"Agency issue"....???

[HinesL]

Karen I have been reading about this horrible problem since you first posted on Friday.

 

What a lot of wonderful support and suggetions you have been getting from those on this board!!! I have only cruised three times and have one booked and I have learned a lot just by reading these posts!!

 

I am thinking about you and hope and pray this all works out and soon!

 

Elaine

[Cruzin Terri]

Karen,

I keep logging on to CC to see if there has yet been a resolution to this problem.

I'm praying that this gets resolved soon and that you will be able to enjoy 67 days at sea.

I agree with the others that you MUST take further action and I think the sooner you initiate that the better off you will be.

I hope the next time I log in, you will have posted that all is resolved and good to go.

Terri

[serendipity1499]

Karen...Just read this entire thread & It's really scary..

Just so you know that our thoughts are with you & hope that you are able to have this resolved very quickly...

You don't deserve this..

 

Betty

[Marion B]

Karen,

Just came across this thread; I can't offer any better suggestions than the ones already made. I can and will pray that your anxiety ends soon, a resolution is made in your favor, and you will have a fabulous cruise of a lifetime.

Marion

[welly world]

Karen, I have been following your post for days now. I hope and pray that everything gets worked out soon for you... you must be beside yourself with stress. We have just started cruising and your episode has taught us an important lesson when booking. Looking forward to hearing from you and your updates.

Maria

[May4]

Karen, I'm just popping in to say we are biting our nails (figuratively) here in Florida and hoping you get good news soon.

 

This is a crummy, crummy thing to have happen to a nice person. I must remember to give my honest hard-working TA a hug the next time I see her.

 

Anyway, keep your chin up if you can.

[aussiedisneyfan]

Karen, good luck with your problem. I hope that it all gets resolved tomorrow.

[SISer]

Just checking in on this thread and hoping that the situation is resolved soon.

 

Is your agent still a AMEX franchise?

 

Are they affiliated with an organization like ASTA?

 

I once had to despuite a hotel charge, I had called the hotel and made a reservation. I called back after a few days to add an extra day to my reservation, they couldn't find the reservation, and made a new one. I was away for an extended time, after I returned I checked my cc statements and saw that the hotel had charged me for an extra night, I called MC and was told that the transaction was more than 100 days old, so I should contact the merchant, if the merchant wasn't going to talk to me I should call MC back. I did call the hotel and spoke to the person in charge and he looked into the matter and called me back a few days later from New Zealand and prompty credited my cc. I was lucky. I encourage you to call your cc companies and find out what they advise you to do.

[COLLEYBERRY]

At what point to you phone the police and say " I've been robbed .They've 've taken $8,000.00 ....and a dream.:(:mad:

Makes you wish for the good ole'days ,when you could mount posse to go after the' bad guys.' Just think of it a bunch of ticked off CCers riding up to this guy's door,..".Hi,we're here for Karen's money.":mad:

Wish we could make it so Karen:)

[cp556]

At what point to you phone the police and say " I've been robbed .They've 've taken $8,000.00 ....and a dream.:(:mad:

 

Makes you wish for the good ole'days ,when you could mount posse to go after the' bad guys.' Just think of it a bunch of ticked off CCers riding up to this guy's door,..".Hi,we're here for Karen's money.":mad:

 

Wish we could make it so Karen:)

 

 

Ooooh .... let me get the horse saddled up ....

[kenevenpar]

Ooooh .... let me get the horse saddled up ....

 

Giddyup!

[PatsyAnne]

At what point to you phone the police and say " I've been robbed .They've 've taken $8,000.00 ....and a dream.:(:mad:

 

Makes you wish for the good ole'days ,when you could mount posse to go after the' bad guys.' Just think of it a bunch of ticked off CCers riding up to this guy's door,..".Hi,we're here for Karen's money.":mad:

 

Wish we could make it so Karen:)

 

Get the torches...

[mamaofami]

Karen, I hope you get a resolution to this problem very soon. It's scary that a TA with a big agency doesn't have $8,000.

[mrsltg]

I am so sorry for your situation!

 

I worked (until recently) for a bank which also issued credit cards. The best thing to do is start processing the fraud claim. If it's not fraudulent then no harm, no foul. If it is, time is of the essence. Get everything together and make the first phone call. Write a letter to your state's attorney general. Contact the BBB. Make a lot of noise. Even though this is hard for you emotionally you need to pull yourself together enough to make a claim. Call the travel agent and tell him what you are doing. Don't worry about the time limits on disputing charges. At this point the cc issuers are desperate for happy customers. If you get no satisfaction from the 800 number look up the government relations office for your issuer in DC. These people are generally the most willing to help. They don't want you calling your congressman and saying not-so-nice things about them. I helped a lot of people in your shoes from my GR desk in DC. Get these people involved!!!

 

I really wish you the best. I am so sorry you are going through this. Sometimes life just sucks.

[woody73]

 

Hi Woody !!

 

Nope, Nope and Nope !!! Very expensive lesson to learn. How are you

Sherrie, everyone is fine.

 

Woody

[sail7seas]

HAL is being wonderful from what we have read...... why would OP be 'insisting' what HAL should do. HAL had every right to cancel the reservation but has not done that.

 

So far as I can see, the only one who has done, is doing anything wrong is the TA. I'm impressed with HAL's handling from what is reported.

 

[Kween Karen]

I am waiting for a call from HAL right now. She will have an update for me as to what has occured today. I am trusting them (HAL) at this point......at the moment she says I need to do more then I will. She really seems to have a handle on it.......am expecting her to call before she goes home today. I will post what she says. I missed her call a little earlier....I just HAD to get out of the house so I went and mindlessly floated on the lake for a couple of hours. She said to call her back when I got home....I did.....and now she will return my call.

 

I am sorry if I missed some specific questions. There have been so many posts on this thread that I am sure I missed some specific questions. I have tried to answer as best I could.....and I have read very carefully all of your suggestions and have them here when I need them.

 

I REALLY thank you all for you support, suggestions, kindness, understanding.....EVERYTHING!!!

[Queenk2]

I am impressed with hal as well, however I am sure that they have tried to get payment even BEFORE they contacted Karen,and unsuccessfully, at that! Bottom line, they will only back her so far..they turned it over to the op because they need to fill that cruise. They want the $8,000! Karen, please heed my advice...no one will do a better job at fighting for your rights than you will. Be strong, do not play dead. You can win, however you have to FIGHT!

[pms4104]

HAL is being wonderful from what we have read...... why would OP be 'insisting' what HAL should do. HAL had every right to cancel the reservation but has not done that.

 

So far as I can see, the only one who has done, is doing anything wrong is the TA. I'm impressed with HAL's handling from what is reported.

 

I too am impressed with the actions HAL is taking to help Karen. Their actions are as much about filling the cabin as getting the money for it. But, in the end and at some point, HAL may have to release that cabin if this doesn't get squared away properly.

 

My guess is that HAL is toiling on their own behalf as well as Karen's because the economy is in the tank, fares can be costly on long sailings, most of us can't drop everything on short notice for a 2-month vacation and, most importantly, HAL may fear not being able to fill that cabin if Karen's monies don't come thru.

[Kween Karen]

Since it is now after 5:00 I guess I missed the call. I will report what the HAL lady left on my answering machine.

She said they had not yet received any money. (I was hoping against hope). She said for me not to call the agency again right now....that they were still negotiating. I am not sure what "negotiating" means and was hoping to talk to her to find out. I will talk to her in the morning and find out more.

I guess I should not have left the house.......but I needed some relief from all this. I called before I left and told her I would be gone a couple of hours...she called while I was gone and told me to call her back. I made sure I was home by 4 and called. I guess I need to ask tomorrow what her hours are....I just assumed she worked until 5.....but since HAL's hours start at * she may only work until 4.

[Parrot57]

Karen, I just don't know what to say. Hang in there and FIGHT. Do everything you can to make sure that sleazeball TA gets what he deserves.

 

I really learned a lesson from this. I immediately checked my credit card to see that my deposit for an upcoming cruise listed HAL as getting the money. I thought, phew, that is a relief. Then I read another post where the HAL got the initial deposit but not the final. Now I wonder again.

 

Think positive thoughts, Karen. Just imagine how it will feel when you finally get on the ship and can kick back and have staff fetch you a beverage or two. No cooking or bed making for a long while.

[kryos]

My guess is that HAL is toiling on their own behalf as well as Karen's because the economy is in the tank, fares can be costly on long sailings, most of us can't drop everything on short notice for a 2-month vacation and, most importantly, HAL may fear not being able to fill that cabin if Karen's monies don't come thru.

If this travel agency is tanking, then chances are Karen is not the only one having this problem with HAL. They are toiling because there might be 50 cabins at stake here. Don't get me wrong, I'm not minimizing the work HAL is doing, but the bottom line is that I doubt they would be doing it if we were only talking one cabin here. The sad fact is that HAL can't afford to get burned at the relative last minute for a large group of cabins on a sailing such as this one ... a sailing that commands higher than normal fares.

 

I'm still holding out hope that this is merely a paperwork bottleneck that will be resolved shortly. But without information as to which travel agency is involved here, it's kind of difficult to tell.

 

The only thing I can say is if this travel agency is one that is "franchised" in some way, then even if it turned out that the agent engaged in outright fraud here, Karen can still get the home office of that agency to make good for it. All "host agencies" and franchise operations require their agents to have "errors and omissions" insurance. The home office also maintains some sort of a bond on them as well. If the agent has, in fact, made off with clients' money, the home office will be held responsible and will have to get their insurance company involved. The insurance company will have to pay off the claims and then seek recompense from the agent responsible (if they have any resources left).

 

This whole situation really sucks ... but let's try to stay optimistic about it. Everything may work out fine. Someone may have just "screwed up" and took too long to send in the final payments.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[lvtotrvl1]

Since it is now after 5:00 I guess I missed the call. I will report what the HAL lady left on my answering machine.

She said they had not yet received any money. (I was hoping against hope). She said for me not to call the agency again right now....that they were still negotiating. I am not sure what "negotiating" means and was hoping to talk to her to find out. I will talk to her in the morning and find out more.

I guess I should not have left the house.......but I needed some relief from all this. I called before I left and told her I would be gone a couple of hours...she called while I was gone and told me to call her back. I made sure I was home by 4 and called. I guess I need to ask tomorrow what her hours are....I just assumed she worked until 5.....but since HAL's hours start at * she may only work until 4.

 

Now that doesn't sound right either...your credit card has been charged, and HAL is asking you not to call the agency? After years in the business I have never heard of such a thing! Bottom line, if HAL doesn't get paid, you have no cruise. Insist on a three way call so you hear both conversations.... believe me...

[pms4104]

If this travel agency is tanking, then chances are Karen is not the only one having this problem with HAL. They are toiling because there might be 50 cabins at stake here. Don't get me wrong, I'm not minimizing the work HAL is doing, but the bottom line is that I doubt they would be doing it if we were only talking one cabin here. The sad fact is that HAL can't afford to get burned at the relative last minute for a large group of cabins on a sailing such as this one ... a sailing that commands higher than normal fares.

 

I'm still holding out hope that this is merely a paperwork bottleneck that will be resolved shortly. But without information as to which travel agency is involved here, it's kind of difficult to tell.

 

The only thing I can say is if this travel agency is one that is "franchised" in some way, then even if it turned out that the agent engaged in outright fraud here, Karen can still get the home office of that agency to make good for it. All "host agencies" and franchise operations require their agents to have "errors and omissions" insurance. The home office also maintains some sort of a bond on them as well. If the agent has, in fact, made off with clients' money, the home office will be held responsible and will have to get their insurance company involved. The insurance company will have to pay off the claims and then seek recompense from the agent responsible (if they have any resources left).

 

This whole situation really sucks ... but let's try to stay optimistic about it. Everything may work out fine. Someone may have just "screwed up" and took too long to send in the final payments.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

Rita ... admittedly, I may not have stated my comment clearly. My meaning was that because the economy is in such a sorry state HAL may be having issues filling the ship. Therefore, HAL is toiling to get Karen's money to them because it may not be easy for them to resell that cabin at this late date, as most of us cannot drop everything on such short notice to take such a long trip. Further, HAL would prefer to have that cabin filled and perhaps the path of least resistance at this point is to get Karen's money rather than to try to get a new passenger signed on. Bottom line: HAL wants to fill the ship and HAL wants their money.

 

As to the agency "errors and omissions" insurance, I believe that's what it covers, errors and omissions. It does not cover fraud and negligence and bad business practices and policies.

[sail7seas]

Karen...... WITHOUT naming the Agency/TA, can you tell us if they are large..... are they major booking agency? Do you think it possible they could have as many as 10+ cabins booked for this cruise or are they smaller that you would not expect that to be the case?