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:08/30/2022

  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.

  I signed my child up for a trip to ******/******** ********************* in the spring and summer of 2022. According to the meeting that was held with AdvantEdge Tours LLC in the spring, verbally they told us that we could purchase trip insurance and it would allow us to cancel at any time and receive a full refund, minus the insurance fee. The trip insurance that I purchased was the ONLY option that was available to me at registration of my child for the ******/******** trip on the AdvantEdge Tours LLC website. We had NO way of knowing at that time that my child would NOT be able to participate in Marching Band, as their schedule did not allow them to take it as a class. I cancelled their trip on 8/29/2022 after having paid $1,300 and received the following email from AdvantEdge Tours LLC: Good morning We have removed ______from the Horizon HS trip to ******/******** next year. You have purchased standard protection and not the enhanced protection (which includes cancel for any reason) and therefor dont qualify for a refund. However, /because we have not made all non-refundable deposits yet we will reduce the cancellation fee to $400.00 plus the non-refundable cost of the insurance. You will receive a total refund of $800.00 back to your card.Best regards,Urte There was NOT an option on their website for "enhanced protection," which seems incredibly convenient for allowing them to keep my funds that I have paid 8 months in advance for this trip. The math was incorrect, as I have paid $1,300 and they told me that I would receive an $800 refund and they would keep $400, as I have paid $1,300. Not to mention that they also wrote my child's middle name in the cancellation email, rather than their first name that was what they were registered under. It is apparent that this company does not give you the option of the insurance that would protect you with a full refund, in order to keep funds for services that they have not provided. Obviously not organized.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/12/2022

  Dear Sirs

   

  Thank you for giving AdvantEdge Tours LLC the opportunity to explain our side of the story in regards to *************** complaint against us.    

   

  Here is a timeframe on the students sign up:

   

  - In February I attended the the parent meeting with Horizon HS to inform the parents about the different insurance options.  At no time have I ever mentioned that the "cancel for any reason" clause would allow a 100% refund of the prepaid, non-refundable payments.   As I mentioned in the meeting we have successfully dealt with many groups during the pandemic and helped all of our students and families with their insurance claim to receive at least a 75% refund as the pandemic is not covered by insurance.   This is our standard explanation when offering the protection as we feel it is very important to secure trip funds.   The coverage for the "cancel for any reason" insurance has always been 75% and not 100%.  As we state in our meetings,  100% is only covered due to illness or death in the family but not because of possible bad grades, move to a different school, or dropping out of band. 

   

  - ************* created a registration for her daughter ****** on February 15, 2022

   

  - On March 28, 2022 ************* finalized the sign up by making the deposit payment, and at the same time purchased the standard insurance.  We understand that it is easy to select the standard protection as it is the top one on the list.   However,  we have indicated on the trip registration page clearly that AdvantEdge Tours is highly recommending the purchase of the enhanced protection, and listed the reason why.  As she purchased the protection she received an email from TripMate confirming the purchase with the insurance fine print. 

   

  - Again, as ************* signed up her daughter she was given 3 options in regards to the trip protection:   Standard Protection,  Enhanced Protection,  Decline Travel Protection.  As you can see on the attached printout each travel protection is explained in great detail, and the enhanced protection has outlined that this protection is including the "cancel for any reason policy" (in bold), which allows a 75% refund of the prepaid, non-refundable payments.  

   

  Horizon HS has 160 students registered for this trip and everyone was given the same choice of insurances.  The majority has indeed signed up for the enhanced version.

   

  As additional proof I will include an email from the Web developer, confirming that the insurance was offered.   I will also include an email conversation with ************* showcasing that in the meantime we have refunded 100%.   We try to keep our groups happy even though we understand that we can not succeed with everyone. 

   

  We pride ourselves in 100% customer satisfaction and very saddened by this situation but trust it will be fully resolved.    If there are any further explanations needed we are happy to answer any questions.

   

  Attached please find the following documentation for your review and to underline our statement:

   

  - Cancellation Request *********************** from August 29, 2022 @ 3:09 p.m. 

   

  - Copy of Email to ************ from August 30, 2022 @ 7:14 a.m.

   

  - Response from ************* from September 1, 2022 @ 9:12 p.m.

   

  - Response to ************* from September 1, 2022 @ ***** p.m.

   

  - Copy of Registration Page for Horizon HS 

   

  - Email from GroupCollect from September 8, **** @ 9:24 a.m.

   

  - Screen Shot of Registration Page showcasing different insurances (enlarged)

   

  - Confirmation email to ************* from March 28 confirming the purchase of the Standard Protection 

   

  - Report that ************* signed and purchased the protection on March 28, 2022

   

   

   

  Thank you again for giving us the opportunity to respond to this unfortunately claim.

   

  With kind regards,

  Urte Land

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/12/2022

   
  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.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************