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Avoid Headout.com — Misleading listing, duplicate charge, and no real support

Date of experience: Aug–Sep 2025
Bookings: 26857200 (Eiffel Tower), 26857199 (Louvre) · Tour ID: 18323

I booked the Eiffel Tower “Summit with Optional Seine River Cruise.” Headout later admitted the listing language “makes it seem like the cruise is automatically included,” which explains why I reasonably expected the cruise to be part of my purchase. The cruise was not delivered.

I asked for the fare difference to be refunded (€50.04 total, €25.02 per person) or the fair value of the cruise. Instead of resolving this, my card showed a new $93.50 charge on Aug 25—after they’d said a Louvre refund was in progress. That duplicate charge remains unresolved.

Support responses were mostly templated and circular: auto-emails on Aug 28 and Aug 30 “pausing the conversation,” and a promise on Sep 1 to update me “within 24 hours” that never materialized. On Sep 8, I escalated formally and cc’d the CEO, Varun Khona. Even writing to the CEO failed to evoke any positive response or a concrete solution.

As of today, I have:

No refund for the undelivered cruise (€50.04 or equivalent).

No substantive, accountable reply—only delays and generic messages.

Advice: I strongly recommend never using Headout. If you still choose to, scrutinize the variant you’re buying (the copy can be misleading), keep screenshots, and watch your statements for unexpected charges. In my view, this experience reflects poor customer service and a lack of accountability.

Documentation, dates, and screenshots available on request.

Posted by
16078 posts

Welcome to the RS forum! Now that you've found us, I hope next time you will come to the forum to inquire about ticketing before you buy. Generally we recommend buying only from the official website. Both the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre have ticketing options on their own websites. River cruises are readily available and don't really need to be booked ahead unless you are wanting one of the dinner cruises.

I hope you had a great time in Paris in spite of the issues with Headout. It's a 3rd party ticket company as is Viator and GetYourGuide.

Posted by
17541 posts

Welcome to the forum from me too -
Just as a followup, is this the ticket you booked?

https://www.headout.com/eiffel-tower-tickets/eiffel-tower-summit-tickets-with-guided-tour-optional-seine-river-cruise-e-9989/

Good to know for future reference that "optional" very often means it's an add-on and not included unless booked for an extra fee. Reading through this ticket, it states"

"Complete your experience with an optionall panoramic cruise along the iconic Seine!"

"Upgrade your ticket to include a 1-hr Seine River cruise and enjoy Paris from its glistening water

"1-hr Seine River cruise (optional)".

So they've communicated that it's an add-on, and confirmed that on the booking page: two different choices, one just for access to the summit of the Eiffel, and a 2nd, higher price for the upgrade to include the cruise. While I'll sympathize with your disappointment, I'm not seeing anything misleading here unless you booked a different ticket (which one?). Hope you found much to enjoy otherwise in lovely Paris!