Tour & Travel

My Antarctic tour by no means transpired, so where by is my deposit refund?

January 17, 2022
Laura Morris

Steven Meisel compensated Aurora Expeditions a $5,000 deposit for an Antarctic tour back in 2019, and he needs a refund. The cause? The pandemic pressured the business to cancel and reschedule the vacation various instances. Can we support?

Concern

In 2019, I booked a trip to Antarctica as a result of Aurora Expeditions, an Australian organization. I reserved the tour by way of Expedition Trips, a Seattle-based travel agency. I created a $5,000 deposit, and the trip was scheduled for late 2020.
Of course, the pandemic caused this vacation to be canceled. Aurora rescheduled the vacation for November 2021, and we agreed to accept the reschedule.

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But due to the fact that time, Aurora has rescheduled the journey two additional situations. Now, they are departing from Chile as an alternative of Argentina owing to COVID constraints. That, combined with some modern overall health concerns, designed the journey significantly fewer attractive.
I’ve been doing work with my vacation company, and Aurora has agreed to cancel our reservation and return our deposit.

Expedition Outings claims it will choose Aurora up to 90 times to problem a refund for the deposit on the Antarctic tour. We verified the cancellation and refund of the deposit in August. To me, that is outrageous. They’ve experienced my money since early 2019, and as we each know, had I been tardy in sending a deposit, they would not have been incredibly forgiving. Issuing a refund must be just the simply click of a button on a pc screen.

My travel agent has been absolutely nothing other than practical and courteous. They convey to me they cannot issue me a refund until Aurora pays them. I get that. The situation is on Aurora’s finish. I have not arrived at out directly to Aurora given that all of my correspondence and communication has been with my agent. Can you support me get my refund? — Steven Meisel, Woodbury, Minn.

Answer

You’re certainly appropriate. Aurora has experienced your deposit for this Antarctic tour for long more than enough and must refund you speedily. And one more 90 times seems like a extended time, but that’s not as terrible as it seems.

For the duration of the pandemic, refunds routinely have taken 6 to 12 months, and in some cases even lengthier. Which is due to the fact firms, and particularly smaller sized organizations, would go less than if they experienced to problem all of their refunds at after.



In a great environment, refunds would take about a week. But in the course of the pandemic, vacationers experienced to reduce airways, inns, and tour operators a very little slack. If Aurora could get you a refund within just 90 days through the pandemic, that would be very normal.

From your standpoint, matters search a small diverse. It’s just been way too very long, and you really do not want to hold out any longer. You contacted me in mid-October, which was about 7 weeks after Aurora agreed to refund your deposit. Your agency experienced been responsive and well mannered about your refund request. And you’re completely proper — the agency is just your middleman. It doesn’t have your cash and can not force Aurora to issue an rapid refund.

You can’t genuinely force a refund any more quickly. You unquestionably could have attained out to an government at Aurora to inquire for your cash. But in my experience, the accounting section moves at its personal pace.

The great news: Here’s the refund of the deposit for your canceled Antarctic tour

“The world problems and issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have been widespread and impacted the vacation sector substantially,” discussed Ashton Palmer, president of Expedition Outings. “While I am sympathetic to Mr. Meisel’s frustrations, I am confident that his refund will arrive accordingly. I am also pretty sorry to find out that Mrs. Meisel simply cannot journey thanks to her medical situation. I definitely hope she returns to good overall health soon.”

Shortly right after that — about 8 months just after Aurora promised your refund — the $5,000 deposit for the canceled Antarctic tour was back again in your lender account.