Please think twice about doing a chargeback

[Fouremco]

Reputable TAs never touch your money, they pass your card information to the cruise line and the cruise line makes the charge. However, there are some TAs out there who make the charge against your card themselves, then make their own payment to the cruise line. Such TAs wouldn't want a a credit card dispute because it would presumably be directed at them, not the cruise line. I'm not suggesting that this is the case with the OP, but it does give me pause for thought.

[Pushka]

I will wait for a reasonable period - 45 days - but we too have lost most of our revenue. Our customers don't get the service then they don't pay. TAs do not know anyone else's circumstances. 

[Pinboy]

3 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I'm holding off on filing a dispute with my credit card because my TA and her rep at Celebrity are working tirelessly to get my refunds to me.  

I agree 100% with your decision. You have already received a portion of your refund and filing a dispute with your credit card company might complicate things since the refund process has been started. Also, as you say, your TA and her Rep are working " tirelessly " on your behalf , so I would just be a little more patient.

[tallnthensome]

I would never use a travel agent ..... why even bother ? The last thing I would want or need is a 3rd party in my vacation and then telling me what to do with my money because THEY might not get paid ..... My first and last concern would be me. 

[Oville]

4 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I'm holding off on filing a dispute with my credit card because my TA and her rep at Celebrity are working tirelessly to get my refunds to me.  We just exchanged e-mails on the subject again today.  I've received a bit over half of what Celebrity owes me and allegedly more is coming soon.  There was one case where the rep had the numbers wrong, but we sorted that out.  She did tell me that a B2B2B is handled differently from a single cruise and is more complicated.

 

I suspect the OP is being a bit disingenuous by stating that Celebrity will pull her commission if her clients file a dispute with the credit card company.  But I don't know that for a fact.  I would think if that were happening, we would have heard about it from more travel agents.

Our two TAs have been so helpful on getting our refunds back to us and I can’t thank them more.  We never waited more than a few weeks and the one outstanding deposit of $200, we just canceled this week.  My guess is having these TAs who do a ton of business with Celebrity helped.

Edited May 17, 2020 by Oville

[The_Big_M]

How sad that the OP's only real justification for thinking twice is she wants people to think of TAs as a charity that a consumer needs to make a donation for.

 

If no purchase was completed, then it is reasonable for the consumer to get their money back. The TA is not entitled to it, except as a benevolent gesture from the cruise operators. That's not something she should be trying to guilt consumers about.

[NantahalaCruiser]

7 hours ago, billyu said:

Why even bother using a TA

Many reasons and many threads commenting on those reasons - pros and cons.

[natashax3]

I AM a travel agent and I do whatever is best for my clients. They hired me to save them money if possible, for all of my tips and tricks with the ever changing industry, cruise credits, and to make sure whatever they wish is done... that's my job.

 

I know I won't get paid until months after they travel,  I know the risks of losing all the money I put into their gifts, mailings out of my own pocket if they cancel. I am OK with that,  I am OK with the risks, and I know that once they see how hard I work for them and how far I will go to make their vacation amazing that even if they have to cancel they will come back and use me in the future. I also know it's just as hard on them emotionally to lose their vacation as it is on me financially canceling it.

 

My clients are my first priority no matter what route they choose, and I can say with 100% that ALMOST all of the agents I know feel the same way. We would do anything including loose money for our clients as long as they are happy so please do not think all agents are a "con" :(.

 

Please don't count us all out... most of us really really really do put our everything into our clients for the love of travel and love of seeing happy clients.

 

Times are hard for us all right now and maybe some are coming from a place of fear,  or anger,  or anxiety of the unknown... and that is OK. We will all get through this and I know travel will survive this. Happy future sailings to you all!

 

#SupportSmallBussinessAndHireAnAgent

[sanger727]

Wow; a lot of the posters accusing the OP of saying ‘me, me, me’ are doing a lot of that themselves. If I had a cruise booked with a TA and I knew that if I waited for the cruise line to refund me they would get payment for the work they performed; vs if I filed a charge back they would not get payment. That would certainly be something I would want to know and consider.

 

what people seem to be ignoring is that the TA does a bulk of their job prior to receiving payment. So to turn around and say ‘well thank you for helping research my cruise, providing your valuable knowledge, helping me choose the best room and rate, reminding me to get my payment in on time, helping me get a price reduction along the way’ but then to say that since I didn’t end up cruising you didn’t earn a commission??

 

i am not a TA so I don’t have skin in this. But I did waitress which was similar. You performed work and received payment after and at the end of the day it was up to the customer on whether or not you received payment. And it was very frustrating when you worked hard and the a customer opted not to pay. I don’t know if what the OP said is true but I can understand where they are coming from. Waiting for a refund is a simple thing that costs you nothing in the long run. 

Edited May 17, 2020 by sanger727

[hcat]

Waiting  is not always just a simple thing. It could cost you late charges on your own bills!

 

For those not back to work yet for several months due to Covid closures, the returned deposits are coming in handy to pay bills like mortgages, taxes, car loans.

 

Not all cruisers can float what amounts to  loans to Cruise Companies or anyone else.  Celeb  should make regunds promptly and keep any  promises they have made to tas

 

After 45 days, we will file a dispute with our card company,  no ta involved.

[Pinboy]

This might be a bit off topic, however, the OP is relating to Commission Sales and what comes to mind is the Real Estate Industry. Real Estate is a low-level education Industry to receive a licence , totally commission based, with lots of expenses.

I have heard of many situations where Agents have not respected their fiduciary duty to the people they represent in order to get a deal done and receive their commission. 

Perhaps the Travel Industry is the same ?

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

15 hours ago, billyu said:

Why even bother using a TA

We use a TA because of the additional OBC we get when we book.  Often times other perks are added as well.  Additionally, if I have an issue or need anything as it relates to our booking, our TA handles it with the cruise line.

[MarkWiltonM]

15 hours ago, billyu said:

Why even bother using a TA

 

I used a TA for one cruse. She was not attentive and I resented having to ask (more like beg) her to do things for me like re-faring my cruise during a promotion rather than my being able to call the cruise line directly.  Ever since, I've booked directly with the cruise lines and had no problems. I may have lost some additional OBC but it's worth it to me to be able to control my fate. I have heard there are amazing TAs out there but no one has ever told me the name of one. It's kind of like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. People swear they exist but...

[PTC DAWG]

I’m patiently waiting on one refund. I would have rather had the cruise of course...IF I couldn’t afford it, I wouldn’t have booked and paid for it.

 

That said, I would cruise tomorrow.  Get busy living...

[Pinboy]

8 minutes ago, MarkWiltonM said:

 

I used a TA for one cruse. She was not attentive and I resented having to ask (more like beg) her to do things for me like re-faring my cruise during a promotion rather than my being able to call the cruise line directly.  Ever since, I've booked directly with the cruise lines and had no problems. I may have lost some additional OBC but it's worth it to me to be able to control my fate. I have heard there are amazing TAs out there but no one has ever told me the name of one. It's kind of like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. People swear they exist but...

According to the Guidelines, we are not permitted to mention any TA's by name on CC.

[phoenix_dream]

20 hours ago, oceanlovinmama said:

Cruiselines have been doing the best they can.  They didn’t realize that they would be shut down for so long and the amount of refunds requested.  Most of their employees are working from home and because of the levels of security that need to be in place to deal with credit cards, most cruise lines have a skeleton crew.  Now with the country opening back up that will change.  BUT when you work with an agent and do a chargeback, the cruise line can come back to the agent for that payment and any commission that was given to that agent, that was protected because the cruise line cancelled, Will now be recalled.  We work on commission only, and that money comes AFTER you travel.  We have had no income for the past two months and probably won’t for the rest of the year, now we have to give Our commission back AND possibly be on the hook for thousands of dollars we don’t have.  Please think about your agent!

First of all, your comments seem a bit off.  You say you probably won't have any income for the rest of the year.  Considering right now cruise lines are intending to start sailing again sometime this summer, that would not be true.  Might it not happen?  Yes, but that is not the plan right now.  And why would you be on the hook for "thousands of dollars we don't have"?  Who would you be on this supposed hook for?  Clarify please.  And my understanding is that many cruise lines (including Celebrity, the topic of this board) are protecting commissions when they cancel.  So you are in fact, not without income for the rest of the year for sure!

 

Second, do you think you are the only one who has no income right now?!?  Or the only one whose finances are in jeopardy?  The employment rate right now is at Great Depression levels.  I suspect a good number of those people are people who had invested in cruises.  Are they supposed to not pay their mortgage payment so they can make sure you get your commission? 

 

Perhaps worded differently you might have gained some sympathy and understanding from the readers here.  But the way this is written does not sit well with me.

Edited May 17, 2020 by phoenix_dream

[adolfo2]

Seeing all the negativity levied against TA's just confirms the decision to "Wind-Down" my small cruise-travel business.

 

I'm still working on cruises that were cancelled back on Black Friday the 13th, March 2020 and there appears to be no end in sight due to sloppy, back-of-house, operations by the cruise lines making it difficult to make any kind of headway (one step forward & two steps back).

 

I've complained to them for their lack of "Financial" cancellation statements and zero transparency when applying FCCs and all I got back was "Trust Us" Grrrrrrr! Trust is over... all the goodwill has evaporated over the last few months and I'm done!

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

12 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

I would never use a travel agent ..... why even bother ? The last thing I would want or need is a 3rd party in my vacation and then telling me what to do with my money because THEY might not get paid ..... My first and last concern would be me. 

 

This OP is the ONLY travel agent I have heard (and I know a lot including my own and her boss personally) saying any of this.

[mafig]

5 hours ago, sanger727 said:

Wow; a lot of the posters accusing the OP of saying ‘me, me, me’ are doing a lot of that themselves. If I had a cruise booked with a TA and I knew that if I waited for the cruise line to refund me they would get payment for the work they performed; vs if I filed a charge back they would not get payment. That would certainly be something I would want to know and consider.

 

what people seem to be ignoring is that the TA does a bulk of their job prior to receiving payment. So to turn around and say ‘well thank you for helping research my cruise, providing your valuable knowledge, helping me choose the best room and rate, reminding me to get my payment in on time, helping me get a price reduction along the way’ but then to say that since I didn’t end up cruising you didn’t earn a commission??

 

i am not a TA so I don’t have skin in this. But I did waitress which was similar. You performed work and received payment after and at the end of the day it was up to the customer on whether or not you received payment. And it was very frustrating when you worked hard and the a customer opted not to pay. I don’t know if what the OP said is true but I can understand where they are coming from. Waiting for a refund is a simple thing that costs you nothing in the long run. 

 

Do you know the OP or her travel agency.????????????

Just asking because you[re from Cincinnati also. 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, MarkWiltonM said:

 

It's kind of like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. People swear they exist but...

Darn right they exist, and we'd be happy to name them if it wasn't against the rules on CC. Our average benefit works out to about 10% of the cruise value, well worth having. And while posters on this board have asked many questions about lift and shift and whether they could use it for this or that sailing, I simply phoned my TA on the day that the policy was announced, told him what I'd like to do, and an hour or so later I had my confirmation in hand.

[mafig]

10 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

This OP is the ONLY travel agent I have heard (and I know a lot including my own and her boss personally) saying any of this.

 

I'm sure you're right.

We're just are seeing the "bad apple."

She's not doing her profession any favors.  Or her agency either.

[tallnthensome]

13 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

This OP is the ONLY travel agent I have heard (and I know a lot including my own and her boss personally) saying any of this.

I’m sure that is the case but it certainly rubs people the wrong way and her comment will do more harm than good, it was foolish to post. I know that some people always use their travel agent. They can help with planning and get some people OBC. Many others don’t want a third party involved in their vacation with control over their booking. Plenty of complaints of travel agents not returning phone calls or being uncooperative during this time. I myself used a travel agent once years ago from a decent sized cruise agent and all she did was print luggage tags for us. No special pricing, no OBC, no follow up calls .... wasn’t worth the gas to drive there. 

Edited May 17, 2020 by tallnthensome

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

3 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Darn right they exist, and we'd be happy to name them if it wasn't against the rules on CC. Our average benefit works out to about 10% of the cruise value, well worth having. And while posters on this board have asked many questions about lift and shift and whether they could use it for this or that sailing, I simply phoned my TA on the day that the policy was announced, told him what I'd like to do, and an hour or so later I had my confirmation in hand.

 

My agent has also been able to get a longer courtesy hold for me in cases where there is a deal about to expire but transferring the funds from one account to another will take a little longer.

 

Additionally when new deals come out (cruise AND Disney) she will check to make sure I still have the best deal without my even asking her to, and if the new deal is better she'll make the adjustment!

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, mafig said:

 

I'm sure you're right.

We're just are seeing the "bad apple."

She's not doing her profession any favors.  Or her agency either.

...or herself. 

[sippican]

Interesting that the OP is very busy replying to posts on the Princess forum, but hasn't come back to this forum yet.