I was contacted by an agent of Travel Life Go Direct. I was told the account number they had on file ended in 7106 and was asked to confirm that this was correct. I was asked if I would like free travel vouchers and if I would confirm my address. I was told I would not be charged unless I chose to stay enrolled in the program.
I was billed three times. The bills showed up as checks with my name, billing address, and phone number printed at the top, with my account number at the bottom, and with "For Official Bank Inquiries or Verbal Authorization Please Call (800)-353-0354" printed in place of my signature.
"Please Direct Billing Questions To: (866)-558-4081" was printed at the top. I called but my call was not picked up.
The first bill was on March 5, for $1.95 and I did not notice it. The second two bills came during my Spring Break while I was heavily involved with schoolwork. This check was of the same form as the one that was made out to Travel Life Go Direct, but the billing questions number printed at the top was (888)-799-1879 and the check was made out to:
FloridaDirect
3993 Tyrone Blvd Ste #608-149
St. Petersburg, FL
33709
(888) 799-1879
The signature line was still replaced with "For Official Bank Inquiries or Verbal Authorization Please Call (800)-353-0354".
I did receive packages in the mail, but they only had 7 and 14 day windows to respond before my account was charged. I was not notified once after the initial call.
I made the mistake of assuming that they were only going to mail me promotional offers and that I would choose to enroll or cancel then. I had not contacted them with my account details. I assumed wrongly that I generally would not be charged by a business unless I sought out their services, contacted them with my account details, and actually opted in to a program by confirming instead of by not checking my mail in time.
The FloridaDirect letter said I was entitled to six days and five night of hotel accommodations, and that they were mine to keep with a "one-time processing fee of only $149.00", to be billed to the checking account I had "provided".
The Travel Life Go Direct website has a laughable message board "TRAVEL CHAT" which I was unable to post to. I am not sure if the e-mail addresses of the "satisfied customers" are real or not.
It was partially my fault for not being available to check my mail after I said I was okay with receiving the promotional materials, but I still think their business practices are unethical.
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