Complaint Review: ScandAmerica International

In September 2015 I contacted ScandAmerica International to book an advertised trip to Cuba to attend the International Jazz Festival and sightsee parts of Cuba. I knew someone who'd traveled with this company, so they came recommended. I dealt with an associate (Yvonne), who I believe was a tour guide. She hurried me to get signed up and paid in full (they only accepted cash-should have been my first tip-off) because the trip was filling quickly. Within a couple days I also booked my cousin and paid in full for her as well. That payment was made in the beginning of October 2015. In mid-November 2015, I received a call from Ivar Fiskaa (owner/President/etc) that they were having trouble securing seats on a flight from Tampa. He thought perhaps he'd have to cancel the trip.

The following week he called back and definitively said he was unable to get seats and that we'd have to fly from Miami to Cuba, but that he could fly us back from Cuba directly to Tampa. He did not offer up any arrangements for getting us to Miami; making overnight accommodations, rebooking my cousins' flight down from NJ, etc and was not able to tell us what our tour (just the two of us) would consist of. He offered us another trip in mid-January 2016; however, the International Jazz Festival was over and the date was not convenient for either of us due to other plans we had individually made prior to our booking this trip. Ivar purchased trip insurance for us after realizing he may need to cancel the trip. Unfortunately, it wasn't purchased correctly or within the proper time frame in order for the trip to be reimbursed. As a result of him telling me he was going to purchase a policy that would give me a full refund, I had cancelled a policy I bought for myself immediately after booking my trip. The insurance company refused the claim stating that since the policy was purchased more then 30days after the booking and payment, they would not pay for the cancelled trip. None of it. I developed Shingles from all the stress and submitted a claim stating that I was unable to take the trip due to that but Ivar had incorrectly told them that I called him and cancelled the trip. Not so; he had to cancel because he wasn't able to deliver what he'd advertised and sold.

After a lot of phone calls and arguing back and forth between myself and Ivar, I agreed to accept payment for one of the fares and would take credit for the other. I was so tired of arguing with someone who was deceitful that I figured I'd get what I could and then deal with the remainder of the money later. He didn't tell me that he was going to withhold $500 from that payment. He'd also told me that he'd reimburse me for the payment I made for my cousins' flight from NJ to Tampa, but didn't do that either. I complained to the BBB but he also told them incorrect information about what transpired. When I disputed his statement, he refused to respond to them. This is not a company I'd recommend that anyone do business with as I found that not only do they not deliver what they advertise; they are deceitful.