Certs

GREG PEADON IS NOW OPERATING AT A NEW ADDRESS IF YOU RUN THE PHONE NUMBER ABOVE YOU CAN GET HIS ADDRESS. ALSO HE WILL NOT ANSWERE BUSINESS CALLS HIS RECEPTIONIST IS SCANNING CALLS. I HAVE SENT ALL MONEY DUE AND THEN REQUESTED A FULL REFUND. HOWEVER, CELEBRTY PRODUCTIONS IS THE WEB ALSO SINCE THEY SENT US TO THEM AND TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY. HIS NAME IS CURTIS LEMLY HIS PHONE [protected]

I haven't heard one thing from the Certs inc, since I sent in my check for the travel dates that I was promised. I tried to call the number he left to get a refund and it is an auto glass company. What a scam. I am going back to the golfinf company that gave the travel vouchers out and tell them what a ### they are dealing with.

I agree that the Better Business Bureau needs to shut this group down. It is a scam. They have you jumping through hoops to meet their demands. This is crazy. Just some advice do not use them!

Certs, Inc. took my deposit and activation fee totaling $249.95 for package code SA Serial Number 505499 in June of 2009. I have notified them three times by mail, yet they do not respond. All these attempts were done within their guidelines that a refund was possible if done before booking the trip.

I just received my travel voucher from Certs, Inc. on Saturday March 22nd, 2008 - I am sending in another check with my selected arrival dates... I'll let you all know how this pans out. Wish me luck!

I live in Jacksonville Florida and I too bought from Certs, Inc. I came across my voucher to fly anywhere in the US of A with this voucher, was just to just give a 14 day notice and I should have been on my way but to my surprise I call the [protected] number and got a message that said something had been completed then a tone followed as the sound of a fax machine. I would love to reach this company to see what they have to say about all of this. I don't remember how much I am out but I really would like to have taken the trip to anywhere as they promised.

Let me start by saying this actually is not a complaint but hopefully a solution to helping those that are looking for a refund from Certs Inc. I read many of the complaints on Certs Inc. collecting deposits but not getting any services and then having a near impossible time trying to get a refund. I too was in the same boat up until a few months ago.

In December 2008, my wife and I had attended a seminar for membership into their travel club which claims to offer great discounts. We were promised free airfare, car rental and hotel even if we didn't purchase. Long story short, we didn't purchase and received our vouchers. If anyone is reading this, then you already know how difficult it it to actually get the plane tickets, car rental and hotel because of all the small details that are in fine print... Pick 2 dates at least 30 days apart, travel must be at least 4 days in length, hotel date choices cannot be within 7 days of a holiday, must b Postal Service money order...You get the picture. If you don't complete any of these correctly the first time, then you receive a letter from them saying sorry, your offer is voided, thanks for playing.

I was really meticulous in following the instructions but missed some really small details. I had sent 3 deposits for plane tickets, car rental and hotel. The plane ticket and car rental deposits were actually returned once they informed me I didn't correctly complete the forms. So they did return my deposits on those offers immediately. The hotel form however, I had dead on. I received a letter saying that the dates were not available and to choose again. I resent the request with two new dates spread more than 30 days apart. Well, I never heard back. Now fast forward to Jan 2010, they still had over $100 in deposits. I had tried to call like everyone else but you always get a recording that says you have to submit in writing any request. I did that twice and never heard back. Even sent the letters Certified mail to confirm delivery. And yes, they were both delivered. This was back in 11/2009, a year later! After 3 months going by an no response, I went to the BBB of Central Florida to file a complaint. They called me back saying they can only help if the company you are complaining about cooperates with them. Well no big surprise, Certs Inc. doesn't cooperate. The BBB sent me some links to file a complaint at the state level. Here is where it gets good...

First I filed a complaint online with the Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. I got a reply several days later saying they would forward to the AG Economic Crime Section for review. The email also stated to file another online complaint with the Florida Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Consumer Services (DACS). This department is where sellers of travel have to register on the state level. The email included a link to complete an online complaint form. That link is www.800helpfla.com. I completed the online complaint form and received a letter in the mail about 2-3 weeks later stating that they sent notice to Certs Inc to respond. The company has a time frame of window to respond back explaining the situation. The letter also stated for me to send in any proof documenting my complaint. I had luckily made copies of everything, the original forms, postal money order receipts, certified mailing receipts, the whole nine yards. The day I had sent it out, I also received the same day in the mail, a letter from DACS that included a copy of a letter from CERTS, Inc., stating that my refund had been sent. About 2 weeks later, I received a check in the mail for my remaining deposit that was outstanding. So after nearly a year and half I finally had all my deposits back, minus the money I had paid for the postal money orders and the certified mailing. About $10 in the whole after all is said and done. But the important thing is I did get that last refund back.

If anyone is still having issues getting a refund from CERTS, Inc. I would heavily recommend going the route I did as it worked for me. Again, go to www.800helpfla.com. On the left hand side, there is a link to "File a complaint". This is where I got the help I needed because the company is required to respond back to that division on the state level. My remaining deposit was only $110. I read other complaints where people had said they have over $400 in deposits still outstanding. I hope that everyone out there that experienced the same issue with Certs, Inc., will find this useful and will have the same luck I had.

Would also like to hear any other success stories about getting refunds from this company. Good luck!

My name is Gloria Ciezadlo and I too was scammed by Cert, Inc. for $249.95. I've been attempting to get my refund since June of 2009. I call the same number over and over again, [protected] and get a recording. I too, have mailed the information several times to the FL address, with no reply.
Save yourself some time and money and don't do business with CERTS, Inc.

Hi,
My name is Barbara Brown and I also went to a sale speach and was told about getting a 8 day crusie for two. I sent in the money $398.00 and I have ask for my money back and they have still not send me it back. What a rip off company.
I have done everything they have ask of me and they will no respond to any of my request. I also send all letter reg. mail also and still no reply:
my e-mail (barbara4129@comcast.net)

I wish I had found this site prior to participating in a Certs program. Unfortunately I didn't completely follow ALL the instructions on the voucher––my wife, “the second traveling party" neglected to sign the form, thus they cancelled the offer and stated in their reply letter that the offer is void because of this. I found another posting that I think sums up this company's reputation well.

"This is not a consumer friendly company. I believe their business plan is predicated on people either not wanting to bother jumping through their hoops to receive the money or on people making a mistake. In my case I did not make a mistake. I followed their rules completely. I waited more than 30 days. Any reasonable / fair / friendly company would have allowed this. They are none of those. Their practice in this case, while following their own defined rules regarding the 30 days, borders on the unethical. They certainly are not operating in any way in the interests of the consumer. They have had 26 complaints with the BBB in less than 1 year. Only 8 of those are listed as resolved."

If you are going to work with this company please make sure you follow ALL the terms... EXACTLY: dates, signatures, POSTAL money orders, certified mail, etc. They will use every opportunity possible to avoid having to honor their agreement.

d

CEO of his company and doesn't know the toll free prefix to his own number is 866, not 800.

Yeah - that's someone who knows what he's talking about!

Thank you so much for posting these complaints about Certs, Inc. We received a certificate for travel through them for attending a buying club presentation. Having looked at the various complaints, we're not even going to try to book anything.
Hope the watch I also received works!

[protected] is the number for an AUTO GLASS REPAIR shop! WTF?!?!?

I agree. Contact the Florida Attorney General about these people!

I will continue to complain public and private about the scam that you are running. You do not make call back numbers or in any way respond to communications. I am searching for ways to collaborate with the many people tahe are complaining about your lack of business ethics. bobvogel@mindspring.com

That's funny, I have been fighting with Certs since June when they had 30 days to refund my $150.00. (They never would honor my travel dates, gave them 4 alternate dates! When I asked for a refund, they said it would take 30 days to get it back. When the 30 days was up I called them and they said they were going through changes in their processing dept. and it would take another 6 weeks before I saw my refund! Now its 2 months later and still no refund, I can't even get through on the phone! In the process of dealing with an attorney, sent them a demand letter, still no reply yet! Christine Lopez, Concord, California

The refund was issued in a timely manner, as all requests to Certs, Inc are. Normal processing takes 4-6 weeks, no matter what the request. The check was deposited, and posted the Certs, Inc bank account exactly 7 days after this posting.

In the future, please address Certs, Inc directly for any requests. Our toll free number is [protected].

Manager @ Certs, Inc.

We had the same sad story about Certs, Inc., VIP Travel, Celebrity Productions, PTS Travel, Casablanca Express. Seems like they are all scamming together on these so called "free" vacation pkgs. We too sat through a presentation from Leisure Club and promised this 3-day 2-night vacation, with free rental car, gas card AND dinner card, with the promise of a "low" up front fee. NOT - Month after month all these companies kept asking for more and more deposits and fees, until we said enough is enough
If you have had any problems getting your refunds back, please report them to the BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU. I have started reporting on bbb.com and have gotten a partial refund from 1 company, so far.

WE sent in the money orders for the cruise package, registered mail, and now Certs, 2 months later says they ' can't find them' . After reading the zillion complaints against Certs, we are to say the least, worried . This has to be a scam company to have so many complaints. Now we have to get the money order receipts to verify that they have been cashed, Certs won't own up to it, and that folder is temporarily misplaced in my home - but it's here, I just have to locate it. Meanwhile, I am out the money we sent in to Certs, registered mail thank God, and really angry at my falling for this one.

Gregory Peaden's "response" to our complaints is both dishonest and disingenous. Allow me to address one of his statements:
"Our business is no different than any other business transaction in which both parties must comply with their agreement and adhere to the terms of service."

In fact, CERTS Inc. "business" is quite different from other businesses in many respects, the most important one being that their business model is predicated on the vast majority of its "customers" either not bothering to use the "product" or attempting to use the "product" but being unable to due to CERTS' ridiculous and inflexible "terms and conditions."

I have read that the CERTS certificates cost businesses that distribute them about $15 each. Now think about it...how could CERTS possibly afford to provide its customers with two airline tickets for $15? The fact is they can't. It would be impossible! And they don't! What CERTS does is use any and every pretext conceivable to prevent their "customers" from ever receiving their "product". Come on, Mr. Peaden. Do you really believe that other businesses operate that way?

In my case, CERTS claimed that I had violated the "terms and conditions" by leaving only 29 days instead of 30 days between my travel dates. After they sent me a refund check (with no explanation), I called them and explained that the way I counted the days, I had indeed left 30 days betweeen travel dates, but that I'd be more than willing to change my dates by one day to accommodate CERTS. (I still had a couple of weeks before the certificate expired.)

I was told, "You've violated the terms and conditions, and therefore we voided the voucher. There's nothing we can do about it."

Now let's be honest, Mr. Peaden. Would any legitimate, honest business have responded in the manner yours did in that situation? If so, would you please name that business? Sears, Starbucks, Toyota? Which other business would have prevented me from resubmitting a coupon that had not yet expired?

CERTS Inc. only gives its customers 14 days notice before it gives them the date of the flights because it knows that the vast majority of people require more notice than that before they can take up and leave on a trip. CERTS does everything possible to make sure that, for one reason or another, customers receive a "full refund of all monies paid to Certs, Inc." Why? Because CERTS wants to do everything possible to make sure that its "customers" never receive their airline tickets.

Again, what other company works on a business model that assumes that the vast majority of its customer never use its product? Insurance companies perhaps, but certainly no other business in the travel industry!

On this and other travel and complaint sites, I have asked a simple question over and over again: would someone who has successfully redeemed a CERTS travel certificate please tell me how you did it. Include all the details of where you flew from, where you went, what the dates were, how much notice CERTS gave you, etc.

It's been almost nine months since I asked that question. And I have yet to have a single person respond affirmatively! I doubt that even one percent of CERTS certificates are successfully redeemed. Am I correct, Mr. Peaden? If not, I beg you to correct me.

Mr. Peaden, do you know the meaning of the term "bunco artist"? If so, would you please explain how you are not one?

I urge anyone with a complaint against CERTS to direct it to the Attorney General's office in Florida. Maybe evenually the office will do something if it receives a few thousand more complaints!

First, we'd like to apologize for any inconveniences you may have experience redeeming your travel certificate from our company. Keeping that in mind, we'd like to point out a few important details regarding the travel certificate business.

Our business is no different than any other business transaction in which both parties must comply with their agreement and adhere to the terms of service.

We highly recommend in the future if you receive a call or postcard from a marketing company promising you a travel certificate if you attend a timeshare presentation that you ask for the name of the company responsible for providing the incentive.

We further recommend if it is a Certs, Inc. incentive, that you visit our web site (www.certsinc.biz) where you can read the entire terms of service for each incentive we offer, and then make an educated decision on whether of not to move forward with the presentation.

Certs, Inc. has no control over the presentation by the marketing company or the sales tactics used by the vacation club representative. However, we do police their activities and from time-to-time will discontinue the sales of our products to these companies if we feel there is misrepresentation.

Certs, Inc. has never, and will never, change the terms of service on our incentives "after" it has been presented to our clients customers.

If you have not received a booking confirmation from our company for the travel date(s) you provided, you are entitled to a full refund of all monies paid to Certs, Inc.

Due to the inconveniences of a large cancellation rate for booked travel, your travel dates will not be confirmed until 14 days in advance. This is to benefit you by allowing a full refund in case you an experience a life event that keeps you from traveling on the dates you provided us.

If you feel you have not received a fair chance at redeeming your travel certificate, please contact our customer service department [protected]) so we can research your situation and act accordingly based off your incentive's terms of service.

Sincerely,

Gregory A. Peaden, CEO
Certs, Inc.

Certs, Inc. - www.certsinc.biz

They sent us a postcard stating that we would get a "complimentary 3-4 day cruise or vacation, no purchase necessary, if we listened to their presentation, To sweeten the deal they promised us $40 in gas money to cover our expenses of traveling to their site presentation. After which, they sent us a form to to fill out and we were instructed to send them a US postal money order for $100. as a processing fee. There was no mention of this fee up front. They sent us a form to fill out for gas travel vouchers which had to be sent in with original receipts on a monthly basis for a max. of $10. per time. Further, there was no return address on the envelope they sent us and no contact phone number . I decided to look them up only to find out that they would not give us any information about their whereabouts and they would only accept mail-in postal money orders. This is clearly a scam operation which should be investigated by the authorities and be shut down before countless other people are ripped off!

We were extremely foolish in becoming members of Pulaski. Everything they "sold" to us through the condo membership has not been as they presented. PLEASE follow-up with a claim to the Better Business Bureau as this affects the companies credit rating. Also, a letter to the Attorney General is helpful. While they cannot represent any lawsuits the complaint remains on file in their office. And if we do not receive a refund of our membership we are considering a class action lawsuit. We hope no one has to go through this struggle.

Pulaski Trave - run run away

Those "positive" comments forgot to mention that they want over $8, 000 to "join" them, and then you get restrictions. You can book travel, for yourself at good prices, but if you travel even 3 times a year, that savings adds up to the $8, 000 you put upfront. So, not really a savings. They don't show you the places they have as vacation, they make promises, but don't deliver. They are a travel company that gives away free trips through another company. Their presentation says they can book you for as little as $99 a week, but they have to use an outside company to give away a trip?

Yes I think it is a scam. You owe me $29.95 and I want to tell you, No you did not send me my money. The stress I am going through My Lawyer will take care of it very soon if you don't send my my refund!

My name is Ann Harrell and you never sent me my refune back. And I tryed to email you at your csunderscorecertsinc @yahoo.com. I sent you $29.95 and I adked for a refund because it is to far to drive to when you live in the middle of Arkansas. You say you sent me my money but you did not. B illy and Ann Harrell 21 Grand Brook Greenwood Arkansa 72936 You said call back on this date I did and no one will talk to me. I am really sick of this I my get my lawyer for this $29.95 And I know it will it will cost you more because of my stress I am having over this. So Please send me my money!

We attended a 90 minute arm twisting session at a travel company broker in Las Colinas( irving) TX back in may 2009. Our friends attended the seminar too. We did everything right but our friends sent a postal money order but the postal worker gave them a international postal money order instead and they were refused. I sent in the dates for our cruise, we chose the 2nd set coming up in November for the 4 night 3 day cruise out of Galveston. On the paperwork it clearly states that they would send us confirmation travel documents within 30-45 days out from the dates we selected. I have been trying to call them for 3 days now to get a commitment from them. I sent a email to their customer service following every last detail they requested. I am awaiting a reply which they said will come within 48 hrs. I did receive a confirmation that they received the email I sent in. I am so nervous and scared after reading all these horror stories esp. now after I cannot get anyone to answer the telephones. I will contact the BBB if this goes south and the Attorney General's office as my brother is a corporate attorney that deals with scamers all day long, but I am hoping, just hoping we will get our trip. I will keep everyone posted. KH

So glad I checked online before sending in my $100 money order with the certificate for a free two-night stay at a "Marriott Brand Property" and "free" airfare. My question is: Does the "Marriott, Ramada or Radisson Family of Hotels" have an integral role in this scam, or are they simply being reimbursed for providing accommodations for the victims of this scam. If they are not directly involved it might behoove them to disassociate themselves from this deceitful business called Certs Incorporated.

My husband and I wasted half of a vacation day going to this presentation. Guess we should be glad that is all we lost.

All I can say is I believe in karma. All those involved in deliberately cheating others will have it coming back to them.

Agree with all of above note ...Was promised 40 gas and a close port of call to depart from for 4 night cruise..I was told I could pick any destination fom charlston ended up getting port can or miami.Royal Palms vacations is a big ole jip..and so is certs.P.S I threw thier incentive in the trash

u gotta LUV this ! ! ! the phone ## posted by the CEO above is for a call canter for a nationwide autoglass company. lolol can even reach them. UFB !

Certs inc is evil! Customer "service" is a joke. There is no service. It is clearly set up to not give you what was promised. You can't plan a vacation getaway, since there is no assurance you get the reservation until it is too late to make plans and book a 30 ticket. What a SCAM! Stay away. It is not worth it.
These people should be closed down. In the old days, decent people would have run them out of town.