Vacation Network Inc. review: Rip off do not deliver what they sell! 42

Totally agree! The exact same thing happen to me.

On September 17, 2007, I asked that my Vacation Network account be closed and half my money refunded. I have talked to Marsha in the corporate office several times, and she assured me that my money would be forthcoming--at the latest, by February. It is now March 8, and I have not heard from the company or received one cent. Can't the Better Business Bureau do something about this? How can a company get away with this without suffering some sort of legal repercussions? This has to be illegal.

I joined up with Vacation network last year and I have nothing but [positive experiences. Perhaps there were a couple bad employees or something that caused the problem, but I have followed all the rules and received exactly what was promised. I have had some amazing vacations, from taking my kids to disney, to going to Barbados with my husband for our 10 year wedding anniversary. I feel bad that apparently some of the people here did not get what they wnted, but I have gotton everything that was promised and more. In my opinion, they are one of the best things that could have happened to my family.

I'm there. I filed a complaint with the BBB and what a waist of time. All they did was forward it to some rep at the company and I got a response saying, "no we didn't" and never heard another word. I got the same letter back in September, but it only offered me 25% refund or an extra 10 vacations. What? 10 more times I can request a vacation and not get one? I passed on both and am planning on filing a law suit against them.

I was told VNI had vacation spots in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. This is the reason I entered into an agreement with VNI. Lee (saleman) showed me pictures of Boardwalk Plaza on Olive Avenue in Rehoboth on his laptop and stated this was one of their places. I am a Delaware native and knew this place very well. I had even had dinner there once. It was also stated they were associated with Atlantic Sands which is right across the street and I have seen this place being updated last year. I have contact both places and neither place ever heard of VNI. At least some of you have been able to talk to somone at VNI they have not returned any of my calls. I have met with the Attorney General's office and with a special investigator in that office and they have stated I have been defrauted and have a good case against VNI. They are actively pursuing VNI.

I didn't like the sales mgr of this company in Atlanta. We came with an open mind, watched the video, heard the sales pitch, and briefly considered the opportunity. We had a question that our representative couldn't answer so the mgr was called in. He outlined another offer and wanted an immediate decision. We said we'd think about it and he immediately stood and proclaimed they "didn't have anything for us" and acted insulted that we decided against it. He told our rep to give us our gifts and check us out.

They had promised free air tickets and gas vouchers. The air tickets were grudgingly handed over but the gas vouchers were not. They acted like it angered them that you take the free gifts without buying something. Hey...offer me something FREE, I'm gonna take it. Don't get ticky when I pry it outta your deathgrip.

The sale mgr was curt and rude.

hello guys..
i know this scam thing is scary and all. but why dont you just give it a shot? the vacation is free but ofcourse you have to pay for the taxes. this is the UNITED STATES after all. what they mean about the CATCH is that all you have to do to get the free trip, you have to finish a 90min presentation wherein you are not obliged to buy or sign up anything. ofcourse the free trip is a way of saying thank you in advance for you will be doing them the favor of telling your friends how great the vacation is.
this is business. if you are narrowminded, no wonder you dont know anything about business.

I WISH I WOULD HAVE GONE WITH MY INSTINCT. WE HAVE BEEN MEMBERS FOR A FEW YEARS AND EVERYTIME WE BOOK WE HAVE ISSUES, I HAVE PUT IN A REQUEST IN JUNE FOR A TRIP TO MAUI IN FEB, I AM STILL NOT BOOKED AND WAS TOLD I MAY NOT SINCE THESE WEEKS YOU PURCHASE ARE ON AN AVAILABILITY ONLY. I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS TRYING TO GET BOOKED AND I AM READY TO CONTACT AN ATTORNEY. WOULD DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY

We joined in sept 08 and were suppose to receive the travel voucher for airline tickets and a gas card. We have still not received anything thing from the company, not even a thank you for joining. I am wanting to submit our reservation request for our first vacation but am afraid to put anymore money up front for something that maybe a scam. Would like to hear from others that have had good or bad experiences.

Hello,

How can I get out of the Vacation Network Inc timeshare. They are frauds...I am making a monthly payments of $121. I want out of this contract ASAP. They are extremely unprofessional, they have not been able to meet any of my needs. Any information you have on the cancellation process will be very helpful.

thanks

hi there, it appears that the same thing is happening to too many people, we got free? airline tickets to join, all we had to do was paid the taxes and fees, however now that we paid the $100 for the taxes the agency tells us that this is not for free but a good discounted ticket, i will be going to VNI's office in Scottsdale Az today to see about this, the travel agency offer to give us the $100 back in 2 to 3 weeks. i agreed but i will go to VNI and complain if i have no satisfaction, i will ask for my money back, if they don't agree i will sue them, may have to give the money to the lawyers but at least i will give them the exposure they don't want.

WOW! It's amazing what you stumble across when you accidently put a website in your google search tool instead of the address bar. I saw my travel agency's name under this complaint board and thought I should read it. I am SHOCKED! I have been a member for over 5 years and we bought 30 vacations and have used (or gave away to our kids) most of them already. We have had a few difficult customer service moments, but all-in-all it has been a really positive experience. We have saved a beaucoup amount of money traveling this way! We are retired, so it is easy to give them a 90 day notice--we can travel anytime! :) I hate that you guys have had such a hard time, but I assure you and anyone else out there it's not a scam and a lot of people enjoy their benefits! My husband and I are talking about buying another package when we are through with these!

Vacation Network is not a timeshare nor a scam! I have been traveling with them for over 5 years, I should know! Why would you sign a contract for something you don't want or can't afford? To the original complaint, I am sure they can work something out with you call the customer service number; they have been very helpful to me. But I would recommend that you just try them!

Contact your Attorney General for your state and file a complaint. This will get the ball rolling on getting your money back. Make sure you have in full detail how you have been wronged. I know plenty of people that have gotten this taken care of from the Attorney General!

Cheers!

I attended the presentation (spiel) in Scottsdale and nothing about the numbers they were giving in it seemed right. I've booked travel internationally and domestically for years. I know what a smokin' deal looks like, and these guys overinflated the retail comparison prices (supposedly found on Orbitz) by a grand amount. Perhaps if you are booking next day travel during peak season you might pay the quoted comparison prices, but for anyone who knows how to use a few search engines and can plan a trip, the "savings" listed were simply ridiculous. The bottom line is this - you can get equally good values (and in my case I've found even better!) if you are simply patient and shop around.

I am happy to learn, before jumping through all the hoops to get my supposedly "free" airline tickets for attending the presentation (send in the voucher with a specifically sized self addressed stamped envelope and be prepared to fork over $100 for "taxes") that they too are no more of a genuine deal than the "bargains" hawked at the sales pitch.

While I'd be hesitant to call this outfit a full blown scam, I am completely convinced that with just a little bit of effort, the bargain prices that are so heavily touted can be found at resort properties and destinations around the world. I know it because I've done it. Dozens and dozens of times. Save yourself thousands without joining any such club that costs an exhorbitant fee to join and maintain. Just be a little savvy and hunt down the bargains yourself.

i was invited before in vacation network we stay there for 60 min. i cant say anything bad from vacation network coz when we get there we treated us right no pressure selling they explain to us what the company can do to us in our future vacation how we can save for almost 70% we don't join but still get our free trip i used it last summer i go to Hawaii w/ my wife .. i guess all the bad rumors to vacation network is not true..

I worked for this company and can say to STAY AWAY. Regarding the airline tickets, they try to make it as hard as possible to use them in hopes that you get dicouraged and give up so thay don't have to pay out any money for u to use them. They used to tellus to go online and make up fake "Happy Customer" blogs to cover them selves. They change their phone number and the booking division names every three weeks to make it impossible for unhappy customers to contact them. Even the name of the "gentleman" that runs the appointmets diviosion has a fake name, as well as the letter they send signed by different people. When u call to inquire about the "free" airline tickets, that person is never available because THEY DON"T EXSIST! Stay away from this company! How do u spell PONZIE SCHEME?

I have an apppointment today @ 2:45, but ater reading Angel1 who use to work there, well...now I am reconsidering going to this 60 minute presentation. I am suppose to get a call an hour before I leave. I will inform them of these complaints that I found via internet.

It certaintly sounded good, but I am glad that I took the time to research this Company, it opened up my eyes to the extend of trusting people and there sold called give aways for free. Its a struggle trying to make ends meet as it is these days.

Thank you to everyone that took their concerns and help to expoit this SCAM.

Have a blessed day!

These guys are a joke. I just went yesterday 07/2009 and was appalled by how bogus these guys are. Don't go - save your gas and time and book these trips yourselves for much less money.

Yes I was gullible and signed on to recieve Vacation Networks Inc. extra savings package. (Required to sign that day to receive bonus package) [protected]
Researched their alledged savings when we returned home and discovered I could beat their great savings. Went to an attorney next day to veiw contract. Had a process server deliver notarized recission
letter ($65.00) and sent certified letter to their BOC next day. We also are disputing the charge on our card.
BEST PART...
8-1-2009 Our card we used with VNI was duplicated with high dollar charges on it. Only place card was used and not swiped by us at our very regular places. Contacting appropriate agencies Monday.
Looking forward to some identity theft.
Ed

8/20/09

I went to the one hour presentation and saw that it looks just like the Timeshare which my ex had already gotten hook by. I was patient and listened. The letter I got said that if I listen I would at least get two round trip ticket when ever and whereever I wanted to go FREE. Also I would recieve $100.00 gas card. I got the letter back today and it is from Fly America Vacation Getaway. They want me to send them $4.95 processing fee and $50.00 per ticket registration fee which they say covers taxes, surcharges and fees. Well now my free tickets haved turned into $104.95 and it limits me where I can come and go from and how short or long I can stay.

Scam if I ever saw one.,

Connie

I'm interested in a class action against VNI. I will potentially set up a website for such effort. If you plan to garner some collaboration, please email me at sales_agent@earthlink.net.

The process could be long, though. A quick solution is to shoot them all. But you risk your life as well. So I decide to go slow ...

just went today [protected] in katy texas on 810 hwy 6 suit 150 . and signed all the papers but i only put down $50 i was going to pay the rest with a cachers check but i don't think i'll be throwing $10, 000 in the toilet . they did give me a free voucher for a 7 day carnival cruise . i'm going to mail it off monday i know that i will have to pay the taxes on it but will see if they send me my boarding passes or not. i'm glad i found this sight thats for sure.

I attended their meeting today 11-7-09, I must say I was shocked, and appauled by this guy's attitude. I informed the person we were assigned to, that 10, 000 is a lot of money, in addition a 299.00 one time registration fee, and a 269.00 yearly fee. He became pissed that I would not agree to buy into their scheme. I asked him to give me a couple days to think about it, reserch the company, and maybe even find another family to, maybe split the cost, and he became fustrated with me, i'm sorry, and i don't mean to offend anyone, but anyone who goes in, and sign's up for this scheme, without thinking this over, and checking for company complaints needs to be examined by a doctor. They only get you a discount on hotel stay, their is still airfare, transportation cost, food, and attractions to pay for, I don't know but i've never paid 10, 000 for anything i could'nt see, feel, touch, and i'm not about to start. However, i did get the voucher for the airline tickets, and the 100.00 meal ticket. I'll post another blog and respond to how that goes. Until then be careful when dealing with these people, they are, and have great sales people.

We had a weak moment or something and agreed to join VNI. I get sick every time I think about the fact that we are in this contract. Does anyone know how to get out of it? We don't even want any money if anyone is interested in taking over our week.

I have canceled my account and got all my money back except the interest. Contact me at Kactusflwer@aol.com and I will be glad to walk you through the process!

Nikki

I've had good and bad experiences with VNI. Yes, they have gotten me condos but, most of the time, they always get us LAST minute condos which is very frustrating when you are buying airfare. This year, however, I put in four different requests: two of them were never addressed even after a 4 month period and the other two I kept getting messages how they couldn't find any place and that I needed to find somewhere else (these two requests were given to them a YEAR ahead of time). When I complained to Bruce in customer service, he was completely useless. He had the "not my problem" attitude and did NOTHING to remedy the situation. He also did not hold anyone in reservations accountable for not being able to do their jobs. The kicker is that they had over $1000 of my money in vacation requests which they couldn't fulfill so I had to ask for refunds. It has taken them 4 months to get checks back to me. Now all of those checks have bounced. I'm having to run them through again (keeping my fingers crossed). Keeping MY money for over 7 months doesn't seem legal to me. I've noticed a lot of people saying they were going to pursue legal means against VNI. I was wondering if anyone has sued them and what the results were. Thanks!

I'm glad we are not the only people ripped off by VNI Last year we requested 2 weeks in Sorrento, Italy, for Sept. Request was sent in, in March 2009. Didn't get a reply until August.This year we requested, 1week in the same hotel. Sent that request in, in May 2010, again for Sept. We kept calling and emailing and got no response.We went ahead and booked our flight's Italy, as we didn't want to wait until the last minute. We finally got ahold of Raven, and she said we could not get a week in Sorrento, as they were not on the list. WHAT! We were told went we bought this package, we could go anywhere in the world. And hear it was alittle over 2 week's to flight time and no room to sleep in. We had also booked tour's out of Sorrento. We had to scramble to find a hotel room, and it ended up costing us $800 instead of the $299 that VNI charges. We will never book another vacation with them, as we are retired, and do not need this aggrivation. I guess we will just eat the last 11 week's we have left, Who care's. It's a scam, and they can get away with it, they are making money on everyone who bought this package and just gave up on it!

OK ALl...do wish we had seen this before we bought in Winter 2009. We have had no luck either in booking ANYTHING. We tried to get a NJ shore place the summer we bouht it only to have a gal name Marlene say all requests for NJ CLOSE in Feb...too late. This year we asked in the summer to get a place in Costa Rica for January. They sent one proposal in November but when I checked on the place it got por reviews ( it was in a time share place) and in the middle of nowhere. It is now mid December and NOTHING since.. An email came at the end of November saying they know we are frustrated...they'll work on it.
The only good thing is theat we booked a cruise through them that w were going to book ourselves. When we bought VNI, they said they'd save us 1/2 off any trip we plan...but this cruise only saved us 11% (I guess it was better than nothing...but we did ALL the work...we needed to constantly call almost daily to see if they booked it, get written comformations, etc...things we had our travel agent do immediately...just to sve the few bucks.)
YES, we want out of the contract that isn't what they say. Any info would be the great.
I will first call them and ask if they will refund our money (we bought 4 weeks a year @ $4500!). Since I doubt that will do any good, I can at least have that as the proof that I tried before I do anything legal.
Elleen

WARNINGS, RED FLAGS & LOUD BELLS:
If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!
There is no such thing as a free lunch!
If they don't have a brick & mortar address or telephone number, then they are out to take your money and run!
If the Better Business Bureau doesn't know them, they are not legitimate!
If the Better Business Bureau has unresolved complaints against them, they are not legitimate!
If they call you from a boiler room, hang up the phone!

Retired but not ###ed,
I feel your comment was kind of uncalled for regarding Vacation Network Incorporated. It seems you're implying that people who bought their vacations from VNI are dumb bunnies. I bought a vacation/time-share and I am neither dumb or uninformed. Vacation Network inc. is NOT saying things that are TOO good to be true, just really superlative things about their vacation locations at a one-time fixed price (+ an annual fee) They do have a registered corporation in the STATE OF GEORGIA: Registered in the names of 1) Linh Dinh 2) Teddy Kavadas 3) Fred A. Zimmerman in 4210 Columbia Road, Suite 12-A, Martinez, GA. They have an office in Duluth, GA and a real phone number for reservations, [protected], as well as several real email address' customerservice@vnivacations.com!
The problem with the many disgruntled customers who I've seen on the internet is that VNI's BIG promises are a lot of BS and their customer care is horrendous. I am currently trying to get a vacation through them for Cali for July. The main issue I have is the accomodations they want to put me in are not up to reasonable standard, or not in the month I requested. I am trying to be firm, yet flexible with them. To date, VNI has not let me completely down. I will keep you posted.
I STRONGLY suspect that the business owners, Linh Dinh, Teddy Kavadas, and Fred Zimmerman are sucking most, if not all, of the income from sales of these timeshares/ "vacation rentals" into their greedy mouths while shortchanging the "customer service" representatives (can we say Minimum Wage Workers, anyone?), and at the same time these owners of VNI may not be doing due diligence by buying/investing in more and better condos & time shares to increase their inventory so as to have nice, legitimate accomodations available to their clients in a reasonable time frame. What say you, Retired but not ###ed? Everybody needs to write their concerns to the Atty. General and Corporation Commission of Georgia. And it is not nice to mock consumers who have legitimate gripes.

We went to the presentation and decided we were not ready to invest monetarily right now in the package. We thought it could be a good deal in a couple of years, but not now. As a way of saying "thanks" for considering the package, we were offered two free airline tickets. In the presentation, it was stated the airline tickets could be an option or we could trade these for a cruise. We opted for the free cruise. Do any of you have comments of your experience in obtaining the cruise? I know we should pay taxes and port fees as a standard rule of thumb. Comments are appreciated.

We were stood up for their presentation after driving an hour to their offices. When we were finally able to reach someone they told us that that particular location was not open on Sundays and that they would be sending out the airline travel vouchers as the scheduling error had been theirs. We were told to call a different # in order to have the vouchers mailed to us. Three weeks later after eight calls we finally received the vouchers in the mail. What a joke: there are so many processing fees, taxes and restrictions that it'd be less expensive to just book with the airline. We're glad we'd didn't waste the 90 minutes for the "presentation." Do not sign up with this company. They are just another of so many scams coming out of Florida. What kind of person would work for them anyway?

DO NOT BE FOOLED! These guys promise a free trip, but there's nothing free about it. First, you have to send in $4.95 to get your 'vacation packet.' Then, you only have a month to decide where you want to go and pay $50 per flight up front. When you actually DO go within the year to your chosen destination, then you have to pay ANOTHER $59 per flight. And don't be surprised if the blackout dates and restrictions further cramp your style. Oh, and if you want to use that 'extra' offer of the hotel? Well, they're not set up to be used on the same trip as your flights. The towns they are available rarely match your flight destinations. And you have to pay ANOTHER $50 up front for this as well. Before you know it, you're out a few hundred bucks for two people to take that 'free' getaway. It's a scam and it's a despicable way to do business. The big print giveth and the little print taketh away.

The same thing has happened to me except I never went any where. They sold my contract to another debt collector and now I have to go to court to fight not paying for a service I never received. crazy... There should be a class action suit, this is fraudulent behavior.

My wife and I bought into this program, while on a cruise to St Thomas, USVI, in April 2011. After reading the "fine print", once back on the ship, we wanted to cancel the whole thing. Only problem is that they have the contract written with the "Non-Cancellable" clause in it. After calling the "Reseller" and VNI, I contacted the Attorney General offices of our state (Florida) and (Georgia). The State of Florida AG told us that there was nothing they could do to help us get our money back. I have had several conversations with the State of Georgia AG office and our case is still open, but no resolutions have been obtained. We just don't know if they are going to do anything for us. As a last resort, we contacted an attorney, but he told us it would be very hard to recover our money, PLUS at $375 an hour (lawyer fees), the amount we would hope to recover would be quickly eaten up by the fees. It seems like it is a Lose-Lose situation. All the reviews, that I read, lean toward this company (and associates) being a BIG SCAM.

We bought into this VNI thing in 2009 and paid in excess of $4, 000.00, we DID NOT get FREE airline tickets as promised. We did get a small discount. We used VNI one time and according to the contract which we followed to the letter attempted to get a reservation in the 60 day time frame. Well, they just kept dragging their feet and eventually ended up putting us in a hotel for a week. This was in direct breach of the contract which says, villas, condos, etc., no mention of HOTELS. Like most folks, I tried to get money back and no luck. I filed complaints with the Georgia BBB, what a joke. Then I filed a complaint with the Georgia Attorney General's office. They sent my complaint to the Texas Atty. Gen. I did receive a letter from them, but, don't expect them to do anything. My next step is to SUE!

Total rip off; we paid $3, 500 up front & never could get through the tangled mess to book a vacation. Could not get the free airline tickets. They just kept asking for more money & information for a free ticket. $4, 500 down the toilet. Stay away from the scam.

I have been to the show and yes it was a high pitched pressure sales. We met a nice couple that had bought similar package 10 years ago and were at the presentation to re-buy package. Yes I was given a free fly and stay. What really shocks me is Why do you think the company should pay for your taxes on the certificate? If you won on the price is right u would have to pay uncle sam his taxes or r u foolish enough to think the price is right pays the winners taxes?

I've been a member for two years now and I hate it. I joined in November and paid the 300 maintenance fee only to find out I will have to pay again January 1. That is ridicules. Absolutely the worst decision I have made yet. Or close to it. Stay away. I've spent a thousands dollars on maintenance fees on top of the monthly payments and I have not been anywhere as of yet.