Astar Travel review: Attempted scam 66

Received phone call on 16th May 2017 at 9.20 a.m. from Florida U.S.A. saying that I had won a holiday to Florida for four adults staying at the Radison Hotel for seven nights and then about going for a cruise and she went on and on and on about how lucky I was and how I just had to give them my credit card details and they would take 998.00 US and finally convinced me to go through with it. They then said they would email me within 15 minutes to confirm all these details and that I would receive a package within next 2 weeks. Needless to say there was no email and so had bad gut feeling and went on to ring my bank and put stop on my card.

I then got on net and found that yes this was a scam and I had been ripped off by these dirty mongrels.

When you win something, and then pay 998 dollars to get it, you sound like an idiot...

Thank you for posting. They are still at it. I received a call on June 14th before 7pm. And they gave me similar details. The only difference was that they told me they would charge me $290 US for registration fees, and $5 per night in hotel costs. I would also be charged 10% of the regular cost of the flight to Florida.

When I asked why I needed to provide my credit card information immediately, they told me that I needed to secure my registration with Disney World in order to keep the prize. I repeatedly asked to be mailed, or emailed the prize information, and they refused stating that I would lose my prize.

I was very apprehensive to provide my credit card... but they were very convincing. While I was on the phone with them, my boyfriend pulled up your comment. Had you not posted, they probably would have convinced me too. Thanks again.

BTW... I did win an all-inclusive trip earlier this year to Mexico. And when you do win a legitimate contest, there is no rush to book immediately. There is no high pressure sale.

I need to clear a few things up about:
Astar (aka All Seasons Travel) 12421 N Florida Ave suite C-220, Tampa Fl 33612

1st, every person who is called by Astar, is done so because they have filled out a registration form on the internet, willingly giving up all their personal information such as: their first and last name, street address, e-mail address, phone numbers for their home, mobile, and work, their age bracket, income bracket, marital status AND their spouses name.

2nd, for those of you who live in Canada and like to pretend you were called any later than 5:30p.m need to stop because the office shuts down at 5 and there isn’t a soul in the building after 5:30 not to mention we are in the same time zone, so good try I guess.

3rd, every MasterCard made starts with a 5 and every visa starts with a 4, so stop acting like they’re trying to pull one over on you…it’s common sense not a parlor trick.

4th, the reason why most people get hung up on, if they really do get hung up on seeing as international calls drop so fast they’re heads spin, is because at 5:30 after being there all day, and dealing with unappreciative, disrespectful ###s, they aren’t going to sit there and play “stump the telemarketer” all night. Cute as it is, they have better things to do.

5th, anyone who claims their representative told them anything along the lines of: won a trip, airfare included, free, partial payments, cant cancel, already have your credit card number, etc… is gravely mistaken, there are strict rules delegating what reps can and can’t say while on the phone, not to mention the calls are recorded and all the big guys in the company listen to them and fire people accordingly to what’s being said on the line.

6th, to everyone who thinks they are god’s gift to us and their complaints need to be dealt with before everyone else’s need to pull the stick out of their ###, smell it, and realize that their wrong, and their ### does stink, so the other 10, 000 people ahead of them in the proverbial customer service line…still get to go before them.

7th, we deal with Visa and MasterCard on a daily basis, do you think if we weren’t a reputable company they would have anything to do with us?

8th, look up Disney World on any of these sites and see how many people complain about them, they are “the happiest place on earth” and yet the handful of angry, bitter, pathetic, I-never-smile people out there have to have something to complain about. Boo-hoo for you ###.

8th, anyone who is stupid enough to let their pre-teens and little kids surf the internet and fill out forms with their parents personal information on it need to be sterilized… you do realize there are child predators and porn and all sorts of trouble on the internet right.

Now in closing I am going to tell you what the promotion is and how it works from beginning to end:
First you fill out the registration form on the internet which is scattered around due to the likes of Google, and other engines. If you match our needed criteria (over the age of 21, not a full time student, and a member in good standing with either Visa or MasterCard) your form will be printed off into a lead (only a small percentage of families from the 50 countries dealt with will turn into leads, this is the luck of the draw). Then you will be called to make sure nothing has changed and you still qualify, NOT WON! QUALIFY!
After answering the qualifying questions, your rep will go over your holiday with you, before doing that the first thing out of their mouth will be “You need to get yourselves to Florida anytime in the 18 months to take your holiday is that enough time” and as a rule they need an out loud YES to be able to continue, this is them politely telling you "get your own plane tickets people":

For Canada and the UK: 6 days/5 nights in Orlando with 2 tickets to universal and 2 tickets to city walk, then 3 days/ 2 nights in ft Lauderdale by the beach, then 2 night cruise on regal empress to Bahamas, then stay in Bahamas, then bonus trip to Puerto villarta, Mexico. Cost to stay in Bahamas is 199 per person. Cost for entire 4 person trip= UK and Canada: $998 us dollars + airfare to get to US + $199 for Bahamas (optional)

For everywhere else: 7 days/ 6 nights in Orlando same tickets, same everything else, except no bonus trip. Cost to stay in Bahamas is 249 per person Cost for entire 4 person trip=Everywhere else: $998 us dollars + airfare to get to US + $249 for Bahamas (optional)

You are being offered a $5000 holiday for just a fraction of that price the company is kicking in 85% of the entire cost to get you to go on a tour of timeshares and tell your friends our big boat was pretty.
Now you just have to sit through a time-share tour so later you can laugh and say...well those time shares were pretty but I'm not buying, thanks for the holiday though suckers.
And they smile and say "you betcha...now go tell your friends so we can keep spending money on people who won't buy anything", and... STOP LOOKING A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH!

I received a phone call from Astar travel telling me i had won a two week holiday to florida and the bahamas but was asked to pay a nominal fee of £349 from my visa. I was told a few details but that all details would be e-mailed to me and a copy sent in mail. I thought this was all legitimate but two weeks on i have not received anything. I looked the company up on the internet and found all these complaints from people about them which leaves me to believe i have been ripped off alon with a lot of other people worldwide.

In spite of their printed cancellation policy, ASTAR will not refund any amount of a reservation. Their printed policy says that they will refund, minus a $25 fee, up to 30 days prior to travel. When our trip fell apart, they would not honor this.

We are also one of the victim so I file my complain at http://www.800helpfla.com/complnt.html
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

I suggest you also file your complain at /URL removed/?q5=astar&Search=Search&q1=ALL&q4=&q6=&q3=&q2=&q7=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search%21

Good luck and I hope it helps you.

We are also one of the victim so I file my complain at http://www.800helpfla.com/complnt.html
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

I suggest you also file your complain at /URL removed/?q5=astar&Search=Search&q1=ALL&q4=&q6=&q3=&q2=&q7=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search%21

Good luck and I hope it helps you.

Yes, companies like ASTAR are a total RIPOFF. They play on peoples emotions, and with calls to Europe, they use the language barrier to their advantage. This trip is no bargain at all. Your accommodations are only for 2 people! Sure, you can take 4 people, but you will need to try to squeeze them all into only one room! Most people decline the cruise option; after all, paying the departure fees and port taxes IS paying for the entire cruise, which, by the way, is for ONLY TWO PEOPLE! Hey but just for you, they will add an extra 3 days and 2 nights in Las Vegas! You just need to spend another boat-load of money to get yourself there. Are you getting the idea yet? Your 'small promotional fee' is going to turn into thousands of dollars for plane tickets, room taxes, port fees, and on and on. Most people never use these trips. It winds up being 100% pure profit for companies like ASTAR Travel.

If you have been robbed by companies like ASTAR you need to investigate and find out what your rights are. Realize ONE MAIN THING here. Companies like ASTAR are breaking the laws of the USA, and the State of Florida! They do not want you making alot of noise and drawing a bunch of attention to them. So, remember one thing here; 'The squeaky wheel gets the grease!' So make some noise. Email ASTAR and let them know that you are not going away until you get your money back. Send correspondence to officials in the State of Florida, and Government officials of The City of Tampa, Florida.

According to the laws in Florida governing sellers of travel, you are supposed to be sent a WRITTEN COPY OF THE RECORDING AUTHORIZING THE CHARGE TO YOUR CREDIT CARD. Did any of you get this? Of course not! Why? Because ASTAR is breaking the law and they don't want you knowing your rights. YOU ALSO HAVE A RIGHT TO A FULL REFUND WITHIN 30 DAYS! YES, 30 days, but ASTAR will lie and tell you it is only 10 days.

VERY, VERY, IMPORTANT, READ THIS...

As soon as you realize you have been ripped off, CALL YOUR BANK! Did you get that last part? I said, CALL YOUR BANK! Yes, call your bank and DISPUTE THE CHARGE on your Visa or MasterCard. Tell the bank you were scammed. Tell them you did not receive a WRITTEN COPY OF THE RECORDING AUTHORIZING THE CHARGE TO YOUR CREDIT CARD. Any reputable Bank will have the authority to reverse the charge to your credit card, sometimes even several months after the charge.(This is known as a CHARGEBACK) I WILL SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST! Thieves like ASTAR TRAVEL can not stay in business without a Merchant Account. What is that you ask? A merchant account is what allows them to charge services to your credit card. Without a merchant account, ASTAR Travel is out of business. Every time a Bank reverses a charge to a credit card, IT COSTS ASTAR A FEE, and it issues a strike against their merchant account! Too many strikes, they lose their merchant account, and they are no longer authorized to take payments by Visa or MasterCard! Then they would be out of business.

How do I know these things? I WORKED AT ASTAR! I didn't know it was a scam when I started working for them, but I am not stupid. Last but not least, I would like to sincerely apologize for anyone out there that I may have hurt when I worked for ASTAR. I hope something I have said here might help some of you to get your money back. Remember, don't give up. You can get your money back, sometimes even several months later. Good luck!

Anonymous, Tampa, Florida

I received a phone call saying ive won a 2 week holiday for 2 people in Florida allso

just to say that astarnow has just rung me to advise me that my charges have been reversed me still gota wait for statement tho an will let you know wat the outcome is in saying that please make sure that you ask every question possible infact i wouldnt even think about asking anything its just another scam an very costly maybe ok for whoever lives in the area thats about all unless you are rich

i received call yesterday saying i could go florida etc for 700.and a dhl courier would drop tickets to my house etc.after about half hour n phone the subject of, do you have visa or master card came up, i said visa even though i dont have either, then next question was the expiry date, when i said didnt have card on me, they said could u get one of someone else, i replied no, they said would ring back today and have a card ready to avail of this offer.is this a scam?has anybody actually gone to florida and has positive feed back?please reply asap.thanks

I was contacted by Astar Travel by phone on 20 December 2017 telling me I had won a trip for free to Florida. They were so friendly and excited for me I stupidly gave them my credit card details as they said that this trip would not be valid without them. I specfically told them I would have to confirm with my husband first before going ahead. They said this was no problem and that I had a cancellation period of 30 days. I emailed them on 15 January 2017 to cancel my reservation and contacted my banks. They proceeded to send me the ticket reservations anyway and I notice my banks have paid them out the first installment. After looking them up on the internet I notice they have been reported before. Please can u advise me on what action to take.
Many thanks

I just been contacted by astar travel by phone on 12 february 2017 he said i have won a holiday. i ask if it was a con he said no .he ask if i was married isaid yes he said do you need is permission from him i said yes .he said he will ring back and he give me the website and i got on this site i have read all the complaint about this astar travel and when he ring back i will tell hem to get lost thankyou all

Got a phone call last saturday, telling me I was the "incredible selected winner of a fantastic offer on a trip to FL"... "you know what pleasure is having a sun bath on a Florida beach?"...

Of course not! I'm in the French alps, that's where I leave!

So, they described me that "so fantastic trip", a "must do", for "only 998USD"...

They asked me my card number and expiry date, telling me they won't take money without my authorisation, I firstly said I cannot give this by phone, the guy on the phone said It is impossible to pick money without the 3 secure digits at the bottom of the card... so I finally did!

OH LORD!

Now, my account is lowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww under 0!

I sent a complaint to consumer services of Florida state, a complaint here, in France and blocked my bank account!

I'm now waiting for my money!

They did not call me back, neither they answered my e-mails.

WARNING WARNING WARNING!

If this can help someone not to do the same...

I recieved a call today and they informaed me that I could travel to Orlando Florida within 18 months for a minimum price of €791. I am very cautious of this because of all the stories I have read about Astar on this website. I think the only action to take in this matter is to decline to give any of my credit card details and let it go.. Has anyone any comment on this?

I had a call from Astar Travel at 6am saying that I had won a holiday. I was sceptical as I know i hadn't entered into any competition - the guy on the phone said if I wasn't excited, I wasn't invited after I was disinterested.

They transferred me a couple of times for details and then it got to credit card and they were insisting that to proceed they needed that. I didn't give it to them.

I am now the recipient of early morning phone calls from Florida where they hang up on me and am reporting them as a nuisance call.

I want to say thank you to all those who have posted this on the internet, as after the first call I investigated the company and came across all the information about the company being a scam - so THANK YOU ALL. It is worthwhile posting things like this, it saved me money and being involved.

Hi I am from NZ and have also been ripped off by Astar. They said that I had 30 days to change my mind and they took half of the money for the trip. I returned the tickets and then they said it would take 30 working days to return my money. I was not very keen on the idea of the trip but was talked into it and feel very stupid.
I have been in contact with them but they have still not returned the money. Has anyone out there got a refund from these people?
Kathleen B

They rang me yesterday morning at 6am to tell me I had received a two week holiday etc etc. After I had listened and stupidly given them my card details, sanity prevailed and I told them that I wanted to cancel it. They insisted that it was fine and if I really did want to cancel it I had 30 days to cancel and get a full refund but the vouchers were in the mail and would arrive in 14 days. I thought ok I would wait to get the vouchers and then cancel. Today I decided no I would cancel now and I gave them a call and guess what, no link to that phone number. I cannot beleive I was so stupid but it was the early time that they called that got me all befuddled as I had just woken up. What I want to know is how do I get in touch with them, some people have written that they emailed them but I can't find an address, can anyone please help me. Also I have contacted my bank and they suggested that I cancel my card as they could use it to buy stuff.
Please beware and don't tell anyone your credit card details.

Yep another one here too.
If Asar are all above board then how come thye haven't come out and proved this to be all above board? of course except for "NONYABUISINESS" how didn't sound very professional or bussinesss minded to me.

They call me EVERY MORNING at least 5 times and they dont realise that the time difference in australia is ALOT! I have asked them numerous times to take me out of there system. I never entered a competion and have no idea how they have my phone number and name!

Also if you found a way that makes them stop calling if you could let me know would be great. everytime i say to them to stop calling they hang up and i will get a call at 5am the next morning

I received notification that I had won a prize and asked to select the destination for the prize being a holiday at that destination. I was then adviced that they would make phone contact. ASTAR rang early this morning (whilst I was still asleep) and proceeded to outline the 'prize'. After awhile I established that we had to get to Florida at our own cost, we had to pay port taxes for the 'free' cruise of $299 and we had to pay $998 for the privelage of receiving the prize. I had to confirm on the spot that we accepted the prize. When I asked for confirmation of the detail in writing so I could discuss with my husband before agreeing to accept the 'prize' I was referred to an 0800 number for customer service (which they were anyway).

I smelt a rat and as soon as it became clear to them that I was sceptical and unlikely to take the offer their tone changed and they became very hostile on the phone. Shortly thereafter they hung up.

This was a personal intrusion on my time and clearly the 'travel' and 'prize' was a scam. Fortunately I did not provide any credit card information.

This leaves a sour taste. New Zealanders should not be preyed upon by fraudster US companies - i f nothing else it does nothing to change the image of the USA overseas - and President Obama, I am sure, would be less than impressed.

You need to act and close down these internet scamming companies

I got a call last night - I was very excited to hear that I had won a holiday - 85% of one anyway - lost in the excitement - and the very slick presentation of the 3 staff members - talking at one hundered words a minute - in their home land accent - this could be real - however my partner read the riot act to me - I felt sick to the stomach - what have I done - yep the banks say it all the time - dont give your details to anyone - well this anyone did just that in the euphoria - this was the first thing I had ever won - what are the chances - what I am now left with is the mess of trying to get my money back - big chance of that happening - not. So this leasson has cost me $1300 australian dollars - never again.

I live in ireland and had the same phone call yesterday. I told the guy on the phone i did not have a credit card on me as i was at a family bbq he told me to borrow a family members card and use that when i said i wouldnt he said to get a taxi home and get my own card i said i would do no such thing and he got very abrupt. I asked why i should pay anything, if i had won a holiday it should be free, he got very ratty and abrupt. The details he gave me were as follows, the initial call to me was made by a girl who said her name was Aliasha from Astar the address given was 12421 north florida avenue, c 220, Tampa, Florida 33612. The guy came on next and said he was the travel rep, he said his name was Ricky Warren. When i said that if i had won the prize he could contact me the next day at the same time 19.45 irish time he became very annoyed and said the offer was only open for that one day and if i wished to travel i would have to pay full price and gave me a number to call [protected]

SUCCESS STORY!
I live in Melbourne, Australia. On the 20th February 2017 I had the same phone call stating that I had won a holiday to Florida at a cost of US$998
Like the thousands of others out there, I had the pressure put on me and was sucked into the ‘cancel within 30 days for a full refund policy’
Once I had transferred the credit card details, I was then informed of new conditions such as ‘your cruise is an extra US$300 and you must attend time share seminars whilst in the state of Florida” and so on.
I rang them two weeks later to cancel the holiday and I was then informed that I was unable to because they had already sent the package to me.
I insisted to them that I had changed my mind but they didn't want to know about it. They went ahead and played back to me a recording of my conversation with a ‘Mr. Fernandez’ that was recorded at the time when my credit card details were given out.
The recording had been edited.
Eg. At the time I questioned ‘Mr Fernandez’ on the 30 days refund policy and mentioned that 30 days wouldn’t leave much time to return the package if I decided to cancel. His response was that “I had 50 days from when I received the package”
However, when the recording was played back to me on the phone the 50 days had been edited and it was now saying 30 days.
When I mentioned to them that the recording had been edited they became very defensive! After insisting that I knew they changed the playback recording they then replied ‘Alright if your not interested send the package back and you will get a refund’
I sent the package back two days after I received it on the 17th of March. After emailing them countless times to find out when my refund was coming, my emails were never returned.
I persisted for the next 2 and a half months, ringing the company at least twice per week. There was constant trouble getting through to the right person at customer service. Excuses such as ‘the person your after is away today but they will call you back’ which obviously never happened.
Finally I managed to speak to someone and was told the refund will take at least 30 working days.
I was then informed with an excuse that they ‘tried to put a refund back into my account and it wasn’t going through’
It was only when I contacted City Bank Credit to check why the transfer wasn't going through that they finally gave up!
On the 24th of June 2017, the full refund was put back into my account.
My advice to people in the same situation is to keep on persisting. Call them, try speaking to the same person every time! Even though they will try and avoid you like the plague. DON’T GIVE UP!
GOOD LUCK!

SUCCESS STORY!
I live in Melbourne, Australia. On the 20th February 2017 I had the same phone call stating that I had won a holiday to Florida at a cost of US$998
Like the thousands of others out there, I had the pressure put on me and was sucked into the ‘cancel within 30 days for a full refund policy’
Once I had transferred the credit card details, I was then informed of new conditions such as ‘your cruise is an extra US$300 and you must attend time share seminars whilst in the state of Florida” and so on.
I rang them two weeks later to cancel the holiday and I was then informed that I was unable to because they had already sent the package to me.
I insisted to them that I had changed my mind but they didn't want to know about it. They went ahead and played back to me a recording of my conversation with a ‘Mr. Fernandez’ that was recorded at the time when my credit card details were given out.
The recording had been edited.
Eg. At the time I questioned ‘Mr Fernandez’ on the 30 days refund policy and mentioned that 30 days wouldn’t leave much time to return the package if I decided to cancel. His response was that “I had 50 days from when I received the package”
However, when the recording was played back to me on the phone the 50 days had been edited and it was now saying 30 days.
When I mentioned to them that the recording had been edited they became very defensive! After insisting that I knew they changed the playback recording they then replied ‘Alright if your not interested send the package back and you will get a refund’
I sent the package back two days after I received it on the 17th of March. After emailing them countless times to find out when my refund was coming, my emails were never returned.
I persisted for the next 2 and a half months, ringing the company at least twice per week. There was constant trouble getting through to the right person at customer service. Excuses such as ‘the person your after is away today but they will call you back’ which obviously never happened.
Finally I managed to speak to someone and was told the refund will take at least 30 working days.
I was then informed with an excuse that they ‘tried to put a refund back into my account and it wasn’t going through’
It was only when I contacted City Bank Credit to check why the transfer wasn't going through that they finally gave up!
On the 24th of June 2017, the full refund was put back into my account.
My advice to people in the same situation is to keep on persisting. Call them, try speaking to the same person every time! Even though they will try and avoid you like the plague. DON’T GIVE UP!
GOOD LUCK!

SUCCESS STORY!
I live in Melbourne, Australia. On the 20th February 2017 I had the same phone call stating that I had won a holiday to Florida at a cost of US$998
Like the thousands of others out there, I had the pressure put on me and was sucked into the ‘cancel within 30 days for a full refund policy’
Once I had transferred the credit card details, I was then informed of new conditions such as ‘your cruise is an extra US$300 and you must attend time share seminars whilst in the state of Florida” and so on.
I rang them two weeks later to cancel the holiday and I was then informed that I was unable to because they had already sent the package to me.
I insisted to them that I had changed my mind but they didn't want to know about it. They went ahead and played back to me a recording of my conversation with a ‘Mr. Fernandez’ that was recorded at the time when my credit card details were given out.
The recording had been edited.
Eg. At the time I questioned ‘Mr Fernandez’ on the 30 days refund policy and mentioned that 30 days wouldn’t leave much time to return the package if I decided to cancel. His response was that “I had 50 days from when I received the package”
However, when the recording was played back to me on the phone the 50 days had been edited and it was now saying 30 days.
When I mentioned to them that the recording had been edited they became very defensive! After insisting that I knew they changed the playback recording they then replied ‘Alright if your not interested send the package back and you will get a refund’
I sent the package back two days after I received it on the 17th of March. After emailing them countless times to find out when my refund was coming, my emails were never returned.
I persisted for the next 2 and a half months, ringing the company at least twice per week. There was constant trouble getting through to the right person at customer service. Excuses such as ‘the person your after is away today but they will call you back’ which obviously never happened.
Finally I managed to speak to someone and was told the refund will take at least 30 working days.
I was then informed with an excuse that they ‘tried to put a refund back into my account and it wasn’t going through’
It was only when I contacted City Bank Credit to check why the transfer wasn't going through that they finally gave up!
On the 24th of June 2017, the full refund was put back into my account.
My advice to people in the same situation is to keep on persisting. Call them, try speaking to the same person every time! Even though they will try and avoid you like the plague. DON’T GIVE UP!
GOOD LUCK!

SUCCESS STORY!
I live in Melbourne, Australia. On the 20th February 2017 I had the same phone call stating that I had won a holiday to Florida at a cost of US$998
Like the thousands of others out there, I had the pressure put on me and was sucked into the ‘cancel within 30 days for a full refund policy’
Once I had transferred the credit card details, I was then informed of new conditions such as ‘your cruise is an extra US$300 and you must attend time share seminars whilst in the state of Florida” and so on.
I rang them two weeks later to cancel the holiday and I was then informed that I was unable to because they had already sent the package to me.
I insisted to them that I had changed my mind but they didn't want to know about it. They went ahead and played back to me a recording of my conversation with a ‘Mr. Fernandez’ that was recorded at the time when my credit card details were given out.
The recording had been edited.
Eg. At the time I questioned ‘Mr Fernandez’ on the 30 days refund policy and mentioned that 30 days wouldn’t leave much time to return the package if I decided to cancel. His response was that “I had 50 days from when I received the package”
However, when the recording was played back to me on the phone the 50 days had been edited and it was now saying 30 days.
When I mentioned to them that the recording had been edited they became very defensive! After insisting that I knew they changed the playback recording they then replied ‘Alright if your not interested send the package back and you will get a refund’
I sent the package back two days after I received it on the 17th of March. After emailing them countless times to find out when my refund was coming, my emails were never returned.
I persisted for the next 2 and a half months, ringing the company at least twice per week. There was constant trouble getting through to the right person at customer service. Excuses such as ‘the person your after is away today but they will call you back’ which obviously never happened.
Finally I managed to speak to someone and was told the refund will take at least 30 working days.
I was then informed with an excuse that they ‘tried to put a refund back into my account and it wasn’t going through’
It was only when I contacted City Bank Credit to check why the transfer wasn't going through that they finally gave up!
On the 24th of June 2017, the full refund was put back into my account.
My advice to people in the same situation is to keep on persisting. Call them, try speaking to the same person every time! Even though they will try and avoid you like the plague. DON’T GIVE UP!
GOOD LUCK!

SUCCESS STORY!
I live in Melbourne, Australia. On the 20th February 2017 I had the same phone call stating that I had won a holiday to Florida at a cost of US$998
Like the thousands of others out there, I had the pressure put on me and was sucked into the ‘cancel within 30 days for a full refund policy’
Once I had transferred the credit card details, I was then informed of new conditions such as ‘your cruise is an extra US$300 and you must attend time share seminars whilst in the state of Florida” and so on.
I rang them two weeks later to cancel the holiday and I was then informed that I was unable to because they had already sent the package to me.
I insisted to them that I had changed my mind but they didn't want to know about it. They went ahead and played back to me a recording of my conversation with a ‘Mr. Fernandez’ that was recorded at the time when my credit card details were given out.
The recording had been edited.
Eg. At the time I questioned ‘Mr Fernandez’ on the 30 days refund policy and mentioned that 30 days wouldn’t leave much time to return the package if I decided to cancel. His response was that “I had 50 days from when I received the package”
However, when the recording was played back to me on the phone the 50 days had been edited and it was now saying 30 days.
When I mentioned to them that the recording had been edited they became very defensive! After insisting that I knew they changed the playback recording they then replied ‘Alright if your not interested send the package back and you will get a refund’
I sent the package back two days after I received it on the 17th of March. After emailing them countless times to find out when my refund was coming, my emails were never returned.
I persisted for the next 2 and a half months, ringing the company at least twice per week. There was constant trouble getting through to the right person at customer service. Excuses such as ‘the person your after is away today but they will call you back’ which obviously never happened.
Finally I managed to speak to someone and was told the refund will take at least 30 working days.
I was then informed with an excuse that they ‘tried to put a refund back into my account and it wasn’t going through’
It was only when I contacted City Bank Credit to check why the transfer wasn't going through that they finally gave up!
On the 24th of June 2017, the full refund was put back into my account.
My advice to people in the same situation is to keep on persisting. Call them, try speaking to the same person every time! Even though they will try and avoid you like the plague. DON’T GIVE UP!
GOOD LUCK!

SUCCESS STORY!
I live in Melbourne, Australia. On the 20th February 2017 I had the same phone call stating that I had won a holiday to Florida at a cost of US$998
Like the thousands of others out there, I had the pressure put on me and was sucked into the ‘cancel within 30 days for a full refund policy’
Once I had transferred the credit card details, I was then informed of new conditions such as ‘your cruise is an extra US$300 and you must attend time share seminars whilst in the state of Florida” and so on.
I rang them two weeks later to cancel the holiday and I was then informed that I was unable to because they had already sent the package to me.
I insisted to them that I had changed my mind but they didn't want to know about it. They went ahead and played back to me a recording of my conversation with a ‘Mr. Fernandez’ that was recorded at the time when my credit card details were given out.
The recording had been edited.
Eg. At the time I questioned ‘Mr Fernandez’ on the 30 days refund policy and mentioned that 30 days wouldn’t leave much time to return the package if I decided to cancel. His response was that “I had 50 days from when I received the package”
However, when the recording was played back to me on the phone the 50 days had been edited and it was now saying 30 days.
When I mentioned to them that the recording had been edited they became very defensive! After insisting that I knew they changed the playback recording they then replied ‘Alright if your not interested send the package back and you will get a refund’
I sent the package back two days after I received it on the 17th of March. After emailing them countless times to find out when my refund was coming, my emails were never returned.
I persisted for the next 2 and a half months, ringing the company at least twice per week. There was constant trouble getting through to the right person at customer service. Excuses such as ‘the person your after is away today but they will call you back’ which obviously never happened.
Finally I managed to speak to someone and was told the refund will take at least 30 working days.
I was then informed with an excuse that they ‘tried to put a refund back into my account and it wasn’t going through’
It was only when I contacted City Bank Credit to check why the transfer wasn't going through that they finally gave up!
On the 24th of June 2017, the full refund was put back into my account.
My advice to people in the same situation is to keep on persisting. Call them, try speaking to the same person every time! Even though they will try and avoid you like the plague. DON’T GIVE UP!
GOOD LUCK!

Thanks for the info. I certainly wont be accepting my 'PRIZE'. Lucky I gave them my work number, hopefully I wont receive the same harrassment. I'm sure glad I thought to look them up, must say thought their website looked too basic to me, not a lot of info on their. Wonder who wrote all those happy reviews?

Could someone please contact me with a answer to the following. As this particular company Astar has been trying to get money out of my credit card. Has anyone had any success in getting them to stop trying to direct any funds from their credit account.

I would be very greatful if I could get any feedback, as to how I can get these people to stop. And leave me alone.

July 26th 2017
It happened to me last month! just the same story! I blocked my credit card the same day but 2 day's later there was taken away the fully amount! Went to my bank and told them that my card was blocked but they still could reach the complete amount! I sent 2 registered letters and when the package arrived (3 weeks later!) I wrote on each voucher 'cancelled'and sent it back with copy's of my previous registered letters as they d'dn't received it when I called them again.
Today, I send a last registered letter which will leave tomorrow, but I already e-mailed it, so they will get it tomorrow by mail. I wrote also 'last WARNING' before I take this to justice and I hope they will now understand that I mean it!

I loved Amerika before this matter occurs! I hate these fraudulous manners now! I do'nt understand they can still exist and harm lots of people abroad. I suppose they only contact people outside USA. And they try to keep the money as long as they can! This should be send to American Newspapers and put at the front page!

I just received a call from Astar travel this morning. I remember about six weeks or so ago clicking on a random banner advert on some website that said i had won a holiday, cruise or something. I provided my contact details (no credit card details were asked for) and was told i would be contacted. I thought i'd give it a go and since i had not provided any credit card details what was there to loose. I was expecting to not hear from anyone, or receive a few spam emails which is why i provided an alternative yahoo email i don't use very often.

However when i got the call i was quite surprised, it seemed more real. I admit straight up i am a bit gullible with these things and after my experience really ought to wise up. It was a very similar story to what I have read online from others. Holiday to Orlando, laying out all the details of my holiday, getting me excited, congratulating me, than saying i had to pay approx $990 or so to secure the holiday. This was 15% of the holiday, the other 85% was covered as my prize.

I said i'd like to verify the company, i was at my work computer when they called so they provided their webstie address http://www.astartravel.com It looked legitimate enough and i provided my credit card details. They put me through to a "closer" who mentioned the conversation was recorded and went through the details again to say whether i agreed with it.

Whist doing this i asked to pause for one minute and thought i would google "Astar" with the words "fraud", etc. and came up with a range of sites, including this site you are reading, where people had submitted reports of very bad experiences with Astar. I finally (very late i know) got very suspicious and said i would not like to proceed with the transaction. As this conversation was recorded i wanted to be sure the conversation ran in my favour should it be challenged legally. I first got the "closer" to confirm that although the $900-odd dollars were "on hold" in my account waiting to be taken out, the transaction was not yet verified. I then said i did not wish to proceed or verify the transaction as I had changed my mind.

The closer tried for a while to change my mind, then passed me back to the original sales person who was very persistent trying to find out exactly why i had changed my mind. He probed and probed, but i did not give any reason, other than that i had time to think it over and was not interested in the holiday anymore. It was a full on conversation, he would not take no, but i ensured he kept hitting a brick wall when he tried to find out why. I knew that if i mentioned the websites, my suspicions, etc. we would be talking for a very long time as he would i'm sure have a list of responses to a whole range of issues people may have.

I got him to confirm that he had cancelled the transaction during our conversation, and that while the money was on hold on my credit card, that no money would actually be taken out of the credit card. He warned it would take 4 - 5 days for the hold to be lifted but i insisted i would not reconsider and was withdrawing my desire to continue with the transaction.

Luckily within minutes the hold of $900 was reversed on my credit card, and the $900 was reinstated as credit in my account. I guess because i backed out just before the final verification stage, which was recorded, they were unable to proceed any further.

I immediately cancelled my credit card and had a new one issued in case they decided to withdraw money out at a later stage.

Thank you to everone for their comments, it helped me a lot to make a quick and i think lucky decision before it was too late. Can i also suggest the following as an excellent site explaining the whole deal with these kind of offers: http://boakes.org/florida-travel-vouchers/

One last thing I will say is that I have been unable to find online experiences of anyone proceeding with the holiday offer, and not getting the accommodation as promised, or having a terrible time. The whole cancellation process seems to be a mess but I can’t see any complaints from people who haven’t cancelled- does this mean that Astar have delivered as promised? I would be interested in hearing from people re this. Personally I am too suspicious to risk it, and their cancellation process seems to have been so bad for everyone that I wouldn’t risk it.

Hi there Jim

The same thing just happened to me could you please give me the number that you called to contact them as ive tride all the ones that they have given me and none work.
I hate fraud and i want to get my money back.
Ken

take your money really quick. no package was sent. aksed for a refund hasn't happened. can't contact them as they don't answer their phone anymore. any contact would be great

DON'T DEAL WITH ASTAR TRAVEL. RIP OFF

I was approaced by Astar via an internet site I had been using and trusted. I was the 1 millionth person that day logged on and qualified for a discounted travel package.

I spoke with Patrice initially, who rambled off a whole bunch of information non-stop about what a great package she had to offer me, hotel bookings, free rental car and/or tickets to Florida's theme parks, for an extra fee I could also include a Bahama's cruise for 3 days... blah, blah, blah.

My marraige had just broken down and I felt like my kids and I really deserved a nice holiday like this so "stupid me" I got sucked in by what a great deal it was and agreed to give them my credit card details. I did confirm with them first that if I changed my mind I wanted a full refund. By this time I was talking to "Artiste" who confirmed that if I returned my tickets within a 30 day time frame I was "GUARANTEED" a full refund of the purchase price. My details were taken over the phone and they recorded the information to cover their sorry ###, and within 4 days NZ$1372 had been deducted from my credit card as agreed with them.

I received a confirmation by email advising the transaction had been successful, and everything looked just great. The tickets arrived 2-3 weeks later, by which time I had changed my mind, so I contacted them with the details they had given me and said I wanted a refund. No problem, send the tickets back but hurry because you are running out of time they said.

OK, so I put them in the mail, then called them about 10 days later to check they had been received. The person I spoke with was very accommodating, yes everything was fine, the refund had been booked into their system, and should be processed in the next batch of refunds they were processing... blah blah, blah

I have since contacted them and now all I get is the answer phone message. It is now 4 months later and I have not seen penny of my money.

THESE GUYS ARE A TOTAL SCAM. DO NOT GET SUCKED IN.

If you have already been scammed like me DO NOT GIVE IN. Complain to every agency you can find. The more noise we make the more likely they are going to be caught and then we all get our money back. Keep fighting these people have to be stopped.

I have contacted the Federal Trade Complaints authority, where I have submitted an official complaint. I contacted them today to find out my chances of getting my money back. They have also suggested I contact Federal Business Buerau on [protected]. FTC have advised the more complaints they receive as an organisation they will then begin proceedings against this company. Federal Business Bureau because they are based in Florida can also take action.

Let all stick together on this and bring these thieves down. Are you with me? Lets do this thing.

Just this morning, my dad received a call from Astar and as he had just migrated to Australia and was not aware of such scams going on...he signed up with them.

Called his bank to inform them of the situation and that was within 30 mins of the call from them but was informed by the bank that they can't do anything until the money's been transferred and then we had to personally lodge a dispute which might take 45 days.

I'm surprised how they are able to still get away with scamming people of their hard earned money.