Name: Camps International
Address: Unit 10 Kingfisher Park Headlands Business ParkSalisbury Road, Ringwood
Rating: 4.14

“My son was due to travel this year, clearly covid has prevented this. Camps asked the school to cancel/defer despite knowing that travel bans to the country my son was going to were in place ans covered the dates of travel, all flights to the destination (and the back up destination) had already been cancelled before the deadline the school were given to make their decision. So despite it being physically impossible to get pupils to the country Camps still refused to take action by cancelling the trip. Upon contacting Camps myself I queried vaccines as GPs and pharmacies had stopped doing them (early March) and the member of staff advised me that not vaccinating my child was perfectly fine, despite this being terrible advice medically but it could also cause issues with insurance. I forwarded this email chain to another member of the Camps team to be called a liar, despite having written evidence right there. Camps informed me that they would contact me via email before refunding 50% of the trips cost, this didn’t happen, it took until early July to finally receive a refund and the member of staff found it appropriate to write “lol” in their email to me. When deferral was an option I asked Camps what would happen about students who would be 19 years old who would be considered ‘strange adults’ where safe guarding is concerned, I was informed that they would not need DBS checks and would still be sharing bedrooms with children. As a designated safe guarding lead I can assure you that does not comply with safe guarding. I work at a school and I organise all of the schools enrichment activities, all of the companies my school uses have cancelled all of our trips and refunded us in full, some which were more costly than Camps. Speaking to various colleagues at other schools Camps seems to be one of the few companies who have refused to act in a responsible manner.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Having paid a huge sum of money to Camps International (£4,000+) it is a huge disappointment to find that due to the Covid 19 situation, they have chosen to refund only HALF the money and kept the rest. Of course I understand that they have made payments for these forthcoming trips, however I fail to believe they did not take out insurance for situations such as this. To keep £2000 of our hard earned money and force us to rely on an external insurance company who may or may not refund this amount, is quite simply, a joke. Not only has my sons trip been ruined, but the slap in the face is Camps International keeping half the money for their ‘costs’. Shame on you. This is disgraceful. Pure and Simple. I really hope this gets picked up by the media so this can be exposed, as clearly this money should be paid back. parents have saved tirelessly to send their children on these trips; to have this money taken from them is, in my eyes, almost criminal.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hi, Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback. We are extremely disappointed that our trips are unable to go ahead this year and know how hard families and students have been working to raise the money. In line with our terms and conditions, when a school decides to cancel, 50% of the expedition costs are irrecoverable due to the amount of pre-expedition support you will have already received. This includes the booking of flights and investments into our social enterprise model i.e wages for local staff and vital capacity building throughout our host communities. We understand your frustrations but can assure you that we are working closely with schools throughout this difficult process to do everything possible to mitigate any financial exposure for families and have supported all affected schools with claiming through their school insurance, in line with guidance from The Department for Education, along with other central bodies such as the OEAP (Outdoor Education Advisors Panel), and EPA (Expedition Providers Association). We understand that the majority of schools have already had successful claims processed through their insurance and many families have received their money back already, however we will be more than happy to discuss your concerns and individual situation further with you. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us at travelsupport@campsinternational.co.uk. Regards, The Camps Crew

Posted 5 years ago

“Do not deal with this company - only interested in taking your money. They are like the school bully taking dinner money from the smaller kids by imposing unrealistic terms and conditions.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hi John, Thank you for your feedback. We would like to assure you that our terms and conditions are in line with other school expedition travel providers. An expedition is unlike other travel experiences due to the extensive support and organisation before the expedition itself takes place, including the booking of flights and the investment into our social enterprise model globally i.e. wages for local staff and vital capacity building throughout our host communities. We have been working closely with schools to mitigate any financial exposure caused to families and have supported many schools through successful insurance claims already. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your individual concerns further and offer our support - please don’t hesitate to contact us at travelsupport@campsinternational.co.uk. All the best, The Camps Crew

Posted 5 years ago

“I fully agree with everything said in the review by MF. Shame on You Camps International!! I am shocked and dismayed by your unethical business dealings during this Global Pandemic. Trip has now been deferred by a year. However my child no longer has a place (as currently in Year 11). Guess what - Camps International want to keep 50% of the trip cost (nearly £2000) for the privilege of telling me my child can't defer and doesn't have a place. Easy money, £2000 per child affected. Multiple children impacted at my child's school, even before you look at the many other volunteer trips Camps International have planned over the Summer with schools across the UK. Leaving the school to submit an Insurance claim, but this cannot be guaranteed! £2000 of fundraised/donated money (that will need to be repaid) and my hard earned money. To add further insult I now have to wait 6-8 weeks for the monies paid over the £2000 to be refunded by Camps. Apparently its really hard for them as they only have a small team and are WFH so the process will take longer. They certainly had no issue taking my money!! Over 3500 people due to travel with Camps this summer. Although according to Camps their primary business is not with schools and education establishments with children aged under 18 - so the Department of Education direction does not apply! When challenged they would not provide the numbers of those due to travel under the age of 18. Camps International must be rubbing their hands with delight. Refer to terms and conditions - we are in the middle of a global pandemic! What ethical Tour Operator would consider sending a plane full of children to Kenya amidst all of this going on - apparently Camps International would. A clear case of a Tour Operator making a financial gain and profiting by ‘double recovering’ their money. You have tarnished a once in a lifetime opportunity for my child, and what for? Financial gain. Utterly disgraceful. I urge all schools to carefully consider any further trips with Camps past 2021.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hi Kim, The current pandemic has, of course, brought about unprecedented changes within the world and particularly within the travel industry. We have worked with all stakeholders to navigate through this situation and work with schools to find a solution which mitigates financial exposure for families, closely following guidance from The Department for Education, along with other central bodies such as the OEAP (Outdoor Education Advisors Panel), and EPA (Expedition Providers Association). As we hope you understand, in line with our terms and conditions, 50% of the expedition costs are irrecoverable upon the school decision to cancel, having already been committed to the extensive support and organisation before the expedition itself takes place, including the booking of flights and the investment into our social enterprise model globally i.e. wages for local staff and vital capacity building throughout our host communities. We understand many schools have already had successful claims processed through their insurance for the remaining costs and some families have received their money back already. We completely understand that in cases where the school has chosen to defer the trip, some students will be unable to travel with their school at this date. We would encourage anyone in this situation to contact us directly to discuss options for individual students unable to travel with their school. We understand you have already spoken with a member of our team, and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your concerns further with you. Thanks, The Camps Crew

Posted 5 years ago

“My daughter was due to go to Costa Rica in July/August 2020. We were 'sold' an amazing experience during a talk in school. We were told there would be lots of support to help fundraise the £4350 to go on the trip, which there wasn't. She has worked hard over the past year to raise the money. We started to have doubts about the trip when we weren't given answers as to which other schools she would be going with (she is only 15 and a month away from home with strangers raised a few concerns with us). We eventually were given a list of other schools she would be going with. When the whole Covid situation started, we received no advice, no reassurance or guidance from camps so we contacted the schools on the list that she would be travelling with. Many schools were happy to talk to us, but wanted us that the options they were being given involved their students losing a significant amount of their monies paid and they would have to claim on their own school insurances. We then discovered that most of these groups were not even travelling or would not be in Costa Rica when she was going to be there. This raised our concerns even more and when we emailed camps we were fobbed off with some lame excuse about composite groups being different. We were then told that the options for her travel had been sent to the school - not us. There is only 2 students from her school travelling to Costa Rica so it couldn't be hard to send us the information to. The trip has now been cancelled as Camps option to defer until next year is not really an option for us. The department for Education has said that school trips must not go ahead for an indefinite period of time, so if we defer until next summer and the restriction is still in place, the insurance will not pay out as the trip was booked against government advice. Camps have kept half of her money paid, just over £2000, money which generous people have sponsored her and donated and also companies who have sponsored her in return for her to advertise their companies by means of a blog/ Facebook/istagram posts etc whilst she is there. She will now have to try to raise this money to repay all these people who have given her money. Apparently, because British Airways are still flying in July the trip isn't cancelled therefore she isn't entitled to her money back, despite the fact the British Embassy in Costa Rica are advising travel for non-residents is prohibited, despite the fact that the Department for Education is saying no school trips abroad and also in their terms and conditions of the booking it states "You have the right to cancel your expedition before departure without paying a cancellation charge in the event of “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” occurring at the destination of your expedition or its immediate vicinity and which significantly affects the performance of the expedition or which significantly affects transport arrangements to the destination. In these circumstances, we shall provide you with a full refund of the monies you have paid but we will not be liable to pay you any compensation. For guidance, you may wish to refer to the Foreign and Commonwealth office. www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice For the purposes of this clause, examples of “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” include warfare, acts of terrorism, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to your destination" Terrible company who have exploited young people and kept their money!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hi there, Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. Like you, we are deeply disappointed that given the current situation, your daughter’s trip will not be able to go ahead as planned. These are highly unusual circumstances and we have been working closely with schools and authorities to secure the best possible outcome in a timeframe that eases pressure on families, rather than the much later timeframe of FCO advice. The Department for Education (DfE), has actively encouraged schools to defer where possible and therefore the trip will not have been booked against Government advice. We have followed guidance from The DfE closely along with other central bodies such as the OEAP (Outdoor Education Advisors Panel), and EPA (Expedition Providers Association), as we have navigated our way through this exceptional time for Camps International and the travel industry as a whole. In line with this guidance, our intention has always been to work with schools to find a solution which mitigates financial exposure for families. Many of our schools have already had successful claims processed through their insurance for the remaining costs and some families have received their money back already. As we hope you understand, in line with our terms and conditions, 50% of the expedition costs are irrecoverable upon the school decision to cancel, having already been committed to the extensive support and organisation before the expedition itself takes place, including the booking of flights and the investment into our social enterprise model globally i.e. wages for local staff and vital capacity building throughout our host communities. We understand you have been speaking directly with our team, however if we can provide any further support in anyway, please do not hesitate to get in touch again at travelsupport@campsinternational.com.

Posted 5 years ago

“Our son is due to travel this summer, but camps International have closed their office and not replying to emails. The school hasn't been informed of the trip going ahead or cancelled yet other schs in the region have had their trip cancelled. An email I did receive said it was fine that my son didn't have all his vaccinations he could still travel. Like wtf!!!! I'm sorry do camps International know something we don't about not having a yellow fever or rabies vaccinations? 🤔 They do not reply to parents there communication is poor and the replies you do get eventually make no sense especially when on a medical basis. Really wish we never went ahead with this. They brush you off.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Thanks for your feedback and we’re sorry to hear of your frustrations. Unfortunately, we have had to temporarily close our office due to government advice relating to the Covid-19 situation, however all our staff are working remotely and here to support our travelling students, schools and parents. We are working closely with schools to make a decision regarding all 2020 expeditions and you should be notified of this imminently by your school if you haven’t been already. As I’m sure you’ll understand, we currently have a much higher volume of emails than usual and our team are doing their best to reply to everyone as soon as possible; we apologise if you have felt frustrated by the slower response times. We’d like to confirm that as our team are not medically qualified here, we would not give out any medical advice and would always urge you to speak to a medical professional regarding vaccinations. We’d love the chance to talk through your concerns further, if you email us at travelsupport@campsinternational.com one of the team will happily give you a call back.

Posted 5 years ago

“Sadly my son was not able to go on his trip of a lifetime! He had to change schools after the first payment was made. We have paid over £1300 towards this trip, he worked really hard to raise this money, making Christmas wreaths, setting up a go fund me page and he was so excited. Sadly when he had to move schools there was no support from either his school or Camps International. No alternative was offered infact camps international cancelled his contract before he had even left the school which meant that we couldn't offer his place to another child for the £75 admin fee that we should have been able to do. They were rude and curt on the phone! My son had to save up to repay his go found me that he had used to pay his deposit. Camps international is a business and all they are interested in is making money! Children should not be offered this opportunity so far in advance! Anything can happen in that time.... The trip is now looking like it will be cancelled because of covid 19 and they have said that they won't cancel the trip, they will defer? That's rediculous!!! It's a month long trip, how are kids going to be able to defer, my son has now left school so wouldn't be able to defer as he's joining the RAF. It's just wrong on so many levels the way they sell this trip to the children! DO NOT fall for their sales pitch, especially after the current state the world is in, just know that anything can happen and when it does, do not expect any understanding or solutions from Camps international.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hi, thank you for leaving us a review. We understand that your issue regarding the original refund was dealt with by our team back in Spring 2019 when you cancelled your son’s trip due to individual reasons. We apologise if you feel like this matter has still not been resolved and would welcome you to get back in touch with our team at operations@campsinternational.com if you would like to discuss this further. Our expeditions are offered to students with a long lead-in time in order to provide adequate time for them to fundraise, meaning these opportunities are open to students from all backgrounds. As your son is no longer booked to travel, we would not have had any direct contact with you regarding travel options in light of the current coronavirus pandemic. However, we are currently working very closely with all our travelling schools and students to provide the best possible solution for everyone. If you have any further questions, please feel free to get in touch with us. All the best, The Camps Crew

Posted 5 years ago

“Ensure you ask the Camps International Team about sickness rates at your selected destination country and procedures surrounding the management of travel medication. Our daughter went to Cambodia and the level of sickness was much higher than we would have expected. Not only that, but the expedition leader made in-country decisions on prescribed medication which contradicted the advice given by a 'travel specialist' GP in our home country. I can see in a previous response that Camps International have suggested that parental feedback differs from student feedback and this is likely due to the fact that the expedition leader elicits the feedback directly from the student (awkward!). My daughter was unwell for a significant portion of the trip and it's unclear as to how Camps International have the impression that her experience was overwhelmingly positive. From speaking to other parents, it's our opinion that there's definitely better providers out there...”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Hi, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. As with visiting any foreign country, minor sickness in travellers can be common, however we have excellent procedures in place in-country to help manage this and ensure everyone has a safe and enjoyable trip. Our Expedition Leaders have all been first aid trained and prepped to handle medication but anything that cannot be dealt with by the Leader is always referred to a local clinic. It was our understanding from your daughter’s feedback whilst in-country that she did indeed enjoy her expedition despite her sickness, so we are sorry to hear that you do not feel this is not a true reflection of her experience. I understand that you are currently in contact with someone regarding this matter but please feel free to contact us on (03) 8582 8750 if you wish to discuss further. All the best, The Camps Crew

Posted 5 years ago

“Everything”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Having taken a large group to Peru with Camps International last summer, I experienced both amazing and horrific situations. The team leader, given by Camps, was atrocious. He was sexist, calling me a diva when I'd demanded our 15/16 year old students were given food for lunch during an 8 hour coach journey, because they said they wouldn't need food in that time - apparently I was asking too much. He was rude to the students, made sexual comments about other staff members to the students, and that's just the small things! When I became seriously ill, and it turned out to be sepsis, he had been telling me all along that 'if you were a student I'd tell you to carry on; you're fine' - suggesting I was making it all up. 10 days in ICU/hospital is far from that I think. He was utterly appalling, and complained to the company about me: said I put the student's safety at risk because I questioned his decisions. Good thing I did, or I may well be dead now! When discussed with the company Director, who came to visit me, I was told my school had already been contacted and had been told I was being difficult. Camps contacted my employer BEFORE speaking with me or anyone other than this misogynistic man, to pass on that I was apparently making our students unsafe. All of this was a lie. None of this was true. And when they bothered to speak to the other staff and adults, this became apparent, including from their second team leader who was wonderful - a young woman who cared deeply about the children; and this was added in the reviews they asked us to do at the end. Shockingly we had no feedback from our comments about the male leader, and I believe this leader will continue to work for the company. He is unsafe with children, has no personal skills and put my actual life at risk. So, based on that I will never be using this company again. This individual was on the trip so he could travel; not for the benefit of the children. The Director has not, to my knowledge, dealt with this. I had a visit from an in country liaison after this leader had been sending daily updates on what he thought I'd done - for example asking what time we were leaving the following day, which he deemed as questioning his authority; asking him to clarify what time breakfast was, which he didn't feel I needed to know; asking whether students should pack the night before, which he didn't believe was needed, they should just get up earlier in the morning, and they didn't need to have that much information about the next day; challenging him on the amount of time it would take for a 15 year old to pack a bag, as he thought 5-10 minutes would be enough. No experience of younger students. No experience of a group that size. No ability to accept a female leader. Neither my new school, nor my old school, will be using this company. They did not recognise that the teachers and the students are, in fact, the customer. If you want to maintain business, you approach situations professionally. The plus side was that the country was amazing, and the work with the community was a wonderful experience for the students. The medical care was also very good, although myself and a colleague had to argue with some Camps staff to get me to a hospital, even when I was finding it hard to breath. Once there though, the care was exceptional. Sadly, all of these positives can be found in other companies. Many of which have been running for much longer, with more experience and better reviews. I thought I'd feel more positively toward the company some months on, but I don't. They've called multiple times to try and arrange another trip with me, but I will be making damn sure no one I know in education ever uses this company. The team leader was dangerous. And he still works there. Enough said.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hi, Thank you for taking the time to provide us with a review on your experience of Peru last summer. We welcome all your feedback and take any complaint such as this very seriously. A public forum such as this is not an appropriate place to discuss the details of your complaint so we request that you direct this to our operations@campsinternational.co.uk email address so we may have the opportunity to respond in full and in detail. However, based on the information here, we have looked at the reports from your 2018 summer expedition, and have spoken to the team involved in the delivery of your expedition and vehemently refute your claims. We take the health and safety of our volunteers very seriously and on the rare occasion that relationship problems do occur between members of the Leadership Team, in most cases we are able to resolve this successfully. Our excellent safety record and industry leading standards are key factors for schools choosing us, along with our Learning Outside the Classroom accreditation. We are really happy to hear that your students had an amazing 4 week expedition with us and had some wonderful experiences with the project work they were involved with, as that is what our expeditions are all about. Camps International are incredibly grateful to the support teachers give us and allow us to run these life-changing expeditions for their students. Without you all, we would not be able to continue to support the local communities, wildlife and environmental projects that positively change so many lives. Many thanks, The Camps Crew

Posted 6 years ago

“Bad organization. Food unacceptable. Kids starving. Price outrageous. Accomodation not in line with their promises. Unexoerienced coaches. EXPERIENCE NOT TO BE REPEATED WITH THIS ORGANIZATION. No one available for answering. No responsible. NOT RECOMMENDED AT ALL”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Hi, Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback - we're really sorry to hear you feel this way as we take pride in the high standards of all our expeditions as well as our customer service. We take all complaints seriously and would love the opportunity to talk with you further. If you contact us via uae-operations@campsinternational.co.uk one of our team would be happy to help talk with you and resolve these issues. Best wishes, The Camps Crew

Posted 6 years ago

“1. Over zealous discipline of minors, leading to investigation of allegations of widespread physical and verbal abuse by supervisory personnel. 2.Unilateral allocation of punishment, regardless of guilt or otherwise. 3. Negative reinforcement/ comments on performance. 4. Daily exposure to verbal abuse by intoxicated locals.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Dear Mr Fitchet, Thank you for taking the time to write a review for us. We are aware of the concerns raised in relation to the discipline of the students on this expedition and we're sorry to hear you were unhappy with how the the leadership managed the discipline. We understand the school are currently dealing with this matter privately with all involved parties and hope this will help to resolve the issues raised here. Many thanks, The Camps Crew

Posted 6 years ago

“Unfortunately I have had terrible issues dealing with Camps International. For fears of safety I have had to cancel my daughters trip. When asked for a refund I was told zero dollars will be refunded even with valid reasons to cancel. Now I understand that when booking any normal holiday through a travel agent (which is what camps International is) if a cancellation occurs you may loose deposits, however never the full amount. I have been trying to contact them and they will not reply. I have asked for all of the documents and they will not send to me. Total i have paid is $2700, which a lot of money for them just to keep! Dissatisfied and absolutely disappointed. Will never recommend or have any of my kids travel with them!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

Hi Nicole, We are really sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the service you have received from us and thank you for taking the time to submit a review. We pride ourselves on our levels of customer service support and apologise if you feel we have fallen short of those standards. A response to your complaint has been sent to you directly today which outlines our position and why we are unable to offer a full refund. However, within that email is some additional advice regarding our insurance policy which may be of assistance to you. Best wishes, The Camps Crew

Posted 6 years ago

“Attended a sales pitch / presentation from camps international this evening. They claim that teaching the kids to fund raise is a valuable life lesson. They then give you 6 days to find the first deposit. All this teaches the kids is debt. They honestly expect after listening to the wonderful stories for an hour that parents would let their kids travel to some of the most deprived places to be free labour. The important information any educated parent would expect to receive is sadly non existent. They visit the school a week before and hype the kids, get the parents in a week later and then want the first deposit a week after that. They also believe that teenagers in their final GCSE year are able to fund raise nearly five grand without impacting study time. I have so many concerns about this outfit. On the strength of this I would not trust them with a child of mine to go to a McDonalds for four hours, let alone half way round the world, to some of the most deprived areas for four weeks. Read the horror stories on the web before considering getting involved with them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

Hi, We're really sorry to hear you feel this way after attending our presentation. We'd like to reassure you that the school puts a lot of consideration into choosing a provider to offer this opportunity to their students. Our excellent safety record and industry leading standards are key factors for choosing us, along with our Learning Outside the Classroom accreditation and the extensive support we offer throughout the fundraising journey as well as the expedition itself. We fully appreciate that fundraising is a challenge and we don't shy away from that. That's why we offer a huge amount of fundraising support and resources to make this achievable and encourage the development of valuable skills learnt through balancing fundraising and study. The thousands of students who fundraise and travel with us each year are amazing testament to this. We're really disappointed to hear that you feel important information was missing from our presentation. We do try to provide all the information needed to make an informed choice about whether our expeditions are right for your child and also offer the chance to ask questions during the presentation. We'd love to chat with you directly to help answer any additional questions you may have - you can get in touch with us via schools@campsinternational.co.uk or call 01425 485390. Thanks, The Camps Crew

Posted 7 years ago

“My son went to the talk at school last week and convinced me to go to the parents presentation tonight. I listened to the presentation and thought how good it all looked until right at the end they spoke very briefly about having to set up a direct debit by next friday to secure his place in the trip. I thought this was odd as i had assumed that you would be given time to start fund raising before having to make a personal contribution. Having looked on various sites at the many reviews of camp international it appears to me that you should only agree to pursuing these trips if you are willing and able to personaly underwrite the cost if the trip.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“Don't even think about sending your kids to these hell holes, my daughter was sick and required hospital treatment and i was informed 2 days later. Better conditions in prison camps , you have been warned.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

Dear Parent We’re very sorry to hear that you feel we didn’t communicate early enough with you regarding your daughters illness. Without knowing the full details it’s very difficult for us to respond to your concerns, however, we would like to explain that sometimes there will be a delay in us receiving the information back in the UK Head Office due to the time differences in the various countries our teams are in. In all cases, we endeavour to inform parents as soon as we have the full information relating to the incident. We have thousands of students travel with us every year and the health and safety of our volunteers is paramount, so much so, that we have an unrivalled safety record throughout the industry. We only ever use checked and approved medical facilities and work very closely with them to ensure our volunteers receive the best medical attention. Students live alongside rural communities, staying in traditional style accommodation and get to experience the local cultures and way of life. Whilst the facilities might not be what they would be used to in the UK, they are clean and well cared for and our camps staff work tirelessly to make sure our volunteers as comfortable as possible during their stay with us. Thank you for your message, we take all feedback very seriously. We sincerely hope your daughter recovered quickly and fully and was able to continue with the rest of her expedition

Posted 7 years ago

“camps international stay away. Firstly, the Terms and Conditions are not clear. They state that 50% of the amount paid after the third payment by the participant can be refunded when a notification of cancellation has been made to you. However, when I phoned to ask for this 50% back I was then told that you could only get 50% back after the full total amount of the trip had been paid. It doesn't make sense that I have to pay the full amount for a trip that my daughter can no longer attend in order to get some percentage of the amount paid refunded. Also, if this is the case then what use is the list in section seven detailing the percentage you would get back after each stage of payment since it is always based on the end total amount? Secondly, no help is received from the company in the area of helping the very young participants to raise the money. It is a very expensive trip over £4000 and a decision to participate in it has to be taken very quickly because they give a very short period of time between the initial presentation delivery and the booking a place deadline. These are very young participants who often don't understand the difficulty in having to raise such a large amount. Your presentations do not do a good enough job in emphasizing the difficulty of having to raise the money and the implications of not raising it but still having booked the place, which are usually either; the parents have to then cover the remainder of the cost or not being able to get a percentage of the money paid back if you cancel. Its all been very disappointing and frustrating. as single parent I lost £1038 they don't want to refund me any percentage back. they left me broke after believing on them they will help fundraising. I wish someone will listen to the families suffered from them and these company as they really damaging the emotion of our teenagers and our finances.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

Dear Meriem, thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback, we’re really sorry that you feel disappointed with Camps International. As you know, we have spoken to you directly and although we were unable to offer you a refund, in line with our T’s & C’s, we hope you can understand the reasons behind this. We would disagree with you about the lack support available to students regarding fundraising. We not only have a dedicated team here who are on hand to help our volunteers every step of the way, but we also provide our volunteers with a series of three fundraising guides and regular newsletters. All students have access to their own Traveller Gateway which has lots of ideas, tools and resources to help them organise events. We help 1000’s of students each year achieve their targets and actively share their achievements on our social media to inspire others on their fundraising journeys. I have passed your comments on to our Regional Expedition Co-ordinators regarding communication around the challenge of raising money for their expedition, but would like to reiterate that it is achievable through hard work and organisation. Whilst we are obviously disappointed that your daughter is no longer travelling with us, we would like to wish you both all the best for the future

Posted 7 years ago

“Attended a Camps International Presentation for a school excursion to Kenya - Talk about a hard sell for an hour and half for what I was told was a 40min presentation. They are very clever, go into the school a week before, do a massive sell to the kids, then a week later a parents presentation where they pretty much guarantee that pretty much all the kids raise at least 75% of the total cost, do lots of positive reinforcement and claim that you get UCAS points (additional cost) - vaccinations at additional cost, spending money, insurance excess, transport to/from uk airport and so on.. Usual hard sell tactics, until all the way at the end they present you with either a monthly direct debit of £290 a month plus a £240 deposit.. or a £400 deposit with a payment plan every quarter with the total payable in full the following year, Grand total of the cost is just short of £4000 (that excludes probably £1000 of extras taking into account UCAS £80, Visa £30, Spending money £300, Insurance Excess £50, Airport Transport @£100, Vaccinations £100 let alone the rest) and you HAVE to sign up within a period of just over a week or so with your deposit as they can’t save places and then offer them to other school pupils.. and so the cycle continues! That’s called a hard sell to me, and unsurprisingly designed to have kids whining at parents as they believe a sum of around £300 per month is actually achievable to fundraise! I have little doubt that 90% of parents end up paying most of the cost. Other “Gap Year” style courses are available from them at around £1600 (okay they don’t include flights or the scuba course which is around £300-£400 separately) no doubt these are the positive reviews, but ultimately other providers are available and much cheaper even for gap years. To then read some of the reviews below about pulling out 10 months in just reinforces my beliefs.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

Dear Anon Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We are sorry to hear you feel this way about the way we communicate the cost of our expeditions. As a social enterprise passionate about travel and making a positive impact globally, we pride ourselves on being transparent about the costs whist offering support and encouragement to those who want to volunteer with us. We structure our launch process so that the schools choose the expedition destination they want, we do a short presentation to students, followed by a more comprehensive presentation to interested students and their parents. All interested students are reserved a place on the expedition, which is confirmed once they pay their deposit. The deadline is short as spaces are limited and fill up quickly and although the thought of raising the deposit may appear daunting, we have 1000s of students from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds who achieve this each year in a variety of ways. We are always on hand to personally discuss and support any volunteers who need extra time, help and advice. Last year, our Regional Expedition Co-ordinators challenged themselves to raise a deposit for a trip in a week and all achieved it through different means, including car washes, face painting, quiz nights, sponsored walks, bake sales and bag packing. The cost of the expedition is communicated in a letter home, 1 week before the presentation and again in the first few slides of the expedition presentation. There are additional costs which we explain in the presentation and also on the Traveller Gateway in more detail, along with ways to reduce this such as purchasing second hand kit, which a lot of our travellers do. Vaccinations can also cost so we recommend you shop around to find the best value. If there are enough students travelling from the school then travelling together in a coach or minibus is normally the best option and the schools often help organise events to cover this cost. Again, our apologies, if you feel this wasn’t communicated effectively, we have discussed this with our expeditions team to ensure this message is being fully explained. Regarding our Gap year trips, they are structured very differently to our school trips and do not include a trained Expedition Leader or supervisory adults, flights, insurance, scuba and other adventure elements. We have a dedicated fundraising team here who are on hand to support all volunteers, and who themselves have been through their own fundraising journeys so understand the struggles but also know what works. Additionally, we have blogs, newsletters, and the Traveller Gateway which provides support, resources, ideas and tools to help organise successful events. Once again, thank you for your feedback, we wish you all the best and I have passed your comments on to our Regional Co-ordinators to review. Kind Regards, Camps International HQ.

Posted 7 years ago

“So unhappy. They only want your money.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Unfortunately, another warning for parents. Our experience was the same as the parent 10 months ago. Even though we cancelled within 28 days with a disclosed condition, which THEY had postponed originally with the booking, (pending further investigation), they were not prepared to return any money at all. Other parents had paid half of what we did due to the payment methods that they chosen - despite sending several emails, they would not return anything. We contacted our credit card who disputed the claim and Camps International even fought that - we were lucky that our cc company gave us a goodwill gesture and the money we lost isn't as bad. We are talking about 14 - 17 year olds here, away from home for a significant period and situations can change very quickly. I am saddened for the lack of empathy and unethical practice of the company. Seriously, look into what you are doing before booking, (which is really hard given the very short time provided), do not expect any empathy, support or help from Camps International if things do not go as planned.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Dear Anon Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We take every complaint very seriously and responded to you directly regarding yours. We do have Terms and Conditions relating to our trips which outlines both your and our obligations to the products and services we are providing. I am sorry that in this case we were unable to offer a refund, but hope our response to you explained why this was not the case. If you would like any further clarity then please do contact us at operations@campsinternational.co.uk and we would be happy to provide a more detailed response. Kind Regards, Camps International HQ

Posted 7 years ago

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