Help! I’m still waiting for my Vantage refund.
Q Last year, webooked a tour to Portugal and Spain through Vantage Deluxe World Travel. Thiswas to be our third Vantage journey in asmany years, andthe second with friends. Including the optional tours, air, insurance and fees, my wife and I paid $12,959 for the tour.
This March, Vantage canceled the tour because of COVID-19 concerns. On March 16, I asked for a refund. Vantage agreed to issue a refund in 30 days.
Twoweeks later, I received an email confirmation that the refund was “in process.” I have made numerous calls and three written requests since then. After 100 days, I am still awaiting the refund. Vantage is stonewalling.
Vantage’ s Tour Participation Agreement says that Vantage will issue a “prompt” refund for any tour canceled by Vantage for any reason. Can you help me get my Vantage Deluxe World Travel refund? — Rick Pedersen, Fulshear, Texas
A: Vantage should have refunded your tour within 30 days as it promised— and as it is contractually required to do. But it had noway of knowing what would happen in the next 30 days. In March, you’ll recall, travel ground to an almost complete halt. Every one of Vantage’s suppliers experienced similar delays. So the refund process slowed down considerably.
How slow? Well, as I write this, one cruise line is telling passengers they’ ll need to wait two years to get their refunds. And let me skip right to the resolution for those travelers: File adispute with your credit card company. Ask your bank to take themoney back.
But with this Vantage refund, I can understand the delay. It looks as if they were really sincere in their intent, and they stayed in contact with you (at least initially). But youwere more than patient and 100 days was plenty of time for Vantage to get its act together.
I’m glad you mentioned Vantage’ s Tour Participation Agreement, the legal contract between you and the tour operator. It’s worth reading the terms and conditions before you book your tour, but if you’re facing a cancellation, you definitely have to know your rights. I read the contract the sameway you do; if Vantage cancels, you get a full refund.
Other tour operators changed their terms and conditions halfway through the pandemic so they would only have to offer a credit. Then they applied the rules retroactively. To its credit, Vantage didn’t.
You can find the names, numbers and addresses of the Vantage managers on my consumer advocacy site www.elliott.org/company
I contacted Vantage on your behalf, and you continued to pursue your refund. Finally, on Aug. 14 — five months after promising it— Vantage fully refunded your $12,959. Better late than never.
So why am I writing about a case that resolved almost five months ago? My consumer advocacy organization has a case backlog too.