Travel protection plan added without my knowledge

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, legaljen1969 said:

 

 

2 hours ago, legaljen1969 said:

Another thing that should be "last resort" is litigating stuff like this.  Instead, the school of thought tends to be "something went wrong, let me get an attorney."  Mind you, it doesn't bother me THAT MUCH since I work for an attorney and it is income producing for me, 

That "school of thought" most likely started because you cannot turn on the TV without catching some commercial from some lawyer with an 800 number telling you to call and he will make everything better by getting you a big pile of cash.

[abra*]

This happened to me after I made a payment. No change to the reservation. It was removed when I requested the removal. This is no "mistake."  I filied a complaint but how many others do not even notice the charge?

[sparks1093]

3 hours ago, cello56 said:

 

That is the real issue though isn't it? How many people simply do not read the new invoice and see the charge. Most people assume that RCI is an honest company and would not slip in extra bogus fees. 

It has nothing to do with honesty, human error makes me check such things.

[Ocean Boy]

4 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

It has nothing to do with honesty, human error makes me check such things.

I can certainly imagine that in the case of making a change to a reservation someone might review the new invoice to make sure the change was made correctly but might not look over everything as they might have when making the original booking. This thread is a good reminder that change can occur in areas not requested.

[2ManyCruises]

We also were charged for travel protection without requesting it. 

 

If this is really an error why don’t Royal Caribbean inform the customers that an error was made and will be corrected?

 

Will someone answer that?

Here’s my thoughts- Because it’s intentional. 

How many customers may not notice this and never be refunded. 

 

We we just happen to notice this so called error the other day and had to take the time to get them to correct it.  It’s beyond frustrating. 

[Coralc]

4 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I can certainly imagine that in the case of making a change to a reservation someone might review the new invoice to make sure the change was made correctly but might not look over everything as they might have when making the original booking. This thread is a good reminder that change can occur in areas not requested.

 

It is the *new* bottled water/towel charge/travel insurance charge.  Funny how that works. It is kind of like whack-a-mole. 

Edited July 18, 2019 by Coralc

[mayleeman]

Is anyone paying for this after the bogus charge is imposed? Would a cruise get cancelled at final payment date if the insurance was not paid, or would they just cancel the insurance?

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

Is anyone paying for this after the bogus charge is imposed? Would a cruise get cancelled at final payment date if the insurance was not paid, or would they just cancel the insurance?

 

The cruise is subject to cancellation if the total bill is not paid by final payment date.

[Ocean Boy]

22 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

The cruise is subject to cancellation if the total bill is not paid by final payment date.

That might prompt some people to have a chat with a lawyer. RCI adds something to an invoice that was not requested. The customer pays everything except what they did not ask for and do not want. RCI cancels the cruise. That sounds like damages to me but, of course, I am no lawyer.

[Clarea]

16 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

That might prompt some people to have a chat with a lawyer. RCI adds something to an invoice that was not requested. The customer pays everything except what they did not ask for and do not want. RCI cancels the cruise. That sounds like damages to me but, of course, I am no lawyer.

 

I agree, but I'll bet the legal issues are complicated, starting with the cruise contract which I believe requires binding arbitration.

 

And of course, Royal will claim it's all a mistake.

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

That might prompt some people to have a chat with a lawyer. RCI adds something to an invoice that was not requested. The customer pays everything except what they did not ask for and do not want. RCI cancels the cruise. That sounds like damages to me but, of course, I am no lawyer.

Under the cancellation provisions wouldn't the customer receive the fare back (minus any non-refundable portion if booked that way)? I suppose one could argue that RCI is on the hook for non-refundable airfare, etc. but I'm not sure if that would hold up. The customer has some responsibility to check the invoice and knowing what's on it.

Edited July 18, 2019 by sparks1093

[legaljen1969]

17 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

 

That "school of thought" most likely started because you cannot turn on the TV without catching some commercial from some lawyer with an 800 number telling you to call and he will make everything better by getting you a big pile of cash.

Well, there are certainly people with legitimate claims that do require legal services.   What I was trying to say is that if someone has a legitimate claim and needs services, it's good that attorneys exist.

If people just want wads of cash for inconvenience, then  that clogs up the system and those lawyers should be ashamed of themselves.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

Under the cancellation provisions wouldn't the customer receive the fare back (minus any non-refundable portion if booked that way)? I suppose one could argue that RCI is on the hook for non-refundable airfare, etc. but I'm not sure if that would hold up. The customer has some responsibility to check the invoice and knowing what's on it.

Obviously the customer knows what is on the invoice if they paid off the balance with the exception of the unwanted insurance. The issue is if RCI did not remove the unwanted insurance and then cancelled the cruise because the customer did not pay the portion of the balance attributed to the unwanted insurance.

[mugtech]

For me it has become part of the routine when ordering or paying either on the ship or on the phone.  I always repeat that I do not want any insurance and ask the person to please check the invoice to make sure before sending it to me.  So far only had one correction and it was during the initial booking.  I never try to change anything on a cruise once I book, sounds like that's when most of the problems happen...

[kccrzr]

I transferred two reservations to a TA today. He asked if I wanted insurance and I declined.  The authorization form I received did not include a charge for insurance.  The TA called me back a few minutes later and told me that RCI had unilaterally added the insurance to both reservations when the transfers were approved. Luckily, he noticed and followed up. The TA told me this issue began about two weeks ago. 

[island lady]

Did minor changes over the last few weeks on four different cruises (added prepaid grats, changed cabin locations, etc.)  On every one of them, the "Vacation Protection Package" was added when I reviewed my new confirmation (which thankfully I always ask them to email new one).  

 

I had booked online through RCI website.  I never added that package, nor did I ask for it when I made changes.  Had to call back on each one to have it removed.  This has not happened in past years when I made changes.  Must be the new "oops" like when they were charging for bottles of water/soda (before they finally removed the mini bar from your cabin)....AFTER you left the ship and had final sea pass bill.  Shame on you RCI.  😡

[karmacats]

I'm finding this thread super interesting because this happened to us for the first time ever on june 30. Our TA called us to get final payment and we reminded her we had a FCC to apply; she called royal to get it applied and then called me back with the new total, which was higher than what i had calculated. Turns out royal had added the insurance, so she had to call back again to get it cancelled before we paid. In about 20 cruises, that's the first time I've ever had the insurance unilaterally added after i had declined it when first booking.

 

It could just be a glitch, but it strikes me as totally shady. My TA was on the phone with a real live person, who presumably deals with TAs all the time - you think they'd notice the charge was added.  I'm just glad we caught it, as we had insurance through a third party.

[orkaren1]

This just happened to my son.  He paid his cruise off a couple of days ago and when he got the final receipt he noticed his C&A number was not on the receipt.  He called on Friiday to have that taken care of with no problem.  Today he got an email with a receipt that had the C&A number but also said he had a balance due of $150 for travel progection (which he never purchased).  He was able to call and have it removed and was really lucky he caught it since his final payment date is tomorrow.  He really would have been upset if  Royal cancelled his cruise because of a mistake they made.

[travelplus]

On 7/18/2019 at 5:17 AM, Host Clarea said:

 

The cruise is subject to cancellation if the total bill is not paid by final payment date.

I doubt it for anything above the cruise fare that it would cancel. I thought the unpaid cruise are is what cancels the cruise but not other charges but I could be wrong. 

Edited July 22, 2019 by travelplus

[travelplus]

When I make my reservation I tell the agent that I do not want the protection plan and then I see it on my invoice that it's declined after the deposit and again at final payment I make sure it says declined if I see otherwise I call ul right away and have it removed with asking for a second invoice showing it has been removed. 

 

I think Royal automatically adds if unless yoh decline it for convenience. 

[jagsfan]

On 7/18/2019 at 8:43 AM, Ocean Boy said:

That might prompt some people to have a chat with a lawyer. RCI adds something to an invoice that was not requested. The customer pays everything except what they did not ask for and do not want. RCI cancels the cruise. That sounds like damages to me but, of course, I am no lawyer.

If you noticed the Vacation Protection Plan included, surely you would request its removal. If you paid everything less the insurance amount there would be a conversation regarding the nonpayment. At that time the insurance would be removed.  No cancellation.

 

 

[ed01106]

With a different line, I found the following method very effective for a quick resolve of an otherwise impossible to fix overcharge.

 

”In thar case,  please remove the autopay on the gratuities.”

 

”Why?”

 

”You are not going to steal the money from me.  You are going to steal it from your employees.  And to be certain every one of them will know exactly why they aren’t getting paid, Katie operator 1234, as will many other passengers“ 

 

She got a supervisor on the line and fixed the unresolvable issue.

[Ocean Boy]

4 hours ago, jagsfan said:

If you noticed the Vacation Protection Plan included, surely you would request its removal. If you paid everything less the insurance amount there would be a conversation regarding the nonpayment. At that time the insurance would be removed.  No cancellation.

 

 

Read post #88.

[jagsfan]

32 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Read post #88.

 

32 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Read post #88.

Surely OP received a confirmation while he was in the phone with the cruise line. Even if the confirmation didn’t arrive immediately, cancellations don’t start until after 5pm on final payment date. 

The confirmation would show the removal of the insurance. 

If OP was actually on the line and said to remove it and didn’t request a confirmation showing that it was done, I would say it’s on him. 

It’s just hard for me to understand that the agent on the phone would say the insurance was removed when it wasn’t. Knowing that the client could see a confirmation and know it wasn’t removed. 

[Ocean Boy]

3 hours ago, jagsfan said:

 

Surely OP received a confirmation while he was in the phone with the cruise line. Even if the confirmation didn’t arrive immediately, cancellations don’t start until after 5pm on final payment date. 

The confirmation would show the removal of the insurance. 

If OP was actually on the line and said to remove it and didn’t request a confirmation showing that it was done, I would say it’s on him. 

It’s just hard for me to understand that the agent on the phone would say the insurance was removed when it wasn’t. Knowing that the client could see a confirmation and know it wasn’t removed. 

The discussion I responded to was an RCI rep saying that they could not remove it and the customer had to contact the company issuing the insurance. I am not going to go around in circles here with you.