After faxing over the 25 page essay (including every violated law pasted straight from FL, MD, and the FTC's website) to Daniel Lambert (VP and principal of RPR) about how I was misled and mistreated, I received the entire deposit in my account today. I also forwarded the letter to some of the mentioned agencies in the postings below, but I will be forwarding it to all of them by the end of this week. I am also going to get in touch with Cendant's board of directors and president to question how and why they allow their franchises to run amok.
I have a funny feeling that if I hadn't sent the letter, even with the refund confirmation #, I would have been left out in the cold like many others.
Also, in response to the 2 or 3 people who actually "liked" (and I say that term loosely) the vacation, as well as to the defensive employees:
We are your consumers. Thus, YOU SERVE US, and NOT the other way around. We can only use so much info before deciding whether your offers are legitimate.
At least 80% of our purchase decisions are based off of what you tell us. Now, when you go off and tell us that the trip is "award winning" and "luxurious, " we are paying to receive THAT trip, and not some 10th class crap. When you use Ramada's name about 10 million times in one conversation and constantly mention how "Ramada is the 2nd leading hotel chain" to encourage us to make the purchase, you are misleading us about your reputation and relation to Ramada Worldwide (when in fact your reputation is horrible and you are NOT Ramada Worldwide, but only a crappy franchise of Cendant Corp., Ramada's parent company).
Also, when you tell us that you're taping us for "quality assurance purposes, " we as your consumers have the RIGHT to hear those tapes. When you DON'T tell us about the cancellation policies BEFORE our purchase (and later claim that you did) you have violated FTC and state laws. If (as according to RPR) you had 3 separate people tell us about the non-cancellation policy, how come you won't prove it by letting us listen to the tapes we have a right to be listening to???
Also, if there is a non-refundable policy, how come RPR's offer notice straight out states "refunds subject to law of state in which consumer resides, " which means RPR recognizes our rights to a refund??? Since the offer notice states those words, we're basically ALL entitled to refunds because you've misled all of us into believing your lies (and that my friends, is illegal by both states and federal). Plus, let's NOT forget Florida's Seller of Travels Act that allows ALL consumers to get a FULL refund within 30 days of the purchase. Because RPR is located and licensed in Florida, these laws apply to all consumers who purchase from them.
Now, at least 20% of our purchase decision comes from what we've read online about the company. First, let me tell you what a pain in the * it was to even find an actual RPR website. Then, when I finally found an RPR website, I noticed that there were several different sites and not just one. However, NOT one of the many RPR websites even had detailed pictures of the resorts we'd be staying at or the ships.
The testimonials looked fake and didn't even have dates! So, that scratches off making an informative decision based on RPR's websites. How could a consumer make the right decision based on that??? So, this leaves us to check out all of the complaint websites, consumer advocate sites, and Better Business Bureau site, where there's not one positive recommendation. It actually no longer becomes a matter of finding a recommendation, but rather a matter of trying to find the least brutal complaints.
So, as I tried to cancel my package only the day after the purchase, not once but 3 times, the RPR rep said that many customers loved the package. Now, I ask, who were those consumers who loved the package and where the hell are they because I sure as *&*& can't find any?!
Finally, at least 95% of our decisions to actually go on the trip are determined by how we're treated by your customer service. When your customer service representatives lie and treat your customers like crap, you won't have any customers. Period.
P.S. You give a HORRIBLE name to both Ramada Worldwide and Cendant Corp.
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