Complaint Review: Flying Wheels Travel - Owatonna Minnesota

Flying Wheels Travel advertises: "Specialized travel for the physically challenged".  DO NOT believe it. Flying Wheels Travel is a cruel rip off. Twice Flying Wheels Travel risked our lives. We paid for a safe trip as the Flying Wheels website promises. What we got could have killed us.

Minnesota has a law against leaving cats and dogs in a closed vehicle any time of the year.  Flying Wheels is a Minnesota company.  Flying Wheels Travel left us in a van for 4 hours with no way to leave.

This travel company left a us in a closed van for 4 hours in the heat in the mountains of Peru.  The only staff person left us with one bottle of water each and walked away out of shouting range. He did not return until he wanted to. He did not check to see if anyone needed anything – water or food or a restroom.

We were in the mountains in a van with no lift, no ramp, rocky uneven ground and no one to help with wheelchairs. What does Flying Wheels staff do? Nothing. There was absolutely no way we could leave that van.  Most of the windows did not open. Those who have no leg strength could not move themselves out of the van. The ground is rocky and uneven. We each needed help.

It is the kind of situation where you keep thinking “it's got to end soon”. There was nothing soon about it.

The second incident was the 12 hours we spent at an open air shopping center.  It was right next to the Pacific Ocean.  It was cold, damp and miserable.  We were stuck there from noon until 9pm.  Again, Flying Wheels staff does not deny this.  

Flying Wheels staff called the "mall" a "beach side" shopping area. Flying Wheels Travel says we can enjoy the beach beach! This is cruel behavior. There is no way a wheelchair can plow through sand. Even if we could all walk, the shopping area is 260 feet straight down a vertical cliff.  It is the kind of situation that makes you think: “this has got to end soon. How could any human being treat customers like this?”

Flying Wheels staff never bothered to tell us about the weather. We were not prepared. If Flying Wheels staff had an ounce of brains he would have taken us to the airport. Lima has an international airport. Warm, well lit, restrooms, many food choices and maybe even a place to lie down. Sitting for as long as were forced to, does painful things to the body.

I have traveled inside and outside of the US – New Dehli to New York. When I pay a travel agency, the staff actually do some work. The cruelty of Flying Wheels Travel is that this staff person would never be tolerated on an ordinary tour. This staff person would be fired.

This person is still accompanying travel groups of people with physical disabilities. He does not like or answer questions. He treats customers like an inconvenience. He is rude. He is dangerous. He is especially dangerous for people who believe the hype on their web site.

Think about being a long way from home, in a country where even the front desk staff in luxury hotels speak little English. Think of being in the safe areas which are inside of walls and razor wire. Think of using a wheelchair in areas where wheelchairs cannot go. Think of needing the help of at least one person to move from one location to another. Think about not being able to use taxis, buses or any kind of public transit. How do you leave the tour early?

Think about realizing you are in a dangerous situation. The way to the airport and home means travel through huge dangerous areas of a large metropolitan area that has been free of war for only about 20 years.

Think about not trusting the Flying Wheels staff to get you home safely.

This company should be shut down – the sooner the better.

Flying Wheels Travel advertises: "Specialized travel for the physically challenged".  DO NOT buy anything from this company!  

Minnesota has a law against leaving cats and dogs in a closed vehicle any time of the year.  Flying Wheels is a Minnesota company.  Flying Wheels Travel treated us worse than cats and dogs. 

This travel company left a us in a closed van for 4 hours in the heat in the mountains of Peru.  The only staff person, Tim Holtz, left us with one bottle of water each and walked away.  I complained to the Better Business Bureau about this incident which lasted 4 hours.  Tim Holtz wrote a signed letter on company stationery to the BBB.  Tim Holtz wrote that any one of us could have left the van any time.  In what universe?

We were in the mountains in a van with no lift, no ramp, rocky uneven ground and no one to help with wheelchairs.  There was absolutely no way we could leave that van.  I tried twice to get out of the van.  I could not because of the rocky, uneven ground.  In the company's written response to the BBB, Tim Holtz, never denies that he left us in that van.  He agrees with what I wrote about his behavior!  In writing.   And why didn't Tim even bother to see why I was trying to get out of the van?  What is his job anyway?  He obviously was not watching us.  He didn't think more water or even a restroom might be a good idea?  

The second incident I reported was the 12 hours we spent at an open air shopping center.  It was right next to the Pacific Ocean.  It was cold, damp and miserable.  We were stuck there from noon until 9pm.  Again, Tim Holtz does not deny what I reported.   Tim Holtz tells odd lies.  He called the "mall" a "beach side" shopping area (huis letter to BBB).  The beach is 260 feet straight down a vertical cliff below the "mall".  What is he trying to say?  Were we supposed to shop for all that time?  About an hour of shopping is enough.  When moving from place to place takes a lot of energy, shopping is not a pleasant pastime.

The wind coming off the ocean made it even colder.  Tim Holtz never told us - before we left the hotel and our luggage went to the airport - what to expect from the weather.  I wore a jacket over a shirt and I was cold.  Exposure to that weather and no place to lie down is hell for me.  My muscles cramp.  It is painful. I nkow others on the trip were even more uncomfortable.

Tim never told us how long we would be at what he called a "mall."  It is nothing like what we call a mall here in the US.  Since all of us needed wheelchairs to even get into the place, we were  restricted to the area.  We spent hours sitting in the cold, damp wind in the plastic "food court" chairs or in a wheelchair.  It was agonizing.  Add to that - the Flying Wheels staff person sat apart from us with his back to us.  He did not want to even talk to us.   His job is to make sure we are having a good trip.  Flying Wheels promises a safe, smooth travel -- "Specialized travel for the physically challeneged".

We had one meal in that 9 hours.  Then we ate french fries from the food court.  This was our last "outing" on our way to the airport.  Tim claimed that we had to stay there because our flight was delayed.  He knew that before we even left the hotel.  We paid him to run the tour. 

Why didn't he arrange to keep our scheduled transportation to the airport so we could wait in the airport.  It is warm, light, has many restrooms and loads of choices for food.  Lima has an international airport!  It's got all the amenities.  It would still have been uncomfortable but nowhere as bad as the wind, cold and damp at the "mall".   Tim Holtz did nothing.  He did not make anything better.  By doing nothing he made it worse.

Tim Holtz is not competent to run any kind of tour.  He is especially dangerous for people with physical disabilities.  We were at his mercy in a country where we do not speak the language and we needed help just getting around.  The local guys who handled the specially made wheelchairs (bigger and stronger for the uneven terrain, cobblestone, broken concrete, etc.) were not with us the 9 hours we spent in the "mall".   They were not with us the 4 hours we spent in the van.  And Tim Holtz did nothing.

Flying Wheels Travel is dangerous.  I wrote to the owner of Flying Wheels.  No response.  I could not reach her.  I even sent a letter to her Registered, Deliver to Adressee Only, Restricted Delivery.  The reply was an unsigned note about the owner's daughter.  No idea who wrote it.

I filed reports and complaints with the Better Business Bureau, Minnesota Attorney General, Minnesota Consumer Protection, Minnesota Governor, US Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and with a travel ombudsman.  They were all sympathetic.  However, all any of them can do is arrange mediation.  Tim Holtz refused mediation with the Better Business Bureau.  Not one of the agencies can offer more than mediation -- if the business agrees.  Tim Holtz doesn't like mediation.

Turns out that anybody, any business, can advertise what they want to and it's "buyer beware".  Flying Wheels and Tim Holtz are getting away with this crappy service because they can.  When you are in a country where you don't speak the language, can't move freely you are at the mercy of the tour group leader.  You keep hopoing things will get better but they don't. 

When I talked with people from Minnesota disability advocacy groups about this they were shocked that any business would treat people like we were treated.  I have been trying for more than a year and I haven't found any way to get Flying Wheels to change or stop.

I even tried finding an attorney to file a civil suit for deceptive advertising or fraud.  There was no blood and no death so no point in suing.   So, Flying Wheels Travel can keep putting people in danger and providing worse than bad service.