I recieved a phone call on my cell phone from a 727 number asking if I was interested in free airplane vouchers &free nights in a hotel room. The offer sounded too good to be true, but being as I had just awaken from a dream about my hometown [which I have been longing to visit] I agreed to do a "trial offer", in which I was told I would not be billed unless I falied to call &cancel within a week of recieving the package. If i were to not call, they would take out an activation fee of $40 &monthly fees of $20.
I got the package a week later &it was not at all what they had informed me it would be; instead, it was a vacation package that would cost $149.00. I called the day after recieving it, but they were closed; I called the next day & was told that the charge would go through that day [only two days after recieving it when I was told I had a week]. The customer service representative told me that although it was scheduled to be charged that day, it hadnt yet gone through so he could still cancel it for me.
A few days later I got a statement from my bank informing me that $149.00 had been withdrawn. I called the company multiple times &they kept reiterating that it was shown as cancelled &they hadnt gotten the money out of my account so there was nothing they could to about it. I was being bounced back &forth from the bank to the travel agency, each one blaming the other for the charge. Needless to say, I believed the bank much more than the travel agency.
Finally today I went into my bank to see what I could do. They guy helping me looked up the name of the company &informed me that they have been accused of fraudulent charges by hundreds of people &that I was scammed as well - they basically stole my money. I proceeded to call the travel agency AGAIN, &it took me using a few [maybe more than a few] very unladylike words &phrases for the lady whom I was speaking with to use a civil tone with me &tell me what I needed to do in order to get my money back.
Still, I have a feeling that I'm never seeing that money again, especially because of the numerous reports I've read on the web about the company. I was told by the bank that if I want to help put an end to these kinds of scams, I need to write a letter to the attorney general of Florida explaining exactly what happened along with the bank statement showing the withdrawal. I plan on getting started on that tonight &I encourage anyone else who has been scammed by them to do the same so that they stop taking people's money without consent.
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