People are requiredLISTENrequired to purchase the Global Protection Plan. Southwest canceled my son's flight to DC over Christmas vacation he was supposed to be there for New Year's. My daughter insisted on being signed up for her school trip in 2020. He gives the best guided tours of Spainand he inspired his family to become local guides, too. Our group leader and another chaperone attending the trip tested positive for covid and were unable to attend. 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. I would NEVER stay at a truck stop, nor would I deceive students into thinking they were going to be safe on a trip and then place them there. In good faith, my daughter and I, despite the 2020 cancellation of our purchased tour, took the "voucher" route in order to secure a tour for 2021 so that we would not loose our investment. Travelers can choose to enroll in one of the Global Travel Protection plans, both of which are designed specifically with EF travelers in mind. Earn benefits like one spot on tour for every six travelers you bring. I can reschedule to next year. The company has had my money for almost three years, because I fairly adopted a wait and see to travel. 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. On October 22, 2020, Boston-based co-counsel for McGrane PC send a demand letter to the EF Defendants (including EF Explore America Inc., which runs domestic tours) demanding a full refund under Massachusetts consumer protection law which Massachusetts consumer protection law appears to more directly address the requirement that such full refunds Below are a range of policies and programs designed to flex to meet our travelers specific needsno matter where they are in the planning process. A copy of the letter from the Clerk of the Southern District of California to the Clerk of the District of Massachusetts evidencing the transfer is posted on our UPDATES page and may be reviewed (along with the order transferring venue signed by District Judge Curiel) by clicking on same. The reviews of the food were always " not enough food and mediocre food". Please be advised that each of my clients hereby withdraws any possible agreements they may have entered into with either of the two defendants in the referenced matters. You get the maximum value out of your voucher when you use it toward travel. release my refund and return $500 cancelation fee. Then, you can't get through on the phone. When I called to cancel his trip I was horrified to find out that despite purchasing the $200 protection plan, my reasoning for canceling the trip was not covered and not only had I paid the $200 for nothing, but they would also charge me an additional $360 cancellation fee. DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD ON AN EF TRIP!! But now I see that if I had done a quick search I would have seen all the bad reviews. Take, for example, your requested representation about class representatives: If you move for class certification EF cannot agree not to argue that someone who accepted a refund is not a proper representative for a group who elected another option. Pursuant toCalifornia Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 7.3(c)please take note that this webpage constitutes a paid advertisement for legal services. My son is (or perhaps was) traveling on an EF tour this summer with a very small group from our high school. EF provides an exclusive Peace of Mind program to account for such situations. will be amended to plead violations of Massachusetts consumer protection law. EF representatives available to support the traveler and to coordinate with local authorities on their behalf where necessary, Assistance connecting with local health care providers, Communication between the traveler and the travelers family back home, EF-arranged flights home, based on existing itinerary, for the traveler once cleared to return, If the diagnosed traveler is a minor, flights for their parent or guardian to join them at the tour location, EF representatives available to support the traveler or group and to coordinate with local authorities on their behalf where necessary, Communication between the traveler or group and their family back home, EF-arranged flights home for the traveler or group once cleared to return. If the group does not travel on the original tour, travel on a revised tour, or receive a Future Travel Voucher, standard cancellation fees will apply. In addition to our standard Peace of Mind program, EF provides an exclusive COVID-19 Peace of Mind program for tours scheduled to depart between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2022, to account for situations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. When I called about a refund for the extension being taken off I was told by customer service "They make the cost even out." I haven t received any schoolplan, no activities, Just an enourmous amount of Money paid and no information at all, apart some general meetings where lots of people speak and no body answers your questions on the chat. I called EF and they directed me to the insurance company-which is an absolute rip off. Protection for your belongings Company never sent update on requirements for product and refuse to provide full refund. She had a black eye and blood in her eyeball for the entire trip. If a traveler needs to cancel a trip due to reasons specified in the plan, this reimburses non-refundable pre-paid payments. One of the destinations was an Island called Tortuga. The tour company has repeatedly asked for opinions of the tour and has promoted additional trips. My son is Flying with a Flight from Malpensa and he has to arrive at 3 am in the night to the Airport and apart from Plus, the staff in each office and school are trained to respond to a wide range of emergency situations. Please download the PDF to view it: Download PDF. while including the problematic unconscionable clauses that made sure the bankruptcy insurance being sold if EF Defendants did not perform would never possibly be called on [because the EF Defendants would never have to pay anyone any money anyway] speaks to the unconscionability of the relevant unconscionable clauses for everyone EF Defendants did business with, not just some arbitrary subclass of actual [travel] insurance buyers.Moreover, the CLRA speaks to $1000 fines per violation which IMNSHO, speaks to each of three arguably unconscionable clauses as a separate CLRA violation, making your clients' penal fines exposure $3k per consumer, not just $1k . Find out more details today at 1-800-438-7672. 2022 . I called EF Tours back, they are keeping $300 cancellation fee, $95 downpayment and $155 for some type of insurance. WE never want to travel with EF again and this is not acceptable. 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. EF Educational Tours is keeping $700.00 as a cancellation fee. al. If any location(s) included in the groups itinerary is newly designated as a Travel Advisory Level 4 by the U.S. Department of State; or a U.S. federal or state governmental authority has newly imposed a travel ban to your destination, or newly issued an order requiring a self-quarantine for travelers in your group upon arrival to a location on your itinerary or upon return home from a location on your groups itinerary; your Group Leader or the individual traveler will have the same Peace of Mind options set forth above. Not helpful. 3. I worked on the building and had to be in the offices every 3 months for 2 years. Please help us receive refund for this experience. Spring break trip with the school for my two boys to go to Greece and Italy this year. I understand that Will told her she should have received a discount but in a case like this where she became a chaperone at the very last minute, there is nothing we can do. Two straight hours of calling the ef tours emergency hotline and no still no answer. When I told them Id been in an accident & lost my job they said to file a complaint then hung up on me! Well isn't that what insurance is for??? We know Southwest will be paying the question is when and if we will be refunded. If I can get any student considering this company to stop, I will. Policy terms, conditions, and exclusions apply. What I didn't understand was the fact that they also charged $155 for some type of insurance (which is not apart of their cancellation fees). If you booked a trip like this as an adult, you would scream from the rooftops for a refund but since these are kids, apparently EF doesn't have to listen because there will be another crop of unsuspecting students waiting to go next year. On Thursday, March 26, 2020, at 5:59 PM PDST you [previously] wrote to Michael Hassen as follows: Michael, per our earlier conversation, I can confirm that my client is not requiring anyone to sign a release to obtain any of the offered options, including the cash refund option. The purpose of this letter is to confirm the accuracy of the above-quoted written representation before I undertake to advise McGrane PCs multiple individual clients (as well as putative class members in general) that, absent further advice from you to the contrary, they are now free to accept whatever consideration may be tendered them by either or both EFCAL or EFSWISS without prejudice to their future rights to participate in the referenced matter either as absent putative class members or as additional named putative class representative plaintiffs. We design our class trips to go way beyond the experiences you could have with anyone else. We were offered a wait and see attitude for the following year 2021 . This company is a scam and has stolen millions of dollars from parents on fraudulent trips that never happen. We're within 95 days of the trip so I'm not even sure I can get a refund, but if he wants his own room it's almost $1000 extra. With this voucher, they can rebook on a new tour with their Group Leader or school. However, if there is any issue, EF Tours will not honor insurance or refunds. According to the case, the defendants sold tours to public and private high school groups pursuant to a written contract of adhesion that contained what the complaint refers to as the No Public Health Emergency Cash Refund Clause. Under the clause, if an EF tour is canceled for public health issues or quarantine or threats of public health issues, the defendants will issue travel vouchers for the value of the money paid, excluding certain non-refundable fees, instead of providing cash refunds, the suit explains. In addition the insurance company retained by EF initially declined to pay to have my son evacuated from Cost Rica. There was a fellow passenger who had caused a few problems earlier in the trip and later on the trip, threatened me on the bus (literally cornered me in the back seat) and nothing was done. . Were covering: They also charged me $189 for insurance I declined. et. I signed on in 201920 when no restrictions were in force. This team also maintains direct communication with our Operations Safety & Incident Response Team to jointly solve issues as needed. They claim the $700.00 is money that was already spent to secure travel details. Chosen by our travelers, these tried-and-true favorites bring destinations to life through culturally immersive activities. Get connected We're here to help. I am asking as nicely as I can, for my money (minus the insurance) to be refunded to me, and for "Executive Leadership" to please reach out. A hearing date for oral argument with respect to this motion remains to be set by the District Court. My son didn't create this problem, and it's not his fault. UPDATE ON EF CASES AS OF 1:30 PM PDST April 12, 2020, On April 10, 2020, William McGrane wrote to Richard Schirtzer regarding Natalia Grabovsky, etc., et. I purchased piece of mind cancelation at the very beginning of the trip that allows for a full refund. :? The Education First Tour Class Action Lawsuit is Grabovsky v. EF Institute for Cultural Exchange Inc., et al., Case No. We were told there was no where we could go. EFs Emergency Service & Support Team is available 24/7 to resolve any issue, from a missed flight to a lost passport to more serious on-tour incidents. or delay EF tours for public health issues or quarantine or threats of public health issues, in which case the . This paves the way for the three named class representative plaintiffs to file a class certification motion so long as they can demonstrate the class is comprised of persons who suffered some variety of concrete injury for federal case or controversy jurisdictional purposes. I booked a trip with our homeschool "trip club" to do EF's Great Britain tour with a 2 day extension to Paris. Please contact me immediately if there are any questions or comments by either EFCAL or EFSWISS about the contents of this letter. We had to accept them. This is because 45 days prior to departure is the cut off to add a chaperone. That's when we found out it would be around $800 to cancel. UPDATE ON EF CASES AS OF 3:00 PM PDST May 15, 2020. That's sort of a release, isn't it? On Monday, April 20, 2020, Michael Hassen wrote to Richard Schirtzer regarding Natalia Grabovsky, etc., et. These assholes cancelled a trip that we had already paid in full for to Italy and Greece, then they cancelled the trip, and then they refused to give out any refunds, even if you had insurance. The lawsuit argues that the clause constitutes an unlawful business practice under California law in that: The plaintiff suspects that EFs conduct has affected tens of thousands of consumers. Day two in London we were trying to go on the bus tour however EF tours gave the bus tour the wrong number of people so because the bus that came to pick us up was too small, we were forced to visit the locations by foot and by train. EFs 2022 Global Leadership Summit There was no due diligence conducted by EF tours as to the hazards associated with this location. This whole company should be shut down. Looking ahead. Their initial flight was cancelled at 645pm and no one from ef tours was available to book overnight rooms so they could make their 6 am flight. Please DO NOT add attachments that contain your or other peoples personal information, if you dont want it to be visible to the public. Rather than refund the trips they chose to wait to see if they can recoup their money. however, in the 2 weeks that we were enrolled we had made payments amounted to $800. al. View Opportunities; Resources. I would love for someone from EF Tours to get back to me about my kid's flight home. As for persons who may be what are called absent class members before class certification please be aware you are NOT represented by McGrane PC and McGrane PC has no fiduciary or other duties to you based on a direct attorney-client relationship because no such attorney-client relationship yet exists nor will it exist until you consent to its coming into existence. I have requested my money back. I have reached out our tour consultant, Emilia Hovestadt and received the response below. Now that I see I cannot . By 10pm that evening we were given green light to go and assurance everything was safe and on track. Due to traffic and bad timing we traveled. A freaky feel to it. There are several hidden fees which totaled $1,300! I struggled to pay for this trip and now after paying for travel insurance also they are denying full refund. They do not respond favorably. I booked a tour in 2022 to Greece through Girl Scouts of America for 2024. This plan includes Trip Interruption coverage. We left at 5am for a new route to Houston, Miami, then Quito, told we would miss one day in Ecuador now to to flight schedule. A most unsatisfactory and life changing (m for the worse) experience. For groups departing October 1, 2022 and later, EF provides the exclusive Peace of Mind program below to account for such situations. Group tours EF Ultimate Break only provides group tours. I was so angry but nothing was done about it. Account #6297341 Readymade tours At present, EF Ultimate Break offers over 70 readymade tours for countries across the world. Help Center: Coverage and policy flexibility. 3:20-cv-00508-gpc-blm advising Mr. Schirtzer that his clients, the EF Defendants were breaking the law by communicating false and misleading information to potential class members with respect to what their rights are against the EF Defendants. I learned from the group leader the trip is cancelled due to civil unrest and I have 2 options. This program is automatically included for all travelers and can be enacted at the group level for any reason, including terrorism, pandemics, or other world events. Never again. I was just on an EF tour to Portugal and I can honestly say it was horrible. Date: Tue, Jun 28, 2022, 9:41 AM UK prioritizing Ukraine people over my Tourist VISA. That means that I will receive less than half that amount back! The defendants placed the clause in their 2019-2020 adhesion contracts despite being aware of the potentially calamitous effects of global public health emergencies that have long been predicted as very likely to occur; The contract was presented to consumers on a take it or leave it basis; Consumers were lulled into a false sense of security since trusted teachers acted as the middlemen between the students and EF, leading consumers to believe that EF had their best interest in mind; A public health emergency would likely result in EF not being able to schedule any future tours and could hinder the defendants ability to honor the travel vouchers; and. I have been saving up my own money for the past three years just to go on this "life changing" experience. 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. if this is how they treat us before the trip? Hands-on experiences and collaborations with experts in the field. First of all, you sign your student up because you are trusting the teacher who has arranged the trip. Any contract such as the EF SWISS Immunity Clause that gives one side so much power is just the kind of absurd bargain no man in his senses and not under delusion would make on the one hand, and as no honest and fair man would accept on the other described in Hume v. United States (1889) 132 U.S. 406, 411; see also Harper v. Ultimo (2003) 113 Cal.App.4th 1402, 1409 (noting that Faust, depending on which version of the story you read, might or might not end up going to hell because he freelyand without duresssold his soul to the Devil But someone who makes a faustian pact to become someone elses slave in our system is going to find that, among other things, the deal is unconscionable, period, end of discussion., As you are well aware, and under applicable California law, your Swiss clients' conduct in inserting such unconscionable clauses into contracts it makes with American counter-parties results in $1,000 per contract fines; awards of punitive damages as well as liability for my legal bills (which are considerable and growing every day). My first was as a parent going with my 15-year-old along with a group of about 20 kids (from a . For additional details regarding the insurance components of this plan, underwritten by US Fire Insurance Company, including coverage limits and a full list of exclusions, please visit this page. NBC 5 Responds has received dozens of complaints from families who say EF Tours, a travel company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is charging them a cancellation fee to get their money. I did not cancel this trip! EF Educational Tours Call 800-665-5364 to enroll. Defendant, EF Travel, Inc., is a Massachusetts corporation having a principal place of business at Two Education Circle, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Our people are your people. Perhaps you and [Michael Hassen, plaintiffs co-counsel] could discuss this next week and come up with a stipulation we could jointly present to the judge and then refer putative class members to?. The communication from EF Tours its grossly nonexistent and generic. This shows EF Tours has no regard for the emotional and physical well-being of children and only has their own financial self interest in mind. Their contact information can be found in the complaint below. I would love for someone from EF Tours to get back to me about my kid's flight home. IS this the only forum about this place? I am out of $4,200.00, what is EF Tours out of??? Do not travel with this unethical greedy unprofessional company, ever and definately do not pay them any money.
ef tours lawsuit