Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Canterbury Pilgrimages & Tours's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Canterbury Pilgrimages & Tours

  166 South River Road Suite 110 Bedford, NH 03110-6928

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  Canterbury Pilgrimages & Tours

  PO Box 403 Goffstown, NH 03045-0403

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:07/28/2023

  Type:Product 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.

  In Nov 2022 my parents told J. C******** of Canterbury Pilgrimages that I would be accompanying them on the trip, Shrines of Japan, March 15-28, 2023. The trip was to include 3 Days & 2 nights in Akita, visit the Chapel of Our Lady of Akita Catholic Church. On Dec. 10, 2022, I received notification via phone from one of the trip's organizers that the trip dates were changed to April 18-May 2, 2023 due to the fact that the convent was under renovations & would not reopen till April 28th. Canterbury did not do their due diligence in seeing if all locations would be open before advertising it. Canterbury received notification from a prospective pilgrim of the closure of the Convent/Church due to extended renovation, Canterbury was unaware of this until her call. She related this to my parents. I was unable to attend the revised dates of April 18-May 2. I would never have signed up for the trip over these dates as those conflicted with my school schedule. All communication was through my parents as this was to be a family trip for me and my sister. On Dec. 17, my parents said they would contact Allianz Insurance, to see if they would refund the deposit of $450.00 + insurance $229.00 + Airfare $1,906.21 = $2585.21. Allianz insurance denied the claim as the reason was not one stated on the policy. My parents tried working through Canterbury but they were not helpful in resolving this issue. Canterbury did not make any effort to represent them to Allianz. Canterbury did not accept responsibility for changing the dates which resulted in the loss of $2585.21. Canterbury's behavior has been totally unprofessional and is unacceptable for a company that advertises itself as a "Catholic" pilgrimage company, there has been nothing "Catholic" about the way they treat their pilgrims. A trip advertised for March 15-28 was a total misrepresentation to the pilgrims on the trip. Again, had I known the pilgrimage was scheduled for April 18 - May 2, I would not have registered.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/14/2023

  Thank you for bringing this
  matter to our attention, and for allowing a delay in response for J.
  C******** during his time away from the office. He is most familiar with
  the situation and is currently working with the client on a resolution to
  this issue, and we ask that you allow more time for us to come to a
  private resolution. 
  We can confirm that we did
  change the travel dates in question for the pilgrimage to Japan from March
  15-28, 2023 to April 19-May 2, 2023 due to renovations at the Our Lady of
  Akita convent, which were not known to us when our client, the group
  leader, presented us with their desired dates of pilgrimage several months
  ahead of the pilgrimage. Dates and itineraries are always subject to
  change and we are clear about this.
  ******* is the sole member of
  a family of four who was unable to partake in the Catholic pilgrimage on
  its new dates in April 2023. His mother, ****, who booked the pilgrimage,
  shared after the fact that the pilgrimage was "truly wonderful,
  spiritual and enlightening!" While it was unfortunate that *******
  could not attend, he was well within our policy to receive a partial
  refund worth $250.00 for his initial deposit of $450.00. Unbeknownst to
  Canterbury, ******* filed a travel insurance claim for his trip in an
  effort to retrieve lost funds, effectively putting to use the $229 policy
  he purchased. Had the claim not been filed, it is likely the $229 cost
  could have been refunded to ******* in full by the insurance company. The insurance claim was also
  in an attempt to retrieve funds lost on airfare, which was not purchased
  by Canterbury but by the client directly with the airline. From
  experience, their policy of travel insurance will refund a customer the
  total amount lost and extra charges incurred, minus any
  available refunds. We are now supporting the client by means of our travel expertise in
  ascertaining whether ******* has any refunds or credits available to him
  from the airline he used to buy his unused flights, instead of via
  insurance. *******'s mother mentioned to J. C******** today, August 14,
  2023 that they received a partial credit for *******'s unused flights, and
  we will see what else the airline can do for them regarding the purchased
  airfare. We will continue to work with the client privately on a
  resolution, which will certainly include, if nothing else, the $250
  partial refund he has been entitled to since his cancellation - a partial
  refund that was withheld only upon learning of their decision to file a
  travel insurance claim. With any questions, do not hesitate to contact us:
  ###-###-####

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/16/2023

  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********.  The only discrepancy was that J. C******** mentioned refunding the entire deposit of $450. The airline information was forwarded as requested.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ******* ******