America Vacations Sean Montgomery TripAdvisorTravelDeals.com SCAM - A friend of ours received a fax from this company that was stating they were a travel company that Trip Advisor was sponsoring, and all Trip Advisor's employees were getting a killer deal on a 5 Night, 4 Day Trip for $149 for the week. She said she called and asked why her work got the fax considering she's not a Trip Advisor employee. They said it must have been a mistake, but they could honor the same promotion for her. She has not booked through them yet, but when I went into her office the other day I was talking about going on vacation, and she let me take a screen shot on my phone of the promo.
I called, and just like they told her, unfortunately that promo had ended, but I do know we still have two transactions pending, and since it's first come first serve, let me ask my manager if I can honor that promo.
They put you on hold, come back, and tell you congrats, they can offer that promo. From the flyer it mentions 4-5 Star Resorts are Guaranteed, and mentions locations like Cancun, Cabo, Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, etc. BUT DOES NOT SHOW THE RESORTS.
You will be told that in order to reserve one of the last 2 spots you have to pay them a reservation fee right then and there, if you hang up or call back chances are the deal will be sold out, and the price will be retail. They're using a scarcity tactic. I know this because I called back today after finding out I was ripped off, asked for the reservation desk, told them I was a new caller, gave them the promo code on the sheet, and sure enough he told me the same exact line as the guy the night before.
HOW I GOT RIPPED OFF. So they make you pay a reservation fee BEFORE showing you what resorts they have in their line up, but promise up and down they're 4-5 star. They'll mention Secrets, and Dream Resorts as a few of their resorts. I said I didnt feel comfortable giving up a deposit unless I knew what was being offered, so he gives me his website tripadvisortraveldeals.com.
I visit the site while on the phone, and sure enough it's janky, galleries aren't loading, and I can only see COUNTRIES the resorts are in like they showed on the flyer. I asked why this was, and he said the IT guys were doing maintenance on the website and updating resorts. He then stated that it most likely doesn't show the resorts because they are only exposed after you pay the reservation fee because they have to protect the good deals as not to make the people that pay the retail prices mad. So after all of this, like an idiot I said okay. The deposit was the $149 for 2, and $99 per extra person (my two kids). I paid it. They said then said they had to record a phone call basically of him disclosing to me that the fee was non refundable, but I could change dates at any time, I could share the same promotion with a friend, and had up to 18 months that I could rebook my dates if my other dates changed last minute. I asked him why they would havee to record something like that, and he straight up told me that it was to send to the credit card companies if we tried later to do a chargeback. THAT should have caused a red flag right there.
Anyways I did it. Now what they do is send you the receipt, and a contract via Docu-Sign restating all the guy stated on the phone, so now they get you hooked twice. AFTER you pay them their reservation fee, record a binding contract on the phone AND via docu-sign their supposed Customer Service Department will automatically email you the list of resorts, and a separate number to call to make your final reservations. This Customer Service line is 1-844-859-2101.
Well they never AUTO sent me any email after completing anything else, I had to call THEM. They finally sent me this email and THAT is when I knew I had been duped. Immediately at the top of the email it states: "*Please note that there are upgrade fees that would need to be applied for any Dreams, Secrets, Villa, Lifestyle, and Grand Resorts.* Be advised that there may be more options when booking reservations." WELL GUESS WHAT? 99% OF THEM ARE THOSE RESORTS, and the ones that are supposedly the $149 + $99 per additional person for all inclusive are 2-3 Stars AT BEST. I went on to Trip Advisor directly and looked up everyone, and they were ALL dives, with shitty reviews, people getting sick from the food, etc.
Soooooooooo I call customer service immediately and ask them how much EXTRA to book at the Secrets, Dreams, etc. IT WAS $399 PER PERSON!!!! That would be for a family of four an additional $1600. So, now you think you're getting a deal, but end up so frustrated, AND you just legally binded yourself via phone and docusign to a NO REFUND, you say screw the deposit, and move on. THIS is what that company is banking on.
When you call to complain and tell them you know what they're doing, they'll put you on hold for 20+ minutes, come back, you try and continue and they'll hang up on you. None the less we used our Bank of America card and have reported fraud, and they have attempted a chargeback. We'll see if the money comes back to us or not. Lesson Learned. Lastly, they say they can get you 60% off your airfare to suck you in as well because they have special promo codes through certain carriers...LIE LIE LIE.
Trip Advisor Travel Deals Inc. Reviews
America Vacations Sean Montgomery TripAdvisorTravelDeals.com SCAM - A friend of ours received a fax from this company that was stating they were a travel company that Trip Advisor was sponsoring, and all Trip Advisor's employees were getting a killer deal on a 5 Night, 4 Day Trip for $149 for the week. She said she called and asked why her work got the fax considering she's not a Trip Advisor employee. They said it must have been a mistake, but they could honor the same promotion for her. She has not booked through them yet, but when I went into her office the other day I was talking about going on vacation, and she let me take a screen shot on my phone of the promo.
I called, and just like they told her, unfortunately that promo had ended, but I do know we still have two transactions pending, and since it's first come first serve, let me ask my manager if I can honor that promo.
They put you on hold, come back, and tell you congrats, they can offer that promo. From the flyer it mentions 4-5 Star Resorts are Guaranteed, and mentions locations like Cancun, Cabo, Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, etc. BUT DOES NOT SHOW THE RESORTS.
You will be told that in order to reserve one of the last 2 spots you have to pay them a reservation fee right then and there, if you hang up or call back chances are the deal will be sold out, and the price will be retail. They're using a scarcity tactic. I know this because I called back today after finding out I was ripped off, asked for the reservation desk, told them I was a new caller, gave them the promo code on the sheet, and sure enough he told me the same exact line as the guy the night before.
HOW I GOT RIPPED OFF. So they make you pay a reservation fee BEFORE showing you what resorts they have in their line up, but promise up and down they're 4-5 star. They'll mention Secrets, and Dream Resorts as a few of their resorts. I said I didnt feel comfortable giving up a deposit unless I knew what was being offered, so he gives me his website tripadvisortraveldeals.com.
I visit the site while on the phone, and sure enough it's janky, galleries aren't loading, and I can only see COUNTRIES the resorts are in like they showed on the flyer. I asked why this was, and he said the IT guys were doing maintenance on the website and updating resorts. He then stated that it most likely doesn't show the resorts because they are only exposed after you pay the reservation fee because they have to protect the good deals as not to make the people that pay the retail prices mad. So after all of this, like an idiot I said okay. The deposit was the $149 for 2, and $99 per extra person (my two kids). I paid it. They said then said they had to record a phone call basically of him disclosing to me that the fee was non refundable, but I could change dates at any time, I could share the same promotion with a friend, and had up to 18 months that I could rebook my dates if my other dates changed last minute. I asked him why they would havee to record something like that, and he straight up told me that it was to send to the credit card companies if we tried later to do a chargeback. THAT should have caused a red flag right there.
Anyways I did it. Now what they do is send you the receipt, and a contract via Docu-Sign restating all the guy stated on the phone, so now they get you hooked twice. AFTER you pay them their reservation fee, record a binding contract on the phone AND via docu-sign their supposed Customer Service Department will automatically email you the list of resorts, and a separate number to call to make your final reservations. This Customer Service line is 1-844-859-2101.
Well they never AUTO sent me any email after completing anything else, I had to call THEM. They finally sent me this email and THAT is when I knew I had been duped. Immediately at the top of the email it states: "*Please note that there are upgrade fees that would need to be applied for any Dreams, Secrets, Villa, Lifestyle, and Grand Resorts.* Be advised that there may be more options when booking reservations." WELL GUESS WHAT? 99% OF THEM ARE THOSE RESORTS, and the ones that are supposedly the $149 + $99 per additional person for all inclusive are 2-3 Stars AT BEST. I went on to Trip Advisor directly and looked up everyone, and they were ALL dives, with shitty reviews, people getting sick from the food, etc.
Soooooooooo I call customer service immediately and ask them how much EXTRA to book at the Secrets, Dreams, etc. IT WAS $399 PER PERSON!!!! That would be for a family of four an additional $1600. So, now you think you're getting a deal, but end up so frustrated, AND you just legally binded yourself via phone and docusign to a NO REFUND, you say screw the deposit, and move on. THIS is what that company is banking on.
When you call to complain and tell them you know what they're doing, they'll put you on hold for 20+ minutes, come back, you try and continue and they'll hang up on you. None the less we used our Bank of America card and have reported fraud, and they have attempted a chargeback. We'll see if the money comes back to us or not. Lesson Learned. Lastly, they say they can get you 60% off your airfare to suck you in as well because they have special promo codes through certain carriers...LIE LIE LIE.