PADI (diviac) has screwed up my liveaboard - help?

[DSR-3]

I would suggest doing what it takes to make your trip work with minimal hassle/stress on your part, charge everything on CC, keep all documentation, and dispute ALL charges as soon as they are billed. If you've already been billed for the original payment, file a dispute for that ASAP.

'Super disappointing to hear that PADI (or any business) has such poor organization, communication, and customer service. I would take every opportunity to warn others of your experience. PADI floods the "trips.." forum with what are simply ads. That forum used to be a great resource for divers- I booked at least 2 trips from posts there before it became the waste of time it is now.

 

[Damselfish]

As far as booking agent vs direct, I think it can go either way. My motto is always “trust (a little) but verify”

 

[outofofficebrb]

As far as booking agent vs direct, I think it can go either way. My motto is always “trust (a little) but verify”

Yeah. I was under the impression that booking through a booking agent rather than directly with a liveaboard was supposed to give the customer peace of mind that if any problems arose, the booking agent would take care of them for the customer, not that the booking agent would create problems that would not have arisen had the booking agent not been involved at all.

Agreed. For what it’s worth, booking direct sometimes means doing wire transfers or payment via PayPal, sometimes with an additional fee. By booking through an agent, you usually do get the peace of mind and payment by credit card with no additional fees and therefore more recourse, either via the agent or as a chargeback/dispute with your card company. I’ve booked many trips with PADI Travel, formerly Diviac, and I am actually really surprised this happened. Hopefully, they will make it right....many eyes are on this, including mine. I’m no stranger to them since they know me on a first name basis. Lol

 

[moorish8idol]

Hi folks,

A little update for the community since I think your comments and eyes have probably assisted getting this issue escalated! I just got a phone call from a PADI Travel customer service agent who was very apologetic about how things have been handled to this point. It appears the boat may have miscommunicated with PADI initially (still under investigation) but he promised to follow up and that they will compensate me for getting a new flight out of Hurghada if that is what has to happen - and this was offered up front without me having to beg (way more than I was expecting). So still waiting for a few confirmations but I am quite relieved that someone got in touch that is willing to make things right!

Thanks for your support.

 

[Bubblesong]

Please keep posting how PADI Diviac follows through with promises to fix issues. Thank you for posting.

 

[moorish8idol]

All is sorted! Manuel at PADI Travel was excellent. He confirmed their resolution offer to me in writing and since it was so prompt and generous, I accepted immediately. They provided me free nitrox on the boat and have already refunded my credit card for the one-way fare of a new flight out of Hurghada (very generous) as well as a voucher for some money off if I choose to book through them again on another liveaboard. While they advised that port changes do happen sometimes due to weather conditions, this was not the case for me and accepted responsibility for the miscommunications. He promised to follow up with his team to try and ensure they respond to this type of situation better in the future. So while it was quite stressful over the weekend, I am very pleased with how they dealt with it in the end and don't think I would have had such a generous and immediate offer of compensation if I had booked with the boat directly. I am also certain that your attentive digital eyes on this issue helped a great deal.

Cheers! (I will follow up with a boat and trip review when I am back)

 

[Hoag]

Always good to read a story that has a happy ending!

Have a great trip!

 

[Lorenzoid]

Wonderful! This says volumes about PADI Travel.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Hooray! This is such great news! I'm glad that they took accountability for the miscommunication and took such great care of you. The credit for a future booking was very generous as well.

Have a great time! I'm headed out to the Red Sea next month as well! I'd love to hear about it when you get back.

 

[RB7]

Great to see them stepping up and takjng care of the mixup. Definately puts them into my consideration list for next time i plan a trip.