Enable! I’m nevertheless waiting for my Vantage refund

Expensive Travel TROUBLESHOOTER: Previous year, we booked a tour to Portugal and Spain by Vantage Deluxe Earth Travel. This was to be our 3rd Vantage journey in as lots of many years, and the 2nd with good friends. Together with the optional excursions, air, coverage and costs, my wife and I paid $12,959 for the tour.

This March, Vantage canceled the tour due to the fact of COVID-19 fears. On March 16, I asked for a refund. Vantage agreed to issue a refund in 30 times.

Two weeks afterwards, I gained an electronic mail confirmation that the refund was “in method.” I have designed quite a few phone calls and a few published requests since then. Immediately after 100 times, I am even now awaiting the refund. Vantage is stonewalling.

Vantage’s Tour Participation Settlement suggests that Vantage will problem a “prompt” refund for any tour canceled by Vantage for any motive. Can you support me get my Vantage Deluxe Environment Travel refund?

— Rick Pedersen, Fulshear, Texas

Reply: Vantage must have refunded your tour in 30 times as it promised — and as it is contractually expected to do. But it experienced no way of figuring out what would occur in the upcoming 30 days. In March, you are going to remember, journey ground to an almost entire halt. Just about every just one of Vantage’s suppliers expert very similar delays. So the refund process slowed down considerably.

How sluggish? Effectively, as I generate this, just one cruise line is telling travellers they’ll need to wait two decades to get their refunds. And permit me skip suitable to the resolution for individuals vacationers: File a dispute with your credit score card company. Talk to your financial institution to get the money back again.

But with this Vantage refund, I can realize the delay. It appears to be as if they were being definitely sincere in their intent, and they stayed in get in touch with with you (at minimum at first). But you were being additional than patient and 100 days was a lot of time for Vantage to get its act collectively.

I’m glad you mentioned Vantage’s Tour Participation Settlement, the lawful contract amongst you and the tour operator. It is value reading through the phrases and problems in advance of you ebook your tour, but if you are going through a cancellation, you undoubtedly have to know your rights. I examine the deal the very same way you do if Vantage cancels, you get a total refund.

Other tour operators transformed their conditions and ailments midway as a result of the pandemic so they would only have to offer a credit score. Then they utilized the rules retroactively. To its credit history, Vantage didn’t.

You can obtain the names, numbers and addresses of the Vantage supervisors on my purchaser advocacy web-site www.elliott.org/organization-contacts.