Q: Almost two years ago, I booked an Africa trip through Vantage Travel, which was supposed to depart in June 2020. Vantage canceled the trip because of COVID-19. The company re-registered me with the same group, scheduled to leave in September of that year. When I asked why Vantage didn't give me any other options or offer a refund, a representative told me she assumed I would just go along with the group.
I requested a refund, but Vantage said it wasn't giving refunds. I found out later that some customers did, in fact, receive refunds.
Vantage also canceled the September trip. In November, I had cervical spine surgery and quite possibly will need additional surgery down the road. In March, I was involved in an automobile accident. With this accident, I can't leave North America, so a trip to Africa would be impossible.
I've asked Vantage for a refund or a change to a North American trip, but I can't get through to anyone. Can you help me?
A: I'm sorry to hear about your health problems. I think Vantage should have offered you a full refund after canceling your first trip to Africa. Most reputable tour operators offered full refunds when they had to cancel their trips. But you would have had a limited time to either accept the tour or get rebooked on a future tour. So when the representative told you that Vantage "assumed" you wanted to go on the September tour, that's probably what happened.
After you accept the credit — either directly or indirectly by not responding to an offer — you're stuck with it. But there are ways out. Vantage is a Massachusetts company, and under Massachusetts state law, a tour operator must offer a refund when it cancels a trip.
I see you tried to send an e-mail to the CEO, but you might have first tried to contact someone at a lower level with a specific request for either a refund or an itinerary change. It was difficult to determine what you wanted, based on the letter you sent to Vantage. I suggested that you send a more focused e-mail to Vantage. Separately, I contacted Vantage on your behalf.
It turns out Vantage has a standard policy that guests can move their trip to either a different departure date of the same trip or a different trip altogether up to 121 days before their scheduled departure date without penalty. No special approval is needed.
