ComplaintsforImagine Tours & Travel, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  11/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In 2023 I paid Imagine a total of $5692.00. Multiple trips and tours were canceled or delayed by tour sponsors. On Sept 10 approximately 6 weeks before our trip, Imagine purchased plane tickets. My ticket, and those of 3 others, was different from the rest of the group because I live near *******, the other tour members live near ******. I received an email request to verify that my name and personal info was correct for the tickets, the email stated that the tickets are non-refundable. I verified that it was correct. The tickets were purchased. On October 6 the tour sponsor decided to postpone the trip. I decided to transfer my tour funds to a different group, one whose sponsor I was told by the company, would not cancel. Doing so had been previously discussed as a viable option, this would be my 3rd trip transfer, the change would cost more that i was willing to pay. On October 17 I received the confirmation email that my registration and my balance had been transferred to a new trip. On October 21st ***** ****, my primary contract, told me that he was just inform that my airline tickets were nonrefundable AND nontransferable. Because the previous trip date had been postponed, by someone else, we would lose our ticket money because those tickets couldn't be transfered. He instructed me that i would need to sign back up to the previous tour (the one i had just transferred our of) so that they could attempt to negotiate with the airline company to get more of our money back. The new contract he wanted me to sign had a higher nonrefunable deposit. I refused to sign that contract because I was already losing $900 for the airplane tickets, I wasn't willing to give them an additional $200 nonrefundable deposit. They now intend to keep $900 for the plane tickets and the original $300 deposit i had agreed to. I believe that Imagine Tours and Travel made a BAD purchasing decision with my money and were deceptive in trying to fix their mistake. They now refuse to respond.

  

  Business response

  11/06/2024

  Hi *******,

  Thank you for the opportunity to clarify the situation with Mrs. ******** ***** recent inquiry.

  Mrs. **** originally registered on January 12, 2023, for a November 2024 group tour to ****** organized by her churchs group leader. She electronically signed an agreement at registration acknowledging the tour terms, including a $300 non-refundable fee at the time of registration, plus any applicable airline fees once tickets were issued. Due to low enrollment, the group leader later postponed the tour to 2025 and then ultimately canceled it. At ********* request, we transferred her registration to a similar tour with us for November 2024, departing from a different city nearby. As part of this transfer, she signed a new physical registration form for the updated tour,affirming the same terms: a $300 non-refundable fee plus applicable airline penalties once ticketed.

  Given the new departure city, Mrs. **** was informed that she had three options: (1) join the group departure from ******; (2) we can book her separately as an instant-purchase, non-refundable ticket from her home city of *******; or (3) she could arrange her own flights. Ultimately, ******** opted for (2), an instant-purchase, non-refundable ticket from her home city of ******* rather than joining the groups primary departure from *******We confirmed her personal details in writing, explained that this was a non-refundable ticket, and received her written confirmation. Unfortunately, on October 6, this new groups leader also decided to postpone. At Mrs. ***** request, we then began the process of moving her to yet another tour. However,this transfer required a higher ($500) non-refundable deposit, outlined on the new registration form she needed to physically complete, which Mrs. **** initially agreed to but later declined, upon realizing her non-refundable ticket could not transfer to the new tour.

  On October 24, Mrs. **** emailed us, stating, Per our conversation, cancel my trip registration with Imagine Tours immediately and return all available funds immediately. She acknowledged the existence of fees in this initial message. Later, she requested a full refund, though she was aware this was not possible due to the non-refundable nature of her ticket and the standard $300 administrative fee previously agreed to.

  Our team has followed our policies at each step and communicated all terms both verbally and in writing. When Mrs. **** expressed concern about the costly airline penalty for her ticket, we even worked with the airline to reduce the penalty from the original $1,400 to $900 as a gesture of goodwill. Her remaining refund of $3,967 from her original payment of $5,167 will be processed by November 15, consistent with Imagines policies.

  We appreciate the chance to respond to Mrs. ***** concerns and believe we have done our utmost to address her needs within the terms of her registration agreements.

  Sincerely,
  *** ******
  Imagine Tours and Travel

  

  Business response

  11/07/2024

  
  Hi *******,
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to clarify the situation with Mrs. ******** ***** recent inquiry.
  
  Mrs. **** originally registered on January 12, 2023, for a November 2024 group tour to ****** organized by her churchs group leader. She electronically signed an agreement at registration acknowledging the tour terms, including a $300 non-refundable fee at the time of registration, plus any applicable airline fees once tickets were issued. Due to low enrollment, the group leader later postponed the tour to 2025 and then ultimately canceled it. At Mrs. ***** request, we transferred her registration to a similar tour with us for November 2024, departing from a different city nearby. As part of this transfer, she signed a new physical registration form for the updated tour, affirming the same terms: a $300 non-refundable fee plus applicable airline penalties once ticketed.
  
  Given the new departure city, Mrs. **** was informed that she had three options: (1) join the group departure from ******; (2) we can book her separately as an instant-purchase, non-refundable ticket from her home city of *******; or (3) she could arrange her own flights. Ultimately, Mrs. **** opted for (2), an instant-purchase, non-refundable ticket from her home city of ******* rather than joining the groups primary departure from ******. We confirmed her personal details in writing, explained that this was a non-refundable ticket, and received her written confirmation. Unfortunately, on October 6, this new groups leader also decided to postpone. At Mrs. ***** request, we then began the process of moving her to yet another tour. However, this transfer required a higher ($500) non-refundable deposit, outlined on the new registration form she needed to physically complete, which Mrs. **** initially agreed to but later declined, upon realizing her non-refundable ticket could not transfer to the new tour.
  
  On October 24, Mrs. **** emailed us, stating, Per our conversation, cancel my trip registration with Imagine Tours immediately and return all available funds immediately. She acknowledged the existence of fees in this initial message. Later, she requested a full refund, though she was aware this was not possible due to the non-refundable nature of her ticket and the standard $300 administrative fee previously agreed to.
  
  Our team has followed our policies at each step and communicated all terms both verbally and in writing. When Mrs. **** expressed concern about the costly airline penalty for her ticket, we even worked with the airline to reduce the penalty from the original $1,400 to $900 as a gesture of goodwill. Her remaining refund of $3,967 from her original payment of $5,167 will be processed by November 15, consistent with Imagines policies.
  
  We appreciate the chance to respond to Mrs. ***** concerns and believe we have done our utmost to address her needs within the terms of her registration agreements.
  
  Sincerely,
  *** ******
  Imagine Tours and Travel

  Customer response

  11/09/2024

   
  Complaint: 22517383
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I was floored by your response. I wrote a long letter with dates, emails and screen shots that countered the lies, by the end of it all the truth is that my dealings with Imagine Tours and Travel has been exhausting and depressing. It's not worth my peace just to be right. 

  Attached you will find your latest invoice to me, the one that was sent after my registration for ******** SR25 was confirmed. You will see that I paid a total of $5542, not $5167. I will accept a refund check, mailed Nov 15 for the correct total paid minus the charges you insist upon.

  Being done with Imagine will give me the greatest peace.... you win. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ****

  

  Business response

  11/11/2024

  We are in receipt of the clients response and while we stand by our response to her we will agree to the refund of $5542 less the applicable fees and will issue that to her on or before November 15, 2024.

  Customer response

  11/14/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ****

• Initial Complaint

  02/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Have been seeking a refund since November with many emails. Refund for a trip was sent to us on Jan. 16 via mail. The check never arrived. I called on 2/6/24, 2/13, 2/20, and 2/22 to have the check reissued and resent. I have not received a firm date that the check will reissued- possible March 1. I asked to have it send securely by priority mail or certified mail as I have been waiting a long time for the check. The business said they could only send it by regular mail again. I would like the check reissued and sent securely this week.

  

  Business response

  02/23/2024

  We have been working with Mr ***** ************ regarding their refund.  Due to the ****** situation, they cancelled their participation with their tour in November of 2023 as per their complaint.  Tickets for this group had already been issued and we had to request the refunds from the airlines.  Upon receiving the airline refund our office sent them a refund to both their credit card and a check on January 16, 2024.  They then contacted our office on the 13th of February and our operations department provided them with a copy of their check that was issued and requested that they verify the information.  A replacement check was requested on February 20th and is in the queue to be issued as we do not issue refunds daily.  They were informed that as soon as that check was issued and mailed to them that they would be notified so that they could be looking for it.  We regret that the original check was somehow lost in the **** system but that is not because our office did not issue it in a timely manner. We had already scheduled that check to be issued and sent out the beginning of next week prior to receiving this complaint.

• Initial Complaint

  01/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  This business is a travel and tour agency. I paid in full for a trip to Israel that was to happen January, 2024. Due to the war, on November 8, 2023 this trip was cancelled and rescheduled to January, 2025. We had until 12/10/23 to request a refund. On November 15, 2023, I wrote and requested a refund (first request) because the rescheduled date conflicts with a prior commitment. I received a response on the same day explaining my options to rebook another trip and asking me let them know again how I wish to proceed. On December 1, 2023, I wrote back and asked for a refund (second request). On December 5th I received a response explaining my options for rebooking a second time and on that date I again asked for a refund (third request). On December 6th I received a response stating that my refund “will be processed in a timely manner but could be delayed due to supplier issues.” Supplier issues? We are talking about a cash refund in exchange for an electronic ticket that I purchased with cash. I requested an update on 12/28/23 but I have not received a response.

  

  Business response

  01/03/2024

  We apologize for the delay in sending out your refund. The clients credit card was refunded on 12/28/2023 and a check was actually sent out in yesterday's mail.  We were processing refunds for travelers scheduled to travel in October, November and then December in order or their travel dates. We are a small business and are trying to process refunds in a timely manner. Our office was closed for the Christmas Holidays from December 23rd thru January 2nd, however our accounting office worked during the Christmas break to try and get these taken care of even though our office was closed.

  We again apologize for the delay, and we the client should check their credit card with their merchant account for the initial deposit refunded back to them, which can take up to 30 days depending on the merchant company/bank. The check was sent to Traverse City address on file. 

  Sincerely,
  

  Rick R*****

  Customer response

  01/03/2024

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****

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