Beware Of Vacation Club Fraud

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Beware Of Vacation Club Fraud

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Title: Beware Of Vacation Club Fraud


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Beware Of Vacation Club Fraud
  • Don't believe promises of extreme discounts or
    free travel

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http//www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/04/be
ware-of-vacation-club-fraud/index.htm   A
lawsuit the Massachusetts attorney general
recently filed against a Pittsfield vacation club
and an affiliated company underscores why you
should consider carefully before doing business
with a discount travel company or vacation
club. A court has issued a preliminary
injunction ordering the companies to stop using
alleged deceptive marketing to sell travel
memberships, Attorney General Martha Coakley of
Massachusetts recently announced.
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Coakley said the companies offered consumers free
travel incentives and extreme discounts on
travel, but instead charged them thousands of
dollars for access to a proprietary software
database that failed to provide the promised
discounts. Vacation or travel scams offer free
or discounted deals that often never materialize,
and our office alleges these companies stole
thousands of dollars from consumers through their
deceptive memberships, Coakley said in a
statement.
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The temporary injuction bars the companies from
advertising free travel that in fact requires
consumers to pay taxes and fees. Nor can they
promote access to nonexistent wholesale travel
discount or hold consumers to a three-day
cancellation period when they have not yet
received access to the companies website. The
state is seeking more than 108,000 in
restitution to victims and 170,000 in civil
penalties.
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Over the years, we've seen many gripes about
travel clubs in complaints filed with the the
Better Business Bureau and such websites as
Complaints.com and RipoffReport. In 2012, the
New Jersey attorney general sued a company and
its owner for failing to provide promised deep
discounts, vacation accommodations, and other
travel services for which it charged one-time
membership fees that ranged from 995 to 8,500,
plus a 29.95 monthly charge.
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Here are tips to consider if you're contemplating
joining a vacation club. Check out the company at
the Better Business Bureau, and by using a web
search with the company name along with such
words as "complaints" and "reviews. Ask about
trip-cancellation and refund policies. Get the
answers in writing.
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Request a detailed explanation of any vaguely
worded descriptions, such as 5-star
accommodations. Be especially wary of
unsolicited promotions that come by mail, e-mail,
or fax offering deeply discounted travel
packages.     References http//westhillconsulti
ng.info http//westhillconsulting.info/blog/
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