Nasty response to refund request

[bones774]

OP here, still nothing from H and I don't expect to hear, once they forwarded to their legal division they basically wrote me off.

I finally wrote to Washington State Office of Attorney General, hopefully that will move it along.

 

As I've never sailed with either Hurtigruten or Havila I can't speak to their ships but I would certainly be much more inclined to deal with Havila after this experience. 

Hurtigruten just totally avoids any kind of negotiation. 

I will keep all apprised 

thanks

[bones774]

Follow-up- the complaint was moved to a resolution type center, with no teeth,. H response was that they are offering to apply my down payment that they are holding towards a new cruise for the upcoming year. However I don't know if i will have opportunity this year and they are not matching the same deal i bought during the covid. So i've lost my money and a great deal and their guarantees about not losing your money are pretty much worthless as you read the fine print.

They are a Norwegian company and though doing business in the states the AG office has little power over them and Norway office is of no use.  

[Guest ldtr]

On 2/13/2022 at 1:00 PM, bones774 said:

OP here, my first scheduled cruise was lifted and shifted at height of covid. It was shifted to the same time slot the next year(2021) but again was not avail for USA citizens. They wanted me to pay 60 days out when we weren't even allowed into Norway. On the phone the Seattle office were all very nice until I asked for refund, they told me they were gonna go out of the way and offer me my deposit as a future credit, by now I'm disgusted with them. I still have to notify Seattle consumer affairs.  Had a busy work schedule up till now. Still nothing further from them. 

tha KS all , good luck

Not unusual for a company to move the handling of issues from customer service to legal when a customer threatens to either turn it over to their lawyer or a regulatory agency involved. One of the reasons why many consumer advocate recommend that such threats are an absolute resort and that if you make the threat it closes of other options.

 

If they stated that they have turned your case over to their legal department, then you should ask for a contact in their legal department and address your request to that department with appropriate documentation.

 

When your cruise was pushed back to the next year did you have any opportunity to decline the change and get your refund at that point?  For many travel companies, including many cruise lines the deposits were converted to cruise credits, unless the individual specifically requested a refund.  Are you certain that there was not similar language in their terms and conditions.

 

If you did not resolve the issue before full payment was due, and you chose not to pay, then they are probably looking at it under the failed to pay terms and conditions.

 

 

[bones774]

17 hours ago, ldtr said:

Not unusual for a company to move the handling of issues from customer service to legal when a customer threatens to either turn it over to their lawyer or a regulatory agency involved. One of the reasons why many consumer advocate recommend that such threats are an absolute resort and that if you make the threat it closes of other options.

 

If they stated that they have turned your case over to their legal department, then you should ask for a contact in their legal department and address your request to that department with appropriate documentation.

 

When your cruise was pushed back to the next year did you have any opportunity to decline the change and get your refund at that point?  For many travel companies, including many cruise lines the deposits were converted to cruise credits, unless the individual specifically requested a refund.  Are you certain that there was not similar language in their terms and conditions.

 

If you did not resolve the issue before full payment was due, and you chose not to pay, then they are probably looking at it under the failed to pay terms and conditions.

 

 

thanks for this well written info.

I did learn a lesson from the referral to legal.

I didn't read all the T&C bit they never offered me the chance for a refund. It was all kinda "loosey gossy", they were very affable agents and seemed to be winging it all along,  always telling me "we'll see", "sounds good".

It's a small deposit , not too concerning, but I would and would've been happy for them to offer me same deal. That's what gets me mad, I think they just used the opportunity to get out of the deal I had. It's thousands more now, I had very good "pandemic" pricing.

Thanks

Edited June 2, 2022 by bones774

[firefightermom007]

Have just read thru your whole thread, and we have experienced terrible customer service from Hurtigruten around Antartica sailings.  They have not been consistent with post cruise offers due to missed ports (they never refunded the port charges).  Even though several sailings had exactly the same issues - 1 sailing got 30% FCC and a partial refund -another sailing only got 20% FCC.  To make matters worse, not everyone got offered the FCC...only those who filed complaints.

[bones774]

On 6/2/2022 at 5:45 PM, firefightermom007 said:

Have just read thru your whole thread, and we have experienced terrible customer service from Hurtigruten around Antartica sailings.  They have not been consistent with post cruise offers due to missed ports (they never refunded the port charges).  Even though several sailings had exactly the same issues - 1 sailing got 30% FCC and a partial refund -another sailing only got 20% FCC.  To make matters worse, not everyone got offered the FCC...only those who filed complaints.

Were you dealing with Seattle office? They were all very nice on phone, gained my confidence but when the crap hit the fan they were incompetent and/or clueless. I partly blame myself I should have had them issue to me more email documentation to back up their talk. All i wanted was for them to stick to our original contract. I've requested a contact person in the legal department to try and resolve the issue but have yet to hear back from Hurtigruten. They have my $250. deposit and acknowledge it will be good for a limited time, so i guess they are saying that it's within their contractual rights to hold it but what about my contract rights and the sailing i put deposit on???

Well let's see if Havila can do better in the future, they will be my go to.

Thanks

[hallasm]

3 hours ago, bones774 said:

Well let's see if Havila can do better in the future, they will be my go to.

Well. Might very well be - just note that you pay at least 20% in deposit and "Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the deposit will not be refunded to the customer upon cancellation"

- in general you will not get any refund for deposit for voyages when booked in Europe.

This also applies if you buy a cruise in Europe from, for example, Royal Caribbean.

Edited June 13, 2022 by hallasm

[bones774]

6 hours ago, hallasm said:

Well. Might very well be - just note that you pay at least 20% in deposit and "Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the deposit will not be refunded to the customer upon cancellation"

- in general you will not get any refund for deposit for voyages when booked in Europe.

This also applies if you buy a cruise in Europe from, for example, Royal Caribbean.

I think during covid, H and many other cruise lines were offering special cruise deposit guarantees and "no worry" types of contracts. Don't have it in front of me but I'll verify tomorrow.  Plus I am in the states.

Edited June 14, 2022 by bones774

[hallasm]

3 hours ago, bones774 said:

Plus I am in the states

You’re right - my comment was not related to Hurtigruten but Havila.

When you purchase a voyage from Havila you can only purchase the voyage in Norway - hence Norwegian Terms and conditions - despite you live in the states.

[bones774]

3 hours ago, hallasm said:

You’re right - my comment was not related to Hurtigruten but Havila.

When you purchase a voyage from Havila you can only purchase the voyage in Norway - hence Norwegian Terms and conditions - despite you live in the states.

That doesn't sound very positive for us in the states or elsewhere. Not looking good for Norwegian cruising.  I would've thought Norway a more progressive consumer friendly country.

Edited June 14, 2022 by bones774

[hallasm]

18 minutes ago, bones774 said:

That doesn't sound very positive

I totally agree. 
It is common in Europe that you do not get a deposit back if you cancel yourself - in case of illness, insurance covers.  As mentioned, this applies to all travel purchased in Europe - also RCCL, NCL, HAL….  But often a significantly smaller amount.
Havila has some untenable conditions but few read terms and conditions. 

It’s the same with many airline tickets

[bones774]

Getting back to the origins of this thread, I did not cancel myself. As you know, Norway had very strict entry requirements.  After I booked 1st sailing H postponed me for 1 year which I was accepting. After the 2nd sailing date passed, entry to country was still forbidden to me and they just cancelled me out w/o offering same contracted deal, they retain my deposit.

Edited June 14, 2022 by bones774

[bones774]

just to update, nothing has happened at all since i requested a contact/call from legal. 

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, bones774 said:

just to update, nothing has happened at all since i requested a contact/call from legal. 

What I would do at this state is to write a letter to the legal department.  With that letter provide all of the documentation that you have on the actual events, the timing of the purchase, the timing of the cancellation, and who made the cancellation, Any information you have on how other customers were treated (did they get the opportunity for cash refund) and any communications that you had in order to resolve the issue.  Stick to facts, do not threaten, do not evaluate, just provide the details, and request either the refund or specifics why you did not qualify, even though they canceled the cruise.

 

Send the letter certified, return receipt and see if you get any answer.

 

 

[bones774]

I'll give it a shot, quite a bit of research and work, this is since Sept of 2020. Lotsa explaining to do. 

Thanks

[bob brown]

13 hours ago, bones774 said:

I'll give it a shot, quite a bit of research and work, this is since Sept of 2020. Lotsa explaining to do. 

Thanks

Sorry to hear, "H" is treating you this way, Ira.   What a contrast from our experience with them, on our Covid 'extended' Antarctica cruise two years ago.  They even gave us a free flight home from Chile, even though we did not purchase air from them...

 

Good luck!

[bones774]

2 hours ago, bob brown said:

Sorry to hear, "H" is treating you this way, Ira.   What a contrast from our experience with them, on our Covid 'extended' Antarctica cruise two years ago.  They even gave us a free flight home from Chile, even though we did not purchase air from them...

 

Good luck!

Very surprised also. the guys in Seattle on the phone were always very nice but they weren't being businesslike, more like let's wait and see or that sounds good. I wish i couldve documented all that better but it was all just verbal. I'd be happy i they just offered me the original deal i contracted for. I  won't deal with them again unless they decide to offer me my original deal. I remember what you went thru and thought they were a more upscale line but now hiding behind their legal department and not responding to my queries is terrible.

Best of luck to you and Betty and hope to see you onboard.

[ColdCruise]

On 7/23/2022 at 9:46 AM, bones774 said:

Very surprised also. the guys in Seattle on the phone were always very nice but they weren't being businesslike, more like let's wait and see or that sounds good. I wish i couldve documented all that better but it was all just verbal. I'd be happy i they just offered me the original deal i contracted for. I  won't deal with them again unless they decide to offer me my original deal. I remember what you went thru and thought they were a more upscale line but now hiding behind their legal department and not responding to my queries is terrible.

Best of luck to you and Betty and hope to see you onboard.

@bones774 

I know this thread died off several months ago, but I am investigating a coastal cruise for fall 2023 and thought Hurtigruten was only choice.  Did this issue ever get resolved or are you still in limbo?

 

Havila didn't show up in search but glad I checked this forum and I will look into their trips. The coastal trip with Hurtigruten has been in my radar fir several years and I’m astonished how their overall pricing and product has changed as they became more mainstream tourist centered. They were my front leader for polar expeditions until recently. Just returned from Antarctica with another company as well as different companies for Svalbard & Greenland recent past.

 

thanks !

Edited March 25, 2023 by ColdCruise

[vtgumby]

35 minutes ago, ColdCruise said:

Just returned from Antarctica with another company as well as different companies for Svalbard & Greenland recent past.

 

thanks !

Which company did you use for Antarctica?

[ColdCruise]

9 minutes ago, vtgumby said:

Which company did you use for Antarctica?

@vtgumby 

I used Quark, they were using World Explorer which is owned by a Portuguese company, Mystic. Quark provided the expedition team and ran the gift shop, everyone else was employed by Mystic. Quark had a good Black Friday promotion - significant discount & possibility to be matched w same sex roommate to avoid single supplement (got unlucky & had a match, a couple other got lucky on that trip and ended up without a match). Good trip but not sure id choose them again. I left a trip review under Quark.

 

Strangely, upon returning to work i was in a meeting with a guy who'd also just returned. Comparing expedition experiences I felt they had more time on target, so would consider his expedition team for future trip (although he also may have paid considerably more pp). He & his wife used an Australian company-  Aurora Expeditions 

[vtgumby]

1 hour ago, ColdCruise said:

@vtgumby 

I used Quark, they were using World Explorer which is owned by a Portuguese company, Mystic. Quark provided the expedition team and ran the gift shop, everyone else was employed by Mystic. Quark had a good Black Friday promotion - significant discount & possibility to be matched w same sex roommate to avoid single supplement (got unlucky & had a match, a couple other got lucky on that trip and ended up without a match). Good trip but not sure id choose them again. I left a trip review under Quark.

 

Strangely, upon returning to work i was in a meeting with a guy who'd also just returned. Comparing expedition experiences I felt they had more time on target, so would consider his expedition team for future trip (although he also may have paid considerably more pp). He & his wife used an Australian company-  Aurora Expeditions 

Thanks so much for the information, you’ve expanded our possibilities!

[bones774]

7 hours ago, ColdCruise said:

@bones774 

I know this thread died off several months ago, but I am investigating a coastal cruise for fall 2023 and thought Hurtigruten was only choice.  Did this issue ever get resolved or are you still in limbo?

 

Havila didn't show up in search but glad I checked this forum and I will look into their trips. The coastal trip with Hurtigruten has been in my radar fir several years and I’m astonished how their overall pricing and product has changed as they became more mainstream tourist centered. They were my front leader for polar expeditions until recently. Just returned from Antarctica with another company as well as different companies for Svalbard & Greenland recent past.

 

thanks !

No not resolved. I lost $250 to them. Their "legal dept" never got back to me with any resolution.

[ColdCruise]

You bought the trip through their Seattle office, right? Did you post on their Facebook page (if they have one), or other social media site? Also your local and state representatives? Small claims court if you booked through the Seattle office as the representative of the Norwegian company?

 

Or contact your credit card and dispute the fee since if they cancelled your reservation you could argue you didn’t get the thing you paid for. I had to involve my cc to get a refund of my Lufthansa airfare … they held onto my fare money from April  to July 2020 and the cc returned my money within a week of me filing a complaint with them. 
 

 I guess at this point, it’s how much more aggro it’s worth, or if you can stand the loss, save frustration and chock it up to a bad business transaction. I’d still be ticked, but like a lot of big business shenanigans they just stonewall and wear you down till you give up and go away. Very unfair but uneven balance of power - consumer vs multimillion (NOK) business.

Edited March 26, 2023 by ColdCruise

[GottaKnowWhen]

I am recently back from a two-week Hurtigruten trip: Hamburg to Nordkapp and return. Except that we didn't return via ship because the ship had mechanical problems and after limping along for a couple of days, on day 11 they chartered some planes and airlifted us to Hamburg. Put us up in a nice hotel, offered reimbursement for meal costs through the "end of the cruise" on that Friday.

They offered a choice of 60%FCC or 40% Refund. I choose the 40% option. I had booked through the Seattle office. The other American couple onboard had booked through the Global or Norway site. They are also choosing the 40% option. It will be interesting to see if/when the refund shows in may account, and to see if there is a difference in speed of processing etc. depending on where we booked.

[GottaKnowWhen]

On 3/30/2023 at 5:25 PM, GottaKnowWhen said:

I am recently back from a two-week Hurtigruten trip: Hamburg to Nordkapp and return. Except that we didn't return via ship because the ship had mechanical problems and after limping along for a couple of days, on day 11 they chartered some planes and airlifted us to Hamburg. Put us up in a nice hotel, offered reimbursement for meal costs through the "end of the cruise" on that Friday.

They offered a choice of 60%FCC or 40% Refund. I choose the 40% option. I had booked through the Seattle office. The other American couple onboard had booked through the Global or Norway site. They are also choosing the 40% option. It will be interesting to see if/when the refund shows in may account, and to see if there is a difference in speed of processing etc. depending on where we booked.

Update on my refund...

On 22 March I sent my request to Hurtigruten US office. On 27 March they informed me that my refund check would be mailed on 30 March. Today, 4 April I received my check for 40% refund plus the promised €25/pp per meal for our time in Hamburg after the airlift from mid-cruise.

 

I think they were very responsive and deserve several thumbs up!

 

Stan

Edited April 4, 2023 by GottaKnowWhen