New and need help with Travel Agent issue

[DisneyFamily2016]

Hi!

I've been reading as much as possible here the past few weeks and now I need help with a situation...

My husband booked a Disney Package with a travel agent as a surprise Christmas gift for me and our 3 kids. I was thrilled, I love Disney and haven't been in a few years.

To make a quick story short, the travel agent is refusing to give me the reservation number to connect it to MDE. I called her myself to ask for it, as Disney would not give it to me over the phone because we booked through an agent. She refused to give it to me, even when I explained that I wanted to add my reservation to MDE, and she had no idea what I was talking about. Then she put me on hold saying she needed to ask someone with better knowledge on Disney, as she wasn't sure. She came back, said she can't give it to me until the package is paid in full.

So, my next step was to check the refund policy and the TA has a NO Refund policy on all deposits. They made my husband put $150 down per adult, instead of the regular $200 Disney requires, so now I can't even cancel and re-book everything myself, we'll lose the $300.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get my reservation number from this travel agent?

Thanks

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Ok, this is scary. I have never heard of anything like this before!!! How in the world are you supposed to choose your fastpasses if you don't have your package linked to your MDE account? Final payment isn't due until 30 days prior, fastpasses are at 60 days. That doesn't make any sense!

I would call the TA on the phone and threaten legal action if they don't provide the conf #. Also I would report them to Disney for fraud.
Honestly that is just ridiculous!!!!!!!

 

[DisneyFamily2016]

Ok, this is scary. I have never heard of anything like this before!!! How in the world are you supposed to choose your fastpasses if you don't have your package linked to your MDE account? Final payment isn't due until 30 days prior, fastpasses are at 60 days. That doesn't make any sense!

I would call the TA on the phone and threaten legal action if they don't provide the conf #. Also I would report them to Disney for fraud.
Honestly that is just ridiculous!!!!!!!

I think my next step is to report them to Disney. I'm so angry about the whole thing at this point. My friend is a travel agent that specializes in Disney and she can't even help me at this point because we can't get the reservation number. It's crazy and I feel like my vacation has been taken hostage by this company.

I feel bad for my husband, he just wanted to surprise us and it's turning into a disaster because of the travel agent.

 

[gwynne]

300.00 is a lot of money to lose. On the other hand, WDW vacations are expensive and your current TA sounds like trouble. I wouldn't trust them now or in the future with your reservation. I'd cancel and book with your trusted TA friend.

 

[DisneyFamily2016]

300.00 is a lot of money to lose. On the other hand, WDW vacations are expensive and your current TA sounds like trouble. I wouldn't trust them now or in the future with your reservation. I'd cancel and book with your trusted TA friend.

While I agree and would take the loss of $300 at this point just for peace of mind, my husband doesn't. His solution is to pay it off faster so we can get the reservation number as soon as possible. Unless I can book the same package for $300 less, which is impossible right now as the trip is in October and I'm not seeing any discounts yet for that time period. I did tell him not to give them any more money towards the trip right now, until I figure something out. I do have some time to wait and see if I can get a discount. Anyone have any idea on when October deals would be released? I only see the current deal that goes to June?

 

[gwynne]

While I agree and would take the loss of $300 at this point just for peace of mind, my husband doesn't. His solution is to pay it off faster so we can get the reservation number as soon as possible. Unless I can book the same package for $300 less, which is impossible right now as the trip is in October and I'm not seeing any discounts yet for that time period. I did tell him not to give them any more money towards the trip right now, until I figure something out. I do have some time to wait and see if I can get a discount. Anyone have any idea on when October deals would be released? I only see the current deal that goes to June?

Certainly paying the trip off and crossing your fingers this TA is nice to you is an option. JMO, the TA you are dealing with has very consumer unfriendly policies. I can't imagine they are going to all happy faced if you report them to Disney. (Which I generally agree you should do.)
If you pay off the vacation with these people, I'd hope they would refund your money less the "deposit" quickly should you get a discount. How soon will they release the funds? Who knows?

Mousesavers has a good reference guide to historic discount release dates. http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#codetrends

About Oct, it's a busy time at WDW. Your best bet for getting a discount then is to be very flexible about resorts, and if possible, dates.

You're probably already doing this, but I'd be keeping an accurate log of each and every contact with this company. (Email may be your best bet.) Date/time/person/issue/resolved or not

 

[Mousemommy1]

That sounds super sketchy and I wouldn't give that agent another dime.
If they are that clueless about MDE and the reasons why you'd need your reservation number, they do not sound like an agent that is very knowledgeable about Disney at all.

Good luck!

 

[lilpixiebabe101]

Very super sketchy. I'm a TA myself and I can't imagine why you had to pay a different deposit than what disney requires. Is for independent or work for a company? If it's a company I would call and ask to speak to the owner/manager. Very unprofessional.

 

[mickeynut1]

You're probably already doing this, but I'd be keeping an accurate log of each and every contact with this company. (Email may be your best bet.) Date/time/person/issue/resolved or not

I agree! Email is the best way since you will have everything in writing, but if you call, make sure to write down everything gwynne posted above.

And if there is nothing in writing that indicates the deposit is non refundable I would dispute the charge with my credit card company

I was going to suggest this very thing! I would contact your cc company and explain the situation and see what they say. There might not be grounds for a dispute if the deposit is non-refundable under any circumstances (I have no idea as I've never had to dispute a charge of any kind), but it never hurts to ask. Good luck, I hope you are able to get out from underneath this TA and re-book with your friend.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

The TA obviously hasn't completed any Disney training, college of knowledge, etc, and certainly isn't authorized or earmarked, otherwise they would know the importance of MDE and how crucial it is to link the package for choosing fastpasses. There is absolutely no benefit to the agent for keeping the confirmation # a secret. I can tell you now you definitely have grounds to call Disney guest services, and report this agent and their sketchy practices. Disney can obtain the confirmation number for you and actually remove the agent from the reservation. I would not give this person another dime! Also I would report them to the BBB.

 

[DisneyNutMary]

That sounds super sketchy and I wouldn't give that agent another dime.
If they are that clueless about MDE and the reasons why you'd need your reservation number, they do not sound like an agent that is very knowledgeable about Disney at all.

Good luck!

I'd like to add, a travel agent that doesn't know Disney is going to be more hurt than help in the long run.
Agents who are Disney specialists will be on the phone every time a special is released to get you rebooked at the lower price. I doubt you will see that with this agent.
In your shoes, I would take the $300 hit and rebook with a Disney specialist, you will save more money in the long run. After doing that, I would report this agent to Disney, you made a deposit, you have every right to your confirmation number at this point. And finally, I would dispute the $300 charge with my credit card citing unprofessional business practices. All others in the field provide the information upfront, so you had a reasonable expectation to receive that information. They did not follow through, so you should be able to take your business elsewhere.

 

[Lisann]

The TA obviously hasn't completed any Disney training, college of knowledge, etc, and certainly isn't authorized or earmarked, otherwise they would know the importance of MDE and how crucial it is to link the package for choosing fastpasses. There is absolutely no benefit to the agent for keeping the confirmation # a secret. I can tell you now you definitely have grounds to call Disney guest services, and report this agent and their sketchy practices. Disney can obtain the confirmation number for you and actually remove the agent from the reservation. I would not give this person another dime! Also I would report them to the BBB.

I SO AGREE!! Run away fast! And show your (wonderful) husband these posts!!! Chalk it up to lesson learned.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I'd like to add, a travel agent that doesn't know Disney is going to be more hurt than help in the long run.
Agents who are Disney specialists will be on the phone every time a special is released to get you rebooked at the lower price. I doubt you will see that with this agent.
In your shoes, I would take the $300 hit and rebook with a Disney specialist, you will save more money in the long run. After doing that, I would report this agent to Disney, you made a deposit, you have every right to your confirmation number at this point. And finally, I would dispute the $300 charge with my credit card citing unprofessional business practices. All others in the field provide the information upfront, so you had a reasonable expectation to receive that information. They did not follow through, so you should be able to take your business elsewhere.

Good advice! Dispute the $300 charge with your credit card company!! The so-called TA didn't provide you with confirmation of your purchase so it should be an open and shut case.

 

[mommyrosa2]

The TA obviously hasn't completed any Disney training, college of knowledge, etc, and certainly isn't authorized or earmarked, otherwise they would know the importance of MDE and how crucial it is to link the package for choosing fastpasses. There is absolutely no benefit to the agent for keeping the confirmation # a secret. I can tell you now you definitely have grounds to call Disney guest services, and report this agent and their sketchy practices. Disney can obtain the confirmation number for you and actually remove the agent from the reservation. I would not give this person another dime! Also I would report them to the BBB.

I completely agree here - do not give this agent another dime and call Disney to explain what's going on. They CAN get you the confirmation number and remove the agent completely. Good Luck!

 

[PlutoPony]

You should have a copy of the Travel Agent's Terms and Conditions, which would include deposit and cancellation information and maybe specifics on giving you the information you are looking for. Check it thoroughly and see if what they are telling you matched their written policy, If not, I'd use THAT to go to the top of the Agency as a potential violation of their own contract. And if the agency doesn't care, use a violation of contract to go to Disney. If their T' s+C's spell it out the way you are being told by the agent I'm afraid you are SOL and will to decide whether to eat the deposit or not.

 

[DisneyFamily2016]

Thank you everyone! I'm at work, so I'll get back to the post later today. I've got a lot of phone calls to make later about this. Just a quick note on the agency, they are a huge brand name type place, in business for many years, at least in NYC where he went, so I don't know how far I'll get with Disney about them. Their written refund policy is no refunds, at all, for any reason on deposits. I'll post more later after work.

 

[AngiTN]

Thank you everyone! I'm at work, so I'll get back to the post later today. I've got a lot of phone calls to make later about this. Just a quick note on the agency, they are a huge brand name type place, in business for many years, at least in NYC where he went, so I don't know how far I'll get with Disney about them. Their written refund policy is no refunds, at all, for any reason on deposits. I'll post more later after work.

Wow, that is just awful. I can't imagine why Disney allows them to get away with that. Disney allows refunds and you'd think they'd require their authorized agencies to also

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

If their T' s+C's spell it out the way you are being told by the agent I'm afraid you are SOL and will to decide whether to eat the deposit or not.

We agents have to follow Disney's terms and conditions as well as our own, so if the agency's terms are in violation of Disney's then they definitely have an excellent case for removal of the agent. It happens more than you'd think.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Wow, that is just awful. I can't imagine why Disney allows them to get away with that. Disney allows refunds and you'd think they'd require their authorized agencies to also

Some agencies take the deposit payment directly into their own bank, pay Disney the $200 deposit, and keep the rest as a "planning fee"/"service fee" or whatever they want to call it. This is perfectly legal. The other type would be the TA's who act as a middle man, providing Disney with the client's payment information directly and never taking any money into their own hands. Also perfectly legal. The problem with this situation is that the TA is ignorant about Disney vacation planning. They don't understand why the client needs the confirmation number and they're clueless about MDE and Fastpass+. If @DisneyFamily2016 calls Disney and explains the situation they should be able to intercede. If not removing the agent then at least contacting him or her to explain why the client needs the confirmation number.

It is frightening to me how a TA working for a large agency could be this stupid, but not it's not surprising.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

If I were you I would email the TA, and tell her you have a right to the reservation number and will report her to Disney if it is not provided in 24 hours.