elliott.org » APPLE VACATIONS

“I am fearful I will lose the money we worked so hard to save”

Christopher Elliott — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:12:29 +0000

Michele Keller was all set to take a dream vacation to the Dominican Republic through Apple Vacations last year, when her significant other fell ill. After he took an unexpected turn for the worse, she learned that the insurance on her vacation didn’t cover her the way she though it would. Now she’s holding a voucher for a vacation she’s never likely to use.

Could this insurance mix-up have been prevented? And what exceptions, if any, do tour operators offer for customers who can’t travel because of illness — or death?

I’ve covered bogus travel insurance in the past on this site. But Keller’s insurance wasn’t fake; it just didn’t cover her the way she had hoped.

She explains:

Last March, my significant other and I planned our dream trip to the Dominican Republic. Two weeks before we were suppose to leave he became ill and we had to cancel our trip. Fortunately, we had taken out insurance. I thought the insurance included a refund.

He ended up in the hospital diagnosed with terminal cancer. He passed away in August. I tried to get a refund but was told by the travel agent that all I could do was reschedule by next June. They said if they could sell my package for cash I could get some money back.

I am still trying to get over my loss and am having a hard time doing so. I do not want to take a romantic getaway by myself and cannot afford to lose the $2,500 that I paid for the trip. I have tried to contact Apple Vacations with no luck. I am fearful I will lose the money we worked so hard to save.

I’m troubled by one thing: Keller said she thought the insurance included a refund, but it didn’t. Who would have put that idea in her head, if the policy clearly said otherwise? Did she read the policy? Did her travel agent tell her something that wasn’t quite accurate?

I contacted Apple Vacations to find out. Here’s the company’s response:

Thank you for sharing the concerns of Ms. Keller with us at Apple Vacations. We are truly sorry for her loss, and can understand how unsettling it would be to now travel alone.

As you are no doubt aware, Apple Vacations offers various levels of trip protection to our passengers through an outside insurance provider. Our passengers who purchase the AVOK product are given the option of canceling for any reason prior to travel, with reimbursement in the original form of payment (cash or credit card refund), or reimbursement in the form of future travel vouchers with Apple Vacations. Apple Vacations has been offering the more expensive “cash back” option since July of 2007.

As you can imagine, it is a precarious situation we find ourselves in when we are asked to extend benefits of a more expensive insurance policy (i.e. cash back), to a customer who purchased a voucher back only policy. It probably does not need to be said that the highly regulated insurance industry frowns on this type of benefit pay out, as some might argue it unfair to those who paid extra for the actual cash back policy receiving the same benefit as one who did not. Long story short, we would be setting ourselves up for a lot of scrutiny
and it would be a huge disservice to all of our passengers if we did this.

While Ms. Keller’s travel agent gave her correct information regarding her voucher refund, we do not show any record of Ms. Keller or her travel agent asking Apple Vacations for consideration of a cash instead of voucher refund. We have Customer Care process’s and procedures which would have allowed us the opportunity to look at this case on an individual basis and make a determination before she felt it necessary to ask you to step in. If Ms. Keller had written to us, her letter would have found it’s way to my desk, and I would certainly
have felt an exception was necessary as the death involved an elderly passenger, and as I said, I can imagine it would be quite difficult for Ms. Keller to travel alone in the future.

Apple Vacations does not set policies in this manner, nor are our policies created this way. However, in this situation, we wanted to make an exception, in hopes that it gives Ms. Keller some peace of mind. If you would, please let Ms. Keller know that we will void the vouchers she was issued and issue a check to her within the next 7-10 days. If you or Ms. Keller has any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Ah, I love a happy ending! (I just heard from Keller, and she says she received her check.)

As I read her account and Apple Vacations’, I’m left to conclude that Keller tried to contact Apple by phone to resolve this. If she’s written the company a brief, polite email, she would have gotten her money back months ago.

Probably.

(Photo of lovely DR beach by X Ceccaldi/Flickr Creative Commons)Similar Posts:

Funny math on my Mexico vacation refund

Christopher Elliott — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 11:35:51 +0000

Question: I’m at the end of my rope. I recently I booked a trip to Mexico online through Apple Vacations for my wife, daughter, son-in-law and myself. As always, I also bought an insurance package.

My daughter and son-in-law couldn’t make it because of a new employment situation, so for the first time ever, I had to make a claim on our insurance. We were told by Apple that there were no penalties and to expect a travel voucher, minus the payment for insurance, within 10 days.

But that didn’t happen. It turns out the insurance only covered a small portion of our trip. What’s more, only one room had been booked for our group when I made the reservation online. An agent I spoke with suggested the error was caused by Apple’s Web site.

Apple’s position is that since we booked a room for four people, the remaining couple’s rate would have to be adjusted to a double rate. It also based its refund on the prevailing double rate at the time of cancellation. The bottom line to me is that Apple has refunded only $544 instead of the $1,286 I believe I’m entitled to.

I feel like the little guy being taken advantage of by a large corporation. At this point I am about to give up. Can you help? — Donald Dinsmore, Boothwyn, Pa.

Answer: Apple Vacations or its insurance company should have refunded your daughter and son-in-law’s share of the trip at the time of the purchase. I can’t think of any reason to recalculate the rate and offer a refund based on a new price.

But in reviewing your letter and Apple’s response (I’ll get to that in a second) I’m left with a laundry list of errors on both sides.

Let’s start with Apple. When you bought your Mexico vacation, you should have been able to book the two rooms you wanted. When an Apple representative promised a refund within 10 days, you should have received one. The insurance you purchased through your online agency should have covered you for the full amount of the trip, if that’s what it promised.

You, on the other hand, should have reviewed your reservation immediately after you made it. Then you would have known about the room problem immediately. You should have read your insurance policy carefully, which would have indicated only part of your trip was covered.

How could you have prevented this? Asking yourself “is this a good time for a vacation?” might have prompted you, your daughter and your son-in-law to reconsider the Mexico trip. I wouldn’t plan a getaway if I anticipated a job change in the near future. Most employers take a dim view of new hires that take a vacation right after starting a job.

Second, and more important, you should have written more letters and made fewer phone calls. In fact, you really only needed to make one call to Apple Vacations — to get the email address of the appropriate customer service contact. That way, when you need to escalate your complaint, you can do it with a few keystrokes instead of spending half an hour talking with a customer service representative who is unfamiliar with your case.

You bought an insurance policy through your online travel agent at the time you booked your vacation package. I might have shopped around a little. The first insurance offered by a travel agent isn’t necessarily the best one, and any travel professional who advises you not to kick the proverbial tires on a few policies doesn’t have your best interests in mind.

I contacted Apple Vacations on your behalf. The company says it was already working on your refund request before my inquiry. It refunded an additional $742. Without going into specifics, a company representative told me there were “a few technicalities” with your case. I’ll say.Similar Posts:

Hey, where’s my ride?

Christopher Elliott — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:37:34 +0000

Question: What are your rights when a tour operator fails to deliver part of your vacation package? I booked a one-week vacation in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, through Apple Vacations recently. It included accommodations and transfers to and from the airport.

But when we arrived in Kingston, we discovered that the shuttle bus didn’t run from Kingston, but from Montego Bay. We had to pay $160 for a taxi ride from Kingston to the hotel. We also had to pay $75 to change our return flights to leave from Montego Bay instead of Kingston.

I immediately contacted Apple Vacations at the resort, but they were no help. I was referred to Apple’s headquarters in Pennsylvania, and I wrote an e-mail asking to be reimbursed for my expenses. They refused. Is there anything you can do to help? — N. M. Johnston, Cincinnati

Answer: Apple should have picked you up from the airport and taken you to your hotel, as promised. If it failed to do that, the company should cover your cost of transportation to your hotel.

But did Apple know you were on your way? I contacted the company, and it says it didn’t. When Apple reviewed your file, it discovered a “glitch” in its reservation system that would confirm a passenger has transfers from any airport in Jamaica, when in reality, all of Apple Vacations’ Jamaica services originate solely from the Montego Bay airport, according to Sandy Babin, Apple’s vice president of marketing.

Babin says if your travel agent had advised Apple that you were flying out of Kingston, the company would have confirmed that transfers were only available to and from Montego Bay. But as it turns out, you didn’t use a travel agent. You booked the trip directly through Apple’s Web site.

I might have been a little reluctant to pay for a taxi or a ticket change. In the original version of this story, I suggested that you should have contacted your travel agent (who, after all, took a commission when you paid for your vacation) and the hotel you’re supposed to stay at, which might have been able to recommend a less expensive way of getting to the property.

I based that advice on Apple’s contention that you had used a travel agent. But you self-booked this trip, so there was no agent to phone. Maybe you should have used one.

I definitely wouldn’t have taken an initial “no” from Apple Vacations as a final answer. You could call back and ask to speak with a supervisor or e-mail someone at a higher level at Apple Vacations. Here’s a hint: e-mail addresses are first initial, followed by last name – all one word — @applevac.com. Happy e-mailing!

If none of those steps are successful, consider a credit card dispute or a trip to small claims court. With such a small amount at stake, odds are the company wouldn’t have sent a representative to court and would have lost by default.

Apple Vacations apologized for the transfer problem and sent you two $150 vacation certificates.Similar Posts: