are set up to be hosted by a local teacher who is then designated as the group leader. Teachers are incentivized with free and reduced price travel to recruit students to join their tours. Echoing a similar suit filed against the operators of EF Tours, the lawsuit argues that WorldStrides has violated its contracts with the plaintiffs by collecting their money while failing to provide the trips for which they pre-paid. But some days lunch was great. They are so many other excellent companies out there. My oldest son was scheduled to take a school trip to Peru next year. Ours just didnt seem quite ready to handle all the pressures and logistics that are required for managing a group of 40 people for 12 days. The tiramisu cooking class in Rome was not optional for our group for some reason. It's just too many in my opinion. If your Group Leader has rescheduled your original tour/program, the group will be moved automatically onto the new tour/program. In Rome, it was a tiramisu cooking class. Worry-free guarantee; If you cancel the booking within 60 days from the reservation date, you are entitled to a full refund. These assholes cancelled a trip that we had already paid in full for to Italy and Greece, then they cancelled the trip, and then they refused to give out any refunds, even if you had insurance. It can be used for all components of the tour booked through EF prior to departing on tour including the deposit, program price, the optional Global Travel Protection plan, optional excursions, optional extensions, and rooming supplements. Though not quite as refined as the Hiltons, and a little slap-shot with the furniture, we found this place to be clean and welcoming. The tour guide was a London college student who had traveled little, not having been to many of our tour destinations. Your email address will not be published. She lost her engagement ring in a rental car. The key is to take the right steps and document all communication. EF Tours charged $114 USD to each participant. Be nice! I will never travel with EF Tours again. We had a fantastic time seeing the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London. We enjoyed a truly magical and unexpected sunset under the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Consider hiring a lawyer who specializes in consumer protection and travel law. Despite these frustrations, the itinerary did take us to some fantastic places and we had some absolutely unforgettable experiences. What a waste of time and money. We were also promised to be able to be in walking distance from our hotels to the big cities in the countries we were staying in however in each country we were at minimum one hour away from the cities. There was a layer of dusty film all over my bathroom and my pillow had an unidentified crusty stain on it. I didn't think sharing was a big deal until I found out that he's expected to share a ben with a complete stranger. He paid Vantage $18,536. Other than the local tour guides and maybe the tiramisu class, I wouldnt call just visiting these historic places an experiential learning activity.. EF tours looks like another fish altogether.a money-making venture of little value for the parents. Four kids to a room was common on our tour. Your local principals, school boards, etc. This resulted in our group being habitually late to most of the tours we went on, and significantly cut into our time at some really important places. EF Tours charged each participant $60. Costs for these trips can range widely, depending on the destinations and length of the trip. Click Registration to join us and share your expertise with our readers.). Wheres my airline ticket refund from GotoGate? I cancelled my daughters trip to Greece. But there were several instances where visits to certain locations were dropped off our itinerary completely, and visits to other non-advertised locations were added. John Deere Air Filter Kit - GY20661 (4) $14. According to the folks on our trip who had special dietary needs, the dinners were pretty good for the most part. So who will I be using to make my tour group arrangements? So they offered vouchers that were only good for up to 18 monthsUP TO 18 MONTHS! It has been no surprise that management NEVER called. My EF Tours experience definitely taught me a lot about group travel. This has caused many customers to feel frustrated and helpless when trying to get a full refund from EF Tours. While these options are available, the bread and butter of the company is the basic high school student tour which is what we took. Is there any way I can get around it? Persistence. This has happened all over the US and people are not standing down. Our guide that year was a young US college student who worked at a bookstore in downtown Rome. You can call EF Ultimate Break at 1-800-766-2645. Adults did need to pass a background check in order to participate in the trip, since adult tour participants are traveling with minors. Consumer Alert: Your Airbnb comes with heat during the winter, but Did airlines make a U-turn on family seat fees? Get Involved; Contact; Donate! If requested after enrollment and up to 130 days before departure, the fee is $195.

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