Thursday February 1st we attended a sales presentation at 3:45pm in the Embassy Suites, Baymeadow Road, Jacksonville, Florida. The presenters represented United Vacation Network of 3690 East Bay Drive, Largo, FL 33771, and they also do business under the name Suncoast Travel Network. We were induced to attend by an offer for a free gift of a four day, five night cruise. The corporate logos of Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines were printed on the offering card.
We sat in a meeting room with eleven other couples. Admission was by couple only, defined by the presenters as married with spouse or committed significant other. The presenter said his name was Craig, and he offered no last name. Approximately half the presentation concerned travel to condominiums or hotels in resort property. This form of vacation does not appeal to us, but we do take long cruises and escorted tours.
When Craig shifted subjects to cruises we immediately focused our attention on what he was saying. He stated that United Vacation Network was able to always provide costs of cruises and air travel that were 50% to 70% lower than the lowest available retail prices. We are able to do that because United Vacation Network is an air travel consolidator, and our huge buying power put us in a position to obtain these prices.
In view of our travel interests I (Howard) raised my hand, and when recognized asked Do you mean that we would be able to obtain from United Vacation Network cruise fares on Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America Lines (a Carnival subsidiary company) that were lower than prices that we could obtain by 50%? Craig answered Yes we can, every day and on any cruise they offer. We were so impressed that I (Howard) entered this statement into the notes that I was taking.
At the end of the presentation, Donnie, no last name offered, led us out of the meeting room to a table in the hotel atrium where he functioned as a closer. We were unsure of all the stated benefits of membership, and their value to us, but the quoted savings on air travel and on cruises was attractive to us.
Accordingly, we asked Donnie to verify for us the stated savings on cruises and on air travel. He left us for five minutes and when he returned he drew four overlapping boxes representing 50% to 70% savings in the smallest central box; 30% in the middle box; and 10% in the largest, outside box. Donnie said that Carnival Cruise Lines, and Holland America, and Oceanic Cruise Line, and virtually all cruise lines fell within the 50% to 70% savings box. Air travel was certainly in the 30% box although we (United Vacation Network) would frequently be able to get lower pricing and that all other travel would fall inside the 10% lower price category.
I then specifically asked whether Grand Circle Travel would fall within the 10% lower price category?
Donnie replied United Vacation Network would always (emphasis is Donnie's) be able to obtain travel for us that would be 10% lower than anything we could obtain at retail.
With this inducement we decided to buy the travel plan.
We received a welcome call from United Vacation Network during the afternoon of February 2nd, and were given our membership number at that time. We were eager to test the claims made by United Vacation Network and asked to have our call transferred to a travel agent. We were connected to Ms. Nancy Salisbury. I presented to Ms. Salisbury two trips to price.
The first was for a three day weekend in Hartford, Connecticut in April. I had done extensive research on this trip and had pricing results from United Airlines, US Airways, Delta, Northwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and also from the following internet travel sites: Orbitz, Hotwire, Sidestep, and the package departments of United Airlines and Southwest Airlines. The second trip was a cruise on Carnival Cruise Line in July. I had booked in December, but I was still able to cancel should I fine a less costly booking.
Ms. Salisbury said that she would have prices for me Saturday, the very next day if she had to work then, or failing that, prices would be available no later than Monday, February 5th.
There was no call Monday. Tuesday I called but could not reach Ms. Salisbury and left a message on her voice mail. Later Tuesday, February 6th, a Ms. Maria Clark called and stated that she was working with Ms. Salisbury, and had prices for me for the Connecticut trip. The prices she stated were more than $250 higher than my shopping had revealed. When I gave my pricing information to Ms. Clark she stated that she would try again. I then asked her about the pricing on the Carnival cruise. Ms. Clark said she didn't know anything about this trip. I then provided her with all the information that she would need to price this trip exactly as I had given Ms. Salisbury. She said she would get back to me.
Wednesday, February 7th Ms. Clark called with new pricing that was near the average air fares that I had obtained, but no lower. The hotel and car rental pricing was not broken down, but the total cost for this weekend was not 10% below the prices I had been able to obtain. Ms. Clark asked if she should book the trip. Since I still had positive expectations that United Vacation Network would be able to perform satisfactorily, I gave approval to charge my credit card.
Thursday, February 8th Ms. Salisbury called with pricing for three travelers on the Carnival cruise in July sailing from Rome, Italy for 12 days. I had asked that the price should include air travel from our home in Ponte Vedra Beach to Rome. The price Ms. Salisbury quoted was $400 higher than I had obtained, and $300 higher than was available at that exact instant (I was on-line during my conversation with Ms. Salisbury) on the Carnival internet web site. When I objected to the pricing, and told her that United Vacation Network representatives had stated that we would receive prices from 50% to 70% lower than the lowest available price she said she had looked up our prior booking which was made in December. Prices were going up, and could not be compared.
I then told her that I was looking at the Carnival Cruise Lines web site at that moment and her prices were several hundred dollars higher. She then transferred my call to Daniel in the Member Services Department. Our discussion did not move forward, and I asked for the name of the owner of the company, which he provided. I then formally informed him that I was severing my relationship with the United Vacation Network, and demanded the return of my monies. Daniel instructed me to send any correspondence to Ms. Christy Daniel, the legal counsel.
I next called Citibank and placed the charge to United Vacation Network in dispute. Next I wrote a letter to United Vacation Network stating my intention to sever our relationship with them. Since it was past 5:00pm I dated the letter February 8th.
We did not want to benefit in any way from our short relationship with United Vacation Network and therefore we wrote a letter on Friday, February 9th canceling my approval of the Connecticut trip.
Monday, February 12th we received a call from United Vacation Network Legal Counsel, Christy Daniel who informed us that the air fare of the Connecticut trip was not cancelable. I informed her to then cancel everything else.
We want our monies returned and all ties with United Vacation Network severed.
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