Can travel agent hold part of the refund for cancelled booking?

[Kiku2023]

I booked a cruise trip (MSC Meraviglia) via a travel agency. MSC made significant change to the planned route (Bahamas-->Canada) at the last minute and I had to cancel the trip. MSC gave me a refund of FCC, which was $300 less than I paid. I checked with MSC, and they said the $300 was charged by the travel agency, not them. I checked with the travel agency, and they said they could not refund me in my original form of payment, either. They would give me a credit of their travel agency...

 

I know that the FCC thing was the usual practice of the cruise industry. However, can the travel agency refuse to refund me in the original form of payment? Thanks.

Edited January 23 by Kiku2023

[Essiesmom]

Many travel agencies/agents charge a cancellation fee, and it would be per person.  It’s part of the fine print…. Best to avoid those agencies in the future.  EM

[donaldsc]

The TA has invested time to set up your cruise.  If you cancel they get no return for the invested time.  You may not like it but I don't see the problem with them holding money back if you cancel.  Most TAs will not do this but whether they do this is just a business decision.

 

DON

[CDNPolar]

One TA that we use, clearly states what she takes if we cancel, and if there is not a refund for the fare, she invoices you for the cancelation.

[VMax1700]

It would help if you had your location shown, or say in which country the TA is based.  Different countries different rules, specially regarding the refund payment type.

[JJK2008]

We're aware of this practice. To each their own, but we stopped using TA years ago and have no regrets. We learned (the HARD way) years ago that any booking you make with a cruise line through a TA, the TA is the customer of the cruise line NOT you. You are a customer of the TA. So, if ANYTHING arises with the cruise that needs addressing, you must go through the TA (3rd party) to resolve. The cruise line will not even talk to you, since you are NOT their customer. Now, I'm certain that there are some very good, reputable TA out there. However, we prefer to just control the whole process ourselves. It takes a bit more work to do it yourself, but so much easier to just call the cruise line directly and resolve issues if the arise. But whatever works for you.    

[leaveitallbehind]

As most have mentioned, yes, a TA can charge a fee for changing, modifying, or canceling a booking made through them.  The rub is this typically is in addition to any penalty imposed by the cruise lines.

 

Those that do should make this practice clear up front, not only in their T's & C's, but in conversation with you prior to accepting a booking.  Fortunately, most of the better TA's don't undertake in this practice, and I would avoid any of the few that do. 

 

They are paid a commission by the cruise lines for the bookings they make, and this practice IMO is just another way to take additional money out of your pocket that would not already be charged by the cruise lines for booking changes.

Edited January 23 by leaveitallbehind

[Kiku2023]

To clarify, I am in the States and so is the travel agent. The trip was cancelled because MSC changed the destination to Canada the night before departure, for which I needed a visa to enter (I am not a US/Canadian citizen or PR), and could not get one at such a short notice. Therefore I could not board the ship and was forced to cancel. 

 

I read the fine prints in the terms and conditions of the travel agency, which says they will charge a fee of $35 per person if the trip is cancelled for any reason whatsoever. I guess the choice is between either accepting $300 future credit or getting $230 back and losing $70 as penalties. 

[leaveitallbehind]

5 minutes ago, Kiku2023 said:

To clarify, I am in the States and so is the travel agent. The trip was cancelled because MSC changed the destination to Canada the night before departure, for which I needed a visa to enter (I am not a US/Canadian citizen or PR), and could not get one at such a short notice. Therefore I could not board the ship and was forced to cancel. 

 

I read the fine prints in the terms and conditions of the travel agency, which says they will charge a fee of $35 per person if the trip is cancelled for any reason whatsoever. I guess the choice is between either accepting $300 future credit or getting $230 back and losing $70 as penalties. 

Understand and no criticism intended towards you.  The point being made in my response is that most TA's don't do that or have that policy as part of their T's & C's. Some, however do. I just recommend avoiding those that do. Unfortunately the one you used in this instance does. 

[Kiku2023]

4 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Understand and no criticism intended towards you.  The point being made in my response is that most TA's don't do that or have that policy as part of their T's & C's. Some, however do. I just recommend avoiding those that do. Unfortunately the one you used in this instance does. 

I totally agree. Had they made this clear to me when I booked with them, I would have given it a careful thought. Unfortunately I did not read the find prints until afterwards. Now I learned my lesson.

[Hlitner]

Many cruise/travel agencies charge their own fees for cancellations and/or changes.  When we advise folks about choosing decent cruise agencies we always tell them to read the policies regarding these issues.  Ironically, some of the best cruise agencies we have found do have these kind of extra fees (which they may sometimes waive for their better clients).  One could argue it is reasonable for an agency, who invests their time servicing a client, to expect some compensation for their work.  When folks book, and later cancel cruises, the agency gets zero commission from the cruise lines.  Unfortunately, there are many cruisers who routinely book/cancel cruises because they simply cannot make up their minds...so they block out multiple cruises and later cancel most.  My favorite cruise agents do not even want these kinds of clients and having fees does help weed-out those type of customers.

 

Hank

[donaldsc]

4 hours ago, JJK2008 said:

We're aware of this practice. To each their own, but we stopped using TA years ago and have no regrets. We learned (the HARD way) years ago that any booking you make with a cruise line through a TA, the TA is the customer of the cruise line NOT you. You are a customer of the TA. So, if ANYTHING arises with the cruise that needs addressing, you must go through the TA (3rd party) to resolve. The cruise line will not even talk to you, since you are NOT their customer. Now, I'm certain that there are some very good, reputable TA out there. However, we prefer to just control the whole process ourselves. It takes a bit more work to do it yourself, but so much easier to just call the cruise line directly and resolve issues if the arise. But whatever works for you.    

 

Looking at it from a different viewpoint we have had at least 2 times when issues arose as we were waiting to board for our flight to the cruise port.  One time we actually called our TA from the airplane before it took off.  Our TA had the issues resolved before the plane landed.  I doubt if a cruise company sales agent would have been so helpful in dealing w a problem that had to be solved immediately.  The trick is that you need to find a GOOD TA.

 

I understand that some people have issues with the fact that the TA and not you own your cruise but that has never been a problem with us.

 

DON

[crystalspin]

9 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I understand that some people have issues with the fact that the TA and not you own your cruise but that has never been a problem with us.

Until it is.