So....I need to fire my Travel Agent/Old Thread...New Update

[HiddenMickeys]

If anything I'll contact the ABC affiliate, since their owned by Disney, and so far Disney looks good in this.

lol, I should have thought of that. Good idea. Also, take solace in the fact that anyone who reads this post AND any friends or acquaintances of those people who will take a cruise, will NOT do business with this guy. And that's at least something.

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

Our best friends live outside of Fresno - I'll be letting them know about this t*** (no, that will get me banned),um... donkey. Unbelievable!

Let us know what happens.

 

[drag n' fly]

Well, I guess I can't "fire" them, because we have 6 cabins total and at least 1 of them is paid in full (per DCL). It might cause more problems than it's worth trying to transfer the res away from them.

Before you fire off the next shot I suggest you take mishoe01 advice. In writing, (make a copy)(have delivered priority courier, signature required) request to have your reservation transferred to Disney immediately. If they refuse then you can show that you have taken action to resolve the issue. No one will hear your complaint until you do whatever you can on your end to resolve the issue first. All you will hear is sorry mister buyer beware.

 

[MODisneyfan]

I agree with this 100%. I am a TA (and have been since 1992) and my mouth dropped when I read Craig's response. How in the world does he expect to keep doing business if he reacts this way?? And to have him "go off" on the DCL rep is unexcuseable.

The only issue I can see that could be sticky is whether or not Craig would release your res back to DCL (it requires a fax on company letterhead w/ your res info stating that the agency is releasing the res back to DCL). This can only be done prior to final being posted. If he is willing to do this, and if you do want to go w/ a TA you can then get the other agency to take over your res. Do you think Craig would do anything to mess w/ your reservations?

Another thought is to just go w/ Craig for this cruise and then NEVER use them again - and certainly tell all your friends and family not to use them too.

I'm sorry you have to go through this.

I'm a TA and I was thinking the same thing.. The only thing that you could really do is what someone else had said about getting them to pay disney over the phone to demand your money back.. .. I think that I would demand the money back and then pay it myself.. Then just stand there while they turn the reservations over to Disney.. If you do that tho, make sure to note that in no way shop for form should that TA have ANYTHING to do with that reservation EVER.. I use to work for AAA and we would take over reservations all the time for people that were not happy with their first agentcy and some of the problems.. But best of luck..

 

[RweTHEREyet]

[QUOTE="Ginger";24847164]Tom have you given any thought to calling your local news station and explaining your situation. I would think they may want to make a news story out of the way this company does business. Do you have community news paper where you can run an ad protesting this TA.
Let the public know how he does business. Get him where he's got you, in the pocket.

Good Luck![/QUOTE]

This was my thought, too, except I would go for the "troubleshooter" angle if there is one at the local station. Those stories really garner attention.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

Wow, really sorry to hear about this. All the more reason to use a Travel Agent who is an official "Authorized Disney Vacation Planner". I know that little tidbit is a bit too little too late for your current situation, but there are some really, really good TA's that specialize in Disney vacations, the sponsor of this board is one of them of course, but there are other really good ones as well ... we use Allseastravel.com Outstanding service ... and you will definately not run into a similar situation with them.

I just checked. They are an "Authorized Disney Vacation Planner".

 

[outahere]

I just checked. They are an "Authorized Disney Vacation Planner".

All the more reason to be certain that someone high up in Disney management knows how they treat their clients. From what you have written along with their unsatisfactory rating from the BBB, they probably shouldn't be an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner.

 

[TiggerzFan]

All the more reason to be certain that someone high up in Disney management knows how they treat their clients. From what you have written along with their unsatisfactory rating from the BBB, they probably shouldn't be an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner.

I AGREE!!! DCL definitely needs to know.
Oh Tom, I'm so sorry this is happening to you. What an unmagical thing to be happening to such a fabulous DISer! No doubt you're thinking up a few good nametags for those agents.

Hmmm... I'm thinking DIS meet in front of this travel agency. Nothing like a crowd of fired up DISers with lime green lanyards to stir up the pot!

Good Luck. Let us know how it's going.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

I just checked my parents' reservation, which is the only one of our 6 reservations that is actually able to book anything with DCL

I had booked my Dad for the sport fishing. Now, the TA has booked my Mom for sport fishing too!!

Should I cancel it??

 

[jollytammy]

Had the same thing happen to us. I was so-o-o mad I had made sure I had sent them the money months before. When I couldn't make reservations, I called disney. They told me I hadn't paid yet! when I called TA, they had been holding it. Luckily I got what I wanted once they sent the payment into Disney.

learned my lesson, AND switched TAs. Now I always ask if they hold payments.!!!!

 

[outahere]

I just checked my parents' reservation, which is the only one of our 6 reservations that is actually able to book anything with DCL

I had booked my Dad for the sport fishing. Now, the TA has booked my Mom for sport fishing too!!

Should I cancel it??

I would say - only if you can do it without involving the TA. As long as you have their DCL reservation #, you should be able to do it yourself.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Wow, this stinks. I am so sorry for you. I can't believe this agency is doing this and the are ADCP!! They should lose their authorization with Disney, their policies stink!!

I am new to being a TA (and yes I am authorized, I graduated from CDK, College of Disney Knowlegde). My host agency wants checks way way before the final due date, since they have to clear. Even non check payments they want ahead of DCL's schedule, to make sure the clients final payment is in and on time and they can book what they need too!!

I am really so sorry this happened to you. I would file complaints with them with DCL, tell them about the poor service they are providing, and that you thought since they were authorized, they would understand Disney policies. I would also follow the advice of others and file a complaint with the BBB.

I hope you have a great cruise despite this bullloney!!

 

[karibritt01]

Well, I guess I can't "fire" them, because we have 6 cabins total and at least 1 of them is paid in full (per DCL). It might cause more problems than it's worth trying to transfer the res away from them.

[QUOTE="Ginger";24847164]Tom have you given any thought to calling your local news station and explaining your situation. I would think they may want to make a news story out of the way this company does business. Do you have community news paper where you can run an ad protesting this TA.
Let the public know how he does business. Get him where he's got you, in the pocket.

Good Luck![/QUOTE]

My main worry with escalating the dispute before your cruise is they could get really spiteful if they chose. What if instead of returning your money and releasing the ressie, they canceled it. You can't get your current ressie at the same price you did months ago, and may even have trouble getting all 6 rooms. We have used AAA for all WDW trips with no issues. This is our first cruise, but so far no hitches. My TA will email me all excursion info a week before I can book, so we have time to look it over. There are great TA's out there... sorry you got the jerk you did. Although, I have to admit, I wouldn't have used them a second time after if my first experience had been like yours.

 

[minty]

Have you ever heard of the website "The Consumerist"? It's a blog that discusses customer service and consumer rights.

The letter that the Travel Agency wrote back to you was so terrible that they would probably love to publish it and help spread the word about how bad that travel agency is.

Here is their submission area:
http://consumerist.com/submitatip/

 

[karaeric]

So sorry for your troubles!! That's just not what you want when planning a fun family event.

Something that I learned from my TA that I thought others would be interested to know about that is related to this issue. If you have not yet paid in full, you can switch TAs on your resservation. However, once you have paid in full with DCL, they won't switch the TA of records. We found this out because a friend of ours that is traveling with us on our upcoming cruise found out after finaly payment that their TA never put the request in with DCL to move their cabin or change cabin categories. They are on Deck 2 and wanted a "raise" but now are out of luck. Made them mad, so they will be switching to a new TA for their next trip to be sure.

Good luck to you!

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

.... Although, I have to admit, I wouldn't have used them a second time after if my first experience had been like yours.

You had to go there.

I'm trying to find a smiley that's kicking its own behind.

 

[4KsLUVDisney]

I am so sorry that you are having such a bad experience with the TA. Not all TA's are that way. I am a travel agent myself and an experienced Disney TA and would never in all my life treat a customer that way.

Wishing you pixie dust that things work out for the best for you and you get all your DCL ressies taken care of and all the excurisons you want.

 

[Shoshie]

I couldn't get over this part of the letter:

We discourage cruise line shore excursions as a whole as we do not get paid for all the extra work that we do, it only creates trouble and requires extra work and then we get the complaints about them.

I think that all of their cruise companies should know about this.... a travel agent that DISCOURAGES its clients from booking cruise-run shore excursions!
That's meshugehnah!

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

I couldn't get over this part of the letter:



I think that all of their cruise companies should know about this.... a travel agent that DISCOURAGES its clients from booking cruise-run shore excursions!
That's meshugehnah!

Yep. They want to sell you the excursions that they sponsor.

Plus, it wouldn't have been "extra work" if they had done what they were supposed to in the first place. I was doing all the work by booking the excursions myself on the DCL website.

 

[aan1701]

I know that all TA's are not bad, for the most part I would say that are great and know there field. I am very good friends with a TA, and I never use them. I never use them because I am to afraid of what is happening to Tom. I do feel for you. For me, I just do it all myself. With the internet now, it is so easy. I just don't want the trouble when something goes wrong by filing complaint after complaint. My thinking is, if I messed up, I did it, and now I must fix it. I take the blame. I had a recent problem for my cruise next week. I just sent an email to DCL and within about eight hours of sending it not only did I get two emails and two phone calls, but it was fixed. No middle man. I know a lot out there like the TA's, and that is great. Me I just like to do it myself. I hope I do not get flamed for this. This is just the way I feel. Tom good luck to you and I hope your trip down to Mexico on the Magic will be a trip for you and your family to remember for a long time.