What should I do about OBC not honoured

My partner and I are going on our first cruise from Brisbane to Singapore in August. We booked online with a Travel Agent and the offer included $100 OBC. The day after the offer was received we paid a deposit and paid the full amount the following day. Two weeks ago we received our itinerary and vouchers for accommodation and flights home. No voucher was included for the OBC. I rang the Agent and asked about this and she said it was not part of the deal. I found the original offer and emailed it to her and asked that it be reinstated. She replied and said that as I did not mention the $100 OBC when paying the deposit we were not entitled to it. I objected and said we had accepted the original offer and that we had paid in full within 2 days of receiving this. I have heard nothing more from her. Does this happen often and what, if anything can I do?

My partner and I are going on our first cruise from Brisbane to Singapore in August. We booked online with a Travel Agent and the offer included $100 OBC. The day after the offer was received we paid a deposit and paid the full amount the following day. Two weeks ago we received our itinerary and vouchers for accommodation and flights home. No voucher was included for the OBC. I rang the Agent and asked about this and she said it was not part of the deal. I found the original offer and emailed it to her and asked that it be reinstated. She replied and said that as I did not mention the $100 OBC when paying the deposit we were not entitled to it. I objected and said we had accepted the original offer and that we had paid in full within 2 days of receiving this. I have heard nothing more from her. Does this happen often and what, if anything can I do?

Never had a voucher for OBC it just shows on your account.

But sounds like the agent might be playing games.

Report them to your states TA board.

Agree with GUT2407, never had a voucher. Correct me if I am wrong but in Australia we don't get the TA OBC that the US people get, only the OBC that is offered by the cruise lines during promotions and that shows up on your cruise booking in various ways for various cruise lines. Its not up to the TA whether you get it or not, if you book during a promotion it is automatic.

So either they were quoting a cruise line OBC and missed the deadline when confirming your booking, or they were doing the unusual and offering additional OBC which they should have honoured. Either way if you have the quotation as proof you should contact AFTA but if they are not accredited that makes it more difficult.

Agree with GUT2407, never had a voucher. Correct me if I am wrong but in Australia we don't get the TA OBC that the US people get, only the OBC that is offered by the cruise lines during promotions and that shows up on your cruise booking in various ways for various cruise lines. Its not up to the TA whether you get it or not, if you book during a promotion it is automatic.

 

So either they were quoting a cruise line OBC and missed the deadline when confirming your booking, or they were doing the unusual and offering additional OBC which they should have honoured. Either way if you have the quotation as proof you should contact AFTA but if they are not accredited that makes it more difficult.

Some TAs here especially OnLine will give a small OBC usually only about $25 or so. Next cruise we have the most OBC we have ever had, SHE is really excited.

We have never had that happen. Our TA (US) always sends us a list of all the shipboard credit that we are due. There has never been a voucher.

OP -- you need to report that TA to the proper authorities in Australia.

This is between the OP and agency. When we deal with agencies (in the USA) we always make sure we get any offer or amenity in writing at the time (or shortly after) we make our initial deposit. Sounds like the OP will have to forget about that OBC and make sure to never use that TA in the future and perhaps encourage others to do the same.

Hank

Thanks for your replies. Guess I shall just have to wait and see what happens when we check our account on board. Unfortunately TA is not accredited. First time we have every booked thru TA, always do it ourselves. So will be telling all on Trip Advisor etc after we return and definitely not recommend them.

I agree, this TA needs to be reported to your local authorities- what ever gov't agency that oversees TAs. I can understand how this would be your last experience with this person. There are just too many TAs not to be taken "for a ride".

Agree with GUT2407, never had a voucher. Correct me if I am wrong but in Australia we don't get the TA OBC that the US people get, only the OBC that is offered by the cruise lines during promotions and that shows up on your cruise booking in various ways for various cruise lines.

The online TA I've booked through a couple of times has given us $85 OBC each time. It show up on our booking like this:

"Travel Agent Promotion* $42.50 $42.50 $85.00"

The example is from the Princess personalizer.

Mooball, so sorry to hear you've been conned like that. Are you able to check your cruise is confirmed with the cruise line? You should be able to log into the cruise line website using your booking reference number.

I would try with the TA one more time. Ask to speak to the agency owner or a supervisor. Recount the fact that you have a copy of the original offer and that you expect to see the OBC in your account when you get on the ship. You are sure they were planning to honor their offer and that there is just a misunderstanding between your expecting a voucher and the fact that you will see the OBC in your account onboard. (This gives the TA a chance to rectify their lie and save face).

Make them feel bad by saying you are planning to do a lot more cruising and unless they rectify this they will not get your future business which is too bad for them because it is worth a lot more than $100. Also let them know your contacts on the internet have advised you to contact the authorities and the internet travel sites to tell your story with their name which will certainly cost them some business.

Don't expect to be successful, but my feeling is if you do not let the TA know you are following through on this they will not give you the credit. That is why I suggest going up the ladder to a supervisor/owner, since the credit may come out of the agents commission.

Then let it go and have a great cruise. The price of the cruise changes by more than $100 week to week so the price is just a crapshoot anyway.

I hope you paid directly to the cruise line and not to the TA for them to forward to the cruise line. I would be concerned if your check or credit card was okayed for them to cash/put the charge through. Verify with cruise line they have received your full payment, IMO.

A discrepancy of $85 in OBC is almost more trouble than it's worth. Last Christmas I had an OBC discrepancy over $500. You can bet I was sending emails about that.

Thanks to everybody for your replies. Yes, I have checked with the Cruise Company and everything is paid for. Also I checked with Emirates that our return flights from Singapore to Brisbane are valid. I shall be checking with the hotel in Singapore (I have a voucher saying that 2 nights accommodation has been paid for, but will make certain). Have vouchers for transfers from ship to hotel and back to airport, plus Singapore Flyer Pass and Hop On Hop Off voucher. Probably can't check on them.

My partner says 'do nothing more until we get back' - says 'if I get stuck into them now, problems could occur such as hotel bookings etc suddenly becoming unavailable or something . and that $100 is negligible when all costs are taken into account.' I see his point, but I shall certainly be bagging them when we return on as many sites as I am able and will be disclosing their name. Thank you all again for your help.

Have a great cruise/trip. :)