"Agency issue"....???

[sail7seas]

I specifically asked the credit card company if I could block charges from this TA. They said that was NOT possible.....I don't understand this policy. They said I just have to keep careful watch and if a charge shows up I would need to dispute it within 60 days. Hmmmmm.....my cruise is 67 days......hard to do!!

 

Yes I could cancel and get a new card........what a pain that would be....I have all my bills being paid automatically, etc. Sigh....again. BUT a MUCH smaller sigh than the last few days.

 

 

Which is the bigger nuisance? Dealing with double or triple charges....fraudulently or getting a new number and forwarding that number to the automatic pay bills that use that credit card?

 

Keeping that card active is looking for more trouble IMO

 

Sorry you have to deal with this but you do.

[sail7seas]

double - sorry

[Loreto]

Dear Karen,

I have been following your dilemma like others and wishing you all the best! I am so happy for you! Do write to thank HAL, I can tell you from personal experience that they deeply appreciate positive feedback about their deserving, caring employees.:)

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Karen

[oldengine]

Karen,

 

I'm glad this worked out for you. A 67 day cruise is impressive so I'll have to look at HAL and plan my "next" cruise, after the play money rebuilds itself from my current Alaska beginners cruise.

 

What are you using to build those fantastic PDF pages? I like the way they scale and the way you laid them out with clip art. It must be easier than doing html pages.

 

Forewarned, never to pay a travel agency!

[rbyrd2531]

Oh, Karen, what great relief this must be for you! I'll bet you sleep like a baby tonight with sweet dreams of your fabulous upcoming cruise.

 

I look forward to reading your daily blog while your living your dream.

 

Diane

 

To heck with Karen!

 

What about all the rest of us who have not slept very well since last Friday worrying about her :>)

 

Just teasing you Karen....Congratulations!

 

Now we can all sleep a full night without feeling the need to check the site for an update at 3 AM for some reason.

[themerle]

I've been following this post and I'm very happy that your cruise is now paid for. Hopefully the TA will not charge you again.

 

I'm looking forward to reading your entries on your blog during your cruise.

[HarrietKC]

Late reading this thread but sooo glad it worked out and hooray for the HAL rep who bird dogged this. I suspect you WERE NOT the only client whose account was in farears.

 

Don't cancel the card. That will wreak havoc with your credit rating. Just have the number changed. I reported a fraudulent charge to Amex (a major chain restaurant manager made fraudulent charges on my credit card and to add insult to injury gave himself a 120% tip and forged my name ... a single letter). Amex tagged it as "fraud," reversed the charges and issued a new number but kept the remaining account history (the member date, the points and the exp. date) intact.

 

Canceling outright is a pain (so is changing the number) if you have things already set up to charge automatically.

 

Also, for the posts about criminal stuff, although the Attorney General will likely not file criminal charges, at least here in Missouri, they used to be wonderful about making a call on someone's behalf. I've had to contact them twice. In both cases, the AG's office gave me advice and in one case made a phone call and wrote a follow-up letter which got a quick response from the company in my favor. Trust me - business don't know when the AG is going to file a charge and when they are not. Usually it has to be global. (so don't bug them with minor stuff).

 

So I would have reported the TA's fraud due to the amount. The key is to be polite, sound concerned, and express that this may be "bigger" than you - i.e. other people may also be the victims of fraud. They won't file a criminal charge unless it is big, but one of the attorneys might make a call on your behalf and that may be enough. If it turns out to be bigger and lots of people are having the same problem (how will they know if someone doesn't file a complaint?) then they'll take it from there.

 

Also - most business must file with the Secretary of State. You can find their business registration there. Make a phone call. Again - trends might help the state shut bad business down. My favorite case was when someone complained about a local company's chronic "going out of business" sales. They happened a lot over the course of two years. Then - miraculously - they'd stay in business and get new merchandise. The AG finally told them to "go out of business" or else they would be charged with fraud - lol!

 

Oh well - at least this thread had me checking my own cruise documents!

 

Have fun Karen!

[serendipity1499]

Betty, Just check your credit card statement online, or dial the customer service number on the back of your credit card a couple of days after making any payment for a trip. If the statement or automated system says the money was charged to HAL, you are OK. If it was charged to a TA, I would call the credit card company and cancel the charge and call the agency and tell them you will not allow the money to go to the agency and if they won't put the charge through to HAL you are transferring the booking to HAL or another TA.

We have booked more than 40 cruises through travel agents, both online and in person and every time the charge was put through the cruise line. We do book a fair amount of land trips with an online agency which discounts us if we pay by check and the check is made out to the agency. When I do that, I call the tour company, whether it be Tauck or Globus or any of the others a couple of weeks after sending the check and make sure they have been paid. I also buy cancellation insurance within a week after my deposit to cover me in the event of the TA or tour company going bankrupt (but never buy the insurance from the TA or tour company, because then I will not be covered if either the TA or tour company go belly up). Make sure the insurance is bought from an independent insurance company - we pick one from insuremytrip.com

 

 

I am cruising!!

 

My cruise is paid in FULL!!

 

 

The very nice HAL lady called me and was beside herself with the good news. The money wire came through.....and my cruise is paid in full. She was very surprised......she didn't expect it to come through today. She said this could have taken weeks and had fully expected that. She was so happy for me....made me feel really good.

 

I will give more details later.....just wanted to pass this news to you all who have given me so much support during this ordeal.

 

I am cruising on my DREAM trip September 26th WOOHOO!!

 

Fantastic...I love a Happy Ending! Have a wonderful cruise..

 

Benita,

You took the words right off my keyboard. We pay about 90% of all our trips by check, with only the original deposit put on our credit cards. However, when using our CC's, we have never had the TA put any charges to his agency - they have always (thankfully!) been charged directly to the vendor. We have received from our TA, within 10 days of sending our payment, an invoice listing the vendor (HAL, Princess, Globus, etc), the booking or ID#, start & end dates of the trip,the trip description and that the total amount was paid-in-full by check or CC. In other words, the invoice clearly states that we have paid for the cruise, trip, etc., IN FULL and that we have a "zero" balance due. But, like you Benita, we also always call to verify that either the cruise line or tour company has received THEIR payment in full. Even though we have dealt with our TA for over 12 years, one can never be too careful. We buy the cancellation/trip insurance from Travelex - never from the TA or the cruise line.quote]

 

Benita & luvs2trvl..LOL...;) I'm retired from the International Airline travel business & fully understand how to check credit cards on line etc. & start a claim for a fraudulent charge....Perhaps, you are not aware of the fact that it can take up to two to three months to get a refund on a Fraudulent Charge...In addition, there is a great deal of paperwork to do...I don't have the time & don't want to have to go through that for $6,000 plus dollars.If our final payment is not charged by HAL, we would have to pay another $6,000 to keep our cabin...We don't have $12,000 plus in discretionary funds to play around with..Of course, we have insurance, but that also takes time to get a refund.. Insurance does not pay a claim based on one phone call..There is quite a bit of paperwork involved..

Therefore, Agree I'm being paranoid & want to find out before we have to plunk down $6,000 plus for our final payment..

You may not have had problems but in my 32 years in the travel field, I've seen many Travel Agents who have been wonderful to work with until they ran out of $$$...They've gone on to defraud both our Company & their customers.. One of them was the TA who came to our wedding & gave DH & me our Honeymoon in Aruba..He used to give lavish parties & many staff from our company & TWA were always invited..In addition he gave very expensive gifts to those who handled his groups..What a let down & surprise we all had when he ran off with another woman & took all the $$$$ from his Passengers & our Company..Yes, he was apprehended about 12 years later, & spent some time in jail, but all the money was gone...;)

I'm sure you can understand why I want to avoid a problem before it happens & the only way to do that is to check out our TA now rather than later..

Cheers...:) Betty

[toeknee]

Karen, I am so happy that you have now awoken from this nightmare. I'm wishing you the best cruise ever and look forward to reading your blog. :D

[Queenk2]

From one Queen to the other... I will watch over your kingdom while you are away! Seriously, I am thrilled that it worked out as well as it did! I am also thrilled that I am sailing on Hal next week. At this moment, I can think of no other cruise line that would go to bat for you the way they did. KUDOS to Hal and the wonderful employee they have working for them. If I were the CEO, I would create a new title with a new salary...at least $8,000.00 MORE per year!

Karen

[PirateShark]

:D Soooo glad to hear that you are going on your long awaited cruise. I wish you a bon voyage and smooth sailing.

 

I'd like to add a bit regarding your credit card since I've worked in the industry for decades: With the time you have prior to your sailing, I'd cancel that AMEX immediately, call your bill pay recipents and tell them what happened and just flat cancel the offending card. Most of these companies have many years experience with identity theft and fraud and are very happy to help you switch as it is much easier to switch than do a fraud claim.

 

Best to you and enjoy!

[CondoDiva]

Karen,

I'm couldn't wait to get home tonight too see what happened today!!! I am so happy for you!! I told my friends your story and we have been praying for you!!

 

Have a Fantastic trip!!!

[GatorV]

yea!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

great news. Now i can get something done other than signing on to cc every 10 minutes!!!!!!! So very happy for you, karen!!!

 

Cheers and happy sailing,

denise

 

 

thank god!!! I have my life back...i was so addicted, even my 2 yr old granddaugter was asking..."what wrong grammie, what wrong":d:d:d:d:d:d:d:d:d:d..nothing wrong now

[serendipity1499]

I specifically asked the credit card company if I could block charges from this TA. They said that was NOT possible.....I don't understand this policy. They said I just have to keep careful watch and if a charge shows up I would need to dispute it within 60 days. Hmmmmm.....my cruise is 67 days......hard to do!!

 

Yes I could cancel and get a new card........what a pain that would be....I have all my bills being paid automatically, etc. Sigh....again. BUT a MUCH smaller sigh than the last few days.

 

 

Karen...That's such good news..We're all so happy for you..

I agree with Sail, Camp & Pirateshark...Call your credit card Company again & ask if they will just issue a new number on the same account & cross reference the old account for you ..

If not, then call all your creditors & tell them you will be faxing the new number to them with an explanation..umber to them..Write one covering letter for all companies & explain the problem..then fax a two page letter..the first page will have your creditors numbed & the second page will be the general covering letter..Hope it will work..

Again Congratulations..Betty

[Bodger]

As pleased as I am that Karen was able to get everything resolved I am extremely impressed by the efforts put forth by HAL in working with her to get this resolved.

 

Kudos to HAL on this one.

 

If it hadn't worked out I think that all 8,000 people following this thread would have kicked in a dollar to see Karen get her trip!:D

 

Bodger

[Kween Karen]

I am overwhelmed by all this support and this sense of community here. I feel I have really bonded with all of you over the past week and it is really touching me. I will continue to put updates on here.......there is one more potential.....but I will wait on that 'til I am sure.

Thank you all again SOOOOOO much.........I have been pretty much glued to my chair here just like the rest of you.

WHAT A RIDE!!!!

[Hutch&Pat]

Every once in a while the expression 'Moseltoff' just seems sooooo appropriate and I somehow wished I knew how to spell it!

 

Was just thinking how much Rita/Kyros would have enjoyed reading the happy ending Karen! Our thoughts are with her family ..... just wish she knew how much we enjoyed reading her posts!

 

Enjoy your trip Karen....... it truly is a 'dream cruise'! ..... many of us here will still be attending AA meetings after deciding 'it's 5 o'clock somewhere' while reading your thread!

 

Pat

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Karen I just got home from work and your thread was one of the first I looked at and I am so very excited.

Congratulations for hanging in there. You stayed cool, calm and collected during this ordeal.

You are going to so enjoy this cruise and with the friends you have met on your Roll Call.

[geocruiser]

Congratulations

Enjoy your cruise!

Geo

[WCAB]

Was directed here from another post and although it took a while to read through while my heart fell into my shoes I am happy that I did not have to wait several days to find out your story has a happy ending. This could be an agency I got a quote from when planning a cruise a few months ago. Lots of things happened so I could not finalize at that time and now getting back to booking the cruise, I find their web page has been taken down.

[rjsams]

That's so wonderful!!! I can't wait to hear all about your cruise. I, too am a solo traveller, and I dream of the trip you are taking. Congratulations! I bet you'll sleep well tonight. :-)

[SISer]

So happy to read about HAL receiving the funds. Wonderful news. :)

 

I think this thread sent our alarm signals to all of us who are looking for cruise deals online. Not all tas are dishonest, but you never know.

 

Karen, have a fabulous cruise. Enjoy your dream cruise, you deserve it!

 

If you have a few minutes could you please email me, jbaker1 at live dot ca. Thanks.

[Hamburg Avon Lady]

Sherrie,

I haven't heard your whole story, but I am confused by the part that I snipped above. If you previously paid in full and had documentation to that effect, I don't understand why your CC company wouldn't let you dispute the additional $900 charge. If the charge was made on Dec. 30th and you reported it on Feb. 4th, that is well within the usual 60-90 days that the CC gives you to dispute a charge. It shouldn't matter that the original cruise payment was months previously because the $900 was a separate charge. Once you dispute it, the vendor needs to provide proof that they had authorization to bill the amount. Since you had documentation showing that you had already paid in full, the CC company should have refunded the charge.

 

:confused: Thanks Dee --- I will give it another try ---- was told I had 6 months to

"contest" the charge. But never thought about the date of the $ 900

additonal payment. I will try ---- however, it now past the 6 months on that charge, too !!! Whoa is me, I guess. :confused:

[Hamburg Avon Lady]

Now my job is to check my credit card statements a couple of times a day. My research has shown that this company is notorious for double and triple charging client's credit cards.....even after they have sailed!! I don't understand how a company can get away with this MANY MANY times.....but I am alert and will be checking.

So.....check your statements!

 

:confused: Can't you notify your cc companies to put a "FREEZE" on any additonal charges/payments to these crooks !!! Sure would not hurt to ask.

Also, have you thought about closing these cards out completely (like tomorrow) and

using some other cc for your trip -- ones that the agency has no knowledge of. Just a thought.

 

You have my very best congratulations, as well. We are "sisters" in experience and spirit with this agency. SO VERY HAPPY FOR YOU !! :D

[dandro]

Sorry to be late to the party...

What fantastic news!! I am happy for you, Karen. I was ready to go find that TA and wring their neck!

 

I took a peek at your blog, was interested that you did the RFL. I participated in our local one last month, it is one of the largest. As a 5 year cancer survivor, it means a lot to me to be able to "give back". :-)

 

Anyways, congrats on the fabulous good news and looking forward to hearing about your cruise.