I registered my son and I to go on a tour in June 2017. EF claims that they are the least expensiveYou get what you pay for. We wanted to go to Israel and 2 other countries. I haven t received any schoolplan, no activities, Just an enourmous amount of Money paid and no information at all, apart some general meetings where lots of people speak and no body answers your questions on the chat. They said if we wanted to appeal we had to send them a letter from my company explain why I am no longer employed or show a death certificate that I died. Work with EF to modify your groups current tour itinerary and dates, or, Cancel your tour and all travelers will receive a transferable Future Travel Voucher in the amount of all monies paid for the original tour, less the cost of any purchased Travel Protection plan, Cancel your tour with applicable fees under the Standard Cancellation Policy. Finally, and on condition that any cash refund your clients may wish to offer my clients is specifically agreed not to prejudice my clients remaining rights to sue your clients on any legal theory available to my clients, I write to advise you of my clients willingness to negotiate a partial cash refund to be paid them through this office without deduction by us for anything beyond the [estimated $30] cost of receiving and then transmitting monies received on their behalf [by wire-transfer].". They are so many other excellent companies out there. Illness and accident coverage EF Tours for High School Graduates Enroll online or call 800-766-2645. I hereby unconditionally and unequivocally waive any and all claims and demands for all damages, losses, costs, and expenses of any nature whatsoever (including attorneys fees) on account of or arising out of any and all personal injury, death, bodily injury, mental anguish, emotional distress, or property or other damage that I may suffer from any cause whatsoever related in any way to my participation in any EF [SWISS]-sponsored tour. We believe travel is for everyone. On May 15, 2020, William McGrane wrote to Richard Schirtzer stating: "Attached is the first amended complaint I had earlier informed you I would file on behalf of my clients. (Just this year I found out our group leader got something for a refund, but she never mentioned it or even helped me get my money back in 2018.thanks for that.) I also was being charged late fees even though I changed my payment plan. Thank you for your email! . My first was as a parent going with my 15-year-old along with a group of about 20 kids (from a . Evidently, just before the drop deadline, the other boys in our group dropped out because of cost, and he's the lone boy traveling from our school with a group of girls. Dedicated Emergency Service and Incident Response Teams Then, a parent called because we hadn't heard anything about travel plans and found out about some significant COVID restrictions that were not disclosed to the group. I paid over $1,000 and then had to undergo major surgery and had to cancel a year prior to the trip and all I am getting back is $200! We flew back to the US at 5am in the morning. They even bragged later about being the first one's out on the street), the food SUCKED, and the time spent on the buses was more time spent in the actual locations. *$190 is the current cost for tours departing on or after October 1, 2023. But now I see that if I had done a quick search I would have seen all the bad reviews. Paid full price with insurance.The trip coordinator was a personal friend Mary Pope. steer clear of this scam! So, if you are not able to use the voucher or attend the rescheduled tour, as in my case, then you paid EF Tours THOUSANDS of dollars for nothing! Seems a little steep for cancelling a trip that is still almost 2 years away. Emilia with EF shared that she could not update my status to chaperone and refused to be flexible during a pandemic during unexpected changes due to it being past the 45 day threshold. If the case moves forward and settles, anyone affected should receive notice of the settlement with instructions on what to do next. Which btw the ticket was $100!!! . Tour Consultant, EF Education First, Desired outcome: We were also mostly stuck eating gas station food because we either arrived too late for dinner at the restaurants, or we were unable to eat in restaurants because of the big games going on. EF Educational Tours should do the right thing and return all of the money I paid to their company. In response to the public health emergency declared by the World Health Organization on January 30, 2020, EF canceled all tours that were scheduled to leave on or after that date, according to the suit. Ms. Alaina Kommer from Grant High School does only think about herself and her travelling experience. 3) They pretend that you can extend your student's trip. al. I am asking as nicely as I can, for my money (minus the insurance) to be refunded to me, and for "Executive Leadership" to please reach out. My family and I scheduled a tour with ef educational tours. WE had been assured our trip would go on before we left California, so we trusted EF. We went ahead and waited. We understand that plans can change due to unforeseen circumstances. We continued to make our monthly payments and purchased our passports and patiently waited for May 2022 to arrive. Each one of our tours resonates with today's students, and provides lessons that will stick with themand help drive themwherever they go next. EF Institute for Cultural Exchange, Inc. - Class Action Lawsuits . Later on April 20, 2020, William McGrane wrote to Mr. Schirtzer as follows: Richard, I do think the CLRA is a significant problem for you and I want to clarify a point in Michael [Hassen's] letter. Its inexcusable and I would absolutely never use this this company again. There are several hidden fees which totaled $1,300! For additional details regarding the insurance components of this plan, underwritten by US Fire Insurance Company, including coverage limits and a full list of exclusions, please visit this page. When I called about a refund for the extension being taken off I was told by customer service "They make the cost even out." . As the coronavirus outbreak continues to ripple across the globe, a proposed class action lawsuit has been filed over an educational travel companys alleged failure to issue sufficient refunds for canceled student tours. Look at all the one star reviews. Were covering: They are making a profit off of cancellations!!!! Recently I was notified by EF Tours that my child was cancelled from the tour after paying off almost whole trip price. Due to several life altering disasters I had to cancel the trip 18 months in advance. Not helpful. Joining the EF family means youll have the support of our community of educators, tour architects, operations wizards, and ever-curious explorers. I don't understand how they can keep any of our money, let a lone $500 each. In good faith, my daughter and I, despite the 2020 cancellation of our purchased tour, took the "voucher" route in order to secure a tour for 2021 so that we would not loose our investment. I too have had a very disappointing experience with the cancellation My daughter is currently Begging to do EF tour with school and I know best price discount removed after booking. The Global Travel Protection Plus plan must be purchased when you book your tour. Before commenting, please review our comment policy. This was saddening but completely understandable. and subject matter experts who understand I am writing to complain about the lack of information regarding a language campus to Dublin I have paid for My 17 Years old son. SCUMBAGS!!!!! Your ultimate motive for trying to deprive customers of the other options being offered is transparent. Has anybody been to the office of EF? They insist on keeping $500 per person! The teacher wouldnt return my phone call, or emails. My daughter insisted on being signed up for her school trip in 2020. A copy of the demand letter can be viewed by visiting our UPDATES page. A situation completely out of the control of myself and other families. Every invoice has completely disappeared from my EF go ahead account. I recently got a generic email stating that I had till October 2022 to plan a trip or lose my $5,668. 3:20-cv-00508-GPC-BLM, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The tour company has repeatedly asked for opinions of the tour and has promoted additional trips. Other EF tour brands. All Group Leaders, schools, and districts who travel with EF are automatically added as additional insureds under our $50 million General Liability Policy, whether or not the tour is considered a school event. Joining the EF family means you'll have the support of our community of educators, tour architects, operations wizards, and ever-curious explorers. Weve experienced the transformative power of travel firsthandand we cant wait to explore the opportunities that are out there for you and your students. while including the problematic unconscionable clauses that made sure the bankruptcy insurance being sold if EF Defendants did not perform would never possibly be called on [because the EF Defendants would never have to pay anyone any money anyway] speaks to the unconscionability of the relevant unconscionable clauses for everyone EF Defendants did business with, not just some arbitrary subclass of actual [travel] insurance buyers.Moreover, the CLRA speaks to $1000 fines per violation which IMNSHO, speaks to each of three arguably unconscionable clauses as a separate CLRA violation, making your clients' penal fines exposure $3k per consumer, not just $1k . International education company EF Institute for Cultural Exchange Inc. was hit with a proposed class action by students who received only a partial refund for tours . If the revised tour has a higher price than the original tour, travelers will be required to pay the difference as a condition of traveling on the revised tour. EF Explore America Call 888-333-9756 to enroll. 2022 . Original departure date 7/13/2020 HOW CAN THIS BE LEGAL??? COVID-19 required everybody to be quarantined. If you wanted a refund, there was a fee. 3. A copy of this pleading can be viewed by visiting our UPDATES page. Initially after this situation occurred a person from the company called me to get the story (since I immediately reported it to the tour director when I got off the bus) but never heard from him again. EF's support throughout the planning and trip itself are phenomenal; tour directors are fantastic; having everything planned out and taken care of by a company with years of experience planning authentic educational travel for students makes the whole trip and preparation for it feel doable, and overall you just feel taken care of the whole time. (EF SWISS Immunity Clause). I would like a refund, minus my travel protection plan please. Meet Carlos, an expert local guide The defendants cancellation policy will likely cause students whose tours were canceled to lose out on at least some of their investment, the suit alleges. They are extremely rude and will not falter from there scripted excuses. Even with the "Global traveler's protection" insurance I purchased at $165 per traveler, which I paid for both my daughter and I. It is a crime for a youth educational program to take $3800 dollars from a 15 year old after they endorse a trip, then fly us into civil unrest, only to tell us they have no ability to get us home. Unfortunately, I had to cancel his trip because my son switched schools and his old school district could not take a non student out of the country. I booked a tour in 2022 to Greece through Girl Scouts of America for 2024. Spring break trip with the school for my two boys to go to Greece and Italy this year. 321. I would like to reimbursed for being a chaperone. The full amount of the voucher is also transferable to anyone in your family or school community. Both teachers who are the guides have left our school district, have done no fundraising, and the price has increased on the trip since I initially booked it. My oldest son was scheduled to take a school trip to Peru next year. When something goes wrong, you thing you are covered. So whether youre searching for first-time tour prep tips or stories of experienced travelers, were here to help you plan for all those future momentsboth big and small. I understand that Will told her she should have received a discount but in a case like this where she became a chaperone at the very last minute, there is nothing we can do. Submit a complaint and get your issue resolved. And you can. Also out of all four excursions throughout the trip, THREE OF THEM WERE CANCELLED! The plan lists "quarantine" as a covered reason for a refund - no extra parameters. Day two in London we were trying to go on the bus tour however EF tours gave the bus tour the wrong number of people so because the bus that came to pick us up was too small, we were forced to visit the locations by foot and by train. Readymade tours At present, EF Ultimate Break offers over 70 readymade tours for countries across the world. Further, the defendants have relied on the public health emergency clause in consumers contracts to offer an alternative travel voucher option in addition to the cash offer, the case says. EF Tours was contacted today also and there response was they aren't responsible for the insurance company. Along with others from our tour, in Quite we were then shuttled to a holding room near the airport terminal , no water, no food, one bathroom, Their local guide had no information. One thing is guaranteed. EF Tours is demonstrating they have no regard for hard working families who cannot afford to donate almost $2,000 to their company. I was told by the EF Tours representative that he could room with boys from other schools or upgrade (at an additional $90 per night!) Kinda defeats the whole concept of insurance. Unfortunately, there isnt a way for us to give Darianne a discount. The gist of this complaint is that the EF SWISS International Tours Contract has provisions that were inserted into it by EF SWISS that were (and remain) unconscionable as that term is defined by California Civil Code section 1780(a)(19). That's when we found out it would be around $800 to cancel. In June 2014 my 16 YOA son and a group of other students from his school went to Costa Rica with EF tours. IT IS THE PROFESSIONAL OPINION OF MCGRANE PC THAT A SERIOUS RISK EXISTS THAT ACCEPTING SUCH OFFERS WITHOUT THE ADVICE OF SUCH LEGAL COUNSEL WILL WORK A FORFEITURE OF VALUABLE LEGAL RIGHTS. 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