SOUTHBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - “Patagonia,” says Jeff Beane, flipping through photos of the many adventures he and his wife, Diane, have taken over the years. “I would definitely go back there.”
Jeff and Diane love taking exotic adventures.
Looking at the Southborough couple’s mask collection or flipping through their passports is like taking a journey around the globe.
“We did Namibia, Botswana,” says Diane. “Zimbabwe,” Jeff adds. “We walked with lions there. That was pretty wild.”
The couple always wanted to see the world and when they retired, they started living that dream.
“We like to climb the mountains, eat the food, ride the camels, the elephants,” says Diane. “We like new stuff.”
In June of last year, they started planning their next adventure, this time to the Far East. They planned to fly to Seoul, South Korea, where they would stay for five days, and from there move on to Mongolia.
Jeff called his travel company, the same one the Beane’s have used more than a dozen times.
“The service has been excellent,” says Jeff.
He booked the trip, even splurging on business class. In total, the Beane’s spent about $24,500 on the entire trip. A lot of money, but worth it to Jeff and Diane for this once-in-a-lifetime trip set for June 2020.
But in February, the world started changing. COVID was spreading and the couple was worried.
“[Diane] said, ‘We can’t make that trip,'” says Jeff. “‘It makes no sense.'”
Jeff called the agency to cancel the trip. He says the company agreed to give them a refund, minus a $600 cancellation fee, which they could use as a credit toward their next vacation. They were thrilled, but after a couple of weeks went by and no refund, Jeff started calling the travel company. They told him it would take a little longer for the refund.
“[They said], ‘Gonna be 20 days, [then] we’re running 30 days, we’re going as fast as we can,'” says Jeff.
The Beane’s kept waiting and calling, but couldn’t get a firm answer about when they’d get all that money back. With summer winding down, Jeff called Solve It 7.
We reached out to the travel company. A representative explained that because of the pandemic, refunds were taking longer than expected. But she told us she would escalate the case and promised the Beane’s would get their refund. They did shortly afterward.
“It was really there in two days,” says Jeff. “Simply amazing and certainly appreciated. Well done.”
Now with that money back in the Beane’s account, they can start planning their next journey.
“Thank you very much,” says Diane. “We’re certainly grateful for getting the money back and the speed in which it happened.”
Let us try and solve your problem. Send us an email to SolveIt7@WHDH.com or give us a call at 617-367-7777.
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