Purchasing Power review: Paying for services that I did not use due to emergency. Hotel refunded purchasing power, they still want me to pay for the service.

I have been a long time Purchasing Power customer and I was very happy with their service up to this point, where I am now extremely disappointed with the service I am receiving from purchasing power. I purchased a Travel package, where part of a travel package could not be used (hotel), the funds were returned to purchasing power, and I am being held accountable and being held hostage to pay for the service that I could not use, and pay for something that happened to us, that was out of our control, and was very disruptive to our travel plans.

Through Purchasing Power website, I made reservations on June 22, 2023 for a travel package from New York City to Buffalo/Toronto Ontario for trip Aug 03, 2023 to Aug 06, 2023. The booking was for 2 passengers, Maurina Samuel (me) and Honour Jackson (my husband). I took out insurance via Purchasing power website the company's name (csatravelprotection.com) in the event that there was some emergency or something out of our control occurred with the airlines, not expecting the emergency to happen with the hotel part.

My husband and I travelled as usual on August 03, 2023 with the airline Delta from JFK to Buffalo, NY, therefore we used the service for the airline, and we rented the car from Alamo when we arrived at Buffalo, NY to take the scenic drive to Toronto, Ontario, when it was time to cross the border to get to the Canadian side to use the service of the hotel section that was booked, something happened out of our control, he did not have his passport. We could not cross from NY to Canada without his passport because it was lost. My husband remembered the last time he had it on his possession was when he gave it along with his printed boarding pass to the Delta gate agent at NYC that morning to board the aircraft. Delta Air Lines DL 5798. He cannot remember her giving it back to him. I contacted Delta and there was no trace of his passport, so upon our return from Buffalo, the only thing for him to do was to apply for another passport.

I contacted Purchasing power immediately on Aug 03, 2023 in the am, when we were in Niagara Falls, spoke with an agent, and explained what happened. I told her we cannot get to the hotel, we cannot cross the border, as we could not find his passport, seemed like it was lost, and I explained to the representative that the hotel needed to be cancelled (3 nights) immediately, so that charges would not be incurred. The PP Rep told me there was no changes, or returns to the itinerary at all and the only thing for me to do is to file a claim with the insurance company when I returned, and I could use those funds to pay off the hotel bill that I was contracted. In her saying this to me, she made me believe that the hotel had a no cancellation policy which come to find out the hotel did not. The hotel returned the funds to Expedia, who Purchasing power made the reservations with.

I received an email from the hotel regarding the bill.

We had to stay in Buffalo/Niagara area and pay out of pocket for the 3 nights again at another hotel, as our flight was booked to return on Aug 6, 2023. This was very hard on us, as we had limited funds available.

I have called Purchasing Power numerous times, explained the situation to different agents and got the same explanation, the agents have told me that there is “absolutely no refund or changes to the itineraries”. And I should file a claim with the insurance company. I explained that I have filed a claimed with the insurance company that denied my claim due to certain criteria that I did not fall into for them to approve. For instance, losing a passport and filing a police report. Who files a police report for losing a passport? Losing a passport is referred and reported to the state department, and reapply for a passport is done with the state department not the police department, so falling into the criteria for approval by the insurance company is not fair. I don’t understand the judgement that’s being used. “My husband’s passport was not returned to him when the gate agent took it along with his boarding pass to scan it for him to get onto the aircraft.

It is unfair that Purchasing Power is shifting the responsibility over to the insurance company when I understand that the hotel has refunded the entire “purchase-service cost” back to the vendor. It is unacceptable and out right theft from a consumer, as purchasing power is still taking money from my paycheck for a service that I did not use/receive.

Expedia (travel agent) and Expedia returned the Total: $1180.87 back to purchasing power. So, purchasing power is holding the funds hostage and keeping the $1180.87 and still expect me to pay the $1180.87, and I have not stayed by the hotel?

I had trusted this company for so many years and by them not reviewing my situation fairly, this is blatant theft. Purchasing power should refund the $1180.87 and deduct this amount from my entire package purchase package total with taxes of $3,015.53