Customer Relations - I Don't Think So

[Hoonose]

I was booked on the Regal Princess for a cruise commencing on 7 October 2020 from Southampton, England. Between March and May 2019 I made some onboard purchases via PayPal totalling $667.11AUD.

 

In anticipation that the cruise would be cancelled by Princess I cancelled these purchases on 26 March 2020 and sure enough the cruise was subsequently cancelled some time in May 2020. Given the pressure that Princess was under I decided to be patient waiting for the refunds. However, when the refund(s) had not arrived by 1 November 2020 I wrote to csteinke@princesscruises.com to enquire. Apparently he is the Customer Relations Manager and I found his address in an earlier thread on this forum.

 

When I didn't receive a reply I followed it up on 15 November and 1 December and eventually received a reply from Kimberly Baldwin of the same department on 3 December informing me that a refund had been paid to my PayPal account on 25 June 2020. I checked my account and there is no record of the refund. To be sure I rang PayPal and they could find no record of having received the payment so I wrote back to Kimberly Baldwin the same day informing her of this and asked if they could provide some evidence of the payment so I could take it up further with PayPal.

 

To date, despite Kimberly's assurance "Please contact me if I can be of further assistance. I hope you are well and safe and I am here to help you." and further follow up emails they have not responded. As a loyal Princess customer and having reached the Elite loyalty level I expected a bit more consideration than this and it doesn't inspire me to cruise with Princess again once things are back to normal.

 

Today I tried to file a claim with PayPal but it was rejected because the original payments were made more than 180 days ago.  

[Sprocket]

I would send another email and add 4th Request or similar in the subject line.  Ask for a contact number where they can be reached since they are not responding to your question or provide your number and request a call back.

 

Emails are great in that they do provide a paper trail for following up if necessary but sometimes you just need to speak directly with someone.  Sounds to me like this is one of those times.

[Hoonose]

Thanks for your response. The last reply I got which was on the 3 December has a toll free number 1-877-888-1869 but I'm not sure if I can call toll free numbers from Australia. If anyone knows I'd appreciate hearing from  you.

 

Also I'm not sure where in the USA that Princess Customer Relations are located so that I can work out the time difference and the best time to call. If they're not prepared to answer my emails I doubt they'd be willing to ring me in Australia.

[Sprocket]

Calling the number they provided is certainly worth a try and won't cost you anything if it doesn't work.  Skype is another option.  They are based in California so Pacific Standard Time and hours are 8-5.  Most I believe are working from home but follow the above hours.  It is 9:33 PM there right now if that helps.

 

If you try the number and it doesn't work I'd be happy to call them on your behalf and ask for a number you can use to call them toll free and post it here for you.  Do you know any local Travel Agents,  they would have a contact number for them also.

 

 

Edited February 11, 2021 by Sprocket

[ceilidh1]

Sorry to hear this - Kimberley Baldwin was outstanding in helping me get my refund issues sorted out. After almost 6 months of me chasing them down, Kimberley got my refund and FCCs completed in 2 days! I would definitely say to email her back and explain that there has been no refund to your Paypal account. Princess claimed that they had refunded my shore excursions back to Paypal but that Paypal had "rejected" it...I was still in time to file a dispute through Paypal for them, so that part turned out to be the easiest! Good luck!

[Hoonose]

Thanks folks. I've been emailing Kimberly the last few times. I'll try calling her tomorrow on the toll free number and extension she gave me when she last emailed me on 3 December. Hopefully the number works, I realise it won't be toll free. 

Now that I know the location I'll be able to work out the time difference. I'll let you know how I got on.

 

 

Edited February 11, 2021 by Hoonose

[Hoonose]

Just a quick update. I called the number and was eventually able to speak to KImberly. She was (as ceilidh1 above said) outstanding and a pleasure to deal with. 

Apparently the refund is handled by the Australian branch of Princess and Kimberly has been forwarding my emails to them. They are the ones who haven't bothered to get back to me. Kimberly has given me a number to ring here in Australia and she is emailing them today as well. Hopefully I'll be able to get somewhere with them.

Thanks to Kimberly and the other lady I spoke with at Customer Relations. You've restored my faith in Princess.

[greenie082756]

@Hoonose I sure hope all works out for you!

 

Please let us know. Good luck!

[Sprocket]

9 minutes ago, Hoonose said:

Just a quick update. I called the number and was eventually able to speak to KImberly. She was (as ceilidh1 above said) outstanding and a pleasure to deal with. 

Apparently the refund is handled by the Australian branch of Princess and Kimberly has been forwarding my emails to them. They are the ones who haven't bothered to get back to me. Kimberly has given me a number to ring here in Australia and she is emailing them today as well. Hopefully I'll be able to get somewhere with them.

Thanks to Kimberly and the other lady I spoke with at Customer Relations. You've restored my faith in Princess.

That is awesome happy to hear!

[Ombud]

15 hours ago, Hoonose said:

Also I'm not sure where in the USA that Princess Customer Relations are located so that I can work out the time difference and the best time to call. 

When I needed Kim Baldwin last summer to get my cancellations refunded she was working from home in Arizona although the main office is in Santa Clarita, California.  Her phone number is / was at that time: 1-877-888-1869. I haven't had to use her since that fiasco (1st 6 cancelations) was resolved. Even my 'regular' PVP extended FCC 12 months & Goodwill OBCs due to canceled TAs 2 years. 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Hoonose said:

Just a quick update. I called the number and was eventually able to speak to KImberly. She was (as ceilidh1 above said) outstanding and a pleasure to deal with. 

Apparently the refund is handled by the Australian branch of Princess and Kimberly has been forwarding my emails to them. They are the ones who haven't bothered to get back to me. Kimberly has given me a number to ring here in Australia and she is emailing them today as well. Hopefully I'll be able to get somewhere with them.

Thanks to Kimberly and the other lady I spoke with at Customer Relations. You've restored my faith in Princess.

Fingers crossed that it all works out for you. At least you should now be in touch with the right people to handle your problem.

[Hoonose]

A further update. I received an email from Kimberly Baldwin to tell me that the Australian office responded to her email and they are sending me a check for the refund amount.

 

Thank you all for your concern and suggestions. And a big thank you to Kimberly who was so considerate and helpful. I wish there was some way I could change the header of this thread!

[Waynetor]

Being a CC member can pay off in so many ways.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Hoonose said:

A further update. I received an email from Kimberly Baldwin to tell me that the Australian office responded to her email and they are sending me a check for the refund amount.

 

Thank you all for your concern and suggestions. And a big thank you to Kimberly who was so considerate and helpful. I wish there was some way I could change the header of this thread!

Thanks for keeping us all posted. And a big👍

[greenie082756]

Glad it all worked out. So nice to hear good news for a change 🙂

[Host CJSKIDS]

Glad it worked out for you.

[4hunters]

Great news!  Thanks for sharing your story with us.  👍