The tour group announcement came home in May of 2025. My daughter really wanted to attend, which is rare that she gets excited about school trips. I was a few months away from finishing Breast Cancer treatment so I wanted to make this happen for her since the last year of my time was spent in treatment and feeling ill. I knew it would be a tough expense but I wanted to spend valuable time with my daughter after having to undergo treatment and feeling like I couldn't be as present during that time as I normally would be.
I logged on to Bob Rogers Travel and entered the group information for East Troy Community School District's Choir group. We had not yet been provided a finalized itinery and in fact, the itinerary changed several times over the next year.
I signed us up in good faith and chose to add the travel insurance as traveling with children is always uncertain. Throughout the year I made my payments on time, reviewed itinerary changes each time and my daughter and I were excited for our special trip.
After President Trump started the war and TSA agents were replaced by ICE workers, my daughter started becoming very anxious about the trip. She was worried that there was a chance of retailiation to New York City. She was afraid of ICE agents at the airport and was worried about the images of the long lines for lack of TSA and the possibilites of what could happen to New York City while we would be there. She was losing sleep, having anxiety and panic attacks at the thought of it all.
Knowing my daughter, I was worried that she would have a panic attack in the airport or while in New York City that could impact the whole group or worse, require a higher level of care while in a city that we don't know. I told my daughter that it was up to her if she wanted to cancel the trip since I bought the travel insurance, I should get a refund. She took some time to think about it and told me that since I will get a refund, she prefers to cancel.
I logged on to Bob Rogers Travel and requested to cancel my trip. I was then directed to go to Trip Mate to submit a request for my travel insurance. I didn't realize my insurance was through a third party. But I submitted my proof of cancelation, my documentation for my reasons, explaining that my daughter has anxiety and gets panic attacks, I provided documentation showing the travel warnings, etc.
The website stated that it could take up to 25 days for a refund. I didn't worry about that, I felt confidant that I would get a refund and I saved my daughter much undue stress and trauma.
Then I got an email stating that I would not be refunded. Unaware to me, there are very few and extreme circumstances when Trip Mate will actually pay a claim. I then messaged Bob Rogers Travel explaining my circumstances as well. Both interactions between Trip Mate and Bob Rogers Travel responses were rude and snarky.
On Trip Mate, I filed for an appeal. I explained my situation thoroughly to Bob Rogers Travel again, since they are the one that I paid all of the money to for a trip that we canceled and did not take. I pointed out to Bob Rogers Travel that I feel their practices are predatory as they target tour groups and mostly schools. I as a single mother can not afford to lose out all of these funds for a trip that I did not take and I canceled only due to political agency and systems that are beyond my control. I did not realize the travel insurance was, in my opinion, a scam. I was not able to choose who they pick for travel insurance and I wouldn't have even purchased it had I realized the limited ability to cancel at any time. Reading through the policy is not easy and is very restrictive. I think Bob Rogers Travel knows this, which is why they pick Trip Mate, in order to get away with not giving refunds.
Both of these companies are acting together in predatory practices to scam people out of their money. I'm a single mom, recovering Cancer patient with a daughter that was losing sleep and having anxiety attacks. It would have been negligent of me to force her to go on this trip. There is no reason why I shouldn't get a full refund. Not only that, but using an insurance company whose policies are so convoluted and difficult to understand is further upsetting. When purchasing airline tickets or other travel groups, it is clear that you can cancel at any time to get a refund. I wonder how many other single parents or families have been treated like this through these two companies. Not just the lack of refund, which is egregious, but also the rude responses from customer service. I wish I would have researched BOTH companies before signing up. Trip Mate also has terrible reviews and is listed all over as being a predatory company. read more