On
1-11-11, my wife and I attended a travel seminar (recruitment), in Seekonk
Massachusetts, for a travel club with the agreement that if we sat through a 90
minute presentation we would receive a free Carnival Cruise and two free
airline tickets with a purchase or not. We sat through a very convincing
presentation, viewing gorgeous accommodations and hearing promises of discount
on all travel, including hotel, flight and car rental costs, and since
retirement is near, the destinations presented looked quite inviting.
After the
presentation and dickering of cost we were finally offered the complete package
for $2,839 total as compared to a price $8,000 higher. I should have known, I'm
that good of a bargainer, but, by law, I had three days to rescind the offer
and I had received my vouchers for the cruise and air travel as promised.
I left
feeling good, but on the drive home, it just didn't feel right. The following
day we looked into two trips that we had planned. One to Florida was booked,
and the second to Montreal was in the planning stages. We called the agents at
the toll fee number and gave them the same package we were looking at and had
already booked. On the booked Florida trip, they were approximately $400 more,
and on the trip to Montreal, Expedia was slightly less. We compared apples to
apples, the exact dates, flights, rental car company, and hotel. We
immediately decided to cancel, since we were within the cancellation window. On
1-13-11, I returned all the material in a post-marked package as instructed. I
also faxed the cancellation. I received a phone, the very same day, stating how
surprised they were of my decision to cancel. I told them of the cost of
travel, and gave them the name of the agents, but received no other contact
from them. As promised I received a refund, but it was not the amount I gave
them. I was charged $79.49 cancellation/restocking fee, even though the law
states I have three business days to opt out of my contract. Lastly,
VIP travel certificates seem just as worthless. They are limited to travel time
(of peak) and require refundable deposits, but their are many complaints posted
on your site to keep me from activating them. |