TA accidentally cancelled a reservation- what can I do?

[LaRaine]

In all of the chaos yesterday, somehow the TA told her assistant that I was one of the people who wanted to cancel my existing reservation. I had asked for a quote and they were putting 3 day courtesy holds with Disney while clients reviewed the details and decided. I have in writing that I did not want to cancel my November reservation as I made it this past fall before the price increase and knew that the same package was $200 more now.

I immediately brought it to their attention. I guess there is nothing they can do because they offered to make me a new more expensive reservation and said they would make it right. I have no idea what their plan on making it right is.

These folks actually work hard for their clients which is why I picked them so I'm not bitter. Just wondering if there is anything that can be done to get my old reservation back. (The fd was only saving the family $200 because the only rooms offered where a higher category).

 

[Tiggerlover91]

In all of the chaos yesterday, somehow the TA told her assistant that I was one of the people who wanted to cancel my existing reservation. I had asked for a quote and they were putting 3 day courtesy holds with Disney while clients reviewed the details and decided. I have in writing that I did not want to cancel my November reservation as I made it this past fall before the price increase and knew that the same package was $200 more now.

I immediately brought it to their attention. I guess there is nothing they can do because they offered to make me a new more expensive reservation and said they would make it right. I have no idea what their plan on making it right is.

These folks actually work hard for their clients which is why I picked them so I'm not bitter. Just wondering if there is anything that can be done to get my old reservation back. (The fd was only saving the family $200 because the only rooms offered where a higher category).

I've only worked with a TA once. Back in 2000 when we went on our anniversary trip. That was for Dreams Unlimited. With that, I'm not sure how it works. Can they not make your reservation again and then knock the price down to what it was before they cancelled your trip? Are the same rooms not available any longer?

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

What you can do is tell them they NEED to fix this. If they can't get your reservation for the same price then they need to pay the difference.
They are a business. They messed up. They need to own up.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Why not take the FD deal and save the $200?

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I would assume it would be easy to make a new reservation,and they pay the difference of any increase in price between the old and new.

However, unless Disney lets them uncancel the reservation (which Disney could probably do, if they are willing to), make sure they get you the ticket upgrade so you aren’t stuck with the new ticket expiration rules (especially if it would be an issue with your travel plans).

 

[DisneyWishes14]

There is no way the TA is going to be able to recreate the reservation that was canceled since you made it prior to the ticket increase and the tickets that were on your reservation don't exist anymore. I think your only choices are to go with a FD package (which, personally, I would book on my own after that error) or have them book something similar to what you had and have them put in writing how they intend to "make it right". That was a massive error on their part.

 

[Keels]

Ask your TA to call the DTA/DTC line in the morning and get them to reinstate your canceled reservation (yes, this is a thing) - Disney will be able to do it as it's something that TAs were told about when the ticket pricing changed last year - and then get a commitment from them in writing that they will pay the ticket difference from your old/canceled reservation to the reinstated reservation (if applicable).

And also - going forward - if you use this TA again, ask that you prefer to deal with another agent versus an "assistant" if the situation arises where you can't have your TA acting on your behalf. A lot of TAs partner with other TAs to help with things like quotes, FP+s, ADRs, etc. - but I would never have someone be in charge of something as significant as taking a payment or canceling a reservation on my behalf.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I immediately brought it to their attention. I guess there is nothing they can do because they offered to make me a new more expensive reservation and said they would make it right. I have no idea what their plan on making it right is.

Ask them!

 

[QueenElinor]

I'm sorry this happened to you. They agreed to make it right, so hold them to it. If they are reputable, they'll absorb the extra $$ (if they can't work it out with Disney) as a cost of doing business and lessons learned.

 

[LaRaine]

Ask your TA to call the DTA/DTC line in the morning and get them to reinstate your canceled reservation (yes, this is a thing) - Disney will be able to do it as it's something that TAs were told about when the ticket pricing changed last year - and then get a commitment from them in writing that they will pay the ticket difference from your old/canceled reservation to the reinstated reservation (if applicable).

And also - going forward - if you use this TA again, ask that you prefer to deal with another agent versus an "assistant" if the situation arises where you can't have your TA acting on your behalf. A lot of TAs partner with other TAs to help with things like quotes, FP+s, ADRs, etc. - but I would never have someone be in charge of something as significant as taking a payment or canceling a reservation on my behalf.

Thank you, this is what I was wondering. They evidently tried but since it was the old style tickets, I guess they couldn't do it.

 

[LaRaine]

Why not take the FD deal and save the $200?

It's a whole different month. I wasn't really planning on going at the time of the FD but if it was going to save like $500 or more, I might have changed my plans.

Plus, the discounts for that time frame haven't been released and I saw no need in canceling a reservation that was for my preferred time yet even if I wanted to do the FD reservation. You can cancel and get the deposit back up to 30 days prior. Hence, I told them I didn't want to cancel my existing reservation. But the TA got mixed up and told the assistant to do it.

 

[nkereina]

If they are not able to reinstate your old reservation, your current reservation with the current pricing would have to stand. But in that case, if the TA wants to make it right, they can do a couple a couple things:

1) Have you pay the full amount and refund you the difference from the original reservation from their travel agency in a check. This will likely only be an option if you've dealt with a corporate entity, as opposed to an independent authorized Disney planner.

2) Have you pay the original old amount and they pick up the rest with their corporate card when phoning in the final payment to Disney. Again, a lot easier with a corporate entity.

3) Have you pay the full amount and refund you the difference from the original reservation in the form of a Disney gift card. Would be an easier option with an independent agent, but it would come out of their pocket so they may only be willing if the difference isn't significant.

I once worked as an independent Disney travel planner under the scope of larger corporate entity. But since all the agents were considered independent contractors, we only worked on commission and Disney commission is paltry. If a mistake like this happened to me, I would have to plead my case to the corporate level and hope they do something for my client. Or I'd have to make it right on my own dime. But if you're working with an agency that's corporate with full time employees, there is more leeway.

 

[LaRaine]

If they are not able to reinstate your old reservation, your current reservation with the current pricing would have to stand. But in that case, if the TA wants to make it right, they can do a couple a couple things:

1) Have you pay the full amount and refund you the difference from the original reservation from their travel agency in a check. This will likely only be an option if you've dealt with a corporate entity, as opposed to an independent authorized Disney planner.

2) Have you pay the original old amount and they pick up the rest with their corporate card when phoning in the final payment to Disney. Again, a lot easier with a corporate entity.

3) Have you pay the full amount and refund you the difference from the original reservation in the form of a Disney gift card. Would be an easier option with an independent agent, but it would come out of their pocket so they may only be willing if the difference isn't significant.

I once worked as an independent Disney travel planner under the scope of larger corporate entity. But since all the agents were considered independent contractors, we only worked on commission and Disney commission is paltry. If a mistake like this happened to me, I would have to plead my case to the corporate level and hope they do something for my client. Or I'd have to make it right on my own dime. But if you're working with an agency that's corporate with full time employees, there is more leeway.

Thanks! I know they don't get much. They spend hours just trying to get quotes for people the other day. I truly appreciate their service. It's a small agency so them paying the difference would take away almost all of the commission they make off of it. Hopefully, they will put something in place to double check before canceling all reservations.