Cruise Value Center agency went under...

[scottjeanne]

Thank you for the link to the fair credit billing. It says that I have 60 days from when I received the bill, not from when the charge was made. I am within the 60 day period when it is measured that way.

 

I am debating whterh I want to transfer the booking to anouther agency or to HAL directly. any thoughts?

[Randyk47]

I too would wonder what "officially shutdown" might mean. Right now their web page is dead. By that I mean the opening page comes up from my bookmarked favorites but that's it. Any attempt to go on from the first page fails and just brings you back around to the opening page. They may or may not be in negotiations with another company but it's not like a travel agency holds a lot of assets that have value. As a business it's pretty much a cash and carry operation and you'd assume they'd still be operating if they had cash on hand.

[luv2traveland]

After speaking to one Holland America agent who was not sure of the procedure (because they usually only deal with the travel agency) she tried to verify that CVS was defunct and what to do about it. She then transferred my call to the Accounting Department. The Accounting Dept. agent was very helpful and cancelled my booking without a problem. She required a confirming e-mail and assured me that there was no cancellation fee and she would credit my credit card. I had a deposit for a September 2009 cruise.

[cherylandtk]

i unfortunately booked on princess and they are not offering any help. they are even going to take the 200 deposit they did receive for cancelling the cruise.

None of the cruiselines are allowing cancellations without penalty after final payment dates because of this situation. Before final payment, no problem.

 

Did you make final payment to the TA and the TA failed to send it on to Princess? Others in your situation are tranferring their bookings to another TA or Princess, making a second final payment and seeking chargeback of the first final payment from the credit card company...is that possible for you?

[hammybee]

I too would wonder what "officially shutdown" might mean. Right now their web page is dead. By that I mean the opening page comes up from my bookmarked favorites but that's it. Any attempt to go on from the first page fails and just brings you back around to the opening page. They may or may not be in negotiations with another company but it's not like a travel agency holds a lot of assets that have value. As a business it's pretty much a cash and carry operation and you'd assume they'd still be operating if they had cash on hand.

 

I tried to book a cruise just to see what might happen. Someone pulled the plug, before turning out the lights. Can you imagine if this site continued to book online cruises?

[hammybee]

I am one of the ones that got caught out by the agency. I am going on the December 19 Australian cruise. I paid my final payment on 9/05 and it went to the agency. I have spokenwith HAL and they hav not canceled our booking. I am out the final $6800+, but I did register a dispute on our credit card. It is more than 60 days though, so I am hoping to get it back. Wish me luck.

 

Oh my. Absolute best of luck to you.

[localady]

I have to applaud HAL for helping their customers rather than some of the other cruiselines who seem to be hiding behind terminology.

I called the day it was publicized and they immediately cancelled my cruises but also gave me the option to keep the booking with them (at a higher price.)

Thanks HAL for dealing with me in a timely and helpful manner!!!:D:D

My thoughts and prayers are with those of you that got stuck after final payment.:( I do hope you all can work it out with your credit card holders.

[sail7seas]

I feel awful for those who made final payment and it wasn't forwarded to the cruise lines. I so hope your credit card companies work with you. In this economic climate, M/C and Visa are experiencing high defaults and AmEx seems to have their share of money troubles. It's hard to say what they will do. May vary by bank??

 

Good luck.

[Darcy03231]

For those booked with Celebrity they have a special desk dealing with this. My final payment was charged to the agency on 10/7 and never paid to Celebrity. I had to pay Celebrity to keep my booking - and they kept it at the same amount I booked through the agent for. I contacted my CC company to dispute the 10/7 charge. Looks like the only thing I'll lose is the perks from the agency (free travel insurance and $30 OBC).

[vixigurl]

reservations outside of final payment dates can be transferred over to another online agency that do offer discounts to passengers - any reputable company will have the cruise line charge your card and not do it in-house. That way you can feel secure when you can check your statement and see Holland America on there. Also any TA worth their salt should have no problem providing you with a copy of the reservation confirmation from the cruise line.

 

Happy Sails

[Jade13]

reservations outside of final payment dates can be transferred over to another online agency that do offer discounts to passengers - any reputable company will have the cruise line charge your card and not do it in-house. That way you can feel secure when you can check your statement and see Holland America on there. Also any TA worth their salt should have no problem providing you with a copy of the reservation confirmation from the cruise line.

 

Happy Sails

 

People who paid by credit card and are outside final payment should be fine. It's those of us who are inside final that have the problem as the booking can not be transfered to get any discounted fare, OBC or other perks. The difference for some passengers can be thousands.

[vixigurl]

I understand that and it's horrible, I just wanted to offer up some possible solace to the others.

[Jade13]

I found this on the "Rip Off Report"

Report: Cruise Value Center

 

Category: Cruises

Cruise Value Center feels entitled to make unauthorized debit transactions from your account East Brunswick New Jersey *EDitor's Suggestions on how to get your money back into your bank account!

 

Read how Ripoff Report saves consumers millions.

 

Rebuttal Box

Respond to this report!

 

Are you an owner, employee or ex-employee with either negative or positive information about the company or individual, or can you provide "insider information" on this company?

 

Victim of this person/company?

 

Are you also a victim of the same company or individual? Want Justice? File a Rip-off Report, help other consumers to be educated and don´t let them get away with it!

 

 

Cruise Value Center

 

Phone: 732-257-4545

Fax:

 

http://www.my****************

East Brunswick, New Jersey, 08816

U.S.A.

 

 

Submitted: 12/27/2007 6:50:53 PM

 

Modified: 12/27/2007 6:51:00 PM

Tustin, California

 

 

 

The company Cruise Value Center ('CVC') is a broker that sells reservations on cruise ships.

 

On 12-14-07, pursuant to their email stating contract terms, I purchased a cruise reservation over the phone with CVC for a total of $3,332.17. The deposit was $1050, which I paid by giving my ATM-VISA account number. The CVC employee, Frank Smith, verbally stated to me that the balance of $2,282 was due on 1-7-08. Prior to the transaction, Frank Smith had sent me an email with this same information (Initial deposit of $1050, and a balance of $2,282 with the due date of 1-7-08.) CVC did not send any email confirmation after the reservation was made.

 

On 12-18-07, without any notice to me, or authorization from me, CVC debited $2,282 from my ATM account (which is attached to my checking account). This was a problem because it unexpectedly wiped out my account balance in the week before Christmas, and besides, the other traveler on the reservation was going to pay the balance in early January.

 

When I called CVC to complain and request a reversal of the unauthorized transaction, I was 'hung up' on several times by the receptionist after she stated that CVC 'followed our policy' regarding payment. Finally, I spoke to the manager Roz Riley, who refused to acknowledge my complaint and 'hung up' on me. I then called the 'owner' Jeffrey Kivet, who was rude and 'hung up' on me without even listening to what the problem was.

 

On 12-20-07, after I complained to the cruise company Holland America Lines ('HAL') who called CVC on my behalf, CVC promised to refund the money.

 

On 12-22-07 I called CVC to follow up on obtaining the refund, and manager Roz Riley said HAL had the money and therefore HAL would be refunding the money.

 

On 12-26-07, when I contacted HAL, they confirmed that CVC never sent them the balance of $2,282. After that, CVC admitted they never sent the money to HAL, and promised a prompt refund of the unauthorized transaction.

 

It is now late on 12-27-07, and no refund has been received.

 

Problem: Cruise Value Center believes that they can unilaterally modify a contract by sending a confirmation with altered terms. Thus, they think they are entitled to access your account number given to pay the deposit and debit the remaining balance without notice to you. In my case, even the Confirmation was never sent.

 

Michael

Tustin, California

U.S.A.

[scottjeanne]

I just got my mail (from UP post office) and there was a letter from the defunct travel agency. I was excited thinking that they are notifying their clients and offereing restitution. NO! It was simply the 3rd notice I have received from them reminding me that I need a visa for Australia. Interestingly enough, it is dated 11/08, the Friday before they went belly up. Apparently they were still operating as usually as late as Friday. How odd.

[Randyk47]

Wow! I never had those kinds of problems with them but obviously the company went downhill somewhere along the line. Scary because you don't know who to trust. A week ago I'd not have hesitated to recommend them, shows how much I know. A real mix of emotions and thoughts as I'm amazed and disgusted at the company and sorry for my fellow CC'ers caught up in this mess.

[thisworldtraveler]

Hey again,

 

Just wanted to touch base with a couple things. A couple of the numbers listed in my list of cruise line contacts for people affected by CVC. This was a very large agency, and apparently the owners of the agency have yet to notify the cruise lines that they are no longer in operation is the impression that I am getting. This means that a lot of the people at the individual cruise lines are caught off guard by the mountain of concerned calls that they have been receiving over the last couple days. Some of the contact information they provided me was incorrect, and thanks to some information from the TA that is helping with insurance benefits, there are new numbers for Prime Insurance and Carnival on the list at this time. Again, the list that I have is posted attached to my original blog post detailing what happened this Monday.

 

This is a very fluid situation and these things may change again in the future. I will keep updating as I am made aware of other changes.

 

I can share a couple other things that I know about the closure as well. There was no indication until sometime this weekend that there were any imminent problems regarding the viability of the agency. Business ran as normal for most departments until literally the minute the agency was shut down, although it began to become apparent what was happening no sooner than a couple hours before shutdown for most employees.

[kryos]

Business ran as normal for most departments until literally the minute the agency was shut down, although it began to become apparent what was happening no sooner than a couple hours before shutdown for most employees.

Ummmmm, was this an IRS closure? Sounds it. Tax problems?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[thisworldtraveler]

Ummmmm, was this an IRS closure? Sounds it. Tax problems?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

No, apparently the owners chose not to inform anyone about the financial problems until literally a couple days before the doors were shut. And that was during a weekend.

[knighthawke]

Hmmm...I live 15-20 min from their office.....I should take a drive there and see if any notices are up or anything if I get the chance. But on Sat, I head down to Fl for my cruise. I can't believe how lucky i was. Had my cruise been a few weeks later...I'm sure I would have been screwed. My final payment was in Aug and it got to HAL no problem. I saw some people had Sept final payments which never made it. Scary.

[Jade13]

Hey again,

 

Just wanted to touch base with a couple things. A couple of the numbers listed in my list of cruise line contacts for people affected by CVC. This was a very large agency, and apparently the owners of the agency have yet to notify the cruise lines that they are no longer in operation is the impression that I am getting. This means that a lot of the people at the individual cruise lines are caught off guard by the mountain of concerned calls that they have been receiving over the last couple days. Some of the contact information they provided me was incorrect, and thanks to some information from the TA that is helping with insurance benefits, there are new numbers for Prime Insurance and Carnival on the list at this time. Again, the list that I have is posted attached to my original blog post detailing what happened this Monday.

 

This is a very fluid situation and these things may change again in the future. I will keep updating as I am made aware of other changes.

 

I can share a couple other things that I know about the closure as well. There was no indication until sometime this weekend that there were any imminent problems regarding the viability of the agency. Business ran as normal for most departments until literally the minute the agency was shut down, although it began to become apparent what was happening no sooner than a couple hours before shutdown for most employees.

 

Thank you for keeping us updated. I am out a lot of money I most likely will never get back. I also contacted someone by Email that is currently traveling in South America and had no idea there was a problem until they received my message.

 

There are so many people not on Cruise Critic that may just be finding out about this weeks from now, unless the cruise lines and travel suppliers make the contact first, which they may not due because of "Agency Contracts".

 

I predict these people will end up in jail.

[kryos]

No, apparently the owners chose not to inform anyone about the financial problems until literally a couple days before the doors were shut. And that was during a weekend.

Oh, man ... that really sucks ... not just for the folks who had final payments in limbo, but also for Cruise Value Center's employees. Can you imagine leaving work on Friday, maybe being away for most of the weekend, and then showing up Monday morning to find out you no longer have a job? Just out of the blue?Terrible. :(

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[abb4k]

For those who have final payments in limbo, you might want to contact your credit card company and dispute the charge. Credit card companies generally will go to bat for their clients, and do all the heavy lifting to rectify problems like these. For example, if an airline goes bankrupt and you've already paid for your ticket, the credit card company will refund your money to you (by withholding payment from the defunct airline).

[Jade13]

Hey again,

 

Just wanted to touch base with a couple things. A couple of the numbers listed in my list of cruise line contacts for people affected by CVC. This was a very large agency, and apparently the owners of the agency have yet to notify the cruise lines that they are no longer in operation is the impression that I am getting. This means that a lot of the people at the individual cruise lines are caught off guard by the mountain of concerned calls that they have been receiving over the last couple days. Some of the contact information they provided me was incorrect, and thanks to some information from the TA that is helping with insurance benefits, there are new numbers for Prime Insurance and Carnival on the list at this time. Again, the list that I have is posted attached to my original blog post detailing what happened this Monday.

 

This is a very fluid situation and these things may change again in the future. I will keep updating as I am made aware of other changes.

 

I can share a couple other things that I know about the closure as well. There was no indication until sometime this weekend that there were any imminent problems regarding the viability of the agency. Business ran as normal for most departments until literally the minute the agency was shut down, although it began to become apparent what was happening no sooner than a couple hours before shutdown for most employees.

 

Can you please let us know all the other names that CVC goes under?

 

Also, can you find out EXACTLY when this agency was sold last year? I wonder if anyone who booked originally with the old owners has any recourse against them?

[laurav]

It is a bit risky to work through travel agents - they like to charge you as early as possible and pay the line as late as possible (naturally trying to maximize their use of your funds). If they go under before the line confirms receipt of payment, you can be at risk. While they might be able to find you somewhat better pricing, you can usually do as well yourself by calling around - following up, asking to speak to supervisor, etc. Particularly now, with many small businesses on the brink, it may be a good idea to eliminate as many middlemen as possible and deal direct with the provider (of whatever service) yourself.

 

You comment is not correct if you have done your due diligence and found a good travel agent. To book with an agent solely based on the CHEAPEST PRICING ... OBC'S ... PERKS ... OR WHATEVER means you are looking at something that is too good to be true and we all know that if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. Think of all the stores in your area that GUARANTEED the cheapest pricing and would price match with a 10% discount ... they didn't/don't stay in business very long.

 

When you book through a travel agent you are truly doing yourself a favor because a good agent will provide you with the BEST LEGITIMATE pricing, personal service and good advice about the cruise that best suits your needs and pocket book ... IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR AGENT BOOKS DIRECTLY WITH THE CRUISE LINE.

 

I am a certified travel agent specializing in cruises and if you make a cruise booking through me the money does NOT go in my checking account but DIRECTLY to the cruise line and I don't get anything until yuo have sailed and the cruise line pays me directly. When an agency deposits your money in THEIR checking account they may be in the financial prediciment of having to borrow from Peter to pay Paul and your booking may be the one they borrow from. The agency in question here had questionable business practices and problems for quite a while before they left travelers in a lurch with more than 1.5 MILLION DOLLARS in deposits and final payments that they did not follow through on.

 

Additionally, it is never a good idea to pay cash or check for a cruise or for any travel because you have no recourse if something like this happens.

 

If you have a deposit with HAL and you have paperwork to prove it, HAL should honor the booking. You reserve the right to ask that the agent of record be changed (you need to do this in writing and it can be faxed) and you can take it over yourself or you can reassign it to another travel agent but you cannot expect that the new agent can or will give you all the discounts and perks that the subject agency was promising ... and why do you think they promised those things???? They needed cash flow and they said or did anything to get that cash. As agents we all pay the same thing for the cruise and NOT ONE OF THE CRUISE LINES approve of discounting or rebating and in fact may discount your commission if you publicly try to do that kind of thing as it is a poor reflection on the industry as a whole when an agency discounts and rebates. You ALL talk with one another and you know how you feel when someone tells you that they paid much less and seemingly got much more for their money on the same cruise don't you? But, if HAL doesn't show your deposit or final payment you cannot expect them to honor something there is no proof of and hopefully you purchased travel protection insurance that covers the vendor closing their doors at the time you put your deposit down because then you have additional resources to help work out your financial issues.

 

Regarding $25 for Pier check-in ... That is NOT standard HAL or any other cruise line practice that I am aware of. As long as you have proper documentation and you KNOW your name is on the manifest you don't even have to have copies of your pre-cruise documentation (although, as an agent I recomment my clients take copies of all their paperwork). It is the same with the airlines. If you don't have copies of your tickets or E-Tickets you can go to the check in counter and they will find your reservation with your name and issue you documents and boarding passes.

 

When something like this happens not only are the travelers left holding the bag but all travel agents are effected as it is a bad reflection on the industry as a whole.

[Jade13]

You comment is not correct if you have done your due diligence and found a good travel agent. To book with an agent solely based on the CHEAPEST PRICING ... OBC'S ... PERKS ... OR WHATEVER means you are looking at something that is too good to be true and we all know that if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. Think of all the stores in your area that GUARANTEED the cheapest pricing and would price match with a 10% discount ... they didn't/don't stay in business very long.

 

When you book through a travel agent you are truly doing yourself a favor because a good agent will provide you with the BEST LEGITIMATE pricing, personal service and good advice about the cruise that best suits your needs and pocket book ... IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR AGENT BOOKS DIRECTLY WITH THE CRUISE LINE.

 

I am a certified travel agent specializing in cruises and if you make a cruise booking through me the money does NOT go in my checking account but DIRECTLY to the cruise line and I don't get anything until yuo have sailed and the cruise line pays me directly. When an agency deposits your money in THEIR checking account they may be in the financial prediciment of having to borrow from Peter to pay Paul and your booking may be the one they borrow from. The agency in question here had questionable business practices and problems for quite a while before they left travelers in a lurch with more than 1.5 MILLION DOLLARS in deposits and final payments that they did not follow through on.

 

Additionally, it is never a good idea to pay cash or check for a cruise or for any travel because you have no recourse if something like this happens.

 

If you have a deposit with HAL and you have paperwork to prove it, HAL should honor the booking. You reserve the right to ask that the agent of record be changed (you need to do this in writing and it can be faxed) and you can take it over yourself or you can reassign it to another travel agent but you cannot expect that the new agent can or will give you all the discounts and perks that the subject agency was promising ... and why do you think they promised those things???? They needed cash flow and they said or did anything to get that cash. As agents we all pay the same thing for the cruise and NOT ONE OF THE CRUISE LINES approve of discounting or rebating and in fact may discount your commission if you publicly try to do that kind of thing as it is a poor reflection on the industry as a whole when an agency discounts and rebates. You ALL talk with one another and you know how you feel when someone tells you that they paid much less and seemingly got much more for their money on the same cruise don't you? But, if HAL doesn't show your deposit or final payment you cannot expect them to honor something there is no proof of and hopefully you purchased travel protection insurance that covers the vendor closing their doors at the time you put your deposit down because then you have additional resources to help work out your financial issues.

 

Regarding $25 for Pier check-in ... That is NOT standard HAL or any other cruise line practice that I am aware of. As long as you have proper documentation and you KNOW your name is on the manifest you don't even have to have copies of your pre-cruise documentation (although, as an agent I recomment my clients take copies of all their paperwork). It is the same with the airlines. If you don't have copies of your tickets or E-Tickets you can go to the check in counter and they will find your reservation with your name and issue you documents and boarding passes.

 

When something like this happens not only are the travelers left holding the bag but all travel agents are effected as it is a bad reflection on the industry as a whole.

 

You are missing a point here and it almost sounds like you are blaming the victims (even if that it not your intent). This agency used to be good, they advertised on Cruise Critic, they were one of the biggest sellers of Carnival cruises and even today their front page still had a photo with Carnival Executives. They did not use to charge payments to themselves. HAL endorsed them and I even have an Email (last year) from someone at HAL telling me they were legit and had always helped HAL out in hard times. Something happened this year, the company was sold and then they declined. In my case my booking was from over a year ago with the original owner.

 

Btw, as far as I know Carnival and HAL have always allowed discounting, including group rates. I know RCCL/Celebrity did not (but allowed lots of OBC). However it was done CVC DID in the past charge credit cards directly to HAL and at the rate that they gave me. I always received a pdf "Guest Copy" from HAL.

 

I don't think that is true that as an agent you all pay the same thing for the cruise. It has been widely reported that some large Agents do get special rates. I hope another TA will comment? There is no reason to blame the victims, many who assumed as in the past the cruise would be paid directly to the cruise line (Btw, mine was last week as I insisted on it, had it confirmed on Email with CVC). And by the way, I always received good customer service through CVC, who had an actual office and toll free number.