Complaint Review: Overseas Adventure Travel

About the middle of February 2009, I found on the internet a 10-day trip to Ecuador, including a few days in the Amazon Basin and the Galapagos Islands.  It was sponsored by Overseas Adventure Travel.  It was advertized as $2735 (approx.), but with the travel protection plan of $380 plus taxes, plus airfare from San Francisco, it brought the cost up to $3,575.

The trip was to be from March 15 to March 25, 2009, so I was late getting accepted, but they seemed glad to accommodate me.  In my haste to get signed up, I failed to give them my full name as it appeared on my passport:  "Mariella Judy Brooks."  I have never used "Mariella," except on one occasion when the passport called for my full name, and I wrote it in.  All my life I have been known as "Judy."

A short time after I realized the mistake I had made,  I called OAT to get my plane ticket changed so it would match my passport.  The man at the other end of the phone said it might cost me a few dollars to have the ticket reissued.  However, I was later called and told it would cost me $600 for the new ticket.  I was astounded and angry at what I considered to be a gross overcharge.

I called American Airlines and talked to 4 of their associates, asking how much they would have charged me for adding "Mariella" to a new ticket, and each one told me they would not have charged me anything.  They further added they have no control over any agency that purchases tickets and the travel agency can pass on any charges they wish to passengers.  Because of the $600, I ended up paying $4,222 for the trip originally advertized as $2735.  I contacted OAT and tried to get them to adjust the cost, but they refused.

In the section "Overseas Adventure Travel, General Terms and Conditions," and under the paragraph "Air Arrangements," the following words appear:  "It is your responsibility to check you travel documents when you receive them to make sure they are correct.  If they are not correct, please contact Operator immediately."

I did not wait until my travel documents reached me, but call OAT about the necessary change of adding "Mariella" before any documents. including plane ticket, reached me.  I took the initiative to let them know within a few days of signing up for the trip that I had forgotten "Mariella" was on my passport.

I feel OAT took advantage of me, waiting until a few days before departure to advise me of the extra charge, much too late for me to cancel the trip without severe financial penalties.

Had OAT charged me $50 or even $100 for the ticket change, I would not be writing you, but $600 does seem completely inappropriate and a real RIP-OFF!

Thanks for anything you can do to help retrieve a large portion of my over payment.