World Strides Travel Company / School

World Strides Travel Company / School

March 7, 2006

World Strides

590 Peter Jefferson Parkway Suite 300

Charlottesville, VA 22911

or P.O. Box 9033

Charlottesville,VA 22906-9033

(800) 468-5899

fax (434) 982-8748

WorldStrides sent Dennis to Loma Vista Middle School to sell a Washington DC trip on Dec 5, 2005. After his presentation I signed my son up to go. I paid a $50 deposit. When I received a bill it had an additional $144 for full refund guarentee insurance I didn't ask for so I called to have that taken off. Then my next bill had an additional $50(small group fee)+ $24(energy surcharge). I complained but was told they could do nothing about these fees even though I explained Dennis said there would be no hidden fees. I made my final payment on Jan. 31, 2006 without seeing any kind of itinerary and just going on faith in what the salesman had promised. On Feb 24,2006 I received a pending itinerary. I was very unhappy at the quality of services we were to receive. None of the airlines listed on their website was being used or the hotels promised. In addition the meals we were to be provided were McDonalds and other fast food places. Hardly the hearty meals in nice restaurants we were promised. We held a meeting on March 2,2006 and David Leneker from WorldStrides came. As a group we gave him our concerns and asked if it was possible to receive a full refund because we were so unhappy. We told him if we were not able to receive a full refund the ones who did not purchase the insurance would go ahead with the trip but not happily. He said he would check and get back to us. I attempted to access their website for an update on March 6,2006 and was given an error message saying my trip had been canceled. I called the next day and was told indeed it was canceled and I would receive no refund and no trip. They told me the group leader verbally canceled over the phone when I asked for a copy of the cancelation they received. However in their terms and conditions(which I didn't receive until Jan 24th) they kept telling me to refer to when I would call, states cancelation must be made in writing! So at this point they are not giving us a refund or allowing us to go on the trip. This is unacceptable.

Thank You, Natalie

Riverside, CA 92505

Click this link to e-mail the message author: Email User

Comment On This

Parents beware!

My special needs son who has post traumatic stress disorder from his early years prior to his adoption into our family was removed from the safety of his peers and other adults by El Cerrito Middle School teachers Steve Case and Jessica Johnson. He was not permitted to talk to his parents! He was taken by taxi to a hotel room 30 minutes away from his peers brought to a hotel room sequestered, interrogated and we were deprived of parental rights to communicate with him. Jessica Johnson had NYPD handcuff our son take him to the hospital and upon his return made him stay in the hotel lobby until I could arrive from California! He was without a bed for 44 hours. Although the attorney for Worldstrides Aaron Longo concedes that what our son was accused of has never been clearly stated or validated he does believe World strides followed proper protocol for questioning students during their trips!

When our son tried to call us from the hotel room he was clearly told by teacher Steve Case to put the phone down! Our son has suffered terrible mental health consequences as a result of this trip.

BEWARE World strides continues to claim this is proper protocol for their trips!

If you are interested in hearing the audio file post me and I will provide the link to the audio file but be sitting down as it is horrifying that this behavior is considered acceptable!

Comment On This

I am a teacher who has been leading student travel experiences for over 15 years. My current school has used WorldStrides for the last 23 years. I also used them at a previous school. I have done both the Washington, D.C. and Florida trips. We have never had any type of experience like the one described above. The finance office of WS goes to great lengths to help parents with any questions they might have. As far as food, almost everywhere we go is buffet because middle school kids are hungry! The very few times we have set foot in a McDonalds or similar was because there was just no where else to eat in the area or some unexpected event caused us to need a very quick turnaround. But that has only been just a fee times in all these years. The planning and execution of a WorldStrides trip is meticulous and I would not hesitate to let my own children travel with them. My most recent experience was to sample a trip to Costa Rica and it was AWESOME. Can't wait for some of our students to go on that trip.

Comment On This

I would like to comment on this complaint. I just returned home to California from an 8th grade trip to Washington D.C. with my daughter through World Strides. Yes, we did eat 2 times in 5 days at a McDonald's, each time for lunch. However, we also ate at other non-fast food restaurants, including Medievil Times, which is normally over $50 per person. I would like all to know that this was an AMAZING TRIP!!!!!! It was truly the trip of a lifetime. World Strides is FIRST CLASS. I am a wary and picky traveler and I would go anywhere in the world with World Strides. In fact, I'll be doing this same trip again in 2 years with my second daughter. Sorry you missed out on what I believe to be an unforgettable and excellent experience.