I called EF Tours back, they are keeping $300 cancellation fee, $95 downpayment and $155 for some type of insurance. . On June 20th we called them to verify and were told our claim was denied and we wouldn't be receiving anything back from them. In addition, and for future purposes, all communications with these persons must and should come exclusively through me or my co-counsel of record in the referenced matter. My mom is part of a tour departing for a 10 day trip to Europe. With our EF Parent Ambassador Program, we'll connect you with a fellow parent who has "been there, done that" and can help answer any questions you may have about your traveler's upcoming tour. Evidently, just before the drop deadline, the other boys in our group dropped out because of cost, and he's the lone boy traveling from our school with a group of girls. If you wanted a refund, there was a fee. Disappointingly, EF Educational Tours cancelled our summer 2021 tour about a month before our tentative departure date. A few days later, EF responded to an earlier complaint submitted by the plaintiff to the Arizona Office of the Attorney General in which the defendants allegedly offered the plaintiff a partial cash refund of $1,000 less than what she paid for her childs tour. They kept $700 of our hard earned money and refuse to return it. Trip Cancellation coverage I want my 500 that was stolen from me. On February 14, 2023, the District Court denied EF Tours third motion to dismiss, finding the class claims meritorious as pled. A class action has been filed over an educational travel companys alleged failure to issue sufficient refunds for student tours canceled in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. EF Institute for Cultural Exchange, Inc. EF Education First International, AG, New to ClassAction.org? We were quoted a price and told the insurance was a great thing to have because with it you could cancel up to 24 hrs before the trip for a full refund minus the cost of insurance. 2021 came with Covid restrictions that could not be met. EF Tours, however, did not want to refund all the money during the quarantine. For more than 15 years we have helped nearly 50000 customers resolve their issues and will never stop striving to ensure further improvements on our platform for a better communication between companies and customers. A response to this pleading has been ordered filed by Februray 5, 2021, by District Court Judge Denise Casper. Southwest canceled my son's flight to DC over Christmas vacation he was supposed to be there for New Year's. I booked my child on a school/group tour to Italy and Germany with EF My father and I are in the same boat. Please read on for additional coverage details, as well as deadlines to purchase each Global Travel Protection plan. They insist on keeping $500 per person! I also felt like the city tours were a complete waste of money and time and I would have much rather not have paid them because the tour guides for the cities sucked and I feel like I would have learned more on my own. I was told we should have paid extra if we wanted to be IN Sorrento. The Global Travel Protection plan includes insured components that are underwritten by US Fire Insurance Company and cancellation fee waivers provided by EF Educational Tours. The school uses them for all there spring break trips and this is very disappointing that they are doing this to us. Refunding all the money spent thus far is the right thing to do considering the cancellation is completely out of the control of the families. I won't go into detail about our trip except to say our tour guide left half the group on several occasions, got us lost, left us in a hotel that's fire alarm system was going off in (our group leader also left us behind. Trip Cancellation coverage UPDATE ON EF CASES AS OF 2:00 PM PDST OCTOBER 23, 2020. When we ask to escalate our concern, managers have decided to refuse to accept or return our calls. Our school will be traveling with three other schools from different parts of the country. For plans issued in New York, customers can purchase the non-insurance Cancel for Any Reason waiver separately from the rest of the travel protection plan. [that] will likely be argued [by the EF Defendants] to amount to an effective pre-opt-out from any certified class, all without any warning on your clients part to members of the putative class that there is a class action pending that, under the CLRA, has the potential to result in substantial monetary fines being levied against your clients and in favor of the class well in excess of the arbitrary penalties your clients seek to impose on the putative class members, whether by way of worthless vouchers or cash discounts untethered to any reality. Why am I being charged a total of $550 in cancellation fees? As the coronavirus outbreak continues to ripple across the globe, a proposed class action lawsuit has been filed over an educational travel companys alleged failure to issue sufficient refunds for canceled student tours. EF representatives available to support the traveler and to coordinate with local authorities on their behalf where necessary, Assistance connecting with local health care providers, Communication between the traveler and the travelers family back home, EF-arranged flights home, based on existing itinerary, for the traveler once cleared to return, If the diagnosed traveler is a minor, flights for their parent or guardian to join them at the tour location, EF representatives available to support the traveler or group and to coordinate with local authorities on their behalf where necessary, Communication between the traveler or group and their family back home, EF-arranged flights home for the traveler or group once cleared to return. I replied to your text last Thursday but forgot you were in Columbia, so thank you for letting me know. Kinda defeats the whole concept of insurance. The Global Travel Protection Plus plan must be purchased when you book your tour. Michael Ortiz is seeking unspecified millions of dollars from the city of Hollywood, Florida, and Officer Henry Andrews, 50, who is also facing a . Please help us receive refund for this experience. Cancel for Any Reason** But the idiotic folks at EF Tours says since this was "unforeseen", we are not covered. This has to be illegal. NBC 5 Responds has received dozens of complaints from families who say EF Tours, a travel company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is charging them a cancellation fee to get their money. Yet I received a check in the mail for $300 before I could talk to someone. Thank you for your email! Here's my EFTours experience: 1.I have been on 3 EFTours and have another planned for next summer. My family and I scheduled a tour with ef educational tours. Your password has been sent to the specified email address. Recently I was notified by EF Tours that my child was cancelled from the tour after paying off almost whole trip price. But their ads sure reflect diversity! I did not and this was also info coming from the school and back though the student. They want to keep $1000 each child therefore I will loss $2000. We were offered a wait and see attitude for the following year 2021 . This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback. EF Tours for High School Graduates Enroll online or call 800-766-2645. Two straight hours of calling the ef tours emergency hotline and no still no answer. I can supply all correspondence that my group coordinator had. They make go in circles and have excuse after excuse. If you booked a trip like this as an adult, you would scream from the rooftops for a refund but since these are kids, apparently EF doesn't have to listen because there will be another crop of unsuspecting students waiting to go next year. Coronavirus Tour Cancellations Spark Refund Lawsuit (1) . EF Go Ahead Tours is a brand under the EF Tours group that offers both guided and fully customizable tours to destinations worldwide. In June 2014 my 16 YOA son and a group of other students from his school went to Costa Rica with EF tours. Emergency evacuation coverages I have reached out our tour consultant, Emilia Hovestadt and received the response below. We were told that other than the deposit and a small admin fee, all the rest of the money was refundable. Were covering: However, if there is any issue, EF Tours will not honor insurance or refunds. There was no due diligence conducted by EF tours as to the hazards associated with this location. Imagine being in London not able to tour anything because you don't have the proper tour bus that you were promised?? Some of it was just bad luck however I feel like most of it was EF tours being lazy and not trying to help make the experience the best that it could have been. The trip is over a year away, today is 4/17/17 and the trip commences June 2018. Benefits of the Peace of Mind program are only available to the entire group and not to individual travelers unless specifically indicated. My son didn't create this problem, and it's not his fault. By the first week I was already begging to go home and I kept hoping, thinking and praying that things would get better however they never did. we signed my son up for a trip to England , Paris, and Rome. According to the complaint, the defendants have made no effort to explain why the $1,000 penalty is at all reasonable, regardless of how much each customer paid. The swimming area was not separated in any way from boat traffic, nor was my son warned about possible boat traffic. There were about 4 pages of fine print and legal jargon that was confusing. release my refund and return $500 cancelation fee. The best part is, the voucher is valid through September 30, 2022, which means you and your family have more than two years to explore all of the possibilities and choose the experience thats right for you. 3:20-cv-00508-gpc-blm stating: Dear Mr. Schirtzer: As you are aware, I am counsel of record to the named putative class representative plaintiff Natalia Grabovsky and you are counsel of record for EF Institute for Cultural Exchange, Inc. (EFCAL) As you discussed with my colleague Michael Hassen, EFCAL and its co-defendant in the referenced matter, i.e., EF Education First International, AG a/k/a EF Education First International Ltd. (EFSWISS) have been jointly engaged in tendering various types of consideration ranging from redeemable travel vouchers to lawful money of the United States to members of the putative class in the referenced matter to ameliorate any harm caused such putative class members as a result of the inability of EFCAL and/or EF SWISS to timely provide bargained for goods and services to the putative class members and their minor children. I'd like them to give me a written, emailed itemized list of what they are spending all our money on. Of course our trip was rescheduled for another year due to COVID. Which btw the ticket was $100!!! However, I was never allowed to speak with management. That's all fine and dandy, but we signed up for THIS July. The Global Travel Protection Plus planprovides a refund of the Program Price (minus the cost of the plan and other non-refundable fees) if your child needs to cancel their tour up to 24 hours prior to departure for any reason. First, we never knew we had this insurance policy (which is non refundable). Erin works primarily on ClassAction.orgs newswire, reporting on cases as they happen. Four students are continuously placed in rooms meant for two people. Earn benefits like one spot on tour for every six travelers you bring. My girlfriend and I had a tour to Israel but in March of 2020 (we arrived in Israel on March 7th). Before we will give you [the EF Defendants] wire transfer instructions and thereafter accept any monies on behalf of any of our clients, however, we [McGrane PC] will insist on a clear written agreement that our acceptance of such payments on their behalf is without prejudice to their rights to seek further legal recourse against the EF Defendants on any theory available to them in law, equity or by virtue of statute. Liability Coverage. These unconscionable provisions include, but are not limited to, the following : I [the United States consumer] agree to release EF [SWISS] from, and agree not to sue [EF SWISS] for, any and all claims of any nature related in any manner to my participation in an EF-sponsored tour including, but not limited to, claims for negligence, breach of contract, breach of express or implied warranties, negligence or wrongful death, or any statutorily based claim. Help Center: Coverage and policy flexibility. 5. Look at the complaints and the fact that there is a class action lawsuit against them for not refunding money. However, the problem has wider implications for your clients. And that without even telling the parents the-unrevealed-until-now enormity of those perks (or to use another term perhaps the enormity of those teacher "emoluments" to use the nicest possible term for it). 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