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

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Comment On This

Hello Natalie, My husband and I paid to send our daughter on the trip to Washing DC through Worldstrides. Our daughter was suppose to leave on June 20, 2008, but we received a phone call a few hours before the scheduled drop off at her school to inform us that the trip was "postponed due to mechanical issues". At the time, we were told that Worldstrides would accommodate by either extending or pro-rating the trip. We received another call advising that she would leave the following day and drop off time was 10:00 am at the school. Their flight was to leave LAX at 1:35 pm. I received a call from my daughter at 2:30pm advising that they were sitting on the airplane. I then received another call from my daughter at 5:30 pm advising us that they were leaving LAX at 6:00pm. My daughter and her group ended up staying overnight (without luggage) in Dallas, TX and were scheduled to leave Dallas for DC on June 22nd at 6:30am. My daughter then called to inform me that they had FINALLY arrived in DC at 12:30pm EST on June 22, 2008. We were PROMISED that Worldstrides would extend the trip to accommodate for delay in arrival. We then received a call on Monday, June 23rd to advise us that they would be returning home on Tuesday, June 24th due to Worldstrides being unable to find another return flight for the group. We paid over $1800.00 (with refund insurance) to this company for a trip that was 1 ½ days long. When we called to complain they advised us that they would accommodate and issue a refund of 1/3 of the trip. Over the weekend we received a check in the amount of $150.00. $150.00 out of over $1800.00 for this trip!!! When we called to complain this morning we were laughed at, verbally abused and treated like we were trash. Their customer service is horrible (being nice to describe their customer service). We were told that we should be satisfied with our refund considering that the group was able to do everything on the itinerary. It saddens me that this company is allowed to do business off of children. They say they provide an educational experience. On what, being sneaky and fraud families out of their hard earned cash? I really hope people read this and will think twice when Worldstrides comes to their school offering a �once in a lifetime opportunity� for their child. As for the person that replied to Natalie�s post, I wouldn�t doubt it one bit if that person worked for Worldstrides.

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.