Q: I overpaid for my Celebrity cruise by $641. Why is my agent keeping my refund?
A: When Denise Elwell booked a Celebrity cruise, the last person she expected to have a dispute with was her travel advisor. But that’s exactly what happened. Celebrity overcharged her by $641 in a fairly complex transaction that involved discounts and gift cards, and her travel advisor simply kept the money — at least, that what it looked like to her.
“I have emailed my agent multiple times to check on the status of my refund,” she says. “He said he isn’t having any luck with Celebrity and is only offering credit towards a future booking with his agency.”
Elwell’s case raises a few questions:
+ What is a travel agent’s responsibility when a client overpays for a cruise?
+ Can the travel agent keep a refund due to the client?
+ What are the steps one can take to get deserved money back?
First, let’s find out what happened to Elwell.
“There was an overpayment”
Elwell had paid $4,823 for a three-night cruise to Mexico and the Caribbean on the Celebrity Summit. She made the arrangements through a local travel advisor. She also had a $300 reward credit applied to her booking.
After making her final payment, she received an email from the travel agent
“There was an overpayment,” she recalls. “I would be receiving a refund for $641. I had asked if it would be credited back to the credit card used for payment, but he said I would receive a check.”
Months went by, and Elwell didn’t receive her money. She repeatedly contacted her agent to inquire about the status, but he only offered a credit toward a future booking, claiming he was “not having any luck with the cruise line.”
Unhappy with this response, Elwell reached out to various organizations for help, including Celebrity customer service, the Better Business Bureau, the Illinois attorney general, and the American Society of Travel Advisors(ASTA). But Celebrity refused to discuss the issue with her directly because the booking was made through a travel agency.
What is a Travel Advisor’s Responsibility in an Overpayment Issue?
When a client books a cruise through a travel agency, that agency is more than a middleman handling a reservation. An agent is supposed to be a client’s advocate for that trip.
That includes ensuring that the pricing is accurate and that if a client overpays, that person gets a prompt refund. Travel agents, particularly those affiliated with a professional organization like the ASTA, are held to a high standard of ethical responsibility. In other words, they’re supposed to act in their client’s best interest, providing clear communication and resolving issues such as billing discrepancies.
If a client discovers they’ve overpaid for a cruise, the travel agent is generally responsible for following up with the cruise line or supplier to resolve the issue on their behalf.
In Elwell’s case, the reason for the overpayment was complicated — a combination of an improperly applied $300 credit and another billing error.
It was the travel agent’s responsibility to facilitate the refund and ensure it was processed back to Elwell’s original form of payment.
But the situation isn’t always clear-cut, and travel agents often face challenges when working with cruise lines. In Elwell’s situation, Celebrity was the ultimate source of the overcharge, but her agent failed to communicate effectively or actively pursue the refund process.
Instead, he told Elwell that he wasn’t having “any luck” with the cruise line and was offered only a credit toward future travel. Elwell believed the agent might have simply pocketed the money.
This leads to a crucial question.
Can the Travel Advisor Keep that Refund?
No, the travel advisor cannot simply keep a client’s refund unless that client explicitly agreed to something like a future travel credit.
Elwell’s case is eerily similar to Nartach Djepbarova’s airfare refund problem a few years ago. After Delta Air Lines canceled Djepbarova’s flight, Delta issued a full refund to the travel agency. But instead of the money being returned to the traveler, the agency kept it, citing “handling fees.” Just like Elwell’s situation, the agency was obligated to return the full refund to the customer — and after I gave it a nudge, it eventually did.
Travel agencies sometimes try to keep refunds by implementing a separate no-refunds rule, but that’s also wrong.
A travel advisor may only keep a portion of a refund if it’s to cover a valid commission or service fee. (The customer would know about that well in advance.) Otherwise, any refund for a billing error must go directly back to the client’s original payment method, which is usually a credit card or bank account.
Elwell’s frustration is understandable: although her agent assured her she’d get a check, no refund materialized. All she got was a future booking credit with the travel agency. To her, it appeared as if the agency was pocketing money from the cruise line.
This is a clear example of a travel agent failing in his or her responsibility to advocate for the customer and resolve billing disputes in a fair and transparent manner.
Steps toward Getting a Refund
If a travel agent has possibly mishandled a refund or billing issue, here are some steps clients can take:
+ Reach out to the cruise line directly. Even if the booking was made through a travel agency, cruise lines sometimes have policies that allow customers to resolve billing issues directly. The booking reference information should be handy and any communications with the agent available to cite during the call.
+ Blaze a paper trail. Keep a detailed record of all communications with all agent, including emails, phone calls, and any written statements about the refund. This will be helpful if there is a need to escalate the issue to a third party.
+ Escalate to a higher authority. If the travel advisor is unresponsive or unwilling to help, a client can consider filing a complaint with the state attorney general or the Federal Trade Commission, or can contact a consumer advocacy organization.
+ Complain to a travel industry organization. If the travel agent is a member of a professional association like ASTA, one can file an ethics complaint directly with the organization. Travel advisor organizations have strict standards, and they can often assist in resolving disputes between consumers and agents.
+ Sue. In rare cases, with all other options exhausted and a refund still not received, it may be necessary to take legal action in either regular or small claims court to recover funds. This should be a last resort, but it’s an option available in some jurisdictions. Another possibility: file a credit card dispute under the Fair Credit Billing Act. If she paid with a credit card, Elwell might have been able to recover her overpayment quickly.
In Elwell’s case, her best course of action was an escalation to Celebrity Cruise’s customer service department. When that didn’t work, she turned to several consumer protection agencies for help.
A few weeks later, Elwell received a check.
“I am pleased to advise you that I received a check from my travel agency for $641,” she wrote in an email. “It took just over a year to get this resolved.”
Elwell’s case serves as a reminder that all travel advisors are not created equal. Finding one who will act as one’s travel advocate is not easy. (Here are a few strategies for finding one.) It also highlights the necessity to holding agencies accountable for following through on promises and processing refunds in a timely and transparent way.
By Christopher Elliott
Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, journalist and founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems.
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