Your Travel Headquarters review: Scam 24

DON'T USE these people Your Travel Headquarters - they are CROOKS ! They belong behind BARS !
They sold me a cruise for $88.00 and now they scammed me for an addition $168.00, a top of the $88.00.
They are LIARS ! DONT speak to them - they will quote you a price then add the "taxes / port fees" later.
This company is made up of SCAMMERS ! Dont do it !

CROOKS AND LIARS are words to nice to describe these people. They are despicable maggots. Ken Le Fleur, was my salesman who sold me a cruise for 4 people at $88 per person. I asked him specifically if there were any more charges before I gave him my credit card number. He assured me there were no further charges. When I received the form to put my information for myself and my daughter, this was supposed to be her birthday gift. I called Ken and he advised me how to fill out the form and what dates to put on there. He then told me that I had to pay port taxes of $92 per person. I agreed to pay the port charges. One week ago I was contacted by Mani who advised me if I wanted those dates I would have to pay an upgrade fee of $72 per person and port charges of $131 person. I spoke to Ken and LO and BEHOLD he comes on the phone and starts lying about what he told me. Now they have sent me another form and cannot tell me, or put in request dates over the phone, plus you have to give them 3 dates apart to work with., 60, 90, 120, days. This trip which was originally $372 for four people stands to cost me $1100 . This company is most definitely SCAMMING people and they should be locked up.

Thanks everyone for posting your testimonials. I too, received a call from your travel headquartes, which I've never heard before. They claim they have been in business since the 80's. They told me I won, 4 days and 3 nights on a cruise and it was only going to cost $88.00 per person. I did ask what's the catch, he mentioned I would only be responsible for the taxes. I did asked if his company is trying to sell a timeshare, he mentioned no, that he's not a salesman. Ha! Ha! I kept thinking what is he trying to sell, and of course, I had to act fast. He told I would have make a decision by the same night, because this promotion ends tonight and it only happens couple times a year. I did ask how they received my number, he mentioned contest or if I knew someone who was on a cruise. I told him no, I haven't entered any contests and I don't know anyone who's been on a cruise recently. If it sounds too good to be true it usually is... While I was on the phone with him, I googled the company, and saw complaints that were simluar to mine. That's when I knew, I had to trust my instinct. Buyer beware!

I received a phone call that I had won a cruise so I called them back confirm and he said I had won! but, he didn't even know my name or anything, the first thing he asked was, who am i speaking to? oh and the number was [protected] and they are called the us travel group. Jovon Brown was who i was talking to and he said that i would only have to pay 88 bucks which was only the taxes. he said i could take up to 16 people including myself, and i would have 7 cruises to choose from and choose 1 of 4 different state rooms to stay in. it sounded so great! he said i would have to confirm within 30 days for the offer and i would have to pay the 88 bucks per person when i confirmed so they could book the spots for us, and had to give 60 days notice if i wanted to change any plans. he also said i would have 1 to 18 months to go on the cruise as well. so just to check out if it was a scam or not, i went to better bussinessbureau.com and they confirmed it was not accredited by them! check it out! they also go by the name Your Travel headquarters, and if you compare their websites, they are very similar. anyways, they are a scam and i don't want to get caught up in it like some of the others who commented above! thanks for the tips guys! BOTH OF THESE CRUISE SPECIALS ARE SCAMS! Be very VERY careful!

They just contact me and use the different name which is US travel groups. I've fallen into their scam. Before I purchase the promotion, which is 88/person, I have been told that I will pay an extra 90 USD/person when I book the date. I think it would be reasonable because total is only $178/person, which is still cheaper if you book directly through Carnial. But now, I read this comment and the problem is I will not get the date I want. So, does anyone know how to at least get a date from their company?

thanks for all ur input... i was just on the phone with US travel group and decided to look into it and this was the first thing i found... now im gonna call them and raise hell... lol.

I fell for this scam already and i am wondering has anyone really been on a cruise through this promotion.

I am waiting for their call for my second time option since the first one was booked.

Also, please let me know if somebody has managed to get a refund back somehow.

Thanks

I, too, have fallen victim to the US Travel Group's cruise scam. The total amount I gave them was $186.00 and I am currently dispute the charge and, hopefully, will get a refund from the US Travel Group. They called me on Sat. Jan, 30 to congratulate me on winning a cruise. I was rushed into making a decision (a bad one) and thought they were a legitimate company until I found these websites with stories of other people getting ripped off. I filed a complaint with the BBB (better business bureau) and I suggest that everyone else does too. They claim to be based in Batavia, which is where I am from. I am considering going to the Kane County District Attorneys office to report them. They've changed their names from "Your Travel Headquarters" to "Brite Vacation Club" and now to "The US Travel Group". Anyone who is interested needs to file a complaint with the BBB and possibly even a Class Action Lawsuit.

That is crazy! I just received a phone call from them. Spoke to a Raymond Joseph. He tried so hard to get me to pay the "taxes" today-$93. Says it is a one day only offer. To my knowledge, when you win something legit-the company offering gives the person who won 14 days to get back with them. I told him flat out that I do not trust giving my info over the phone. His response was to go to the web site and check it out. He said that all the names on the site were company they do business with.. Me having been con'd before went right to the BBB site. Just like stated above they have an F and multiple complaints. My question is, why are they not registered with the BBB? I told the guy I will call him back, but I am not. He did however sound upset about it. Who ever is reading this, do not trust this company. The number/name that showed on my phone is Cruises INC [protected], but the web site is www.vacation.ustravelgroup.net. Do not fall for it please. Save your time and money. I came to this site through google and I am so glad I did.
Thanks to everyone!

one of the principals of harbor resort management that went by dk ( kangarani) might be in delaware operating with a company called serenity travel if anyone knows if it is the same one. I would love to figure out if they are linked.

ok so i already fell for the "scam" and paid my $93 per person on Feb 15...i was advised that that was for a 3-4 day cruise and if i wanted a 7 day cruise it would be an upgrade fee of $70. i asked for specific dates and he said that would be no problem but i still havent paid the fee and now i am second guessing myself because trusting this company with $186 of my money is tough enough so to book this for me my hubby and two kids would mean i still would have to pay $466 for the cruise i want, dont get me wrong thats way cheaper than paying the $3000 dollars it would origanally wold cost me if i was to go through carnival but is it worth going thru this company if i'm just gonna get scammed a total of $652. Does anyone have input on this? Did you already pay your money and book your cruise? Did you get a refund when u asked for it?
Everyone here says that this is a scam but did anyone really book this and the company didnt come through or is everone saying this is a scam because the next person said it was?

I am a telamarketer. I sell a great product, and work for a company with an outstanding ratting with all the magor sites (BBB, [redacted]s .com, Angies List Ect.) These jokers contacted me, accually I contacted them. I saw their addvertisement on TV for a free cruise. Now my moma didn't raise no dummie and I know that nothing is free, but I promiced my girlfriend a cruise for Valentines Day. With my background in sales / telamarketing I knew by the way he pitched it by telling me there where only three cabins left and I had to act now or it might be gone. I told him to call me back tomorrow because my check would be in the bank and would be able to afford it. What I really wanted to do was to see if there where any inconcistancies in his story (and there where) when he called back he told me that now they only had eight rooms avaliable so I had to act right away. You can also usually tell something is up when they are extra insistant and almost pusshy. It's called in the business a (hard sale). A (soft sale) is when the salesman or saleswomen on the other end of the line doesn't care if you buy tonight because he/she is going to have the same product again tomorrow. What these people are doing is a crime. It is fraud, plain and simple, and the way they get away with it is by calling there business something one day and a month or so latter they close the business and open it up in another name. Never buy anything on the first call. Get as much information from them as possiable (location, businesses name, how many years they have been in business and so on) and do some reserach on them. If you cant find anything wrong online contact the local chamber of commerce in their area and ask them. They almost always have the bcakground information on a company if they are uning the chang your companies name rutine. It is people like this that make my job incredable dificult and give the industrie as a whole a bad reputation. It looks like I'm gona have to buy the cruise for my girlfriend the old fasion way. Believe it or not the cruise industries are in a bad way right now and if you contact Carnival or any another cruise line and tell them to give you a call when they are offering any real good promotions they will be more than glad to do so and you can usually find a really good deal. I AM AN AWFUL SPELLER SO PLEASE EXCUSE THE TYPOS

Hello All,
Unfortunately, I believe I fell into this scam as well. I was approached by a friend who met this "Raymond" character who told her that if she knew anyone else who would be interested in this "special promotion." Please share the information. They shared the information with me in good faith and I purchased several of these cruises. Much like everyone else, I sent in my form and am still awaiting contact regarding my cruise dates. I am a little nervous about giving them more money when they find my dates with their BS. The question I have is has anyone received their money back? If so, how can we do it?

I too fell victim and paid the $186 for my husband and I and they indicated that there would be no other charges. Now I'm on here looking at what everyone is posting and of course I am a little skeptical about the whole situation. I just want my money back. I have called the numbers they gave me and there is no option to put in a extension it is just telling me to leave a message. I am going to continue to call them to see if I can get my money back. I would like to know has anyone ever made it on the cruise or know of anyone tht has, and didn' have to pay an extra $150+ per person.

I just wanted to say thanks everyone for your comments. Thanks for saving me $186 and a lot of embarrassment. There are probably a lot of other people who read these comments and don't leave one themselves, so I'm thanking you all on behalf of everyone you saved from this scam.

I got a call from Kristen at [protected] claiming to be from US Travel group. It sounded like there were a LOT of people in the background making calls. Below the dotted line are some notes I took during my call with "Kristen".

After the call I checked out the BBB in Illinois and there is no record of US Travel Group or of any phone number affiliated with this company.

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They claim to be the largest travel agency in US, called US travel group. They are based out of chicago and they work with all major cruise lines. Call US Travel group back at 1.877.842.0341 extension 4483, ask for Kristen. MUST CALL IN THE NEXT HALF HOUR (why?)

I have a choice of 3 cruise lines: norwegian, carnival, or royal carribean. I can go from any of the following 4 locations on a 4 day cruise: New Orleans, Los Angeles, Cape Canaveral, or Miami. I have to pay $93 for government tax and I can have as many as 15 other people come too. This would be only $186 for 2 people. After I make a payment I get a confirmation email, then I get a travel portfolio in 7 business days. I have 18 months to travel on the cruise. Travel coordinator? Who is my travel coordinator? It's assigned to me after i get the travel portfolio (?)

I feel sorry for the people who werent SMART enough not to provide his or her credit or debit card information to COMPLETE strangers over the phone especially after they havent seen any documentation for exactly what it is that they are paying for. You ought to be more cautious with your confidential information because things like this happen everyday. Why would you provide your card info over the phone anyways? You arent receiving any confirmation of payment and needless to say if you took the time out to do your research before you became so "happy go lucky" for a "free cruise" you'd still have your money in your pocket. DONT FEEL LIKE IM BASHING YOU OVER THE HEAD I JUS THINK PEOPLE SHOULD BE MORE CAUTIOUS...TO ALL EMPLOYEES: IF YOU ARE AWARE OF THE PRACTICES OF THIS COMPANY YOU ARE LOWER THAN THE ### OF THE EARTH. I BET HALF OF YOU ARE EX-CONS ANYWAYS, LOW-LIFE THUGS WITH NO MORALS!

I believe today i fell victim to this scam! What got me was the conflicting stories from the sale people. I just want my money back! I have left messages for Jovon Brown to call me back to reverse the charges on my credit card but he haven't called yet. I will continue to try to contact them everyday until someone follows up! I have contacted my bank to dispute theses charges.

They're still working under US Travel group new phone #[protected] the number that showed up on my phone when they called me the first time was [protected] Illnois.

No, one has said if they were able to get their money back?

I just got off the phone with a very rude so-called agent with us travel group, we spent over $400.00 on our "cruise" and when I ask for information, he directs me to a voice mail. I have been directed to the "voice mail" for the past 3 months!
well, what do we do about obtaining a lawyer, we can all pitch in and pay for one, let's not let this company take our hard earned money! anyone in, or knows how to go about this?

These people are scam artists. They don't return calls or call when they are leaving for the day. They need to be put out of business. This idiot who works for them thought the Bahamas was south of the equator. They suck.

A law firm in NY is investigating possible cruise line contest fraud. To find out more information about the investigation and/or participate in a potential class action lawsuit, contact Jerome Noll, Esq. at jnoll@mdpcelaw.com or at [protected].

Sorry you've all been scammed! The people behind all the dba's is Beth Valente and her daughter Madeline Allerton at Travel Service Network International, Batavia, IL. Been unbelievably burnt.

Unfortunately, the scam continues! A friend and I submitted our fees two years ago and keep getting put off (no dates available) sure...Now we're being told that a cruise can be booked on March of 2011...Three years to get a booking! What the heck is that all about. I've had enough. I called for a refund, which they refused to give me, and filed a complaint with the BBB. Don't book or reserve anything with these crooks...

I paid the taxes for a cruise through Incentive Marketing Group over a year ago. I keep getting pushed to a later date and I have heard more than one reason for the dates being changed. Now they want me to pay port charges and upgrade fees totaling $550.00 more! I keep calling and I am getting the run around as well. I will file a police report and a complaint with BBB.

Well, I agree with above...$88 quoted per person, with up to $20 per day per person for port charges to be charged later. Finally got a cruise booked and went on it, but we had to pay an additional $160 or so per person...total of about $250-260 per person for the cruise. Really not bad for all that you get on a cruise, but I would not recommend Your Travel Headquarters. Next time I will book directly through Carnival, I believe. By the way, it is possible to nail them down on a date for the cruise if you are willing to consider dates over the phone and pay the additional $ as I mentioned above. Try calling them at [protected]. I spoke with Christine at extension 283.
Another phone # I have for them are [protected] - be ready with your membership # and good luck. (Every time I called it seemed like I got a different person and different answers about getting a cruise date/price...so I recommend calling the first # and asking for Christine. Good luck!) Best to stay away from this mess, but if you get into it, you can at least get out of it with a cruise if you're willing to pay a little more. We just got back from our cruise and it was great!