Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:24/02/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Trip ( booking reference ******) that was booked through tripcentral.ca was canceled in late 2022 under worry free cancelation waiver due to emergancy hospitalization. At the time of cancelation the agent gave two options : vaucher or refund. I chose refund and was told that for that option we would have to wait 521 days or 18 months to get a refund. I found this a bit strange but was told that it was the policy. I also inquired about an option of changing my mind and getting a vaucher in future and was told that I would have to contact them to see what can be done. In less than I year I called and left voicmail messages attempting to book another vacation instead of waiting for refund but could not get in touch with the agent nor did I receive a call back. Late last year called again to inquire about the refund just to be told that this is an old clame and the money is gone. Started a process with customer service but after numerous emails was told that ******* has issued a vaucher to tripcentral.ca, tripcentral.ca has no records of this vaucher and that they belive that their agent would not advise us of a process which we were told to follow they don't owe us anything. **** ******** *** ***** *************. Hoping that this can be resolved.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 22/04/2025

  Dear Client , Thank you for your letter. We will be looking into this matter and will get back to you once we have a chance to do a discovery since it was such an old file , we will have to go back to see what transpired. We will be in touch as soon as we can . Kind Regards, Customer Service Team - tripcentral.ca - ** 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 22/04/2025

  Dear Client , Thank you for your letter. We will be looking into this matter and will get back to you once we have a chance to do a discovery since it was such an old file , we will have to go back to see what transpired. We will be in touch as soon as we can . Kind Regards, Customer Service Team - tripcentral.ca - ** 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 13/05/2025

  ****** **** email send to me (instead of my mother ) from tripcentral.ca ** *** **** *******.
  
  Thank you,
  ****** *****

   

  My mothers goal is to get the money back. As you can see from previous emails, she was instructed to wait by tripcentral.ca  in order to get a refund. 
  Now, they do not want to accept any responsibility. During all email conversations they keep on disregarding that she was promised a refund and only talk about the vaucher. They also stated that the vaucher was released to them, but they can not find it and now expect us ( after months of unsuccessful communication) to reach out to *******. They were doing an "investigation" to find the recording of the call where she was instructed to wait, and now there is no mention of this at all. Where did over 3000$ go? 
  The tactics thar this business is using are shamefull. They are not taking any accountability ir ownership in a mistake they have caused. My mothers hope wad that BBB would be able to help her get her money back.
  
  Thank you,
  ****** 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 13/05/2025

  ****** **** email send to me (instead of my mother ) from tripcentral.ca ** *** **** *******.
  
  Thank you,
  ****** *****

   

  My mothers goal is to get the money back. As you can see from previous emails, she was instructed to wait by tripcentral.ca  in order to get a refund. 
  Now, they do not want to accept any responsibility. During all email conversations they keep on disregarding that she was promised a refund and only talk about the vaucher. They also stated that the vaucher was released to them, but they can not find it and now expect us ( after months of unsuccessful communication) to reach out to *******. They were doing an "investigation" to find the recording of the call where she was instructed to wait, and now there is no mention of this at all. Where did over 3000$ go? 
  The tactics thar this business is using are shamefull. They are not taking any accountability ir ownership in a mistake they have caused. My mothers hope wad that BBB would be able to help her get her money back.
  
  Thank you,
  ****** 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 15/05/2025

  We see that you did post on the BBB . I have looked into the claim and see that ******* on the Customer Service Team did do a lot of discovery and investigation into the matter of the travel vouchers you are asking about. 
  
  At this time it would be best if you put in a claim with ******* to see if they will extend the vouchers to you. We were told by ******* that the vouchers expired one year after cancellation  and they were not willing to extend them for for you through tripcentral.ca . 
  
  Perhaps reaching them directly you might make some headway. All funds were paid to ******* so it will be up to them if they wish to provide you with travel vouchers. 
  
  You can try to send a letter to https://www.*******.ca/en/*******-cares# explaining that you came to agency and we advocated on your behalf to try to get ******* to extend vouchers but it was declined. You might want to bypass ******* cares and go straight to the ******* Legal department if you would like to secure legal advise in this matter. 
  
  We wish you a good outcome of your claim. 
  Customer Service Team 
  tripcentral.ca - **

  

  Business Response

  Date: 15/05/2025

  We see that you did post on the BBB . I have looked into the claim and see that ******* on the Customer Service Team did do a lot of discovery and investigation into the matter of the travel vouchers you are asking about. 
  
  At this time it would be best if you put in a claim with ******* to see if they will extend the vouchers to you. We were told by ******* that the vouchers expired one year after cancellation  and they were not willing to extend them for for you through tripcentral.ca . 
  
  Perhaps reaching them directly you might make some headway. All funds were paid to ******* so it will be up to them if they wish to provide you with travel vouchers. 
  
  You can try to send a letter to https://www.*******.ca/en/*******-cares# explaining that you came to agency and we advocated on your behalf to try to get ******* to extend vouchers but it was declined. You might want to bypass ******* cares and go straight to the ******* Legal department if you would like to secure legal advise in this matter. 
  
  We wish you a good outcome of your claim. 
  Customer Service Team 
  tripcentral.ca - **

• Initial Complaint

  Date:22/02/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Trip booked to Cuba for 11/29/22 to 12/06/22 on ******* booking # *********. Trip cancelled with TripCentral travel agent 11/17/22 under ******* Worry Free Cancellation Waiver. Received an email from agent verifying cancellation and also confirming credit. Trip cost $4450 of which $2250 was paid with a voucher credit pre Covid. Trip booked to Costa Rica on 3/8/23 on ******* booking # ********* for travel 12/31/23, total cost of trip $6701. The TripCentral agent told me that the travel credit from the cancelled Cuba booking would be applied to this booking before final payment was due in November. ******* did not apply the travel credit and I paid the complete cost. TripCentral agent assured me that TripCentral themselves would issue me a cheque for the voucher I was entitled to. I have received nothing to date and have tried numerous times to have this resolved.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/03/2024

  Hello  Dear Client, thank you for bringing this to our attention we will be investigating this and we will reply to you directly via email /phone once we have done a discovery into the file claim. We thank you for your patience as we work with ******* to find out what has occurred. Kind Regards, Customer Service Team - tripcentral.ca - AK 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/03/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  I was told that a refund via a cheque had been issued in January but was returned as I had moved. 
  

  I have attached voice memo from that date that while lengthy does mention the cheque, reason for the delay in re-issuing, a dollar amount and the assurance a cheque would be sent. 
  

  I respectively submit that either TripCentral does not communicate well between departments or does not stand behind their agents words. 
  

  I would like this resolved by means of a refund directly from TripCentral, as I was promised. I wish any further correspondence with them be either through the BBB or via email.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/03/2024

  I just checked my statement and the full refund has been processed to my **********.
  
  As TripCentral has responded directly to me and not posted a response on the BBB site I am unable to close the file at BBB.
  
  Again, I appreciate your assistance with this matter and the satisfactory resolution because of the BBB's involvement.
  
  Thank you -  ******* 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/02/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We booked a trip through Trip Central trusting that we were getting a 5 star resort - ***** ***** *********. Upon arrival we immediately noticed the resort was not the way it looked online (There were signs it was run down a little). We woke 1st morning with a few bites. The 2nd day there were more bites and that’s when we started noticing blood stains on sheets and insect shells/residue. After three nights we went to Guest Services and not one employee claimed to understand our complaints. They kep saying no English. We were told only option to upgrade to luxury 5 star for 90.00 US per night. Soon as we paid the staff suddenly could speak better English stating we would now get clean, improved services. My husband and I continued to get bitten worst. ***** ** ** ***** ** *** ***** ***** ** * ********** ********* ******* **** ******* *** **** ******. We were forced to upgrade/pushed into it by the staff.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 23/02/2024

  Hello,

  As reiterated previously, Tripcentral acts solely as a third-party intermediary, and our primary liaison is with tour operators rather than hotels directly. It's crucial to understand that we do not have any ownership or affiliation with any hotel, and our agreements are exclusively with tour operators. Therefore, our role is primarily to facilitate communication and manage bookings on behalf of our clients. It is the tour operator who manages interactions with the hotel, as they have contractual agreements in place. Additionally, your funds are directly deposited into the airline's account at the time of booking, and tripcentral.ca is not involved in any transactions. You can verify this by reviewing your payment statement. This serves as evidence that tour operators handle hotel dealings directly, not tripcentral.ca.

  We acknowledge that these instances are unfortunate, but we would like to note that such complaints are not frequent and they are uncommon occurrences. Regarding your case, your concerns have been communicated to the tour operator customer service on Feb 7th, and the proof of submission was forwarded to you.
  

  As outlined in our email communication on February 7th at 10:41 am, your letter and accompanying pictures were promptly forwarded to *** ****** *********, and your file has been active with them. We understand the frustration of waiting, and while it may take up to weeks to receive a response from the tour operator; please be assured that we are actively monitoring the file and will provide updates as soon as we hear back.

  In regards to your booking process, we recommend a thorough research and due diligence before making any travel arrangements. While we strive to provide comprehensive information and guidance, including access to hotel listings on our website, it's always advisable to review customer feedback and ratings on platforms like social media and ************ Additionally, our agents are readily available to offer their expertise and firsthand experiences to assist you in making informed decisions.

  Furthermore, we would like to emphasize the importance of seeking assistance from the appropriate channels when encountering issues during your trip. For any concerns related to accommodations, it's advisable to reach out to the tour operator representative at the resort, as they are equipped to address and potentially resolve any issues that may arise. Similarly, for issues pertaining to flights or airline-related matters, contacting the airline representative at the resort would be the most effective course of action. Next time, first, please go to the airline rep in the resort when you have an issue, not the hotel. Allow the airline to address it with the hotel management. In this case, maybe the *** rep was able to upgrade you with no additional cost.

  Once again, we want to express our gratitude for your patience and understanding throughout this process.  

  Thank you for choosing tripcentral.ca, and we appreciate the opportunity to assist you.
  Customer Service Team

  tripcentral.ca

  JB

• Initial Complaint

  Date:30/11/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 04Oct23 I booked (Booking# *********) an All Inclusive Package using Tipcentral.ca website(*** ******** ************). On 09Nov23 we landed in Punta Cana around 9PM. The Sunwing reps did not put us on the bus for the Temptation resort because they could not find our names on the passengers list.. After one hour of messages back and forth they sad that it is weird but apparently we do not have the transfer cover. Around 10 in the evening I was informed that my only solution would be to use a private taxi, which will charge me 160 USD. After some bargaining I agree to pay 120 USD cash. We arive at the resort around 11.30 PM filled with anger and extremely tired. By the time we checked in our first paid vacation day was gone. Next day I sent an email to Tripcentral which was answer on Monday the 13th. This email (********) confirm again the transfer was cover on the package and instructed me to contact Sunwing rep. for the return transfer. After many attempts done by the Concierge of the resort (*****) we finally got in contact with Sunwing. Apologetically, they told me that they cannot help since there is no record of airport transfer on my reservation and ask me to contact Tripcentral to get a return transfer. I tried again an email to tripcentral with no results. I ended up paying another taxi with 200CAD this time, since I had no more USD. On 19Nov23 I sent another email to Tripcentral, as instructed on the only email I receved from Tripcentral on the 13th and I attached the copy of the receipts I got from the Taxi drivers. Until now I got nothing from them not even a small sign that they are trying to solve my issue. Because Tripcentral is the company I paid in full for a service I expect I will be reimbursed by them. I do not seek anything else then recover the money I had to pay extra: 120USD + 200CAD

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/12/2023

  Hello,

  We sincerely apologize for the delay in responding to your concerns.
   
  Upon investigating the issue you raised about the transfer cost to/from Temptation in Punta Cana with Sunwing, we discovered that our website had incorrect information, by reaching out to Sunwing and our Marketing department, they confirmed the discrepancy. But the investigation took longer than expected.
   
  To rectify this and express our sincere apologies, we would like to issue a refund. Please find the email we sent to you from customer service department and reply back to it.
   
  Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your understanding. Please reply back to that thread with the name and address and we send out a check.

  Customer Service Team

  tripcentral.ca

  JB
   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/12/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The initial response from Tripcentral was promising a refund. However, that did not happened, and, after more then a week of silence, I received a second email saying that I should get a refund from Sunwing in  up to 16 weeks.

  I found this being totally unacceptable.

  Even if I totally understand the possibility of errors, glitches or mistakes to happened on any business, I do not understand why I am getting involved into a dispute between Tripcentral and Sunwing. 
  My point is that I paid Tripcentral, in full, when I was requested to do it, for a service that was not delivered as advertised.
  How and when Tripcentral will recover the money from Sunwing shouldn't be my concern. 
  Since for any business, "Costumer satisfaction" should be first priority, I was expecting Tripcentral to reimburse me, (the customer!) first and find what is behind the error later.
  

   ******** ** *** ******* ** ****** ******* ** *** ************ 

  
  Best regards!
  ***** *******
  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 27/12/2023

  We have since spoken to the client and we have sorted the situation . Client did mention to us that they wrote on the BBB before we spoke and sorted the concern and we realized that he submitted a BBB . The file has been sorted and client should be satisfied with the outcome. Customer Service Team , tripcentral.ca AK 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/01/2024

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/11/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  10.27 1:38am I booked a Punta cana vacation package for 11.1 (booking number *******). I used a chinese credit card to pay, tripcentral don't accept payment but still charged the money and refuse our vacation. During negotiation, we were repeatedly asked to provide a hard copy of our credit card and the CVV security code, customer service often hung up on me or transferred me to an unanswered line. 10.28 in afternoon I noticed tripcentral has already cancelled my booking without any notification. After I noticed the money has been accepted by ******* in 10.31, I thought tripcentral instead of taking responsibility for their negligence, they put the customer on the hook. 1. tripcentral repeatedly asked for information about credit card security and made us continue to pay more money after refusing to refund us an amount they did not accept 2. tripcentral shirks its responsibility: tripcentral canceled my order without my consent before I tried to cancel it, and at the same time, the record of my request by customer service **** change to "I requested a cancel" instead of "I requested a refund" . Customer service insisted that I canceled the order on my own so the platform can follow their "100% non-refundable booking" policy, which takes advantage of the consumer's lack of information. 3. I've consulted with a lawyer and he believes that this is a violation of my consumer rights also a ********* purchase. I have the right to sue and I am already informed the Ontario Consumer Protection about this. 4. tripcentral claimed that they could not accept our money but ******* as a genuine service provider could charge for it, so why say they could not accept it and could not provide the service? **** ** ********* *** ********. 5. This is a disputed transaction. The company was unable to provide any evidence that we had actually enjoyed the service, and blamed it on the consumer refusing to take responsibility for the loss. (****** **** ******** ******* ** **********)

  Customer Answer

  Date: 17/11/2023

  I want to tell u the complaint id ******** has been resolved
  
  Submitted on 11/1/2023 against tripcentral.ca
  
  I received refund last week.
  But thanks for BBB help.
  
  Thanks
  ******* **

• Initial Complaint

  Date:20/07/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We booked a trip in January 2023 to travel in august 5th 2023. We always book to travel during the day. The flight was for 10am in the morning. Trip central changed our flight departure time to 4:45pm and 10pm departure back to Canada. That means 2 days of lost and inconvenience. I want to know why Sunwing didn’t give us a choice on flight times rather that just picked a ridiculous flight times for us? We asked to change it to earlier day time flights and was told that we didn’t take flight cancellations. We didn’t change our flight, you did! We checked and Sunwing did have earlier flights but refused to change it cause we didn’t have insurance. Please take note we didn’t change our flights you did! So please change our flights to an earlier time! Please don’t inconvenience people when it’s not their fault! The agent at trip central is not helpful and I am not sure if she even tried when we asked for flight change. Do you think it is the right for you guys changing peoples flight? We paid allot for this trip and deserve to have a say when you choose a ridiculous flight for passengers! I am asking for a better flight time and we are not paying or some other type of compensation. But will like better flight times!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 20/07/2023

  We were sorry to hear that you have experienced a flight change with Sunwing airlines. Flight times are never guaranteed and can change at the airlines discretion anytime.

  We have an advisory department and usually with flight changes we , tripcentral.ca , are not given options to offer our clients. We understand how frustrating it can be when our plans are changed and we don't have the option to choose. We did investigate and see that there was a change back in January 2023 and an email was sent to the email on file that read as follows: 

  January 31 ,2023 at 8:53pm 

  We have receive a schedule change for your trip in August, here are the details:
  

  Depart Toronto on August 5th at 355pm arrive Punta Cana at 815pm
  Depart Punta Cana on August 12th at 925pm arrive Toronto on August 13th at 155am
  
  Regards,
  
  --
  Travel Support Team
  tripcentral.ca 

   

  It seems that change was updated on your file , again no options to change or cancel given by the airline Sunwing. Then another smaller change caome into our advisory department

  on 

  April 17, 2023 at 12:44
  

  Hello,
  
  Please see your updated flight times from Sunwing Vacations
  
  
  Departure Date: Saturday, August 05, 2023
  Departure: Toronto (***)
  Arrival: Punta Cana ****)
  Flight # New: *****
  Departure Time New: 16:45
  Arrival Time New: 21:05
  Terminal New: 3
  
  
  Departure Date: Saturday, August 12, 2023
  Departure: Punta Cana (***)
  Arrival: Toronto (***)
  Flight # New: *****
  Departure Time New: 22:15
  Arrival Time New: 02:45
  
  
  Thank You
  Travel Support Team

  We update our files as the flight time changes come in and as mentioned this particular change arrive to us without options to cancel or change. Some other agencies do not have this service so clients just find out by chance when the tickets come in.  We are so sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused but we did advise you in writing on both occasions as the changes came into us . Now , keep in mind that it can still change so if it does we will advise you again and update your file. Within 24hours of the flight it is up to the clients to check the flight times and adjust your schedule accordingly. We thank you for your comments and we are always sharing with our travel partners that flight times and changes are disruptive to our clients  in hopes of them not making as many changes as they do currently.  All the best and Happy Travels ,Customer Service Team , tripcentral.ca , AK 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:17/02/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I booked a trip with trip central then Covid-19 hit and I got a voucher sent to me by trip central. I booked a trip as I’m leaving feb 22 to March 1. There is 6 of us going on the trip. My sister and I booked the trip online through trip central site, the price was good at the time so we booked it and of course I had to apply my voucher at the time of booking got an email from them confirming my price and I have attached email to show all of this. Then I get a call from trip central saying my price will be different because at the time of my booking no agents were on duty, so I needed some one to verify my voucher. My price increase by 500 dollars in which was insane but what could I do everyone else all ready booked. Needless to say all six of us booked that night and I’m the only one that got charged 500 more. I contact trip central on many occasions from emailing them to talking to them online and to this day I am still getting the run around, as I can tell by all the email and the last email from what I am thinking is a manager and the way that they talk to me by saying ****** I'm not sure which part of my explanation is not clear for you. No what isn’t clear to me is I booked a trip and because of my voucher I’m getting charged more because some one was at the office from trip central or ***** *** to confirm it. It should be confirmed in the system seeing you guys are the ones that send out the numbers the eight digit code supposedly it should be verified by the code. Seeing it took me over a month to get a reply back from customer service and the attitude I got with is so not valued customer service. The only thing I got with the run around. Trip central also told me to reach out to ***** *** they gave me a number but the sad part is that ***** *** is just another travel Agency and was very annoyed with me for calling them they also stated when I spoke to the manager from all of us on the trip Central does this to them all the time. He also stated to me that only travel agencies can contact ***** ***.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 21/02/2023

  Dear client, 
  
  We are sorry that this whole booking process has been frustrating for you. For us as well, tripcentral.ca, we have had nine staff as well as management work on your file to try to assist you. I share that with you so that you do feel reassured that we were not dismissing your file and effort has been put into the booking process. After reviewing the file we see that you attempted to book and you received a "tentative booking" because you were using **** ***'s voucher. Bookings with **** *** vouchers are handled differently, if they are being used we charge a processing fee of $65.00 plus tax and they have to be verified from the tour operator to get a confirmed booking. We see that we did not charge you the processing fee at time of booking and we will not be charging this.  
  
  It is unfortunate that the time and day you decided to book the particular tour operator, **** ***, was closed and unable to verify your purchase. By using our tools this allowed you to book the space as a tentative booking to at least hold the space; but the pricing needed to be verified. You received a "tentative" booking confirmation from the tripcentrla.ca's website, which meant exactly that, tentative and not confirmed. Upon being able to reach **** *** and having them verify the booking it was discovered that the price **** *** was charging you, was higher. After management involvement, we were able to negotiate with **** *** and together we were able to reduce that cost:
  The verified price at time of accepting the booking **** *** was charging you $2876.00 CAD, we were able to bring it down $280.00. Yes, our goal was to get you the original cost that you saw at the time of the "tentative booking". **** *** the supplier has full control of the price and they collected for the package they quote us the new price of $968.00+330.00taxes. If we compare that to the price your travelling companion paid, it is a difference of $320.00 , not $500.00 as mentioned in your comment. **** *** will not negotiate this price further.  
  
  The adjusted cost was quoted to you and it was accepted, it was accepted by a 3rd party but non-the-less it was accepted. At this time you could have decided not to accept the cost. There is responsibility in accepting the booking so we are not sure why we are still in negotiation when the price was already adjusted by both parties. Tripcentral.ca does not control the price, we did not charge the processing fee and we did not add anything to the quoted price. The payment was made to **** *** and they applied the voucher and collected the difference. There is nothing more we can do at this point. 
  
  Yes, it would have been nice to be able to just confirm you at the lower price, but the use of vouchers restrict us from booking in the usual manner that would have secured the price of the day if we were just booking without vouchers. Not to mention that the operating hours of **** *** prohibited our staff from securing the "tentative " reservation until Monday at which that point **** *** prices changed. It's not the ideal way tripcentral.ca likes to do business but we had no choice. Contrary to what **** *** may have said that tripcentrl.ca should be responsible for the price change, is not a reasonable statement seeing at we do not control the prices and we will not pay for our customers to travel. This is why we have confusion as to why this matter is still being discussed after accepting the quoted price. That is correct that **** *** does not speak with the public, but they have advised us that you made several calls to them to discuss your file. We have addressed this issue with the individual that asked you to call the supplier to clarify and explain that this is not the process. 
  
  You have the right to express your disappointment at the whole situation which you have with numerous staff and as well with the BBB . We agree that you did not do anything wrong, you made the booking and then you follow up on the reservation. At the same time tripcentral.ca didn't do anything wrong. The booking was held tentative, so space would not sell out and we called to verify the vouchers once the tour operator opened on the Monday. We cannot advise **** *** how to govern their prices or vouchers. All we can do is communicate them to our customer. We tried to explain this to you, the customer, the events that took place, and to explain where tripcentral.ca has control and were we do not, so if you felt that by asking if part of the explain was not clear it was a valid question to see where we needed to recap to make it more clear. We will take a look at what we can control, for example, changing the process of how vouchers are currently being processed as bookings through our system can be improved. We will have a discussion with management and marketing to see if there is a better way to process bookings when clients have vouchers and we will put this discussion on the table to try to improve the process. We appreciate the opportunity to just reply to your comments, one more time. Our clients do mean a lot to us and our goal is try to make the booking process as smooth and easy as possible, we constantly work towards this and try to make it our mission. We are happy that you are booked and you have a trip to look forward to we continue to be here to help you until you have travelled and returned. 
  We wish you all the best and Happy Travels .
  Customer Service Team   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:14/02/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Tried to book a trip advertised on their site... directed to call with a code only to be told trip / location NOT AVAILABLE at the price advertised.... then tried yo upsell!! DONT ADVERTISE if unavailable!!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 15/02/2023

  Dear client,
  We're sorry for the inconvenience and confusion you had with booking your trip through our website. Unfortunately, we have no control over the offers our suppliers make.
  Our booking system has no way of operating under live pricing . It is made , by design, a two or three step process to present the last and final price and availability. If the availability and or prices have change with our tour operator it is correct they can remain on our site until updated properly. We agree that both supplier and broker (tripcentral.ca) should offer an up to date service to advertise, but since a lot of data is exchanging in our website and suppliers data base, sometimes it takes a long time to up date the information on the website.
  
   Our intention is not to trick, deceive, fool or bait and switch our customers in anyway. We are a honest and forthright company with the best intentions to educate our clients ,provide good choices for them in their search ,  and inform them with our website and tools. Our system will bounce to the accurate and true price and availability of the package but only after the two click to retrieve the most accurate information . We do this before the clients put the payment on the file.  At this point you our clients are informed of the most accurate space and price to then finally decide or look for something else because it is not longer available.  
  
  We do advise clients in several areas as well on our website that show the "contract of sale" on our website and we disclose that prices are not guaranteed and space not held  until booked and  charged at the current selling price. We do apologize if this seem unjust and not transparent for you but we do try to disclose where we can . We know its not perfect and it is not live pricing but we do maintain the website as accurate as we can for our clients. 
  
  Again, we're sorry for your disappointment and recommend you to call *** *** ****, talk to one of our agents. I assure you our agents are expert enough to find you a package according to your taste.
  
  Thank you

• Initial Complaint

  Date:31/01/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My fiancé and I have been working with tripcentral to book our destination wedding. The sole reason to go with a travel agency to book a destination wedding is to have a central person that books and answers questions of prospective guests. We have not and are still not receiving this service. It started off with having a travel agent that did not respond to any inquires for weeks and after complaining tripcentral matched us with another travel agent, named Nicolle. Our guests have been asking Nicolle for quotes and information (for room upgrades, land only trips and etc.) such that they can book their trip but instead we get excuses that the carrier they are working with is not responding to them and we have to be patient. After weeks and weeks, our guests kept complaining that our travel agent was not getting back to them and some even declined to come to our wedding as a result. So I called in to complain stating that if tripcentral is having difficulties with carriers, then provide a refund for deposits paid such that we can salvage the remaining time to put our wedding together directly with the carrier or another agency that can provide quotes and information to our guests. Trip central’s representative refused to give a refund but promised to take actions to make the situation better. I explained that it isn’t right to take our money (the deposits) to essentially lock us in with them and then not provide the service. It has been a month since then and still we only get excuses why they can’t provide a reasonable service to us or our guests. Every part of working with trip central has been difficult and filled with excuses as to why better service could not be provided, from blaming the carrier to blaming our guests for no longer wanting to attend due to poor service. We are not interested in the excuses, we just want reasonable service where questions are answered and quotes for any requested changes or add-ons are provided in a timely manner.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2023

  Thank you for your comments about the experience you are having, had  with your group booking, with us ************** and *******. We are sorry to hear that you feel the service level does not meet your expectation. Our reply is sent without malice and with genuine concern on how to be better at what we do . This is our goal and continues to be our mission. 

  Having seen the file our agent holds there is a lot of correspondence to and from guests to ************** to suppliers, back from suppliers , to guests. So there is action on the file and it is being handled and managed almost daly since the start of the group booking. Groups is a different booking process. It can be a very stressful process for the organizer of the group as well as they are also dealing with the preparation of the event as well as trying to satisfy all the guest that decide to join the group. To be honest, we don't always agree with how groups are handled by our suppliers and ask any agent post covid , it is frustrating as an agent as well. For sure we can say that that in almost all group cases they take longer from start to finish then an individual booking .

  Yes , correct , we did transfer your group to another agent at your request as you felt your group was not being managed properly. After a few more months under another agent care and still having the same issues , well that has proven that most of the responsibility has to fall on the supplier in this case. Upon investigating and speaking with both the agents that have worked on your file , they are in agreeance that it was a very difficult and slow process from the start trying to get simple information from our supplier *******. This resulted in delay from the agent to the guests travelling with the group. For example you make mention to the "land only pricing", we found numerous emails from ************** to supplier repeatedly requesting and in the end  begging them to provide us with a price. Yes , it took forever to get the price from ******* resulting in ************** in a situation that we needed the price from the supplier to quote the guest. Not getting this hindered ************** agent from proceeding in a more timely manner. So we agree, both you , your guest and ************** agent frustrated and embarrassed to be honest with you. For that we apologize.   

  So you can see that it is not our agents at all but the way the supplier is managing our group that has cause us hardship as a result of how they have been handling our group . We say this unequivocally, we are not making excuses and not throwing the supplier under the bus but we are a well organized agency and when two of our best group agents have distress because of how long it takes to get a reply , well then it is a dominos effect and our clients are not happy . If there was any evidence that our agent was not doing their job then there would have been an intervention. Clearly  this is the case cause here we are writing on the BBB .

  Rest assured that we have addressed your group with the supplier. In this case,  *******, that they need to take a look at how they manage groups and try to implement some improvement in the process moving forward.  I will say both agents that worked on your file are amazing at what they do and operate very efficiently and professionally  in their day to day duties.

  Cancelling when you decided to cancel was not an option as we, you and ************** , were in penalty situation with the supplier ******* and cancelling would have resulted in loss of funds. So it was not so much that we didn't want to relinquish you so that you could pursue another venue to handle your group but more so not being able to get out of penalties. At this point starting over would have resulted in the same outcome. You would now be in a position of both chasing the supplier for answers for you guests as well as answering to your guest complaints and concerns. We did at least take that responsibility from you. 

  Your request to have reasonable service is not unreasonable. After looking at dates of incoming emails from your guests to the agent, the turnaround time from our agent to the guest was very quick. Again the delay was when tripcentral had to go to ******* for information. That is when the waiting began. Yes because you had to wait for answers and they took  longer then we both would have liked , we apologize. Our intention is to help our client plan and book a trip and make it as stress free as possible for them.  Please do let us know if our agent was rude in any way or her demeanour was inappropriate this we can work with our agent and try to improve should this have happened.

  It is not easy organizing a group and lets' face it , it falls on the organizers in the end. So we do appreciate and understand  that you have felt frustration from your guests complaining to you and giving opinion of how they felt their requests were being handled and that they were not getting a reply in a timely manner.  We know this cause we deal with the suppliers. We accept that during the booking /quote process it took us way too long to get back to our guest because we were waiting on our supplier. No excuse by any means , a fact and truth. As mentioned we will share with our supplier , just as you have here with us and with our agent , how disappointed we both are in the response time for our concerns , quotes, requests, ect . trust it will be passed on with good intention that things will be better. 

  We are still available to hear from you if you wish to discuss this further please reach out to us at ***************@************** . 

  You are departing soon and we do hope that the trip is everything you hope for and more.Customer Service Team , ************** 

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:23/01/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I dealt with ***** at Trip Central at the Sudbury office in NOV 2019 and booked an ******* ********* tour and flights for SEPT 2020 which of course was cancelled due to pandemic. The Sudbury office was closed. I paid 6577.00 for the tour and 1610.94 for flights plus 400.00 deposit. I began speaking on the phone with Trip Central in April 2020 and since I had purchased the "best" insurance I was told I would qualify for refunds. In August 2020 I was refunded 6577.00 for my tour. Airfare was still in question at that time. In 2021 ******** airlines started refunding airfare and an email from Trip Central in April 2021 stated that refunds were forthcoming. In January of 2022 I received a refund of 860.94 which was not the full amount I had paid for airfare. (I had paid 1610.94 for airfare so 750.00 was still outstanding). In September 2022 after 2 years and numerous confusing calls to my agent (***** ******* I called ******* ********* and their rep (******) told me that "because I have a travel agent they cannot speak with me directly or discuss my account" . She also advised me to ask for a Manager at Trip Central. I called their main number and requested this. From this point on I was connected to their customer service department . In October 2022 I received an additional refund of 400.00 but still not the full amount. I emailed on Oct 24 and reply from ****** ****** in customer service stated they are looking into this and are pending a reply from ******* *********. There has been no further response and I have emailed again in November and in January. My booking number is ******* . I have been trying to solve this issue since April 2020 as stated.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 30/01/2023

  Hello Dear Client, Thank you for your email . First, we would like to apologize for how long it has taken to finally clear up all your refunds. We will reach out to ******* again on your behalf . Our last conversation with them early November , we were advised that the all the refunds were processed.We will have to investigate further and find out where it stands. We will be in touch as soon we can push this to completion. Kind Regards, Customer Service Team , tripcentral.ca 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 30/01/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I am still without the balance of the refund. No explanation has been provided. If there was communication with ******* in November I was not made aware of this. It is nice to hear they will "investigate" but that has been said repeatedly. I would like this finalized and to receive the balance of the airfare (350.00) which I paid to ******* ********* via Trip Central. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/03/2023

  Hello Carol . We appreciate that you have reached out on BBB for assistance as this refund has taken far too long and we do agree with you. I assure you , we still have a open customer service file regarding your refund, so you have not been forgotten or dismissed. Today another emailed was forwarded to the ******* individual that was looking into your flight refund .  We have sent numerous emails to ******* to please please look at your file and resolve our issue and finally refund you the balance of the ticket . Lets see what the response is to the email i forwarded today. We are working to try to resolve but sadly the covid tickets are still in such disarray even the airlines don't know what they have or have not refunded. We are looking into it and will reach out to ******* next week once again to follow up for you . We would like to get this resolved finally as well. Kind Regards, Customer Service Team , tripcentral.ca 

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/03/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I cannot accept the response until the matter is resolved and refund is paid. Please continue your efforts to obtain a full refund on my behalf. Thank you. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/04/2023

  This issue has been solved and ******* ********* has refunded the client the full amount . 

  We apologize to our mutual  client that the refund took so long but some files went by the wasteside during the chaos of covid time. 

  We have advised the client that the file is completed. 

  All the Best 

  Customer Service Team 

  tripcentral.ca 

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/04/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******