In June my husband and I decided to book a vacation to Cozumel through IMS. We were extremely excited about our trip. Only AFTER our money was taken were we told that we HAD to have a major credit card in order to take advantage of the special they were running. We were told via phone AND through email correspondence the following:
We have received your request to cancel your vacation, please be assured your credit card if charged will be refunded promptly and it could take 14 to 20 business days to reflect on your bank statement. You do not need to take any further action. However, if your plans change, please feel free to call our vacation specialists at 1-888-481-9660 and they will assist you in rebooking your vacation.
Regards,
IMS Customer Service
Several days later we then received the following email:
Dear Mr. Parrish and Ms. Jacks,
Due to changes in our internal processes we are asking you to please request your full refund directly to the merchant (giftberry.org) by emailing:
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
We apologize for the inconvenience.
—IMS Vacations
My husband spoke with IMS representatives that continued to give him the run around telling him that he would eventually get the refund due to it being an error on their part that the salesman did not divulge this information. During this time I contacted the 3 emails above from and received this reply:
Heather,
We are very sorry for this confusion.
ALL MONIES for your vacation were forwarded to IMS vacations, as per balance due (electronically transferred) on your account, on June 30. IMS is responsible for fulfilling their contract with you in every way (as Giftberry only serves as receipt of charitable contribution portion of the funds for these companies). All funds received by Giftberry, are donation directed. We are a non-profit organization that provides web-based services to help charities and organizations fundraise and procure in-kind gifts from business donors. IMS Vacations had donations listed on our site and was using our services to process resort packages. That is no longer the case.
As per your voucher request, Giftberry has already forwarded your funds, as requested by IMS Vacations, and IMS is now in possession of your funds.
We have contacted the attorney general in Shreveport, LA, where IMS is located, to investigate fraud. Here is his information, if you would like to do the same:
James CaldwellOffice of the Attorney GeneralConsumer Protection SectionP.O. Box 94005Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9005Tel: (225) 326-6465Fax: (225) 326-6499Email: consumerinfo@ag. State. La.Us
Please go to www.ag. State. La.Us and fill out the consumer complaint form.
We have already attempted to retrieve your funds from IMS, via a direct refund to you by IMS, but up to this point, have not received confirmation from them that this has been done.
Please keep us informed, and we will make every legal effort to help you retrieve any funds due you, by IMS.
If there is a continuing dispute, and a resolution is not forthcoming, Giftberry can provide you, via a different resort group, a higher quality voucher to one of our many Charity Program resorts worldwide, as compensation for the problem you have experienced. This voucher would be good for two years.
Kind Regards,
IGE/Giftberry Support
I have now forwarded this information to IMS but I truly do not expect a reply. The only time they answer the phone is when you are calling to book a vacation. I have contacted the Attorney General, the BBB, and plan on contacting an attorney within the next few days if I have not received a FULL refund of my money. I should have listened to all the negative reviews I read online. If this is not resolved in a timely manner I will make it my mission to warn as many people as possible not to do business with these people. It is very sad that in the beginning I was so very excited to work with IMS Vacations and now I'm determined to resolve this no matter what legal means necessary.
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