notme2012 Posted March 12, 2021 #326 Share Posted March 12, 2021 22 hours ago, drsel said: this is ridiculous! the travel agent has no right to hold your money. The risk of a travel agent defaulting is much much higher than that of a multi-billion dollar company. All money should be paid directly to the cruise line and not to the travel agent, so that the cruise line can refund money directly to the customer. The travel agent gets paid commission directly by the cruise line, not from any customer. When a client pays by cash or check, the agency transmits that to the cruise line. In some instances the agency withholds their commission. Now, if the client pays with a credit card, the agency gives that CC# to the cruise line. So the cruise line processes the charge. Then 2 weeks after the client completes their cruise, the cruise line sends the agency their commission. This is the process that has been in existence for 30+ years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted March 12, 2021 #327 Share Posted March 12, 2021 21 minutes ago, notme2012 said: When a client pays by cash or check, the agency transmits that to the cruise line. In some instances the agency withholds their commission. Now, if the client pays with a credit card, the agency gives that CC# to the cruise line. So the cruise line processes the charge. Then 2 weeks after the client completes their cruise, the cruise line sends the agency their commission. This is the process that has been in existence for 30+ years. Exactly, then how did that TA get hold of the refunded amount? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted March 12, 2021 #328 Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) There was a big black hole and now a big black fire on MSC ?? https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2021/03/12/msc-lirica-cruise-ship-goes-up-flames-while-docked-corfu-greece/4663218001/ Edited March 12, 2021 by drsel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted March 12, 2021 #329 Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) Actually a big black fire on MSC, not a big black hole! I just hope that the MSC Lirica does not suffer much damage. https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24549-msc-lirica-is-on-fire-in-corfu.html Edited March 12, 2021 by drsel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heatherb1958 Posted March 12, 2021 #330 Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, notme2012 said: When a client pays by cash or check, the agency transmits that to the cruise line. In some instances the agency withholds their commission. Now, if the client pays with a credit card, the agency gives that CC# to the cruise line. So the cruise line processes the charge. Then 2 weeks after the client completes their cruise, the cruise line sends the agency their commission. This is the process that has been in existence for 30+ years. 2 hours ago, drsel said: Exactly, then how did that TA get hold of the refunded amount? Here in the UK different systems in operation . You rarely will have a singular person operating as an agent , mainly online agencies or shops on the high street . We have ABTA protection and ATOL for holidays involving flights . We have already had our money paid back , in full , via consumer protection for a holiday booked at a high street travel agent for a company that went into receivership in 2020. It was a scenario when we had paid in full when it wasn’t necessary, could have just paid the deposit , it took a few months to get the money back but we did . It is frustrating that we have not had our money paid back in a timely manner but IT WILL BE PAID. I am not getting my knickers in a twist over it, just wringing my hands of the companies who will not get any future business . Edited March 12, 2021 by heatherb1958 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mamaneedsavacay Posted March 13, 2021 #331 Share Posted March 13, 2021 On 3/4/2021 at 8:00 AM, shipgeeks said: Did the taxes and fees show up on your credit card statement? Not sure if you were asking me, but we did get our taxes and fees really quickly, if I recall. Then, eventually an incorrect FCC and the TA has been working on it ever since. On 3/7/2021 at 6:30 AM, Bluewake said: We are a few days away from waiting one full year for MSC to issue the FCC for which we've been assured we are entitled. The initial email said it would take "two weeks". We've gone through multiple escalations, repeatedly been asked to "be patient", and given a variety of reasons for the lack of action. On 3/7/2021 at 10:03 AM, dexddd said: Us too. Sent simple letter to Miami a week ago and nothing yet. TA also not happy with excuses and errors, They are a large agency too. Cancelled three YC b2b last week before final. Told 60 days for that, we'll see. I'm considering at day 366 to resurface this thread each day with a +1. "happy" anniversary Bluewake and dexddd. My one year mark is 3/15. Good luck to us all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipgeeks Posted March 13, 2021 #332 Share Posted March 13, 2021 The reason why I asked about refund of taxes and fees on credit card: When we received ours, the FCC amount appeared to equal only 100% of what we had paid, but it was, in fact, 125%, since we also received $$ on credit card. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickey89 Posted March 13, 2021 #333 Share Posted March 13, 2021 17 hours ago, heatherb1958 said: Here in the UK different systems in operation . We have ABTA protection and ATOL for holidays involving flights ......... ABTA is a worthless guarantee, don't ever rely on them. Reflect on their resent performance when they let down thousands upon thousands of customers. ATOL only covers flights not holidays when the carrier goes AWOL. The best cover is Section 75 of the Consumer Credit act and I'm sure our cousins across the pond have a similar scheme. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexddd Posted March 13, 2021 #334 Share Posted March 13, 2021 15 hours ago, mamaneedsavacay said: Not sure if you were asking me, but we did get our taxes and fees really quickly, if I recall. Then, eventually an incorrect FCC and the TA has been working on it ever since. "happy" anniversary Bluewake and dexddd. My one year mark is 3/15. Good luck to us all. I checked and we got our...your fcc will be issued in 60 days... was 3/21. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewake Posted March 13, 2021 #335 Share Posted March 13, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, dexddd said: I checked and we got our...your fcc will be issued in 60 days... was 3/21. Forgive me for feeling so but it's helpful to know we are not the only ones still waiting. Edited March 13, 2021 by Bluewake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notme2012 Posted March 14, 2021 #336 Share Posted March 14, 2021 On 3/12/2021 at 1:51 PM, heatherb1958 said: Here in the UK different systems in operation . You rarely will have a singular person operating as an agent , mainly online agencies or shops on the high street . We have ABTA protection and ATOL for holidays involving flights . We have already had our money paid back , in full , via consumer protection for a holiday booked at a high street travel agent for a company that went into receivership in 2020. It was a scenario when we had paid in full when it wasn’t necessary, could have just paid the deposit , it took a few months to get the money back but we did . It is frustrating that we have not had our money paid back in a timely manner but IT WILL BE PAID. I am not getting my knickers in a twist over it, just wringing my hands of the companies who will not get any future business . I did not state "agent". Agencies can be any size or ownership. When one pays cash, those monies are remitted to the travel suppliers. For example: airline tickets, agencies deposit the money into a special bank account that is held with the airlines' settlement company. After the clients complete their travel, funds are released back to the agency, etc. Now the cruise lines themselves, act as their own clearing house. The agency pays the cruise line. When the cruise line refunds a sailing, the cash is sent back to that agency. Paying cash or check to any agency or travel supplier is a big NO-NO! You have very little recourse if that agency absconds with you money. Much better to have the credit card company, Visa and your bank, (Chase, for example) working towards your recovery of hard earned funds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notme2012 Posted March 14, 2021 #337 Share Posted March 14, 2021 On 3/12/2021 at 11:21 AM, drsel said: Exactly, then how did that TA get hold of the refunded amount? If you paid cash/check to the agency, the refund goes back to the agency. Then the agency refunds cash/check back to the client. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted March 15, 2021 #338 Share Posted March 15, 2021 2 hours ago, notme2012 said: If you paid cash/check to the agency, the refund goes back to the agency. Then the agency refunds cash/check back to the client. My credit card payment always goes directly to MSC or the cruise line. Only once for P&O, the agency took the deposit, because it was a group discount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mamaneedsavacay Posted March 15, 2021 #339 Share Posted March 15, 2021 @Bluewake @dexddd we got our full refund today. Happy one year anniversary! I hope you get yours too. Quite a nice surprise to see this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notme2012 Posted March 15, 2021 #340 Share Posted March 15, 2021 16 hours ago, drsel said: My credit card payment always goes directly to MSC or the cruise line. Only once for P&O, the agency took the deposit, because it was a group discount. Exactly! When you pay by credit card, even using an agency, the cruise line processes the credit card payment. When refunds with credit cards occur, they go right back to the clients' credit card. The agency gets nothing, in a cancelled cruise situation. Now, if the client does sail, 2 weeks after the cruise ends, the cruise line sends the agency their commission, by check. Paying by CC is the safest way to purchase travel. Never use cash or check! But, if you pay by cash or check, at an agency for your cruise, you get your refund from the agency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted March 15, 2021 #341 Share Posted March 15, 2021 (edited) 21 minutes ago, notme2012 said: Never use cash or check! But, if you pay by cash or check, at an agency for your cruise, you get your refund from the agency. you could consider yourself very lucky if the travel agency refunded your money paid to them, by cash or cheque. Edited March 15, 2021 by drsel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFMW Posted March 15, 2021 #342 Share Posted March 15, 2021 The refund for our March 6th cruise posted to our CC on March 10th. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexddd Posted March 16, 2021 #343 Share Posted March 16, 2021 19 hours ago, mamaneedsavacay said: @Bluewake @dexddd we got our full refund today. Happy one year anniversary! I hope you get yours too. Quite a nice surprise to see this morning. Great news. Was that a full refund or refund of fees and FCC or FCC for everything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heatherb1958 Posted March 16, 2021 #344 Share Posted March 16, 2021 Dear all from a wet and windy Manchester , UK , you will be pleased to know we received today our full refund of £2,668 . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notme2012 Posted March 16, 2021 #345 Share Posted March 16, 2021 21 hours ago, drsel said: you could consider yourself very lucky if the travel agency refunded your money paid to them, by cash or cheque. Me? I don't pay for travel with cash or checks. I receive bonus points on my credit card for all travel. A bigger risk is one of these cruise lines going bankrupt. I don't think MSC will, as they are a privately owned company. But I can't imagine may travel agencies are doing well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewake Posted March 18, 2021 #346 Share Posted March 18, 2021 On 3/15/2021 at 11:21 AM, mamaneedsavacay said: @Bluewake @dexddd we got our full refund today. Happy one year anniversary! I hope you get yours too. Quite a nice surprise to see this morning. Congratulations! Still nothing here...but hope springs eternal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mamaneedsavacay Posted March 20, 2021 #347 Share Posted March 20, 2021 On 3/16/2021 at 5:29 AM, dexddd said: Great news. Was that a full refund or refund of fees and FCC or FCC for everything? It was the outstanding fare, put back on my credit card. We had previously received the refund of fees. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexddd Posted March 23, 2021 #348 Share Posted March 23, 2021 Happy one year anniversary MSC for our fcc request acknowledged 3/21/2020. BOO TO YOU! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
versuco Posted March 24, 2021 #349 Share Posted March 24, 2021 14 hours ago, dexddd said: Happy one year anniversary MSC for our fcc request acknowledged 3/21/2020. BOO TO YOU! Yep, that's how they operate! A year later and we are still waiting for the rest of our refund. They already refunded taxes and fees and our initial deposit, but have still not refunded the rest of the final payment. Never again will they get a penny of our money! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexddd Posted March 24, 2021 #350 Share Posted March 24, 2021 9 hours ago, versuco said: Yep, that's how they operate! A year later and we are still waiting for the rest of our refund. They already refunded taxes and fees and our initial deposit, but have still not refunded the rest of the final payment. Never again will they get a penny of our money! We haven't even seen refund of taxes and fees. Only prepaid shorex. BOO +1 MSC! You say on the ships how you value guests and cruise critic but what do your actions show?? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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