February 11, 2020
On February 3, 2020, Pacific Delight Tours suspended its tour operator business and is no longer a USTOA Active Member. Accordingly, Pacific Delight Tours no longer participates in the USTOA $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program.
Travel agents and consumers should be aware that partial or full reimbursement of lost payments and/or deposits for Pacific Delight Tours made prior to February 3, 2020, may be protected under the USTOA $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program. Passenger deposits and payments made after February 3, 2020 will not be covered by the USTOA Program.
Please note that passengers who are entitled to reimbursement from other sources such as credit card chargebacks, travel insurance are not eligible for a reimbursement from the USTOA $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program.
USTOA advises Pacific Delight Tours passengers who have lost a payment or deposit made prior to February 3, 2020 to take the following steps before submitting a claim for reimbursement from the USTOA $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program:
- If payment was made by credit card, a claim should be placed immediately with the card issuer. See below for more information about credit card payments.
- If third party travel insurance was obtained, a claim should be placed immediately with the insurer
To the extent you are not entitled to reimbursement of your deposit or payment from any of the above sources, and the payment was made by cash, wire or check, and you have no travel insurance, you should then submit a claim for reimbursement from the USTOA $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program. In all events, claim forms for the USTOA Program must be received by USTOA or postmarked no later than May 1, 2020.
Consumers who qualify for refunds of lost deposits and payments (and travel agents filing a claim on behalf of their clients) must complete and timely file a claim form (Consumer or Travel Agent) for reimbursement from USTOA’s $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program. Claim forms can be obtained by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page. We will cross check information on claim forms with passenger data information we receive from Pacific Delight Tours.
The $1 Million proceeds of USTOA’s $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program will be distributed pro rata among eligible claimants. There is no first come first served policy for reimbursement. The $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program does not cover travel agent commission.
- All claims must be made on the appropriate form and backup receipts and documentation must accompany the form. Do not email your claim form as they will not be accepted. Please mail hard copies by certified mail, return receipt requested to:
USTOA Travelers Assistance Program
345 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1801
New York, NY 10001
- Due date: May 1, 2020. No late claims will be considered.
- Once all claims submitted by May 1, 2020 have been verified, eligible claimants will be reimbursed on a pro rata basis.
Credit Cards
For those consumers who used a credit card to purchase their travel, you may be entitled to a chargeback from your credit card company under applicable law, and should pursue your rights to this remedy. To the extent a consumer is entitled to a credit card chargeback under Federal Law, he/she is not eligible for reimbursement under the USTOA $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program. If for any reason you believe that your credit card processor may deny a chargeback, you should file a timely claim with the USTOA Program and then provide the refusal letter later, if and when received. If you fail to timely file a claim with USTOA by May 1, 2020 and your credit card processor later denies your chargeback, you will not be eligible for reimbursement under the USTOA $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program.
Please email ustoaclaims@ustoa.com with any questions. Please note we will not accept any claim forms by email.
CONSUMER CLAIM FORM
TRAVEL AGENT CLAIM FORM
