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:02/25/2023

  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.

  Balloons Over Georgia accepted payment of $850 from me for a private ride. They shadily asked me to pay in advance, in full, and I accepted that as a show of good will. They seemed like nice people who may well be disorganized. This purchase was on August 29, 2021, which was now 17 months ago. Since then, we have scheduled with them 8 times that they cancelled on account of weather. The weather cannot be changed, but what is problematic is that the business is taking other customers. The "Reviews" page lists 14 other people who have bought and completed a flight during the 17 months we have waited. As well, in email correspondence, they say that this is just the way their business runs. They have conceded that they have at least one customer that has waited 4 years without service.None of this is indicated on the web site. There aren't specific terms listed, so a buyer is left to read the reviews to understand what they are offering and how it works. One review included a trip from *********** to ride, which implies you can normally get a ride during a 3-4 day window of being overseas during a trip. Another review talks about emailing and then getting a call back to ride the next day; we've never successfully gotten them on the phone, only over email. Another reviewer talks about their flight going off "without a hitch", which implies they did not encounter even one cancellation.For justice' sake, I think many things would make sense here. For my own sake, I just want a refund on my gift certificate. I'm not confident I'm getting my ride at this point and feel cheated.My attachments are:- The reviews page from their web site - The email recommending a gift certificate (paying in advance)- The rude email telling me it's normal to wait 4 years - An email showing they make you wait over a month with each reschedule

  Business Response

  Date: 08/26/2023

  There was nothing shady about me telling them that we offer gift certificates on the website or they can pay with cash or credit card after the flight. First let me say that our website clearly states No refunds.  However, our certificates do not ever expire. This is because we can not control the weather.  What ************** has left out is that the only time they were able to go is in the afternoon on a weekend.  My weekends get booked up first.  I told them over and over that we have a better chance of flying in the mornings as the weather has not had time to build.  What ************** also failed to tell you was that they cancelled on us!  And we would have flown that day! They canceled at such a last minute, that I was unable to reschedule anyone else, which is a serious loss for me to have. Flyable day go by with no passengers.  This business is dictated by Mother Nature. We can not control the weather. Some people call up, book for the next day, and we are able to fly. Some people call, book for a month away, and we are unable to fly.  At that point we reschedule them if they so choose. Sometimes we get it done quickly, other times it can take years.  It all has to do with when they can go!  If they can go during the week, and can do a morning flight, we have much more availability.  Again, ************** insisted on a weekend, in the afternoon, which is yes, his prerogative, it just means I have less availability then and the weather is usually worse in the afternoon than in the mornings. What Mr. *********** experienced is not that uncommon in this business.  The way he chose to handle it, was.  Telling me I should change the platform of which Ive run my very successful business the past 30 years!!  This is my 1st BBB complaint, which in my opinion proves how unreasonable this man is!  Again, it clearly states, NO REFUNDS.  Once he canceled on us he forfeited his flight. After the way he continually harassed us, we deemed it a safety issue to carry him on board our aircraft.  If one cancels on their ***** Airlines flight, they dont then give you a refund for your ticket!  And if you harass the captain, you can be held legally accountable for that!  I stand by our decision in this matter and our excellent, 30 year reputation should speak for itself. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/28/2023

   
  Complaint: 19496951
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I was offered a refund but have not received it, nor has there been any other remediation of the problem. I was informed by email on March 1, 2023, and again on March 6, 2023, that I would receive a refund. I will resolve the BBB complaint if I receive the refund as promised.

  The rest of the details seem immaterial, but on some of the specific points:

  1. I was told before the purchase that I could cancel my flight and move it. Part of our agreement, emailed to me on August 26, 2021 was as follows: "Since her schedule is so sporadic, a gift certificate would be the best option.  Its perfectly fine if you need to change your date." This was a specific condition of the purchase, made ahead of time. It was reinforced many times over the duration of our engagement with each other.

  2. In practice, I am not being offered a reasonable way to ever get into the air. There have now been 9 cancellations. On my last attempt to book, on March 28, 2023, I offered to fly on any day, not just weekends, and I was told it would take 4-5 months to get me a slot, and that I should expect **** attempts in order to successfully fly.

  3. I feel increasingly unsafe about this whole venture given the nature of the emails I am receiving. The rules keep changing, there are many derisive comments, and I am receiving many all-caps sentences with bad spelling and punctuation. I worry about what will happen to me and to my wife if something unexpected happens while in the air.

  I would like the refund that I was promised.

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