On December 9 I received a telephone call from a very fast talking telephone operator, identifying herself as Kelly from Universal Fun Pass, informing me I had won a free trip to Universal Studios.
However, the trip wasn't really to Universal Studios. Universal Studio Passes were included, but the trip was actually to Daytona, FL. After a few minutes, something was said about a $249 registration fee if I actually wanted to book the trip. Then the trip expanded to include 3 nights in the Bahamas.
Next thing I knew, I was being asked to confirm my VISA number. They specifically and repeatedly asked me to confirm my VISA number. And unfortunately, they were so insistent and practiced at it, that threw it me and I fell for it.
In the end I've been charged nearly $700 for a vacation I don't even want and I wasn't expecting to be charged because I didn't book anything! The only thing I received was information on how to go about booking this "free" vacation I've been scammed into purchasing.
I called back the same day, less than an hour later to ask Universal Fun Pass to cancel and refund my money because they had acquired my credit card information under false pretenses. I was told someone would call me back... I'm still waiting. They won't respond to faxes or e-mails either.
I did a little research and apparently this company is also known as Universal Adventures, although their website makes no mention of that.
To make matters worse, VISA won't accept that this is a fraudulent charge and has so far not even been willing to cancel my card, even though I immediately reported it to customer care. Basically I was told I willingly gave my credit card number, even if I consider myself scammed into doing it, and there was nothing they could do. I was instructed to take it up with the vendor, a vendor that won't respond.
To add insult to injury, a "common practice" of VISA is to from time-to-time arbitrarily allow the cardholders to spend above their limit to save them embarrassment. For me, this paid for "free" vacation, actually went over my limit (which I falsely assumed would get declined) and VISA claims they are perfectly justified in doing this. Cardholders beware! Sounds like these types of companies know the VISA policies too, and it amounts to a security risk.
Maria
Kanata, Ontario
Canada
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