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:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  Dear NC BBB:
  
  My friends and I planned a trip to NC in May from Michigan.We saw the ad for the Trikke Tours in Raleigh and decided to book them for our senior group. A few days before we were to drive there from Michigan, our driver came down with Covid. I had booked the tour with the understanding that if there was any inclement weather or issues such as this, our money could be refunded. I did not want to risk anyone's money. The owner agreed to this,, and refunded one of our ladies funds, however they bait and switched my other friends into getting future e-cards for a later date.My friend also accepted this for me , when I wanted a refund. I was out of town when this happened.The next date we could possibly make it was in October.
  
  We were then told they would be on vacation and we should pass our e-ticket to someone else or come back another time. We will not be visiting NC again after our visit in October. The company has refused to answer any of our calls anymore,and is citing a policy they agreed to bend for our senior group. They are keeping$68.90 each from Four of the members in our party. This is $275.60 approximately for all of us. As seniors, we are all on fixed incomes and this money is important to us.
  These are bad business practices and we would like our monies returned to us. We do not want an e-card.
  Please help us in this matter. They will not e-mail or return our calls. This has totally spoiled our reunion for all of us. We have all been friends since Kindergarten and this was our dream trip togethe
  I also think this company should be taken out of the North Carolina Magazine as it is not reputable. They do not post their home address, and only work thru a web address
  
  The original tour was booked for May 13, 2022 10-12 AM for a tour of downtown Raleigh.
  The next date was in early October.
  
  Any help and assistance you can give us will be greatly appreciated.
  Thank You

  Business Response

  Date: 09/04/2022

  This customer (Ms. ***** ******) is referencing a tour she and her friends group (Ms. *** ****** *** ***** ******* *** ********* ******* *** *** ****** ******) individually booked with us for a May 13, 2022 tour, which they subsequently cancelled. Four of the cancellations came just two days before the tour and didn’t qualify for a refund.

  Ms. ****** contacted us through our website on 2/12/22 with an interest in possibly booking a tour for 5/13/22. We answered all her questions and provided a link to our FAQ page that addresses the most commonly asked tour questions. 

  On 2/25/22 Ms. ****** sent another message to us through our website inquiring about our nonrefundable ticket policy. She said she and her friends want to book the tour but since they live out of state they’d want a refund if they had to cancel. We replied that we would agree to modify our standard nonrefundable ticket policy for her and her friends under these specific conditions: 

  (1) Fully refundable with at least 72-hours cancellation notice before the tour date
  (2) Fully refundable if we had to cancel the tour due to extreme weather conditions (i.e., thunderstorms or heavy rain)

  At that time we explained to Ms. ****** that the minimum 72-hours cancellation notice was to make it possible for us to fill their five spaces if they should need to cancel, since her party would represent half of the available space on our tour. She accepted those terms in her written reply when she said she and her friends would move forward then with booking the tour. She also said that each of her friends would be booking their tickets separately, which is what they did. Therefore, each person in her party was responsible for their own ticket.

  On 5/9/22 her friend, Ms. ******, contacted us to cancel. This was within the 72-hour minimum timeframe, so we issued her a refund, per our agreement. She told us in her email that although she was unable to attend, "The rest of my group: ****** **** ***** *** ***** will be there." 

  Two further days passed, then on 5/11/22, three others in the friends party (Ms. Sue LeVey, Ms. Karen Cullen, and Ms. ********* Pruett) also contacted us to cancel. This now was only 48 hours before the tour, so no refund was due. Ms. ****** was the only remaining guest who we hadn’t heard from, so I inquired with one of the last ladies to cancel if Ms. ****** would also not be coming, and she said yes, she would not be coming. 

  As a courtesy, we issued our eGift Card credit to all four of the ladies (including Ms. ******) for their unused tickets. No credit for their tickets was owed, but we issued the eGift Card credit anyway. It does not have an expiration and is transferable should they wish to give it to someone else. We were told they would rebook later in the year.

  For the record, due to their late cancellations, we were unable to fill their tour spaces. 

  When on 8/19/22, Ms. ****** contacted us by email to rebook with her eGift Card credit, the date she requested was 10/7/22, a date our tour was not available. We informed her the next available date would be mid-October as our business would be closed for a couple of weeks for a planned vacation. Our tour calendar is published months in advance on our website, and it shows the dates that tours are available. We told her we are happy to provide the tour on a different date that is available on our calendar. Ms. ******’s response was that another date will not do, and she wants a full refund. We reminded her of the terms under which she booked, which required at least a 72-hour notice of cancellation, which she did not fulfill. We have gone back and forth in emails – 8/19, 8/20 (twice), and 8/26 – with Ms. ****** and, in the last email, we addressed it to all four ladies, laying out the facts. Ms. ****** continues to ignore the facts and insists on a refund. 

  We do not appreciate the libelous accusations made by Ms. ****** in her recent emails and complaint, nor those made by one other member of her party, Ms. Pruett, toward our business. What started out as a kind gesture on our part to her and her friends – our agreement to modify our standard nonrefundable ticket policy and provide a window to them for a refund – has turned into Ms. ****** and one other member of the party ignoring the terms, not taking any personal responsibility, and demanding a refund anyway. We have communicated clearly from beginning to end. We even provided an eGift Card for the full amount of their tickets that they can use at another time or give to someone else. (One of the ladies even lives in Raleigh.) At this point, we have nothing further to add and consider this matter closed.

  Attached is a copy of the original email laying out the terms dated 2/25/22, and the last one recapping the matter on 8/26/22 to the entire friends group. If the BBB would like copies of any other correspondence with Ms. ******, we will be happy to provide it.
  
  Sincerely,
  ***** ********
  Co-Owner
  Carolina Touring Company

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/06/2022

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  When I originally contacted Carolina Touring Company I stated, that because we were from out of town, (specifically Michigan) and that we were seniors we would need a guarantee of a refund if something unexpected came up.This was agreed upon at the time of the first booking. That unexpected event was Covid. Our driver contracted the virus and was so sick she could not drive the distance. We had to scramble and scrap our plans believing we would be able to recoup our payments.
  

  ****** ****** cancelled earlier because she had an urgent matter to attend to in Vancouver and was not able to go . ********* was not offered a refund ,only an E-ticket, believing if we could visit in the fall we might be able to use it. *** ***** also was offered the E-ticket and accepted it for me because I was out of town and ********* told her that was all we could get. We did not see any dates blocked  at this time. We believed a fall date would not be an issue.
  

  We had no idea CTC would do a 360 and keep our funds. We are a group of grade school friends, who are seniors and believe this is bad business.

  California Touring waived their regular policies for us, yet did not uphold their  original agreement with us.Our mistake was paying up front for the tour.,
  

  They have no address to contact them , are causing much anxiety to my friends and ruining the spirit of our first trip to NC and the Raleigh area.

  The right thing would be to return our funds and practice better communication and business practices in the future.

  I also feel that every business should have a way by mail to contact them, and should be accountable for their agreements and promises.
  

  Thank you for your help in this matter,
  

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

  Business Response

  Date: 09/10/2022

  We have answered Ms. ******’s numerous direct email communications with us, as well as addressed her BBB complaint. Our communication has been clear and we have provided timely responses. 

  As previously mentioned, there were only two conditions under which we agreed to provide a refund, which we will repeat here once again:

  (1) Fully refundable with at least 72-hours cancellation notice before the tour date.

  (2) Fully refundable if we had to cancel the tour due to extreme weather conditions (i.e., thunderstorms or heavy rain).

  While we sympathize that this customer’s travel plans were put on hold because one of her friend’s tested positive for Covid, it doesn’t change the terms under which Ms. ****** booked. She and her friends received full credit for their tickets with our eGift Card, and we are happy to host them on a tour if they want to come in the future. They also have the option to transfer that credit to someone else. We were under no obligation to provide the eGift Card credit since they cancelled outside of the agreed terms, but we did it to be thoughtful of their situation. For the record, due to their late cancellation, we did not have time to fill the spaces we lost on that tour. 

  All of the frustration that Ms. ****** has expressed in her complaint could have been avoided entirely if she’d simply checked our website calendar in advance. She would have seen that we are not available during the period she and her friends wanted to come.

  It’s unreasonable for this customer to assume that just any date she picks will automatically be available. Since 2008, we’ve run one of the top-rated tours in Raleigh, and our tours are available year round. We have plenty of fall dates she can book in October – the month in which she wanted to use her credits – as well as in other months. And if this year doesn’t work out for her, she can use her credits next year. 

  As to Ms. ******’s complaint about us not having a physical business address so she can mail us a letter, let us remind her that we are a mobile tour company. Our base is in Raleigh, as it has been for 14 years, but we do not operate out of a storefront. This is very common for tour companies. 

  Once again, we are attaching the original correspondence that laid out the terms that Ms. ****** and her friends agreed to before making any payment to us. It’s very clear language. The facts of this matter have not changed, and while we sympathize with Ms. ******, we have upheld our agreement with this group. 

  Sincerely,

  ***** ********
  Co-Owner
  Carolina Touring Company

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/16/2022

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The Raleigh Touring Company mislead us. Instead of refunding everyone's money they issued e-cards that they knew would  not be refundable.

  When I initially called, i was lead to believe that none of us would lose our money in case of Covid, any illness, or even plan changes that had to be made.

  We all paid our money up front as we were satisfied to the terms of our agreement. We paid our money in good faith and this company has kept it hostage for a long time.
  

  One of the girls in our party received her refund as promised, and since this company could not provide an alternate date during our visit, because of their Vacation schedule, that too is not our fault.

  Our trip to visit was again planned,  and we were hoping to use our e-tickets, however. since this company cannot provide this service at this time, we feel our money should be refunded. They have received ample notice and should just do the right thing. Because they are a "Mobile" company, this should not be a problem for them, as the set up and delivery of said service had not started or commenced on either date. No service was provided in any case.
  

  They have taken the joy and spirit out of our first trip to the Raleigh area.
  

  Taking our senior money is truly bad business. They have taken advantage of us, and not held up to their original agreement, which was not agreed to in an e-mail.

  They have not lost any money on our reservation, and we wish to have our money refunded. We would like the money and the taxes refunded immediately.

  We do not feel this is an unreasonable request, and do not wish to spend time on this any further.

  Thank you.
  

   

   

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