I was sold a vacation package by Absolute Travel Center which included a 3 day and 2 night deal after taking a quick timeshare tour of one of their properties. After doing this, I was sent a certificate that would be valid for 1 year through the Worldwide Travel center company.
My voucher was sent out and I was to validate it, which I did. It was set to expire on April 30 (1 year from date of issue - April 30). I began requesting vacations through them in January. You have to pick a travel date and your top 3 destinations, mail in your $50 refundable check and they would let you know if there was availability. Well, after 3 months of trying to book a vacation, they all came back as "no availability for the dates and places requested".
Since the expiration date was near, I sent in a request to extend the package for another year (along with a $15 check) on April 5. As of April 28, I had not yet heard from them, so I decided to call and find out the status of my certificate extension. When I called, I was told that it had expired on April 3 and that it was no longer valid. When I told them that I had my original voucher in front of me and that the date said April 30, I was accused of "altering the document" by a girl named Latecia (very rude). I took exception to that since this had been the same document that I had been sending to them from day 1.
I tried various things to help rectify the situation so that I could have my voucher extended for 1 year including contacting Absolute Reservation Center who orignially issued me the certificate. I spoke with a very nice lady named Debbie, and she confirmed for me that they mailed the forms out to me on May 2. This meant that the form was issued at the end of April and not the beginning of April as Worldwide suggested. I wanted to see if they would be able to issue me another certificate or help in any way, but she was unable to help me. She did however, conference call over to Worldwide with me to discuss the issue with them and see if that would help as well. However, the people at Worldwide were completely rude and unable to help a customer who paid for this package. They advised me to call back on Monday and speak to the Director of Reservations, Alice.
On Monday May 1, I called and spoke to Alice and with an instant attitude, she asked me if the check I sent cleared and I advised her that it had not. She then said that without proof of payment there is nothing she can do for me. I asked her to check if my documents were beign held and nto only did she tell me that she couldn't, but she assured me that they were not there. However, when I spoke to an agent on Friday May 28th, I was told that the documents had been received. So, Alice would not help my in any way and was very hostile and condescending. When I asked to speak to her supervisor, she told me that was not an option. She told me to write to the CEO instead.
I have already filed a claim with the BBB and the Florida Division of Consumer Services.
My advice: DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH WORLDWIDE TRAVEL CENTER and always ask any company that sends you a package deal if they are using that company. DO NOT accept them. They will treat you like a second class citizen and will do not know what Customer Service is. I am not sure if Absolute Travel Center is to blame as well for dealing with these people, but the issue is the Worldwide Travel Center company.
I am not asking for my money back, I am asking for honesty and to extend my certificate for another year as originally requested. I paid for a package deal and expect the services I paid for. I will continue to push and follow this through, but there is no reason to have to go through all of this or treat a customer the way I have been treated.
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