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Business Profile

Travel Agency

UTOvacation

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Travel Agency.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 600 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 139 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

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.

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Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:19/03/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 would like to file a complaint against UTO vacations,** ** ******* *** ******** **** *********. I booked a trip to China and Japan for Oct. 2024. I received a notice in Feb. 2023 that it was wise to cancel this trip . UTO felt it unsafe to go to China at that time. They strongly suggested we cancel the trip and offfered a credit-good for 2 years-due to expire 5./1/25. I had a trip cancelled with them during Covid,received a credit and was able to rebook an amazing trip to Egypt with them. I gave them rave reviews at that time for a great trip!. I have checked weekly for almost 2 years to book a new trip. --they have upped their prices to $13,000-20,000 for trips that are available on other travel websites for $2-3,000 dollars,. They have made it virtually impossible to use this credit! I have a credit of $7848.00. As a working nurse this is alot of money to me! I do understand inflation, however many travel companies( *************** * *********************) typically have been in line with UTO's pricing. Hundreds of UTO customers have had this issue and I believe this company is comitting ****** " https://********************************************* " ...*Please review this link. I would like to file to get my money refunded. I thank you in advance for your assistance and really appreciate any resolution you can acheive in this matter. Thank you for your help and thoughtful consideration. My Best Regards, ***** *****

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:11/03/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 with UTOvacation. They ended up cancelling out trip, offering us a refund. The refund has never come and they continue to hold our money. UTOvacation has stopped responding to email or their phone line. They have ******* us and many others refusing to refund people their money.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:26/02/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 bought a trip to China, but because of Covid, UTO canceled. I asked for a refund, and they said they couldn't give me a refund, only a credit towards another vacation. I chose another vacation, and they canceled that, too. I requested a refund again, and they just put my $958 credit toward another vacation I should book. I called multiple times, but they would not return my money. So I started looking to use my credits but the prices of all their vacations were prohibitive, no one in their right mind would book them. T*** ** * ****, and because of all the other complaints, some governmental authorities should shut this business down and force them to pay back all the money they ********

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:18/02/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 vacation with this company. They cancelled it right before we were supposed to leave. The company is nearly impossible to get ahold of. If you call it hangs up on you, if you email no one responds , if you chat you can’t get a straight answer from them. They promised to send out a refund check it took months to arrive and is next to impossible to cash.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:18/02/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 originally booked a trip through UTO in 2021 that was cancelled due to Covid. I was not given a refund, only a travel credit. I then booked a trip to Shanghai in 2022 for 2023 which was cancelled. I was given a full refund by way of credit on account (no money back) and now have $4322 credit on file that expires in 2026, even though in 2023 I spoke to a representative, Jane, and was told there would not be a problem to extend the expiration date, they are now saying they cannot do that. Now there is not any tour offered for less than $15000 despite the fact that competitive tour companies off the same tours for less that 1/4 the price! I have tried to speak with their customer service group on numerous occasions getting no satisfaction! * ******* **** *** ********* ** * ***** **** ******** *****! What can I do?

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:05/02/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    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 UTO to go to China and Thailand for $299/person. They told us to cancel and wait to go later. We listened to this. We got back on the trip for 2024 and then UTO cancelled on us and promised a full refund within 15 days. This was in October 2024. We still haven't received our money and now uto is telling us to leave them alone.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 03/03/2025

    This is ******* regarding my complaint against UTO vacations. We did receive our reimbursement check, albeit 4 months after it was promised, but everything seems to be resolved. Thank you for following up

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/02/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 vacation package with UTO Vacations for China/Japan trip that was scheduled for 10/29/2024. They were supposed to send me the travel itinerary 30 days before my departure date of 10/29/2024. I never received any information from them and after a couple of days I contacted them and they said they could not honor the scheduled vacation package. We agreed that I would get a refund for the amount of $1,156 and they said it would take 6-8 weeks. My 8 weeks were up in the first week of December 2024 and still did not get my refund. Later I received an email on December 30, 2024 that they would send my refund by January 15, 2025. I followed up with them last week and they said they mailed it sometime 2 weeks ago. Never received it yet so I chatted with them again and now they said they mailed it out a couple of days ago and it may take 30-40 days by mail. I have attached this chat. It is obvious they they have not mailed my refund yet and not sure if I will ever get it. They are playing the "stall" tactic game with me and thus I need BBBs help to get my refund. Thanks.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:23/01/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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.
    • Tour cancelled • $1,,152.00 paid • Refund refused, account credit only • Manufacturer conditions to prevent utilization of credit • Credit expires. Rinse & repeat —— Operator timed delay tactics and manufactured conditions increased buffer between third party options (ie BBB.) Similar tours once $800/pp now $11,000+/pp. —— Over 700 Trip Advisor reports on the same scam. First 50 posts alone, which decided to share amount spent, conservatory totals over $65,000. UTOvacations are still doing this, rumored to have been changing names to further obfuscate. Ripe for class action Please stop them. Please force refunds.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/01/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 put down a deposit on a trip to Asia with UTO on 9/8/22. On 3/24/23, we were given an option to put our credit ($1202) toward another trip, which we did, due to the political situation in China. We were going to go to Peru with them this November, but they never applied our credit to the trip, and it’s impossible to get in contact with them. When I first purchased the trip, the company had good reviews. Now, reviews say it is a scam, so obviously we don’t want to pay the balance of the trip and risk traveling with them. We should get our deposit back.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:02/01/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 husband ****** ** ****** and I paid $2,578 for a trip to Japan and China scheduled to depart the U.S. on March 3, 2020 and return March 17, 2020. UTO Vacations cancelled the trip due to the Covid Pandemic. We paid in October of 2019. They have offered us other far more expensive trips since that time but have refused to refund our deposit which included $580 in compulsory tips to guides and drivers. My husband is now 88 and not very mobile and has been this way for the last two years. We arranged this tour with our friends--3 other couples. This company has not responded to any of our correspondence requesting refunds. Their travel credit to us expires on December 31, 2024. We are hoping your help will get us some response from this company.

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