L

I am so upset that our train ride/hotel/rent a car/park pass vacation is not going to happen because 1. the travel agent I was working with ubruptly quit 2. the company he would be booking the package with went out of bussiness.

We were going to San Diego on Amtrak's Surfliner, hotel Del Coronado, zoo, lego land, sea world. Mom coming too, for great prices, though Amtrak.

I have some questions if someone would like to answer that would be nice at this point. We were due to depart 7/30.

We bought our tickets which were refundable. The agent assured us we did not have to pay till a few months before departure date for the rest.

1. What liability do agents have?
2. Are agents licensed?
3. Will Amtrak work something out for us since it was there company?

Thanks in advance

orangetravelcat

Even if the travel agent quit, the agency (s)he worked for should have a record of your transactions so another agent should be able to help you. Or, If you haven't paid for your trip yet, and if the package was thru Amtrak, why not call Amtrak and see if it can be booked thru them?

Annabel

The agency the agent worked for should have insurance, errors and omissions, but you have not traveled yet - so it is unnecessary. Another agent working in the agency should be able to pick up where he left off.

If not, call the agency and cancel any and all reservations with them and start over. You can do this yourself or get a new agent.

Agents are not licenced

You can call Amtrack and find out the answer to #3

BeachBoi

L...Sorry to hear about your dilemma...I feel your stress..It sounds like you have made some contact with the agency, since you know the Tour Company he was booking with has vanished just as he did.I would think the agency would at least be willing to assist you further.If you have not paid any monies except the Amtrak tickets,then there is no liability issue.Travel Agents are indeed "licensed" to a degree.While today anyone can hang a shingle on your door and call yourself a "Travel Agent", if you want to issue airline tickets,you must go thru a process which will eventually land you an "appointment" as a valid travel agent.This process is done thru the Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC) and upon succdessful "appointment" the agency is given an ARC number.This validates the Agency as a "real: agent to tour companies,airlines,hotels,etc etc.Individual Travel Agents are not licensed as such, but the company they work for is.ATravel Agency can do business without this appointment or "license" as it were.Howvere, they cannot legally issue airline tickets .I have been doing business with my own TA for 16 years and he has educated me a lot over the years.Best of luck and please report back.....

GoTravel

Have you contacted the travel agency? What about Amtrak?

That should be your first thing.

What did they say?

FainaAgain

Was it Amtrak travel agency? Work with another agent there.

Was it another travel agency? Work with another agent there.

Was it an independent agent? You still have plenty of time to work it out, relax.

If a company is out of business, it means the competition put it out. Translation: there are other companies out there who offer even better packages.