Travel Agent Commissions on Cancelled Cruises

[MsTabbyKats]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Here's the bottom line. TAs get paid by the cruise line, not the passengers.

 

I once had a cruise where the price dropped twice and we got an upgrade. The TA when we first booked said he would send us a check for X$ after the cruise. I told him after the price dropped twice that I did not think he was making much at all on the cruise and to not bother sending a check. I do feel for them, but the bottom line again is we as the passengers are not the ones they collect from. And also if everyone had your attitude of now I won't feel bad for them, I will just not use them, then I guess they will all go out of business.

I'm not going to debate this with you. 

 

Everyone should do what's best for them.  Using a TA only complicates my life.

 

Have a nice day!

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

I'm not going to debate this with you. 

 

Everyone should do what's best for them.  Using a TA only complicates my life.

 

Have a nice day!

I thought that was what we were doing.

 

Using a TA simplifies things for me.

 

It's been a nice day with the temperature going as high as 70. DW had a nice hour plus walk on a trail. Basically everyone wore a mask.

[Cruisesfun65]

The official rule: a TA gets full commission on the cancelled booking (only if it was paid in full) and on the SAILED rebooked cruise. Any sailings after the first cancelation that subsequently also get canceled don't earn commission until the guest actually sails. 

[NCTribeFan]

Yes, that's what I confirmed with my TA last night.  She also said that she gets minimal commission from Carnival on casino comped cruises.  On the ones like I book (casino rate that's slightly discounted and comes with a perk or two), she gets her usual commission on the fare.

 

I know some people shop around and use the big box store or online TAs because they might get a bit more in OBC or some other perk.  I use an individual.  She can get us group rates or OBC or some other perk on most sailings.  She's very responsive.  I like having an individual to deal who I know I can get in touch with if/when something happens or even if I just have a question.

 

I used to have a great PVP at Carnival but when he was promoted, I starting using this person, referred by a cruise friend.

 

People can book however they want.  None of my business whether someone else wants to book directly or use a big agency.

 

But, as I said, if she's NOT going to get a commission from the booking, I'm not going to ask her to spend her time making the booking!  I'll deal directly with the cruiseline, in that case.

[zqvol]

I love that everyone in this thread is from the US, yet the OP is from Australia. Is anyone up to speed on Australian law and customs?

[plettza]

Sorry for my disappearance; I've been away on holidays and haven't been doing much internetting.

 

I did indeed pay the entire fare; the first was a deposit and the second was the balance. After that point, Carnival notified that the cruise was cancelled.  Around the same time, the travel agent then sent a notice that the cruise was cancelled and that it was their right to charge an administration fee:

 

As per the terms and conditions of your contract, {name witheld} will be deducting administration fee of $110 per person from any refunds due from the cruiseline. 

This fee is charged to cover the costs associated with making the original booking, following up with the travel operators and arranging a cash refund to you, less any operator fees if applicable.

 

But I don't see that in their terms and conditions.  Their T's & C's are simply vague.

 

In any case, I was travelling solo so I'll only be stung for 1× $110 but as I said, it's a bit rich of them to hound customers for an admin fee if Carnival are indeed paying a commission to the agent.  If Carnival's not paying, I can understand and am happy to pay the fee.

 

Here are some experts from their policy:

 

Cancellations due to Covid-19

Due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the time frames of the current government travel restrictions, some cruise lines are altering their refund policies, offering Future Cruise Credits in the place of cash refund or credit card refund if your booking is cancelled for any reason in the future. Due to this uncertainty if your booking is cancelled for any reason, {name withheld} will not offer cash or credit card refund unless we have the refund back from cruise lines or other suppliers.

 

Cancellations by Supplier

If your service/s booked through {name withheld} are cancelled for any reason, the service provider may offer Future Credits in place of cash or credit card refunds. Refunds from service providers can take up to 3 months to process. {name withheld} will not offer cash or credit card refunds unless we have the refund back from cruise lines or other suppliers. Future Credits will have their own terms and conditions subject to cancellation and will be provided once the credit has been processed.

 

 

In any case, it'll be weeks before I see any refund so I'll what happens.  I probably won't use a travel agent again for cruises.  The lesson has been learnt.  There's no value-add proposition except for this cruise perhaps being $30 or so cheaper.  

Edited November 16, 2020 by plettza

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, plettza said:

Sorry for my disappearance; I've been away on holidays and haven't been doing much internetting.

 

I did indeed pay the entire fare; the first was a deposit and the second was the balance. After that point, Carnival notified that the cruise was cancelled.  Around the same time, the travel agent then sent a notice that the cruise was cancelled and that it was their right to charge an administration fee:

 

As per the terms and conditions of your contract, {name witheld} will be deducting administration fee of $110 per person from any refunds due from the cruiseline. 

This fee is charged to cover the costs associated with making the original booking, following up with the travel operators and arranging a cash refund to you, less any operator fees if applicable.

 

But I don't see that in their terms and conditions.  Their T's & C's are simply vague.

 

In any case, I was travelling solo so I'll only be stung for 1× $110 but as I said, it's a bit rich of them to hound customers for an admin fee if Carnival are indeed paying a commission to the agent.  If Carnival's not paying, I can understand and am happy to pay the fee.

 

Here are some experts from their policy:

 

Cancellations due to Covid-19

Due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the time frames of the current government travel restrictions, some cruise lines are altering their refund policies, offering Future Cruise Credits in the place of cash refund or credit card refund if your booking is cancelled for any reason in the future. Due to this uncertainty if your booking is cancelled for any reason, {name withheld} will not offer cash or credit card refund unless we have the refund back from cruise lines or other suppliers.

 

Cancellations by Supplier

If your service/s booked through {name withheld} are cancelled for any reason, the service provider may offer Future Credits in place of cash or credit card refunds. Refunds from service providers can take up to 3 months to process. {name withheld} will not offer cash or credit card refunds unless we have the refund back from cruise lines or other suppliers. Future Credits will have their own terms and conditions subject to cancellation and will be provided once the credit has been processed.

 

 

In any case, it'll be weeks before I see any refund so I'll what happens.  I probably won't use a travel agent again for cruises.  The lesson has been learnt.  There's no value-add proposition except for this cruise perhaps being $30 or so cheaper.  

And when more and more people take that attitude, the travel agent industry will vanish. And it will vanish due to their own greed charging you that money and saying it is in their contract when as you say it is not.

 

In the US, one would make a complaint to their State's Attorney General's office. I hope you have something similar in your country which would allow you to pursue this.

 

Was your original charge made on a credit card? If so maybe you should pursue the matter with them, though it might not work because the charge was not presumably made to the TA. Possibly you could pursue why the credit was not given directly to you.

 

I know we had a bus trip to NYC and play tickets charged to a local firm for a play in late March. And then Broadway closed (and is still closed). I called and asked for a refund, and was told that the terms and conditions said no refund. My reply was this cannot possibly apply when you can no longer deliver the product we contracted for. When this did not move him, I said fine I'll let American Express handle my complaint. He then said in a panicky voice, no please don't, and decided that he was now willing to credit our card for the amount in question.

[iheartmarshall]

On 11/5/2020 at 8:25 PM, MsTabbyKats said:

I was told this by several people when "I felt bad" for my TA because of cancelled cruises.

Are you a TA?  If not, maybe a TA could clarify?

 

You are referring to "personal injury lawyers" and that's standard for that field.  When I needed a lawyer for something financial I paid $600/hour...which could be divided into 10 minute increments.  So, if I e-mailed him...it was $60 just for him to open my e-mail.

I used to be a TA on the side and I can confirm that TAs do not get paid until after the trip is complete.  Commission is built into the prices of everything travel-related (cruises, hotels, cars, vacation packages, etc.) and when booking through a TA, they receive that commission once the trip/booking is complete (usually on a monthly or quarterly basis).  And if a client cancels a cruise or other trip, the TA receives nothing. 

This honestly was a huge reason why I stopped being a TA.  I have a full-time job that I love but was a TA on the side for the perks and because I was already helping people plan their vacations unofficially (I figured I might as well get paid for it, right?).  However when you put all that work into a trip for a client and they cancel, it does sting a little.  Then again, it's part of the business.  For some larger TAs, it's no big deal but I didn't have the volume for it to not matter.  So, when I would spend an entire Saturday doing research, preparing quotes, putting together welcome packets, etc., only to have a client cancel a month before their trip, it was upsetting.  I obviously was not cut out for it, haha.  

Because of this though, some agencies do have an administrative fee included in the event that should a client cancel, at least some money is still made.  

[SadieN]

51 minutes ago, iheartmarshall said:

I used to be a TA on the side and I can confirm that TAs do not get paid until after the trip is complete.  Commission is built into the prices of everything travel-related (cruises, hotels, cars, vacation packages, etc.) and when booking through a TA, they receive that commission once the trip/booking is complete (usually on a monthly or quarterly basis).  And if a client cancels a cruise or other trip, the TA receives nothing. 
.....................  

One cruise our TA made a whole $10 in commissions.  We paid full fare but the fare was so low that it wasn't worth her time, paper and ink to book it. (My decision not hers).

She sent us her paperwork by mistake and I was able to see the fare breakdown  Truly eye opening.  Too bad others never see it.  

[plettza]

1 hour ago, iheartmarshall said:

Because of this though, some agencies do have an administrative fee included in the event that should a client cancel, at least some money is still made.  

 

I get if I were to cancel, fine, I couldn't expect the travel agent top be left holding the can without getting their payday. But this was Carnival that cancelled.  I just happened to book through an online agent.  And really, the travel agent didn't do anything.  I still went through their online booking process using their website.  I just got the documents emailed from the company, not Carnival.  I rang them once about buying FTTF and that was about the only contact I had with them.  It certainly wasn't $110 worth of work.

[plettza]

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

 

 

In the US, one would make a complaint to their State's Attorney General's office. I hope you have something similar in your country which would allow you to pursue this.

 

 

 

We have the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) at the federal level.  Here in my state of New South Wales, we have the Office of Fair Trading.  The ACCC is useless and their website was just full of wishy-washy full "ifs" "maybes" and "buts".

 

Fair Trading just says:

 

If your travel is cancelled, you should receive a refund or other remedy, such as a credit note or voucher, in most circumstances.

However, if your travel is cancelled due to government restrictions, this impacts your rights under the consumer guarantees in the Australian Consumer Law.

Check the terms and conditions of your contract with each supplier such as the travel agent, airline, and accommodation provider.

Some contracts may have a clause on pandemics and ‘force majeure’ clauses (sometimes called ‘act of God’ events) covering specific events outside of the control of the consumer and supplier.

These clauses may allow parties to pause or terminate the contract when it can no longer be performed due to circumstances outside their control.

If there is no clause, term or condition about pandemics to determine what should happen, but the contract has been affected by the pandemic or restrictions, it may be a ‘frustrated’ contract.

A ‘frustrated contract’ may happen when an event outside the control of the parties to the contract has occurred, such as restrictions imposed by COVID-19, and as a result, the contractual obligations cannot be met.

If the trader is unable to fulfil their obligations due to the COVID-19 restrictions, we recommend the parties try to reach a resolution so neither party is unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged.

You should contact the business directly to request a refund or other remedy such as a credit note or voucher.

We encourage all businesses to work with their customers and treat consumers fairly in these exceptional circumstances.

Determining whether a ‘force majeure’ clause applies, whether the contract has been ‘frustrated’ and the appropriate legal remedy can be complex.

It depends on the terms and conditions of the contract, your circumstances and the applicable law.

If you are unable to resolve the issue with your supplier, you may need to obtain independent legal advice to understand your legal rights.

 

Again, I'll wait to see what refund actually comes back.  I'm not gonna spend hours fighting a $110 admin fee.

[Elaine5715]

On 11/5/2020 at 8:14 PM, ontheweb said:

People who work on commission don't get paid if the sale is not final. Or how about a lawyer working on contingency? If he or she does not get a favorable verdict, no pay despite doing the work. No cruise, no commission from the non-passenger. If the cruise line wants to pay to keep the good will of the TA or even to keep him or her in business, fine. But that should not impact the TA's client.

Those attorneys still get to bill for expenses, win or lose

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

Those attorneys still get to bill for expenses, win or lose

That is not true for those attorneys working on contingency. 

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, SadieN said:

One cruise our TA made a whole $10 in commissions.  We paid full fare but the fare was so low that it wasn't worth her time, paper and ink to book it. (My decision not hers).

She sent us her paperwork by mistake and I was able to see the fare breakdown  Truly eye opening.  Too bad others never see it.  

Our TA was once going to send us a small check after the cruise on a fairly inexpensive cruise. After 2 price drops (and an upgrade), I told him not to bother sending us that check as I could not see him making any sort of money on his commission.

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

That is not true for those attorneys working on contingency. 

Yes, it is.  They charge for filing fees, for copy fees, for this fee, for that fee, mileage, etc.  It is amazing how those "fees" pile up

[jdoc2007]

Independent TA's that book cruises for their clients through Carnival (GoCCL.com) generally get 10-15% commission of the total fare, and that commission is paid once the booking is paid in full.  In the event that there have been multiple rebookings from an original sailing, Carnival can "protect" the" commission already paid out, in most cases - which would not impact the TA nor the client. Meaning the TA would not have to return the already paid out commission.  

I personally would not use a TA that charges any "fees", as most people can just as easily book their own vacations either through discount suppliers and or a PVP directly. 

[bitemyfly]

On 11/16/2020 at 10:36 PM, Elaine5715 said:

Yes, it is.  They charge for filing fees, for copy fees, for this fee, for that fee, mileage, etc.  It is amazing how those "fees" pile up

You must have the law firm of Dewey , cheatum, and Howe!😀

most firms here in Fl when it’s contingent all those fees are only invoiced on winning .. and it’s the first items that get paid .

 

[Elaine5715]

On 11/20/2020 at 12:42 PM, bitemyfly said:

You must have the law firm of Dewey , cheatum, and Howe!😀

most firms here in Fl when it’s contingent all those fees are only invoiced on winning .. and it’s the first items that get paid .

 

"Most" are the ones that only take the slam dunks.  They all can charge for related, real, or made up fees should they choose.