Travel Comm Industries Aka Patriot Travel, Aka Canadian Travel
Scam dishonest illegal "unsolicted faxes" "Traveler Beware!"

I recieved an unsolicited fax at work from a company advertising a Cancun Lavish Getaway for 6 days/5 nights @ $299/person and it also included a 4 day/3 night stay in Orlando, FL. I don't usually respond to ads that sound too good to be true, but my husband & I had been checking prices for Cancun resorts and since the price was for just for accomadations and did not include airfare, I figured it was on the level.

I called their 800 number and spoke to Jason @ ext. 1034 and he proceded to tell me about the details. He rattled off some of the resorts we could choose from and I recognized at least one of the resorts he named in Cancun. He said it was a limited time offer and they only had a few packages left. I asked him to hold while I called my husband to ask him about it, he again told me that they only had a few left.

I reached my husband and he said that it sounded good but he didn't have time to discuss it right then. I asked Jason if I could call him back the next day and he said he was just informed, while I had him on hold, that only two packages were left. He proceded to tell me a load of bull about the company and how they strive to make sure their customers have the best vacation at an affordable price. I asked him for the company name & address because by then I was getting suspicious. He told me the company was Travel Comm and I could go to their web site to see the "quality resorts" I could choose from. (www.travelcomm.net) I looked it up quickly while he babbled on and on. It seemed legitimate, so I told him I wanted the package.

Jason transfered me to Troy Scott who told me the conversation would be recorded for their protection and mine. (RED FLAG!!!)

He got my name, address, telephone #'s, e-mail address, and work fax #, and said that once the transaction was complete they would fax and e-mail me a copy of the contract. He told me that the certificate was good for 24 months and that if we needed more time to take all of the vacations it could be extended at no additional cost. He got my credit card # and said that they would ship out a package with a video tape and info on the resorts and hotels we could choose from via air mail. Somewhere in the conversation he said the price of $679.78
was non-refundable and asked me if I understood everything and I said yes. (BIG MISTAKE! Remember they were recording.) He quickly ended our conversation after confirming the address to ship the package of info.

Before the end of the day I realized something was very fishy and I did a search on-line for any info on the company and was shocked and all the bad reports that came up. (Check out the Florida Better Business Bureau.) I had a sick feeling come over me after reading the horror stories. I got a confirmation fax from Travel Comm the next day, I was supposed to sign it and fax it back. (Yeah, right! I'm not that dumb!) I decided I would try to get my money back and refuse any service from them.

I called Travel Comm the next day to request they cancel my order and credit my card and they told me they couldn't because it was non-refundable. So, I called my credit card company and asked that they do a charge-back on the basis that I was cancelling my order with them and had not recieved anything from them yet. I told the credit card company that I thought I was being scammed. She got Travel Comm's phone # from me and said I would have to deal with them myself and promptly dialed their # and connected me. I got the same response as before.
I tried several more times and I was told some one would call me back. No one ever returned my calls.

After a little research on-line, I came across the FL Dept. Of Agriculture and Consumer Services which licenses all businesses in the state. According to the FL State Statutes governing all travel agencies they license, consumers should be informed of their right to cancel within 30 days of purchase or 30 days from receipt of the vacation certificate whichever occurs later.
There were other tidbits of info I found very useful on their site, one of which was a consumer complaint form. I filled out the complaint citing several violations and asked that they investigate the company/companies. I printed a copy of my complaint and attached it to a formal request for a refund and faxed it to Travel Comm with a respond by date. I told them I would be forced to persue legal action against them if I didn't hear back within 5 days.

Not even two hours later, I got a call at my home number asking that I call Mr. Jerry Decker, President of Sales & Mktng for Travel Comm. He apologized to me that no one had returned my calls and assured me that customer satisfaction was a priority. (Ha, Ha, Ha!) He wanted to know why I wanted my money back, so, I laid it on him! I told him I refuse to deal with an unreputable company and that their sales tactics were not only unethical but also illegal according to FL state law. He tried to deny any illegal activity (to be expected, I guess) and gave me the spill about they couldn't book reservatins with such high class resorts if they were an unreputable company. I just calmly stated that I wanted my money back and he finally agreed!

Moral of this story is: A) - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. ALWAYS check out any company first before giving them your money/personal info. Don't agree to anything over the phone, ask them to mail info out, this gives you time to check over everything BEFORE you commit.
B) If you find yourself in the same situation with this company, PLEASE file a complaint with the FL Dept. Of Agriculture & Consumer Services. The more complaints they get, the more likely they will revoke the business license.
C) Threaten legal action, even if you never intend to go to court over it. The one thing they don't want is more bad publicity to reach the ears of the licensing dept.

By the way, unsolicited faxes are illegal! If you're the sueing type, you could possibly collect $500.00/per unsolicited fax if you tell them to take you off the list and you continue to recieve thier faxes.

Company: Travel Comm Industries Aka Patriot Travel, Aka Canadian Travel
Country: USA
State: Florida
City: Orlando
Address: 5895 Carrier Dr
Phone: 8004189630

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