Fraudulent / Deceptive Vacation Packages
Dear Journal.....
If I were STUPID, I'd be scammed this very second....not sure if any of you recall, but at DragonCon, there was this booth set up & they were asking people to register for a "free" trip. Well, I put my name & info on that piece of paper & I got a call tonight. TOTAL BULLSHIT. Let me explain.....
Telemarketers can initiate contact with you in several ways:
1. They may send direct mail to you stating you will receive a "fantasy cruise holiday" vacation including a "luxury" cruise, then direct you to call an 800 number
2. They also send unsolicited faxes to your business notifying "all staff" that the "wholesale travel department" has only a few Bahamas cruise packages remaining at a special corporate rate and that you should call immediately if you are interested in purchasing one
3. They send electronic certificates to your e-mail address congratulating you on "winning" a fabulous vacation for a very attractive price. Some say you have been "specially selected" (only people with e-mail qualify) for this opportunity. (I was lucky & got a straight up call....and he did say I was "specially selected"...OH! how special do I feel!!!)
As mentioned, leads are also gathered at local fairs and trade shows by "lead generators." (HELLO DRAGONCON!) Booths are decorated with banners or signs inviting people to "register" for a vacation. (Don't be a sucker like me) You register thinking you are entering a draw to win a vacation.
Regardless of the method of contact, you are led to believe you are part of a select group of people specially chosen to receive this vacation package.
Once they have you on the line, they describe an exciting vacation in Florida and a "luxury cruise" to the Bahamas. They state that the vacation is worth a significant amount, sometimes as much as $2,500, but that you will pay a much smaller amount to receive it, typically $398, $498, or $598. (TOTALLY! He offered me Orlando, Daytona & two other destinations of my choosing...for the mere cost of $598...with a cruise thrown in there...worth over $2000)
They urge you to immediately "secure" or "register" the vacation with a major credit card. They also say that the payment covers the cost of your accommodations in both Florida and the Bahamas, as well as the Bahamas "cruise." They inform you that you must purchase the vacation immediately. (He said things would be covered if I paid the low price no....I smelled BULLSHIT so I asked for time to think on this)
If you request time to think over the offer, or receive it in writing, they respond with canned rebuttals such as "this is a limited promotion based on availability" or , "each confirmation number can only be activated once, so you cannot call back and reactivate your number" or "by the time you receive something in the mail, the limited number of vacations will be gone." In fact, there is no limit to the number of such vacations for sale.(He so DID respond like that! Said it might not be available later.....)
So you give your credit card number to the convincing operator. (which I did not...he said he would call ME back in 30 minutes & the phone just rang & I didn't answer it...not biting!) Once that is obtained, they say you will be switched over to a "supervisor." In actuality, the call is transferred to the "verification" department at their headquarters, where a third person comes on to the line to confirm details of the sale.
Unlike the sales portion of the call, the "verification" is tape recorded. During the verification, they ask for your credit card number again, quickly review the details of the vacation package and, in some but not all instances, tell you for the first time that you will have to pay additional charges for "port service reservation processing fees" and that the vacation package is "non-refundable." These disclosures occur only after you have provided a credit card number which will be charged within minutes of your hanging up.
In the travel certificate industry, the amount you are initially charged during the sales call is known as the "front end" fee. This is because you do not receive a vacation for the money initially charged to your credit card, nor does that front end fee pay for your vacation.
In fact, most, if not all of the front end fee pays the owners and their telemarketers for their sales efforts. For your initial $398, $498, or $598, you receive nothing more than a package containing a short video, some advertisements and a "reservation request voucher" for the Bahamas cruise and the Florida vacation.
When you receive the vacation package you discover that you will have to pay more to take the vacation you thought you had already paid for. You find you have actually just paid for the "option" to purchase a vacation and also realize that you did not win a thing.
The required additional payment, or the "back end" fee, is at least $198 to $316. They state that the back end fee is for "port reservation processing fees." In fact, the back end fee pays for most, if not all, of your "cruise" to the Bahamas and your vacation accommodations.
Should you call and attempt to cancel your vacation it is flatly stated that they have a "no refund" policy and that you cannot cancel your initial purchase. If you read the fine print on the back of the reservation vouchers that are included in their vacation packages, you will discover that they actually do have a return policy within a specified number of days, depending on the state in which you live.
If you return the vacation package, even following the instructions on the back of the reservation voucher, you inevitably receive your package back, often several times, until you either give up or call a law enforcement agency, the Better Business Bureau, your credit card company or a private attorney.
People who seek third party assistance generally receive a refund. Those who do not are generally stuck paying for the misrepresented vacation package.
Should you be one of those relatively few people who decide to pay the extra "back end" fee to take the vacation you will find that the vacation is not the "fantasy cruise holiday" you were promised but a five to six hour ferry ride to the Bahamas and back.
The cruise ship you're booked on may look more like a tug boat. The hotel accommodations they provide are shabby, and if you wish to stay at the better-known hotels and resorts referred to in the solicitations and brochures, you must pay yet more undisclosed "upgrade" fees; otherwise you must endure the substandard accommodations provided.
This is the website of the scammers wetouramerica.com
This is what the Better Business Bureau had to say.....
Here's the website with more information.....
If I were STUPID, I'd be scammed this very second....not sure if any of you recall, but at DragonCon, there was this booth set up & they were asking people to register for a "free" trip. Well, I put my name & info on that piece of paper & I got a call tonight. TOTAL BULLSHIT. Let me explain.....
Telemarketers can initiate contact with you in several ways:
1. They may send direct mail to you stating you will receive a "fantasy cruise holiday" vacation including a "luxury" cruise, then direct you to call an 800 number
2. They also send unsolicited faxes to your business notifying "all staff" that the "wholesale travel department" has only a few Bahamas cruise packages remaining at a special corporate rate and that you should call immediately if you are interested in purchasing one
3. They send electronic certificates to your e-mail address congratulating you on "winning" a fabulous vacation for a very attractive price. Some say you have been "specially selected" (only people with e-mail qualify) for this opportunity. (I was lucky & got a straight up call....and he did say I was "specially selected"...OH! how special do I feel!!!)
As mentioned, leads are also gathered at local fairs and trade shows by "lead generators." (HELLO DRAGONCON!) Booths are decorated with banners or signs inviting people to "register" for a vacation. (Don't be a sucker like me) You register thinking you are entering a draw to win a vacation.
Regardless of the method of contact, you are led to believe you are part of a select group of people specially chosen to receive this vacation package.
Once they have you on the line, they describe an exciting vacation in Florida and a "luxury cruise" to the Bahamas. They state that the vacation is worth a significant amount, sometimes as much as $2,500, but that you will pay a much smaller amount to receive it, typically $398, $498, or $598. (TOTALLY! He offered me Orlando, Daytona & two other destinations of my choosing...for the mere cost of $598...with a cruise thrown in there...worth over $2000)
They urge you to immediately "secure" or "register" the vacation with a major credit card. They also say that the payment covers the cost of your accommodations in both Florida and the Bahamas, as well as the Bahamas "cruise." They inform you that you must purchase the vacation immediately. (He said things would be covered if I paid the low price no....I smelled BULLSHIT so I asked for time to think on this)
If you request time to think over the offer, or receive it in writing, they respond with canned rebuttals such as "this is a limited promotion based on availability" or , "each confirmation number can only be activated once, so you cannot call back and reactivate your number" or "by the time you receive something in the mail, the limited number of vacations will be gone." In fact, there is no limit to the number of such vacations for sale.(He so DID respond like that! Said it might not be available later.....)
So you give your credit card number to the convincing operator. (which I did not...he said he would call ME back in 30 minutes & the phone just rang & I didn't answer it...not biting!) Once that is obtained, they say you will be switched over to a "supervisor." In actuality, the call is transferred to the "verification" department at their headquarters, where a third person comes on to the line to confirm details of the sale.
Unlike the sales portion of the call, the "verification" is tape recorded. During the verification, they ask for your credit card number again, quickly review the details of the vacation package and, in some but not all instances, tell you for the first time that you will have to pay additional charges for "port service reservation processing fees" and that the vacation package is "non-refundable." These disclosures occur only after you have provided a credit card number which will be charged within minutes of your hanging up.
In the travel certificate industry, the amount you are initially charged during the sales call is known as the "front end" fee. This is because you do not receive a vacation for the money initially charged to your credit card, nor does that front end fee pay for your vacation.
In fact, most, if not all of the front end fee pays the owners and their telemarketers for their sales efforts. For your initial $398, $498, or $598, you receive nothing more than a package containing a short video, some advertisements and a "reservation request voucher" for the Bahamas cruise and the Florida vacation.
When you receive the vacation package you discover that you will have to pay more to take the vacation you thought you had already paid for. You find you have actually just paid for the "option" to purchase a vacation and also realize that you did not win a thing.
The required additional payment, or the "back end" fee, is at least $198 to $316. They state that the back end fee is for "port reservation processing fees." In fact, the back end fee pays for most, if not all, of your "cruise" to the Bahamas and your vacation accommodations.
Should you call and attempt to cancel your vacation it is flatly stated that they have a "no refund" policy and that you cannot cancel your initial purchase. If you read the fine print on the back of the reservation vouchers that are included in their vacation packages, you will discover that they actually do have a return policy within a specified number of days, depending on the state in which you live.
If you return the vacation package, even following the instructions on the back of the reservation voucher, you inevitably receive your package back, often several times, until you either give up or call a law enforcement agency, the Better Business Bureau, your credit card company or a private attorney.
People who seek third party assistance generally receive a refund. Those who do not are generally stuck paying for the misrepresented vacation package.
Should you be one of those relatively few people who decide to pay the extra "back end" fee to take the vacation you will find that the vacation is not the "fantasy cruise holiday" you were promised but a five to six hour ferry ride to the Bahamas and back.
The cruise ship you're booked on may look more like a tug boat. The hotel accommodations they provide are shabby, and if you wish to stay at the better-known hotels and resorts referred to in the solicitations and brochures, you must pay yet more undisclosed "upgrade" fees; otherwise you must endure the substandard accommodations provided.
This is the website of the scammers wetouramerica.com
This is what the Better Business Bureau had to say.....
Here's the website with more information.....