Hi, so for about a month now I've been planning on working and traveling overseas next year hopefully if all of this coronavirus stuff calms down. Anyway, last week I started looking into the company "Global Work & Travel" they're based in Queensland and they seemed popular, and they seemed to have had some good reviews at first sight. So I called them up, discussed what available work trips they have for about 40 minutes and next thing you know, I put in a deposit of $695 for the trip to the UK next year ($1590 was to be paid later). I was really excited. I know, this was extremely stupid on my part.
Now 4 days later, they called me up to discuss my trip and about making a CV for getting work internationally, they were also very pushy that I pay the rest of the amount of $1590 now, and they were very pushy about it telling me that if I don't do it soon, they won't be able to secure me a good spot on the trip. Now, to be honest, I was really excited about the trip, so I just told them that I'll pay $795 now and $795 at the end of the week, so I paid $795. (Keep in mind, Global Work & Travel does not cover flight costs or visa)
Now, remember, the company has not booked anything or helped me with anything yet, as they wait till I pay the full payment before they provide any of their "services".
A few hours after that call I started to look into this company and dig very deep, and it seems that this company has somewhat of a fraudulent past and they were investigated by the Queensland authorities and by the ABC about how their promises of finding work for travelers was sugarcoated and about how they mark up the prices on flights, there were some other issues too and the company was fined. Also, this is somewhat unrelated, but the company was also fined $148,000 in the past for underpaying its workers. They've pretty much screwed over their travelers and workers in the past. The company's salesmen are also very good at what they do, and they know exactly how to take advantage of desperate young people. I've also read their reviews more in detail and it seems that a lot of the positive reviews are people who didn't even go on their trips yet, there is no shortage of people with terrible past experiences with this company. This was all very fighting to me and I did not want to sink in any more money into this company, I also have orthodontic treatment coming up for my jaw and teeth which would take 20 months, so it is not recommended to go to another country more than 6-8 weeks if you want the treatment to stay on a smooth timeline, but this wasn't the main reason for the refund, I just do not trust this company.
Now, remember, the company has not booked or helped me with anything yet, as they wait till I pay the full payment before they provide any of their "services".
I am yet to pay the final amount of $795, they say that once the full amount is paid, they can then secure my trip and we can begin.
Now unfortunately for me, this company has a non-refund policy for the deposit, I started to get into a panic since this is money that I cannot afford to lose, it's like all this money would just disappear into thin air. I was hoping that someone could help me with this and if there's anything that I can do to get a full refund for the $1490 I've paid so far. You can look up online about the company "Global Work & Travel" and you'll find lots of bad stuff. I've also attached the booking terms and conditions for this company, I hope it will help you answer my question. Sorry If I missed anything, I am not very familiar with law or statutory rights.
I thank anyone in advance who can give me any information regarding this situation that I've gotten myself into.
Now 4 days later, they called me up to discuss my trip and about making a CV for getting work internationally, they were also very pushy that I pay the rest of the amount of $1590 now, and they were very pushy about it telling me that if I don't do it soon, they won't be able to secure me a good spot on the trip. Now, to be honest, I was really excited about the trip, so I just told them that I'll pay $795 now and $795 at the end of the week, so I paid $795. (Keep in mind, Global Work & Travel does not cover flight costs or visa)
Now, remember, the company has not booked anything or helped me with anything yet, as they wait till I pay the full payment before they provide any of their "services".
A few hours after that call I started to look into this company and dig very deep, and it seems that this company has somewhat of a fraudulent past and they were investigated by the Queensland authorities and by the ABC about how their promises of finding work for travelers was sugarcoated and about how they mark up the prices on flights, there were some other issues too and the company was fined. Also, this is somewhat unrelated, but the company was also fined $148,000 in the past for underpaying its workers. They've pretty much screwed over their travelers and workers in the past. The company's salesmen are also very good at what they do, and they know exactly how to take advantage of desperate young people. I've also read their reviews more in detail and it seems that a lot of the positive reviews are people who didn't even go on their trips yet, there is no shortage of people with terrible past experiences with this company. This was all very fighting to me and I did not want to sink in any more money into this company, I also have orthodontic treatment coming up for my jaw and teeth which would take 20 months, so it is not recommended to go to another country more than 6-8 weeks if you want the treatment to stay on a smooth timeline, but this wasn't the main reason for the refund, I just do not trust this company.
Now, remember, the company has not booked or helped me with anything yet, as they wait till I pay the full payment before they provide any of their "services".
I am yet to pay the final amount of $795, they say that once the full amount is paid, they can then secure my trip and we can begin.
Now unfortunately for me, this company has a non-refund policy for the deposit, I started to get into a panic since this is money that I cannot afford to lose, it's like all this money would just disappear into thin air. I was hoping that someone could help me with this and if there's anything that I can do to get a full refund for the $1490 I've paid so far. You can look up online about the company "Global Work & Travel" and you'll find lots of bad stuff. I've also attached the booking terms and conditions for this company, I hope it will help you answer my question. Sorry If I missed anything, I am not very familiar with law or statutory rights.
I thank anyone in advance who can give me any information regarding this situation that I've gotten myself into.
