Travel Agent out of business - CCL won't let us cancel our cruise

[sparks1093]

9 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

it's a moot point, they are no longer in business, what do you need a lawyer for?

A corporation's registered agent (I don't think that it needs to be a lawyer) is supposed to be the contact person for instances like this and it is possible that that person/entity might be able to help the OP. A lot depends on how big the business was and how it was incorporated.

 

OP, I would suggest that you check the business registry for your state (in my state that is maintained by the secretary of state's office) to find out if the TA was incorporated and, if so, if there is any contact information for the registered agent. If there is I would be getting in touch with them.

[quickrate]

9 hours ago, cpayne said:

One would think, but I believe the charge for the deposit came through on my card as CCL so assume they could also make the final payment?   

No, Carnival will not use card to make final payment. Cruise would automatically cancel and you would lose deposit. I would keep calling and only talk to supervisors.

Pat

[venicia]

Try talking to a supervisor one more time and insist it be a supervisor.  Tell them TA out of business and if no resolution is done immediately (while you are on the phone)  you will file dispute with credit card company.  FILE THE CREDIT CARD DISPUTE!! There is a 1 - 800 number on the back of your credit card, use it.  I worked in banking, was the Risk Management Officer, you need to do this ASAP.  Mention the dates you tried to contact your TA and found out they are out of business, then the times you contacted CCL with no resolution in site.

 

 

[JimnKaren]

Not only talk to a supervisor (remember, almost everyone has a supervisor), but get their first and last names. Keep a list of the people you speak with and when this is all over, send a nice but forceful letter to the office of the president.

Jim

[Purvis1231]

13 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

it's a moot point, they are no longer in business, what do you need a lawyer for?

Generally a dissolved corporation would have a means of distributing assess, handling liabilities, maintaining records, handling taxes and alike so the lawyer who handle the incorporation should be able to guide someone to find the custodian of record.   

[coevan]

6 hours ago, drsel said:

You need to warn all of us about this particular travel agent, so that we don't get trapped.

 

 

They are closed, trapped?

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

They are closed, trapped?

By trapped, I would assume me not realize they are now closed until having to contact them to make final payment, and only then learning the dilemma you now have.

[sparks1093]

14 hours ago, ontheweb said:

By trapped, I would assume me not realize they are now closed until having to contact them to make final payment, and only then learning the dilemma you now have.

That would be a way of being trapped, especially if the cruise line won't accept final payment directly from the passenger (but I think they'll take that? Not sure, I've never used a TA). But imagine having it set up for the TA to automatically pay at final payment, only to find out that they aren't around to do it.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Can you transfer your booking to another TA and then cancel?  Granted, they may not be eager to take your booking if they know you are going to cancel, but it could create a good will situation where you give them your business in the future.  Good luck.

[audcc77]

Sorry to hear this happened to you OP. 

This happened to me as well.   I booked a cruise and didn’t have a credit card so I paid cash.  The TA made payroll with my money, didn’t book the cruise, then filed bankruptcy.  I lost $1k. 
 

Lawyer said “you can’t get blood out of a turnip.”    He said I should have used a credit card. 
 

This incident turned me off to TAs for years.
 

Hope you get it resolved soon. Personally, I’d try carnival one more time then go ahead and file a dispute with your credit card company.  
 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, audcc77 said:

Sorry to hear this happened to you OP. 

This happened to me as well.   I booked a cruise and didn’t have a credit card so I paid cash.  The TA made payroll with my money, didn’t book the cruise, then filed bankruptcy.  I lost $1k. 
 

Lawyer said “you can’t get blood out of a turnip.”    He said I should have used a credit card. 
 

This incident turned me off to TAs for years.
 

Hope you get it resolved soon. Personally, I’d try carnival one more time then go ahead and file a dispute with your credit card company.  
 

I think I read or heard that there was a fund that travel agents pay into that insures their clients in case they go bankrupt. But, I could be wrong.

[jamin jul]

A similar situation happened with me a few years ago. I booked with an odd TA due to good price. Decided to cancel- could not get in contact with TA. No email/ no call return. Called the cruise line ( RCCL)- they told me to keep trying to contact TA for another week. RCCL also tried to contact the TA. At one point- RCCL stated they would take booking over and refund me.. My deposit was with RCCL credit card so they had the deposit. Finally, the TA responded. Was able to cancel. So now- I try to use the cruise line credit card and try to book with a replicable TA.

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, jamin jul said:

A similar situation happened with me a few years ago. I booked with an odd TA due to good price. Decided to cancel- could not get in contact with TA. No email/ no call return. Called the cruise line ( RCCL)- they told me to keep trying to contact TA for another week. RCCL also tried to contact the TA. At one point- RCCL stated they would take booking over and refund me.. My deposit was with RCCL credit card so they had the deposit. Finally, the TA responded. Was able to cancel. So now- I try to use the cruise line credit card and try to book with a replicable TA.

Did you mean to say reputable TA? Anyway, glad it all worked out in the end.

 

And maybe the moral of the story should be if you find a good TA, stick with them rather than chase a few dollars in savings.

[drsel]

It is unfortunate that other users cannot be warned about these travel agents who have gone out of business

[Tyhunt]

learned this years ago use carnival PVP now 

 

[jean87510]

Had so many issues with TAs I do it myself on the website. Both local, a friend, big companies...just am tired of it especially with covid. Both carnival and RCCL reps were quicker and actually nicer to deal with.

[xDisconnections]

On 6/12/2020 at 8:38 PM, jamin jul said:

A similar situation happened with me a few years ago. I booked with an odd TA due to good price. Decided to cancel- could not get in contact with TA. No email/ no call return. Called the cruise line ( RCCL)- they told me to keep trying to contact TA for another week. RCCL also tried to contact the TA. At one point- RCCL stated they would take booking over and refund me.. My deposit was with RCCL credit card so they had the deposit. Finally, the TA responded. Was able to cancel. So now- I try to use the cruise line credit card and try to book with a replicable TA.

How would the cruise company’s cobranded credit card even assist with this? They aren’t Barclay’s or the financial institution.

[coevan]

11 hours ago, drsel said:

It is unfortunate that other users cannot be warned about these travel agents who have gone out of business

 

 

There are several reputable cruise travel agents who have been around for decades. Just don't pick a TA strictly by price, do some research

[ontheweb]

22 hours ago, drsel said:

It is unfortunate that other users cannot be warned about these travel agents who have gone out of business

I agree, but i do wonder how cruise critic could draft a policy that would allow this while still not allowing posts that say use this agent. They do not want these boards to become an avenue of free TA advertising.

[drsel]

6 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I agree, but i do wonder how cruise critic could draft a policy that would allow this while still not allowing posts that say use this agent. They do not want these boards to become an avenue of free TA advertising.

Tripadvisor, the owner of Cruisecritic has a similar policy of NO SELF PROMOTION or promoting of any agent by a 3rd party, friend or employee.

Such promotional posts are deleted by admins, but genuine help & advice is not deleted. The admins use their discretion.

[drsel]

Had so many issues with TAs I do it myself on the website. Both local, a friend, big companies...just am tired of it especially with covid. Both carnival and RCCL reps were quicker and actually nicer to deal with.

Yeah definitely much nicer to deal with.
but they cannot offer you any OBC, which agents can out of their commission

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

Yeah definitely much nicer to deal with.
but they cannot offer you any OBC, which agents can out of their commission

I usually start in inside so i don't get much. I will gladly give up obc to not deal with some of the bs in my experience caused by TAs. I wish they would let people post names of good ones on cruise critic.

[LibratPDX]

Don't we have the right to switch from using a travel agent to not using one, or vice versa, no matter the circumstances?  Carnival acknowledged they have your $$, should be a no-brainer.

[cpayne]

You do have the right to switch from TA to non TA/CCL direct.  However, the TA would have to request it and "release" the booking.  I don't believe you can just call CCL and say you no longer want to work with your TA and ask to have them removed.  That's the problem we are running in to.  Our TA no longer exists, but CCL doesn't have a TA to call and tell them to release our booking so we can make changes directly with CCl.  

 

Our saga continues......

[sanger727]

2 hours ago, LibratPDX said:

Don't we have the right to switch from using a travel agent to not using one, or vice versa, no matter the circumstances?  Carnival acknowledged they have your $$, should be a no-brainer.

 

No, I don't believe you can switch from a TA to the cruise line handling your booking unless the TA agrees or the cruise line can find negligence on the part of the TA. The TA did work for you for free by helping you find your cruise, guiding you on cabin selection, providing you knowledge leading up to your cruise, etc. Assuming they did their job well, I can see why the policy exists. You wouldn't want a situation where PCCs were swooping in the last minute, offering some incentive to switch back to the cruise line and cheating the TA out of their commission.

Edited June 15, 2020 by sanger727