FRANKFORT, Ky. (February 15, 2021) – Attorney General Daniel Cameron today announced a $766,765 settlement with Voyageurs International, Ltd. (Voyageurs International) to reimburse 391 Kentucky students and chaperones who paid deposits to attend the Voyageurs 2020 Kentucky Ambassadors of Music Tour but were unable to participate after the company cancelled the trip due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were able to secure a full refund of the cancellation fee for Kentucky students and chaperones who had paid their deposit and planned to participate in the Voyageurs International trip to Europe,” said Attorney General Cameron. “The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented hardships for many, and our Office of Consumer Protection worked to ensure this money is put back in the hands of Kentuckians through this settlement.”
Voyageurs International provides music students and accompanying chaperones with scheduled trips to Europe for the students to perform music and to participate in a wide range of cultural experiences. The 2020 Kentucky Ambassadors of Music Tour also gave participants the option to extend their trip to Greece for an additional fee. The company cancelled the 2020 trip on March 16, 2020, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 391 affected Kentucky students and chaperones had paid significant seat deposits to reserve their place on the trip. When Voyageurs International cancelled the trip, the company retained $1900 per participant as a cancellation fee. The company also deemed non-refundable the Greece extension deposit of $765 or $775, depending on the amount each participant paid.
Voyageurs International and the Office of the Attorney General entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance to resolve all claims surrounding the cancellation fees. Each of the 391 Kentucky participants will be directly refunded the full amount of the trip deposit they paid to Voyageurs International through the $766,765 settlement amount.
The Office of the Attorney General will contact Kentuckians affected by the settlement in the coming days with information regarding next steps.
To view a copy of the settlement agreement, click here.