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:09/08/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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 purchased a vacation travel package to China and Japan trough their website, in the amount of US$2,996.00 order ID #***** for 2 travelers. After paying the trip's full balance, they claimed that due to travel restrictions amid COVID they were no longer offering the trip to China. When I called to request a reimbursement for the cancelled trip, the only options they offered was to issue a credit for future travel only. They promised to offer the same tour within a few months, but they never did offer it. I have called their customer service numerous times and have used their chat service requesting to speak to someone with no luck. I have tried to get a refund since they are not providing the service I initially booked, but it has been useless. I never agreed to a future travel credit, they force you to get one because they do not want to give customers a refund. They have never offered the same travel package and they refuse to give our money back. Please help me resolve this issue. There are hundreds of customers just like me with complaints.Recently, I noticed they have a notice on their website that states that the Canadian Government is requesting they offer refunds to customers. I am including a photo of their webpage as proof.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/08/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  We booked a trip for our family of 5 in 2020 that cost $2395. They canceled it due to COVID-19, which is understandable. Instead of giving me a refund, they issued a travel credit. Ever since then, they increased their travel package price significantly, and I couldn't book anything with my credits. Now it's expiring, and nothing on their website was under $10K per person. Excuse me? 8 days in Greece cost $12000? This isn't any luxury travel package; they are a budget travel company. They do this to prevent us from using the credits to expire intentionally.
  I don't know why this company still exists due to so many complains. Why they are allowed to stay in business and **** more people?

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/08/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  Hello, I booked a trip to China on 09/08/2022, order ID *****, traveling on 10/23/2023. On 02/16/2023 I received an email stating that I needed to decide if I would go on the trip or would like to cancel. If I cancelled I would be charged $700 in cancellation fees and be refunded only $254. My other option was to take a travel credit for $954. I chose to cancel because China was still highly effected by Covid 19. UTO was seemingly pressuring me in to cancelling my order and I later found out the trip was indeed cancelled 2 weeks from departure. I now have a $954 dollar credit balance. Currently every trip option on their site is over $8,000 and most are over $10,000 per person. The trip I originally booked was less than $500 per person. This price difference in what they now offer is massive *** **** ***** **** * **** ** **** *** ******. I have asked for a refund and they refuse. At this point I am just losing $954 and have been rendered no services at all.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/08/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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 on 05/05/2022 on UTO website as it was advertised for $199/person for departure date of 10/27/2023. I ended up paying it full and adding an extension to the trip+direct flight that totaled the trip to $1,712.00. I do not remember the specific dates but I can further search for this email if needed, on January of 2023 we (my other friends also booked this trip) received and email that we were advised to cancel the trip b/c of tensions with China and the U.S- stated only credit towards another trip was available and no refunds would be given. I chose the credit instead of just losing my money. However, it has been more than a year that I have been keeping an eye out for these "special trip deals" they would post every month and since Jan 2023 (when they cancelled these trips and only offered travel credit) all the trips cost 5-10X what they were priced previously. Right now the cheapest trip is around 10,000. My credit expires until next year but I already saw plenty of reviews stating their credit expired earlier and they just got scammed out of their money b/c the trips were price gauged ridiculously high that they could not afford a trip at that cost just to use their travel credit. My friend who booked at the same time as me for the same trip had his trip credit expire this year on April and lost his money b/c nothing was affordable. UTO recently posted that they are able to do refunds now but nothing that has already been dealt with. I do not understand how they are out here just taking peoples money with promising deals, only to cancel the trip, offer "travel credit", gauge up the prices to ridiculous amounts until travel credit expires and they get to keep that money.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/08/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  Date of Transaction: 10/02/2022
  We made a purchase for the China tour in October of 2022 and were supposed to take the trip on October 2024. Last year in July 2023 we received an email that the trip would not be able to be completed and were given the option to take a partial refund or credit for the full price of the trip. We chose the later options as the agent told us they would be running more promotions for the same price. I kept reaching out to them about the credit as all the trips were triple the price of a normal trip at other agencies and the credit wouldn't even cover one person partial trip. The credit issued was only for a year and at this point I kept emailing them about an extension as the original trip wasn't supposed to be till October 2024. No response was ever given by the company and my credit ended up expiring event after multiple attempts. In researching the company I have found several online complaints in regards to the same practices and they refuse to help their customers who lost money in this scam. I would like them to correct this issue.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/08/2024

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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 paid a down payment on a China/Japan trip with UTO Vacation, and paid an extra $400 to join their explorers club to receive exclusive travel offers. Not once in 2 years have I received any emails for the explorers club I joined. I also have not received any communication regarding the trip to China I had booked. This was in the beginning of COVID 2 years ago and they made no attempt to inform me of updated quarantine restrictions or trip changes. Due to the lack of information I traded in the China/Japan vacation for credit towards a Peru vacation. Every time I left a voicemail or sent an email I received an auto-reply and no follow-up. After reading reviews online from numerous people describing the same thing I realized I am not the only one experiencing this and they are not a legitimate company. I have expressed my desire for a full refund for the entire $1242.00 I have spent so far with no response. I guess I will have to contact my credit card company and dispute the charges.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:31/07/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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 purchased a vacation package thru UTO Vacations on January 2, 2022 for $1,492 USD. The trip was a 12 day trip with airfare to China and Thailand. Specific dates were not chosen at the time of purchase and not required to be chosen at the time of purchase. After inquiring with the company about date options, I was informed that because of restrictions placed on travel to China, that the trip was no longer able to be booked. I chose to keep my credit with the company for when this trip became available. In September 2023, the company converted the money that I paid to a generic credit without informing me that the credit was due to expire on May 1, 2024. The company now says that the credit has expired and I am no longer entitled to the money that I paid them.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:30/07/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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 responded to a heavily discounted travel to China for 9/10 days at $299 per person sent to my *** email account from UTOvacation (UTO). On December 1, 2021, I booked the China trip for me and my husband and charged $198 to my credit card, as requested by UTO to pay a deposit or $99 per person leaving a balance of $400. Responding to the reminder from UTO, I paid the remaining balance of $400 on March 18, 2022. On December 8, 2022, UTO sent an update informing us that the trip to China has been canceled due to COVID 19, and that the $598 will be placed on credit to be used to purchase any travel with them. Since then, we have not received any advertised discounted travel from UTO. I also personally accessed the UTO website to see their advertised trips, most of the trips are costing in the thousands of dollars. UTO assigned an expiration date of our credit in September 2024. In your website, I learned that you have revoked UTO's ******** *******, however, will you be able to give advice on how to proceed with claiming the $598 we paid to UTO? No attachments are attached to this complaint because I'm not sure if you're able to assist us since you have revoked UTO's license. Let me know, if you want me to send the files I kept for this transaction.Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:29/07/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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 paid a total of $1092US for a trip for 2 people to China(4 cities) and Thailand (2 cities). The final paymnet of $200 was due June 1, 2024 for travel to occur in October 2024. The Terms and Conditions stated that an email would be send prior to the final payment. The email reminder was never received, and I missed the final paymnet date. The company will not answer phone to discuss, and will not accept the late payment. They only state that, via chat function, they follow the T&C and have hence cancelled the trip with no refund. In fact, the T&C state that they would send communications and reminders via email, and this never happened.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:29/07/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  On June 21, 2022, my sister and I booked a vacation with UTOvacation via an advertisement on *********. We purchased the "Ultimate Thailand and China 10 days" trip with two trip extensions for a total of $994.00. This included Room1(2Adult)[Twin Room (Two Separate Beds)] Standard Tour package fee of U$598.00 Include : Room price : U$200.00 * 2 ( adult ) = U$400.00 and a mandatory UTOvacation`s Travel Assurance Program: U$99.00 * 2 = U$198.00. We also purchased two extensions Phuket 4 Days 3 Nights 4-star extension ( Post-Tour )99 X 2 = U$198.00, Bangkok 4 Days 3 Nights 4-star extension ( Post-Tour )99 X 2 = U$198.00. For a total of $994.00.
  
  The trip was meant to depart on February 16, 2023 and return on March 3, 2023.
  
  In December 2022 we received a very confusing email from UTOvacation that China's borders were closed and the trip could either be canceled or a credit provided. We elected for a credit since the company stated they would NOT refund our trip if we canceled.
  
  On December 30, 2022, we received another email from UTOvacation stating that China's border had suddenly reopened and we were given 5 days to chose whether or not to take the trip. The language in the email included: "There will be no cancellation or service fees to again convert this booking to a credit voucher for future use." UTOvacation also claimed in their email that they would offer a similarly priced deal in the Spring (2023) and we could rebook our trip then: "keep an eye out for our upcoming spring festival promotion where we will offer never-before-seen prices on China-related packages with “Flexible terms and conditions, including more forgiving “no show” policies and additional perks (starting at $249 with flights)” to celebrate the country’s reopening. You can use your credit to rebook then, if you’re ready."
  
  UTOvacation has not listed similarly priced vacations and refused to refund our trip. The travel credit is set to expire in August 2024.