Serenity Travel review: Fraud 49

I was scammed for $150.00. The address I sent it to did not exist.

You have no idea - it just gets more and more bizarre -

They ruin it for all of the supposed honest Travel Agencies - Never again. Save your money and take a real trip.

My parents bought a vacation package from Serenity Travel. They did go on a trip last year. We are trying to book another trip and so far the DVI website will not let my dad log on. We called the customer service number listed and we got a recording that the call cannot be completed as dialed. We then called Serenity Travel and the number was disconnected and gave us a different number to call. After we called the new number [protected] the phone rings and then goes to a busy signal. Sounds like they were lucky to get that trip last year.

I went last night, I thought it sounded like a good deal but I have access to so many time shares that these deals are never profitable for me. I had nbever been on a cruise which is why my wife and I went. When I received the "free airline ticket voucher and the free cruise voucher" i noticed that the fees need to be paid by cashiers check or money order. if I make enough money to be "invited" to your presentation and this isnt a scam, why does it have to be certified funds? whats wrong with my checking account or credit card? oh yeah, that can be traced! needless to say I will not be sending their registration fee's and wish I woulD have seen this before I wasted two hours of my time! Maybe I shoudl bill them my hourly wage for wasting my time under the ruse of a "free gift". Believe me, its not paying the $75.00 registration fee or the $99.00 registratin fee; its paying these fee's to a company that you cant call, only gives you 21days to pay them and requires certified funds. as my wife and I were walking out we saw that out of the 6 couples at the meeting we were the only ones that walked out. My wife even commented on how they had made their commission tonight, as we were leaving. The people weren't rude to us at all but they definately wanted us out when they realized they couldnt sell us anything; however, they made sure to thank us for coming in and told us to enjoy the "free gift" from them! LOL! sorry, i'm not laughing at those that got burned but I hope when I check back in a month that the other five couples arent on here kicking themselves too.

I just got a post card that I receive a "free" cruise and "free" airfare. Out of curiosity I called the number on the card. It was for "Serenity Travel." The person on the phone said that they were a brand new travel agency looking to find new customers in the area. I told them I would call back...knowing that nothing is for free...

Well after looking into Serenity, this is obviously a scam - they are NOT a new agency. Even worse, earlier this year they had their BBB accreditation revoked, and a suit was filed against them by the Delaware Justice Dept.

It's amazing to me that after all the trouble they are in with the justice dept, they are still at it!

DON'T DO IT!

they are having a "free givaway ' on sept 21 tue at 5:30 and 8pm at AAAblvd newark de 19713 almost got taken glad i checked the bbb. I think you should make a trip and have a little vist .

Ahhh John Conner,

You are the stalker type. Just looked at your profile and all your comments are non helpful, and entertaining only to yourself. Whatever floats your pitiful little boat.

Dear confused,
Let me clear it up for you.
Actually, since we were locked in and already paid the membership, we felt we should give them the benifit of the doubt and book our trip. We were still in the "Promise stage" at that time. We didn't know they were scam artists. They string you along. That is what they do.
AFTER the point of booking and much time passing with nothing happening, we found out too late.

This web site is supposed to be a venue to help other people to avoid bad companies and services. People who have had bad experiences post here. People like you who stalk the boards and post messages such as yours are only trying to stir the pot. Maybe you work for Serenity or DVI? Only people who belong to one of these 2 groups defend these sewer dwellers. Get another hobby and get a life.

I am Confused, you say that they have not delivered on there promises but then say that you have booked a trip with them. So what is your complaint? It sounds like you just want to complain. Have you seen all of the complaints from the major internet booking sites? People like you that just want to complain.

I don't know much about this company. We went there for the presentation, but didn't give them a dime. (Even if it were a valid offer, it wasn't something we wanted, crazy, eh?) I have two comments, though:

1. The first two salesmen we talked to, Gary and Tony, were really nice. They listened to us, they tried to sell us the portion of the company that actually sounded good. The third guy, Kurt, from "customer service" was extremely rude and managed to make us feel really good about walking out of there without giving them money! Hint: If you start a sentence with "EVERYONE wants..." I'm not in Junior High anymore, and it doesn't work. Didn't your mother ever use the "well if everyone jumped off a bridge..." line on you? Even if I had been considering buying something, the moment you opened your mouth, it would've been done.

2. My in-laws said they fell for this to the tune of $1, 600 and when they tried to turn in those "free airline tickets" (which are with the unrelated marketing company) they had to mail/fax several copies of the paperwork, which they'd mailed return receipt so they knew they HAD gotten them, and never managed to actually get tickets, having been told three times that paperwork had been lost/not received, and/or that tickets were not available. I do not intend to send in the $150 for "free" domestic tickets.

3. The BBB has this company rated at an F. http://www.bbb.org/delaware/business-reviews/travel-clubs/serenity-travel-club-in-newark-de-32000659/

Samantha Mansfield here! I worked for this company for over 2 years and I am true lover of truth, non-violence, and peace. I have NEVER had a problem with any substances nor have I ever abused my child in any way. To say such a thing about an ex-employee just highlights for all people reading this company's unprofessional and downright vicious demeanor in handling matters. I suppose this is the price I have to pay to try and educate people about the questionable legality of ALL of their business practices. I should have expected such horrible and untrue things from you guys. I pray for your souls and that you may be forgiven. I will continue to do so. I would like to just say again, none of the above statements about me are true. I am contacting my lawyers and complaints board about the removal of that comment and to find out who the actual aggressor was. I will be filing to the full extent of the law. I hope that all of you reading this will understand the measures to which these folks will go to protect their own livelihoods. It is a shame. I have learned the hard way a lot of things about people’s motivations and just how much they will exploit you to their own benefit.

We too are victims of this scam. From day one, there have been nothing but headaches with these people. I hope that the someone nails them!

I hope the information posted about the woman who wrote is false. To put her social security number on the web should be criminal.
There are legitimate travel agencies all over and good travel prices can be found using the internet. The most sensible way to plan travel is either to do it oneself or consult a local travel agency known and respected in one's community. When a company advertises discounts or policies that sound incredible, they are. Why take a chance on a company with so many black marks in its history?

Why then does Mr. Shuman own both the SALES OFFICE in delaware AND the VACATION CLUB DVI- Destination Vacations in NJ? Isn't it supposed to be a seperate entity altogether? With the same person owning both, Mr. Shuman gets to keep all the money. That's actually worse than what Mr. Turner did in NJ. At least he was actually selling a vacation club owned by someone else, distributed nationwide by other sales office owners, and servicing the nation. Also, at least Turner didnt make his employees post false comments and "testimonies" claiming that their company is just great. Way to deceive people even more. DVI has less than 8 employees. And the sales office claims that they service thousands of people. They hardly even book anything for clients EVER because the clients find better prices on their own or get upset with the lack of discount/customer service they were expecting. Basically the office deals with complaint after complaint and issue after issue. Mr. Shuman started out at the office Turner owned in Parsippany. They then BOTH started DVI together and hired one woman to book ALL the trips from her home! A few months into it they had a few more employees and an office. But in June when the AG filed the complaint against Turner, he backed out of DVI for whatever reason. Mr. Shuman became the sole owner while simultaneously opening its sole sales office. They then changed the name from Dream Vacations to Destination Vacations to get away from the bad press (Dream Vacations is listed as one of Mr. Turners affliate companies in the official complaint!). Mainly so when clients come home and look it up on here they dont find the real information theyre looking for...

Look, I'm not saying DK or whoever doesnt want their clients to be happy, of course they do! Its just the fact that they are initially misleading and lying to them that is causing the problems. Another difference between Turner and Shuman is this: Turner started his company fresh, no bad press, no Attorney General breathing down his neck, no complaints board, etc. Shuman has to try and keep as much underwraps as possible if he hopes to hold onto the MILLIONS he has made in the last year alone. One of the ways that a owner like Shuman will do this is to blame all the unhappy clients on the salespeople or customer service reps that work for them, this is straight bull! Trust me when I say that the salespeople that lie the most get the furthest in the company and make the most money, and the customer service people are left with hundreds of upset customers. Too many to even help. Not to mention the customer service people are asked to lie to clients on a regular basis. Horrible Horrible Horrible. And whats worse is that Mr. Shuman and his employees really think that they are not doing anything wrong! And if they have a clue, they dont have a care. OHHH sidenote: anyone who got the AWAY WE GO gifts for coming in to the presentation, Mr. Turner OWNS that company! Anyone who thinks I'm lashing out or making things up.. I would SWEAR to this in a court of law, every single word. And what's sad is that I probably will have to one day!

Also... If you took a trip with DVI and were originally pleased with the price, accommodations, etc. PLEASE BE ADVISED: a portion of your initial sign-up fee was used to reduce the trip cost for you! Most likely, the trip was booked on Orbitz or Travelocity and a portion of the price was taken off and quoted to you (amount depends on the amount your deal was of course) when the trip was booked, Mr. Shuman's credit card was used and you were charged in the office. UNDERSTAND: this is only for 1st time trips! This is why new members are directed to a special and specific place for booking. The way they see it is this. If you pay $5000 for a membership and they take $800 off of your first trip, they still make $4200 and you think that their services are great and legitimate. By the time trip #2 comes around, they dont care about saving you money. In FACT, employees were actually encouraged by and forced by Mr. Shuman to add a commission to the cost of the trip! So, you would ultimately be spending more money then booking on your own. So what did you spend your $4200 for? Some would say for the condo weeks. Thats a flimsy argument in and of itself. The condo weeks are a good deal if youre willing to be flexible in dates, times, location. And you want to travel off season. But even those have a commission added to them!

I thought I would provide and update and give some information on some fallacies that have been out there. I had a problem with serenity travel and was pretty ticked about it. It turns out that the problems I had about things that were misrepresented to me were from rouge employees that has since been fired let go. This same employee had told the company that I used the services and then wanted a refund, which was not true and we found out.

Basically serenity travel is a completely separate entity from the companies associated with Daryl turner in New Jersey that still being litigated against. I was able to find this out Serenity travel is owned by totally independent person and not Daryl turner. This person worked for Mr. Turner, but left his employment because of business practices he did not agree with by turner. Daryl turner does not own serenity travel and I actually have a document saying that he does not from when I finally was able to get my facts and issues straight resolved.

There is a gentleman that was brought in as a consultant. The gentleman’s name is Daryoush Kangarani (Call him DK). He is a legal consultant and law student at Novus Law School. I actually had a meeting with him over some of my concerns and misinformation that was given to me and found him to be quite helpful. He actually has been cleaning house of many employees who have been causing problems that you hear about on the site and trying to resolve problems when he is made aware of them. He is a nice guy and has open door policy. He also does not work off commission and is concerned with facts. The Salesman that I dealt with was one of them. My salesman was basically trying to play us off against each other and even went as far as to make lies up about me. Fortunately this person is no longer. He also got rid of several people who have not been maintaining the ethics and rules of the company. This includes an agent who would not return calls to book travel. It took a week for an agent to get back to me about a car. By the time DK got it the damage and trust was broken by these rouge employees.

I would say if you have an issue with the company that you should call and talk to DK. He has been working in this industry for 20 years and seems to have seen all the problems from either side of the aisle. IF there is a problem, I believe he will make it right if there has been an error. He did this in my case and has been working us. The Delaware Attorney general’s office has been working with DK to resolve issues that people have with mutual respect for other. They actually told me to speak directly with DK to get it resolved. Many problems seem to be the fault of employees worrying more about commission than customer service and issues not filtered through DK. The Ags office actually has ongoing community with DK because of his experience. I never thought I would post anything positive about this company, but I think when companies screw up people need to know, but when they do good or misinformation is given the facts also should be known.

I am actually utilize the program and will provide what I believe to be positive feedback based on my experience with DK. All I can say Mr. Shuman should be lucky to have such an expertise and connections on his side, especially since he is the owner of the company. Once again I recommend giving DK and the company a chance to resolve things. IN my case the issue has been resolved very quickly once I spoke. My Salesman was not forthcoming until me and DK met. I have utilized Marriot for 2-3 days and liked it and testimonials have been provided about happy customers and apparently it is obvious and clear than are people at serenity only for a paycheck and they are causing the problem.. There can be incompetence from the salesmen, travel agent, and customer service, and people in contract department

just as FYI its floating around that DK was involved with Harbor resorts in Nevada and He was actually a consultant for them not an owner. Regarding a car theft rumor DK was actually a victim because he was bought stolen cars and resold them unaware they were stolen. The Florida Ag dropped this when they found out he did not do anything wrong.

I am glad we were able to get the matter resolved, I know for a fact that Mr. Shuman. DK and others are very honorable and do have dignity, but unfortunately the people there for the commission give them a bad name. If someone at any company is not providing their true identity I would say it’s not ethical and they should not be working for a company.

I will post periodic updates of my experiences and if you an issue and you don’t ask for DK don’t expect it to get solved.

contrary to what some might think, i do not and have never worked for the company. I just thought i should make others aware that DK is rectifying what needs to be

Listen Mr. Clark, Serenity, De. has pro's working, We had a great experience with the company. Eiher you want more than what you should get or just a unhappy person. I will recommand any one to listen to the presentation. We received a San Diego stay, it was well discounted and enjoyed. Get your head out of the that computer of yours, and enjoy the weather instead slander people. Some good people are working for the company and some might not. Its what you know and who you know...

We had the same experience. We were told we would receive a $300 gift card to WalMart, free airline tickets, a $30 restaurant gift card, and even more. The presentation was high pressure, and at the end they simply kept restating that if we didn't get the gifts we were promised it was because the marketing company deceived us. DVI had nothing to do with that. Not a surprise. We feel totally deceived by this company - and its people!

Chalk another one up to the scammers! My husband and I went to a "Blue Water" presentation last night and when the guy came down to $2995 with $199/year for the rest of our lives... unfortunately we bit. I woke up at 4:30AM and went online and cried. We called our credit card company immediately and will pursue this thru them. We were contacted by a woman this morning and I told her that we want to cancel but of course, we were told that we couldn't. We were also told that our case would go before an arbitrator. Anyway, we are mainly pursuing this thru the credit card fraud division of our credit card company. Hopefully, things work out, I will keep everyone notified. Sorry I didn't find this blogsite before we went to the appointment...

I USED TO WORK FOR THIS COMPANY. I WORKED FOR THIS COMPANY FOR A LONG TIME. SINCE BEFORE THEY BECAME SERENITY TRAVEL. I AM NOT MAD AT ANYONE OR LASHING OUT WHEN I SAY THIS, I JUST THINK THAT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AND THAT THESE PEOPLE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES! THIS IS A SCAM! I PROMISE YOU THAT MUCH. THEY TAKE YOUR MONEY AND IF YOURE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET A TRIP, THEY WILL USE A PORTION OF YOUR INITIAL FEE FOR YOUR FIRST TRIP AND THEN YOUR SCREWED FROM THERE ON OUT. ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS YOUR MONEY. EVERY SALE THAT A EMPLOYEE MAKES THERE CAN BE ANYWHERE FROM $100-600 FOR THEM. ALSO, THE OWNERS ARE CONMEN. THEY LIE TO THE EMPLOYEES! THEY USE THEM AND TRY TO KEEP THEM FROM KNOWING ITS A SCAM SO THAT THEY SEEM MORE BELIEVABLE. WHEN I FOUND OUT THE TRUTH, I WAS DISGUSTED WITH MYSELF AND THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION. ITS JUST HORRIBLE TO THINK THAT THEYRE STILL GETTING AWAY WITH THIS AFTER ALL THIS TIME..

unelss they have changed things greatly you will not get the supposed free gifts that you are promised. Most of the redemption companies actually have worse reps than serenity does if you can beleive it. Also the guy in jersey being sued ( daryl turner) actually owns one of the companies that was doing redemptions for serenity. They are crooks and people claiming different are people going online to try to throw part of the heat off.

Call the delaware ag office and they will tell you how many complaints these shady bast**** have. I am hoping many of them get jail time for this fraud.

I too have just returned from the presentation at Serenity. The sales folks were very nice and professional. After the main presentation, my wife and I met with a personal representative to see if we had any questions and were interested in joining the travel club. I agree, the price did start at $9995 and went down to $2995. There is an annual fee of $249 to this lifetime membership. We decided that even though it looked attractive, that based on our current level of travel and what we could do on our own to get the best deals for our vacation, we decided not to take advantage of their offer.

We did receive the voucher for a 3, 4, 5 or 7 night cruise of our choosing after it was all said and done. My question is, has anyone paid the $99 by certified mail and not received what they were promised? How did your experience with this go?

I am scheduled to hear the presentation on Saturday, April 3rd but after reading these reviews I am definitely cancelling. What a shame. Another scam to rip people off!

Listen to me AK cruiser, it's NOT worth it. Spend your time with your family or go to dinner. This company got my and my husband's two hours and I wish I hadn't gone. Sure, we figured we'd have to sit through the presentation and didn't figure it would be any harm to just listen. Towards the end, we were bombarded by three salesmen going from $9, 995 membership to $1700. IT WAS RIDICULOUS! The last guy practically held us hostage until we said "look, we want out of here. Where's the cruise information?' You will have registration fees and annual fees to pay. Take your own vacation on your own terms. Don't waste your hard earned money.

I have an appt with Serenity Travel in De on Friday April 2nd...after reading these posts, I am wondering if I should just cancel the whole thing. I know I will have to sit through a presentation and then have to listen to the sales pitch to get my free 4 nite cruise.

just don't know if it's worth the hassle..

i know more than you think shane including eric shuman owns the company yet heather admitted then denied that. That DVI links to free travel sites like travelnow.com, and that you clowns pull a no recission clause after just about all the paperwork is signed and claim it is a requirement from the ags office and it is not. The no recind is because you know as soon as people get hom and do research they will change their mind. Now these guys have offices in del rey travel in california since the delaware BBB has them at a C- rating. There are lots of eyes on you guys.

he wont write me because he knows its hard to defend it. Remeber all john gotti not only claimed not to be in the mob, but also a legitimate businessman. Like the main article says regardless of what me or shane say follow you gut. No business worth a damn will make a today only offer. if they do they you are not losing much by not taking it, especially if you dont get a cooling off period mandated by most state law. and i know quite a bit about DK.

Again, this is Shane Clark, and I just wanted to say the above person obviously does not know me or understand our business. To say such a thing is hurtful. Our program is about usage. It allows you to travel and save. I'd write more, but it's really a waste of my time at this point. Regards, Shane

dk actually claims to be a litigation consultant yet he has sold memberships as well and i know that for a fact. He also was invovled with a company in nevada called harbor resort management that was a scam.

If so far you are happy great, but there are people that pay $20k for the same car other people get for $16K and still think they got a good buy. You are either lying or have not ran into the typical problem yet many members have seen.

Based on our experience, Serenity has serviced our travel needs, we stayed at a ski resort at the Marriott vail colorado. I have to agree might be a portion of people that are working at serenity, are not returning calls or don't know what they are doing. We have finally spoken to a gentelman named "DK' and he has put our reservation @ X-mass week the vail colorado, even "DK" said to us he doesn't deal with traveling.
There some good people that know what to do and how get things done. We paid our contract prices so our discounted rate was 1/2 the price we could get our own. We have no issue wit our service, we find out who talk to at this organization.
Dr. in Delaware.

shane is also a liar about if you get invited. I am a member ( reluctently and am using all legal means to void the contract since they did not live up to the terms like charging me for a website that has the same information as free websites and the same prices) SO the complaints are not all from non-members.

If you want to get ripped off join. If you dont get invited consider yourself lucky. also they are not good marketing. I am a real thorn in their side ( like that C- chuck) and they have sent me two more invitations since i began the dispute and legal processes with them.

shane you are full of ###. You did my presenatation as well, and while you were very cordial during the presentation dk, chuck and the rest of larry, moe and curly are blatantly lying and ripping people off. I would be happy to discuss that with you anytime if you think an error is made, but when you guys pull a no recission crap and then penny takes weeks to call people that does nto look good. Neighter does the fact peple are still being told you have an A+ rating when you have a C- and are heavily being investigated the the ag office. yes every business gets complaints, but they dont all get a special investigator. The company i going down and i hope many people involved get jail time for fraud.

The above poster saved herself alot of heartache by not buying. Also most complaints are over people not getting their trips and eventhough they claim no relations to the companies in new jersey being sued the company is owned by eric turner who worked for or was a princial of one of Daryl turners comapnies. That is the guy in jersey the attorney general has actually sued. Serenity actually was using one of his companies ( away we go promotions) for those free airlines you get. I know for a fact ( seeing documents) that turner owns that comapny

The above statement is a FALSE statement. Why I know this? Well, this is Richard Shane Clark and if anyone has ever met me knows I am not verbally abusive and I would never tell them they were pathetic for vacationing with there family. I did do the presentation that week at Serenity Travel and when I was told about my name being used on this website, well obviously, I'm outraged. It amazes me that people will come in for a free gift and then complain that it wasn't free b/c they would have to pay the taxes on the gift. And then they go on to a web site like this and bash me personally. I am going to contact AutunMoon(Individual who wrote the above statement) and give he/she a piece of my mind. BTW anyone who is invited in, they do record the conversation. So, if you were misled, well, the conversation is recorded. And please note all the complaints are coming from NON-members. I'm sure if we gave out free cars, someone would complain about the color car we gave them. Our program is about usage and customer service towards Travel. If you like to Travel and Save $$ then you should consider becoming a member, that's if you get invited in. Richard Shane Clark

My husband & I wasted two hours with Serenity Travel this afternoon. The personal salesman who came to talk with us after the main pitch by Richard Shane Clark--if that was his name--was verbally abusive. He couldn't believe we would not want to take cruises or feel a vacation could be visiting a relative. A young woman took over and assured us we would be getting the free airline tickets and the other prizes offered. Nonsense! The office was obviously rented for a short period by the furnishings. The salespeople were hardsell asking for just short of $10, 000, or, finally, $1475 today, for a three year membership. I'm so glad we didn't agree to anything, but sorry we wasted our time.
We're not sending $100 to some address with no assurance we would ever get anything for it. Serenity or Millennium is just another scam as far as we're concerned.

A picket will be outside their office this Saturday

I was to attend on of these 90 minute presentation for free cruise. I traveled 1 hour to get there and ran into constrcution travel and arrived 15 minutes late and they said I could not attend that presentation but could wait 2 hours for the next.
I walked out of there, never had good feeling to begin with.

anise did they have at your meeting they they are still A+ by the better business Beareu, or have they finally come clean about being delisted

My husband and I went to a seminar Saturday and it was a crock of bull. Did not sign up for anything nor sent any $99 deposit, so please don't give these crooks your hard earn money. Don't sign the bank of America application at all.

As a victim of Five Points travel, back in Feb-2009, I can tell you that this is ALL a scam. There have been hundreds of filings placed with the NJ Division of Customer Complaints, so many that they will tell you that they cannot handle the volume, let alone handling the scemantics of Daryl Turner. They said that they had to turn this over to the FBI. Unfortunately, I have not heard any developments from this. How is the Fed protecting all of us in this, this seems like a simple case of Fraud by Desception. He is out there and now I understand that he might be in CA. And let me tell you, once the Feds go after him, he will go, not to a different Country, but a different State in the US, that how the States are lacking in the area of protecting Consumers. Since my filings I have noticed that hundreds of people have been scammed. No results ...

Go to your local State Agency and Demand that this company with Daryl T. Turner be taken for trial.

This is bull. They just put this there because they know most of the companies that sold their products are being sued by the attorney general in new jersey and the delaware company called serenity travel is being heavily investigated by the ag there. THey also have had the bbb accredation pulled and are now rated a C. Not that the rating really means much. they also do this so when people search for the name they wont see all the horror storeis of people who feel they have thousands of dollars ripped off from them. The website mydvi.com links to free websites anyone can use.

Beware serenity travel, beware dvi, there is much more to this than meets the eye.

I am a member of the Serenity Travel Club and happen to enjoy their discounts on travel. If you don't travel... don't join a travel club.