Complaint Review: Dignity Travel - Internet

The people I contacted from the trip never provided any documentatotion to Tim Holtz.

Every report I filed required me to attest that I truthfully reported what happened.  I signed every one.  He is not telling the truth.  Tim doesn't dare produce documents that he does not have.  He could not possibly have.  They do not exist.

Tim got a copy of what I sent to the Better Business Bureau.  The BBB offered mediation.  Tim rejected mediation.  The BBB did not reject my complaint.   Nor did the other 2 agencies he mentions.  He knows that.

I signed my reports/complaints.  I attest that they are true. 

The remainig problem is that Tim Holtz put us all in danger.  This trip was advertised for people with disabilities and seniors.  Tim Holtz left us in a van, in the heat, with no way to leave the van.  No lift, no ramp, no assistant (took 2 for almost all of us) to leave that van. 

Minnesota has a law against leaving dogs and cats in locked vehicles.  Tim Holtz left us in a van we could not leave.  What is the difference?  We expected Tim would come back any minute.  What human being would leave a group of people in a van they had no way of leaving? 

Tim Holtz did.  What human being would leave a group of disabled and elederly people in the open for 9 hours.  Windy, rainy, cold and right next to the Pacific Ocean.  80 meters straight up the side of a cliff.  One meal in 9 hours.  It is debilitating to sit in the cold and damp that long.  So, as a tour guide, Tim Holtz is incompetent.  No tour I ever bought dealt with customers this way.  But Tim knows we canjust get up and hail a cab from either situation.

The danger is that he is still running tours.  He is still putting people in danger.  Notice he markets to people least likely to fight back. 

His new company, Dignity Travel, Minneapolis, is targeting seniors.  Do not let anyone travel with him

There were 3 people using wheelcahirs in that van.  No ramp.  No lift.  No helpers to move anyone.

There were no orders for food.  No restroom.  No one got out of the van to "look around".  No snacks.  One bottle of water each for a hot afternoon in a closed van at a high altitude.

I am sorry to see Tim Holtz goijng to such extremes as posting false "consumer statements".  Took nearly a year too from the date I posted.  I posted on other social media too. 

Another person in the van (also using a wheelchair) has MS.  The heat triggers the symptoms of MS or makes them worse.  Where was Tim?  He is chargin us for "disability travel", promising that we will be safe.  The high altitude (> 10,000) ft is dangerous for younger people let alone our group.   Dehydration at that level is a hazard.  Where was the expertise?

As for a restroom -- no one left the van. Period. Not for the restroom or anything else.  No one looked for a restrooom because no one could leave the van. 

I guess Tim can post anything undert any name he wants, but I still have 3 more complaints filed with authorities that are in process.

I have travelled many times on amazing tours organised by Timothy Holtz, formally of Flying Wheels and more recently, Dignity Travel. He is an extremely knowledgible and experienced travel professional who works very hard to ensure tours run as smoothly as possible. His tours are exceptionally well planned and take into account additional support that may be required to enable clients (including those with severe disabilities) to participate as fully as possible in all activities.

I was on the same tour that is the subject of the entirely unfounded 'Rip off' report. It was a small group tour of Peru in October 2014 which involved spending time in Cusco and the Sacred Valley. We visited ancient sites; cultural centres and local towns and villages. We were aided by a full time guide and a team of local helpers at all the main places we visited. We often needed to use special off road wheelchairs at sites and in my case I had 3 helpers to get me over terrain that would have been impassable in my wheelchair.

One of my most memorable experiences was getting inside Machu Picchu - I realised a 20 year dream! It would not have been possible without Tim's planning and all the additional help and specialised kit. I still grin from ear to ear when I remember that day. The rest of the tour was pretty amazing too! Turning to the alleged 'stuck on a bus' incident. It didn't happen as described! The truth is the road we were on was closed off just a few vehicles in front of us for a parade. We could neither move forward or backwards. Our support vehicle was next to our bus.

Timothy or our Guide was either in the bus or right next to it the WHOLE time. A rest room was found nearby and those who needed to use it were assisted on and off the bus. Snacks and drinks were obtained from a local shop & orders taken for those on the bus. It was very crowded outside the bus, both with onlookers and parade participants. It would have been difficult for someone unsteady on their feet or in a wheekchair to make any progress or to see much.

We were advised to stay on the bus as a safety precaution but people did get off for the rest room or to look around close by. I stayed on the bus as I am a full time wheelchair user. I quickly realised being in the bus gave me an awesome, uninterrupted view of participants assembling for the parade in all the different costumes and hats. Amazing picture opportunities. Yes, it was an unplanned stop and delayed our return, but what an opportunity too!

We moved as soon as the local police re-opened the road. To anyone reading the original complaint, please do not let the untrue and negative comments stop you from booking a holiday through Timothy Holtz at Dignity Travel - I unreservedly recommend his services and that of his Team. I am so looking forward to my next tour with Dignity Travel in September - I know I'll be in safe hands!

I read the scathing review and comment by the person, who did not sign their name to back up their comments. I find that it was written in a most harmful manner, which leaves me suspect as to the exaggeration factor employed, therefore I must respond to it. My Name is Eddie Rice (70yrs) and I am a Polio survivor and use a mobility scooter 100% of the time. A friend in the UK recommended Tim Holtz, Dignity Travel, to my wife and I. We went on a Baltic Tour, with Tim, in August of 2015.

I must say that we had some hesitations in going, because this would be our first time traveling to the Baltics. The tour started in London, where we were met by Tim and escorted us and a few other disabled people to a hotel in London, for the first leg of our trip, where Tim arranged a mobility scooter for me that fit my requirements.

We had a problem with the 'accessible ‘room in the respect that inside, it had too much furniture, resulting in difficulty maneuvering around. Also the toilet seat height was to low. My wife contacted Tim and within 20 minutes all the unnecessary furniture was removed and a 'riser' was secured to the toilet seat, problems solved.

The remainder of the tour went off like clockwork. All tour buses were waiting each day, venues were as promised and Tim was amiable, informative and a delight to be with. We are planning to travel again with Tim at our next opportunity. Also I might add, I recommended a friend of mine to use Dignity Travel, she did and had a great time, on a China tour and saw sights she thought that she would never see and is going on a second tour, to the Baltics, with Tim, this fall. I always belive that there are two sides to evry sorty and both shouls be heard. Eddie Rice

Tim Holtz wrote a letter on Flying Wheels stationery & he signed it.  The letter very clearly admits he exposed our group to hazardous situations.  As I described in my RipOff Report.

As for all the other mud and dust he thorws into a rebuttal -- we only have his word for all of it.  And we know he lied about the events because I have his letter.   He agrees that he caused both situations to happen!

This is our response to Ms. Dean’s allegations that Flying Wheels Travel’s tour to Peru in October 2014 was “hazardous” and that we provided “deceptive advertising” of this tour. Her statement and complaint about being left in a van unattended are simply false and actually border on defamation to both the group host of the tour – Mr. Timothy Holtz - our company and the reputation of Dignity Travel.

All the other guests on this tour have provided writtien eye-witness accounts and photos testifying that her accusations are pure fabrication and they provided such testimony to the Better Business Bureau, the Minnesota Attorney Generals Office and the Wisconsin Bureau of Consumer Protection – all three agencies dismissed Ms. Dean’s claims.

The other six guests who were part of this small group tour were extremely happy with their experience and five of them have traveled with Flying Wheels Travel and/or Dignity again since the Peru tour - some multiple times.

Our company policy is to provide the best customer service as possible. However, Ms. Dean did not provide us with any indication that she was unhappy with the tour until we received a letter from her dated Feb. 9, 2016. This was 15 months after the completion of tour. We do not provide refunds after 12 months of a tour end date. Furthermore, given Ms. Dean’s libelous-attacks against our qualified group host and untrue accounts, we will not consider any refund to her.

We simply do not understand why Ms. Dean waited for 15 months to inform us of her concerns if indeed she felt she received “hazardous” service. At this point, her motivation in filing dishonest complaints is disconcerting. Unfortunately, instead of enjoying the incredible experiences offered on this tour, she chose to be an extremely negative guest – which caused the other people in the group to be uncomfortable around her and indicated that they would never want to be on a group tour with her again.

In the more than 48 years in which Flying Wheels Travel has provided travel for people with physical disabilities or with our Partnership with Dignity Travel - we have never encountered someone who has made such deceitful claims.