Tricked by travel agent

[magicalfam5]

Has anyone ever heard of a travel agent transferring your reservation to themselves without your knowledge? This has just happened to a friend of mine.
The agent knew her name and travel date only. After transferrring the reservation,the TA wrote a letter to my friend and asked for permission to transfer it (days after she already transferred it and no permission was given).
My friend found out by accident when she tried to access her reservation on line and couldn't. She called DCL to find out what the problem was and was told it was transferred. My friend informed DCL that she gave nobody her reservation number nor permission to take over her reservation. DCL told her the travel agent must send a letter to DCL to put it back into my friends name before they can do it. So DCL can give a reservation to a TA without my friends permission yet she can't get it back on her own.

 

[ivanova]

Boy that just doesn't sound right does it?

Your friend should advise the TA to reverse the ressie back to DCL pronto or else your friend will be reporting the TA to the local Better Business Bureau and possibly the State Attorney General's office.

 

[belleandthebeast]

In order to transfer the reservation, the agent would have to give DCL the reservation number and the clients name and information on the reservation. DCL would not transfer a reservation for me until I had my clients reservation number in hand.

Walt Disney Travel Co will not transfer a reservation to an agent unless they have a letter of acceptance from a client. The transfer will not take place UNTIL they have that letter in hand.

 

[magicalfam5]

The TA did NOT get the reservation number from my friend. The TA only had the date and her name. DCL admitted to my friend that sometimes TA's try schmoozing info from them and that may be how it happened. My friend did call the TA after this happened, and was told that she would fax a letter to DCL and have it back into my friends name by today. So far, that hasn't happened. A supervisor at DCL said that they would look into it for her and get back to her.

 

[MaddiesFam]

I'm going to bump this because I think this is important!!!

 

[PatriciaH]

Was the travel agent someone she knew? Did she get your friends name/date from her? I guess I am confused. Was she trying to get a better rate and went to the TA after making a reservation with DCL? I would need a reservation number or the client would need to ask DCL in order to transfer a reservation.

 

[smchan]

Walt Disney Travel Co will not transfer a reservation to an agent unless they have a letter of acceptance from a client. The transfer will not take place UNTIL they have that letter in hand.

I'm not sure this is true. One well known TA on these boards took over my reservation over the phone with DCL while I listened in on a 3rd line. At no point did I sign a letter or give my verbal consent to DCL.

Sam

 

[JollyHoliday]

Well I first booked my cruise with DCL.Then I saw some post on here about switching it over to TA.So I called AAA and told them I have a cruise booked with DCL ,if I transfer my reservation to them what perks can I get.The TA asked for my reservation info and said she would have to contact DCL and then call me back.So ,she calls me back to tell me she is now handling my trip plans.I was a little taken back since I did ASK her to find out the perks BEFORE I decide to transfer over my plans. Well I did get a $25.00 shipboard credit and 10% off merchandise so it is a bonus.But I would of liked to have been asked first.

 

[SueEllen]

The TA would need more information on the reservation other than just the reservation number and the names in order to take over the reservation. If he/she took over the reservation from DCL with only that information someone at DCL made a HUGE error.

If I were your friend I would definitely pursue the issue with a supervisor at DCL--especially if he/she did not authorize the TA to take over the reservation. Best of luck to your friend.
Sue Ellen

 

[epjenk]

I had the same problem with AAA, when I asked for info on the stateroom credit they went ahead and transferred the ressie. It was for the repo, and since then the AAA agent has been less than stellar. She told me the excursions weren't available until end of March (not true). She never called me back when I asked her to find out where we were on the waitlist for a cat. 7. I asked her to book the transfers in LA, still haven't gotten any written confirm on that. I'm about to go into complaining mode with the AAA supervisor- and man is that NOT pretty!

 

[jrabbit]

I had the same problem with AAA, when I asked for info on the stateroom credit they went ahead and transferred the ressie. It was for the repo, and since then the AAA agent has been less than stellar. She told me the excursions weren't available until end of March (not true). She never called me back when I asked her to find out where we were on the waitlist for a cat. 7. I asked her to book the transfers in LA, still haven't gotten any written confirm on that. I'm about to go into complaining mode with the AAA supervisor- and man is that NOT pretty!

Besides agrivation, what did AAA give you for them transfering your ressie. I'm considering joining AAA because it just might "pay for itself" this year with room credits and AAA discounts at hotels before and after the cruise (aug repo)

 

[MaddiesFam]

Im bumping this up again.....

 

[belleandthebeast]

I feel really bad for all of you that have encountered a problem w/ an AAA agent. It is really important to know that not agents operate the same way.

I would never, ever take over a reservation w/out permission from a client first. I just had clients that approached me at a travel show and asked if they could transfer thier booking to me. I did not transfer the booking until they were seated in front of me.

I agree w/ the previous poster who stated that DCL was making huge errors by just transferring the reservation over to the agency. Also, if you have an issue, especially one of this nature, it should definitely be brought to a supervisor's attention.

Good luck!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Wow, it's kind of scary to know that stuff like this can happen without permission. I hope that your friend decides to investigate the matter further until she finds out an answer. Keep us posted and let us know what the outcome is!

 

[DCLCruisareer]

Wow that's horrible that a travel agent would do that without permission.

DCLCruisareer