Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/21/2023

  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.

  I reserved a bike tour on 6/23/23, paid deposit of $400, and paid remainder of $2,885 on 6/26/23. I suffered a herniated disc in my spine, symptoms started on 6/27/23. I called WomanTours on 7/19/23 and 7/25/23 to advise them of my painful sciatica & that I could not physically participate in a bike tour. I got MRI results on 7/28/23, confirming herniated disc. I sent an email requesting cancellation and full refund or a credit towards future tour. WomanTours offered refund of 15% of my payment, which was unsatisfactory. I did not attend the tour as I am unable to sit for significant periods and I still cannot ride a bike. I requested a refund due to my medical condition and limitations and WomanTours did not offer any reasonable options to me.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/25/2023

  On June 22, 2023, the complainant ****** ******** registered
  on the WomanTours, Inc. website for a bicycle tour that was to take place
  August 1-6, 2023. During the registration process, she checked a box agreeing
  that she had read and understood the terms and conditions of the WomanTours
  Cancellation Policy where a link was provided to the written policy. You can
  see our website registration page here: ******************************************Please also see the attached copies of Ms. ********’s Tour
  Registration and our Cancellation Policy. Upon receipt of her registration and $400 deposit on June
  22, 2023, we emailed Ms. ******** a copy of a Tally that outlined the tour
  cost, her payment, a condensed version of our cancellation policy, and a strong
  recommendation in bold to purchase travel insurance. Please see the attached
  copy of the email and her Tally. Also, in the email was a link to a portal that contained
  documents with more specific information about her bicycle tour, as well as
  another copy of our Cancellation Policy. You may see the portal here: *********************************************************************************On July 19, 2023, Ms. ******** called our office and said
  that she wanted to cancel. As she was 13 days from the start of the tour, she
  was technically owed no refund according to our policy. We told her that since
  it was so close to the two-week deadline, we could make an exception and refund
  her 15% in addition to a full refund of her rental bike. She expressed her
  unhappiness and told us that she’d let us know later if she was cancelling. On July 25, 2023, she again told us that she wasn’t happy
  with our policy. On July 27, 2023, we received notice that Ms. ******** had
  complained to the NY Division of Consumer Protection. Later, we learned that
  she’d also filed a complaint with the California Department of Justice. On July 31, 2023, we received an email from Ms. ********
  confirming that she was cancelling. Given all of these facts, we do not feel that we owe Ms.
  ******** a refund or credit toward another tour. Please let me know if you have
  any questions or need further clarification. Thank you for your attention to
  this matter.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/28/2023

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  The WomanTours cancellation policy is unreasonable in that it does not take into account emergent situations or medical reasons that are beyond control of the service recipient/signer of the contract. In order to join one of the bicycle tours, I had to sign the contract and agree to WomanTours' terms. However I did not anticipate that I would suffer a herniated disc in my back as I have never had any back or spine problems and I don't have a family history of back problems. At the time I signed the contract I could not have foreseen that this medical problem would arise as I was in excellent health and cycled regularly. Also at the time I signed the contract, I believed that WomanTours would allow for cancellation and refund of fees in the event of an unforeseen medical issue that would prevent me from participating in a tour. As an alternative, WomanTours could offer me a credit towards a future tour; I would like to join a tour when I am healthy again. In the era of COVID, most tour companies and entities involved in the travel industry have revised their cancellation policies to allow for unseen circumstances. I am appalled that WomanTours has not aligned its policies with the rest of the industry. For example, I was able to obtain a credit toward a future flight from the airline I booked as soon as I was aware of my herniated disc. Since I could not sit down for a two hour flight to Spokane, WA, they reasonably allowed me to change my flight to a future date. The response from WomanTours is therefore unacceptable to me and I am disappointed in their unreasonable position.
   
  Regards, 
  
  ****** ********