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My advice to people and
what I have done since this happened to me:
Always ask the
telemarketer to MAIL the printed material to you. Tell them you don't
do transactions without first seeing the information on paper. If
you are interested, after reviewing what they have sent, you will
call them back. Almost ALWAYS they will NOT be able to mail the
info. If they say they don't do that and that's what makes it
possible for them to offer these types of exclusive "deals" ... BEWARE! That
is your first clue it's NOT a good "deal" of any sort.
Any legit company would never deny a potential customer detailed
information via USPS.
It's
mail fraud to use the USPS as a vehicle to operate an illegal
business ...a FEDERAL offense... of course they won't send the
stuff!
I still
get phone calls (as a matter of fact, one just this morning!) from
timeshare telemarketers offering "free" vacations for my 90
minutes. To this day, I have never been able to get one of these
companies to send
me their info in mail. One time they even said "ok, we'll mail it"
then hung up.... without my address! What a laugh.
Here are
"reasons"
you can
list on your complaint form:
From the FTC
Telemarketing travel
scams usually originate out of "boiler rooms." Skilled
salespeople, often with years of experience selling dubious
products and services over the phone, pitch travel packages that
may sound legitimate, but often are not. These pitches usually
include:
Oral Misrepresentations. Particular schemes vary, but
all fraudulent telemarketers promise you a "deal" they can't
possibly deliver. Unfortunately, you won't know it until your
money's gone.
High Pressure/Time Pressure Tactics. Scam operators often
say they need your commitment to buy immediately or that the offer
won't be available much longer. They typically brush aside
questions or concerns with vague answers or assurances.
"Affordable" Offers. Unlike fraudulent telemarketers who
try to persuade people to spend thousands of dollars on an
investment scheme, fraudulent travel telemarketers usually pitch
club membership or vacation offers in a lower price range. The
offers sound reasonable and are designed to appeal to anyone who
is looking for a getaway.
Contradictory Follow-up Material. Some companies may agree
to send you written confirmation of your deal. However, it usually
bears little resemblance to the offer you accepted over the phone.
The written materials often disclose additional terms, conditions
and costs.
From
Florida Dept. of
Agriculture and Consumer Services:
Consumer
Complaint Information
"The Florida
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services functions as the state's
clearinghouse for consumer complaints. We assist consumers with information,
protection and complaints, regardless of whether we regulate that industry.
Upon receipt, we
review each complaint and take the following action: (1) if the complaint falls
within another agency's jurisdiction, we refer it to that agency; (2) if the
complaint falls within our jurisdiction, we attempt informal mediation to
resolve the consumer's dispute and evaluate the business for compliance with
applicable statutory provisions; or (3) if a complaint is filed against a
business that is not regulated by any federal, state, or local government
entity, we attempt informal mediation to resolve the consumer's dispute."
I'm no dummy and you
probably aren't either, but I sure felt like one when I got
swindled into this so-called vacation "deal". These guys are good at what they do! Someone was kind enough to share
with me how to go about getting my money back. Since it worked for
me, I felt the need to share the same information with others who are/were
in my same situation.
In my case, I was refused a refund by them
directly. The only way I was successful in receiving a refund was
by filing the complaint form to the state of Florida Dept of
Consumer Services.
Details of my
vacation package
Note from me (June 2004)
I believe the company doing business as "Ramada Plaza
Resorts Vacation Package Vouchers" is in no way affiliated with
Ramada Plaza Resorts. From what I have learned (and will later
confirm) is that this person was given permission by Ramada to use
the company name "Ramada" in his own business name. I will
research this more and post a follow-up. If you know anything on this, please
email me.
Also, thank you to all who have been
making good use of the forum. I think it's the best way to inform
our fellow consumers of this issue. And it's highly needed until the topic is covered by the
media (more widely, perhaps, than what some of us have been seeing
locally).
Keep up the posts and please feel free to
email me with questions or
comments.
Jan 2005 Note from me
I don't get paid by anyone to publish this site and I
have never asked for money in return for the information I provide, nor am I
now.
I've heard from so many of you and I am thrilled to
get the great news that you have been successful in getting a full
refund. Believe me, I know the feeling!
Some people have even offered to "buy me a beer" or send
me a "tip" from their refund. That is very thoughtful and I just
want to let you know it is my pleasure to be able to aide in
recovering your cash. We work too hard for our money to just give it
away to some made-up-hardly-a-vacation-get-away dream.
A little about me...
I am a stay-at-home mom with two daughters.
I design
websites in my off time (when the girls are in bed). I also
volunteer for an animal
rescue & shelter based in southern California. I
recently moved from So Cal to Texas (culture shock!). I've hosted
this site since Nov of 1999.
If you'd like to say thanks with a "tip" I'll
gladly accept. I will use this fund to support this site; to cover
the costs of
hosting service and to keep this domain & all it's info on the www.
Acceptable forms of payment:
Visa, M/C, American Express, Discover, Instant
Transfer, E-Check. All information is transferred using SSL (128-bit
encryption). Your
personal information is secure during transmission. You are not
required to have an account in order to send payments, it is only
optional.
Your Privacy: I never have nor will I
ever sell names or personal information to any outside source of any
sort.
|
Need a refund
from this company?
Here's how to get one:
You can apply
if:
-
you tried to
cancel within three days and they said "no"
-
you have just
purchased this package and it has been over three days
-
it has been
months since you've purchased the package
-
if you have taken the trip
Apply
for a refund at
State of Florida Department of Consumer
Services
Click here for
"reasons" that you can list on your complaint form
Refunds take approximately 4 weeks and
will be credited to the account which was used to make the original
purchase.
FYI: I've been informed by a few people
recently that there is a new step in the refund procedure.
Apparently the Florida Department of Consumer Services is asking for
a notarized copy of your list of complaints. Can anyone who has been
through this offer any details to be posted here?
E-mail Me. Thanks.
There is nothing more
to it. No trickery, nothing special you need to tell them except why
you are filing the complaint.
DISCUSSION BOARD
▪
Post your experience
▪
Read posts by other consumers who have shared their experience
MORE ON
THIS TOPIC FOUND ON THE WWW
▪
The Timeshare Beat: RAMADA PLAZA RESORTS ORLANDO GOING FORWARD IN
SPITE OF LAWSUIT
▪
Crimes of Persuasion:
Schemes, Scams, Fraud
▪
More info on Ramada by Consumers
▪
Rip Off Report
▪
Bad
Business Bureau
▪
"Cheated by Ramada"
▪
another thread in the above
forum
▪
Consumer Advisory Links
▪
Florida Attorney General, Charlie Crist: How to File a Complaint or
Check on a Business
▪
Florida Division of Consumer Services Home Page
▪ From the
USPS: "Free Vacation" Scam
▪
The Media Desk
▪ KFSM 5 News
Vacation Scams (http://www.kfsm.com)
▪
I've been ripped off!!!!!!
▪
Reviews listed on Trip Advisor's site
▪
Ramada Plaza Resorts Orlando/ Ft. Lauderdale Vacations is a SCAM and
FRAUD business!
SleepCritique.com
▪
Home Directory Network
If you have a website on this topic and would
like a link placed here, please
email me.
To view
Ramada Promotions, visit their
site:
MORE
From the United
States Postal Service
Inspection Service Home Page >
If you have been victimized by a
free vacation scam or fraudulent travel club, or if you receive a
suspicious solicitation from one in the mail, please contact your
postmaster or the nearest Postal Inspector.
more >
CONSUMER AFFAIRS
These are the search results when
I typed in "Ramada" on the Consumer Affairs website:
View the list >
See what
consumeraffairs.com has reported about Ramada
Plaza
Resorts Vacation Package Vouchers.
Related topics
from consumeraffairs.com
◊
E-mail pitch
◊
Ramada Plaza Veterans
◊
Attempted Cancellations
◊
Ramada Plaza - Successful Refund
Demand
◊
Ramada Resorts package is no bargain
◊
Entertainment for kids
◊
The Cruise
◊
Left Behind
◊
Robin Leach Unpacks Bags
On the other hand...
◊
Ramada: Grin and bear it...
|
Is it the marketing companies...not
Ramada?
|
Emails from you
One of the numerous e'mails I have
received:
After a 14 month lapse before filing a complaint, Tianxin Chen
e-mailed the following message:
From: Tianxin Chen
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001
Subject: Ramada Plaza Resorts Vacation Package
Dear Lola,
You said Mr. Rich is your angel, and I think you are my
angel!! Do you still remember that I emailed you a month ago
about the stinky package I got? I got all money back! Woo Hoo! I
filled out all the complain forms I could find (Florida AG,
California AG, Better Business Bureau, and FTC). I also wrote to
my credit card company. Surprisingly, my credit card company
agreed to review my dispute even though it was charged 14 months
ago. I don't know which one really worked, but today, I found
$498 credit back on my credit card. Woo Hoo! I was jumping
around.
I hope other people good luck. I was going to give
up and consider the $498 as "tuition for school life". But I
got my money back! So keep fighting, everyone. Thanks
again for your information, dear Lola.
Cynthia
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WOW! Look what else I found...
Originally Posted at:
http://badbusinessbureau.com/reports/ripoff53598.htm
Submitted 04/13/2003
Modified 10/03/2004
Ramada Plaza Resorts, Imperial
Majesty Cruise Lines, Dan Lambert Treated employees like dirt and screwed the
customers even more, VERY deceptive company that doesn’t give a damn about
anyone, high pressure sales tactics. Rip-off Ft. Lauderdale Florida *Consumer
Comment ..Stop Beating Yourself Up!
Ramada Plaza Resorts
2419 E. Commercial Blvd.
Ft. Lauderdale Florida 33308
Phone 974-217-9449
(**This was originally written to be
sent to www.RPRSUCKS.com, but their site is currently FULL and not taking
anymore letters, so I am using this forum to release some guilt and frustrations
they I have been harboring. **)
First of all, I want to apologize to anyone who has been scammed by these
"people". The reason I apologize is because for 3 LONG months I was an employee
of this company at their verification office in Ft. Lauderdale.
I was not one of the sleaze ball sales people, nor could I have been. I was one
of the people that read the never ending script describing the package you had
bought. We were trained to stick to the script and to try and not give any other
information if possible. We were not supposed to offer advice, information, or
any other form of customer support as that was not our job, even though we were
your last chance to "escape". Even though you had already given your credit card
number to the "salesperson" and it had been already been charged, it was our job
to get you on tape (actually a computer file) so that you could not later say
you didn't authorize the charge.
Even as I was being trained for the job I felt that this wasn't a "honest"
company, but tried to convince myself it was a "buyer beware" business and that
all I was doing was giving the customer what had been promised. During my
training period I was taught EXACTLY how to respond to questions, and what NOT
to say. Much of it also involved the "good enough" answer, which wasn't a lie,
but wasn't the whole truth either. Also, we were taught words which can be vague
in their meaning depending upon who is saying it or doing it.
Another part of our training also involved listening to calls to see how it was
done. This was when I knew I was just this side of a scam artist. The way people
were treated by the "salespeople" disgusted me. The way in which the package was
presented let me know I was "verifying" a "scam". And, of course, we weren't so
much as to utter the word "time-share" EVER, not even amongst ourselves. (There
were many times I'm sure I sounded like a total moron as I tried to find a way
to tell you this was a "tour".)
As I continued my job and learned the scripts, which we weren't suppose to do
(???????), I soon realized that we weren't screwing anybody out of anything, we
were screwing them INTO something. Day after day, I left work feeling like I had
just cleaned a septic tank by hand, but tried to convince myself that at least I
wasn't one of the "salespeople" that I heard harass, berate, and belittle our
"customers". I heard elderly people being talked into buying packages, when it
was clear they really didn't even understand what they were buying. I heard
newlywed's being screwed out of a beautiful honeymoon and into a beautiful
reason for a divorce; college students on their own with credit for the first
time, being "sold" into the credit trap so many of us have gotten into in our
lives; and despondent people (due to death of a loved one, marriage breakups,
etc) being given one more reason to be despondent. There were calls where people
gave their checking account numbers in addition to their credit card number
(with the 3 digit security code I might add) to pay for the deposits. Some
people used 3 or 4 credit cards to find enough money to do this because
otherwise RPR would "have to give the package someone else". And God forbid if
you should try to back out of the deal after you had agreed to it. These
"salespeople" acted like you had just insulted their whole family and they were
going to "hunt you down".
At this point, your probably wondering why the hell would I stay at such a
place. To be honest with you, I wasn't going to stay. I wanted to run like hell,
but I was a point in my life where I had very little opportunity to do anything
else; the jobs which I was eligible for weren't available to me at the time, and
I was scared. I have a family, had been out of work for weeks, and the thought
of NOT taking the job was scarier than taking it was. Many of the people who
worked there were in a similar situation to what I was. Some were young mothers
who needed work or the extra job to take care of their families, many without
anyone else to help them. Some were people who had no other education and were
fighting to survive without doing something "illegal". Some were just getting
back on their feet after years of abusive lives. Most of us were just good
people fighting to make ends meet. And you could tell "they" knew it too. The
wages sucked, the hours were worse, and the way we were treated was at best like
a dog that no one wanted. If by chance you tried to think for yourself, you were
reminded to read the rulebook, and then asked to please check your brain at the
door on the way in. Problems were handled with the "Don't let the door hit ya
where nature split ya" mentality. We even had a dress code to "look more
professional" (to who??? nobody ever saw us or came in ; can you say Control
Freaks)
I know this doesn't let me or any of the others off the hook, but in some small
way, that's why I'm here sending this to you today. It's seems to be the only
way I'll ever be able to let go of the resentments I have towards myself and RPR.
I'm still somewhat in fear today to even be telling you any of this (I'm still
afraid to give my real name) because as part of working there, we had to sign a
"confidentiality" contract which said we would not release any of the company's
information. However, at this point, it feels more like I signed a "won't tell
on us" contract. I'm sure if they had anything to gain from it, they would come
after me with their high priced schiesters, I mean lawyers, and try to sue my
ass off.
There are many things I have not said here to avoid crossing that "illegal
disbursement of company information" bullshit, that it almost feels like I've
said nothing at all. So at this point, I guess all I can offer is my deepest
apology to anyone who has been taken by these "people", and offer any assistance
that may be of use in making sure that a company like this gets what it, and
others like it, "deserve". (I'm sorry about all the quotes, but they "trained"
me "well" in the use of words.)
Disgusted
Pompano, Florida
U.S.A.
^
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RESOURCES
|
How To Protect Yourself
and where to complain - FTC
Telemarketing Travel Fraud
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent
fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the
marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot,
stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free
information on any of
150 consumer
topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP
(1-877-382-4357), or use the
online complaint form. The FTC enters Internet,
telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related
complaints into
Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to
hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies U.S.
and abroad. |
|
Operation Trip Trap
Be wary of "bargain" vacation offers on postcards and
certificates. Hidden charges can add up. |
|
Unsolicited Mail, Telemarketing and Email:
Where to Go To "Just Say No"
FTC Consumer Alert! |
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