Those options were usually something like a burger, pizza or a cold sandwich. The trip was booked for June of 2019. Whatever happens, we've seen it. The next group dinner was at a Polish restaurant where the group was served a fried chicken patty and french fries. by | Oct 29, 2021 | ark center hidden underwater base locations | john mccririck falling out of a boat | Oct 29, 2021 | ark center hidden underwater base locations | john mccririck falling out of a boat 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. We signed up about a year out from the trip, while another student who traveled with us signed up just a month or two before we left. EF will make accomodations for those with specific dietary needs, such as gluten free or dairy free meals. In my opinion they are if they hired them to insure these trips they should make good on there promises to get you to buy the insurance. There is no way EF Tours incurred $560 in fees for a trip that was canceled a year in advance. We also found that we frequently needed to buy water to stay hydrated in the high temperatures of Italy during the summer, and at most of the locations we visited, water was marked up quite a bit. - Make a personalized map of where you've been and where you want to go. I will never travel with EF Tours again. Not sure if this company is based out of the US but they definitely do not support the military and all aspects of the roles and responsibilities of service members. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Jose had approached her online agency and every airline in her itinerary. Adults can expect to share a room with one other person. 44 days or less prior to departure: No refund will be issued. There were no medical facilities available on this resort, and it was necessary to have my son medically evacuated back to the states to receive treatment. As for hotels, travelers know very little about where they are staying ahead of time. Also, keep every email and receipt. I work for a competitor of EF and have about a million reasons why groups that go with them get ripped off. By clicking "submit" below, you are requesting to have your refund issued by check, which will be made out in the travelers name and mailed to their primary address on file. how to get a full refund from ef tours . According to their website, EF Tours has been in operation since 1965 and offers trips for students and teachers designed to provide immersive, life-changing education., Basically, EF Tours organizes international trips for students to a wide variety of destinations, promising compelling itineraries full of experiential learning.. I am not canceling the trip, but yet I am the one. We did not get to select from a menu and were all served the same thing each night, with the exception of those who had special dietary needs. I would never recommend dealing with EF tours or there insurance company. EF Tours uses a wide range of airlines, and travelers do not get to indicate a preference. Explain the situation and why you are requesting a full refund. Our guide was able to secure tickets (for an extra fee) for those who wanted them to a performance of Wicked during our free evening. Also told cancellation fee is now $400 not the $300 listed. If all other attempts to get a full refund from EF Tours fail, it may be time to seek legal advice. This company is a fraud and steals money from families. One student got up in the middle of the night and tripped on the mattress and smashed her head into the wall. I'll look into that. The menu included a plate with 1 chicken drumstick, a handful of french fries, and a wimpy green salad with one tomato slice. however, in the 2 weeks that we were enrolled we had made payments amounted to $800. Saturday 25 March - London, The O2. I feel like everything was rushed. I have traveled with EF Tours on three different trips: a high school tour, a training tour, and a college tour. The tiramisu cooking class in Rome was not optional for our group for some reason. Half staying for exchange program arrived to our destination early. Your email address will not be published. Worry-free guarantee; If you cancel the booking within 60 days from the reservation date, you are entitled to a full refund. Is there any way I can get around it? I am outraged and helpless. 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. The tour guide was a London college student who had traveled little, not having been to many of our tour destinations. Two straight hours of calling the ef tours emergency hotline and no still no answer. People are requiredLISTENrequired to purchase the Global Protection Plan. During the tour, your group will meet up with various local guides who will give you some sort of tour of the city or historic site that youre visiting. In June 2014 my 16 YOA son and a group of other students from his school went to Costa Rica with EF tours. They canceled my flight. On the second night we had a traditional Alsatian dish called Flammekueche, which was sort of like a pizza with a creamy sauce. If necessary, set a calendar reminder so that you dont forget. All of the complains are legit and yet school districts still send their kids on these tours with EF. I work for a competitor of EF and have about a million reasons why groups that go with them get ripped off. 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. It felt like a complete waste of time to travel and waste that many days. Our guide that year was a young US college student who worked at a bookstore in downtown Rome. After travel is completed on the fi rst tour, repeat travelers will receive a $100 Repeat Traveler Discount off future tours. It was kind of like a tasting menu, where you got a little bit of each destination. Were always here to help. EF Tours is a travel company that specializes in international tours for students. If you pay by credit card, you should receive a refund to that credit card. But COVID-19 canceled those plans. Your Group Leader may choose from the following options: Work with EF to modify your group's current tour itinerary and dates, or find a new tour and apply all money paid to the new tour. That's the advice of Laurie Guest, an author who specializes in travel and customer service. We were told that other than the deposit and a small admin fee, all the rest of the money was refundable. That way, when a company drags its feet on a refund, you can file a chargeback. But in the end, Expedia was responsible for her refund; as her travel agent, it needed to work with those airlines to determine the right refund. So talking to the customer service representative, I asked how if we hadn't paid so much into the trip that they would be receiving that much back in fees. To make matters worse, EF Tours often refuses to issue refunds even after customers have submitted evidence of their dissatisfaction. When you travel with EF, you get the benefits of our 55+ years of experience and our unmatched global network. We toured Europe for 12 days, visiting sites in London, Paris, Florence, Rome, Pompeii and Capri, with no more than two nights in any destination. That means that I will receive less than half that amount back! This tends to give a false sense of urgency to the sign up process. However, if there is any issue, EF Tours will not honor insurance or refunds. We knew going into this tour that our itinerary would be extremely hectic. Had it been a different group of personalities, Im not sure how it would have gone. That was during our terrible last night in Rome when we had to walk from our hotel to our dinner restaurant through some pretty sketchy areas of the city. It was an equally devastating experience. It is a total scam! Fully Refundable Booking Period Feel good about your decision by enrolling in AutoPay or paying in full when you book your tour. One thing is guaranteed. We were assured that the stop there would only last 30 minutes, but it ended up taking three times that, leaving us only an hour and a half to visit the Louvre before we had to be back on the bus to catch a flight to Italy. The only options available to us were food trucks along the river right next to the Tower complex. 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. Two meals a day are included in the cost of a trip with EF Tours. Transfer of COVID-19 Future Travel Voucher. consumer advocate is called the three Ps., WHAT YOU CAN DO WHEN YOUR TRAVEL COMPANY WON'T SEND YOUR REFUND. Prefieres leer en espaol? It was over $8,300," Hignite said. We use cookies to improve your experience on our site and to show you personalised advertising. Hi! General sale starts at 9am . If you dont believe me, ask Melina Jose, who was supposed to fly from Paris to Orlando, Florida, recently. Experts say you shouldnt use a credit card dispute unless you have no other choice, which is to say the travel company wont refund your purchase even though its agreed to do so. We had to accept them. EF does indicate up front that hotels may have small rooms without air conditioning, television, or elevators, and that WiFi may not always be available. Ms. Alaina Kommer from Grant High School does only think about herself and her travelling experience. Call 888-333-9756 to enroll, EF College Study how to get a full refund from ef tours; how to get a full refund from ef tours. Dinners seemed to improve when we got to France. Foguth says details matter. 110 comments. Get the best deals for oil filter for john deere l110 at eBay. It was necessary for a family member to go to Costa Rica. During our first night there we had a lovely traditional French meal of chicken with mushroom sauce in the back room of a small picturesque cafe with a ton of ambiance. Was informed of the price to cancel was $199 not the $95 listed. Why is no one investigating them for fraudulent business practices, deceptive practices, false advertisement, etc, etc, etc?? When Chicago Public Schools canceled all district-sponsored international travel for the upcoming spring break because of the threat of coronavirus, Derek Dattner assumed he would be refunded the. My daughters room had the same layer of dirt in the bathroom, plus a shoe print from where someone killed a bug on the wall. However, we understand the existing account on file may be inactive, or that you may prefer a check to be sent to you by mail instead. All dinners were set up at local restaurants before our arrival. Politeness. Do your trip make a suggestion about tips? Hence the lawsuit (in CA 2020, look it up). Its been eight months. If you happen to wander around the Charles River, it is worth of walking toward the Zakim Bridge and stopping by North Point Park. The best unexpected addition to our trip in my opinion was the opportunity to see a musical in the West End of London. EF books all travelers in economy class seats for all transportation methods. They make go in circles and have excuse after excuse. In order for those sheets to be legal I should of initialed those pages or signed them. #2. If it concerns you, definitely mention it to the teacher. I feel I paid twice as much as the tour was worth with the lack of amenities and accommodations that were promised by EF as those that were . The front desk attendant seemed more than annoyed anytime someone from our group would approach them, and insisted that we all leave our keys at the front desk when leaving the hotel for dinner that night. 321. The Elliott Report is a consumer news site supported by Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that offers free advice and advocacy for consumers. Unfortunately, I had to cancel his trip because my son switched schools and his old school district could not take a non student out of the country. Tickets to the entire estate are free for those under 18 years old and cost under $30 USD for anyone else, and thats without a group discount. Can I get my 173,116 Chase Ultimate Rewards points refunded? That seems to be the question at hand here. Five families who are very angry with EF Educational Tours have. We learned that this hotel had once housed men studying to join a monastery, which explained the doritory feel of the place. Well, lucky for you we took a 12 day visit to Europe with EF Tours, and have all the details to decide if taking an international trip with this company is right for you or your teenager. All travel needs to be departing prior to the COVID-19 Future Travel Voucher expiration date. Do I regret going on an EF Tour? It was a disaster. Would I travel with EF Tours again? EF Tours charged $114 USD to each participant. Required fields are marked *. Our tour guide didnt seem to have this mentality. Despite these frustrations, the itinerary did take us to some fantastic places and we had some absolutely unforgettable experiences. According to the folks on our trip who had special dietary needs, the dinners were pretty good for the most part. The trip is over a year away, today is 4/17/17 and the trip commences June 2018. There also seemed to be major sites in some of these cities that were not ever even an option to visit or see, due to our limited time in each city. 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. On May 1st I lost my job and we immediately contacted Ef Tours to cancel. Vouchers issued and redeemed by the original traveler may not be combined with future discounts, scholarships, or other special incentives if the same discounts, scholarships, or other special incentives existed on the original tour. EF Go Ahead Tours also allows you to change the date of tour or destination up until your final payment day. All opinions are my own, and all costs were paid out of our pocket for this experience. Several items listed on our initial brochure were changed before the trip due to pandemic restrictions and travel challenges, which was fine. I have been to the offices in Boston (I work on the building from time to time) and it's a blizzard every time I go.