ComplaintsforEducational Travel Services Inc

• Initial Complaint

  06/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We signed up for a Camas East Coast Trip (2L41) for our 8th grade son ***************** with Educational Travel ************* bcak in 2019 (who will be a junior in *********** this September). We paid a total of $3200 between September 2019 to March 2020. The trip was postponed from 2020 to 2021 and due to the worsen covid situation, we decided to cancel the trip on February 2021. I have been emailing back and forth with this company since February 2021. In the beginning, they did have an estimated timeline for receiving our refund. We totally understand that there must be hundreds of students who were impacted by this and therefore casued the lengthy waiting time for refund, so we waited patiently. Every time when their estimated date for refund approached, I never received any refund. I would email and chase on our refund, every time we would get a new delayed date. They kept on pushing out the date, every time they have different excuses for the delay. It does not make any sense and totally not acceptable for a company to process a refund for over 16 months. Educational Travel Services Inc. has been holding on our funds for a long time and we had never received any services for these money. Then in April 2022, they decided that they can no longer provide me with an estimated date of when i will receive my $3200 refund. I emailed they agian on June 15 and chased again on June 28, but no reply. I also tried to call them, no one answered the phone calls. This company handled the process very poorly, they did not take care of their customers who they took money from more than two years ago, and were unfortunately never able to get on to the trip. $3200 is a lot of money and I hope they dont think its OK to just ignore and delay the refund infinitely. This is just so wrong! Not ethical whatsoever for holding on customers money for such a long time. They need to take on the responsibility and do what is right!

  Business response

  08/04/2022

  I apologize for the delay in my response, I have not been in the office.  Unfortunately, COVID has been very hard on our business with decreased staff and two years of lost revenue.  We will still processing refunds to the best of our ability and hope to have more information regarding the timing of ******************* refund this month. 

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

  Customer response

  08/05/2022

   
  Complaint: 17504934
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the case is still not resolved.  The business is still not able to confirm and issue refund as they should have.  The case will only be resolved when I receive the refund which is what I entitled to.  Covid has impacted the business hard, and it also impacted our family hard too!  Covid can no longer be the reason for not refunding our money, it has been 2 years now.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  08/10/2022

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

   

  Your refund has been one of the last few to process, and we apologize.  You will be receiving a letter this week or next with refund information. 

   

  Sincerely, ********************;

  Customer response

  08/20/2022

   
  Complaint: 17504934
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  I will only accept the business resposnse when we receive actual refund.  Until then, the case is still not resolved.

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

  Business response

  08/26/2022

  To the BBB, Please close this complaint.  It has been fulfilled to the best of our ability.  I have informed the parent that a letter has been mailed to explain the refund claim process.  This is a Covid related complaint, please close.  Thank you, ********************;

  Customer response

  08/29/2022

   
  Complaint: 17504934
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  We did NOT receive any letter that explain the refund claim process from Educational Tracel Services *** as per Ms ******************* indicated in her response.  Please confirm where the letter was mailed to. 

  I am not sure why the business is sending us a letter anyway, there should not be any letter mail to us, we are asking for refund, the business should just send us a cheque.  Our refund should be processed without further delay, there should not need anymore claim process that we need to take.  It has been over 2 years now.  If the business would like BBB or the customer to close the complaint, all they have to do is refund us what we entitle to.  Please do not use COVID as an excuse anymore.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  09/01/2022

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

   

  We have verified we have the correct address for your family and a letter was mailed with refund claim information several weeks ago.  I am sorry you didn't receive it.  I will have it sent again. Better Business Bureau, this matter is closed on our end.  Thank you, *******************, ETSI 

  Customer response

  09/07/2022

   
  Complaint: 17504934
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  We will only accept business' response and close the case after we receive the refund.  As of now, our case is still not resolved.  

  To Ms *******************, I understand dealing with endless customer's complaint can be very frustrating, I am sure you want to close this case just as much as we do.  To speed up the refund process, rather than sending the letter by mail (of which we might never receive), you can email the refund claim information to my email at ********************.  This will ensure we receive the letter - Although I do NOT agree that further refund claim is required.  A cheque will close the case quickly and all at once!
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Customer response

  09/19/2022

  Dear *******,

   

  Thank you for your message.  

   

  I am writing to confirm that we NEVER received the mailed refund claim information from Educational Travel Services Inc, not in the mail nor in the email that I provided in my response back on September 7, 2022.

   

  Best regards,

   

  *******

  Business response

  09/26/2022

  We have responded to this multiple times. We have nothing further to comment on.  A letter was mailed to this family with detailed refund claim instructions early last month. 

  Customer response

  09/26/2022

   
  Complaint: 17504934
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  no refund nor letter was received.

  I just sent an email directly to the the business provided my email and phone number.  If mailing a letter fails, the business should try to get in touch with us by other means easily.  It is very clear that the business is just messing around.

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

  Business response

  09/29/2022

  ***************,

   

  We received confirmation that the USPS  delivered it, however I will email it separately for your review. 

  Sincerely, 

  ********************;

  Customer response

  10/09/2022

   
  Complaint: 17504934
  
  I am rejecting this response because: 

  The email I received was a bankruptcy Notice, NOT a refund claim instruction!

  We feel this business never intended to refund our money back to us since the beginning.  We spent over 2 years chasing for our hard earned money but was always giving all different kinds of excuses for the delay.  We tried to be understanding in the past and tried to be patient.  But at the end, we received the bankruptcy notice and become a victim of this awful bankruptcy.  
  

  We are only ordinary people living in simple life, so never encountered this kind of situation.  We feel helpless now, dont know what to do and where to seek for help
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  10/17/2022

  Unfortunately, it isnt happy news. **** has worked hard and done our best to navigate the devastating effects of COVID on the travel industry as a whole and our business specifically. Unfortunately, the loss of nearly two years of business has resulted in our company needing to file a Chapter 11 Reorganization Bankruptcy. We are so sorry that taking this step became unavoidable. Unfortunately, ETSI employees are unable to offer any legal advice or answer any questions about this process, so I dont have any further information to share.
   As the parent/guardian of a former traveler who has not yet received your refund, you should have received a letter from the law office of ***********************. Please refer to the second page of the notification letter for instructions to you as a creditor including the meeting date, contact information and instructions about next steps for claiming/receiving your refund.  
  I wish you all the best.

  ********************;

• Initial Complaint

  04/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We are ********************* and ***************************** We signed up for an Educational Trip for our 8th grade daughter through ********************** in 2019.The travel company for this trip was Educational Travel Services Inc. (ETSI).Plan # ******GRPS088323 Group # ****** We paid $4500 between 10/8/2019 and 3/18/2020.The trip was postponed 2 times and we had to cancel. We had purchased trip insurance through ETSI.ETSI emailed us and promised to send a refund on: 4/8/2021, 8/20/2021, 11/16/2021, 11/16/2021(again by another person), and 1/13/2022.We have not received a refund.

  Business response

  04/20/2022

  To whom it may concern,

  Regarding ***************************** and *********************, it is correct that ETSI received correspondence and we communicated back every time in a timely fashion answering all questions.  We even provided all of the paperwork (attached) for this family to file a claim for an additional refund with the **** or Cancel for and Reason **************** ************* this family purchased was not through ETSI as indicated in this complaint.  It is through a company called Travel Insured, which has no business affiliation of ETSI.  However, we were so happy we were able to point them in the direction of this policy before Covid.  They will be refunded 75% of what ETSI does not refund this family.  We have helped 100's of families file claims, and they have received refunds.  We can provide the correct paperwork, but we cannot file the claim for them.  That will have to be done by ***************.  Regarding the refund from ETSI, unfortunately, it is delayed and still in the queue to be dispersed.  We hope to have this resolved soon and feel terrible about the delay.  Covid destroyed 3 years of our business and we are doing the best we can. 

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

  President, ETSI

  Customer response

  04/27/2022

  Complaint ******** My complaint was closed but I didn't get time to reply. ETSI said they provided us what we needed for the claim with the third party trip insurance company but they did not. I need a refund letter from ETSI to send to Travel Insured. ETSI shared the refund process is two-part. First, ETSI will process your refund and determine the total non-refundable to me. They shared this normally takes place in just a couple of days, but they anticipated the process taking through June. (A year later and I have not received this information) They said they would send me a letter with the details of the refund. They did send me the documentation I needed to start my claim with Travel Insured. They told me Travel Insured will need a copy of the letter they would send me, along with the proof of payments to ETSI. They shared this is the second part of the refund process that is taking up to 6-8 weeks after I receive my refund from ETSI. (Again, I am still waiting for this) I never received the letter from ETSI with the details of the refund to send to Travel Insured to complete the process. I have emailed them for the last year and I have received nothing but the initial documentation I used to start the claim process with Travel Insured. I cannot complete the process with Travel Insured until they receive the letter from ETSI with the details of the refund. ETSI said their business has been hurt by COVID, but the $4500 I sent them could not have hurt that bad! What did they spend it on? it has now been a full year now and they promise, but never deliver a refund.
  

  
  

  Business response

  06/08/2022

  Good afternoon,
  
  The insurance purchased was through a company called Travel ********************** not though our company Educational Travel Services.  We are of no affiliation to this insurance company although 100s of our travelers has filed a claim and been refunded 75% of what was nonrefundable to the traveler.  We have provided this family the contact information on several occasions.  Filing a claim is something only the travelers parent or guardian can do.  I apologize, that is totally out of our control.  
  
  Regarding the refund, we are working on the last handful of them, and notifications of refunds will be going out by the end of this month via mail.  We apologize for the delays. Covid took and full office of staff down to a handful and we are doing the best we can.  We are just as disappointed in the outcome of Covid as the travelers.  
  

  
  

  Customer response

  06/08/2022

   
  Complaint: 17027451
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I received an email from ********************* on April 8th 2021 in which Jan states the refund process is two part. She indicates I would receive a letter from ETSI with the details of the refund, and that Travel Insured will need a copy of this letter they are supposed send me

  . 

  We did initiate the claim with Travel Insured when we received these instructions from Jan with ETSI. The problem is that I have never received the letter from ETSI with the details of the refund. I need to submit that letter, along with the proof of payments made to ETSI. 

  I just need the letter from ETSI with the details of the refund to send to Travel Insured. 

  Can they send me that letter directly at ******************* or through this forum?

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

*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. ↩