The Travel Lion came to my college to promote their vacation packages to students (who are already on a tight budget). They falsely advertise week-long vacations to any destination including Hawaii, Europe, Egypt, you name it for only $150 plus airfare. I asked Ray (the salesperson) if there were any additional costs attributed to the vacation, and he told me that there was only an activation cost of $25. That did not bother me, but I still thought there should be a catch. So I inquired once again if there were any extra fees attached to the 8 night, 7 day Hawaiian Resort vacation (in a very nice Villa) and Ray assured me that it was only $150 plus the activation fee online and airfare. I was very excited to purchase what I thought was a great deal.
I was very disappointed to find out that once I logged in and paid the $25 activation fee, the $150 that I already gave Travel Lion was just a membership fee. The price of actually going on that Hawaiian vacation was over $1000 per person. Not only did Ray lie to me and many other students about this $150 paying for the entire vacation, but I contacted the resort to see what the price would be without using The Travel Lion/Down Under Promotions/Platinum Destinations. (They are all part of the same scam!!!) The price with my AAA discount turned out to be less than it did with the membership to Travel Lion. So basically, they made me pay $150 more and then some for the vacation that does not include airfare.
I immediately contacted my college to let them know about the situation. They had received numerous complaints about the same issue. Next, I contacted Wilfred (customer service?!) and he assured me that Ray would never have lied about the packages. I found that to be funny because of course he would defend their fraudulant scheme. They denied me a refund for both the $150 and the $25 activation fee. I will never book any of my vacations through them, and I am warning you not to buy into their scam!!! I am writing this only to help others see past the facade that The Travel Lion puts forth to innocent, broke students. They are merely a scam company that preys on students and misleads them to think they are getting a great deal!
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