I have revceived numerous phone calls with a recorded messaged stating I have won a free fabulous vaction. I normally just hang on on this message. I've been on the National Do Not Call Registry (DNCR) since 2005 and am tired of these people ignoring the DNCR.
When they called in April, I pressed "0" for more info rather than just hanging up. I was transferred to a real person. I told this person that I was on the National DNCR and would they please stop calling me. The person repsonded with the statement "we are not violating Do Not Call policies" and hung on me.
The same recorded message called again on 5/28/10. I pressed option "0" and got a live person again. I played along with them and told them that we wanted the free vacation. All my wife and I had to do to claim our free vaction was go spend 1.5 hours at Kings Creek Plantation in Williamsburg, VA. We made an appotintment to go the following Saturday.
I know how these scams run and had no intent of going to Williamsburg. I just got the lady on the phone to get as much info as possible about her and her company. She claimed to work for a company call Great Vacations out of Tampa FL and said they are the marketing company for Kings Creek Plantation.
I got as much info as possible from the lady and when I was finished, I promptly fille a complaint with the FCC for their violation of the DNCR.
I then checked out Kings Creek Plantation with the BBB and on complaint.com. All I can say is the number of complaints about Kings Creek Plantation truly reflects what kind of business they are.
On the day before our scheduled visit, I got a call reminding me of our appointment. I told the caller that I needed to cancel the appointment and of course he asked why. I told him that Kings Creek Plantation had numerous complaints on BBB and complaint.com regarding high pressure sales. The caller claimed there was no high pressure sales in involved. I told the caller that I did not want to argue with him and that I was very firm in canelling our appt. The caller replied "next time due your internet research before you waste our time" and then he hung up on me.
Believe it or not, the recorded message called again today, 6/23/10. I pressed option "0" again and got another nice lady who wanted to give me my choice of 5 fabulous free vacations. I chose the 7 day cruise and have another appointment to go to Kings Creek Plantation this Saturday. The lady I spoke with again claimed to work for Great Vacations out of Tampa FL and said they were a marketing company for Kings Creek Plantation.
Once I got of the phone, I filed another FCC complaint against the company for violating the National Do Not Call Registry.
I also called the FCC and found out that it is an FCC violation to have a recorded message call for the purpose of solicting a product. The consumer DOES NOT even have to be registered on the National Do Not Call List for this to be a violation. If a real person calls you to sell you something, it is only a violation if you have been on the DNCR for at least 31 days. However, if a recorded message calls you to sell you something, it is an FCC violaltion even if you have never registered on the DNCR.
As far as Kings Creek Plantaiton goes, their reputation on these consumer boards speaks for itself. They are nothing more than high pressure sales predators who will do anything they can to get your money. They partner up with sleazy marketing companies who continously violate rules to book appointments.
So if you get a recorded message from "Great Vacations", I would encourage you to press "0" to speak with a real person. Make an appointment with them and get a name and telephone number of the person you spoke to. Once you get of the phone, please proceed to the FCC website and file a complaint againts them
Last but not least, I feel sorry for anyone that has to make a living participating in these sleazy, deceptive sales practices.
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