Salmon Berry Tours Anchorage review: Scam Operation 1

We booked a trip with Salmon Berry Tours of Anchorage, Alaska during the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in March 2010 and pre-paid the full invoice amount of US$2850.00 on January 30.2010 into their Anchorage bank account. Anyway, Candice was very helpful up until the payment was received and then the problems started: About 2 weeks prior to arrival we received a message indicating that due to unforeseen circumstances with transportation issues the previously quoted rate has gone up by another US$850.00 and without this payment the company were not able to accommodate us on the tour. We then asked to cancel the tour and refund the money because we could not afford this. Candice declined our request vigorously and told us that she may cancel the entire tour package and retain the funds paid.
So we thought this all over again, borrowed the additional money from our bank and we finally flew to Alaska. Upon arrival a representative of Salmon Berry Tours picked us up and transferred us for 4 days to a ** hotel somewhere in East Anchorage instead to the booked **** downtown property. During the following days all pre-booked sightseeing trips were much shorter than advertised and confirmed. The Iditarod checkpoint flight to Winter Lake was rescheduled and replaced with a much less expensive flight option somewhere near the Yentna River with no dog mushing action at all. After these 4 days we got very angry with the way to run their business and we asked together with 2 other couples for a refund because most services did not correspond at all with the advertised and booked tour. In our opinion this is a deceptive and misleading advertising combined with a really bad ground service experience and on top: the attitude of their local staff is simply horrible. Again Candice declined any refund. To make a long story short: we and the other couples hired a local attorney and sued the company for over US$3000.00 We also informed the Iditarod Trail Committee, the Alaska Tourism Industry Association and the Attorney Generals Office about the company and got no response at all ! We can definitely not recommend this company because they are not serious and are a shame for every tour operator doing business in Alaska.