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Modern Destinations Unlimited or MDU” is the same company as "La Bonne Vie Travel, Dreamworks Vacation Club, Five Point Travel, and Bently Travel. MDU sent me an invitation to a presentation and offered free vacation (a cruise for 8 days/7 nights) to attend. I attended and sat through a 90 minute presentation (similar to a timeshare format)on 10/24/09. They claim to model themselves after SAMs Club and COSTCO and offer deep discounts on vacations to VIP Membership for fees that range from $5000 to $8, 000.
The DECEPTION is the actual vacation prices offered on their web site (that you can only access after you are a member) is the same or even higher priced than you get form searching the internet. In most cases you have to provide an agent with information to get a quote and you have to wait at least a day (up to 3 days)for a quote. They gave me the impression I would be able to get all the information I need to book a Cruise online. This is a misrepresentation of what they offered at the presentation. They give you the impression they purchase vacation packages for their members and offer them at cost. They claimed to make money on membership fee only. But it appears they are basically a second rate travel agency.
Also the free cruise is not so free because you have to pay taxes and destination charges (about 500 per couple). The requirements to book the trip is prohibitive at best. The contract has a clause that does not allow you to cancel the deal once you sign the contract. But they claimed satisfaction guranteed during presentation.
When I investigated the company - I found that similar travel companies residing at the same location that are being investigated. When I spoke to Terrance Wesley from MDU customer service, he confirmed that MDU also service Dreamwork Vacation Club members. .( refer to http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/08/nj_travel_scams.html)
MDU is a scam company that misrepresent their products but once you realized you have been scamed and request a refund they claim you are expecting more than they offered and refuse a refund
If you are looking at this message you were either invited to attend a travel club presentation (don’t go, it’s a scam), You have attended and did not buy (good for you, you are smarter than me), or you attended and joined (welcome to the club – this message is for you)
The companies I know about are MODERN DESTINATIONS UNLIMITED, FIVE POINTS TAVEL, DREAMWORKS VACATION, BENTLEY TRAVEL and LA BONNE VIE TRAVEL. There are many more nationwide, it’s like a franchise.
These companies claim to sell family dream vacations; you would think they have families so they would be honest people. Instead they are predators that prey on middleclass families and retired couples for the little money they have.
If you have been scammed you should ASAP:
1. Cancel your credit card (so they cannot charge your account for a membership fee)
2. Dispute the charge on your credit card (what happen to you was Thief by Deception)
3. Report them to the Manalapan police, BBB, consumer reports.
4. Contact the Consumer Affairs Director in your state
5. Send a cancelation letter to them by certified mail
6. If you were contacted by mail, contact the post office to report mail fraud
Here is a fox news report on the scam (you may recognize some of the people in this clip):
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/shame/090611_Vacation_Club_Lawsuit
Hope this helps!
TAKE ACTION: I am creating a database of people that were scammed and collecting some statistics that we can show police and the credit card companies in case we have problems disputing our claims. Just send an e-mail and I will contact you. (Note that these sites are being monitored by the scammers) alsoscamed@yahoo.com
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
WARNING ! BEWARE ! WARNING ! BEWARE !
RE: MDU MODERN DESTINATIONS UNLIMITED MANALAPAN, NEW JERSEY
600 PARK AVE, MANALAPAN, NJ
RE: AWAY WE GO PROMOTIONS
RE: VACATION CLUB, CHERRY HILL, NJ
OCT 30, 2009
I WAS AT THE PRESENTATION THIS EVENING.
THE PRESENTATION WAS VERY SLICK, BUT AFTER THE PRESENTATION WAS COMPLETED AND WE SAID NO, ZACK GOT NASTY. HE DIDN’T SEEM TO WANT TO ACCEPT A “NO”. AFTER THINGS GOT LOUD THEY GAVE US THE PROMISED CRUISE VOUCHER AND LET US LEAVE.
DESPITE ASKING FOR THEIR BUSINESS CARDS NUMEROUS TIMES, THIS WAS NOT PRESENTED. NO FINANCIAL OR OTHER INFO ON THE COMPANY WAS PRESENTED. NO CONTRACT WAS PROVIDED TO BE REVIEWED IN ADVANCE. JUST SIGN ON A ONE PAGE DOCUMENT WAS WHAT WE WERE TOLD.
CASH IN ADVANCE IS REQUESTED UPFRONT FOR THE SO CALLED FREE CRUISE FROM A DIFFERENT COMPANY (AWAY WE GO PROMOTIONS IN PHILADELPHIA). THEY SAY THIS IS A NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT FOR CRUISE TAXES AND PORT FEES IN ADVANCE.EVEN THOUGH NO CRUISE HAS ACTUALLY BEEN BOOKED AND SUPPOSEDLY MAY BE TAKEN 12 MONTHS DOWN THE ROAD.
THERE IS NOT EVEN A PHONE NUMBER LISTED ON THE CRUISE VOUCHER GIVEN. IN ALL LIKLIHOOD YOU CAN KISS YOUR MONEY GOOD-BYE.
IT WAS A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME.
DONT WASTE YOUR TIME ATTENDING THIS SEMINAR. THESE PEOPLE APPEAR TO BE NOTHING BUT SHADY CHARACTERS AND AFTER LEAVING THERE WITH SOME OF MY PERSONAL INFO ON THEIR SIGN UP SHEET, I DONT EVEN FEEL SAFE.
FORGET THEIR SALES PITCH, THEY APPEAR TO BE PREYING ON THE VULNERABLE.
Yes I got suckered too and for a lot of money. I left that seminar and that same night I tried to book a vacation.for my family. All I could do was browse a mediocre web site . I was told I could bookj everything on my own- another lie from Phil and Bob . In truth I have to email a third party asking them to look up my vacation request and 2 days later BAM you get a call from their travel agent wanting to charge you several hundreds mor for the same trip
That is not what we were told in the seminar and the slick ### make sure they dont provide yoiu with any written material to prove what they say, They tell you all your original documents will be coming in the mail in 7-10 working days. My wife and I have been waiting for those since september and also waiting to get our date for the cruise and the airline vouchers. Yeah Right they are coming by elf mail but not this xmas.
This is a huge scam in america and international too. These ### make more money than drug dealers by ssprinkling fairy dust over us. I sure hope the Attorney General whips there assess into a crummy jail cell for a long time and then we can all go party in their mansions and mess them up !
A picket will be outside their office this Saturday
i just called and i googled them while i was on the phone! they were so adament about getting me in for an "appointment"...when i told them i was not sure of my work schedule and then i asked for a number where i could call them back the following day, they could not provide me with one but continued to suggest that i "leave work eary" to come and pick up my tickets. they were very unorganized and there seemed to be total choas in the background...i think i will pass on the "free tickets"...
We are having difficulties even getting a dispute resolved via our Bank of America MasterCard. We followed all of Jim's advice as far as filing with the BBB (I knew that would be useless), a complaint with the NJ Dept. of Consumer Affairs (we only got a letter acknowledging receipt of said complaint, and a promise of a follow-up phone call... that was 2+ months ago), sent a letter to the NJ Attorney General's office, and sent a Certified Letter as well as a fax requesting a full refund, all within the first 48 hours from the seminar (well within NJ's rescission laws), and spoke to someone named "Terrance Wesley" repeatedly. All to no avail so far.
The NJ Attorney General's office even told me we could HIRE our OWN attorney (thus sinking more good money after bad money) in order to try to prosecute this ourselves. Hah!
I'm hoping to try a different tact with the credit card company, in that we can now claim that we tried to book trips, but in EACH AND EVERY case, the promises made by MDU of their rates being lower than we could book by ourselves were utterly false, therefore, they did not deliver on services promised.
If anyone DID have any luck getting their money back in some way, please feel free to contact me with advice.
Rob
rob.placer@yahoo.com
Did you contact the Manalapan Police ?
What did they suggest ?
Are these people still in business ?
if so you can sneak a recorder into presentation and pose as another sucker !
Let us know what happens !
SCAM BEWARE ! SCAM BEWARE
RE: IGLOBE TRAVEL
RE: DIRECT MARKETING SOLUTIONS
IT APPEARS THESE GUYS ARE NOW POSING AS IGLOBE TRAVEL, OPERATING OUT OF 55 MADISON AVE, MORRISTOWN, NJ
A FEW DAYS AGO WE RECEIVED A LETTER FOR FREE ROUND TRIP AIR FARE FOR TWO WORTH $1299/- AS A BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR MY WIFE. IF WE SIGNED UP IMMEDIATELY WE WOULD ALSO RECEIVE A DINING GIFT CARD FOR $100/-
CHECKED OUT THE COMPANMY ON THE INTERNET UNDER BOTH IGLOBE AS WELL AS DIRECTING MARKETING SOLUTIONS, NOTHING COMING UP EXCEPT THE WORD "SCAM". ALSO NO ADDRESS EMAIL OR OTHERWISE, POSTED ON THE INVITATION LETTER.
ONE BITTEN TWICE SHY !
BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THESE SHYSTERS.
IF THE OFFER IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS !
First, I ask that you read my ENTIRE post. If you have recieved a letter from the Marketing Department of IGLOBE TRAVEL or VACATION NETWORK INC. I ask that you read it before passing judgment. You are an English speaking individual and must have the ability to comprehend written English. Nowhere does it state that you get FREE airline tickets. If you think that it does then you need to go back to grammar school and learn how to comprehend YOUR OWN written language. I'd also like to add that NOTHING IN LIFE IS FREE! STOP BEING LAZY AND OPEN THE ENTIRE LETTER. ON THE INSIDE IT STATES THAT TAXES AND FEES APPLY, WHO THE SPONSOR IS, THE FACT THAT YOU DO HAVE TO ATTEND A 60 MINIUTE PRESENTATION, AND OTHER VERY PERTINENT INFORMATION THAT GIVES YOU THE CHOICE AS A CONSUMER TO DECIDE WHETHER THIS IS AN OFFER YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE A PART OF.
Was anyone was successful in getting their money back. Please inform me of what works. my e-mail address is a4shaikh@yahoo.com thanks so much
or if you know of group law suit. I want to be included. Thanks
Fraud Fraud Fraud