So....I need to fire my Travel Agent/Old Thread...New Update

[MagicMe]

Well, Tom??? Did you have a wonderful time?!! (**fingers crossed**)

Kimberly - Tom had a "live" report going (Magic's 10th Anniversary). You should check it out!!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1872619

 

[Buckeye Gal]

Kimberly - Tom had a "live" report going (Magic's 10th Anniversary). You should check it out!!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1872619

Ooooh! Thanks!!

 

[mrp4352]

Thanks for the link!!!

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

I give up. Here's the latest reply from the BBB:

Complaint ID#: 89013026
Business Name: Cruise Adventures

We have received your most recent correspondence in the above-mentioned complaint case.

You have indicated that you are NOT satisfied with the business' response in the matter.

However, in the judgment of the BBB, the business has made a good-faith effort to resolve the matter. Although, we realize that you may still feel the matter is not resolved, we have closed the case.

Sincerely,

Charlene Paez
Complaint Specialist

 

[MagicMe]

That stinks! Can't believe they feel the TA acted in good faith

 

[Dee72]

IMO, the BBB is almost useless....at least here locally. I don't even waste my time with them anymore. I had a complaint years ago, and they did absolutely nothing. Sent two letters. The company never responded. Yet, it was closed as 'resolved'.

Also, I won't use a travel agent with Disney. And, while I understand how they can be helpful at times, I refuse to give up that much control. Of course, I also think Disney should give me a discount for not using one.

 

[aan1701]

I have had very same results from BBB. Now insted I just do what hurts the most in these tough economic times. I don't give them my bussines anymore.

 

[wdwpirates]

I must tell you that my husband and I had a similar situation in 2007 with the 1st DCL cruise we took. Not knowing any better we booked with a local TA that specialized in cruises. Shotty customer service at best. They too held the check. I went to book my excusions and low and behold unable to do so. I emailed the rep I had worked with...no response.

Then I called the TA directly....the rep had "broken her leg"....I requested a manager and after much back and forth on the phone I was finally able to convince him that his team had dropped the ball and he needed to make things right. He offered to send the payment in ASAP. I said, that's not good enough...you need to call DCL and book my excursions/Palo. He did do that saying that they did me a "special favor:....PUHLEAS!!! Buddy, its called your J-O-B!!

In the end we got our shore excursions...had to wait to board to book Palo. All else was well....This cruise however...booked it myself and then transferred the res to a very trusted TA....not mentioning any names...(ahem DU)....and have been most pleased.

I feel your pain ITETS!!! W/out the DIS....where would we be...???

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

I feel your pain ITETS!!! W/out the DIS....where would we be...???

Exactly. We rebooked onboard cool1: ), and the agent let us know that we could transfer to a TA if we liked.

I don't need a TA, I have DIS! (I just wish I had DIS a year and a half ago.)

 

[dbenlee]

TA's are really great for the onboard credit. Everything else is better are things we want to handle being control freaks that my wife and I are.

 

[cruisinmama06]

WOW - I am a new member to this cruise board but I have never seen anything so ridiculous before.

From your first post I could tell that the TA was holding your money to fund other travelers. And the BBB did nothing for you?

Yep, you found the first rule of cruising, most of us know more than our TA's.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

I received a letter from the California Attorney General's office via email on Friday (after I sent a follow-up inquiry to them).

It looks like I got blown off by them too:

The California Attorney General’s Office is funded by the people of the State of California to protect and defend their collective legal interests as prescribed by the California State Legislature. Any action brought by this office with respect to consumer protection is necessarily based on a large number of complaints substantiating statewide violations of law. This office cannot compel a firm to satisfy individual requests for private remedies.

As we indicated in our correspondence to you dated July 3, 2008, we wrote to Central Valley Cruise Adventures on your behalf to request a response to your complaint. Regrettably, we did not hear from them and must now close our file as "Unresolved".

If your complaint could be resolved by further communication with the company, you may wish to contact them directly or consider the advice of a private attorney with whom you could examine your available legal remedies.

We will retain your complaint regarding this company in our active files and may contact you should the state commence formal legal action at some future date.

We do appreciate your continued interest, but regret we cannot be of further assistance to you at this time.

 

[MaryJPixie]

I received a letter from the California Attorney General's office via email on Friday (after I sent a follow-up inquiry to them).

It looks like I got blown off by them too:

Wicked frustrating!!!!! I've been reading the various posts.....sounds like you've done the best that you can with this situation....good luck in the future

 

[RanCan]

I'm so sorry that you couldn't get any support from the BBB or California Attorney General's office!
I'm sure you will never use this travel agency again, and thanks to you, I'm sure a lot of people uncluding myself will never use them either! And hopefully we can ge them where it hurts the most......in there pockets!!! I don't think these people realize how us DIS'ers stick together!!!
Thank you so much Tom!!!

 

[skibum]

Unbelievably frustrating, but that is what happens in our society. Those that do not play by the rules do not get punished.
Have you thought about getting a local TV station involved in an investigative report. That will bring the issue to the masses. Just be aware that the TV station has to want to do something like this.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

I know this is an OLD thread, but many of you were interested in how this turned out, so I thought I'd do a quick follow up, since there have been some interesting things happening.

On March 18, 2010 I received this email:

Dear Pro Travel Fresno Customer,

Pro Travel Fresno, is the Valley’s #1 Travel Agency, and is the only Valley agency to win the Prestigious “Pinnacle” Award for top production with Carnival Cruise Lines, and “Elite” Status with United Airlines which represents the top 5% of all agencies nationwide. These are just a few of the many accolades we have earned that showcase our commitment to volume Travel Sales, and superior Customer Service.

Recently, we purchased a small agency, Cruise Adventures, in the River Park area, as part of our expansion to provide additional locations to better serve clients in the Valley. However, after several months we have terminated our relationship with the previous owner of Cruise Adventures. This was due to numerous complaints of financial mismanagement, bookings not paid on time, and even alleged Credit Card Fraud, from both clients and his own previous employees.

We are also engaged in an unfortunate Civil litigation against this previous owner of Cruise Adventures, however this has no effect on your bookings made with Pro Travel Fresno or Cruise Adventures, as long as you make sure all future payments, and future dealings occur in the main Fig Garden Office. However, there is also a criminal complaint filed, and is a different matter entirely, and can concern you if you have recently posted or modified any bookings via the River Park location.

The Fresno Police Department has received the complaint and initiated an investigation regarding monies being taken from Customers and not properly forwarded to either Pro Travel Fresno and/or the appropriate supplier for the client. Pro Travel Network is pressing criminal charges against the former owner of Cruise Adventures, Craig Mungary, though the Fresno County District Attorney’s office pursuant to these missing/misdirected funds. It is extremely important to let you know that if you have deposited/paid any monies or had your booking modified in any way, to someone at the River Park location, it is imperative that you contact us immediately, so that we may provide a clear accounting of funds. For 99% of clients who read this, this is merely a formality, and no need to worry. However, if you have paid any funds at the River Park office in the last 30 days, it is extremely important that you contact us immedia tely.

Important: Also, If you receive a call or any communication from anyone claiming to be from “Cruise Adventures”, or for that matter even Pro Travel Fresno, stating that your bookings need to be changed in any way or that a payment is due, and that person is not one of our actual agents(listed below), please do not provide any personal information, Credit Card Information, and do not make any payments of any kind to any office other than the main Pro Travel Fresno office on Shaw near Fig Garden. We have already received documented reports of customers receiving no receipts or just handed written receipts with nothing on them. If you are not sure, then just hang up and call back using the (559) ***-**** or **** number to verify you are speaking with the right Pro Travel Fresno main office .

The great news is that our great staff, including ....., and all the great agents of Pro Travel Fresno are still here, to serve you and continue to serve you, with your travel needs professionally and courteously, and have the full backing of Pro Travel Fresno, and its parent company PTN, Inc.

Thank you and we wish you happy travels.

The response later that day from the Travel Agent was a joke:

Dear Cruise Adventures Customer:

When I read this afternoon’s email announcement from Pro Travel Fresno, I was reminded of what Mark Twain once said, There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. In short, PTN isn’t telling you everything, and what they are saying simply isn’t true.

Since 1989, (yes, over 20 years ago) we have been serving your vacation needs as Cruise Adventures. In the summer of 2009, with promises of stock bonuses and big company benefits, I partnered with Pro Travel Network “PTN”. However, it soon became apparent that PTN had large problems. The largest was vast financial mismanagement, including failure to pay agent commissions for over 6 months, failure to pay bills to The Fresno Bee, Channel 30, even to the point of having our phone disconnected for failure to pay. (all documents confirming these statements are at my office for public viewing) What I thought would be my corporate honeymoon was turning out to be a disaster.

In February of 2010, I decided I had enough of Pro Travel Fresno. The contract with PTN called for me to repossess the business if PTN failed to perform, and along with the law firm of Webb & Walton, LLP, that is exactly what I did. After attempting to resolve the situation with PTN informally, I sued PTN on February 16, 2010. (Note: Not PTN terminating me!) PTN cross-complained alleging financial mismanagement, which is peculiar for a company who says it lost $195,924 in the last 9 months running Cruise Adventures when I have served you successfully since 1989. My extended track record speaks for me, and PTN’s self-proclaimed losses reflect theirs. One last note of confidence: It also should be noted that on Tuesday March 16, 2010, Judge Alan M. Simpson denied BOTH PTN’s requests for a Temporary Restraining Order and a Writ of Possession. Documents for all of this are filed with the Fresno County Superior Court under Case ID#10CECG00542. A copy of the files is in my office in a 3-ring binder for anyone with an interest. A link to the court’s website is here: (http://banweb.co.fresno.ca.us/cprodsnp/ck_public_qry_doct.cp_dktrpt_setup_idx) Further, PTN’s claim of pressing criminal charges is simply untrue, I have been and always will be available to open my books for the authorities’ review. Cruise Adventures remains a fully bonded California Seller of Travel since 1989!

Regardless, I will let lawyers do what they do to bring this case to justice and focus on enjoying my love of the travel business. I am confident that justice will be served and that my customers who I have served faithfully since 1989 will forgive me for this brief interlude into corporate travel and welcome me back to doing business in the manner we know best – with caring, personal service. Please call, e-mail or visit our office anytime, myself and the entire Cruise Adventures staff stand ready to serve your travel needs.

Thank You,

Craig and Teri Mungary
Cruise Adventures - Owners

This morning, received another email from ProTravel, here are some highlights:

This is Ray Lopez, COO and Vice-President of PTN Inc.

Unfortunately, an email was sent to our organization via an unauthorized and illegal us of our database. This email was sent by Craig Mungary, who PTN Inc has an open lawsuit against for Fraud among other causes of action, such as concealing bank accounts legally purchased by PTN Inc, and Theft, among other causes of action.

In business you attempt to do proper due diligence, however, no one would have thought we made a deal with a thief. Mr. Mungary’s Cruise Adventures had a “F” rating with the BBB for years, until he changed his company name last month. Simply phone the BBB and ask what his rating was 3 months ago…or 1 year ago. He has been sued and has sued countless customers, businesses, and so on. A clear sign of a person who has no ethics nor feels any requirement to honor agreements and contracts he himself signs or enters into…so is constantly being sued or suing.

Even his own previous employees, some with him 4 -10 years, all decided to remain employed with PTN, and have entered signed Affidavits stating that, Craig takes the customers money…uses it…and only pays to the supplier at the last minute…many times with another customers funds. This resulted in numerous cancelled booking, Irate customers, including Princess Cruise Lines putting him on “NO Sale” . He would then always blame them when dealing with the customer. He is bad news!!

See these links of an irate customers:

[HERE HE HAS 2 LINKS, WHICH I WON'T INCLUDE, HOWEVER, ONE OF THEM IS THIS THREAD!]

To his allegations, not one employee of PTN Inc has “quit” due to any check irregularities and every employee has been paid every pay period for the last 7 years. I am not clear why Mr. Mungary would falsely say that I re-signed or was terminated by PTN. I remain as COO of Pro Travel network, and have had a close relationship with Paul Henderson for over 12 years. In a corporation when an Officer resigns or is added it must be publicly filed with the State. While 2009 was a tough year for many businesses, including PTN, 2010 has started with momentum and we are far more optimistic about the future.

Below is proof of the type of man, business man and con man/woman that Mr. Mungary, his wife Teri, and how they operate their Cruise Adventures/Central Valley Cruise Adventures business. Always being sued and always suing. It should be note d that PTN in 7 years, with Offices in 3 countries, and thousands of agents has only had 2 matters to ever escalate to lawsuit status(1 being our suit against Mungary). PTN Inc has also previously filed Police reports against Mr. Mungary. However, in Mr. Mungary’s complaint he asserts that PTN President Mr. Paul Henderson physically threw him out of our offices…that did happen, and rightfully so. Mr Mungary is nothing more than a con man.

Now he is trying to con his way into stealing PTN agents…although he has never been more than a “mom & pop” agency, has only 2 employees including his wife, and the other employee we had previously terminated. He is working with an ex-IT staff of PTN who has apparently illegally given him our database of names, but also some sor t of copy of our first CRM system. Both 100% illegal, and we will pursue all legal remedies to shut him down.



Ray Lopez, COO and Vice President

PTN Inc.

[MR. LOPEZ THEN LISTS ABOUT A DOZEN COURT CASES THAT THE TRAVEL AGENT IS/WAS A PARTY TO.]

Just thought y'all might mind this interesting that 2 years later, this guy is still in business and still treating his customers poorly.

Tom

 

[safetymom]

Wow!!!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

Wow!!!! Thanks for sharing.

Hi Kathy!

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Unbelievable! My daughter had a scary encounter with a TA for her honeymoon. We do NOT use one other than DU. The rest of my vacations I do it myself.

 

[phred52]

I remember following this thread back when it was on-going. Thanks for the update! Hard to believe that he is still in business.