New Payment Policy?

[Travelling2Some]

We have booked with Alla Tours for St. Petersburg they are requesting payment one month in advance.  I have read repeatedly on this board that people did not pay in advance.  Is this something new?  I know they are a reputable company but I just want to make sure that I am actually dealing with them and not one of those "spoof" websites.  Can those of you that are currently booked or toured with Alla very recently please confirm?  I noticed that TJ Tours still does not request advance payment so it makes me hesitate.

Edited February 3, 2020 by Travelling2Some
missing word

[trosebery]

What tour did you book?

 

It's true that most independent tour companies do not require advance payment for *most* tours. (When I toured with Red Sun Tours last summer on a private tour, I didn't pay until the end of the first day.) But policies may vary for different tour types (because of tickets that need to be arranged in advance), so it would help if you added the tour that you booked.

[dogs4fun]

1 hour ago, Travelling2Some said:

Is this something new?  I know they are a reputable company but I just want to make sure that I am actually dealing with them and not one of those "spoof" websites. 

Yes, it is a new policy this year. Several of the larger independent operators now request payment prior to the tour - that way there is no time lost with payment and you are actually charged in USD and/or Euros (our choice - we chose USD). When I enquired, I was told that many people do not understand the currency conversion fee charged by Visa & Mastercard Europe (not Alla) and they complained about the charge from Visa/MC. Problem solved when paying in USD.

We have already paid for our tours and we don't visit until September.

Most of the reputable companies do not accept payment in USD cash - this is a method for tax avoidance and one particular Russian tour company got in a lot of trouble for this a few years ago. 

When we toured with Alla in the past, time was lost due to people attempting to pay in Russia that had not informed their credit card company of a charge in Europe - this took time away from our tour. We are fine with the new policy.

Edited February 3, 2020 by dogs4fun

[Travelling2Some]

Thanks so much for the explanation!  That makes a lot of sense.  I don't mind paying in advance, just wanted to be sure that it was legit, since it's quite a bit of money.  Interesting that when I posted initially, CC kept removing the word "Alla" from my heading.  I think I saw someone else mention the same thing.  I wonder if the censors do not know the difference between the tour company and the Alla that ends in an "h".

[dogs4fun]

15 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

Interesting that when I posted initially, CC kept removing the word "Alla" from my heading.  I think I saw someone else mention the same thing.  I wonder if the censors do not know the difference between the tour company and the Alla that ends in an "h".

I think that I also remember a mention of something similar. Maybe some sort of glitch? It would be a question to ask the moderators - I have absolutely no idea.

[Anubi]

On 2/3/2020 at 11:01 AM, trosebery said:

What tour did you book?

 

It's true that most independent tour companies do not require advance payment for *most* tours. (When I toured with Red Sun Tours last summer on a private tour, I didn't pay until the end of the first day.) But policies may vary for different tour types (because of tickets that need to be arranged in advance), so it would help if you added the tour that you booked.

We booked Alla's Grand Tour and Faberge Museum and were asked to pay beforehand.  I was a bit surprised but its done and its one less thing to worry about.    

[dogs4fun]

All monies are returned for tours cancelled due to Covid 19 - you can check the reviews on TripAdvisor where this is addressed by satisfied refund recipients (both Alla Tours and STB Tours - there may be others as well).

These updated payment policies have been in place for over a year - long before Covid reared its ugly head (see post #3 above).