- Report: #328253
Complaint Review: Event Planners / Vacation Travel Club - Benton Harbor Michigan
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Author Confirmed
Why?
Event Planners / Vacation Travel Club
9943 E.Bell Rd, Scottsdale, Arizona Benton Harbor, 49022 Michigan, U.S.A.
Phone:
928-486-7592
Web:
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Event Planners / Vacation Travel Club Lied about company name, purpose and reputation. We were unable to go into meeting with saving information. Benton Harbor Michigan
Copy of our letter:
Event Planners
9943 E Bell Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Dear Event Planners/VTC,
Please rescind our Membership Agreement, dated 4/19/2008 (enclosed with this package).
The reasons we wish to cancel/rescind this membership are as follows:
When we booked with Event Planners we were told it was a local travel company just getting started in our area. (It did not turn up on my internet search Friday night.) It was not until we were well into the sales demonstration that the real company name was revealed to us. Had we known the real name, we would have had a chance to see on the internet that this is, perhaps, not as reputable a company as your salesman would have us believe.
While the sales demonstration was very enthralling, and obviously successful, we believe that we were the victims of a very skillful deception.
We were told that the free Mexico vacation could be scheduled and taken on a weekend in the next month or so. In fact, after we had paid for everything with our credit card, you gave us a voucher that details a $100 fee, supposedly refunded at some distant date; a scheduling requirement that does NOT include any weekend, ever; and a requirement for three separate dates, more than thirty days apart, and not guaranteed to ever be available for our free vacation.
After we paid, and were leaving, you also gave us the agreed upon two free airline tickets. These tickets are so wrapped up in strings and fine print as to be practically useless.
Upon my return home, we looked into the real name of this company and are not pleased with what we have found:
1.From a web article that discusses Fraudulent Vacation Clubs, these problems are eerily familiar, after having read through your literature: http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Crimes/Telemarketing/Outbound/Minor/vacations.htm
2.From MSNBC news discussing top five travel scams. Number ONE was the travel club. It reads like a how to manual from our VTC experience. It says, in part: Usually a bad idea. If your travel club is asking for more than a few dollars for membership, they are probably scamming you. They will offer a discounted menu of trips (of course it is discounted they said so didn't they?), only available to members.
Travel clubs should be geared towards social engagement and any dues or membership paid should be reasonable and cover only the true costs. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6867582
3.By entering the company name in Google, we found this little tidbit: BRANSON: Channel 9 News in Chattanooga, TN got cussed at by Tracy Rogers, manager of Vacation Travel Club in Chattanooga, TN as he and his crew were hurriedly emptying out the office in preparation for moving out of town. Channel 9 was there with cameras to check out complaints from area consumers about money not being refunded and purchasers not getting what they paid for, and Rogers was none too happy to see them there. " Who cares!!" he yelled, " get the (expletive deleted) out of our face!" Good crisis management there... Vacation Travel Club is one of James " Runaway Rocky" Pridgen's outfits, along with New Horizon Travel Source, Infinity Travel LLC, and...? The Vacation Travel stores in Chattanooga, Johnson City and Knoxville have all been closed, but word is Pridgen is running a new deal in Branson out of the Old Peppertree building that is located on Green Mountain Drive. Fairfield/Equivest owns the timeshare part. Dan Ruda owns the building Pridgen is allegedly housing out of. What's this travel club called? Channel 9 is not done with this story, by the way. You can read the story here: (external) Vacation Travel Club http://www.thetimesharebeat.com/street/sept05-03.htm
In addition to the reasons listed above, we cannot afford this membership. We freely admit to being beguiled by the prospect of getting to travel someday, but in the cold light of morning we realize that we are not in a place in life where we are able to travel more than to visit family once or twice per year. Quite frankly, we have three children, and two of them have Cystic Fibrosis, which takes up most of our time and resources, anyway.
So, in conclusion, we are hoping you will honor the small print on our Membership Agreement that says we have 72 hrs to send our certified letter. This letter, the entire membership kit, and all purchase incentives will be sent by UPS overnight to the address listed (Scottsdale, AZ). We will also send a certified copy of this letter to the Company Headquarters at 2655 M-63 N., Benton Harbor, MI 49022.
It should be noted that our Understanding and Acknowledgment lists John Adams as the Sales Representative, but the signature says Herman. We should also point out that we are keeping detailed and timed copies of everything and have apprised our credit card company of our desire to cancel this membership. Our fraud protection plan was purchased for episodes just like this.
We will not be keeping the two free airline tickets in hopes that you will let us go with grace and professionalism.
From Kansas City Victims.
Andrea m.g.
Kansas City, Kansas
U.S.A.
Event Planners
9943 E Bell Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Dear Event Planners/VTC,
Please rescind our Membership Agreement, dated 4/19/2008 (enclosed with this package).
The reasons we wish to cancel/rescind this membership are as follows:
When we booked with Event Planners we were told it was a local travel company just getting started in our area. (It did not turn up on my internet search Friday night.) It was not until we were well into the sales demonstration that the real company name was revealed to us. Had we known the real name, we would have had a chance to see on the internet that this is, perhaps, not as reputable a company as your salesman would have us believe.
While the sales demonstration was very enthralling, and obviously successful, we believe that we were the victims of a very skillful deception.
We were told that the free Mexico vacation could be scheduled and taken on a weekend in the next month or so. In fact, after we had paid for everything with our credit card, you gave us a voucher that details a $100 fee, supposedly refunded at some distant date; a scheduling requirement that does NOT include any weekend, ever; and a requirement for three separate dates, more than thirty days apart, and not guaranteed to ever be available for our free vacation.
After we paid, and were leaving, you also gave us the agreed upon two free airline tickets. These tickets are so wrapped up in strings and fine print as to be practically useless.
Upon my return home, we looked into the real name of this company and are not pleased with what we have found:
1.From a web article that discusses Fraudulent Vacation Clubs, these problems are eerily familiar, after having read through your literature: http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Crimes/Telemarketing/Outbound/Minor/vacations.htm
2.From MSNBC news discussing top five travel scams. Number ONE was the travel club. It reads like a how to manual from our VTC experience. It says, in part: Usually a bad idea. If your travel club is asking for more than a few dollars for membership, they are probably scamming you. They will offer a discounted menu of trips (of course it is discounted they said so didn't they?), only available to members.
Travel clubs should be geared towards social engagement and any dues or membership paid should be reasonable and cover only the true costs. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6867582
3.By entering the company name in Google, we found this little tidbit: BRANSON: Channel 9 News in Chattanooga, TN got cussed at by Tracy Rogers, manager of Vacation Travel Club in Chattanooga, TN as he and his crew were hurriedly emptying out the office in preparation for moving out of town. Channel 9 was there with cameras to check out complaints from area consumers about money not being refunded and purchasers not getting what they paid for, and Rogers was none too happy to see them there. " Who cares!!" he yelled, " get the (expletive deleted) out of our face!" Good crisis management there... Vacation Travel Club is one of James " Runaway Rocky" Pridgen's outfits, along with New Horizon Travel Source, Infinity Travel LLC, and...? The Vacation Travel stores in Chattanooga, Johnson City and Knoxville have all been closed, but word is Pridgen is running a new deal in Branson out of the Old Peppertree building that is located on Green Mountain Drive. Fairfield/Equivest owns the timeshare part. Dan Ruda owns the building Pridgen is allegedly housing out of. What's this travel club called? Channel 9 is not done with this story, by the way. You can read the story here: (external) Vacation Travel Club http://www.thetimesharebeat.com/street/sept05-03.htm
In addition to the reasons listed above, we cannot afford this membership. We freely admit to being beguiled by the prospect of getting to travel someday, but in the cold light of morning we realize that we are not in a place in life where we are able to travel more than to visit family once or twice per year. Quite frankly, we have three children, and two of them have Cystic Fibrosis, which takes up most of our time and resources, anyway.
So, in conclusion, we are hoping you will honor the small print on our Membership Agreement that says we have 72 hrs to send our certified letter. This letter, the entire membership kit, and all purchase incentives will be sent by UPS overnight to the address listed (Scottsdale, AZ). We will also send a certified copy of this letter to the Company Headquarters at 2655 M-63 N., Benton Harbor, MI 49022.
It should be noted that our Understanding and Acknowledgment lists John Adams as the Sales Representative, but the signature says Herman. We should also point out that we are keeping detailed and timed copies of everything and have apprised our credit card company of our desire to cancel this membership. Our fraud protection plan was purchased for episodes just like this.
We will not be keeping the two free airline tickets in hopes that you will let us go with grace and professionalism.
From Kansas City Victims.
Andrea m.g.
Kansas City, Kansas
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Scot
Benton Harbor,Michigan,
U.S.A.
VTC has everything cleared up
#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Mon, June 09, 2008
Client was refunded their money with no questions asked by Event Planners, the sales office. I called and talked with client and she assured me she was taken care of by Event Plannners. Client did not use any services of Vacation Travel Club. Client stated that she had a young family and that it was something they would benefit more from later down the road. Vacation Travel Club did not do the sale process or give the travel vouchers out to them therefore, VTC was not at fault for this complaint.
