Tauck — A travel company acting badly, Part II
This is a follow-up to an earlier blog about travel company Tauck. You may want to read it first, so you know what’s going on: read Part I.
Complaints
I have filed several complaints about Tauck. The BBB is not useful as they just bounce letters back and forth between the two parties involved in the dispute. It may take a bit of time for my complaint to be posted, but meanwhile you can read what others have said. Unfortunately, the BBB rating is not useful at all. Years ago, I was involved in an incident with a plumbing company who attempted to charge me almost $10,000 to find a leak. Yes, $10,000. Not to repair, just to find it. I eventually got an attorney and prevailed, but despite my filings with the BBB, they refused to knock down the companies rating from an A+. BBB ratings, in my opinion, are meaningless. Read the complaints if you want information.
I also filed a complaint with the Attorney General of Connecticut where Tauck is based. They did the same thing as the BBB and just bounced the letters back and forth between us, before giving up.
I filed with the Attorney General of the state where I reside and that is ongoing.
The Consumer Protection Commission filing is also ongoing as of this writing.
Tauck’s response to everyone is that they have “successfully litigated this refund issue.” So basically, they have high-powered attorneys that are not going to give you your money back.
Recently, in response to a negative post by me on Tauck’s Facebook page, a couple women remarked that they had had good experiences with Tauck. I do not doubt this. However, if Tauck cancels your trip–as they did with mine–they will keep a sizeable portion of your money. Then, they made a big show of rolling it to another trip within the calendar year. Problem is, all spots on the trip I wanted had already been sold out as of the time of their cancellation. Tauck claims that 10% of the amount of money I paid was for their insurance, but THEY were the ones who cancelled! However, if this was travel insurance, then why did I lose thousands on non-refundable train and airline tickets? Because it is just a way to keep money from guests. I NEVER received a single cent of all this lost money. That is not how travel insurance works.
My late husband used to say that character is revealed in times of adversity. I believe a company’s true character is revealed when things go sideways. Here is what did NOT happen, but it is what SHOULD have happened . . .
A Pretend Scenario in Which Tauck Steps Up
Tauck: We are so sorry, but your trip has been cancelled by us and will not run.
Me: Oh no!! I am all packed and we are supposed to leave in a few days.
Tauck: We are so sorry and understand this is difficult.
Me: I have non-refundable airline tickets!
Tauck: As promised, we will help you with that.
Me: OK, thanks. What about the Christmas Market Cruise? Can we roll the money over to next year?
Tauck: We are so sorry but every spot has been sold out. Would you like to take a different trip?
Me: No. I told my daughter I can only take time in early December for this Christmas cruise.
Tauck: We understand. You wanted only to go on this particular trip.
Me: Yes.
Tauck: In that case, since there are no spots left and you have been with us for two years now–since your trip was also cancelled last year– we will fully refund your money.
Me: Thank you. It is a lot of money and you have had it for about two years now.
Tauck: We care about customer service, and we hope you will consider traveling with us in the future.
Me: I absolutely will. I look forward to writing a good review about how your company stepped up during the pandemic.
Tauck: Thanks for that.
What Really Happened?
Tauck kept my money and made it clear that they had “successfully litigated” this before. What did I do? I filed lots of complaints and will continue posting on social media to warn others about their business practices. How long will I do this? Forever. Really–forever.
Check out the forum about Tauck on Trip Advisor. I am not the only one with a bad experience.
Don’t travel with Tauck. Especially now.
My Recommendations for Great Travel Companies I Have Actually Used
Read my reviews on TripAdvisor, Yelp, and other sites about travel companies. Two I highly recommend are Africa Dream Safaris (incredible company) and MIR (I’ve taken 3 amazing trips with them).
Have you tried filing a complaint with Elliott Advocacy? https://www.elliott.org/
I will be canceling a trip with Tauck as they are requiring vaccination for all their trips. They have no right to require us to go through any medical procedure. Since our trip is near the end of the year we should get our deposit back. However, the insurance cost is another matter. Since they changed the terms for travel midstream, we feel they should also refund the cost for insurance. We’ll see!
Yes. I tried but they were not interested in pursuing this.
Not only will Tauck NOT refund what they call the “insurance,” but it turned out to be useless because I lost thousands on airfare and train tickets for which Tauck never gave me a single cent. Tauck claims that was not covered under this supposed $699 per person “insurance” policy. It was misleading from the start.
I am vaccinated and boostered, but of course it is your choice whether to do it. COVID is quite serious though.
All the best to you!