Teresa
Lancaster,#2Consumer Suggestion
Sun, November 29, 2009
I am a travel agent and have family and friends in Law Enforcement I see this type of Rip Off all the time. I have owned my own company for 12 years and have independent agents working under me. I will tell you what I tell them and maybe this will help someone in the future.
When someone comes to me for a vacation. cruise, etc. the first thing I do is let them know that before I take their credit card info I want them to be happy with what their getting. For a cruise I take their names and BD's I book what they want and send them a Cruise line confirmation by email. Once they have it and go over it and they are happy with what they see then we take a credit card give it to the cruise line and now we get the new confirmation showing either the deposit or paid in full if it's within final payment. We then call them to let them know we are sending out a new confirmation that shows the payment made.
For trips that require immediate payment like air, hotel, etc. I stay on the phone give them all the info and if they are fine with everything we take the credit card and book it and immediately send them out the confirmation.
It only take a few steps with a legitimate agency to secure your trips. As for the travel agents who were burned by these companies I am truly sorry for what your going thru I went through something similar early in my career so I know what your are going through.
Don't give up on the travel agent just follow these steps and always check up on all payments made within 24hrs by requesting a confirmation. It only takes 5 minutes to 24hrs to get confirmations sent from any one company to the travel agency.
Any questions can be sent to my private email (((Redacted)))
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Cryingtime
Auburn Hills,#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, November 21, 2008
It was so sad to see clients lose their cruises and money. Yes next time you book a cruise make sure that it is the cruise line on your charge statement!!!! Dont give up on Travel Agencies they are not all like CRUISES OF DISTINCTION & CRUISE VALUE CENTER!!!!! Its a shame that the employees did not get paid either but those owners are sure driving around in a new car, I wonder what clients money paid for that? I really hope these owners get whats coming to them!!!!!!