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On March 19th, my wife and I attended a sales presentation at Branson, Mo. sponsored by Vacation Services of America. One of their top salesmen, Tony, spent about an hour enticing us with incredible travel deals that only their club (Vacation Travel Club) could provide. Amazing deals on cruises, condos and vacation packages were written on the boards surrounding our meeting room. We do a lot of online research finding the best travel deals, so we know good deals when we see them.
We were told that travel agents and the online travel sites like priceline, travelocity, and orbitz were not able to beat the prices available through the Vacation Travel Club. This is because VTC is only one of three companies that has figured out how to buy travel that has been marked up only 5-15% and pass it on to club members at this same price - bypassing wholesale and retail markup that can be anywhere from 50-200%. Some other deals they promised were:
• Get a $120 hotel for $75
• Get a $90 hotel for $50
• Get a $60 hotel for $35
• 2 excursions and ocean view rooms are included with all discounted cruise deals
• You can call and reach someone 24/7 to plan your trip
All of the above promises turned out to be false.
The presentation was very convincing and they even showed my wife a printout of their Better Business Bureau "good" (A or B) rating after she and I were skeptical about their credibility.
At the end of the meeting, the salesman wrote on the board that we could join the club today for $10, 000. Then several salesmen and women came around to each couple in the room and negotiated with them to join the club. Our salesman, Harry Launder, continued to convince us that the incredible deals were real, pulled right off the VTC website and that we should easily be able to save on every trip, since we use the online travel companies like priceline and travelocity to find deals.
We felt like they were telling us the truth, but the price way too much for us. We were still skeptical about joining, so after telling them we were not buying today - the salesman offered his final deal of $3000, but said we had to buy today or we can't join for another 4 years because of some technicality that I don't remember.
We decided to leave the building and take a walk to think and pray about the decision. If the savings were really as good as they said, we felt like $3000 for a lifetime of exceptional travel savings that can't be found anywhere else was well worth it.
So, we joined the club for $3000 on Thursday afternoon around 1pm. By Monday, I had called in and received my VTC member number over the phone and started comparing deals. On my first call to VTC, I asked to reserve a Radisson hotel room in Fort Worth, TX. They transferred me to a travel agent that does not work for the club and quoted me the same price that I could get from Radisson's website. When I asked the agent why she couldn't beat that price, she said that I had to use one of VTC's "choice hotels." We were not told this in the presentation. So I compared their choice hotel prices, and also found no savings - in fact hotels.com could beat their prices at choice hotels. (Quality Inn, Fairfield Inn and others). These were not the savings we were promised.
I found the club's prices for cruises and airline tickets more expensive than what I could find by going directly to the Carnival.com or AA.com.
We decided after several more attempts to find cheaper deals, that we had been sold a lie by Vacation Services of America. We called and asked for a refund. The receptionist had the manager, Tom Wood, call us back. We asked him to compare prices with us online, but he said he couldn't do that, and that we must have heard them wrong or were not doing something right. He offered us $500 or a free weeks stay at Branson to appease us, but refused to give us a full refund. We turned him down, and he said that we could fight it out with his attorney.
We have contacted a local Branson news station that is willing to do a story on this scam as well as a local attorney who has successfully sued the company in the past. If anyone else would like to help us with this or has successfully received a refund, please contact me. Thanks.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Please read my complaint titled "unfair/unethical business practices". I'm interested in which local TV station you've contacted and the attorney, as we are planning on taking action if we get nowhere with the Missouri Attorney General. These people need to be put out of business.
I just made a complaint with the Attorney General office of Missouri because I am having the same issues with Vacations Services of America. I would like to be part of the law suite please contact me at guilbeau235@aol.com.
This cracks me up! You people are the ones dishing out thousands of dollars! You all are idiots. Not only that but travel clubs such as this one, are for traveling WORLD wide. My family has this package and went on an Alaskan cruise for $400! ...not Texas lol. Broaden your horizons and LEARN how to use a package like this.
well it takes 7 business days to put you in the system and you can't even use the hotels system ...and what am I missing here in your story you said this ...They transferred me to a travel agent that does not work for the club and quoted me the same price that I could get from Radisson's website. When I asked the agent why she couldn't beat that price, she said that I had to use one of VTC's...who did you call? Wasn't VTC ...they wouldn't know your a member till the 7 buisnessday...happy VTC customer
I would like to get involved in a class action law suit against this company Vacation services of America, located in Branson, mo. I also plan to picket there location with a lot of people. I have checked a ton of trip/travel opportunities and have yet to find a opportunity that is less than avaiable via Kayak. This is a total fraud especially when you realize how the process is set up. You are fed a load and have no way to check the rates since you only have three days to cancel. I am writing all of the state offices in Mo and FL and will be filling my compalints all over the place. They will wish they had refunded my money. If any one is interested contact me at gsdinsurance@aol.com. gsdunlap
We went into a ticket office in Ozark to get tickets for the Branson shows. While we were there the agent we were talking with talked us into a package to go to Vacation Services of America's presentation. Our invitation gave the rules of being eligible for this presentation. We qualified for eligibility. Make over 35, 000. a year for a couple, Live more then 100 miles from Branson, Not be a member of any other resort club. We went to the presentation filled out our paperwork and waited. After 30 minutes a gentleman called our names and ask us to fallow him. We were taken outside the building and were told that we didn't qualify because we were not staying at one of their resorts. ( This was not told to us before, We were told that if we went to this presentation we would then get a 3 day 2 night stay in one of their resorts.) And we were ask to leave. We called the Grand Crown agent that got us the invitation and ask why this happened. On a 3 way call she called the Vacation Services of America to find out why we didn't qualify. They told her that sense we were vacationing in Ozark and my husband was working east of Springfield that we didn't qualify.Because that's where we lived. The agent informed VSA that we did live over 100 miles from Branson giving them out address.(Which we had to show drivers license and proof of a checking account to the VSA ( with address) before they signed us in). So they alreaDay knew our address. I would say just south of Kansas City, Mo. is over 100 miles.. A podium of 39, 000. not counting wadges is over their minimum income. No membership at other resorts. I would say we qualified but they are frauds. This company will be turned into the BBB..
My wife & I have also been ripped off by these people. I would like to know how to get at least part of our money back.
We bought our club membership with Vacation Services of America in May of 2010. We are retired and do a lot of traveling. I have to say, in our experience, the Vacation Travel Club has been exactly as represented to us. We never save huge amounts on a trip but we do save money on every trip we book though them. We take cruises each year and I first price the cost of the cruise through the cruise line and then through other discount agencies just for the sake of comparisons and VTC saves us money every time. On our upcoming eight day cruise they saved us $245 a cabin (outside, lower deck) and each of our friends that are going with us saved the same. When there was a price drop on one of our cruises I contacted them and they jumped right on it and got it for each of us. They have been great to work with! We took a tour of Italy with Globus last year booked through them and we saved $600 over what I could book it through anyone else. We have also used them to book a condo for $375 for a week in Daytona Beach. The condo was very nice. I really feel that if you travel a lot you way more then get your moneys worth out of this program.
We also bought a membership to Vacation Services Of America, and also feel that everything they told us turned out to be false. We have contacted them several times and was finaly told that we would not get a refund. We also are interested in jloining a class action lawsuit against this company. Please contact us at kdgolf1470@att.net if you have any information reguarding this issue.
We agree that this I.T.S. is a scam. We have had several different trips presented to them for pricing. We too had no success. We are very surprised that a place like Branson would allow such unethical supposed company to have an office there. The presentation was very enticing but unfortunately untrue. We purchased this plan for our daughter who is a history teacher and would love to travel. I guess that is how they win most people over when they say it would be great for your kids to be able to have, as opposed to a timeshare where there is a high maintenance fee and you are limited as to where you can use it. We tried having places priced out for where we go yearly. No luck. It is cheaper for us to see a reality company to book it than this company. We are very disappointed. We are retired and have watched our money all these years. After all these years of working, we thought we could do some traveling and enjoy and share it with our friends. We really didn't have $ 6, 995 to throw away. We thought it would be a good investment. Instead, we were pulled in by a scam. To any of you who are considering this, just say NO! I too, am very surprised that Branson would have a place allowing these people to sell from their town. I would have expected more from Branson. I, too, would like to be involved in anything that is out there to get my money back and stop these people from suckering more innocent, hard working Americans in to this scam. Also if any of you that read this think I only tried one time, you are mistaken. I tried several different areas, and all the results the same. Disaster! We tried Nova Scotia, Boston, Michigan, Florida. No cheaper rates. I got tired just trying! It got depressing. Where are these 3, 4, 5, star rated hotels located for between $59 and $89 per night. They apparently were not where I was going. If there is some big secret here that I don't know about, I wish someone would share it with me, because I would really like to know how to use it or have my $6995 refunded . I even went so far as to purchase a lovely box to surprise my daughter with it for Christmas. Well, it was not a Christmas surprise. It was just a Big Mistake on our part. One we really couldn't afford. I could take plenty of trips thru Travelocity with the money.
My complaints are same as everyone else. We bought into this end of May 2013 and are going through our credit card company to get this resolved. If you used a Credit Card to pay I advise you to call them and let them know this is Fraud! They will help you as much as they can. I'll let you all know how it turns out. If there's ever a class action suit filed I want to be apart of it.
Please run from Vacation Services of Branson! The are Big Time Scammers!
How do we get started. A friend & I bought into this in August of 2014. We were told that after paying $1, 000 we could start using their services. They took $40 out of each of our account for a year & now they're permanently closed. If anyone knows how to get started please point me in the direction.
My husband and I have had a similar experience and are currently in the process of seeking out legal representation. Does anyone know of attorneys who have successfully fought this particular scam? We would also be interested in joining a class action lawsuit.
I was also tricked into their scam if there is a class action suit please let me know. I have contacted, Tennessee BB, Missouri BB, Trade Commissioner, Attorney general of Tn and Attorney General of No and got no place with none of them.
Cajahart@yahoo.com.
This is also happening in Savannah GA and many other cities. They go by Wholesale Services of America and many different names but are owned by the same person. I can't believe this has been going on so long or that someone hasn't sued them. We need to stop these thieves.