Payments & Refunds - Law and Policies
Twenty six tour and travel service providers based in India went out of business in 2004 (the number has increased every year since then - it is 43 year to date in 2007). Most of them had elaborate websites, and credentials that appeared impressive. A visitor to India has no recourse for a refund or substitution if the India based agencies don't live up to any, or all, aspects of what they have promised you. India is strictly buyer beware.
Easy Tours Of India is a United States Corporation, and is governed by, and abides with, the rules set by Federal and State regulators.
Easy Tours of India, Inc. follows the requirements laid down by the State of California as they are the most comprehensive regulations governing sellers of travel and California has legislated many laws to protect consumers and promote integrity in the travel industry.
Easy Tours of India has a segregated, federally insured, Travel Trust Account with Citibank. All guest payments go directly to this account. From there, payments are disbursed to the vendors providing different services during your visit. We use your payments only to obtain tickets and services for which you have contracted. We don't take the funds (after paying for all the services provided to you) that cover our organizational costs, the money we donate, and our profits, out of the account until after you have finished your tour with us.
Travel Insurance: We are proud to be the solitary India Only Specialist on Allianz Global Assistance’s Covered Supplier List. Allianz Global Assistance can offer you a variety of coverage options and we can guide you in selecting the plan that is best for you. Bear in mind that cancellation of a tour requires a large amount of documentation which covers each hotel, flight, and ground service segment of your tour. If you purchase insurance through us we can provide this documentation directly to Allianz Global Assistance, thereby saving you time and effort. As with all types of insurance, terms, conditions, and exclusions apply.
Our policies and terms for cancellations, refunds, and changes requested by the consumer are contained in the Confirmation of Availability Package that the consumer approves in their initial acceptance of the travel plans, and can also be viewed below.
Payments: ALL PAYMENTS, DEPOSITS & OTHER MONETARY SUMS ARE QUOTED PER PERSON IN ALL STATEMENTS THAT FOLLOW. We require a payment of $500.00 per guest (per small group tour) as an initial deposit (certain tours and dates can require larger deposits, custom itineraries will require deposits of $1000.00 or more, depending on a variety of reasons). We require only this initial deposit at the moment you accept the itinerary of your web based "Confirmation of Availability Package" and ask us to reserve it for you. We accept the initial deposit by credit card, certified check, or bank transfer only. We prefer checks and bank transfers for the balance. Travel supplements for travel within India (& Nepal/Tibet/Bhutan) are usually due within two to four weeks of the initial deposit.
50% of the cost of your tour (after subtracting your initial deposit) is required at least 90 days prior to the start of your tour, or if between 60 and 90 days remain, at the time of approval of your "Confirmation of Availability Package". The other 50% is due at least sixty days prior to the start of your tour. Reservations made with less than 60 days remaining will require immediate payment of all dues.
Reservations that include a hotel stay during the period between Dec 20th and Jan 3rd & during the two weeks surrounding the Pushkar Festival (Late Oct or Mid Nov, varies yearly) 100% of the cost of your tour is due 95 days before your tour begins.
Prices: All rates quoted are per person, based on double occupancy, and in US dollars. If not listed, single supplements are available upon request in the 'Comments" section in each 'Reservation Inquiry Form'. All prices, except for when a deposit has been accepted by Easy Tours Of India, Inc., on a C.O.A.P. submitted to the guest, are subject to change at any time at the sole discretion of Easy Tours Of India, Inc.
Unlike some tour operators, tour costs include accommodations and all taxes and surcharges on them, breakfast at your hotel (in some tours, such as the Indian Cuisines Tours and Ayurveda and Yoga retreats, almost all meals are included), tours of all the sights and monuments as per your itinerary, a bottle of water per day per person, as well as the best English speaking guides and visit facilitators during your visit. All visits include entrance fees to all monuments on your itinerary. They also include THREE EXCURSIONS (subject to park schedules) if you have chosen a wildlife tour on your itinerary. Additional visits and/or cameras (including video and movie cameras) will sometimes have additional charges that guests are responsible for.
Non-Refundable charges:$150.00 of the initial deposit is non-refundable regardless of when you choose to cancel, and may not be applied towards changes in your itinerary. It goes to pay our initial costs, such as mailing costs, costs associated with making your initial reservation, and associated administrative costs. Airline tickets (purchased by Easy Tours Of India, for travel within Southeast Asia) cancellations will incur charges as levied by the airline. Restricted fares will have higher costs while unrestricted fares have a token charge of $10 to $20 per segment.
If you are reserving flights to and from India as part of your tour, all charges for this service are due to the travel agency you've chosen at whatever time was agreed between you and them.
Cancellations are processed as detailed below. If Easy Tours Of India does not receive, or is unable to process any of your payments within as per the schedule outlined above, we will cancel your reservation and process a refund of your total payments, after adjusting for the agreed upon Cancellation Costs. We use secure servers to process your electronic payments.
Cancellations - A request for cancellation will only be considered valid if it is processed by either of the following two means-
(a) Received by our web site (easytoursofindia.com), submitted on the appropriate form (link provided as part of the C.O.A.P. at the time of initial confirmation of your order).
(b) by registered mail or delivery service (with proof of in-person delivery) at our US mailing address - Easy Tours Of India, 12885 Research Blvd, #208, Austin, TX 78750.
Within 2 business days of receiving your request for cancellation request, Easy Tours will send you a link to your Cancellation Agreement which details the exact amount refundable to you, if any, as per your original contract (COAP). Once we receive your acceptance of this agreement, Easy Tours will process your refund promptly as described in the Refund section below.
Discount Airfares to & from India are usually not cancelable. If you asked Easy Tours Of India to refer you to a travel agency/airline, we cannot refund any charges you paid for the airline tickets or any other fees tendered to them. For the payments made to Easy Tours of India, and only for those payments, the following cancellation terms and charges apply:
Cancellation Costs: (a) Cancellations received by us at least ninety five days (but after 120 days) before your tour originates, are charged the higher amount (per person) out of US $250.00, or 5% of the total cost of your visit. Airline tickets (purchased by Easy Tours Of India, for travel within Southeast Asia) cancellations will incur charges as levied by the airline. Restricted fares will have higher costs while unrestricted fares have a token charge of $10 to $20 per segment.
(b) Cancellations received by us between ninety five days and Sixty days remaining till your visit begins are charged the higher amount (per person) out of US $500.00, or 15% of the total cost of your visit.. Reservations that include a hotel during the period between Dec 20th and Jan 3rd & during the two weeks surrounding the Pushkar Festival (Late Oct or Mid Nov, varies yearly), 75% of your total costs are charged upon cancellation.
(c) Cancellations received between sixty days and thirty five days remaining till your visit begins, are charged the higher amount (per person) of US $1000, or 35% of the total cost of your visit. Reservations that include a hotel stay during the period between Dec 20th and Jan 3rd & during the two weeks surrounding the Pushkar Festival (Late Oct or Mid Nov, varies yearly), 90% of your total costs are charged upon cancellation.
(d) Cancellations received between thirty five days and seven days remaining till your visit begins, are charged the higher amount (per person) of $1500.00, or 75% of the total cost of your visit. Reservations that include a hotel stay during the period between Dec 20th and Jan 3rd & during the two weeks surrounding the Pushkar Festival (Late Oct or Mid Nov, varies yearly), 100% of your total costs are charged upon cancellation.
(e) If less than 7 days remain, a cancellation is considered a "no show"* and does not qualify for a refund except at the sole discretion of Easy Tours of India.
Changes - Changes to your tour package after your acceptance of the "Confirmation of Availability Package" are done at the sole discretion of Easy Tours Of India. You can request them by mail or by accessing our Alter Plans Form. If we are unable to make your desired changes, we'll offer you the option for a refund as defined in our "Cancellation" section.
Very infrequently, small changes may be made to your travel arrangements which we reserve the right to do so at any time, and we will advise you at the earliest possible date. These changes may be the result of Force Majeure or other similar reasons that are beyond our control, such as weather conditions, delays in departures, strikes or riots, overbookings or closure of a hotel, decisions taken by Tourist Organizations and/or State Governments, etc. This may result in an alteration of the itinerary, omission of a destination, or changing the time spent in a particular destination. If it is possible we will provide you with alternative arrangements, and if not, give you a refund as per our policies defined in the "refund section".
Refunds: - All payments for transportation, or travel service, not provided to the passenger shall be promptly refunded, in accordance with the agreed-to terms and conditions, unless the passenger otherwise instructs the Easy Tours Of India in writing.
If you cancel your tour, or do not make payments as per the agreed upon schedule, Easy Tours Of India shall process your refund (after deducting the agreed upon cancellation costs) in less than thirty days from the earliest of the following dates:
(1) The scheduled date of departure.
(2) The day the passenger requests a refund.
(3) The day of cancellation by Easy Tours Of India.
In the unlikely event that we are unable to provide the tour package, we will process the refund of all your payments within three days from the day that we become aware of this inability.
In the event of cancellation due to unforeseeable circumstances beyond Easy Tours Of India's control (such as a natural disaster), Easy Tours Of India will refund all your money, less any Non-Refundable Charges, within 30 days of cancellation, after adjusting for any unrecoverable payments already tendered to our suppliers, as stated in the State Of California mandated disclosure in the following paragraph.
Upon cancellation of the transportation or travel services, where the passenger is not at fault and has not cancelled in violation of any terms and conditions previously clearly and conspicuously disclosed and agreed to by the passenger, all sums paid to the seller of travel for services not provided will be promptly paid to the passenger, unless the passenger advises the seller of travel in writing, after cancellation. This provision does not apply where the seller of travel has remitted the payment to another registered wholesale seller of travel or a carrier, without obtaining a refund, and where the wholesaler or provider defaults in providing the agreed-upon transportation or service. In this situation, the seller must provide the passenger with a written statement accompanied by bank records establishing the disbursement of the payment, and if disbursed to a wholesale seller of travel, proof of current registration of that wholesaler.
