EF Educational Tours
Reviews and Complaints

A California law firm specializing in plaintiff's side consumer litigation has just initiated litigation against EF Tours seeking to force it to make full cash refunds to everyone whose tour wound up being cancelled due to the Virus Epidemic.

EF Funds has offered only vouchers for future trips, which have no value for graduating students. They are claiming that the COVID epidemic is not covered under the terms of their trip insurance.

To read the complaint and to find out how you can participate in the lawsuit, visit https://eftourslitigation.mcgranepc.com/

Liars and thieves! Cited "already booked" hotels and flights as the legitimacy for not refunding trip cancelled more than 90 days before the scheduled departure - but I have proof they haven't booked anything on my behalf. No arbitration or dispute process. How can a company servicing public school-sponsored trips claim to operate in good faith when their excuse for stealing from hardworking parents just trying to provide their children with educational opportunities is a flat-out lie? I could see a non-refundable application fee of $100 being appropriate, and perhaps a $100 cancellation fee (in cases where the company has not in fact made reservations) just to discourage frivolous applications or cancellations - but to effectively steal from parents booking public school-sponsored trips is reprehensible, if not illegal.

On October 2018 we signed up for a tour for our teen son. Global travel insurance was a mandatory part of the tour purchase. Our sons trip for April 2, 2020 was canceled by EF tours due to Coronavirus as well as Delta cancelling all flights into Milan Italy. EF tours has refused to give us a refund, only a travel voucher or move our trip to another date. They are charging us almost $400 in fees to transfer to another trip. Refusing to offer a discount or any other measures to make this right. In order for this not to be a total loss, we have transferred to a trip in 2021, but will have to pay for more worthless travel insurance, and fees. Delta airlines refunded EF their money for flights, so why cant I be refunded or at least given a discount towards another trip to cover the loss of "Fees
that are not refundable.

My son was scheduled to go on a trip to South Korea with his school's travel club in early April. This trip got canceled due to the CDC coronavirus travel advisory. The only alternative offer is a trip to Vietnam, which a number of kids in the group refuse to take for various reasons, including the risk of infection during a trip to Asia. EF categorically refuses to refund the money and insists on issuing a travel voucher, which is useless to us because my son is graduating high school this year and won't have an opportunity to travel with his travel club next year. I realize that EF is inundated with cancellation requests right now, but the way they are handling this situation is insensitive to the parents' valid health concerns and downright despicable. I foresee a class action lawsuit in the making.

Account number:
[protected]

Group plan number:
US1221835

Certificate number:
[protected]-P

Tour name:
Experience South Korea

Tour dates:
04/04/2020-04/12/2020

Effective date:
02/24/2020

I called to cancel my daughters trip because of an unfortunate event. They took me for a ride. I expected to loose the 95 dollars and I ended up loosing 226 dollars more. They don't tell the teachers the reality of the fees. The teachers are the ones doing the presentations. They need to get someone from the tour company to do it. They teachers are used as escape goats from the misrepresentation. Don't book trips with company. Use the money to go on a family vacation. I'm filing a complaint with the BBB. At least make aware. And also with the consumer complaints commission

I have currently been trying to cancel my trip within the given 48 hour period which allows for the full refund of my deposit. But you leave no way to cancel other than to talk with you directly on the phone which has extremely restrictive hours. This is an extremely shady business technique and I get that you don't want people to cancel but to not even allow or say how to cancel on your FAQ is downright wrong. I have sent multiple emails to which your automatic response has replied. If I don't receive the entire refund of my deposit I will seek action against you as this is unacceptable behavior from what initially seemed like an established company. You need to have clear instructions on how to cancel a trip and make it available at any time. I'm not able to cancel at all now because you aren't open weekends? that's ridiculous, please respond as soon as possible

Hi,

I am going to say this is MY experience and MY issues. I know there are umpteen other ones (some very huge in my eyes), however I don't want to misquote anybody else's experience.

1. The major one that stands out was that we received the hotel information from teachers and considered it golden. Then in the group chat that was set up a parent investigated and found out it wasn't what their family was expected. Fair enough. This chat went on forever with parents deciding to switch hotels which was a red flag for me. I reached out to teachers that my son would not onboard with this Plan B, one the additional money and the original hotel had to have passed some inspection (or my hope). All part of the full travel experience to stay in a tourist hotel. I was told that my son would not be left at one hotel. The teachers then said in the chat they would support whatever decision the group decided on. I get trying to keep the peace but they should have stepped up and squashed all of that so everybody was clear it was not feasible for the group to switch. I was disappointed that I was told one thing and then they acted on another.

2. At one of the meetings for room assignment my son was placed in with two boys which was great as he wanted to spread his wings socially. It was stressed that room switching would not be honored. First night my son is placed with his standard circle not room assignment, which I questioned. Teacher said that we were never told what I mentioned. I KNOW what I heard and the parent next to me validated it to. It was also mentioned EF assigned rooms. Yes, but you are the chaperones and should have input. It was important to us, because my son wanted to foster new friendships. Here is hoping I was heard and the rest of the trip was fixed. Time will tell.

3. I had a gift as a surprise sent to the original hotel we were told the children would be at in Italy only to find out they were at a completely different hotel. I figured the hotel information the teachers sent was accurate and then on group chat some had printed off the EF itinerary which showed the hotel they were now at. It would have been my hope that EF or chaperones might have considered reaching out to the `original' hotel to retrieve the gift. On calling the hotel I couldn't get them to understand as it was skeleton staff the hours I was calling. Surprise is on me and $100 down the drain.

4. The flight connection was missed due to unforeseen circumstances. Teacher has 9 children. It was a lower ratio I heard but we got into the `he said/she said' which I know didn't get anywhere. To me an additional child in a stressful situation is everything. EF ratio reviews show it seems to be a trip by trip case. Anywhere from 6 to 10 children per teacher. It would be great to have it clear what ratio our trip does indeed have.

5. On calling the while away EF number, they knew nothing of the delay. Important to a parent to have up to date knowledge from the company not an out of control group chat. The staff at the parent line does not have the training or power to escalate. Not a great feeling.

6. I looked at the EF insurance policy and noted that clothing, taxi, meals and incidents were covered with a delay of more then 6 hours. I told my son at this point so he could at least buy a fresh shirt and a toothbrush. He is the only one with luggage because we travel light aka cabin. Yet everybody else has no luggage. Perhaps the option was given to my son, but I would have hoped that a locker could be rented so he could be hands free like everybody else in the group was.

7. I mentioned in group chat to take a taxi (covered by EF insurance) instead of waiting for a shuttle as typically airline reimbursements are not great and this would avoid more delays for the children. A shuttle was the decision. In the end it was INDEED a taxi.

8. Hotel - these kids might have liked to freshen up (girls more so) and I am aware of IBIS chain. It is basic and you have to ask for toothbrushes etc. EF could have called ahead or teacher might have set up.

9. Given EF had to of known of other issues from other families before this trip left, perhaps they should have ponied up for a 1/2 day tour in Munich or some type of goodwill gesture. It seemed once all were settled with either Lufthansa compensation or EF solution they washed their hands and teacher was on her own. That is an outsider looking in of course.

10. Too many forms of trying to find out what was happening. Joint email address, single emails, lead chat room parent and instagram. One person take ownership or be clear who the back up is.

11. I read that EF trains the chaperones and it seems maybe they need to revisit that or perhaps budget cuts have been made in that area.

12. Soliciting money from children in a group setting, of course they will feel pressured to say yes. Deplorable!

Natasha

Good afternoon
I felt the need to write to you regarding my experience of hosting students through EF.
For the price of £10 per night I provided a clean bedroom, bathroom, bedding, 3 meals per day prepared in limited time at short notice. I was also expected to provide a laundry service, counciling service and taxi.
I heard complaints from the students as they spent a lot of time playing games on the beach. And I was told that they paid over 2 thousand pounds for the experience.
The fact that the students were expected to leave our home in the early hours of the morning and upset our working day was disorganised chaos.

EF get in line with other foreign student services and pay more. You have lost another host family.

I contacted EF Hastings to raise a concern that one of my students was depressed and didn't want to attend the evening event and she shared with me that she had not long lost her mother. She was exhausted due to the busy activities calender.
I had no feedback or follow up telephone call. These are children and there was no support provided.

I am awaiting reimbursement for a oscillating fan that was broken by said students.
My daughter is awaiting £70 promised to her for referring me to EF. Jade Waters is her name.

Disappointed to say the least.

Do not waste your money on the insurance. My son started having panic attacks a month before he was to go on trip. I followed all the directions given to me by the company in hopes of getting some of my money back after his doctor deemed him unable to attend the trip. Because I didn't hospitalize my son there is no hopes of me getting any money back. That's $3, 000 down the drain. What's the point of even purchasing the insurance? I foolishly thought that because I had the insurance, and a doctors note saying that he couldn't go I was covered. I will let as many people as I can know to not go through this company.

Must say, my experience traveling with ef tours has been an experience, from guide not knowing where atm's or banks are to using motel like hotels, to walking through a room to get to our room etc. To a cluster each hotel via room keys and bed type etc. And guide doesn't know how to handle this... Very disappointing and when you try to share your concern or complaint they say let the group leader know and they will share - not! Being in the industry I would think feedback is appreciated but not with one of the largest or maybe is the largest moving student companies - it's almost like they don't care and don't try to contact customer service they are the door keeper and will say they are the manager and there is no one higher you can talk to about anything! Or they will say, what are you concerns as the manager will tell you the same thing... Crazy this is the best one getting charged my monthly payment for my daughter and I then they added almost 450.00 more for some room type fee and then private group? Say what and tried to hit my bank for over 800.00 then I start getting emails that my withdrawal declined well hello - I didn't agree to that monthly charge and would think I would hear that something extra will be charged and when - then I call about this and they basically want their money now and no matter if it's paid within following days I continue to get emails that the charges declined and fees are added to my acct - I call once again, and they say, our system is a day or two behind what! Really! Stressful to say the least extra fees, and then they can hit your cc for whatever amount so be careful unless you have an endless bank acct. I'm dreading this second trip with them since the first one was kinda a cluster guide recommends places to eat that is cash only which is not us but their currency really... You would think we should know or have this info prior to so we know how much money we may need... Then, children are walking on uneven steps and walkways with no lights on busy street really 10 year old's! I would love to share my thoughts and concerns with someone that is vested in the company but sounds like they are just too big or the gate keepers keep them from knowing the concerns we have - today I called and shared I was still waiting for a call from a manager she said they are really busy and I said i'm very busy as well and this is my second attempt - after circling around with her, she said if they can get back to you what time is best, I said after work she said our hours are 9-5 really what managers only work 9-5 pm - the craziness goes on! I'm so over ef honestly - I could go on about our flight that was cheap for them made our 10 year old's wait over 9 hours in a domestic airport before heading international really... That is a start of a bad trip especially for very young children but you don't get flight info until 2 weeks out so that being said again, is very disappointing. As you can see the list grows of issues we had and hope you don't have the problems we have...

In December 2017, we started planning our daughter's school trip to Iceland for March 2-8 2019. We entered into a contract of $3, 958 - 100 early enrollment discount for a total contract price of $3, 858. My daughter has been planning this trip and excited for 11 months. We were called to an URGENT meeting at the school and the teacher told us that EF Tours did not have any other groups signed up for this trip, therefore, we could spend another $1, 000 and move to another group extending the trip by 2 days - OR - we could pay an additional $300 and remain a private group. A few of our original group of 11 students backed out and back to the drawing board they went. They came up with another solution that for another $145 (on top of the addition of $300 previously), the group of students could still go. A decision was to be made by the students- cancel and get a full refund or pay the additional fees and go. We were told that there would be additional fees for tips once the students got to Iceland. We decided as a family that the costs just did not make sense. We signed up for $3, 858 trip to Iceland .

I received an email from EF Tours stating that as the group decided to move forward with the trip, we were subject to FULL cancellation fee of $988. So to NOT send my daughter to Iceland, it is costing me $988. Let's see... 5 of the 11 students have declined the new terms meaning EFTours is making $4, 940 in cancellation fees, PLUS $2670 in additional fees for the 6 remaining tour students totalling $7, 610.

NO CANCELLATION FEE should be charged as I DID NOT CANCEL my contract. Without my permission, the contract amount was changed, the terms of the trip were changed. EF Tours had 11 months to ensure another group was signed up. I signed a contract that if we backed out for any reason to the original contract, I would pay cancellation fees. I DIDN'T Back out of this contract - EFTours changed the contract without my permission.

I had to take a risk signing my daughter up to this tour not knowing if for example, she would break a leg and not be able to go. As a business, EF Tours needs to assume the risk. It is their job to ensure the tours are full. If not, they need to assume the risk and take the loss. NOT pass it on to students.

I will NEVER NEVER NEVER allow my daughter to travel with EFTours. And the sad thing is... she is in grade ten and we committed to her that we would send her each year on a trip.

Do not travel with EF Tours. I had to cancel my trip, as the trip organizers cancelled-TWO years out. They kept $560 and I had only paid in $600 at the time of cancellation. When you call they refuse to get you to someone who can actually give you answers. They say you'll get a call and, surprise... no one calls. Avoid them. Go with Explorica.
They told me they had already been booking hotels. Lies. The trip had just opened and there were very few people, again, due to the trip being 2 years out. They are dishonest. Avoid them at all costs!

I wish had read all the reviews. I paid for traveler insurance that stated I could receive a refund. I canceled my sons trip within the allowed time frame and never received my refund. I'm a single mom of 4 and now I'm out $2000! Thanks a lot! This is money that could be going towards bills, food, diapers, etc since I am currently between jobs which was one of the reasons listed in the insurance that would give you a refund!

I too am very disappointed in the ethics of EF Tours as it relates to their cancellation policies. The extra charges are not clearly noted on materials until it is time to cancel. Buyers be forewarned, the fine print is where the deception lies.

My daughter's trip is not planned for nearly a year in advance. In addition to the initial registration fees and travel insurance, EF Tours is also informing me of an additional $300 fee.

I cannot ever again endorse EF Tours, and I will be contacting my child's school, her school district in Omaha, and other appropriate parties.

You are a scam! I will be calling my credit card company... the insurance you sell is a scam too. They have taken a total of 800 dollars from me for absolutely nothing! Had to cancel because my daughter was to afraid to travel with all the hurricanes and they charged me 550 dollar cancellation fee. 250 was the insurance I purchased in case I cancelled. The 300 was the penalty for cancellation. What a racket! Stay clear people stay clear! The addition 250 they got me on was my registration that I put in for one weekend Yes one weekend and then decided her dad would go they would not give me my money back... they bamboozled me for 800 dollars. 800 dollars for no service whatsoever! Something needs to be done about these people.. shut them down!

As an adult on this trip, and having past experience with tours, I would be remiss by not alerting the public to the poor quality of this tour group, it's outlandish fees, and very poor provisions and lack of consideration of their clientele. This trip was a joke. I would not use this tour group and expect that my child was receiving safe courteous travel with this company. We stood around a huge amount of time waiting while our tour guide was on the phone. We had tours changed and cancelled because of very poor planning. We stayed at hotels that insulted us for being American citizens. The food was horrible (meals provided by EF Tours). Buses that never materialized with multiple excuses given. Buses used that were in terrible shape with no air conditioning in 95 degree weather. This truly was a trip from hell. It is to bad because for a lot of the students this was their first time on a plane, their first real vacation... Please consider what I am telling you especially with terrorism being as prevalent as it is ... our children deserved far better than what they received.

When the school representative did a presentation about the trip to London/Paris/Rome in 2018, they said many times and also was included in the handout packet that was given out that only a $99 deposit is kept for canceling. I called yesterday to cancel, and they told me they would not refund me $550 for canceling. They explained that they have to pay the tour company for my daughter's place for tours. However, I am not canceling the entire tour, I am only canceling 1 person out of 30+ that is in the group. I know that at almost a year out, tour places will give you a full refund for canceling a tour since they will have time to book other tours in your place. The entire program is a scam and not upfront about the canceling costs.

Like many, we fell for the excitement of travel and cultural experience in sending our daughter on a European educational tour. That was a $750 mistake.

First -- the "mandatory" travel insurance is a complete rip-off. You or your student need to be dead or dying before you even qualify for a claim.

Second -- the tour director can add excursions and its associated costs at will -- and without giving parents the ability to opt-out. What started at $3400 quickly escalated to $5200 because our tour directors decided that "gladiator school" with be beneficial for an additional $810. My daughter had NO interest in this, and it was NOT specified on the package that we signed up too, but was told – after committing – that it’s not optional.

Third -- EF Tours hides fee schedules in fine print, and handouts, often NOT included on the website. They will add "weekend fees", departure fees, scheduling fees, all AFTER you committed to the package and price.

Fourth -- Beware of ANY tour that travels to so many locations in a short period of time. Doing so means that 80% of your students’ time will be spent on a bus. Also – EFTOURS, nor the tour director will disclose hotel or accommodation names or locations or any available dietary accommodations. Why?

Fifth -- NONE of the money you pay in advance -- be it $500 or $4500 will be gone if you cancel. As you can tell by the MANY other complaints, they will stack on any fee/charge they can think of to NOT fulfill their so-called "refund policy". In the end, losing $750 was cheaper than losing $5200.

EF tours was certainly was an "educational experience” for me. Lesson learned.

My Daughter saved $1500 of her own money and invested it in a trip with her friends to France. Due to a minor glitch in our residency, yet one that would not be resolved in time to allow her to travel, we regrettably had to cancel. We did so over 6 months in advance. She was already broken-hearted, only to find out the company would be stealing most of her money. I called them, begging them to at least give her half. They didn't care. They wouldn't give me any details on where the money was going, or why they needed so much of it. They said, "We don't have to tell you anything". That was their exact words. Trust me when I say that for the cost of this trip, you can plan out your own trip with a travel agent in advance and get a better deal. I just wanted her to have this experience with her friends. I hope in posting this that I can help others to avoid this scam. We got our daughter an educational trip. Sadly, it was one on how big business will heartlessly steal from you, getting away with it on technicalities.

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.