I booked a trip with our homeschool "trip club" to do EF's Great Britain tour with a 2 day extension to Paris. I hope your child knows that they will be sharing a bed with their roommates even if they are traveling with another school. Our tours are curated by world travelers They saved $3800 a piece from babysitting, dog walking, plant watering! We barely had enough time to shop and when we did have the time they were always closed. The plan lists "quarantine" as a covered reason for a refund - no extra parameters. Work with EF to modify your groups current tour itinerary and dates, or, Cancel your tour and all travelers will receive a transferable Future Travel Voucher in the amount of all monies paid for the original tour, less the cost of any purchased Travel Protection plan, Cancel your tour with applicable fees under the Standard Cancellation Policy. 16 years' experience in successful complaint resolution, Each complaint is handled individually by highly qualified experts, Last but not least, all our services are absolutely free. Hence the lawsuit (in CA 2020, look it up). Two straight hours of calling the ef tours emergency hotline and no still no answer. She signed up October 1 and we had to cancel Oct 14 due to conflicts with my work schedule. It was discovered by a parent who was monitoring the flight status. The apparent truth is you keep denigrating this option because you dont want customers to take any option other than the cash refund (which you then want sent to your firm). I can reschedule to next year. Customer service is the WORST! And, this hotel was a truck stop on the M1. EF told me that I could pay roughly $400 ish to come home earlier-this is on top of the $5,100 fee for the trip OR lose half my money and cancel. It was so uncomfortable. The first thing to keep in mind is that there are alcohol restrictions with these tours. They have tarnished their reputation and people are not as comfortable traveling with them anymore. Share your photos and videos with others to prove the truth of your words. My son is (or perhaps was) traveling on an EF tour this summer with a very small group from our high school. The non-insurance Cancel for Any Reason waiver benefit provided by EF Educational Tours provides a cash refund for trip costs paid to EF Educational Tours for cancellation prior to departure. This whole company should be shut down. UPDATE ON EF CASES AS OF 1:00 PM PDST AUGUST 9, 2020. Benefits include: Choice of departure date. 15.06 and a full or partial refund pursuant to 940 C.M.R. Liability Coverage. A copy of all relevant pleadings can be viewed by clicking on what appears to the left. This company is a fraud and steals money from families. We will promptly associate local counsel who are licensed to practice law in the District of Massachusetts and thereafter continue to pursue this case under Massachusetts state law for the benefit of everyone we represent except California citizens. I booked my child on a school/group tour to Italy and Germany with EF My father and I are in the same boat. Dedicated Emergency Service and Incident Response Teams We heard nothing from this company even after covid-19 hit usa and threatened travel. Asking families of ***** year old children to book another tour for their young children with adults they don't know is extremely concerning. Beware. Policy terms, conditions, and exclusions apply. Joining the EF family means you'll have the support of our community of educators, tour architects, operations wizards, and ever-curious explorers. We were quoted a price and told the insurance was a great thing to have because with it you could cancel up to 24 hrs before the trip for a full refund minus the cost of insurance. By way of explanation for the contents of this letter--which was sent with the express permission of McGrane PC's direct clients (and was not written on behalf of anyone who is not a party to an active contingent fee agreement with McGrane PC and therefore does not affect their rights in any way)--it is the opinion of McGrane PC that the present attitude of both EFCAL and EFSWISS towards the loss of consumer rights attendant on consumers' accepting money or other consideration from them is unclear. Now that I see I cannot . Defendant, EF Travel, Inc., is a Massachusetts corporation having a principal place of business at Two Education Circle, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Then, you can't get through on the phone. They cancelled it - TWICE! It is nothing but a money grab from unsuspecting parents! I won't go into detail about our trip except to say our tour guide left half the group on several occasions, got us lost, left us in a hotel that's fire alarm system was going off in (our group leader also left us behind. Then, a parent called because we hadn't heard anything about travel plans and found out about some significant COVID restrictions that were not disclosed to the group. After only 3 days on tour Israel kicked everyone out because of Covid. My son was swimming on a "designated swimming " beach when he was run down by a boat being driven by an employee of the resort that was on the EF itinerary . I can supply all correspondence that my group coordinator had. I want all of my money refunded as it is the right thing to do. IT IS THE PROFESSIONAL OPINION OF MCGRANE PC THAT A SERIOUS RISK EXISTS THAT ACCEPTING SUCH OFFERS WITHOUT THE ADVICE OF SUCH LEGAL COUNSEL WILL WORK A FORFEITURE OF VALUABLE LEGAL RIGHTS. My mom had to put hotel rooms for 30 students in her credit card. I was just on an EF tour to Portugal and I can honestly say it was horrible. Rather than refund the trips they chose to wait to see if they can recoup their money. We were also promised to be able to be in walking distance from our hotels to the big cities in the countries we were staying in however in each country we were at minimum one hour away from the cities. Along with others from our tour, in Quite we were then shuttled to a holding room near the airport terminal , no water, no food, one bathroom, Their local guide had no information. There are several hidden fees which totaled $1,300! Background checks on adult travelers I replied to your text last Thursday but forgot you were in Columbia, so thank you for letting me know. EF TOURS IS A COMPLETE FRAUD. Filed against EF Institute for Cultural Exchange, Inc. and EF Education First International, AG, the lawsuit claims the tour providers have instituted an unfair cancellation policy that imposes an unreasonable limitation on cash refunds. One of the destinations was an Island called Tortuga. EF Educational Tours Reviews | Read Customer Service Reviews of www.eftours.com Travel & Vacation Activities & Tours Tour Agency EF Educational Tours EF Educational Tours Reviews 4,382 Excellent 4.3 VERIFIED COMPANY www.eftours.com Visit this website kharden 1 review US 2 days ago DO NOT USE EF Tours! Protection for your belongings and subject matter experts who understand On February 5, 2021, defendants EF Institute for Cultural Exchange, Inc. (EF Institute), EF Education First International, Ltd. (EF International), and EF Explore America, Inc. (EF America) filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint (Dec 7, 2020). ", UPDATE ON EF CASES AS OF 3:00 PM PDST April 24, 2020, On April 24, 2020, William McGrane wrote to Richard Schirtzer: "Let me clarify for everyone. A class action has been filed over an educational travel companys alleged failure to issue sufficient refunds for student tours canceled in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. UPDATE ON EF CASES AS OF 12:00 PM PST FEBRUARY 14, 2023. I also was being charged late fees even though I changed my payment plan. For over 55 years, weve dedicated ourselves to one global mission: Opening the World Through Education. However, EF Tours will override the plan and refuse your refund. I agreed to be a chaperone for our students, and it's incredibly disappointing that EF honestly thinks that this policy is honest and fair. 4. They simply refuse to refund your deposit. This plan includes coverages that can provide a benefit in the unlikely event a traveler should need to return home unexpectedly due to a natural disaster or unrest. I called EF and they directed me to the insurance company-which is an absolute rip off. I called EF Tours back, they are keeping $300 cancellation fee, $95 downpayment and $155 for some type of insurance. Seems a little steep for cancelling a trip that is still almost 2 years away. Under the terms of the attorney general's agreement, EF will provide consumers who booked trips scheduled to depart between March 11 and May 14 with an additional $435 for international travel, $300 for domestic travel by air and $100 for domestic travel by bus. Building tours that go beyond expectation. Trip Interruption coverage The company has had my money for almost three years, because I fairly adopted a wait and see to travel. UPDATE ON EF CASES AS OF 2:00 PM PDST OCTOBER 23, 2020. If a traveler needs to interrupt a tour due to serious injury or illness, this provides a benefit. A freaky feel to it. Flights had been re-booked. McGrane PC. I sent the letter and will contact them again Monday to try and get answers. They are so many other excellent companies out there. Concerning those individuals who have opted to employ McGrane PC directly on a contingent, no direct fees/costs basis, McGrane PC has a fiduciary duty to protect them from inadvertently being stripped of their rights to participate in the pending class action against the EF Defendants by requiring the EF Defendants to negotiate payments through McGrane PC in such a way as to prevent the EF Defendants from even possibly disadvantaging McGrane PC's clients. COVID-19 required everybody to be quarantined. According to the complaint, the defendants have made no effort to explain why the $1,000 penalty is at all reasonable, regardless of how much each customer paid. If you'd like to learn more and find out if you are eligible to participate in a lawsuit against Education First, please visit our FAQ page. EF Go Ahead Tours is a brand under the EF Tours group that offers both guided and fully customizable tours to destinations worldwide. Looking ahead. Sign up for ClassAction.org's newsletterhere. This is ridiculous and really wrong. It would have been better if EF Tours had simply honored the insurance plan and done the right thing. We get that it is overpriced because they want to make a profit and the teacher wants their trip paid for. Due to traffic and bad timing we traveled. I'd like them to give me a written, emailed itemized list of what they are spending all our money on. -Sandra Joubarani. With Genesis and Atomic blocks, you can build beautiful, powerful websites in minutes with our robust theme framework and professionally-designed sections and layouts. Before commenting, please review our comment policy. Subject: RE: Darianne Hicks reimbursement I am out of $4,200.00, what is EF Tours out of??? In what universe is this considered acceptable?!?!?!? Get the latest on closing arguments in the Alex Murdaugh case, charges for a college football star and a settlement over photos taken after a helicopter crash site killed Kobe I overlooked all that because it was time spent with my daughter. v. EF Institute for Cultural Exchange, Inc., et. I have requested my money back. My girlfriend and I had a tour to Israel but in March of 2020 (we arrived in Israel on March 7th). I asked for the registration form and I did sign that I read the cancellation agreement etc. These itineraries are your answer. 4. Subject to policy limits and exclusions. This is a terrible company. Or they can redeem it for any other EF travel product. Meet your people Trip delay coverage Your ultimate motive for trying to deprive customers of the other options being offered is transparent. Provided to all groups departing through September 30, 2022. I was so angry but nothing was done about it. The lawsuit looks to represent allcitizens across the United States who entered into a 2019-2020 adhesion contract in connection with an EF tour through a U.S. high school that was scheduled to leave after January 31, 2020 but has since been canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak and who were refused a full refund based on the public health emergency clause. When students go beyond the Camp Lejeune residents now have the opportunity to claim compensation for harm suffered from contaminated water. Meet Carlos, an expert local guide First the trip increased in price from the original amount 3 times due to tours that were added on at no option to us. If I can get any student considering this company to stop, I will. We went ahead and waited. They also facilitate communication between travelers and families in the event of an emergency at home. Yet I received a check in the mail for $300 before I could talk to someone. I worked on the building and had to be in the offices every 3 months for 2 years. A situation completely out of the control of myself and other families. A most unsatisfactory and life changing (m for the worse) experience. Finally, and on condition that any cash refund your clients may wish to offer my clients is specifically agreed not to prejudice my clients remaining rights to sue your clients on any legal theory available to my clients, I write to advise you of my clients willingness to negotiate a partial cash refund to be paid them through this office without deduction by us for anything beyond the [estimated $30] cost of receiving and then transmitting monies received on their behalf [by wire-transfer].". This is a class action lawsuit for monetary and equitable relief arising out of Defendants' . I asked for management and she stated there was no one I could speak with. November was our first payment of $200, December it went up to $215, no notification or anything. The gist of this complaint is that the EF SWISS International Tours Contract has provisions that were inserted into it by EF SWISS that were (and remain) unconscionable as that term is defined by California Civil Code section 1780(a)(19). Four girls were placed in a room with one queen sized bed and two twin mattresses on the floor in London. Of course our trip was rescheduled for another year due to COVID. As a single mother or two, I used my savings ($8, 336.00) to give my daughter a graduation gift of travel and experience. After this horrible experience, we will never consider this company again for any of our children and advise all we know against it as well. Individual Coverage The travel company canceled tours for the 2020-2021 school year in light of the pandemic, and over the past year altered its refund policies. Here's my EFTours experience: 1.I have been on 3 EFTours and have another planned for next summer. cash refund for the unused trip. We would like a refund of cash to use for real educational purposes. Said she would pay for it herself as the total cost for her to go alone would be enough to take my entire family on a nice vacation. Not only did I make a complaint to the Better Business Bureau but I also requested that a manager call me and I have yet to hear from anyone. The Global Travel Protection plan includes insured components that are underwritten by US Fire Insurance Company and cancellation fee waivers provided by EF Educational Tours. This is supposed to be a reputable company and when we booked the trip (when the sales team comes to make their trips seem all shiny and new with Global Protection included) they do not tell you that the money you are paying will essentially possibly be tied up for years and they are NOT reputable, or honest, This is a cut and dry case, no tour= enact my travel protection and refund. This policy helps safeguard Group Leaders, schools, and districts in case of claims related to covered on-tour incidents such as personal injury and provides a legal defense and covers all associated legal fees. We were told we would receive a check from Ef Tours in 2 to 4 weeks for approx. This company is a scam. Protection for your belongings They want to keep $1000 each child therefore I will loss $2000. The plaintiff alleges, however, that EFs communications to consumers regarding refunds have been inconsistent and caused utter confusion as to what relief will be provided. 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