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EF Tours

United States

Consumer complaints and reviews about EF Tours

Jeff02472 Send email
 
Mar 26, 2021

Non Whites need not apply

Has anybody been to the office of EF? I worked on the building and had to be in the offices every 3 months for 2 years. It took me to every floor and A) the offices are gorgeous! B)there are about 1,000 people in the building and I have yet to see anyone that wasn't white as the driven snow. But their ads sure reflect diversity! :? They are in trouble financially and that is ok with me!!! IS this the only forum about this place?
Jeff02472 Send email
 
Mar 26, 2021

AF

Has anybody seen anyone of color working in their offices? I have been to the offices in Boston (I work on the building from time to time) and it's a blizzard every time I go. A freaky feel to it.
ksumpter Send email
 
May 1, 2020

EF Tours - Theft

This company is a fraud and steals money from families. Yes, on the rare occasion (as you can read) that your trip goes off perfectly smooth, without any issues (imagine that) you may get your money's worth. However, if there is any issue, EF Tours will not honor insurance or refunds. Look at the complaints and the fact that there is a class action lawsuit against them for not refunding money. People are required...LISTEN...required to purchase the Global Protection Plan. When something goes wrong, you thing you are covered. However, EF Tours will override the plan and refuse your refund. Hence the lawsuit (in CA 2020, look it up). COVID-19 required everybody to be quarantined. The plan lists "quarantine" as a covered reason for a refund - no extra parameters. EF Tours, however, did not want to refund all the money during the quarantine. So they offered vouchers that were only good for up to 18 months...UP TO 18 MONTHS! If you wanted a refund, there was a fee. Yes, even though quarantine is a covered reason for a full refund, EF Tours CHARGED members $$ a significant amount of money thus negating a full refund. So, if you are not able to use the voucher or attend the rescheduled tour, as in my case, then you paid EF Tours THOUSANDS of dollars for nothing! This has happened all over the US and people are not standing down. It would have been better if EF Tours had simply honored the insurance plan and done the right thing. They have tarnished their reputation and people are not as comfortable traveling with them anymore.

EF Tours - Theft

kizysha Send email
 
Mar 20, 2020

EF Tours - Stealing Our Money

Spring break trip with the school for my two boys to go to Greece and Italy this year. I struggled to pay for this trip and now after paying for travel insurance also they are denying full refund. They want to keep $1000 each child therefore I will loss $2000. They should be ashamed of themselves. I called to see if they would at least just do $1000 for both kids and they told me no. The school uses them for all there spring break trips and this is very disappointing that they are doing this to us. They are basically stealing our money and find this to be okay. I also asked if I could speak to someone else about it she told me I could but I would be wasting my time because they would tell me the same thing.
joefidel Send email
 
Mar 13, 2020

FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD

EF TOURS IS A COMPLETE FRAUD. I don't even know how it is legal to have these moron bastards do business. Why is no one investigating them for fraudulent business practices, deceptive practices, false advertisement, etc, etc, etc?? 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. HOW CAN THIS BE LEGAL??? I have traveled extensively with Expedia, always buy travel insurance, and am covered for any thing, from war to terrorism, to a pandemic. But the idiotic folks at EF Tours says since this was "unforeseen", we are not covered. Well isn't that what insurance is for??? the unforeseen. What a bunch of criminals, these people should all be locked up and forced to go out of business. I am out of $4,200.00, what is EF Tours out of???
Mj76123 Send email
 
Feb 22, 2020

Horrible business practices

Have had 2 separate travel experiences with EF. The first was in 2018. I booked a trip with our homeschool "trip club" to do EF's Great Britain tour with a 2 day extension to Paris. About 3-4 months before our trip, and after we had already paid IN FULL, we were notified that because of our small group, our group leader had only signed 5 people up.....hindsight tells me people saw what a rip off it was and didn't sign up to take it in the rear from EF. Anyways, we were told the new trip was "similar/almost identical" to the one we had signed up for, but there would be no extension to Paris and it would be 2 days shorter. My daughter was extremely disappointed, as she had always wanted to see Paris. However, we had already paid and were still excited to be spending 2 weeks in Europe together. When I called about a refund for the extension being taken off I was told by customer service "They make the cost even out." So, no refund. (Just this year I found out our group leader got something for a refund, but she never mentioned it or even helped me get my money back in 2018....thanks for that.) 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. She was more worried about herself and her family I guess. They even bragged later about being the first one's out on the street), the food SUCKED, and the time spent on the buses was more time spent in the actual locations. I overlooked all that because it was time spent with my daughter.
Now, my son and were booked on EF's Belle Italia tour leaving this April. (We signed up in October of 2018.) With our trip again completely PAID IN FULL, we were told that we were being transferred from our original 11 day trip with extension to Pompeii, for an 8 day trip only through Venice, Rome, and Florence. Our group leader actually grew some balls and stood up for us this time telling them that was NOT going to fly this time. (Now keep in mind parents, that group leaders will travel at discounted prices, if not for free, when they sign a certain amount of people up.) The lady in charge of our tour, Eliza Quigley, had to scramble to find a solution. We had a meeting with our group and were told "there's a refund in your EF accounts." WOW!!! VERY exciting, right? I thought they redeemed themselves from the last time! My refund was a hefty amount because I had already paid my trip off, so it was great to have extra spending money....or so I thought. Two weeks later I get an email saying my son and I both owe $460. What? I contacted our group leader and she says "Remember I told you not to count on that refund until everything was settled?" Um no. I remember you handed out email correspondence between you and Eliza that stated we would get the extension "at no additional cost" to us. And not just an extension, a "PRIVATE" one....sounds fancy right? Well after emailing Eliza myslef and getting no response, she's super busy you know, I started doing research. After texts and emails with our group leader and Eliza I found out the refund should not have been issued yet as we were still going to be charged $560/person for the extension but not charged for the "private" tour. (Apparently they charge another $600 for that for a grand total of $1160.) I once again emailed Eliza asking what special privileges we get for the "compensated" amount of this "private" tour and also inquired about a refund as I have not even left and I'm tired of EF's shenanigans. She only emailed me to let me know why we were being charged again. So I emailed her back, I get that part, but she didn't answer how/why this extension is so special. Upon researching I have discovered an average DAILY trip to Pompeii will cost around $134/person. If you stay in a hotel there overnight that will cost $121/couple. This amount is nowhere near what EF charges! You can also get a PRIVATE guided tour of Pompeii for $63/ person with a group maximum of 15 people. (That's how many people we have in our group this time.) So EF is charging our entire group $8400 for an extension that would cost us $2010!!!! HIGHWAY ROBBERY!!!! In my last email to Eliza I asked for a detailed list of expenses to try and justify this $560/person they are charging. Still waiting to hear from her, but I seriously doubt I'll get a detailed cost list. And lastly, the refund? Well I looked through their cancellation fees and at this point in the game I will be charged $2000/person JUST for the cancellation!!! That doesn't include any of their oh so famous hidden fees! If you are ready to blindly hand your money over, by all means book with EF. I would suggest you take the time to do some reasearch and book your own trip or find a company without so much fine print and red tape. EF IS NOT WORTH IT!!!
RegularFamily Send email
 
Sep 5, 2018

They stole my money

My oldest son was scheduled to take a school trip to Peru next year. His high school in the Parkway school district decided to book the tour through EF Educational Tours. The trip was booked for June of 2019. Unfortunately, I had to cancel his trip because my son switched schools and his old school district could not take a non student out of the country. This was saddening but completely understandable. 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. To date I paid $1063 on this trip to Peru and canceling it over 1 year in advance due to unforeseen circumstances has cost me $560. That means that I will receive less than half that amount back! Now I've fought this as much as I could. However, I was never allowed to speak with management. Whenever I called and asked for a manager, I was told that non were available and that they would call me when they became available. It has been no surprise that management NEVER called. As a working class family that was attempting to give our child a wonder experience, I am outraged that a company would gain such a profit off of a cancellation! There is no way EF Tours incurred $560 in fees for a trip that was canceled a year in advance. They are making a profit off of cancellations!!!! I am outraged and helpless. All I know to do is make this issue public.
MadDad Send email
 
May 9, 2018

Insane Cancellation fees

My daughter insisted on being signed up for her school trip in 2020. 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. We were told that other than the deposit and a small admin fee, all the rest of the money was refundable. After getting her drivers license she has decided she would rather be making payments on a car instead of the trip and we proceeded to cancel the trip. That's when we found out it would be around $800 to cancel. Seems a little steep for cancelling a trip that is still almost 2 years away. One thing is guaranteed. I will never, ever even consider sending any of my other kids on one of these trips. RIP OFF!!
alisonjen Send email
 
May 1, 2018

EF Tours does NOT support US Military Travelers

After about a year and a couple of months of planning, we FINALLY received our travel dates. In the meantime, I received notice that I would be required to attend a mandatory training evolution with the military and learned that the dates overlapped. I called EF and they directed me to the insurance company-which is an absolute rip off. They informed me that my type of service is not recognized and I would not be covered. I was told to call EF to see what my options are. 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. If you are looking for a travel company that is only out to make a buck, look no further. Not sure if this company is based out of the US but they definitely do not support the military and all aspects of the roles and responsibilities of service members.
alisonjen Send email
 
May 1, 2018

EF Tours does NOT support US Military Travelers

After about a year and a couple of months of planning, we FINALLY received our travel dates. In the meantime, I received notice that I would be required to attend a mandatory training evolution with the military and learned that the dates overlapped. I called EF and they directed me to the insurance company-which is an absolute rip off. They informed me that my type of service is not recognized and I would not be covered. I was told to call EF to see what my options are. 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. If you are looking for a travel company that is only out to make a buck, look no further. Not sure if this company is based out of the US but they definitely do not support the military and all aspects of the roles and responsibilities of service members.
Love to travel Send email
 
Jan 13, 2018

True!!

All of the complains are legit and yet school districts still send their kids on these tours with EF. They are so many other excellent companies out there. EF claims that they are the least expensive...You get what you pay for. Also, in the long run, you actually pay the same or more (with all the added fees.) as the premier companies.
Victoria H Send email
 
Dec 1, 2017

My child’s teacher cancelled my kid for no reason from EF tour to PAris, London and Dublin without notifying me(single mother)

Recently I was notified by EF Tours that my child was cancelled from the tour after paying off almost whole trip price. The teacher wouldn’t return my phone call, or emails. Ms. Alaina Kommer from Grant High School does only think about herself and her travelling experience. I had to also pay $500.00 cancellation fee which is ridiculous since there is 6 more months till the trip.
EF tour and teachers who are chaperones are “Good Buddies “. Ef tour making money on cancellation fee without spending a dime and teacher-chaperones enjoying their Europe tours for FREE making US parents pay for it . It doesnt matter if you a single parent and struggling to send your kid to see other country or just to have good 10 days of their summer vacation.

Shame on EF tours that taking money from hard working parents and spending on Teacher’s pleasure /vacation.
I will report them to BBB and will keep fighting for my hard earned money.
Julia M Send email
 
Nov 22, 2017

EF TOURS

We put a deposit down and also the registration fee $199 plus $500. We need to cancel due to medical and we were told we loose close to $800. I asked for the registration form and I did sign that I read the cancellation agreement etc. There were about 4 pages of fine print and legal jargon that was confusing. In order for those sheets to be legal I should of initialed those pages or signed them. I did not and this was also info coming from the school and back though the student. They also charged me $189 for insurance I declined. They make go in circles and have excuse after excuse. They won't tell you which airline or which hotel you will be staying at. The reviews of the food were always " not enough food and mediocre food". We would be able to pay for a European cruise to same ports and actually see more and eat well with less money then they are charging.
I will be bringing this to the Better Business Bureau and jsut grateful we didn't spend more money on such a waste of cash grab company. Shame on them taking advantage of young kids. The trip is next year but doesn't matter how long you will still be charged outrageous amounts of insurance, non refundable deposit AND CANCELLATION FEES!
[email protected] Send email
 
Jul 29, 2017

EF tours Dangerous destinations

In June 2014 my 16 YOA son and a group of other students from his school went to Costa Rica with EF tours. One of the destinations was an Island called Tortuga. 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 . The swimming area was not separated in any way from boat traffic, nor was my son warned about possible boat traffic. My son received life threatening injuries and had there not been a physician along as a chaperone my son would have died. There were no medical facilities available on this resort, and it was necessary to have my son medically evacuated back to the states to receive treatment. It was necessary for a family member to go to Costa Rica. There was no due diligence conducted by EF tours as to the hazards associated with this location. In addition the insurance company retained by EF initially declined to pay to have my son evacuated from Cost Rica. A most unsatisfactory and life changing (m for the worse) experience.
Xxyyzz Send email
 
Jul 27, 2017

Unsafe drivers and hotel

Unsafe !! Drivers and hotel unsafe !!
B and B hotel in Caen had an 8 foot locked fsecurity fence
Had 6 inch mattress on ply wood
Drivers and guides spoke different languages
For days Guides yelling at drivers
8 foot security fences around hotel
Filthy silverware at many resturants
Tourist spots we were told were open were closed
Poorly planned bus routes many group members left to find eatable food
cyndiwright Send email
 
Jul 14, 2017

Safety

I have been a group leader with EF for 10 years and they have been getting so bad that I will no longer travel with them. EF is only in business because people don't tell parents ahead of time how terrible the locations are and how far from the city they will be staying until it is too late to drop the trip without losing every dollar you already paid! It is a total scam! Four students are continuously placed in rooms meant for two people. Four girls were placed in a room with one queen sized bed and two twin mattresses on the floor in London. One student got up in the middle of the night and tripped on the mattress and smashed her head into the wall. She had a black eye and blood in her eyeball for the entire trip. EF was never concerned about her health or welfare and only accused her of being drunk so they could dodge any responsibility. Four boys were also booked in a room in London with only a king sized bed! I hope your child knows that they will be sharing a bed with their roommates even if they are traveling with another school. And, this hotel was a truck stop on the M1. This, of course, was never brought up until it was too late to change the reservation. 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. I was so angry but nothing was done about it. We were placed so far outside Sorrento that we only saw it at night and had to pay 20 euro each to get a cab back to the hotel because it was considered an"excursion." I was told we should have paid extra if we wanted to be IN Sorrento. So, even the itinerary is a lie! I could honestly go on for 10 pages about the terrible food and the fact that you will only be given warm milk, cereal, coffee and last night's rolls for breakfast every day! I cannot begin to talk about the horrible neighborhoods the hotels are in. 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. DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD ON AN EF TRIP!!
aprilcatina Send email
 
Apr 17, 2017

cancellation fees are absurd!!

I cancelled my daughters trip to Greece. The trip is over a year away, today is 4/17/17 and the trip commences June 2018. Why am I being charged a total of $550 in cancellation fees? Out of that $550, $95 is the none refundable deposit but come on, the rest if ridiculous, especially when the cancellation request is made OVER A YEAR in advance. What can we do with this company? They need to be outted with their unfair business practices. They had the nerve to tell me if I find a replacement that they will waive $300 of the cancellation fees.
shockedmom Send email
 
Feb 24, 2017

Inappropriate arrangements

My son is (or perhaps was) traveling on an EF tour this summer with a very small group from our high school. Our school will be traveling with three other schools from different parts of the country. Evidently, just before the drop deadline, the other boys in our group dropped out because of cost, and he's the lone boy traveling from our school with a group of girls. I was told by the EF Tours representative that he could room with boys from other schools or upgrade (at an additional $90 per night!) to a single room. I didn't think sharing was a big deal until I found out that he's expected to share a ben with a complete stranger. In what universe is this considered acceptable?!?!?!? 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. My son didn't create this problem, and it's not his fault. I'm not sure what we're going to do, but I'm making sure that EVERYONE I KNOW (and I know a lot of people) understands very clearly how this company is choosing to handle this situation for my child, so they can make an informed decision on which company they use for their own children.
sarahbell.tx Send email
 
Dec 3, 2016

EF Tours - Crooks! $1100 cancellation fee

I registered my son and I to go on a tour in June 2017. Three weeks after enrolling, our circumstances changed so I called to cancel, expecting to pay the $95 cancellation fee x2.

I was informed that the cancellation fee would be $550 per person. Rather than lose $1100, I offered to go on a different tour at another time and have my money applied towards that trip. I was informed there were no other trips in my area for me to join, they had done all they could do to assist me. Mind you, this was after I called three separate times in order to resolve the issue in a manner beneficial to both myself and the company. Twice I was told the manager would return my call to discuss, which never happened. The last representative I spoke with raised his voice to me when I pressed him to find an alternative tour. I was told EF tours has done all they can do, they are out of options, and there would be no refund.
DELDDB2 Send email
 
Oct 24, 2016

Cancellation Policy scam

My daughter wanted to go with members of her class on this great trip with EF tours. She signed up October 1 and we had to cancel Oct 14 due to conflicts with my work schedule. however, in the 2 weeks that we were enrolled we had made payments amounted to $800. Per the cancellation policy, there is a $95 non-refundable charge and a $300 cancellation fee. While not happy with that amount I understood. 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). So talking to the customer service representative, I asked how if we hadn't paid so much into the trip that they would be receiving that much back in fees. I was told that they only charge whats been deposited. 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. Yet I received a check in the mail for $300 before I could talk to someone.
rdoyalmeyer1 Send email
 
Oct 16, 2016

EF Tours Abroad

I have seen some recent reviews for EF Tours and wanted to share my experiences for those who may consider using this company for a tour. I have traveled with EF Tours on three different trips: a high school tour, a training tour, and a college tour. The first thing to keep in mind is that there are alcohol restrictions with these tours. Only the EF Go Ahead Tours allow alcohol for adult travelers.
Let’s start with the high school tour. I signed up to travel to Ireland, Wales, England, and France with my sister’s high school. I had never traveled abroad before and wanted to see what the program was like before I lead my own tour group. There was a delay in Chicago with our departing flight. EF Tours does handle issues relating the airlines they use for travel. It is up to the group leader to make arrangements for hotels, meals, and other flights. This is not something EF explains to potential group leaders. Our group leader handled the problem, and EF gave each of us a refund for the tour day we lost due to the delay. The hotels were clean and the meals were good. I had a wonderful time and felt prepared to lead my own tour.
I signed up to lead a group tour of Ireland, Wales, and England. In order to prepare for my tour, I was signed up for a training tour in Barcelona, Spain. It was only a weekend, and it was quite enjoyable. For training, EF sets up group leaders in the higher end hotels and restaurants the company uses. These tours are in no way indicative of the hotels and meals you will get on a regular tour. The only issue was again with the airline. We were delayed from Barcelona to Newark and got stuck in Newark for two days. EF did nothing to accommodate us, citing it was an airline issue. The airline did reimburse me later for the cost of meals and lodging. Despite these issues, I was looking forward to traveling with my group.
I traveled to the same countries: Ireland, Wales, and England; however, it was different from my previous tour, and we were able to see more sights. I was told that since it was a college tour that we would be staying in hotels in the city center for each area we traveled to while on tour. This was not the case. We were house outside of the major cities we toured. This was due to EF’s policy of not booking rooms until the last minute. We were due to be in Dublin, Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day. Unfortunately, so was half of the free world. There were no hotels with available rooms in the city center, and we were housed forty-five minutes from Dublin. We were also dropped off on the outskirts of Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day, since the busses could not make it into the city, and were told to find our own transportation back to the hotel at our cost. The hotels in Ireland and Wales were clean and the meals served were descent. London was a hot mess with a horrible bed and breakfast in zone six. The company argued that we were still in London. London has seven zones. Zone seven is practically at the airport.
Another issue we encountered was the non-alcohol policy. My tour was not only college students, but staff and faculty making up half of the group. I was not informed of a non-alcohol policy by the person who signed me up to lead the tour. This was the first time the tour director and I had a disagreement. After that, she was not helpful and at times bordered on belligerent. There was a family traveling with my group. The husband had knee problems and could not walk far or fast. I had previously spoken with the tour consultant regarding the need for a slower pace. She assured me the tour director could accommodate him. I then spoke with the tour director who promised she would be careful to see to everyone’s needs. The first time we had a walking tour in Dublin, she left him and a small group which opted to stay back with him. I stayed with the smaller group, and spoke with the tour director later about the problem. She made excuses and promised to do better. While we were in London it happened again. There was a marathon going on near our hotel, and the bus driver claimed she could not get to the hotel. We were to walk two or three blocks to get to her. The short walk turned into twelve blocks of speed walking. I couldn’t keep up due to leg cramps and was left behind. A small group stayed with me. The family group had signed up for a tour of Windsor Castle and had to try and keep up with the group. I was told later that the wife, after enduring all she could, got into a confrontation with the tour director. The next day, our tour guide for Bath made some very hateful comments about handicapped travelers needing to stay on the bus if they couldn’t keep up. I was furious. The tour guide had never met my group before, so the tour director had to have made comments to the tour guide and bus driver.
The tour guide was unprofessional for the remainder of the tour. I complained to EF but was told that she was one of their best tour directors and had been with the company over twenty years. This experience has led me to refuse further trips with EF Tours. These tour directors, tour guides, and bus drivers receive very nice wages in the form of the expensive tips travelers are required to pay along with their travel fees. This particular tour director made over $3500 just from our group alone for a ten day tour. This is another thing they do not tell you before you sign up. Tips average about $125 per traveler and are required. Before planning a trip with EF or any tour company, look at reviews and discuss hidden costs, such as cancellation fees. If someone is complaining, there is a good chance the complaint is legitimate. I wish that I had read more reviews before signing up to lead a tour.
AmyB Send email
 
Jun 15, 2016

Flight Cancel

My mom is part of a tour departing for a 10 day trip to Europe. 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. My mom had to put hotel rooms for 30 students in her credit card. If not for her, 30 of your kids would be sleeping in the airport for two nights in a row since their new flight to London has a huge 13 hour layover. Two straight hours of calling the ef tours emergency hotline and no still no answer.
jay 0u812 Send email
 
May 28, 2016

Cancellation Policy

Wife and daughter were planning to go on a trip to Italy in over a year. Wife has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and will not be able to make this trip. Was informed of the price to cancel was $199 not the $95 listed. Also told cancellation fee is now $400 not the $300 listed. Was told that in total I will lose the $749 each person as we also will lose the Global Travel Protection Plan amount as well.

Thanks EF for taking $1489 out of the pocket of a woman fighting for her life and daughter who has to stay home to help.

Great news you will not get one cent from any of my 4 sons who would have been on trips in the future.

.
savannaaa Send email
 
Jul 23, 2014

Entire trip gone wrong!

I went on my trip June 11, 2014-June 25, 2014. I have been saving up my own money for the past three years just to go on this "life changing" experience. I was super excited to go experience 6 countries however from day one everything seemed to go wrong. Some of it was just bad luck however I feel like most of it was EF tours being lazy and not trying to help make the experience the best that it could have been. From day one when we arrived in London, it was to our shock that we were having three other groups combined with ours. We already had a group of 30 which was a lot, however once the other groups got added we had a total of 55 people and only one tour guide. As you can imagine the difference between 0 and 55 is immaculate and only caused problems throughout the entire trip. Not only could we barely keep up with the tour guide, but we could not hear him due to he gigantic group and we had to stop every 5 minutes to make sure the entire group was there. 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. Imagine being in London not able to tour anything because you don't have the proper tour bus that you were promised???we were then offered a tour of a castle which was supposedly a make up gift from ef tours for the bus situation however, once we got there we only had about 45 mins- an hour to tour the entire castle. Which btw the ticket was $100!!! What a waste of time and money. We also were traveling to all the countries during the world cup. It seemed cool at the time however most countries either had the shops and food places shut down early or be completely closed due to the big games. I just felt like it should have been planned better. Also out of all four excursions throughout the trip, THREE OF THEM WERE CANCELLED! Seriously, that was suppose to be the best part?!?!?! We also had the unfortunate luck of awful traffic. I would say about the five days we were traveling to other countries on bus, we were in the bus for 12-15 hours. Due to traffic and bad timing we traveled. It felt like a complete waste of time to travel and waste that many days. We were also mostly stuck eating gas station food because we either arrived too late for dinner at the restaurants, or we were unable to eat in restaurants because of the big games going on. I feel like everything was rushed. We did not have enough free time (which we were promised). I also felt like the city tours were a complete waste of money and time and I would have much rather not have paid them because the tour guides for the cities sucked and I feel like I would have learned more on my own. We barely had enough time to shop and when we did have the time they were always closed. 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. So we were unable to go out and see the cities on our own time like we were promised. I feel like EF tours did not take our interests and feelings into consideration and I feel like this trip was a complete waste of time and money. By the first week I was already begging to go home and I kept hoping, thinking and praying that things would get better however they never did....
disgruntled00 Send email
 
Jun 20, 2014

insurance fraud

we signed my son up for a trip to England , Paris, and Rome. 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. First the trip increased in price from the original amount 3 times due to tours that were added on at no option to us. We had to accept them. On May 1st I lost my job and we immediately contacted Ef Tours to cancel. We were told we would receive a check from Ef Tours in 2 to 4 weeks for approx. $900 which we did. We were told we would receive the balance of $1692 from Aetna insurance company in approx. 8 weeks.It has been 8 weeks so my son contacted the insurance company and was told the money would be put back into our account between June 20 to 25th. On June 20th we called them to verify and were told our claim was denied and we wouldn't be receiving anything back from them. They said if we wanted to appeal we had to send them a letter from my company explain why I am no longer employed or show a death certificate that I died. And that wasn't even a full guarantee of a full refund. I am self employed so I had to send a letter stating that my business went under and this had created a hardship. Kinda defeats the whole concept of insurance. Against my better judgement. I sent the letter and will contact them again Monday to try and get answers. I can't believe they can demand reasons for dismissal even with all the Hippa Laws. I will not let this go if need be I will take them to court and sue there asses. This is the biggest scam ever. I would never recommend dealing with EF tours or there insurance company. EF Tours was contacted today also and there response was they aren't responsible for the insurance company. In my opinion they are if they hired them to insure these trips they should make good on there promises to get you to buy the insurance. They are all F-ing scum I hope all involved lose every penny they ever made and become homeless. SCUMBAGS!!!!!

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