Wow! Am I glad I'm not the only who thinks he got screwed, lied to and scammed. I felt so stupid but I already talked to an attorney about it all.
On January 17, 2009, my girlfriend and I went to a vacation home presentation in a hotel at 12021 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove, CA 92840. We were “matched” with a sales person who went through his sales pitch. We had no intention of buying anything. They offered us an $80, 000 package, then $50, 000, then $20, 000 and kept on going down. We said no to everything and then another closer came in. He said he had an introductory package to offer us. The cost was around $2, 000 and we would have 6, 000 points. The last closer, Jonathan Chappell, showed us all the places we could go to. We made it VERY clear that we were looking to go to Asia, Europe and Africa. He assured us it was a great plan for us to start with and showed us the possibilities and numbers with his book. He told us that with 6, 000 points, we would get a minimum of 2 ½ weeks worth in more than 5, 000 hotels around the world. From his calculations, it would amount to about $138/night in a room worth well over $500/night. With everything he had showed us, it sounded reasonable and because my girlfriend and I travel quite a bit, I put down $185 and we bought the package. Here is a short list of the places we wanted to go and Jonathan said we could with what we bought: Madagascar, Japan, London, Australia and China. He made it clear that we could split 2 ½ weeks between any of these places.
We came back home happy with our purchase but didn’t start planning our vacation just yet because we already had one coming a week later. Then upon our return from that one, I had another trip planned and to top it all off, we are in the process of moving. We just recently started thinking about our summer vacation because my girlfriend needs to decide on her vacation time now. For the first time since our purchase, I started flipping through the book I thought was the same we were shown by Mr. Chappell but much to my surprise, I had received a different version with A LOT less choices. It quickly became obvious that we had been duped. I immediately called the number given for Customer Service. As soon as I mentioned the word “Cancelation”, all of a sudden no one was available to help me. I left messages at their center here in Southern California and no one called me back. I was then told by a secretary to try the Northern California office, which I did but in vain. After many tries and pressure on my part, I finally talked to someone who told me they would not refund any money because it was part of the contract. My point to all this is misrepresentation. I would be happy to pay for what they promised me but they obviously lied in order to get a sale and that is wrong and illegal.
Here’s an example. Please keep in mind that Jonathan Chappell showed and told us we would get AT LEAST 2 ½ weeks worth for the 6, 000 points we were buying. One of the destinations we had in mind was London, England. I looked up the book Jonathan gave us and came up on the ONLY hotel offered for London: the Two Hyde Park Square. Let’s just say we decided to go during the LOW season and took a regular 1 Bedroom hotel room. If you look at the chart, it would cost us 1, 150 points PER NIGHT! That’s only 5 days for $2, 000 or 4 days if we go in the high season. You don’t have to be a Finance Major to know that first off; it is VERY far from 2 ½ weeks (or 17 days) and secondly, who would buy a $2, 000 hotel stay NOT including airfare when you can get a 5 STAR accommodation INCLUDING airfare for less than $1, 000/person and I am sure I could find cheaper. When I talked to the customer service representative, she said that with my points, I could go to Anaheim, Napa… Why would I spend $2, 000 to go to Anaheim and Napa when I live in Southern California? These people are laughing in our faces and it is very insulting.
We were lied to in order for them to make a sale. They were dishonest and knowingly fabricated a story to entice us to buy. This is not right and it is illegal. It is a clear case of misrepresentation. The Manager of the Garden Grove office was suppose to call me to discuss the matter but never did.
I know that I only bought a small package compared to some of you who signed up for life and I am sorry you are in such a bind. I will provide any kind of information given by my attorney to help anyone who needs it. I am also willing to be part of a class action suit or even be a witness for anyone wanting to sue.
They cannot go on like this, ruining honest people's lives... |
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