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Business Profile

Travel Agency

UTOvacation

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Travel Agency.

Important information

  • Customer Complaint:
    Due to the volume of complaints received, BBB is publishing the details (text) of 25% of complaints as a representative sample.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 571 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 98 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:07/10/2024

    Type:Order 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 paid for and booked a trip with this company. The terms and conditions state clearly that I would receive my flight, hotel reservation, and tour information 30 days or more before departure. It is now LESS then 30 days. I have reached out. They won't share any information with me and only tell me they are going to call me when they have the information. It clearly states that all my information will be uploaded and available to me 30 days before departure. I am certain that there is no trip, and they are ******** my money. I have met ALL the terms and conditions. They won't refund me, only tell me someone will call me. My trip is less than 30 days away, * **** **** ** * *****.
    Order ID Tour Code Departure Date Paid Balance
    #***** ******* ********** U$2,294.00

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:04/10/2024

    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.
    Better Business Bureau
    [BBB Address]

    Re: Complaint against UTOvacation

    To Whom It May Concern:

    I am writing to file a formal complaint against UTOvacation, a travel agency based in Toronto, Canada. My experience with this company has been extremely frustrating and disappointing, and I believe their business practices are deceptive and harmful to consumers.

    On September 09, 2022, I booked a trip to China with UTOvacation, paying $2,392.00 for a tour scheduled for November 2, 2023. Due to travel restrictions, the trip was initially canceled and rescheduled for October 24, 2023.

    UTOvacation failed to provide the promised trip itinerary, including flight, hotel, and tour guide information, which should have been sent 30 days prior to the departure date. Despite numerous attempts to contact them, I received no response.

    On September 27, 2024, I finally received a call from UTOvacation. They offered to reschedule my tour for October 2025, with a $1,000 credit to use on the trip if I agreed. This marks the second time they have postponed my trip without proper communication or consideration for my plans.

    Upon researching the company, I discovered numerous negative reviews across various platforms, with customers reporting:

    1. Failure to deliver on promised tour components
    2. Substandard hotel accommodations
    3. Refusal to provide refunds
    4. Last-minute tour cancellations
    5. Offering only credits for future tours with inflated pricing

    Furthermore, I learned that UTOvacation's BBB accreditation has been revoked, which raises serious concerns about their business practices.

    I am seeking a full refund of my $2,392.00 payment. UTOvacation's repeated rescheduling, lack of communication, and failure to provide promised services constitute a breach of our agreement. Their actions have caused significant inconvenience and financial stress.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:04/10/2024

    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 am filing a formal complaint against UTO Vacation regarding two trips I purchased from them between 2020 and 2021. After attempting to reserve the trips for specific dates several times over the course of past calendar year, I was informed that the requested dates were unavailable. I also discovered that the trip prices had increased significantly since the time of purchase.

    I have made multiple attempts to resolve this issue directly with UTO Vacation by calling and emailing, but I have received no response. Additionally, I attempted to use their online chat service but was consistently met with generic, unhelpful responses that did not address my concerns.

    Despite their failure to provide any services or honor the original pricing, UTO Vacation has refused to refund the money I paid for these trips. As a result, they are effectively withholding my funds without providing the service I paid for, which I believe constitutes an unfair and ********* business practice.

    I kindly request your assistance in investigating this matter and holding UTO Vacation accountable for their failure to deliver on their obligations.

    Thank you for your attention to this complaint.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:04/10/2024

    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 trip to China and Thailand through UTO vacation. They never confirmed and I had to cancel that trip with the promise to get another one with my credit money (1,994.00 USD). Every time I tried to book a trip, it was sold out or not available. Every week for almost a year I have been calling to find a solution, get my money, pay for another trip but I have not been able to get anything. Their prices are currently outrageous and I do not want to lose the money I work so hard for. Our other friends are in the same situation and now I see a lot of ppl are going through the same.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/10/2024

    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 paid on Nov 28, 2022, online **** card U$796.00 and paid on Dec 12, 2022, online **** card U$560.00. Total was U$1356.00 for a Tour package to China and Japan for 10 days plus Tokyo 3 days 2 night extension ( post tour ). UTOvacation company not provided the tour package. ( Failure to provide services ) , and they said it is not safe to go to china. I saw the ad from *********. Please help me to get my money back. Thank you.
    Tour code: *******
    Order ID: *****
    My Account ID: *********

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:29/09/2024

    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 came across this website (www.***********.com) through *********. They offer some great packages and one of them is a 10 day China/Thailand tour, which is around $800/per person. I booked this package for 4 person and paid $1592 as deposit. This tour is offered even when CHINA is officially closed and this tour company keep saying we are on target to visit China. Not to be surprised, the tour is canceled based on COVID and UTO can only offer travel credit. However, here comes the clever part. They inflated the price so high on all of the tours, either you lose the credit or pay 40 times of the normal tour cost. This company is based in Ontario, Canada and running another website called https://www.****************.com.

    Here are the details about my booking and credit.
    Booking Date: 2022-06-24 00:09:03
    Order No. *********
    Customer: ********************** 
    Email: ********@*****.com
    From Order Id Date Added Description Currency Amount
    ***** 2022-11-25 19:33:15
    Order Credit Allocation USD 1592
    Credit Issue Date: 2022-11-25 19:33:15
    Credit Expire Date: 2024-09-16
    Credit Balance: U$1,592.0

    If you can read about this company in ************ you will realize that this company baited people and ****** money from them.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:24/09/2024

    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.
    On October 10, 2022 UTO Vacation advertised a trip to China and Japan for $499 each, I purchased 4 for my kids and myself. When I tried to booked the exact date to travel, I was told that we breached the contract as they sent us an email which we had to sign and send back by a certain time. This was NOT TRUE as I check every email that comes to me. After many conversation back and forth, they decided to credit us the total of $2788 towards other travel. I have been checking their website constantly to use this credit and everything on their website is over US$12,000.

    I have since traveled to Japan and their is nothing that I can use my credit of $2788 to purchase. I have made numerous contact to their company and is not reaching anywhere to get back my money. This company refuses to refund money and it has passed the period to get my credit card to cancel. Please help

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:23/09/2024

    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 China Adventure 9/10 day trip with UTO Vacation and spent a total of $5,192.00 for this trip for our family of 4 people on 11/26/21. Payments were made throughout 2021 and 2022.
    UTO cancelled our 5/3/23-5/12/23 vacation due to COVID restrictions. We did not cancel. We were ready, willing, and able to go on the trip, but it was cancelled by UTO. We politely accepted a credit and were told that other trips would become available. Multiple times we called to follow up as we were having various issues. Many of the trip offerings were quickly sold out before we could coordinate trip plans among all of us and/or the price of the trips were more than double and triple the price for us to even go so we have not been able to find a suitable trip in cost and trip dates. We were told that the trip credit is due to expire in November 2024. Since we will be unable to use the credit, we kindly request a full refund. This money is incredibly a lot to lose and request the BBB's assistance in getting this resolved.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:23/09/2024

    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.
    On February 3, 2022, we purchased 5 vacations on a "Price Buster" China Trip scheduled for April 2, 2023. We paid $3,960 on that date and then paid the remainder $1,000 on February 20, 2022. Poor communication with the company followed with promises that the trip is still happening, etc. etc. Then we got an email in October 2022 saying that Hong Kong has gotten rid of the quarantine requirements and things were looking good for the trip. "In case China is not opening fast enough and you can not depart for China on your original booked date, we will help you make relevant changes or to convert your funds to travel credit for future use. If you are not willing to wait for too long to take off for exploring a different part of the world now, You may also select a different destination to visit. Kindly also stay tuned for our monthly promotions for new products."
    None of the promises from this email were upheld. Another email in December 2022: "For our booked China tour customers departing before July next year. If you still wish to take exactly the same China tour as you initially booked, In order to avoid rescheduling your China tour back and forth or postponing your future departure date over and over, we will help you to rebook your China tour date after the Chinese government officially announces its full reopening in the near future." Another email Dec. 30, 2022, "If your trip is longer than 6 days, you'll need to reschedule."
    And with that, we received a credit that will expire on October 2, 2024--just a few days away. And emails have ceased, along with any new vacation packages. We've been checking! And no refunds. I'm not the only one. This YouTube video has many angry customers commenting: https://*********************************** I've reached out for help before my credits expire to help book a trip and all they can do is show me to this website: https://***************************

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:20/09/2024

    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 am writing regarding UTO Vacations. I booked a trip through them 6/2022 paid the initial deposit of $198 USD, then paid another $400 USD to them in 7/2022. This was advertised as a trip to China and Thailand. Soon afterwards, the trip was "rescheduled". I was given the option to only reschedule the trip, but since that time, I've been closely monitoring the trip in order to rebook it. There have been times that the trip has been "sold out", but mostly the trips have been greatly increased in price. For example, right now on their website, they are advertising their "Ultimate Thailand and China" trip as being on sale for $10,499 (regularly $12,199). That is a markup of ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY PERCENT!! I firmly believe that the company drew people in with an amazing travel deal offer, knowing full well that they would NOT honor that deal, and then they would mark up the prices so much that they would just be allowed to keep the money people had paid. Our "credit" is now expired with this company, but with the prices, we wouldn't have been able to use the credit anyway. It's way too much of a markup for us to have ever used. Is there a way to get the company to refund us the money or are we just out that money?

UTOvacation is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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