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On January the 7th I attended cycle-fest USA at our coliseum convention center in town. First of all let me just tell you that cycle-fest is a joke, do not waste your $12. But the real reason I come here is because of the scam that I and many others were faced with before we even entered the convention. We were all given a registration slip to register for a free trip to Daytona Beach, FL.
So like an idiot I filled the slip out entirely as well as my girlfriend. About 1 week later the phone rang and the woman on the other end informed me that she had good news. I had just won a free vacation to Orlando, FL 4days 3nights and then the same in Daytona Beach, FL. And also as a bonus for attending cycle-fest they would give me 2 more destinations of my choice. The kicker...I only have to pay 20% which comes to $498. Wait! you just told me I won a free trip. What they won't tell you is that airfare to and from and transportation once you arrive is on your own dime as well as all food. Then when you check in you must attend a 90 minute resort promotion meeting. Anyway, it all happens very fast and they will definitely make you feel like an idiot for not going along. I was told that I needed a credit card on file to reserve my great rate, so I gave it regretfully. As soon as that happens your transferred to another person and not given any chance to ask questions, meanwhile your being charged $498.
So long story short, DO NOT give these people your credit card number. If you are however charged you can get your money back with some very persistent demands and several phone calls to the company. I think the best part was that an hour after I hung up the phone my girlfriends phone rang and it was the same company telling her the same thing. You will need to write into the company stating you want a refund and if that doesn't work you can file a complaint with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services since that is who licensed them. Doesn't hurt to file with the BBB as well. I did some online research of the owner of this company, let me just tell you not a very good review.
I hope this helps someone and hopefully you read this before you are scammed!
Just got my call after filling out the report at the Madison Bouckville Antique Festival. You really have to be guarded regarding such things. The guys repeatedly tell you that it's not a scam and try to give you evidence supporting their claims. It's a rather elaborate scam, but if you are firm and let them know you aren't giving them any money at this time, they will give up and let you get back to your dinner. Don't let the urgency pressure you into agreeing to anything. Nothing free about this scam. Don't encourage these con-artists by filling out their forms to begin with.
I have a family of 5. When they told us we won this trip i thought it would be great. The trip is for 4 people but the woman so eaglerly told us since our youngest is only 3 it woudnl't be a problem. When i went to book, guess what is was and I either have to exclude one of my children, or pay another $98 per night for the extra child to stay. Real nice. And they state there is no way for me to get my $498 i already paid back. They have it on recording that "I agreed" to the terms as they spoke quickly as to the rules of the program. What a sham. And Marissa if your company is so great then why won't they understand my frustration and what position they put me in. My dream family trip for $500 has just cost my family $500 we can't afford to loose because I will not take a trip as a partial family. Refund my money and I would believe you wern't a scam, otherwise you check your facts about this amazing company you work for before saying such ignorant things.
@Marissa8: See for yourself
http://www.bbb.org/west-florida/business-reviews/travel-agencies/tour-americacom-in-clearwater-fl-90015414
I work for tour America and this company is 100% legit. We allow people and family's that cannot normally afford 2 weeks of vacation a chance to go on a dream trip for 500 dollars. Just because you can't afford the price is not grounds enough to call this company a scam. We all work together to try and give people something great and its people like you that ruin it for others. Not one of you people have taken our trips so you have absolutely no right to say these things. If you don't want a trip or us calling you about one then don't sign up for them while your at our state regulated events. It's not like we call people out of the phone book. You sign up for them and we call you to hive you an awesome trip and what do you people do? Complain and call us a scam. All of these comments are sad and petty. We are a great company. License and bonded and also have a c rating on the Bbb so check your facts before you say such ignorant things.
Thanks for the info as I was reading this while on the phone with the guy charging me $298 for 4 hotel stays and 2 tickets to disney. I would enjoy amenities at the resorts including food but I've stayed at the Ritz before and the only food they had was breakfast and snacks. Hopefully people will read this while on the phone with them too. Good luck. P.S. they will always agree with everything you say like the time share people; he asked if I liked disney and I told him no and then he forgot what I said. Juice isn't worth the squeeze.
I just got the same pitch from the same company after filling out their form at the KBPI car show in Denver. Several Mistakes on my part:
#1 Had my car on display right next to their booth of beautiful women.
#2 Filling out a form, just to be nice.
#3 Actually believing that I was getting a killer deal over the phone
#4 Giving up my card info when my gut told me not to.
Well, a whole two hours after the conversation, I have since called and left a message kindly asking them to call me back so I can get a fax number and address to write in to to cancel the payments. Luckily I didn't get charged the whole $498 up front, they broke payments into 4 monthly installments of $128.50. I will be calling every day, every chance I get until I get a hold of them to get my cancellation info.
I understand that if you're reading these reviews, you have already fallen victim to these scammers, and that is unfortunate. Lucky for you though, there are many people who have gotten their money refunded, so there is hope. Just follow these steps:
1) Call your card company ASAP and inform them of the situation. Unfortunately, the card company cannot do anything off the bat because you authorized the charges. This leads you to step 2
2) Get in touch with Travel America immediately. I am still on this step, and I am expecting this to be the worst part. Just be persistent, and when you finally get in touch with someone, do not get pissed and start yelling, or they are likely to hang up the phone. Just politely tell them that you would like a full refund. They are going to let you know that you have to submit the request in writing. Ask for a fax and address, and tell them they can expect either within the week.
3) Send in the request in writing. They have a legal obligation to cancel within 30 days if the request is submitted in writing. If you send by snail-mail, make sure you put a signature verification so you cover your bases. If you fax, you already have that base covered.
4) BE SURE TO GET A CANCELLATION VERIFICATION NUMBER
5) If you don't receive a refund within a reasonable time (4-5 business days) call them back and be sure to tell them that if you don't have your refund by the end of the 30 day cancellation period, you will file a complaint through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services WEBSITE: http://www.800helpfla.com/complnt.html
6) Also, inform them that if the full price is not refunded by the end of the 30 day period, you will file a claim with your credit card company to have them investigate Touring America. Let them know that your bank will deal.
This is about all you can do in the 30 day period. Using those "threats" will most likely solicit a refund within the 30 day time limit. Note that they may try and intimidate you by various means to get you to drop the refund claim. Here are some known tactics, and how to defend against them:
A) They may try and tell you that their vacation packages are on a non-refundable basis. Inform them that the travel vouchers ARE refundable under Florida state law (Statute 559.933) within a 30 day limit from date of purchase. See website: http://www.800helpfla.com/travel_text.html
B) They may try and tell you that if you receive the refund, the IRS will tax you upwards of $900. This is false, the IRS has nothing to do with this situation. Simply tell Tour America that that is fine, and you will handle the IRS when the time comes, you just want your refund.
C) They may even try and dodge all communications with you. If this is the case, be sure to stay in close contact with your credit card company and let them know what is going on. Keep accurate records of all calls, emails, faxes, and letters sent. Ensure you keep any receipts that you may procure. These will be vital if you end up filing any complaints and claims with FDACS or your card company.
Most important though is stick it out! It will take time, because they are counting on you giving up due to frustration. It is 99% likely that you will get your refund within the 30 day window, especially if you keep on them. I doubt that after you tell them about filing complaints and claims, they will deem it necessary to continue the battle. They know that if it gets that far, their company will be toast. Stay strong, and get what's yours!
We purchased this package (though we were also told we "won" a free trip) because we thought $498 for 4 Star accommodations and 2 tickets to Universal studios or Disney plus 3 future hotels stays sounded like a bargain, even with sitting through a time share pitch. Well our 4 star stay was more like a 1 or 2 star (non smoking room that stunk, burns and unrepaired damages in the kitchen, patchwork paint spots on the wall, missing TV, dressers with drawer that didn't close and were missing pulls, missing TS, mold, broken screen and lock on sliding door to balcony). But staff was nice and we did have a great time at Universal ($180 value of the $498 we paid). Today we went to claim our other stays and were told we need to pay another $100 if we want to use them. Plus the place we wanted to stay is no longer on their list of "hot spots". We DON"T recommend anyone do business with this company!
me and my new wife got screwed by them. she fell for it and gave them the cc number and i told her it was a scam after she got off the phone with them. we tried to dispute the claim because the ###s ditched every call attempt we made during the 30day cancellation period, they never sent us our documentation - so we have no files to support our claim, they forged and ediited documents such as our registry form and our vacation terms - wife marked single on the form and they "corrected it" to married without our knowledge and they claimed we called unhappy and they gave us extra time to take our vacations - which is a lie - that never occurred.
these people are lying sacks of ###. were going to have to take them to court for a lousy $500 just because they cant conduct business legitimately. people like this should have their citizenship revoked. its a joke
I just got the same call for a Golf Show I attended in Hartford CT. He was shocked that I wasn't more excited. I told him usually if something looks too good to be true it usually is. Way too many scams out there to give anyone credit card info. I poiltely told him to give my trip to the next guy and he hung up. Don't give your credit card info to anyone unless you've solicited them first.
for some stupid reason i paid some money in...
what did you say/do to get your money back?
Thanks
my dad gave these people our bank account number and they tried 4 times taking money out of our account right after he hung up the phone with them. so long story short do not give these people your card number and bank account number because they will take your money and not even send you any information or verification. IT'S DEFINATLY A SCAM! don't fall for it. just hang up.
Just got the same call from the same people after attending our local area yearly golf show. Exact same deal. When I asked for their web site, the addresses I was given returned no web sites but did direct me to many scam alerts. They stated that the name of the company was Touring America & We tour America. Told them to send me the info via US mail and ditched them. Beware!