Woman unable to travel gets refund voucher

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 3 (UPI) -- An 83-year-old Connecticut woman who canceled a trip because her health will not allow her to travel said she received a refund in the form of a travel voucher.

Irene Ettre said she booked a $4,000 vacation in March through New Horizons Travel of Durham to visit Prague, Vienna and Budapest, but she soon discovered she would not be able to travel due to a previous stroke and several mini-strokes, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported Wednesday.

Ettre said New Horizons refunded her $2,150 and informed her the remainder, minus a 25 percent fee, would come from Brendan Vacations, the company the agency employed to book the trip.

Ettre said her $1,600 refund came in the form of a voucher that could only be used to book travel.

"I thought I bought the complete package," Ettre said of the travel insurance that came with her vacation package. "I thought I was covered for everything."

Brendan Vacations eventually agreed to waive the non-transferable clause of the voucher, allowing Ettre to sell the voucher or give it away. She said she unsuccessfully attempted to sell it on eBay before giving it to a grandchild.

"I'm giving it to my grandchildren, one of whom is going on an archeological dig in Belize. She's 24, so I guess I got my money's worth."