On the 10th of January at approximately 7:30 pm GMT I received a telephone call from a woman claiming to be called Varsy working for Universal Fun Pass. I was particularly tired from a very stressful day at work and was thrilled to hear that I had 'won' a holiday to Florida.
Varsy told me at great speed that I had won a free holiday to Orlando for 5 days and 4 nights with two passes for Universal Studios but also that I would be going to Daytona Beach for 5 days and 4 nights with a casino cruise thrown in.
All the time she kept asking if I was excited and thrilled to be the proud winner fo this holiday. Of course I was. I haven't been on holiday since 2006! Plus she told me we would also be going to the Bahamas for 4 days and 3 nights! Again the questions of are you excited etc etc. Then she practically shouts that I can take two other people free of charge.
These people are very skilled in bamboozling you, convincing you that every word they say is true. I was so thrilled to have won a 'free' holiday that I found myself agreeing to hand over my Visa details. I had no clue what was happening as I was completely drawn in by Varsy, her rapid speech and thoroughly convincing tone.
I ended up paying $398 because my visa debit card would not authorize anymore, if it had I would have lost $798 Varsy had said that I could pay the rest in $50 installments. I was confused at this point because I was still under the impression this was a free holiday and I was incredibly tired which allowed me to be completely thrown by her skill.
The next day I realized what had happened to me and I called back to ask for a refund as the money had been obtained through fraudulent means. I was told in no uncertain terms that I had agreed to a non refundable payment. Why I asked was I paying for a free holiday?
The woman, Tanya, called my bank and we both spoke to the customer services helpline. She insisted that I had agreed to a nonrefundable sum and my bank refused to speak when she was on the phone. She put the phone down cutting us all off. I spoke again to my bank who said that because I had willingly given over my details despite feeling that they had been fraudulently acquired, refused to demand the money back from Universal Fun Pass.
I feel completely violated and will never trust another internet holiday site again. Nor will I ever pass on my details to anyone whom I haven't met in person.
I would like to warn people of this company they are exceptionally skilled scam artists who will take your money and run. They know all the regulations for Visa and the chances of you being ripped off is huge.
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