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CB Travel and Vacations Review of Portfolio to Paradise Travel
Portfolio to Paradise Travel

Portfolio to Paradise Travel review: Travel Membership Fraud SCAM 2

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5:34 pm EST
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on 1/28/12 My wife and I attended a sales presentation to buy into a "Wholesale travel membership club" whereby we could travel for wholesale prices. The cost started at $8995 and then got reduced for various incentives and ended at $4274 .00 to join and no further costs or future dues. We were promised deep discounts on ALL travel. The next day, my wife call the WTC travel number on the club brochure and asked to book a hotel room and was turned away stating our membership was not acitve - whe complained about wanting out of the contract if we counld not try it our within our 3 day cancellation period and was referred back to the San Diego office for assistance. No one could assist us with actual travel and no one would allow us out of the contract - our credit card was charged and the company did not care to assist us. The following week, we were given internet access for self-service travel and we learned that they offer the same values as every other internet based travel site but they charge a membership fee of $4274.00 to join that is not refundable after 3 days. The showed a 90 minute powerpoint promising half price travel to foriegn countries and for half the price that you can get from traditional travel agents - but that was a lie. Expedia, obitz and almost every online travel website books travel cheaper than they did for the same trip. When I learned this and then again requested a refund back to my credit card I was again denied as my 3 day right to the refund had passed. This company shows a sales presentation full of lies and the the travel deals that they can provide are the same that you can find on you own - they are not saving you any money. In addition, the 3 day right to rescind is blinded since you are not allowed access to the system for 7-14 days and do not learn the fraud has occurred until it is too late. If you are "LUCKY" like we are and they are agreeing to refund our money less a 10% administrative fee you will only lose up to $899.00 on the deal - which makes them still win. Also the "FREE" gifts they lure you in with are not FREE. The round trip airfare tickets for two require a $75.00 money order be sent with the acttivation form to Florida and then you have to give 60 days advance notice of travel and travel at least 7 days on your vacation and then when you use the tickets pay an additional $25-75 processing fee. The FREE cruis works the same way. Bottom line - NOTHING was FREE - everything they said was smoke and mirrors, bait and switch, RUN NOW - save your 2 hours of time up front and 20 hours of time on the back end and go somewhere else.

2 comments
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Gusmonk
Atco, US
Oct 09, 2014 8:46 am EDT

On Oct 5, 2014

Apparently they are still in business two years later. My wife and I attended a presentation this past Saturday. We have attended many timeshare presentations where 2-4 night hotel or resort stays or cruises were given away as an incentive to hear about and hopefully buy their product. We have chosen not to buy and received the FREE hotel/resort stays and enjoyed them. Prior to 2002 that was the only way our family was able to vacation. Mostly cramped hotel stays and a few resort stays. It was all we could afford at the time and
though sometimes we stayed in a cramped hotel, we were able to enjoy ALL of the resort amenities. Lest you think we were just moochers looking for free gifts please note we eventually were able to afford a modest package and bought our first timeshare in 2002 (we recently purchase our second timeshare in 2012). During our first vacation to Disney World we attended other timeshare presentations that got us discounted tickets to theme parks. They knew we were already owners but insisted that we hear what they offered and were willing to give away gifts to attempt to persuade us.

We were prepared to do the same in this case. We should have become suspicious when we discovered that the presentation was at a Best Western Motel instead of at a resort type hotel like the resort and Casino hotels in Atlantic City (we live close to Atlantic City, NJ)
-----Harrahs or Wyndham Flagship----where we have actually attended timeshare presentations and received free 'stuff' in the
past.

Our suspicions increased when the other 10-20 couples had not 'shown up'. There was no tour--we had thought we would tour Atlantic
City Resorts. There were no snacks and no free breakfast---just a presentation--- which the salesperson went through quickly. On REAL
timeshare presentations there is a tour and the salespeople try really, really hard to convince you to buy. We did several of these real ones and were there for two to four hours! We really wanted those discount "Disney tickets" and we got them!

After refusing to purchase their product we were given certificates for the free gifts. The truth of the scam became evident when in
order to receive the free gifts, an activation fee and a 911 service fee and taxes and other fees were required to be paid to claim the free 'stuff'.Legitimate timeshare presentations provide free gifts as REALLY free with no taxes or activation fees and require no money to acquire the free gifts. Real timeshare presentations provide REAL FREE gifts with no strings. Usually we check these offers out on the internet for scams and complaints but we were so caught up in trying to plan a vacation that we did not check it out.

Fortunately we didn't buy the products and we didn't pay the activation fee to get the free gifts. The final clue was that they wanted check
or money order for the fees - we had expected to use a credit card since there is no monetary recovery from checks and money orders. That was the last straw. Then we checked online and found that the wholesale travel club company - Paradise something--- was a scam. The third party company in charge of the free gifts actually had free gifts but it was all so complicated with fine print and according to the BBB were misleading customers.

We will have to keep waiting for the airlines to have a sale. Feel free to laugh out loud but be careful. All we lost was an hour of our
time. Many others have lost actual money.

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norgal
Carlsbad, US
May 18, 2012 1:35 am EDT

Watch out for this one also, which may be an offshoot of Portfolio to Paradise, or simply a change in name and address when the complaints against Portfolio to Paradise became too overwhelming: Portfolio Travel, at 324 Horton Plaza, Suite 534 in downtown San Diego. They're in the same business: promising a "free" trip to Hawaii in return for a 90-minute presentation. It is only after the presentation that one finds out there are all sorts of strings attached, and taxes and fees to pay, for the "free" trip, which makes it hardly worthwhile to accept the "gift". These people should be put out of business for duping the public, but I suppose they make sure they are operating within the law---but just barely.