Tradewinds Vacations review: Fraudulent travel club membership 60

We had the same trick played on us by Sea to Ski Travel, acting as agent for Tradewinds Vacations at Embassy Suites Hotel, 4315 Swenson St Las Vegas, NV 89119, on the afternoon of September 10, 2011. We experienced "Fidel", "Dominic", "Chris", and "Michael" representing Sea to Ski Travel, "Junior" representing Worldwide Luxury Vacations, Jason Flores, owner of Perfect Travel Marketing, and "Chris" of Perfect Travel Marketing. The come-on was a promised "Flyaway Escape Southwest Airlines" free trip for two in return for a "10 minute presentation" at Embassy Suites on a Saturday afternoon. We listened to the 3 hour presentation and table discussion (the promised "10 minute presentation" was not available). Based on the representation we would receive lifetime membership in "Tradewinds Vacations" entitling us to steep discounts on travel, lodging, and other services easily arranged by calling with our membership number and an 800 toll free number, we signed a "Retail Installment Contract" with "M.M., VLO", signing as authorized agent for Sea to Ski (STS) Travel and $5000 was charged to our Visa credit card for the lifetime membership and steep discounts and expedited concierge services that were promised. After two weeks (long after the 72 hour deadline to reconsider whether promises would be delivered worth the $5000 charge to our credit card), we received our membership card in the mail. There was no answer when I called the 800 number. After 2 more attempts I reached "Arlene". I requested her help arranging a three stop trip starting and ending in Las Vegas. No calls, emails, nor messages came, so I called 4 times attempting to reach Arlene. When I reached her 4 days later, she agreed to send this to me by e-mail. Her email the next business day showed her arrangements by "Travel Services" was 56% longer flight time, twice as many stops, 3 times as many plane changes, and 73% higher total cost than it took me 15 minutes to arrange on the Southwest Airlines website allowing the same advanced notice period before traveling. No holiday was involved in either itinerary. We still have not received the originally promised free flights on Southwest Airlines for attending the 3 hour presentations. I left messages for Jason Flores with Perfect Travel Marketing and with Steve Wunder, President of Sea to Ski Travel in Broomfield Colorado (the "service provider" listed on the retail installment contract.) His phone number is [protected]; his email address is wunderstephen@gmail.com . Jason Flores said I should call Steve Wunder who would take care of the complaint. Now 3 weeks ago (on October 21, 2011) I talked with Stephen Wunder, President of Sea to Ski Travel, by phone and confirmed he had received my written detailed complaint both by hard copy surface mail and by email. He stated he would send me the free Southwest Airlines tickets originally promised to attend the seminar and would credit back to my credit card the $1500 commission his promotional company made on the transaction and send me this agreement in writing by return email the next day. He stated I would have to contact Tradewinds Vacations directly at the 800 number on the membership card to arrange refund of the $3500 he paid to Tradewinds Travel from our credit card. Now 22 days later, I still have received nothing from him- no free airline tickets, no credit to my credit card, no email, and no letter.

Watch out folks! You draw your own conclusions whether this is a reputable outfit with whom you want to do business.

Jerry Reeves
hidoc@me.com

Very self-serving comments by cowardly authors who hide behind an internet blog making false, incorrect, personal allegations against defenseless people. Is it beacuse you feel inept? What kind of grown man or woman, enters into a binding contract, which cleary states a 3 day "cooling off" rescission period, doesn't excercise that right within the proper timeframe and then throws a child-like temper tantrum with a diatribe on the internet when they try to break the rules? This is a company with 80, 000 members over a 28 year period with only 4 complaints! Think about that; 4 complaints vs 80, 000 members! All of this because your discount for a very specific travel request wasn't enough of a savings discount for you? Believe in karma? You'll figure it out someday "Jerry Reeves". Sorry you feel like an ###; maybe you simply are one.

Words of warning...if you sit in on one of these presentations DO NOT talk about signing up until you receive the promised gifts. I had a invitation via the mail that said (2) Southwest Airlines tickets were given out just for attending . I was also told by the phone reservationist that I would receive these tickets. After the tour I asked for the SW tickets and was handed a form to complete for a mini vacation with all kinds of fine print. On top of that the form asked for a $50 per person deposit just to book it. Get the heck out after the presentation unless they give you exactly what was promised for attending.

My husband and I attended a presentation in Madison in August 2011. We were told that we would get a free cruise with free airline travel. We were asked to fill out forms as to when we would like to go, bearing in mind that we needed to give them 45 days between 3 dates with travel to begin or end a full 7 days before specific holidays. We did just that and today I got a phone call with a date that was NOT on my list and told that it was the ONLY time that they could offer this to us. We are already scheduled for a confirmed vacation that we cannot cancel or we will lose that money! So now they are "willingly" sending us back money that we had to pay for deposits on the cruise and flight. How generous of them since we have paid them $5000 just to join this ripoff club! After receiving our package with all of the "wonderful" resorts that we could go to at a very low cost, cough, cough, I checked all of the resorts in Mexico and there is ONE that is not listed as being "quit old", or having the resort personnel as being uncaring about their requests, or not being very clean. NICE! They show you several very nice plush resorts at their presentation that make you feel that the ones offered most of the time to you will be of that quality. Again, I have learned that if something sounds too good it is! I too have called the woman that said that her cell phone was on 6 days a week and that she checked her voicemail 24/7. Well, I must be calling on some other 24/7 because after all of my calls and messages that I have left I have NEVER received a reply. This is a TOTAL RIPOFF. And to whomever it is that wants to bash people for saying the TRUTH about this ripoff... why don't you join for $5000, than you can call people cowards you jerk!

we to went to a presentation in columbia, s.c. we pay them 2500 just to join. now we
can get anyone on the phone. this was with tradewinds vacation. how can we get our money back?

Every person that has a complaint about this program, is mad only because they passed the 3 day cooling off period and their wife or other person wants the money back. My wife and I attended this program and no, It wasn't a 10 minute presentation it was around 90 minutes, just like the invite stated. The people that were there were extremely nice and helpful. My wife and I attend various timeshare presentations and this was nothing like that. Yes we did purchase and became members that day, and we go on vacation pretty much every month, and this program has been nothing but a blessing. Ive referred my friends and co-workers to join. This program is great if you use it. If you just buy it just for one item on the the program, it wont work for you. They CLEARLY state that in the presentation. So what is the problem? Is it because they don't call you back? Well I've called various times and they always call me back. Think about it, if you call and leave threatening messages, would you call you back? I didn't think so. Simply stop bashing this company, because they are selling a beautiful product and they are just trying to make a living. Don't be mad at them just because you have buyers remorse. We are members and we have saved thousands! Even is this was not a lifetime membership and it expired every 10 years, we would gladly renew it.

My wife and I attended a Sea and Ski presentation. First of all, if you're going to a presentation to get free airfare and/or a cruise let me suggest you stop here and not attend the presentation. The coupons and restrictions are so numerous, not to mention deposits you have to send in, it's not worth the trouble, not to mention they are asking for deposits for something that is supposed to be free. Hello? Even the sales guy told me at the presentation, if I bought the Sea and Ski package the first thing he would do is buy the coupons back from me because he thinks they are really bad. You need to know the following things about this program. If you don't buy their travel package, which of course they discount when you're there, they won't sell it to you ever. What this means is the inflated price they offer you is just inflated to make you feel like you're getting a deal. You're not. The sales guy said no one has ever paid the inflated price because the only time the product is sold to you is at the presentation.
The presenter told us the reason the organization is "A" rated rather than "A+" rated through the BBB (Better Business Bureau) is because A+ requires a fee where a A rated company just joins the BBB. The saleswoman (Rhonna, pronounced Donna) told us we wouldn't want to buy a product from a company who just "BOUGHT" their rating which is what she claimed the BBB do with the A+ rating. Thank goodness for smart phones. I went to check on this fact as she spoke. The facts are this, if you check. An "A+" rating is more money. But the real story is an "A+" rating demands a company abide by a strict code of conduct when conducting business. I believe Sea and Ski doesn't want to (or can't) meet the high standards of an A+ rating and therefore doesn't want to be an A+ member. It has nothing to do with "buying" your way into a rating. Remember, while the BBB doesn't necessarily have a lot of teeth when it comes to resolving problems, they have been around a lot longer than Sea and Ski Vacations. Not only that, but despite the Better Business Bureau's clout, nbo one can say they aren't on the consumers side. When I attended this sales presentation it was really poor. You really have no idea what you're getting for your money. You only know what they tell you and you can't verify the information before you buy their product. In fact they verify you have a credit card when you come in the door because they want to insure you can spend $9, 740.00 that day. How tacky. Any organization that doesn't allow you to investigate their company before buying (meaning they require you to buy before leaving the room) is a company you should be VERY, VERY concerned about. I suggest run for the hills. If this company goes out of business, and they could, how do yo get your $9, 740.00 back? Their insurance and bond does not cover the liability associated with the 8, 000 members they claim to have. They were pitching this product to us for $9, 740 (discounted rate) and with 8, 000 members they have $75, 000, 000.00 in liability if customers weren't happy. The sales guy, while pitching the insurance and bond had no idea what their bond and insurance limits were. Further, they offer a 2 year guarantee. If you read the fine print, you cannot exercise the money back guarantee for TWO YEARS! If you're not happy in 60 days you have to wait 1 year and 10 months to receive your money back... if you can find anyone by that time and want to spend the time looking. As a guy who investigated frauds for a living for a number of years, I have no intention of becoming a customer of this company. I don't like writing things anonymously so I would be happy to talk to any representative of this company if they dispute anything I've written here. Attend and purchase at your own risk, but don't say I didn't warn you. Steven E-mail: StevenS1050@gmail.com

Steve Wunder is Long Island New York with another person famous for his deceptive business practices named Jerry Jackson who has already been under indictment by the attorney general in the State of Texas. I intend on notifying the DOJ about the two of these dipsticks. I'll never let this go. I'll follow them around and close every damn site they try and open. They just need another stooge and they can have a tv show!

terrible scam don't understand how they get away with it - so sad for all of us who don't stand a chance against these scams. stupid and very careless on my part

I went to a Tradewinds presentation this last weekend in INDIANAPOLIS, with a complany called Simplicity LLC. I agree with the comments above that it was a high-pressure sales presentation and the "trip" that was offered as an incentive is not real. No airfare is included, it requires a $50 deposit that you get back if you sit through 2 timeshare presentations at that location, and you pay all travel taxes and fees. When I said I wanted to research the company first, the guy threw his phone at me and said go ahead. Wish I had done that because I can't find their site anywhere on the internet. Wonder what web site he would have sent me to? Total scam I am sure. I talked to people in the room after the presentation and we all were offered completely different rates, from $3000 to $5000 as their "best offer". Looked too good to be true, and was.

I received a letter with an offer to view a 90 minute presentation to join a "vacation club". The location I visited was the Simplicity LLC (possibly rented?) location in Brentwood, Tennessee. The offer was for us to view a 90 minute presentation; and after doing so, we
were "offered" a cruise and air line tickets. After the presentation, we were taken to a separate office with Gerry as the sales agent.
He is very nice and we enjoyed him very much. I have the brochure and the contact information and now am wondering what all of the
information above is about? I did not purchase any thing, the price is too much and I can't afford it.

Just attended in Nashville on Saturday. We bought in because it sounded like something we would use. All of you comments have me scared stiff. Was not given the time to research during the presentation and no name prior to our visit. We paid by check so hopefully we can get to the bank in the morning and put a stop payment on the check. How hard is it to cancel the deal?

Interesting, we attended the same high pressure presentation, but as a salesperson myself I immediately saw through the potential scam. I say potential because what I have not read is more than 1 or 2 comments on the Internet about Sea to Ski not delivering vacation discounts as planned. The vast majority of negative comments are about the pitch, unreturned phone calls, etc. I got them on the phone multilple times in multiple departments, which tells me there is some reality to them. The scam I think was the vouchers for the free cruise and planefare to be fulfilled by a company named DP Incentives. Their website is 60 days old. No return calls or emails from them after about 1 week. At the event the "list price" was $8, 900 for a basic package, but they discounted down to $3, 600 for the premium package, "just for me". They would not take Amex, or I might have considered them because Amex is great about refunds. I suspect there is some real value to the plan if the price is low enough (my $3, 600 offer), but I will never know...

Any any company that requires you to sign up today or no deal is a scam. Why cant I sign up tomorrow

I attended a Tradewinds seminar today (8/18) I found it extremely interesting. My first impression, after receiving a phone call with a 5 minute recorded message explaining that I had won an 8 day cruise with airfare, was of course SCAM! However, I was curious, I work in marketing and find every aspect of it fascinating. Long story short, I booked my girlfriend and I for the seminar to be held the next day. When we arrived we were asked to fill out a brief survey. It contained questions concerning our socioeconomic status. After we completed that we turned it in and were asked to return to the lobby of the hotel the event was being held in. Soon after we were greeted by a gentleman who took us back to the conference room. Everyone was extremely friendly, as expected. The presentation itself was well done and ran approx. 90 minutes. As soon as the presenter was finished they "released the hounds" on us. The tone of the situation changed immediately. We were greeted by a sales rep who sat down across from us and said "So are you ready to buy?" We expressed our concern about the 9k membership fee and told her that there was no way we could spend that kind of money. She wasted no time to call over "John" he introduced himself as a manager. He instantly kicked in with the discounts. To my girlfriend he says "Ah, I see your a teacher that's $1, 000 off." This continues for awhile as the price steadily gets lower I'm thinking what legitimate membership company haggles pricing?! Finally John tells us that when people default on the optional finance plan (with a 17.99% interest rate) that they don't go after the people that owe "because that costs money." Instead he says we just simply repo the membership and "replace" the member. At that point I was giggling inside thinking, "This guy is really pulling out all the stops here." He proceeded to tell us that there was indeed a repo membership up for sale for $4613.12, and with our $1000 teacher discount that's ONLY $3613.12! To sweeten the deal he tosses in that the $399 start up fee( I know you think I'm kidding right? Shouldn't that be included in your 9k membership fee?) and $199 first year annual fee would be waved. We told him that we really appreciated all he was trying to do to make it work for us, but it was still too much money. Can you imagine what happens next? Sales person number THREE sits down. Long and short he talks more, highlighting how much we will save blah, blah, and offers us the final deal or no deal price of $2600! Wow! In less than 30 minutes our "special today only" price was $6400 off. Now if this only worked with products that weren't scams! I was ready to leave at this point it had been almost two hours and I had seen/heard enough. Before we could go however we were escorted outside to "think it over" while we waited on our vouchers for the eight day cruise and airfare. We played along and of course were approached by ANOTHER sales lady. Supposedly the big boss, she did bring us a brochure about our travel vouchers, but before she gave us the package she made one more attempt. She offered us a one year trial membership for the extra low cost of $795. Still not sure how a "trial" offer can come with an $800 price tag. We politely declined she explained our "free" gifts. As many people on here said the vouchers do require $150 in deposits. You have to submit the paperwork and money w/in 21 days of your event. There are many restrictions on travel dates as well.

In conclusion, I went into this looking at it like a learning experience on high pressure sales. I was not let down. They nailed every trick in the book. The unfortunate part of the situation is there were six other couples in the seminar with us. All of them bought except for us. I feel so bad for them and hope they at least get some benefit from their money. Though, I highly doubt it :-/. Anyone who's curious or has any questions concerning this post can e-mail me at shlocker677@gmail.com. I hope this helps some folks out!

I also got hooked into this one, and then then keep saying we could go into there web site and see all the good deals, no such thing. our's was $2, 995.00, but with the economy so bad you have to be carefull. Thanks for all you comments, my husband and I wanted good deals, but what is the $2995.00 for, if they don't get comissions, buyer beware, this isn't what we thought it was. But at least I had the 3 days, It was just last night, thank God.

sorry that should have been thumbs down

I also bought last night for $2, 995.00. I want to cancel the deal now. Do we get the $199 and the $399 fees back as well?

Yes surely thumbs down!

No, the custermors are mad because the "3 day cooling off period" isn't long enough to figure out the scam. These clubs intentionally hold back member cards and toll free numbers because they don't want any new members to discover their lies until after the cooling off period. All the presentations are full of nonsense travel and pictures of resorts that are never and would never be part of these scam clubs. These guys roll into town, stay a week or two sell $80 to $90 grand worth of this crap and move onto the next town. When complaints get too hot they just change the company name. All of the travel they show you is nonsense and all of it can be purchased online much cheaper. Most of the guys are drug addicts, liars, felons, you name it. Most of them don't have homes or cars or even a license to drive a car if they had one. So to all you vacation/travel club guys and gals who want to read this and make a smart remark back- save it. How do I know? I've been in the timeshare/club business for 17 years and I've seen it all. What I did was grew a conscience and quit...

I attended a seminar yesterday (10/9/12) with a company called Legacy Adventures. I tried checking them out and came up with nothing. I am well versed in high pressure sales tactics, and actually found the group doing the seminar very comfortable to work with. Our initial offer on the plan was $6995, but the "Buy It Now" "VIP" today only price was immediately slashed for all six couples to $4995. The presentation was cordial, and the after conversation was tepid pressure. I explained the wife and I did not travel with a weeks stay anywhere. Some of there demonstrations were certainly high retail. We are Platinum cruisers with a couple of cruise lines, and have always booked our own and know how to get many of the same prices they offered on the cruises. The week long stays in resorts are not our style of travel, so after offering us a 1 week program for $2495 and then finally a 5 year demo program for $1295 (the $499 sign up fee and $199 yearly never waivered), the young man signed our "vouchers" and sent us on our way. It looked like only 1 of the 6 couples attending were actually buying. My question for those of you out there - either defending Tradewinds or bashing them - have any of you ever actually traveled with them? Also, I have the same vouchers for airfare and cruise...has anyone ever used them? Let me know. Rustyp@Bresnan.net

Attended seminar (11/1/12) in Corpus Christi with Legacy Adventures. Our initial buy-in was $8995...we must have looked like rich Democrats...with 6 weeks of resorts visits. We then talked to our rep. and he tried to steer us to a 4 week $4995 buy-in. After a few minutes of high pressure our rep TO'ed (turned-over) to a rather rude lady. She badgered us pretty hard and infuriated my wife. She left us and told us as she walked away that she would be back with our free gift for comig...she never did. We complained to the manager, or at least he identified himself as the manager, and he apologized for the rude lady. To appease us he offered a 6 week resort platinum family package for only $1995 with the $499 sign up fee and $199 membership fee. He tried to pressure us and told us that he will talk to the lady and that "behavior will not be excepted in our organization". Any bets that didn't happen? We also received "free" airline tickets with "free" marriot hotel stay with "free" rental car certificates...all requiring substantial deposits with cashier checks or money orders to cover sales taxs and airport fees (hahahahaha)...that tidbit was in very tiny print on the certificates. Can't say if even these are really usable...again, does anybody ever tried them?

Well long story short - we too bought and paid a lot of money. As a retired couple we thought we would use this service (travel) a lot. So far, nine months as a member has gotten us nothing. We have tried several times to set up vacation travel. Cruises - condos- Europe and all with no success. Anytime they have given us examples, we have followed up and actually could have booked same for same or lesser price on our own. We have tried short term arrangements and have given them months in advance booking opportunities - all with no avail. Yes, we have had returned phone calls and traded emails, but with NO results for travel. Anyone should be aware - they are not what they represent themselves as. I should have known better - but alas, it sounded good and I bought! Never too old to learn!

is there anyway we can get our money back?

can we have have a lawsuit for manipulating folks with lies? i bet there is someone out yhere who studied law plzzz.

Radar6861here.
well we haave tried once again to book a trip.You guessed it.
No luck.
Tried a Europe trip with anywhere in Europe for June or July.
nothing. Too soon to find any dealz they said.
How about a cruise? Well what they gave us I looked up and I could book for three hundred dollars per pass. for less.
I am willing to join in any legal action available to us, if there is any.
Wow, still can't believe I got suckered.

I've found the same results...NONE.. I've tried several different times to book hotels. They can't really get any better "deals" than I can! They actually told me that they specialize more in condos or vacation packages. If that is the case why are "hotels" the FIRST item in their long list of services? We attended the Brentwood, Tn. presentation last July and have had regrets everyday since then. Some of the vacation packages that they flashed in front of us were great, IF you are flying out of somewhere other than Nashville!, When you search on their website for something leaving Nashville the list is really short!
I'm going to give them a couple of other requests but I'm not very hopeful. I've planned my own trip to Italy for a week then a Greek Island Cruise for September and there is nothing on their website that I would have used to assist me in my planning! Most of the links that are on Travelwinds website are some that I've been familiar with for years! AND..they aren't necessarily the least expensive travel sites! They have two more chances with me and then I'm done! They are supposed to hit my charge card in July for our "annual fee" and I'll cancel before then if they are unsuccessful with these last two requests. I'm going to keep up with this blog in the event that a class action lawsuit is brought against them!

Well, my latest experience with Tradewinds.
I returned my UNPAID annual dues invoice with a not about how they are just a scam outfit and wish I could join in on any type of legal action that was taken against them. Well low and behold a call! They of course apologized for the lack of service these past 12 months and extended my membership for another year.
With so much "bad" money invested I will try to book some trips this year. BUT, my bet is I will get more of the same - no savings on any bookings!
We can only hope that lots of prospects look at this site so they too won't get scammed.
Ray

My husband and I, unfortunately, got hooked into this "deal" in 2011. We were charged $2500 which the sales rep claimed was a steal because the original price was $9, 000. Our sales person pulled the "you can buy someone's membership who defaulted on his/her loan" scam. We travel quite a bit but used Tradewinds services only once. Basically, you have to call, give your vacation itinerary, and the rep sends you exceptional deals. The supposed exceptional deals have never been as good as the deals I can book on-line myself without Tradewinds help. This is why I only used them once to book my hotels. So, long story short, buyer beware. Don't waste your money like we did and if you've already wasted your money, then don't pay the yearly fee of $199 to renew your membership. It's that simple. Oh, and Tradewinds will try to charge your credit card automatically when it comes time to renew, so make sure you let your credit card company know to block their charge.

T. and D. Sellars
Dallas, Texas

Unfortunately, my husband and I went to a Tradewinds sales pitch and fell for the "someone has defaulted on his/her loan" scam. We ended up joining for $2500 and were optimistic about this club as we travel quite a bit. Tradewinds was a disappointment from the get go. The rep could never find hotel deals or vacation packages for prices that compared to what I found for myself on-line. Further, their "hot condo deals" never came to fruition. This means the condos were never available or they weren't available during peak travel times or the ones that were available weren't condos that I would want to book - meaning sketchy locations or poor ratings on travel sites. My advice if you have signed up is to cancel immediately. If it's too late, simply don't renew next year. Oh, and Tradewinds will automatically charge you the $199 fee to renew your membership, so let your credit card company know in advance that you don't want this charge to go through.

We also was scammed by this company. after a year we found we could get better deals booking our own vacations than going through tradewinds vacations. not once were we told be could not cancel this contract. now 13 years later I get a letter from them saying I owe $857.00 for the years 2017, 18, 29 and 20. they sent along a mutual release cancellation of contract. if we dont pay and sign this by september 6th we are on the hook for the next 20 years? do not sign up for anything that says "tradewinds vacations". total rip off. how many other people out there was not told they were bound to this company for the rest of your life. what the he11

Going through the same thing right now...same offer of $857 to cancel

Anyone find a way to resolve this?

I too got scammed, I signed up for service but within 24 hours backed out but did not keep my paperwork. I am so glad to find these other complaints, if it ever goes to court I am sure I could use this website as proof. thank you everyone

Same story, different day... I received a letter from them wanting to charge me for 8 years of membership dues even though this is the first time I have heard from them since 2011. I'm going to follow up on my records which should have the cancellation information I need as we cancelled the next day. I also plan to file a complaint with (uspis.gov) and (ReportFraud.ftc.gov). wish me luck.