Public Mediation

My Claim vs. Wanderu.Com - Does Wanderu check licensing for companies it promotes?

S. T. vs. Wanderu.Com
80 Bedford St, Boston, Massachusetts, 02111-2201, United States
Amount Involved: Other terms
Complaint(s): Bad business practices
    • Status: In Negotiation
      This claim has posted for public comment and negotiation. It will remain posted until resolved to the claimant's satisfaction. Suggest a resolution to help these parties reach a settlement.
       (seeking public comment)
    • Claimant Seeks: 1 non-monetary items.
    • Claim #: 8682899
    • Amount Involved: N/A
    • Filed On: Jan 05, 2018
    • Posted On: Jan 16, 2018
    • Complaint(s):
      • Bad business practices
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Statement of Claim
Complaint Involved (1) - View
Claimant says:
"My daughter booked a ticket from NYC to Baltimore on Wanda Coach through Wanderu.com.
The trip was a nightmare - another female passenger was apparently assaulted by her seat mate; the driver refused to call the police and refused to cooperate with location information when other passengers tried to call the police. Wanda Coach was indifferent to the problem when called. The driver also apparently dropped my daughter off a mile away from the advertised location in Baltimore, at night, on one of the coldest nights of the year.
She will be filing complaints with the appropriate regulators. However, FMCSA was unable to find any licensing, including a DOT number, for Wanda Coach or any DBA. Wanda Coach flatly refused to provide any DOT number when I called them. The only thing I can find about Wanda Coach online is a horrifying 9/2017 Senate report about bus safety which notes that Wanda Coach does not show up in the DOT databases. https://www.nysenate.gov/sites/default/files/press-release/attachment/violations_by_the_busload_full_report.pdf

I would like to know whether Wanderu.com takes any steps at all to ensure that passengers who book travel through its site are traveling with appropriately licensed businesses with reasonable safety records.
Does Wanderu.com ask for a DOT number from listed companies and if so, does it check that the DOT number exists and the company is in good standing as of a certain date?
Wanderu.com is making money from people, often young and/or impoverished people, who book travel through its site. In my opinion it has some ethical responsibilty for the reasonably safe passage of its customers."
...
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Additional Communication Between Claimant and Wanderu.Com Hide
  • Jan 09, 2018, Claiming party added:

  • Thank you for responding quickly, but I am only interested in obtaining information about Wanda Coach's licensing and DOT number and in knowing whether you, as a booking service, routinely check your partners' licensing. I would not advise anyone to use a booking service that didn't do so.

    I am really alarmed to discover that there are unlicensed buses on the road. Unlicensed buses may not be properly inspected and safe, and may employ potentially dangerous drivers. Please respond with the requested information as soon as possible. Wanda Coach's representative was extremely rude and refused to give me Wanda Coach's DOT number. This makes me suspect that they don't have one. If they don't have a DOT number, in my opinion you shouldn't continue to book your customers onto their service and in fact should make a report to the DOT and/or FMCSA.

  • Jan 11, 2018, Claiming party added:

  • I still haven't received Wanda Coach's required DOT number, from either you or Wanda Coach.

  • Jan 17, 2018, Wanderu.Com (responding party) added:

  • Sara,
    I wanted to follow up on my previous responses. We take your claim very seriously and escalated your issue to the owner of Wanda Coach. They were disheartened by your comments and want to make sure this does not happen again in the future. Wanda Coach would like to reach out to you directly to discuss the issue and work with you on the most effective solution.

    I assure you, we check all of our partners DOT records and reviews before they are visible on our website. We have a very rigorous on-boarding process, as our customers are our number one priority. Wanderu is not the actual bus provider but a travel search solution. While we do not have control over the buses themselves or the people that ride on them, we want to make sure customers are properly taken care of while on their journey. Please reach out to us with more information about your daughters ticket at contact@wanderu.com, so we can help resolve these issue as soon as possible.

  • Jan 17, 2018, Claiming party added:

  • I am happy to know that you take my claim very seriously and check all of your partners' "DOT number, reviews and driver records," etc. Please provide the DOT number and other licensing information as requested.



    DOT numbers and other necessary licensing are public record. Although neither I nor the FMCSA representative could find one, if we were missing something, I would be happy to close the complaint as soon as I've checked it out with FMCSA.



    I also filed a claim with Wanda Coach and they have not responded, so I'm afraid I can't take their desire to reach out very seriously. That claim is now public but they should feel free to respond at any time.


    My daughter's experience is not relevant. I included it only to show why I want this information that Wanda Coach refused to provide. She is legally of age and must file her own complaints regarding specifics, but it is very much my concern that buses that are on the road are properly licensed - not only for the sake of the passengers, but also for the other people on the road.


    As the senators point out in their report about bus safety, passengers need to check bus company's safety records. I would like to be able to do that.

  • Jan 18, 2018, Claiming party added:

  • Again, I just want the DOT number for Wanda Coach. You can mark your message private if you feel you have to do that.

    It is absolutely infuriating to receive multiple fluffy messages about how much you care, and how careful you are, without any actual proof that you DO care or ARE careful - the DOT number for Wanda Coach.

    It's a simple request that should be easy to fulfill. When it's fulfilled, I will be happy to close the claim. Your constant prevarication just makes me feel that you and Wanda Coach have something to hide. Do you?

  • Jan 18, 2018, Claiming party added:

  • At this point, I will have to assume that you're sometimes booking your customers on illegal and possibly unsafe transportation, since you refuse to give me the public records that you supposedly have checked for Wanda Coach. If I am wrong, please let me know right away before I file complaints with appropriate regulatory agencies.

    Your first response was 10 days ago, and since then I've had numerous messages telling me everything except the actual DOT number for Wanda Coach.

  • Jan 22, 2018, Wanderu.Com (responding party) added:

  • Dear Sara,
    Wanda Coach is a sub-brand of TAO's Travel Inc. As the parent company, TAO’s Travel Inc. conducts and regulates all of Wanda Coach’s operations. Their DOT # is 2357680, here is a link to their DOT profile: https://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/query.aspsearchtype=ANY&query_type=queryCarrierSnapshot&query_param=USDOT&query_string=2357680.

    As you can see, the company’s inspections are above the national average and it was last inspected on 1/21/2018. We assure you that we check all of our partners’ DOT records and reviews before their trips can be booked through our platform.

    As we stated before, we would like to further investigate this issue for you. For that, we would need more information about your daughter's trip. Please reach out to us at contact@wanderu.com so we can help you find the best solution in this situation. Thank you!

  • Jan 23, 2018, Claiming party added:

  • FMCSA does NOT list Wanda Coach as a DBA of TAO Travel Inc., which is out of MA and not New York. TAO Travel does not answer its listed phone number. The FMCSA representative I spoke to said that DBAs should be listed; she would be just as concerned as I am and would personally go ahead with a formal complaint to clarify the facts. I cannot confirm that the DOT number you eventually gave me is correct; I will close the complaint if and when I have independent confirmation that it is a legal DBA and not a random DOT number.

What Claimant Wants Hide
What By When How Much
1. Provide DOT number for Wanda Coach, privately or publicly Feb 05, 2018 N/A
Non-cash: 1 items
  • 1
Do you agree with the claimant’s demands?  (If you are a party to this claim, click here.)

Respondent's Counteroffer

There has been no response to this claim from Wanderu.Com. This claim will remain posted until resolved
Offer History
Jan 17, 2018
Claimant's Terms of Settlement to Wanderu.Com
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  • Contributed Solution: by Sophie Blythe On 01-17-2018
    View more
    Wanderu should provide the DOT number More...
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