Saga Travel Iceland has declared bankruptcy!

[JLMoran]

I had booked a tour of The Golden Circle with them, and found their web site offline for the last several days as I tried to request a refund. I just got the below email from the Icelandic Tourist Board. Emphasis added.

Quote

Regarding your tour with Saga Travel ehf.

The Icelandic Tourist Board hereby informs you that the travel agency licence of Saga Travel ehf. has been suspended due to bankruptcy.

According to information from Saga Travel ehf. you had purchased a tour with them that does not constitute a package tour or a link travel arrangement. For repayments, you can direct your claim to the card issuer (bank) if purchased with payment card (debit or credit) or the bankruptcy estate. Only those who have bought a package or a linked travel arrangement can direct their claim against Saga Travels insolvency protection. Saga Travel ehf. was according to Icelandic law obliged to have an insolvency protection for refunding all payments made for a package or a linked travel arrangement, which are not performed or completed, in case of bankruptcy or suspension of the operations.

The purchase of a travel service on a stand-alone basis as a single travel service that does not constitute a package or a linked travel arrangement is for example, the purchase of hotel accommodation only or only a day tour/excursions/leisure-time activities. 

Further information can be found on ITB‘s website. Inquiries can be directed to the Tourist Board‘s online chat and the e-mail [email protected].

I now have to call my credit card company and see if they will refund me the price of this tour (almost $400). Never thought booking direct with a third party would carry this particular risk!

[Pima1988]

4 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

I had booked a tour of The Golden Circle with them, and found their web site offline for the last several days as I tried to request a refund. I just got the below email from the Icelandic Tourist Board. Emphasis added.

I now have to call my credit card company and see if they will refund me the price of this tour (almost $400). Never thought booking direct with a third party would carry this particular risk!

I wonder now of this becomes common how many cruisers will go back and pay higher prices via the cruise lines.

Prior to CoVid passengers leaned towards the cruise lines so they wouldn't be the runners at the port.  Now, they may lean towards it bc tourism industry companies that rely on cruises will go belly up.

[JLMoran]

20 minutes ago, Pima1988 said:

I wonder now of this becomes common how many cruisers will go back and pay higher prices via the cruise lines.

Prior to CoVid passengers leaned towards the cruise lines so they wouldn't be the runners at the port.  Now, they may lean towards it bc tourism industry companies that rely on cruises will go belly up.

I went with this company because they had a sterling rep and offered much better / smaller tours for appreciably lower price per person than Celebrity was charging. $385 at time of purchase, vs. about $800-$1000 for the four of us to book a tour with Celebrity. If X continues to charge rates like what I was seeing for this sailing in 2021, I'll be seriously PO'ed. And will still book directly with third parties.

I don't want a busload of people all around me that is going to the places only reachable by main roads, I'm looking for small-group tours that can get to some places just a little more off the beaten path, or that go at slightly different hours so they avoid the big crowds and give us a chance to better appreciate the landscapes we're seeing. So I really hope those business are able to bounce back and will be bending over backwards to build new reputations / rebuild their old ones.

[twangster]

Sadly this is an example of one of so many companies that are being impacted by the virus.  

[AshleyDillo]

55 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

I had booked a tour of The Golden Circle with them, and found their web site offline for the last several days as I tried to request a refund. I just got the below email from the Icelandic Tourist Board. Emphasis added.

I now have to call my credit card company and see if they will refund me the price of this tour (almost $400). Never thought booking direct with a third party would carry this particular risk!

Look at your Travel Insurance policy as well.  Most of them have provisions for bankruptcy of a tour operator.

[JLMoran]

20 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

Look at your Travel Insurance policy as well.  Most of them have provisions for bankruptcy of a tour operator.

Thanks for that suggestion. I'd like to hold that as a last resort, since I already got confirmation I can move the existing policy to the rescheduled cruise date at no charge and I'll lose that if I file a claim.

I actually just got off the phone with my credit card's dispute agency, and it looks like they will be able to resolve this to my satisfaction. They agree that since I reached out to the company before I received notice of their bankruptcy, and their own cancellation policy stated that they would give a full refund if requested at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled date, I'm due the refund. A credit for the full original amount in USD (not in ISK, which is interesting since the Kroner exchange rate isn't as favorable to USD right now, so the value in ISK will end up higher than original) is being issued to my card. It's also done as a discussion between the card's bank and the company's bank, not the company, so apparently even though the company is gone the bank can still somehow provide the funds.