I've run into a problem with recently cancelled flights booked through a travel agency and am hoping the vast expertise of SIGforum can help me out.

Earlier in the year booked International flights (total over $10k) that were subsequently cancelled by Delta. The travel agency I used has not been what I would call very thorough or responsive for that matter. We found out the flights were cancelled ourselves and when questioned the travel agent said they were busy and essentially can't monitor everyone's flights for issues. Given the price of international air travel and considerable expense or even no last minute flights available, this was irritating to me. In attempting to book new flights with the agent, they were again seemingly in no hurry to do anything so I told them I would like a refund for the cancelled flights and I was going to take my business elsewhere.

Here is the issue- refund comes and is $1200 less than what was originally paid. The travel agent says they will only refund the original ticket price they paid, not the commission.

Do I dispute the $1200 with my credit card company?

$1200 commission? Jesus. That sounds outrageous.

Anyway, if you're not getting anywhere with the ridiculous travel agent, absolutely i would dispute the charge with your credit card company. Did you use Amex?

Card was Chase bank.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
$1200 commission? Jesus. That sounds outrageous.

Anyway, if you're not getting anywhere with the ridiculous travel agent, absolutely i would dispute the charge with your credit card company. Did you use Amex?

I would dispute it if the travel agency didn't want to do it.

Not sure what agreement you signed might say but I would dispute it.

The reason you use a travel agent is to deal with this kind of thing and help you rebook the flight. Seems like they were happy to take your money and simple book flights but don't want to help when things go bad.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
$1200 commission? Jesus. That sounds outrageous.

Anyway, if you're not getting anywhere with the ridiculous travel agent, absolutely i would dispute the charge with your credit card company. Did you use Amex?

I agree. You earn a commission for seeing a job through to completion.

My wife's flight got cancelled and they had to take another flight due to a natural disaster (not Covid) early 2020. It did take over a year but the rull refund came through. It was through a travel agent. This was just about $2,400 total. But we have a history with the agent.

even if there's no history, for $10,000 I would expect some level of service.

Read through the paperwork attached to the transaction. It's probably in the fine print.

You may end up in small claims court.

It is absolutely the travel agents responsibility to be in tune with what is going on with airlines, especially in a pandemic.

Granted, it is not their responsibility to monitor your flight up to the moment you board to advice a cancellation. However if you book a trip with them in January set for August, and the airline cancels all flights in May, that is absolutely their responsibility to not only notify you, but to find an alternate if available.

If your flight is cancelled last minute by the airline, it is the travel agents responsibility to rebook you. That is what the commission is for...

I used to travel a LOT and had a great agent. They never left me stranded and always had several alternatives for me if weather intervened. They were VERY busy as just my company could have had 150+ traveling at any one time. They never let me down.

Too busy is a load of garbage. The bottom line was they had corporate customers that were more important than you, but think they can screw you because you're small and they're big.

There's no commission that you are responsible for. That's a contract between the airline and the agent.

The commission is paid by the airline to the travel agent. Not by the consumer.

Is the agent a member of the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA)? If so, I'd be on the phone with ASTA as soon as they open in the morning.

Given the obvious nature where airline commissions come from, I'd almost be tempted to file a police report for theft against the agent. The refund money comes from the airline and if they kept some, that's theft.

check out transportation.gov and you will see the rules are pretty straightforward.

1st error was booking with a travel agent. They are a relic, not needed and pretty much will waste your money, when you can do it all yourself.

I doubt the credit card company will refund given you asked for the service, Got the service.

quote:

Originally posted by ThankGod4Sig:

I doubt the credit card company will refund given you asked for the service, Got the service.

You'd be surprised. Especially if the OP is a regular user of the card and spends a lot on it each year.

And as far as I'm concerned, he didn't get the service he paid for.

Chase will fix it quickly. Seriously, the agencies fear being cut off by the banks.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

dispute the charge with your credit card company.

Absolutely.

I am not a Karen with respect to disputing card charges, I have done this maybe three times in twenty years, but in each case the card issuer stood behind me and canceled the charge.

On the other side of that coin, as a vendor, I have had to add charges, daily rental fee when rental equipment was not returned when due. This happened a couple of times, the renter disputed the charge, I submitted copies of the Rental Agreement which clearly stated that the renter's signature was authorization to charge the credit (or debit) card for each 24-hour period. Again, the card issuer stood behind me each time.

Dispute the charge and in the future, be your own travel agent.

I quit using travel agents probably around 40 years ago when I discovered most of them are pretty worthless.

quote:

Originally posted by ThankGod4Sig:
1st error was booking with a travel agent. They are a relic, not needed and pretty much will waste your money, when you can do it all yourself.

Completely unhelpful. So he could do it all himself. Maybe he's completely aware of that and he values his time enough to choose to pay someone else to do to it. That's an error?

quote:

Originally posted by nshumway:
I've run into a problem with recently cancelled flights booked through a travel agency and am hoping the vast expertise of SIGforum can help me out.

Earlier in the year booked International flights (total over $10k) that were subsequently cancelled by Delta. The travel agency I used has not been what I would call very thorough or responsive for that matter. We found out the flights were cancelled ourselves and when questioned the travel agent said they were busy and essentially can't monitor everyone's flights for issues. Given the price of international air travel and considerable expense or even no last minute flights available, this was irritating to me. In attempting to book new flights with the agent, they were again seemingly in no hurry to do anything so I told them I would like a refund for the cancelled flights and I was going to take my business elsewhere.

Here is the issue- refund comes and is $1200 less than what was originally paid. The travel agent says they will only refund the original ticket price they paid, not the commission.

Do I dispute the $1200 with my credit card company?

YES!!!!!

Travel agents absolutely have a place. They often take care of far more than booking a flight. If that's all it is, you can do that, but travel agents have value when it comes to package deals, including setting up entry or exit visas, handling passport processing, coordinating between flights, cars, hotels, ships, and other elements of a trip.

What agreements exist so far as refunds and payment for services depends on the contractual arrangement between the customer and the travel agency.

Specific refund requirements exist for consumers for airfare, etc; these requirements don't exist the same way when booked through a travel agency (although the original poster did state that the travel agency refunded the fare).

https://www.transportation.gov...r-protection/refunds

Disputing the charge or doing a chargeback should only come after you've attempted to obtain a refund

You can also work through an advocate to get a refund, such as the Elliott Advocacy: https://www.elliott.org

A consequence of work, I travel a lot, most of it internationally. We use the services of agents, handlers, etc, everywhere. While we could do it, it's far more convenient to go through services that set up hotels, arrange handling agents at every stop, services that process and expedite visas and passports, etc.

When processing through a broker or travel agency, there are more fees involved than one. It's easy to say, "I paid for a flight to Cancun, and I didn't get it, therefore I shouldn't have to pay anything." In reality, you may get your fees back for the cancelled flight, but the fees that the broker or agent charged may or may not be refundable, depending on the specifics of the transaction, and are an entirely separate fee. The agent or broker isn't the airline; they set up the airline trip, but in many cases if the airline cancels, the broker still gets paid: for the consumer, it pays to read the fine print.

If you did pay with a major credit card and have all your paperwork, you can charge it back and dispute; read the fine print of your agreement to see where you stand, and consider the use of an advocate, if you're stalled and not getting anywhere.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
Read through the paperwork attached to the transaction. It's probably in the fine print.

You may end up in small claims court.

As usual when there is a contract dispute, reading the contract is of the utmost importance. If there is a written agreement, it may/should have language that tells you exactly what your rights are.

But, yes. See if Chase will help.

And quit using travel agents. They are not needed or, as you now know, particularly helpful.

quote:

Originally posted by Keystoner:

quote:

Originally posted by ThankGod4Sig:
1st error was booking with a travel agent. They are a relic, not needed and pretty much will waste your money, when you can do it all yourself.

Completely unhelpful. So he could do it all himself. Maybe he's completely aware of that and he values his time enough to choose to pay someone else to do to it. That's an error?

Blowing $1200 on a T/A isn't a good deal. T/A are not a good deal. Everything can be done, booked and paid easily on the interwebs, or mask to mask on site.

quote:

Originally posted by ThankGod4Sig:
1st error was booking with a travel agent. They are a relic, not needed and pretty much will waste your money, when you can do it all yourself.

I doubt the credit card company will refund given you asked for the service, Got the service.

Not so fast, with the emergence of the dot.com boom and the ease & accessibility of various websites, arranging your own travel itinerary has never been easier, which has made the traditional travel agency obsolete. However, if you're going to some exotic location which requires multiple unconventional steps, you're a corporate traveler, particularly with unique circumstances or, you have the means to have somebody else handle things, this is where travel agencies and private brokers have evolved to.

Regardless of destination or, circumstance this travel agent is trying to stiff the OP to insure they get paid regardless of the outcome. With Chase, they're pretty strong with travel issues, especially if you paid with one of their Sapphire cards; Amex is top-notch with a well earned reputation. I'd contact the card you used and see what they're able to do first.

TRAVEL INSURANCE! At least AMEX.