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Complaint Details
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Initial Complaint
05/02/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
Sagres Vacations refuses to assist me/my family to recoup unexpected, additional expenses incurred during a pre-paid trip to *******, ******** (12/26/21 to 1/2/22) they booked for me, my wife, father-in-law and 4 adult children. As a result of one of my children testing positive for Covid after arriving in *******, we were unable to participate in the trip itinerary and are requesting reimbursement for the following expenses: 1. TAP airlines refund of $4,560.38 for the air fares of the 7 return flights that had to be rebooked. 2. ************************** Hotel charges of $581.67 - 2 rooms for 3 nights beyond our original trip reservation due to the Covid quarantine requirements. 3. Hotel to airport travel transfers in ******* for a total of $100. 4. Covid tests taken in ******* for a total of $500. Note that we were told by Sagres before the trip that we could not cancel or postpone the trip, despite the ***** outbreak at the time, without forfeiting the money pre-paid (~$3,500/person, times 7 people =~$24,500) for the trip, and they provided us assurances that travel to ******* was safe and that should anyone end up testing positive for Covid in ******* that our travel and arrangements would be covered by ********** Govt. Unfortunately, that was not the case and we had to make our own arrangements and incurred new additional costs for the flights home, hotel nights as stated above. I contacted Sagres to recoup these expenses to no avail. After sending a certified letter, they have ignored all requests so far.Customer response
05/13/2022
I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint.
We have not heard anything from this business, no surprise as we have been trying to work with them regarding this situation for a long time and my requests have gone unanswered/not acknowledged!
Thank you,
*****************************
Business response
05/19/2022
Please note, we have not "ignored" the letters; however as millions of Americans are now traveling; our office is quite busy answering their inquiries and ensuring we process all the requests accordingly. We have in the past addressed your concern with your request for refunds due to the positive covid test. We are saddened that one of your family members tested positive for Covid 19 during your ******* Trip this past December, however as you can understand that is not a fault of our office or any of our staff, vendors and/or partners. Prior to, during and after Covid, traveling is still a personal decision one; and we as a Tour Operator were very clear with the instructions alerting all members of the group of the risks of travel and the actions that you needed to take if you tested positive. Our obligations to our Hotel, Airline and all other service partners on tour were fullfilled since we had to pre-pay the entire cost of the group prior to arriving in *******. Our conditions are clearly explicit in the deposit forms advising customers that payment is non-refundable after final payment. ******* is safe, and we have many clients there today and many more to travel in the coming weeks, months; all of them understand the covid risk and realize they will have to pay out of pocket for any additional costs due to a positive covid test. Sagres Vacations is not a government health organization nor do we create or manage the covid protocol for ******* or any other regions; our job is to alert the customers for the conditiosn at the time of booking as we know those same conditions may and undoubteldy will change weekly if not daily. The additional costs your family endured were directly due to the positive covid test. As you know, the bulk of the group enjoyed the entire 6 night tour with very positive feedback and amazing reviews. Our team at Sagres Vacations spent many hours during the New years Holiday on the phone with the airline and hotel to facilitate the extra hotel nights and reschedule the flights home, at no additional cost to our customer...
Covid is a pandemic and has caused major stress on all of us, however we are fortunate to be in a postiion that we can allow and make travel a joyful event for our customers, understanding and clearly communicating the risks with travel with or without Covid 19. The clear increase of the number of passengers traveling with us and the many favorable reviews we have received in the past few months have proven that even with a pandemic; most customers are responsible travelers and are extremely thankful for our ability and our support to create amazing travel memories for them and their family and friends.
We wish you well, and hope you can travel to ******* in the future to truly enjoy this beautiful Island.
Best, Sagres Vacations Customer Care
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