Due to the developing COVID-19 pandemic, travel, both domestic and international, has been completely restricted. This has caused many high school and college students' study abroad trips to be cut short or cancelled altogether. Students seeking refunds for cancelled trips are being told that only partial refunds can be processed. Specifically, Education First (EF), an international study abroad travel company, is withholding at least $1,000 from students whose upcoming trips are cancelled due to the pandemic.

According to Education First, "We make bookings the moment a student enrolls. Just as students make deposits to EF, EF makes deposits to all of the providers we use for flights, hotels, tickets, and guides. In having to cancel your program, we lost all of that, which amounts to far more than $1000 per person. We cannot and will not be able to recoup those costs." 

We dispute these claims because our trip is only a month away, and to date, have yet to receive any travel or lodging information, despite requesting it, and therefore, have zero proof that anything was ever booked on their end. If they have provided deposits to airlines and hotels, we would like to know the specific details of that information. The only other options they provide are to reschedule the trip, or receive a travel voucher, to be used in the next 2.5 years. 

This company understandably wants to keep our business, but those that desperately need the money in a time of crisis such as this, and those that cannot make future plans to travel because of economic and occupational reasons, are counting on a full refund in order to provide for themselves and their families. 

Representatives of EF contradict themselves in many emails and phone calls. When the COVID-19 outbreak first happened, we were given the option to cancel our trip for a refund, with no mention of a fee. Only when we decided it was best to cancel our trip for the health and safety of ourselves and others, were we made aware that EF would be keeping $1,000 of our money. Additionally, in one email sent on March 18th from the Director of Institutional Partnerships he/she said, "Our cancellation fees are frozen through April 30th". In another email sent to us on March 30th by our Program Consultant at EF, the $1,000 to be withheld was listed as a "cancellation fee". If this is a true cancellation fee, why is it not "frozen" as they previously stated 12 days prior?

Travelers in my group paid a deposit in the amount of $95 upon booking, which we initially assumed to be non-refundable. But a $905 difference that we were not made aware of is unacceptable, especially since the only reason for the cancellation is a worldwide epidemic, and frankly, a terrible way to do business.

Bertil Hult, the owner of Education First, has a net-worth of over $5 billion, and I'm willing to bet the company is worth right around that too. The cost of my group's trip was around $4,000 per traveler. This is money that can be used towards rent, utilities, groceries, car payments, and child care - all things essential for living (never mind how behind in bills we could all be once the global pandemic finally ends). We have travelers who have either lost their jobs completely or had significant cuts in their hours and their wages. We also have travelers who are currently working in healthcare, on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis, working diligently to protect people like you. Receiving our money back will take the stress and uncertainty out of living through this unprecedented event. 

Not only is there currently an active global travel ban enacted by the U.S. government, but the U.S. Department of State has declared our specific destination, the Dominican Republic, in addition to many others, a Level 3 (as of March 18) area, and according to EF themselves, they will not allow us to "travel to any destinations with a Level 3 designation from the State Department." Now here we are, April 1, a month away from our departure date, and the Department of State has escalated the entire world to a Level 4, heavily advising against any travel. Why will we not receive a full refund if the company themselves will not allow us to travel?

Travelers paid an additional fee for "Global Travel Protection", to protect us against trip cancellation including, "Your being hijacked, quarantined, required to serve on a jury (notice of jury duty must be received after your effective date), served with a court order to appear as a witness in a legal action in which you are not a party (except law enforcement officers)". Quarantine. Perfect, right? Nope. After bringing this up, we are now being told that the "quarantine" has to be ordered for 24/7 by a doctor or government, which is not stated explicitly in the policy provided to us. Why then did we pay for travel protection, if our travel is not to be protected? On top of this, EF will not contact their insurance company themselves, they are requiring that each individual traveler file a claim on their own behalf. Isn't it the responsibility of the company to inquire about their own policies that they have written and put into place?

Flights have been fully refunded, cruises cancelled with full refunds, and hotels have been processing refunds in full for more than a month now. Companies around the world are modifying their policies to include a full refund in the case of a pandemic situation, such as COVID-19. The majority of the travel industry has followed an ethical path. Why not Education First? Why does a billion-dollar travel company need to profit off of a global pandemic, when their customers are struggling students, just trying to make ends meet during this most difficult time? 

Please, stand with us and sign this petition in support of hard-working students and their families around the world to request full reimbursement for the funds paid towards study abroad trips that have been cancelled in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Additionally, please remember that this company, Education First, does not show compassion and empathy to their customers during extenuating circumstances, and we advise you to refrain from giving them your own or your institution's business in the future.