To whom it may concern: I try not to complain about business practices unless the issue is extreme and in this case, I believe it is. I've used Liberty Travel in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and absolutely loved the service I received from them. The agent was extremely helpful, direct and courteous. When my family decided to take a trip to Jamaica my first thought was to use Liberty Travel even though my parents have an agent at a different company. My thinking was that I knew this company gave top notch service and vacations aren't cheap so I wanted to use the company - who in my mind - was the best. Approximately three weeks ago I called Liberty Travel at 1.888.271.1584 which transferred me to the branch in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. I thought I would get the King of Prussia branch but I figured it's the same company so it should have been fine. I asked a bunch of questions (but in hindsight, not enough) including “ if I find a cheaper price will Liberty Travel price match? ” The answer given to me by the agent was clear and to the point - “yes.” I called back a few days later because I forgot to ask how much the deposit was and after getting that cleared up I asked again about the price matching because I knew that different sites offer different prices and I wanted to make sure I was getting the best deal. The agent again confirmed that Liberty Travel price matches.
About 2 weeks later - on a Thursday - I called to book my trip. Because I booked over the phone, the contract was emailed to me for my signature and I had to send it back. I viewed the contract which states in part: “Cancellation fees will apply once booked - these fees may be up to 100% of total booking cost” “Price and availability: prices and availability quoted above are subject to change (at the sole discretion of our suppliers and are due to space sellout/demand) at any time until full payment has been revived and tickets have been issued” On Monday, only a few days later my parents called me stating that their agent contacted them stating that the hotel was running a sale and their trip will cost $300.00 than originally quoted. They received a quote from Destinationwedding.com for the same trip, the same dates, amount of people, the same room - EVERYTHING - exactly the same but for $300.00 cheaper so I called the agent at Liberty Travel that helped me and asked her about the price matching. Again she stated that they can price match but she'll need the quote which I immediately sent to her. She said she'll need to contact her manager and she'll get back to me the next day. She mentioned that the original quote given to my parents was from a previous date so I let her know the original quote was from a previous date BUT their agent changed the quote because the hotel was running a sale and I wanted the sale price. I was highly upset because the tone of her voice made me feel as if she had no intention of price matching so I told her that if the trip couldn't be price matched I would cancel. She informed me that they booked through Apple Vacations who would keep my deposit if I canceled the trip. I asked for the phone number to Apple Vacations so I could confirm that information for myself. The agent gave me: 1800-517. I called this number and the customer service representative who I spoke to stated that there was a $45.00 cancel fee but that was it. They wouldn't keep my entire deposit since I would be canceling so early. At this point I felt as if I was being misled by Liberty Travel but I wanted to see what the manager was going to say.
The next day I received a call from the manger and she informed me that they only price match at the time of booking - not after and it says that on the contract. Additionally, she let me know that Liberty Travel books the best price and the lowest price which clearly isn't the case if someone else booked the same vacation for $300.00 cheaper. A few things I wanted to point out: first, when I spoke to the travel agent (on multiple occasions) she said no such thing in regards to price matching only prior to booking. Secondly, nowhere in the contract does it state that price matching only occurs at the time of booking. We went back and forth on that issue until I asked about the cancelation policy. Clearly she was not going to honor what her agent told me and I don't like doing business with dishonest companies so I wanted to cancel the trip and book elsewhere. She told me that in order for me to cancel I would need to forfeit my deposit because that was the policy for Apple Vacations. I let her know that I called Apple and they told me something different and she then said that it was Liberty Travel's policy. At this point, I'm certain that Liberty Travel has misled me. First I was told that a price match could be done if a cheaper price was found. The ONLY time I was told that policy is valid before booking only was after I booked.in my opinion, failure to disclose information is the same as lying. Then I was told I couldn't get my deposit back because of APPLE's policy but according to Apple, that was also a lie. Then I was told it was Liberty Travel's policy, not Apple. I am extremely disappointed in the Liberty Travel Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania branch. They seem to be dishonest people who only want to make money off of half truths and misguided information.
The bottom line for me is that I was told I could price match - plain and simple. The agent never mentioned policy, procedure, conditions or terms. Omission is the same at lying in this instance. Had she been upfront with me and let me know that the price match couldn't happen after the fact I would have no issue. Had she told me she couldn't price match when I called her about the cheaper price I definitely wouldn't be writing this letter however, the agent on multiple occasions provided me with false information. I have only once in my life complained about a company because I felt that I was doing the community an injustice by not stepping up and saying what happened so it truly bothers me that I now have to write this about a company I thought was trustworthy. It's possible this agent is new and didn't know the policy of the company. It's possible that maybe she misspoke but the lack of her and her managers ability to rectify this situation is appalling and frankly should be deemed unacceptable. Using this branch is ill advised in my opinion and that's not to say all Liberty Travel locations are like this but I completely feel taken advantage of and wish that I never called them to book my trip. This was the first time using them and will most definitely be the last. I am more than happy to provide the name of the agent who assisted me and the manager who called. I didn't include the names in this blog only because I don't know what legal issues would stem from that but I want to make as many people aware of their shady business practices. If you want quality, straightforward service do yourself a favor and avoid this branch at all costs. Otherwise the price you pay may end up being inflated.
I will be sending this letter to the corporate offices of Liberty Travel, the Consumer Reports Division of Fox 29 news as well as 6ABC News, my local representatives, Liberty Travel head quarters, ASTA - American Society of Travel Agents in addition to sending this letter to 8 travel websites, Facebook, Myspace and to all 3 social groups I am a part of. I want people to know the dishonest practices that take place at this branch and I want Liberty Travel to recognize that there are businesses that actually value its integrity and appreciate its customers. The Plymouth Meeting branch of Liberty Travel needs to familiarize their self with those types of businesses and strive to follow in their footsteps.
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