Travel agents, even large and reputable ones, sometimes add fine print to their contracts that can be confusing and misleading for travelers. An expensive program for an enticing overseas trip given to a customer may at any time be changed into something that the traveler did not bargain on buying.
In one case, a large Greek travel agent offered a trip to Sri Lanka and the exotic Maldives with August 12 being included as part of the list of 13-day packages. An asterisk beside the date urges travelers to ask for the 11-day program to the traditional Perahera festival of Sri Lanka that usually runs for 9 to 11 days of celebrations focused on the Grand Tooth of Buddha. A client may be forgiven for believing that the trip is 13 days – seeing how the program is listed with the 13-day packages – and that the 11-day festival they are encouraged to ask for is the Perahera event that they can choose to follow.
In the case of this travel agent, the program below is accompanied by a 13-day schedule with exciting safaris and sights of Sri Lanka followed by some time to unwind in the relaxing Maldives.
Just a few days prior to take-off, the customer may be given a totally different schedule of smaller duration and different order of events (Maldives, followed by Sri Lanka) and two days less than the one the customer thought they had agreed upon bearing in mind that this had not been clarified.
The lawyers of the General Consumers Confederation of Greece (INKA) state that a customer is entitled to back off on a package that is of shorter duration than the one bought even if they have signed a contract in good faith and trust, but had unbeknown to them been switched around with one that they would not have purchased had they been given the actual shorter program. In the case of the deal above, it had not been specified to the consumer that the package would be of shorter duration.
There are two morals to this story:
(a) Don’t assume that a program listed as a 13-day program is indeed, especially if it comes attached with an asterisk that adds a “bonus” program to the 11-day Perahera festival. Ask questions, and don’t assume that the travel agency assistants will volunteer information. Ask to see the actual program you will go on before you pay any money.
(b) Book your own travel arrangements and forget the Maldives when there are exquisite Greek islands at your feet!
Other things you can do:
* Ask to speak to the manager of the travel agency so that you can make your case and hopefully solve your problem in good faith, but if you are told – as in the case of this travel agency – that the manager is too important to handle “trivial complaints” then you can take your issue to INKA (7 Academias Street, 210-3632443).
* You can always seek a resolution with the travel agency in question on Twitter of Facebook. But make sure that their Twitter and Facebook account isn’t just a broadcast medium, and that you can actually see them replying to customers.
* Finally, another thing to do is follow up and insist on a resolution that you want to see, whether this is wanting a cancelation to the trip altogether and your money back or a cut to the price seeing how they have cut two days off the actual program. Just like any other customer complaint you have to talk to multiple people and document your case.
* If you don’t get the resolution you deserve feel free to do a good deed and warn others on Trip advisor or to send us your complaint on themanews.com@gmail.com
