The following is our letter to the VIP Board and our experience with VIP. The Board rejected our request for a refund. Melissa and Jeri (with VIP Travel) both stated that air fares and bed and breakfast accommodations were really not suitable for the V.I.P. Travel Program. Our attorney is now in the process of filing a lawsuit against them.
August 27
V.I.P. Travel
Board of Directors
322 West Main Street
Lexington, SC 29072
Re: Member Number *
Members of the Board:
We responded to an invitation to participate in a V.I.P. Travel sales presentation on August 11 in Greenville, SC. The main room at the Fairfield Inn was filled, so we (and others) were given a flip chart presentation by Jerry, (last name unknown) a Canadian and Floridian transplant working for VIP.
We listened carefully to his presentation and asked what we thought were all of the questions one might have for this type of travel club program. Some of these questions and his answers were:
Is there a requirement for a hotel/air package to make a reservation, or could one just book airfare and expect significant discounts? Answer: Yes, you can book airline flights alone, and still expect a significant discount.
We typically travel to Chicago three times a year. What type of fare can we expect with a Membership? Answer: Oh, we see fares to Chicago for $199/person all of the time.
Our preferred type of lodging typically is in a Bed & Breakfast type facility. Can you book this type of accommodation with a significant discount? Answer: Yes, we do this type of booking all of the time with major cost savings available to you.
Can we see examples of how typical bookings (online) are done, and some examples of the savings. Answer: no, we only offer this service for our members.
How does the "reservation" system work? Answer: just call our toll free number and a Member Services representative will be right with you to help with your vacation requests.
Needless to say, we decided to participate in your program given the answers to our questions. We waited for a week while our membership was being "processed". We still have not received a written or verbal communication that our Membership was active. However, on Monday, August 20th we did request the following:
Round trip air fare from Greenville to Chicago in November.
Round trip air fare from Greenville to Ft. Myers in December.
A combination package for air fare and rail accommodations from Greenville to a start point for the American Orient Express anytime next spring.
After several follow-up calls on our part, it took until the end of last week to receive information on the Chicago and Ft. Myers trips. We were surprised that when we went online over the weekend, via Travelocity, we found we could (for the exact same date/carrier) do the Chicago trip (V.I.P. Cost = $759) for $762, or a $3 savings using your plan. At no time did your representative offer any suggestions as to how to reduce the fare.in other words, if we flew to Chicago one day earlier, we could save $75 according to Travelocity. Keep this in the context that Jerry said that we routinely do Chicago for $199/person. The V.I.P. Fare is $360 over the sales presentation example.
The Ft. Myers V.I.P. Trip cost was $1,241. The same search criteria using Travelocity showed that we could save $119. Needless to say, using V.I.P. Services for these two requests would not have saved us "significant" amounts of money.
We have yet (after a full week) to hear about the American Orient Express request.
Another one of our concerns was that in the selling of the package it was represented that we could add family members to your offering. There was no mention of them having to pay any additional fees for this benefit. All that was necessary was for us to keep our yearly Membership Dues current. It was only after we came home and looked at the back of the Retail Installment Contract (the back was not shown to us) was it made clear that family members would also be required to pay the yearly Membership Dues.
Lastly, we were never told that your representatives would only be available during the hours of 9:00 to 5:00 Monday through Friday. With both of us working during these hours, it makes it very difficult to make a request/reservation. Over the course of several telephone conversations during these hours (and away from our work schedules) Melissa and Jeri both stated that air fares and bed and breakfast accommodations were really not "suitable" for the V.I.P. Travel Program. We would only see greater savings on the packaged hotel and air fare trips.
Given the fact that we feel some of the benefits of the Program were miss-represented and not in-line with our travel needs, as we explained to Jerry, we would like to request a refund. We have not taken a great deal of your time and no reservations have been booked in the short time since the presentation.
Members of the Board, we respectfully request a full refund of the Membership and related fees in the total amount of $5,596.00. We hope you agree that this decision was made without all of the facts being fully presented.
You may indeed have a fine Travel Program. However, we find it difficult to see how our family could reap the benefits of your program, given the facts as stated above.
Respectfully Yours
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