Spirit Incentives review: Ripoff on their 2 night vacation! 20

This past spring (2007) my wife and I attended one of those 90 minute (more like 3 hour) luxury resort sales presentations in Ohio. We knew going into it what to expect. My in-laws had gone to things like this in the past and actually walk away with decent things. We've paid our 50 dollars each on a hotel voucher that's been returned once and an airline voucher that we registered online. Do these sound familiar? I told the sales rep at the sales presentation that my motivation to buy from him will be based upon how the vouchers perform and I kept his business card which he knows. If these folks toss me around, I'll be sure to let you know after he gets my
two cents.

My husband and I attended a vacation presentation given by Spirit Insentives and we chose not to participate in their program. They advised us that just for spending our time with them they were giving us a 2 night vacation in Wisconsin Dells, Reno or Vegas.

We chose Vegas, and submitted the 3 date choices as requested on the certificate. Paid the 50.00 deposit and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally I called and it took me over an hour to finally get a person on the phone who put me on hold several times only to tell me that my dates were not secured. I advised her I had a confirmation email for my choice of dates. Again on hold... she came back to say she took care of it and someone would call me back to actually book the vacation.

About 3 weeks later I received a call from a reservation rep and at first she told me that since my 1st date choice had passed should would try to find me something for my 2nd choice. She put me on hold, came back and advised me that she could not find any flights during non-peak hours would I like to upgrade for an additional fee. No, thank you, I told her.

She said she would try to find something for our 3rd date choice and put me on hold again. When she came back she stated her computer was acting up and she would call me back. When she did call me back she said she found a flight for us for the 2nd date choice. She gave me the dates and times, which were very undesirable but for free what do you want right.

So we go to Vegas and the hotel is in old downtown---Freemont St area. Well, the taxi driver could not find the place for a while, when he did he could not find the entrance and ended up dropping us off in the rear parking lot of the place. It was so scary. There were very very shady people every where but it was almost midnight (thanks to our off peak flight) and we were tired. We checked in but my husband did not sleep as he was afraid someone would try to break in.

The next morning when I tried to explain to the desk clerk that I should not have to pay for the hotel (they wanted my credit card the night before and I was too tired to fight it) he had to get the manager. She was baffled by who Spirit Incentives was and had no idea why I thought I shouldn't pay for the hotel. Well. we cut our loses there, we checked out and got a room at real hotel.

Please do not deal with this company. They are professional scam artists!

Hi! I already own 3 timeshares at Carriage Hills Resort, which I find quite useful. I have attended the 90 min presentation ar Spirit Incentives but did not buy anything, I received a 2 night stay in Las Vegas, I did send in my $50 deposit... why do you need to send this in because they say that you will receive this $$ back after you complete your mini vacation? They sent the cheque back to me 3 weeks later saying they needed it in US funds, wow! This is not a good start, especially after reading your ad.

Good morning. The purpose of this is to hopefully prevent any more people from getting screwed over by this Spirit Incentives. The following is exactly what I've written in other consumer related sites:

Before I tell you my story, I want to say that IN MY OPINION, anyone writing good reviews about Spirit Incentives is paid by Spirit to do so.

11-05-2007
Well, I've always believed that if something is too good to be true, it probably is... But I try REAL hard to not lose faith in people. No more...

The long version:

I signed up for one of those "free trip" raffles at a boat show in Puerto Rico (Similar to something you'd see at the mall). I won (well, whaddaya know!)

I won a 3 day, 2 night stay at the Holiday Inn of my choice for 2 adults, a voucher for $30.00 worth of gas, another voucher for $30.00 at Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Smokey Bones, Bahama Breeze or Outback (Not bad, huh?).

All I had to do was attend to a Celebrity Travel Plus meeting on March 30, 07, which if you paid $7,000 you'd have access to their website & get discounts of up to X percent. I asked to see the site, but of course they won't let you unless you pay (They only show you their salesperson demo) *Beware of insurance salespeople, their software is rigged too, but that's another story.

Bottom line about Celebrity, their contract says that its valid as long as they're in business. So I asked the guy, you could make $100K tonight & close up shop. I told them I wasn't interested, but I sure as hell wanted my free tickets they had promised. I paid Celebrity a non refundable processing fee of $35.00 (which had to be in cash), to then get the Spirit Incentives Certificate, to THEN begin the nightmare with Spirit... If you want more info on Celebrity, read the following links (They're in Spanish):

http://www.elexpresso.com/site/ver_n...asp?n_id=8300

http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/o..._en_ley/124724

We had to mail Spirit Incentives a refundable good faith check for $50.00, for them to send a travel date request form. I sent a company check. Then they sent the form to select our travel dates, which we eagerly did. We eventually got a letter stating that our first travel date had been denied because it wasn't available, & asking if we would like them to proceed with the next date. I called them, & the very first thing you hear on the phone is: for refunds, dial 1. For customer service, dial 2.
Naturally, they couldn't tell you over the phone what dates were available. You had to send them the request. I agreed, & wrote IF SECOND DATE NOT AVAILABLE PLEASE PROCEED WITH THIRD DATE. At this point I figured, if we get the tickets, great, if not, it was a $100.00 lesson (I felt bad for the people that actually paid the $7K)

Next thing we get is a letter stating that "To finalize the travel arrangements, we are required to pay in full all taxes & fees due before travel arrangements can be confirmed." So we sent in another company check for $32.16. Then my wife called again to follow up & they told her the check had been returned because it was a third party check (They had accepted it for the $50.00 deposit). Once we received the returned check, we sent a money order.

Today we called to follow up, & they said once they receive the money order it takes them 2-3 weeks to enter it in the system.

We'll see what happens, but I'm going to take this as far as I have to. Its not right to screw people over like this.

Keep in mind we have followed the instructions exactly as they request.

*Wife called the Florida BBB & they said these people have almost 400 complaints & an F rating. No legal action has been taken against them so far.

11-13-2007
Ok after filing a complaint with the Florida Agriculture & Consumer Affairs as someone suggested, Spirit contacted us (same day we got the letter from Consumer Affairs). Boy did they screw us over! Hotels are subject to change. Conveniently for Spirit, they had availability at this ratty hotel not too far from here. Even though our certificate expires next year, they obligated us to take this one or request a refund. I mentioned that I had requested a third date, & she pointed out that in fine print on the terms, you need to request 2 valid dates (even though on the request form they ask for 3 dates)

I reminded them that that (supposedly) the Holiday was available but I couldn't book because they didn't accept the company check for the taxes, but they had accepted it for the good faith deposit.

The person who is supposedly the manager, bluntly says "We're beyond that point." This is what we have, etc. Pretty much it was take it or leave it.

So I left it. I requested a refund. It has already cost me more than its worth. I am however, going to review what Consumer Affairs sent & contact them again.

MY OPINION: DO NOT DO ANY BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE. I haven't been so stressed out by anyone before in my life.

12/11/07
After contacting the Florida Consumer Affairs, Spirit sent me the refund. They first sent the $50.00 deposit, a few days later the taxes.

I repeat.It is MY OPINION that anyone writing good reviews about Spirit Incentives is paid by Spirit to do so.

Well, I haven't even gotten to book anything because I cannot get anyone to take my call. I have called different times and I do not even get a person that says to hold. I'm amazed that anyone has even spoken to a real person! If this is how they do business, they must not want any more. After reading all of these complaints I won't even be out the deposit!

Thank you all for your HONEST OPINIONS! I can only wonder how many people have been ripped off and how much money they have swindled from people.

I turned down any offerings as far as hotels are concerned with SI. After checking out the hotel offered through SI on websites like Hotels.com & Expedia and reviewing pics and guest comments I decided to do my own hotel booking. I need to know from any of you how your flight arrangement experiences went through SI.
Before I go any further with SI, I need to here from you!
If you took advantage of their airfare package.. how did it go?

I would like to thank all of you for adding your comments. Like you all, my husband and i attende d a timeshares presentation that last 2 1/2 hours instead of the 1 hour that was promised. I certainly will not be bothering w/this company now.

Thank you again,
C. Jones

We did a tour of the Christmas Mountain (Blue-Green Company) in Wisconsin Dells. It was supposed to be 60-90 minutes and took 7 hours! We were given the Spirit Incentives 2 night stay package ML38 package and it's been nothing but a nightmare. The salesman gave us totally wrong information and I had get a new package with new dates. Now I am trying to jump through all the hoops and when I was getting stonewalled I went looking for scam information and found all of these complaints! I don't think I will send them any money and will just drop the whole thing. Thank God we also got a $75 gift card (hard cash!) and a coupon book for the Dells. We only live about 45 minutes away so I think we will just skip the hotel room and do day trips on a couple weekends. What a disappointment thought! I was looking forward to staying in an expensive water park hotel for a couple nights. Oh well, live and learn!

We had problems similar to others listed here. My advice, fight them. You can get what was promised. We reported to the Better Business Bureau. I also called the place that gave us our vacation voucher. I had extra leverage because I had become a customer of the business that gave us the voucher. I’m not sure which did it, but we received a call from Spirit Incentives the next day! It was another office. The person we talked to seemed to be the one who works with people once they complain to the right people. She found a vacation date that worked for us. When I asked her why they wouldn’t work with us before, all she would say is that, “ well we are working with you now.” She even returned our call ounce when her voicemail picked up! If the two previous routes didn’t work I was also going to contact the Florida Attorney General. Others on another blog had said that this method had worked for them. I also found a website: www.complaint.tv I also sent them my information on the same day that we were contacted by Spirit Incentives to work with us. Complaint.tv will send your message to any major city local news channel you want. Now what I am doing is posting to all these blogs so that more people don’t get screwed.

How do they get away with being such a crappy business? You aren’t their customer, whoever gave you the voucher is their customer. They don’t have to make you happy as long it doesn’t affect their relationship with those customers who purchase large quantities of their vouchers. They make more money when they don’t give anything

If you are interested to know what our situation was, we were given a voucher for a free cruise. We elected for the 7-day cruise which meant a larger payment for taxes and fees. They didn’t contact us when they said they would. When we contacted them (lots of being put on hold) they said that all three-departure dates we asked for were taken. We were given one date only which I couldn’t get off work for. They told us, “sorry, too bad, guess you can’t go.” Then they told us they didn’t have a record of our payment!

Thanks for all of the comments that I have read about Spirit Incentives ! Because of whatyou that have written about them, I will NOT be booking my "free" 7 day cruise out of Tampa. I'll put the money into a REAL cruise !

Every single one of these complaints are very valid. I just wished I had read them prior to getting involved with this company. I cannot possibly say it more clearer than Brenda Schuster. If I could only change the names, this would be my story down to the last detail. I can only hope that anyone who gets involved with this company, Spirit Incentive, would please please read the comments and run as fast as you possibly can in the other direction. I will also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. It can't hurt, and probably nothing will happen, but still there will be a record on file.

June 21, 2007 my wife bid $300.00 at a silent auction at Church. This was suppose to entitle the bear to receive a 3 Night Mexica Cruise for two.
This one donted by Coastal Vacations [protected]. Then we find out 02/05/08 we will need to pay Coastal Vacations $75.00 each to start the registration process ($150.00).
March 12, 2008 Spirit incentives thank use for registering and encouraged us to enter the certificate number and pick travel dates.
Note the registration is with Fun Time Vacation PO Box 209 Boyds, MD 20841 Telephone [protected] Fax [protected]
We picked 10/;01/08, 11/05/08, 12/10/08 we were told that a travel itinery would be prepared no less than 45 day prior to travel.
April 1, 06, 2008 Spirit Incentives2455 E. Sunrise Blvd. Suite Mezzanine Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
sent us a time sensitive letter informing us to submit a check port fees of $258.00
I sent them a check for the correct amount on April 4, 2008 on 09/26/08 I raised a red flag since nothing had been received.
I contacted coastal Vacations and he place me in contact with a rude representative at Spirit Incentives. After a long long delay she
said they would make an offer for a Mexico Cruise and I had to decide right then to accept or receive a refund for the port fees.
That's when I found out it would be bunk beds and there would be addition cost to upgrade. I said no to the upgrade. Then after another long wait on the phone.
She offered a take it or leave it one time offer with a bad attitude to cruise on Dec, 19, 2008 but there would be an addition cost of $58.00 a piece for fuel. Well do the math 300 + 150 + 258.00 + 116.00 = $824.00 Now they want my Visa credit card number over the phone for more hidden fees yet I have still not received anything concrete on falses promises of a future cruise. Well that is when I said no no no.So I am out $708.00. Well not really, at least the church got $300.00 of it.
I think Spirit Incentive uses bait and switch tactics to reel in people and are not up front and honest about the cost.
Would you give out your credit card number to someone that does not keep there promises?
At this point I beleive that Compassionate Ministries should beware of Coastal Vacations, Fun Time Vacation and Spirit Incentives in the future.
Note on 09-28-08 I received 258.00 refund of the port fee so the lost is now at $450.00 Costal vacation has not refuned the 150.00 yet?

My wife went to a BlueGreen Vacation Club seminar in Charlestown, SC back in May 2008. One of the "gifts" they offered was a 3day/2night package that we could choose. This package was through Spirit.
When we arrived home we immediately followed the numerous Spirit rules, sent in our $50.00, on June 16, 2008. The $50.00, "allows you" to pick dates, wow, that's big of them. Of course BlueGreen, who uses Spirit packages, as an incentive to get you in the door, never told us this part.
We then received letter with lots of restrictions around picking dates, but we picked three and sent them in. We received our first response on 7/18/08.
Because of all their restrictions one of the dates we picked was with their restricted times because of Columbus Day.
So we had to start over and pick three new dates, this was sent on 8/14/08.
We received a letter from Spirit on 9/19/08 stating they could not confirm one of the selected dates 10/31/08, hmmmm we picked three. Oh, but they will continue to check second choice if you want, just return the notice. One would think, "why wouldn't they check all three dates at once ?" we would have been happy with any of those dates. So we decided to play the game and returned the letter asking them to check the next date, this was sent on 9/27/08.
Today is 11/08/08 and guess what ?
You got it, another letter from Spirit telling us the travel date we selected wasn't available either ! Of course they are more than willing to check our "last" date, this is really big of them. I just hope to get my $50 dollars back.
So be aware of BlueGreen and their "vacation incentive" for just listening to their program...it's bad enough they pressure sell you, then you have to deal with a fly by night, scam called Spirit.

Hey Jay,
If you do not get your $50.00 back- well, even if you do- I would still complain to the Attorney General in your home state. It is his/her job to protect the consumers in the state to which he/she was elected. I think you will find that you will get some "heads rollin' " There is not a company out there who is not intimidated by this, and that's the way it should be! We, as consumers, MUST hold these scammers responsible for their unscrupulous tactics by refusing to stand for it and force them into accountability. And I suppose it wouldn't hurt to contact the BBB. Just don't expect too much as someone stated earlier, companies pay BIG MONEY for their "good standing" with the BBB. Also, follow up with them in a timely manner once you file because if you don't then all of your complaints will be shredded and noone will be none the wiser and it will appear as though they have a AAA rating! Best of Luck my friend

After calling 10 times over a 5 day period and waiting a total of 15 min. PER call I finally spoke with an agent. Our cabin was going to be an up and down bunk. For an upgrade it would be $75 each. To arrive a day earlier would be $75 each. Taxes and fees would be $189-$225 each. Our departure city would be Pittsburg, PA. We live in Cleveland Ohio which is 135 miles away. Our FREE trip would cost us ONLY $750.and this call lasted 45 min as the agent was checking for availability. WOW, what a deal. Daria p.s. I've attended many timeshare presentations and have stayed in some beautiful resorts for very little additional fees. Here's a tip: When you begin your presentation look at your watch and make sure the presenter sees you writing down the time. When you approach 60 min say, excuse me, I don't mean to be rude but you have 30 min. to wrap this up and stick with it. You'd be surprised at how fast their disposition turns from PLEASANT to Sour and the next two reps wrap it up. It really does work

My niece "won" the same certificate for a cruise that I did after listening to a vacation package through another company. Somehow - don't ask me how - she managed to actually get the cruise from them, but had to pay a few hundred dollars for an upgraded cabin (right now an upgrade through Carnival is $20 per night!) I on the other hand, could never get anyone to answer the phone number they gave me. My vacation time at work is very restricted, so their 3 dates obviously were going to be a hassle. We've never even gotten that far. I sent in the registration form with a check for $100 as instructed - gee big surprise. A denial online stating that 60 day ahead booking isn't possible before the expiration in JUNE. However...THEY CASHED MY CHECK! I think a class action lawsuit is appropriate...what do the rest of you think?

Hello,

after reading the aboved complaints. It rings the bell. Same thing, I have called over and over last year and inquired about the offered vacation packaged that they said I won, and cannot really get a hold of them. I too, my job is very demanding supporting missions International and Domestics, and do not have enough vacation leave to just pack up and go as the offer is very restricted. Low and behold. I finally spoke to customer reps and stating that the certificate I provided is wrong.How could it be wrong, that's the number listed in the packaged they gave me before I signed -up the long crucial vacation demo. I also sent a $100.00 check on 2/23/2010 as it stated in thier Spirit Incintives get away package but have not heard from them since. I am not sure if the check has been cashed-out. I should also find-out. and if they did, w/o confirming to me that I can now choose a vacation spot. Then they are liable for a lawsuit. When calling them, they put you on hold for at least 30-45 minutes. I don't have enough time to waste during lunch time at work. Plus, they only open M-F and operate only until 6pm. By the time I get home from work to call them again they are closed. I don't normally go home from work until 7-10pm counted public transportation commute.

I "won" the same certificate for a cruise that I did after listening to a vacation package through Wyndham Vacation Resorts promotion. Somehow - don't ask me how - I managed to signed-up but until now I am dealing with how to get a hold to the right contact. In the website Mystpage.com they asked you to log-in Does not offer a phone numbers or who is contact, but asked you to enter the 9 digit certificate numbers, which I did. Then the website says. Certificates not eligible online services and my certifcate does not support the product associated with the certificate numbers I have entered, sorry for the inconvenience. So which one is the wrong or correct one. The offer is about to expired. The incentives package given to me when I signed up for Wydnham Vacation Resorts was July/2009. I went to Wyndham Resort office this month and inquired about it. I was told, the sales person that gave me this packaged should have called me for follow-ups. Anyway, it is very frustrating, because you come to thier enticing so promising promotions and able to purchased thier products, but after you got hooked, you are nothing to to be follow-up as a courtesy calls. Until now, I am dealing with this incentive package I was given. How can I get the right person to call before the deal expired. Please help!

Sincerely,

Yoli Webster, of Arlington, VA.
[protected]

Yep, it's a scam. (I did read all of the comments before proceeding, but decided to give it a try anyway.)

We visited the RCI property, Sedona Pines Resort, in Sedona, AZ. For listening to their spiel we were given a four day, three night cruise including airfare from either Miami or LA.

We followed the instructions and sent them a check for a hundred bucks, picked three dates, called them to confirm and, low and behold, none of our dates are available. We received the notice to confirm on June 24th, and called today, July 19th. There is no mention of a "call by" or expiration date. We were told that they will not offer any other dates as "too much time has gone by" since they sent us the notice to make a confirmation. So no "Free Cruise". They said they will refund our $100.00. We'll see.

Even if I get back my money, it's a rip-off and a waste of time and effort.

Thank you for all the honest opinions. I did a Wyndham timeshare presentation in Atlantic City and got 2 of these certificates + $75 to use at Showboat. I definitely will not be using them. We started timing our presentation as he took forever and left at the end of the 2 hours required. He got mad at us that we put him on the clock! It makes me wonder if the incentives have so many conditions why would I every purchase a timeshare with Wyndham.

Well, they are still rip-offs in September 2012. We tried to book a "free" Vegas trip and complied with all the internet requirements and the $100 deposit. Then we got the approval to actually talk with a real person, who informed us that there was no availability on our three dates (which they clearly state you cannot change). Our three dates were late October 2012 (well over their 45 day minimum), early April 2013, and mid-May 2013 - 8 full months into the future. They offered a trip to Washington, D.C. which we refused, and asked for return of our deposit. Obviously they are minimizing their cost and avoiding the promises they made about the vacations. Good old "buyer beware" by a scam organization. They need to be shut down.