Complain about a product or service

Class Travel, Inc.

Redondo Beach CA

This company is defunct and has agreed to pay $30,000 in consumer restitution.

William of Orlando FL writes (8/29/01):
My son signed up for Grad Adventure 2001 and mowed yards to make payments of $50.00 a month for this trip. He paid Class Travel a total of $421.00 and the trip never materialized. I emailed them, called them sent a letter to attorney general and the organizer (Ashley Brunk) at our school (University High School, Orlando, Fl) did not know any information about getting our money back, etc.

My son was very disappointed by not going on the senior trip. He started thinking about it in middle school years. He and I have a bad memory of the lifetime trip he wanted to take to end his high school years.

Mona of Brea CA writes (6/21/01):
My 17-year-old daughter signed up for a class trip to Xtapa, Mexico in January of 2001. The trip was planned for the week of June 25, 2001. We put down a $50.00 deposit in January and then I paid the remaining balance of $639.00 in February, putting it on my credit card. We received notification of the trip and the receipt of the payment.

In early April we were told by the trip organizers that Class Travel Inc. had gone into bankruptcy and that we had lost all of our money. I contacted the agent with Class Travel in June asking for information on what had happened to the company and if I could get my money back. I was told via e-mail that the company had not gone into bankruptcy and that if my daughter paid for a trip, then she had a trip coming to her.

Well, I informed her that the rest of my daughter's class was going to Cancun through Invasion travel agency, which came on board after we were told of the bankruptcy, and it did not make sense for my daughter to go on a trip to Xtapa by herself. In sort, I once again asked for a refund of my money. I have not heard from Class Travel or teh agent since that e-mail. I have tried repeatedly to get in touch with them but to no avail. My daughter is now out a class trip and I am out $689.00.

The consequeces were 1) I lost $689.00, which may not seem like a lot of money to some people, but that represents a great deal of money to me. 2) My daughter is devastated. She planned all senior year for this class trip only to find out that she didn't have a trip with Class Travel nor did she have a space with Invasion. So, while her friends will be off enjoying themselves for what might be the last time, she is sitting at home crying.

Lisa of Diamond Bar CA (10/18/00):
I purchased a "Senior Trip Package" for my son back in March 1999. I made monthly payments in order to make it more affordable to me since I was raising my son as a single mother with absolutely no child support.

As the months passed by (I was still making monthly payments to Class Travel, Inc.), my son enlisted in the Marine Corps. At that time, he was given his "leave date". This date was immediately after he was to graduate High School. I notified Class Travel that my son had enlisted in the military and had his Orders to leave right after graduation. Because of this, he would be unable to attend the Senior Trip to Puerto Vallarta. I notified them of this in November of 1999. (The trip was to take place after High School graduation sometime after June 2000, but Class Travel was unable to advise of the date of the trip).

I requested a refund (at least 7 1/2 months before the trip was to take place and reservations had not yet been made), and I was advised that I could not get a refund. I considered this unfair since we had no control over the military's orders. I felt that I gave Class Travel ample notice and it was quite obvious my son leaving right after graduation was completely out of my control.

David or Ormond Beach FL (10/09/00):
I paid Class Travel Intl. $818.00 via money order for a vacation that I never went on. I cancelled the trip before they ever cashed the money order and was within limits for a full refund according to there lengthy Reservation Agreement. They agreed to send me back the money order before it was ever cashed. This was in February that this occured.

I have called them numerous times (over 50) and have sent 2 faxes with a letter and copy of the check they cashed later on and have been told exuse after excuse why they haven't sent refund checks (to everyone) out yet. They are always very rude to me on the phone even though I have always been nice to them thinking it would greaten my chances for someone there to help me.

They have never told me that I wouldn't get my refund but I still don't have it, they have never returned a call to me a single time, and the customer service personnel seem "lazy" and act like they don't want to deal with me on the phone. Even calling today the customer service reps immediately recognize me and transfer me to an accountants voice mail where I leave a message and never get called back. I sent a letter demanding a refund and they handwrote a message on it and sent it back saying "Please send a copy of the money order we show no money posted to your account." So I mailed 5 copies of it and haven't heard from them since.

Chris of Boca Raton FL (6/22/01):

Hotels don't take responsibility for loss of personal items. We'd say Chris is out of luck.

Janet of Billerica, MA, writes:
I am having a problem with a travel agency based in Redondo Beach, California. This is a problem pertaining to "Spring Break Vacations". There was quite a lot of publicity last year for "Spring Breakers" heading to their destinations and finding that they had no reservations, etc. when arriving to the airports.

My son, who is 20 years old, planned a trip with three of his peers to travel to Cancun, Mexico for the MTV Spring Break week, March 12th through March 18th of 2000 in January of 2000. He and his friends obtained a package deal on the "enticing" web page from Class Travel Intl. Inc. (CTI). I became involved in the planning of this trip due to the fact that he needed a credit card to secure the trip. I agreed to put his trip on my credit card, but feeling a bit apprehensive, due to last year's news on spring breakers, I called CTI on two separate occasions to confirm the trip which included:

• Direct round trip air from Boston to Cancun
• Four star beach resort hotel
• 9 upgraded meal package
• 50-hour party package
• Airport transfers

A friend of his, was finally able to get some information on this trip that is quite disturbing, as follows:

• Bus trip from Boston, MA to Baltimore, MD, an eight hour trip to catch a 3:20am flight to Cancun,
• No party package,
• 7-dinner package for restaurants comparable to McDonalds
• the hotel is not four star and
• you need to walk down the street to swim at the beach.
• Check out time is in the am of the 18th, with a 7:15pm flight out of Cancun, Mexico, arrival back to Baltimore at 11:25pm and then on to a bus headed for Boston for another 8 hours. This adds two days for travel on this trip.

I find this completely outrageous. The boys have been trying to get some answers out of CTI, they have been hung up on, disconnected and put on hold for long lengths of time. I was finally able to reach the Manager of CTI, who informed me that the package the boys purchased was a basic package, which did not include the party package or the upgraded meal plan. She could not give me an answer as to why I and the four boys were misinformed on the package plan. She could not really justify the air travel from Baltimore except to say there was a 13 hour layover, so they opted for the bus ride.

As a "courtesy" she claimed to give back the upgraded dinner plan, which is only 7 meals now, not 9, and the party package. Yet, she was not able to fax, as I requested, some sort of confirmation on any of the trip. I am very concerned, not only as a consumer, but also as a parent, about this trip.

There is no confirmation of the trip as of today, March 1st, except for the credit card charge. I am worried about the safety of my child on this trip, as to whether or not the trip is going to happen and if he will be in a hotel, be able to eat and be in the part of Cancun that is in the resort area where he is supposed to be. Most importantly, I feel that there is a fraudulent practice going on at this travel agent and I am not sure how to handle this, since it is 10 days before the trip and a refund is out of the question.

This all sounds pretty awful to us. We don't agree that a refund is out of the question. Janet should fax or FedEx a demand letter to CTI, demanding a full and complete refund and should file suit in Small Claims Court if it is not immediately forthcoming. She should also notify her credit card company in writing that she is disputing the charge.

In general, we think it is very unwise to allow unaccompanied minors to travel to foreign countries, even one as nearby and relatively sophisticated as Mexico, and this particular package sounds like a nightmare.

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