Grand Circle Travel Warning
 

I wanted to tell you about an incident that involves Grand Circle Travel. My husband and I signed up in April for a Sept 6 departure to Thailand, when they told us that only 4 spots were available (out of 40 total spots) . At that time we had to put down a deposit, which ours was $350 person-$700. We paid the balance on time. GCT called us on July 14 to tell us that they cancelled the trip because of low attendence. This was the same tour that was 2 seats short of being sold out when we signed up. They offered us other dates, which we cannot go on because of work commitments which involve trades shows that we cannot change. Our options were to schedule the trip sometime in the next 12 months or lose $700 for canceling so late. If they had let us know two weeks prior, the cancellation fee was only $250. We actually have a letter from GCT apologizing for letting us know so late!

GCT has the option of canceling any time, and can reschedule you 2 weeks before or after your original departure date. They can re-schedule you with in one month time! As “goodwill” they sent us a travel voucher for our money instead of refunding the money. We can not travel with a tour that has the option of changing your dates within a month, so the voucher is no good to us and is not transferable. We have written letters up the chain of command, but when we got to the president, we only received a letter from “office of the chair-quality management. I don’t know if my letter when got into the hands that I wanted-the president. The last letter we received said they thought their offer of “goodwill” was good enough. That is my money-not their “goodwill”! We are willing to forfeit the $250 penalty that they require, but they want the whole thing. The way I see it, GCT did not incur any expenses on this cancelled trip.

We were told by GCT that we should have gotten their insurance, but from what we have read, you do not get your money back, but a voucher for a trip in the next 12 months. We are fighting this right now with the credit card company so I will let you know what happens. One thing for sure, GCT is not taking any responsibility, even when they understand their fault. We are repeat customers and have sent friends to them and they signed up for trips. I always read the fine print pretty well, but this one got away from me. Many people that I have talked to, that travel with GCT, did not know this policy either. I do not want this to happen to anyone else-so beware!

That's awful, especially considering this is entirely their fault! Why don't you try writing to Conde Nast Traveler's ombudsman column. Perhaps they can help.

This issue has been brought up repatedly in International Travel News. It's a long-standing problem with GCT.

i believe you reported this earlier here did you not??

have you tried picking up the telephone and making a call to the president in boston??

have you thought about writing to an ombudsman like at conde nast travel magazine or in some magizine that GCT advertises heavily or through AARP or a similar organization or AAA....???

how about showing up in their office???

And write a letter to them with a copy to ITN News and every other venue you can think of. Make sure you tell them you are telling your story on internet websites as well. You could also call the BBB.

rhkkmk, I had emailed you a letter about this in the early stages,since Karen's parents use GCT. I have tried to contact the president, but cannot get to him through the maze of people that run interference We sent a certified letter and email to him also, but got replies from other people. I am not familiar with some of the other options that all have mentioned-Conde Nast Traveler's ombudsman column, ITN News ... Would love to know more so I can continue to hopefully help someone else as well as me. I thought posting this on this forum, would help other people to be aware of their policies. It makes sense to me for GCT to co-ordinate their cancellation of trips with the lower penalty date.

i knew i had read it...sorry...

conde nast publications is one of the big travel magazine publishers...conde nast travel is a popular mag....look at your library or newshop for it...

i do not know the other one...

it is frustrating that is for sure...what does the credit card company say??? i use american express for all car rentals for this very reason....they are 100% helpful...car rentals are the only things connected with travel that i have ever had a problem with....

i find that CEO's rarely answer anything these days....look in your GCT magazine and find the CEO's name...call the 617 telephone number for their corporate headquarters in boston, not an 800 #....ask for him....say it is a personal call....maybe you will get his secretary at least...

Why should you be penalized at all? It was Grand Circle that changed the dates. I used to recommend this agency to some of my older friends but I was not aware of this "rip off" policy. I will not recommend them again.

This is outrageous! No wonder they have so many mail-outs. There is a brochure/letter from them in my mailbox nearly every day which I then have to throw in the re-cycle bin.

What a ridiculous policy! They not only cancelled on you but are penalizing you financially. I don't think I've ever heard of a tour operator with such an absurd cancellation policy.

Definitely as others have mentioned write to the Ombudsman at Conde Nast Traveler and any other travel publication you can find. Let everyone know about their horrible, draconian policy.

Here are the instructions for writing to CNT Ombudsman -

"Ombudsman offers a free service of advice and mediation. Because of the volume of letters we receive, we cannot act in all cases. Letters should be sent to Ombudsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Times Square, New York, New York 10036, and should include documentation and any relevant photographs. Please note that we cannot respond to submissions sent via e-mail. Correspondence must be typed and must include a daytime telephone number. All submissions become the property of Condé Nast Traveler and will not be returned; submissions may be edited and may be published or otherwise used in any medium."

This is undoubtedly a terrible policy.

However, is it not mentioned in their terms and conditions, which are agreed to before booking? If so, I doubt there is any relief. Buyer beware.

Hi---- As one who has taken two GCT trips (Eastern Europe 2004 & Sicily/Amalfi 2005),I can tell you, there were more complaints from frequent GCT travels on the last trip than you can imagine. They included the same scenerio you went through: cancelling a tour and rescheduling without any consideration to their customers----the traveler!
We were not happy with their customer service prior to the tour, and were not at all happy with their service during the tour. We will NOT travel with them again and so noted in their after tour survey we sent them ----which they never responded to.
It may not be much help, but if you go to google, write in Grand Circle Travel, you'll find a list of other complaints on a consumers report link. If nothing else, you can get the word out to others so they will be cautioned to stay away.
By the way, if GCT spent more money on their customer service----which is a toal misnomer---should be "NO" customer service, and less on brochures, they'd probably be better off.
We can't even get them to discontinue filling our mailbox with at least 5/week!
Good luck!

Thank you all for your help and support on this GCT problem. It is stated in fine print in the terms and conditions in their catalog. I did not have a catalog when I made the reservations by phone. They did not read any of the terms and conditions to me by phone. I will continue to pursue this with the information I am getting on this forum. I, too, am very disappointed in the customer service. GCT has very high standards for their tour directors, that I asked them why not the same high standards for the customer service??? They replied that they were sorry that I was not happy, and their "goodwill" voucher was all they could do.

how about the consummer division of the attorney general's office of massachusetts....they are on tv all the time offering their help...

ITN is International Travel News magazine which is a down-to-earth travel magazine printed on newspaper type of paper. It's been around forever. I think they are up in Sacramento(CA). I had a subscription, with them, back throughout the late 70s or 80s I think it was. I'm sure you can Google for the information on their exact address. Happy Travels!

Might be a good idea to print out this thread too and send it to them as a warning. People are sharing the info of what bad service they give and this is going to rebound on their popularity (read profits).

Once again, you all have given me some venues to send my complaints to. I actually thought about sending these postings to GCT to let them hear what thoughts are going on with their customers. I will wait a few days to send, so if any on you want to chime in, please post. I have gotten the information for complaints from consumer division of the attorney general office of Massachusetts also. That is a great idea. I will also contact Conte Nast and ITN. Let me know if you have any more ideas. Thanks so much!

On 10/27/05 Grand Circle’s membership in the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Massachusetts, Maine & Vermont was revoked by the BBB due to violation of BBB Standard of Membership "Make diligent efforts to eliminate the underlying cause(s) of any pattern(s) or trend(s) of customer complaints which the Bureau may call to the company's attention."
Based on BBB files this company has a pattern of complaints concerning contract issues.

Consumers state that they purchase vacations advertised with specific amenities and itineraries. Consumers state that they are not kept informed of changes made to trips until days before departing or sometimes changes are made while on the trip. Consumers state that the amenities, activities and locations of the hotels are not what was advertised and that adequate substitutions are not made. Consumers state that they are unable to receive refunds or reimbursements from the company. Consumers state that they are dissatisfied with the level of customer service they have received trying to find resolution to these issues

Actually, I have contacted Grand Circle about complaints on Fodors (including one on Europe forum about the BBB issue) and have also forwarded these discussions to them. And I have received back some information from a special rep, but not answering as yet the problems on cancellation you speak of, stitchintime. I will wait to see if they have anything further to say...they have a corporate meeting today I believe).

We have traveled four times in Europe with GCT and have nothing but positive things to say about their operation and service, but we have no knowledge of the cancelation snafu mentioned.

ozarksbill

Thanks for all the additional info, especially from fullprof, about the BBB. I will be forwarding this important information to my credit card company and I think it should help. Of course, I will also be sending it to GCT-maybe something happened at the corporate meeting today and they got people who care how their customers feel.?!??

ttt

Yesterday I talked with a friend in my hometown who had nothing but praise for a GCT tour to Eastern Europe, just back from the same one we were on in June. After alerting a GCT rep about postings on Fodors, I did get this response which I am posting on my own, i.e., not presuming to speak for Grand Circle Travel. It is not their policy to reply to internet chat comments.

"The Better Business Bureau received 53 complaints from our travelers in 2005 which is more than the BBB guidelines allow. However, the BBB does not consider the size of the business or the number of clients. With the 155,000 travlers we've had in 2005, 53 complaints is less than 1/10th of 1%.

In fact, for the past 3 years 97% of our travelers have rated their experience Good or Excellent so we're confident that the change in our BBB status does not reflect a decline in our services.

Despite our concerns with BBB's consideration of limited facts, having even 53 make complaints is not satisfactory. Based on feedback received we have made major and relevant policy changes that will dramatically reduce the number of passenger complaints:

Protecting against taxes and surcharge increases.
Clearly communicating overbooking practices and revising guidelines.
Not enforcing cancellation fees due to date changes.
Revising terms to clarify policy."
(contact can be made with Joshua who emailed this to me...GCT
877 220-2610 ext. 5019)

Ozarksbill, Thanks for the info. Hopefully it will help me especially with the contact information!

Thanks so much!

Hi-- I thought I'd share this email I sent to GCT customer service via their web site. If they follow their normal procedure, there will be no response. We'll see.

Inasmuch as not only were we dissatisfied with your service before, during and after our last trip, and we heard terrible reports from many of your frequent travelers, and if you bother to go to Frommers and/or Fodor's web site to read about some of the horror stories concerning GCT, we are advising you we will not be traveling with your company again. Therefore, once again, we are asking you stop inundating our mail with the GCT/OAT brochures. Perhaps you can use the savings to improve your customer service which has evidently gotten worse in the last year. Please be kind enough to respond, and more important, take us off your mailing list immediately, as we previously requested.

Here is an update on my original incident. I just heard from my credit card company and they have ruled against GCT and for me. My money has been permanently credited to my account. I owe much of it to all of you who provide useful information that I forwarded to the credit card company. Many thanks for all who contributed!

congrats.....i have had great luck with american express when i have had car rental problems...they always came through, but never with any other travel related business...

That's great news, I'm very happy for you. I hope this and other incidents cause GCT to clean up their act.

Stitch, I'm so glad that your credit card resolved this issue for you.

I continue to be unimpressed with GCT's response. Justifying it in terms of the percentage of compaints just doesn't cut it.