Travel

itravel 2000 price drop protection is a scam?

  • Last Updated:
  • Nov 28th, 2014 11:23 am
Newbie
User avatar
May 26, 2009
94 posts
8 upvotes

itravel 2000 price drop protection is a scam?

So itravel2000 keeps advertising their price drop protection which basically means if you book a vacation and the price falls they will reimburse you the difference. Though it sounds good its filled with loopholes .. at least in my opinion.

- Only the base amount should fall, so if the taxes/airline charges rate falls you wont get a reimbursement. The total prices for my vacation fell my more than $100/person but I got nothing because it was in the "taxes" area. Don't know how that works.

- The base amount should fall by more than $25, otherwise you get nothing.
- You only get reimbursed the non-tax part
- And the kicker is you can only apply for a price drop claim one month before the flight. So the price can fall in the last 30 days (which in my case it did) but I don't get a cent back.

Just thought would share this.
107 replies
Sr. Member
Mar 15, 2007
626 posts
275 upvotes
Yeah, pretty much just a useless gimmick like the Orbitz price "guarantee".
I'm a travel junkie that's hooked on deals from airports that start with Y.
Deal Addict
User avatar
May 17, 2006
1621 posts
392 upvotes
Thanks for the heads up! Good to know.
Deal Fanatic
Jun 22, 2004
6461 posts
213 upvotes
i hate the fat pig who's on the radio and tv that endorses itravel. itravel 2000, imo is equivalent to MDG or Tigerdirect computers in the computer industry. that guy and claire fewl should merge and make babies together. :)
Newbie
Dec 8, 2009
3 posts
1 upvote
Scam is right.
Book a package on Dec.4,2009 to Cuba online leaving on the Dec.29,2009
In Saturday's paper Sell Off Vacation had a $60.00 clip and save coupon for all Cuban packages.
Phoned Itravel Saturday morning and told me I didn't qualify because I booked it on line and not through a SALES REP.
Checked their web site this morning and it $65.00 cheaper,phoned again and what was said in post #1 need to make a claim more than 30 days before your flight.
Told the guy it was the first and last time I'll ever deal with ITravel again.
Deal Addict
Jan 28, 2009
2013 posts
613 upvotes
Calgary
I was actually reading their policy a few days ago.

I also noticed that you:

- had to submit for the price protection at least 30 days before your trip, and

- had a maximum of $300 per person refunded.


Seems like a pretty lame policy to me.

I'm planning on a trip in mid-Feb, but I think I'll just wait until 3-4 days before and then take a last-minute deal.
Sr. Member
May 6, 2007
785 posts
301 upvotes
It's not a scam it works fine.
There are conditions and of course it's not perfect but it's pretty damn good.

Compare to everyone else who just keeps your money if the price drops.
Newbie
Oct 26, 2010
67 posts
canada
ITravel2000 is a subsidiary of TravelZest: http://www.travelzestplc.com/tvz/contacts/

I’ll try to make it as short as possible:

1. Booked and had a problem with disclosure (even though I was entitled to the PDP refund of $150.00) Not about the money, it’s about the principal and I felt deceived. I didn’t want to deal with them.
2. Didn’t get my invoice with terms and conditions until a month later after many email requests.
3. Tried to cancel. Request to cancel was denied by the company via phone and email.
4. Finally accepted the terms and conditions of the company because I had no choice.
5. Both myself and Itravel2000 agreed I would keep my reservations with I travel2000 on October 25th.
6. Sent email to CEO,Itravel2000,Travelzest, staff and posted on their Facebook page that they should provide more disclosure October 25th. I was forced to stay in the contract or lose my money but they did not BUY my opinion of how they operated.
7. October 26th a supervisor called and said they were transferring me to a third party(without my permission or prior notice).
8. I asked them to put this transfer in writing. They refused. I said I would not continue the conversation and hung up.
9. They sent me a notice that they cancelled my reservation one and half months before departure after I told them the sole reason I was staying with them is because my husband and I had already booked our vacation time off.
10. I gave them until 11am October 27th before rebooking with another company. Itravel2000 did refund my money of the trip purchase.
11. I will not get the $150.00 PDP that I was entitled to/qualified for because I did not agree to the supervisor transferring me to a third party provider without written documentation.
12. I will not be in the Let It Snow Contest(in case it snows more than 5inches at Toronto on Jan 1st) because they cancelled my reservation.


Consequences for the company: Let see what our justice system and governing bodies can really do, watch those tax dollars work!……I am not hopeful.

Me: A couple dollars lost, inconvenience, annoyance, in addition to my incremental loss of faith that businesses can further themselves in an ethical manner that is conducive to those around them.

CONSUMER AWARENESS:
Upon further research I have found this company to be very unethical in many areas and has topped my list on the absolute worse customer service imaginable.I will be compiling reviews of Itravel2000 to allow for easier access of reviews to travellers.
Sr. Member
Mar 24, 2009
627 posts
41 upvotes
It's not a scam at all, it's just restrictive.

It's a promotion that they don't expect to have to use, because it eliminates last minute vacations (you need to submit your PDP a month in advance), and it only covers the exact same package you booked (departure, destination, tour op, hotel, flight, room category, meal plan). If any of those factors change the PDP does not apply.

I can see why they only offer it on packages they advertise. Different sites get different promo opportunities so a special promo on another site shouldn't apply to the PDP on itravels end.

It's not a scam, it's just very rare for a price drop to occur outside of 30 days prior to departure for the exact same package and with the restrictions above.
Deal Expert
Oct 6, 2005
16872 posts
2557 upvotes
iTravel2000 sucks - had a horrible time with one of their "VPs" organizing a group trip. If that pre-sale service imagine post sales service!
Newbie
Oct 26, 2010
67 posts
canada
"It's a promotion that they don't expect to have to use" Dawgbone

1. Itravel DOES NOT match its competitor's price drops only thier own. This is unusual and the advertising is misleading as the public would think that ITravel matches any price drop that is outside of the 30day window prior to the trip.
2. It is one time only price match.
3.MAX OF $300
Deal Addict
Nov 11, 2004
3503 posts
615 upvotes
Ottawa
Dont they pretty much have the lowest prices at any given time???

Thats what i have been lead to believe, if thats the case atleast you know at the very moment you booked the vacation, it was the cheapest... You could have waited it out and hoped prices have dropped

but one thing i have noticed, is that im looking for a trip now, and the %$^& prices keep going up. Just yesterday it was ALOT cheaper... really annoying!
Hello
Newbie
Oct 26, 2010
67 posts
canada
ilusa wrote: Dont they pretty much have the lowest prices at any given time???

Thats what i have been lead to believe, if thats the case atleast you know at the very moment you booked the vacation, it was the cheapest... You could have waited it out and hoped prices have dropped

but one thing i have noticed, is that im looking for a trip now, and the %$^& prices keep going up. Just yesterday it was ALOT cheaper... really annoying!




October is the best time to book trips.Everyone is thinking of hurricane season. it just gets more and more from here except the last minutes. I love traveling and am always looking for great deals and an escape from this iceburg.

You have been lead wrong. They DO NOT have the lowest prices all the time. The couldn't match my regular agent's price at Redtag ex 2014 at the time of booking.

They MAY price match when you purchase but if they price match you don't qualify for thier price protection and let it snow(happened to me) You end up paying regular price. Yes the price drops, it always does during october and I knew that because they always increase the fuel at this time of the year. People do stocks...I look for trips :0)

If you're not particular about location & schedule I would suggest going last minute at this time of the year. Can't wait for my next trip I'll be trapped here for 2 and half months by Dec 15th.
Sr. Member
Mar 24, 2009
627 posts
41 upvotes
Justanothergerl wrote: There was an EXACT package(same provider/hotel/same date/same time/same room) offered by Exitnow.com for $200.00 less per ticket and Itravel refused to give me the difference because it was not SPECIFICALLY on the ITravel2000 website and because I had ALREADY filed another claim for a $100.00 difference less the $25.00 processing fee.
That's because they are on 2 different sites. They specifically state that it's only valid on their products. This is written in the rules and regs.
Obviously different sites get different promotions hence they need the promotion to stay competitive. They should use the promotion's ethically and responsibly. Don't offer a promotion that they DON'T intend to use.
By promotions I meant things like a special rate at a hotel from a tour op or a group space rate. Itravel can't match that because they can't do it (because it's not available to them).
"It is very rare for a price drop to occur outside the 30days" I PDF'd the two screen prints and sent it to Itravel. If I could upload them here for you I would. I can assure you there was a difference of $100.00 on Redtag and a $200.00 difference from Exitnow from my original purchase price from ITravel.
Doesn't change the fact that it's rare.
1. Itravel DOES NOT match its competitor's price drops only thier own. This is unusual and the advertising is misleading as the public would think that ITravel matches any price drop that is outside of the 30day window prior to the trip.
It's only unusual because no one does this. The advertising is only misleading because people don't read. It's all spelled out rather clearly in the details that come up as soon as you click on the icon they have.
2. It is one time only price match.
Again, they are the only company who does this anyway, if it does happen at least you got the option to do it. They are providing something no one else does and that they don't have to do. Granted that's in part because the need to do it is so infrequent based on the rules they have in place.

Don't get me wrong, I've pointed out the issues with the PDP everytime someone on this forum touts it, simply because it sounds very enticing but it ends up being very rare because of the restrictions. That being said, I get countless emails per day from people who don't read info on promotions my company does... most of them simply don't bother to read or understand the rules and regulations.

The itravel PDP is pretty simple.

http://www.itravel2000.com/pricedropprotectionterms.htm

There is a period in which you have to book in order to qualify (Aug 16-Nov 1)

You are allowed to make 1 claim (a $25/adult service fee applies).

You get a max of $300/adult passenger.

The price drop has to occur and you have to make your claim 31 days before you depart.

Valid on for the following tour ops: Sunwing Vacations, Sunquest Vacations, Transat Holidays, Noli Tours, Signature Vacations, WestJet Vacations and Club Med

To Qualify for a PDP the product meust be for the exact same departure dates, same duration, same supplier, same flight carrier, flight number, class of service, flight times, same hotel, room type & meal plan.

A comparable price to qualify for the PDP will only be considered it if the qualifying product is published on the itravel website and is currently avalable.



All in all, it's pretty straight forward. It's essentially useless but that's the point. It's not meant to be taken advantage of regularly (otherwise iTravel would be out of business). It's meant to hook people in on the chance they might qualify.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Nov 23, 2005
9005 posts
5728 upvotes
That's why always read that god damn fine print at the bottom, and you wont be dumb founded when you actually try to claim something. There is always some kind of a catch!
Newbie
Oct 26, 2010
67 posts
canada
@dawgbone



1. First of all you work for a company that promots these trips. You SHOULD know what you're talking about. To the rest of us and to the rest of the REPUTABLE, well known companies such as Best BUY, Future shop,expedia to mention a few have ethical price drop protections.

2. I'd have carpal tunnel if I really wanted to respond to you so I'd rather just show you a FEW:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-price ... rantee.htm
"A price protection guarantee extends assurances to a consumer that upon buying an item, if the customer finds the same item cheaper from another vendor, the original seller will match the price by refunding the difference to the buyer. Some vendors advertise an even greater offer, such as a “115% price protection guarantee,” indicating they will refund the difference plus 15% to give the customer an even deeper discount. A time restraint of 30 days is typical, and other conditions apply which can vary among retailers."



http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/help/what-i ... c1001.aspx
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-ca/help/our ... /hc80.aspx
http://www.expedia.com/daily/highlights ... efault.asp
http://www.hotels.com/customer_care/pil ... antee.html
http://www.pcguide.com/buy/ven/eval/pri ... ion-c.html
[url]http://www.priceprotectr.com/[/url


P.S Price dropped twice in one month so it is NOT rare as you claim.
Sr. Member
Mar 24, 2009
627 posts
41 upvotes
Justanothergerl wrote: 1. First of all you work for a company that promots these trips. You SHOULD know what you're talking about and it's as straight forward to you as open heart surgery to a heart sugeon. To the rest of us and to the rest of the REPUTABLE, well known companies such as Best BUY, Future shop,expedia to mention a few have ethical price drop protections.
It's as straight forward as the regulations state. People need to spend more time reading and less time assuming things.
2. I'd have carpal tunnel if I really wanted to respond to you so I'd rather just show you a FEW:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-price ... rantee.htm
"A price protection guarantee extends assurances to a consumer that upon buying an item, if the customer finds the same item cheaper from another vendor, the original seller will match the price by refunding the difference to the buyer. Some vendors advertise an even greater offer, such as a “115% price protection guarantee,” indicating they will refund the difference plus 15% to give the customer an even deeper discount. A time restraint of 30 days is typical, and other conditions apply which can vary among retailers."



http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/help/what-i ... c1001.aspx
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-ca/help/our ... /hc80.aspx
http://www.expedia.com/daily/highlights ... efault.asp
http://www.hotels.com/customer_care/pil ... antee.html
http://www.pcguide.com/buy/ven/eval/pri ... ion-c.html
http://www.priceprotectr.com/
In each of those cases though there are still restrictions.

Best buy and futureshop both state you have 14 or 30 days (depending on the product) AND "Our lowest price guarantee does not apply to advertising errors or misprints, special educational prices, restricted offers, mail order offers, rebates, coupons, premiums, free or bonus offers, OEM products, limited or minimum quantity or limited time offers, close-outs, liquidations, clearances, financing or other special offers."

Some of the key things there are limited time offers (i.e. on sale this week), limited quantity (i.e. only 200 at each store), close out or liquidation. In the world of electronics how much do you want to bet that the majority of the sales that happen are either limited time or limited quantity?

Expedia offers it within the first 24 hours after purchase only (which if you are a big enough agency you can probably get at no charge from most tour ops).

First and foremost, you need to understand the difference between travel (involving airfare) and everything else. Buying a vacation is not anywhere close to the same as buying a TV. If you decide 3 days later that you don't want the TV you can bring it back. 3 days after buying a vacation you get charged a penalty if you want to cancel it.

In terms of hotels.com price drop plan, for just a hotel you often don't get charged until you check in and you usually have x number of days before arrival to cancel with no penalties. It's completely different than booking a flight or package.
P.S Price dropped twice in one month so it is NOT rare as you claim.
How rare did I claim it was? I just said it was rare and it is.
Newbie
Oct 26, 2010
67 posts
canada
@dawgbone I also included Expedia which is a direct competitor of Itravel's. Don't offer something unless you're big enough to honour it. It's called fair competition. Inadquacy is not an excuse. Talk the talk and walk the walk.


http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1 ... ublic.html
itravel2000.com - anyone used them? Mar 30, 2008, 6:19 PM

We have used them twice and I won't be using them again no matter how good the deal.

The first time, they barely got us our travel documents in time. I had to contact customer service several times before they sent them. I think the documents only arrived a day or two before our flight. Furthermore, even though we were using a major airline that we have frequent flyer memberships, there was no opportunity to enter this information during the booking process. Once booked, they advised us to contact the airline directly. The airline wouldn't do anything until we were at the airport. This proved to be a pain and in the end, we didn't receive all of the air miles we were entitled to. If we had booked the vacation package with the airline directly, we would not have had this hassle.

The second time... Although itravel2000 was notified of an itinerary change by the airline at least a month in advance, they did not adequately notify us of this IMO. The only thing they sent was a normal edocument (which did list the new flight time) until just a few days before the flight. Unfortunately, we didn't see their edocument email because: it was sent to a rarely used email (that I was not able to change with them online) and it was sent so late that we were not expecting anything from them at that point.

As a result of this and not in our wildest dreams imagining that such an itinerary change could happen, we missed our flight and had to book new one-way tickets or forfeit our vacation. Online customer service was not helpful in doing this and I had to do it myself. Even their own phone customer service (which was way more sympathetic and helpful than online customer service) recommended we NOT book through them online because it is difficult to get help if something goes wrong.

Interestingly, customer service did call us to ask us if we were going to use the return portion of our tickets. We thought it was a little insulting that they could phone us for this, but not for an itinerary change.

Based on my two experiences and what I consider to be a high number of complaints filed at the BBB, I would strongly recommend against using itravel2000 to book your trip. Go ahead and use them to research options, but make your final booking with the airline directly or with another travel agency even if it costs a little more. If you are determined to play the lottery by booking with them, at least book over the phone.

I'm still trying to get some sort of compensation from them for this latest disaster, but am not hopeful.
Newbie
Oct 26, 2010
67 posts
canada
http://www.xomreviews.com/itravel2000.com

trip to Pueto Vallarta , April 02, 2010

this is our second time we have had problems with booking through itravel2000.this time was about their price drop protection we were told by our sales rep we had until 3 days prior to departure to redeem our rebate well our trip dropped 500.00 1 week before and i called our rep and his story changed he said it was until 31 days from departure that we could get our rebate back we tried to talk to cust serv and same thing no one returned our calls, then we said fine upgrade our hotel to one across the street his excuse they never called him back this was our 4th trip to Puerto Vallarta in the last 2 years it seems they always have an excuse to not give you your rebates or price drop protection back when you deserve them we will not be booking any further travel arrangements with them in the future
Posted By: fishlady_07, on Friday, April 02, 2010

Top