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:09/22/2024

  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.

  I took a tour of Ireland with you from Sept 12, 2024 to Sept 19, 2024. I booked it in March of 2024. My CIE representative was ****** *****.I told ****** that I have a disability affecting my mobility. I had even asked her whether I could bring my ****** on the tour. My tour included several activities that turned out NOT to be accessible:1. ************* (try using a rolling ****** over cobblestones...)2. *************** Medieval Dinner (stairs...., no elevator)3. Skellig Experience 4. Cliffs of Moher (all the golf carts they use for disabled people were down and I could not make the climb).When booking the tour, I had asked ****** if I could stay on the bus if I were unable to participate in an activity. She said yes. That turned out to be untrue. Instead, I had to walk a lot more than anticipated to find a place to ***** paid good money for these experiences, which turned out to be wildly inaccessible despite my best efforts to plan ahead. I knew nothing about Ireland going in. This is where I depend on travel agents, like ******, to provide accurate information. I expected better!I attempted to email **************************************** (after being advised by a representative when I tried to call to discuss all this), but the email bounced back. *** doesn't seem too interested in hearing my concerns. I would really like to talk with someone from there.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/23/2024

  To whom it may concern, 

  CIE Tours systems record every inbound and outbound call. We have reviewed each of the 8 calls and at no time on each of those calls did the guest advise CIE Tours that they had mobility issues. We are happy to download each of these calls and send them to the Better Business Bureau if required.

  We are disappointed ******* did not enjoy her vacation in *******, we at CIE Tours pride ourselves on our superior client satisfaction ratings. 

  We would be happy to extend a 20% discount off the land portion of a future CIE Tours guided tour to the guest to encourage them to come back and travel with us again on a more suitable tour suited to their mobility limitations.

  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

  Kind regards, 

  ***** ********************************** Manager 

  ********************** 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/06/2023

  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.

  I booked a trip with CIE Tours for my family on July 20 2023 which included a separate purchase for trip insurance. Recently my mother became very ill with a long term medical condition and requires 24 hour care and as a result has had to come live with my family full time. Due to this unforeseen problem we will not be able to go on the trip as planned. I wrote to CIE Tours and received a reply from *********************************** that I would receive $750.00 refund but that penalities would be charged in the amount of $1887.00. The trip insurance I purchased includes the Enhanced Cancel For Any Reason Penalty Waiver benefit which states:"Part A of your Protection Plan includes the CIE Tours Enhanced Cancel For Any Reason Penalty Waiver. This allows you to cancel your CIE Tours travel arrangements up to 1 day before your scheduled departure for any reason not specified by Part A of the Travel Protection Plan. Under this benefit, CIE Tours will refund the amount of your cancellation penalty in CIE Tours travel certificates."Per the trip insurance terms I should receive travel certificates for the cancellation penalty amount of $1887.00 so that I can rebook my travel with CIE Tours at a future time. I am not asking for my money back but rather to have the penalties money remain with CIE in the form of travel certificates and available as a "credit" when I book the tour in the future. Several attempts to call CIE via phone to resolve this issue at ************ were not successful.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/29/2023

  Dear ********,

  I am so sorry you had to cancel your reservation due to your mother's medical conditions.

  The ******** protection you purchased allows you to cancel up to 24 hours prior to departure for any reason and if cancelling day of departure it must be for a "covered" reason.

  Per the cancellation letter that was sent, the procedure is to file a claim with ******** by calling ************** or online at www.********.com/wpf429t.

  Your claim should be for $750.00 to recoup either a cash refund or a voucher for future travel.

  The cost of insurance $1137 ($379 per person) is not refundable or claimable.

  CIE Tours refunded $750.00 to your credit card ending in 5141.
  

  I am happy to inquire about the status of your claim if you can provide your ******** Claim number.

  Any questions please contact me directly, ****************************************

  Kind regards,

  ****

  
  ********************; | **************** Manager ************************************************************************* 
  *********************************************************************************
  cietours.com  | Cras Iompair ireann | reservations: ************
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/07/2022

  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.

  Booked a trip in 2019 for March travel in 2020. Hours before departure, we were notified of cancellation due to Covid. Travel was restricted in 2020 and most of 2021 due to Covid. Sent numerous emails and a few video calls to try to resolve travel. Our booking was extended several times for future travel. While getting answers took multiple contact with our agent, we finally agreed to terms. We were told in March 2022 we could book our trip in 2023 and our trip would be honored at same price as long as we booked the same tour. A contract was sent with new stipulations and price was almost doubled. When questioned, our agent stated it was the first she had heard of the new requirements. We were told the tour must be taken in 2022 to ensure the same price. We were told previously we could cancel and forfiet our deposit. After years of changing terms from CIE we decided to forfiet our losses and cancel our tour. June 6th we received an email stating our refund was no longer eligible for a refund. I feel we have been deceived. Our trip was cancelled due to a global pandemic. We abided by the everchanging rules and stipulations only to have them change upon our decisions. CIE states, their offices are closed and will only handle travelers with trips ocurring in the next 30 days. I feel this company is a scam. Reading reviews, this appears to be happening to many travelers. I have dozens of emails to verify information.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/22/2022

  Dear ****************,

   

  The pandemic did affect all travelers booked on our tours. Anyone who had a reservation that was cancelled retained a Future Travel Credit. No refunds were given due to this. The majority of travel companies, airlines, etc. did not refund, so CIE was in good

  company!

  The policy at the time when your credit was issued was that clients had to book a new date by end of 2021---then because the pandemic continued to cause worldwide closures and restrictions we extended the rebook date to 2022.

  We did protect the price for clients that are travelling this year as restrictions lifted.

   

  Unfortunately we could not extend price protection into 2023. This decision was based on many factors--the number one reason is that travel to all countries that we visit are fully open.

   

  If you have outside trip insurance (you did not purchase the plan we offer) then you can advise your travel agent to cancel your reservation and file a claim.

   

  Kind regards,

   

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

  Customer Service Manager

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

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/03/2022

  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 tried to book a trip with CIE *********************** ****** sent us to Avoya Travel. We paid a deposit of $250.00 per person for trip on March 28, 2022. On April 20, 2022, we had to cancel the trip, and that is when I was told that the deposit was non-refundable. I was not told prior to paying deposit, so I wasn't given the choice of deciding if I should wait to book trip until I was positive we could go. CIE Tours is blaming us for not being aware of their policy, but I think that was something the travel agent should have told us prior to taking our money.I started with *************************** from Avoya Travel, and he did not communicate in a timely manner with us, so I reached out to *************************** from CIE and he pretty much said it was our fault, too bad.Usually if you cancel as far in advance as we did, (our trip was scheduled for October 22, 2022-6 months out), tour and cruise companies with give you the deposit back.Our trip was to Iceland, and res# ******.$500.00 is a lot of money to lose.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/08/2022

  Hi ********,

   

  Can you please contact me directly at *********************************************

  I will review your complaint and see if we can come to a resolution.

   

  Kind regards,

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

  Customer Service Manager

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/22/2022

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  In Sept of 2019, I booked a tour with CIE to depart 2020. The deposit and trip insurance was paid by credit card for $1598. The 2019 invoice did not include health related information. The Passenger Agreement was electronically signed. It states if it becomes necessary to cancel a coach tour prior to departure, CIE Tours will offer the next available date at no additional land cost OR make a full refund of all monies paid to CIE Tours. We have never been asked to sign additional Agreements.On Aug 27, 2020 CIE cancelled the tour because of Covid-19. We asked for a refund; they would only refund the deposit $1000 and not the trip insurance $598. We were offered a Covid Cxl Rebooking Incentive ($400) for 2021, which we accepted. This incentive did not appear and was not calculated on subsequent invoices.The 2021 invoice now included essential information which was not communicated in our phone call. As the tour date approached we did not feel comfortable being on a lengthy trans-Atlantic flight and riding on a tour bus with 26 others for 13 days since Ireland was experiencing a Covid surge. We asked for a refund and was steered toward rebooking for 2022.The 2022 invoice now included mandatory requirements for travel. We called CIE to explain that although my husband is vaccinated I am not due to medical and religious reasons. The rep was adamant about no refunds, not even a partial, and threatened to hang up and end the conversation.I am requesting a full refund of $1598 since CIE cancelled our tour. Furthermore CIE has added restrictions and mandates which were not in place when I first booked in 2019 and Signed the Passenger Agreement. They failed to advise us of health directives, orders, and constraints randomly added each year. They will not provide the service it presented in 2019 invoice unless we comply with their latest revisions.Their bank refused to work with our credit card bank. I have documents to snail mail to prove my case.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/23/2022

  Dear *****,

   

  I am so sorry your experience with CIE has been less than satisfactory.

   A full refund of $1598.00 will be issued via check shortly.

  The address I have on file is:

   

  533 ****************

  *******, **

  37641

   

  Kind regards,

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

  Customer Service Manager

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

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/23/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  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.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************