Ramada Plaza Resorts ripoff Vacations Refuse to cancel trip and refund money Orlando Ft. Lauderdale Florida

If you feel you have been scammed or misled by Ramada Plaza Resort/ Imperial majesty cruise line...YOU CAN GET YOUR MONEY BACK!!!!.  Today my account was credited for a fee from over a year ago!!!

Just go to this website and file a complaint!!! I was surprised that the process took two weeks.

(((ROR redacted)))




I thought I would never see that money again!!!

I went on one of these type 'vacations' in 1986. I don't remember the company, but it was named after a hotel, too. Anyway, It was for 10 days, split between Orlando and New Smerna (sp) Beach, plus tickets to Disney World and Universal Studio. I think I paid about $500 for three people. The first place we stayed at was in Orlando and I was very pleasantly surprised. This place was like a condo. It had a big living room, a kitchen two bedrooms, and two baths. The master bedroom and a large whirlpool bath and large walk-in shower. It was about 10 minutes from Disney World. We stayed there a few days, then went to New Smerna Beach and we were right by the beach. The hotel they had us in was very nice and Jimmy Buffet was staying there at the time, as well. I ran into him in the elevator, very nice guy. He introduced himself and chatted for awhile (holding the elevator). I knew his music but really didn't know what he looked like at that time. When he introduced himself, he said 'Don't you know me, I'm Jimmy Buffet and told about the songs he had written i.e. Wasted Away in Margarettaville, etc. I really didn't know if that was him, so when he finally let me leave, I asked the elevator man, who he was and he said, Jimmy Buffet, that is his white limo out front. Needless to say, nice hotel. We had a great time on our vacation. We were suppose to have to go to one of those timeshare meetings, but never actually had to. Guess things were a lot different when we signed up.

Ex employee......shame on you. You knew what they were doing and I think it was probably a poor paycheck that made you quit. When its wrong its wrong and you must have known that! I have appealed to people at Ramada Plaza in trying to get my refund...which I got!! I would ask the people on the phone how they could sleep at night? I told them about the 17 states pending litigation but they had no response

To anyone seeking a refund your best bet is to file a complaint with the Florida dept of Agriculture and consumer services. Dealing with Ramada Plaza is a waste of time. YOu will be directed to a phantom compliance dept that has no phone number only a fax. Good luck with that. Tried for 2 weeks to send it but it would never go through and when I called back I got 3 different fax numbers which made no difference.

Finally I filed a complaint with the Dept and within 2 weeks got a response that a file had been opened. Less than a week later, another letter came to say the file was being closed as a response had come from RPR. They refunded us $898, the original price we paid for this package. It is only with their intervention I believe that we successfully got a refund.

I encourage anyone else who's been conned to do the same. it works!!

I am a former employee with Ramada Plaza Resorts/Imperial Majesty/Caribbean Cruiseline customer service & verification center in Ft. Lauderdale FL. My job was to answer the phone calls and try to assist customers in keeping and booking their packages. I was told to do everything by their rules because there is plenty of legal crap in there that covers Ramada's rear end. The vacation package is actually legal, but the way the script is written makes it very difficult for your average consumer to understand. It's filled with hidden disclaimers, plenty of sur-charges, and just alot of untold money involved.

At first I was never told that customers could not get a refund, we were instructed to say that the vacation could be extended, for a huge and usually made up fee or transferred to another person, but the customer had to buy it first. The sales script talks about the Ramada Plaza resort in Ft. Lauderdale but neglects to mention that it is in a terrible neighborhood surrounded by heavy traffic. All they say is that it's about 15 minutes from the beach. Not with the traffic in that area! When a customer would get upset at buying the vacation, the managers would take over (T.O.)the call and sweet talk the customer into buying it or if you already have a package into keeping it, offering food included, $50 in gambling tokens (once you put $50 up first) and the option of extending the time limit to 2 years (which most the time is a lie and your stuck with 18 months). Some people fell for it and bought the package.

I cannot say what the cruise is like because they just got a so called new ship named the Bahamas Celebration which is just a ship thats old but has been 'renovated'. I also can't say what the resort in Orlando is like due to it being shut down (I'll let you figure out why). What I can say is that while the package is not a scam, in reality it's not as great as the script describes. I no longer work for the company because they are running out of ammo and people aren't biting the bait hardly anymore due to the bad publicity as well as the economy. The sales reps get paid on commission, the more money the customer puts down on the deposit, the higher the cut for the sales rep. You can imagine that the reps including customer service and reservations will say just about anything they are legally allowed to say because they all want a bigger paycheck! If you receive one of these vouchers package deals, don't bother. You'll probably be disappointed because the description sounds amazing and the trip really isn't. Good luck on trying to cancel, you will be directed to a 'customer care specialist' (ext. 5354) who is nothing more then someone who is better trained to tell you no. All I can say is try mentioning the BBB and that you will dispute with your credit card company (they really hate that). And please don't ask for Dan Lambert (the so called president), I worked there pretty long and still never met him.

Florida is really a great place to travel, but don't do it on a vacation package might just come out cheaper if you do it on your own. No such thing as free...this is your warning....hope this help someone out :)

P.S. I am trully upset with myself for working there for as long as I did, just hope they go out of business soon because that company is doing nothing but sinking on their own ship...And what goes around always comes around. :)

Maybe the cost has gone up, but after reading the comments regarding the Ramada resorts, the costs have changed. I guess my real concern is, why is the money non-refundable. If I pay you $698 for part of a cruise/hotel accomodation (which is supposed to be beneficial to the Ramada because they want us to see their resorts, tell a friend about how nice it was etc...) yet don't pay for the other half because of circumstances of life prevents us from being able to pay for the other half, you are ineligible for a refund???? Why does that make sense? How does that make sense? I am not saying the package is a bad one, but the business aspect of it bites severely. You (The Ramada Resorts/company that is supporting the promotion of this resort) are in turn giving it a really bad name. It is theft no matter what you say. I pay $698 for a thought, never receive part of a trip, or cruise, car rental or anything pertaining to this trip. But YOU keep that money because I couldn't go. HOW PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW that sounds fair. Like I said before, I am sure the trip is a good one for a good price no matter how you put it, but taking peoples money w/o offering services (and the customer service is not very nice) that is theft. SO PLEASE make me understand how it is not. I don't care about contracts...etc. I want someone...employee from THIS company to explain how if I want services, but can't pay the total amount, that you are entitled to retain my money. IF you want your roof built and I tell you that you are required to pay part of the money but if you don't use my services or find out that your budget won't allow you to have your roof built, that I am allowed to keep your money that you paid. IF that were to happen I would be in court getting my a*s sued. Just a thought.

I dont understand how you can do what you do for a living? i feel so taken advantage, hoping to get my money back as I almost got scammed today........ your employees were so short and pressuring, and belittled me over and over again. i wont drop any names as they are fake names anyways... FRANK. i already filed a report but am still bothered by this, do you realize there are many people out there who are going out on a limb to even pay to get out to fort lauderdale from all over.... that really want to surprise their kids, parents, and loved ones and are tricked into buying something not remotely close to what they had in mind or paying hundreds more than what was instilled in their minds...... it is extremely heartless
and when these people try to nicely say they would like to back out, your employees hurrass and pressure them and make them feel guilty and get angry at them......

witht the economy the way it is, we have it hard enough....
we dont need to waste cell phone minutes on the phone with a sketchy salesperson meanly pressuring us to do something that was completely falsely advertised

hope you find a new job, that brings you much more joy than the ramada plaza deal, one where you help people and not hurt them.
brian

It's not a scam there's only 1 vacation packages that is 8 days 7 nights and has 3 types of upgrades ($698, $798 includes 3 meals a day and an outside room on the cruise with a window, and $898 for upgraded hotel on the beach in ft. lauderdale) for dual occupancy and the 3rd and 4th passangers are $129 each if 13 or older and $99 if their 12 or under and thats just for the cruise they can go to all florida destinations for free. Its says on the vouchers we mail that you're responsible for taxes and the port charges for the cruise. I have to tell everyone who calls in that their port charges are $99 a person at the time of travel. Its not the most luxurious accomodations but its still a decent package at a great sale price and targets the middle class who can't afford an extended stay vacation for thousands of dollars.
They don't record the call until the customer provides a valid credit card then we transfer them to our verification department and the recording starts and a verification representative comes on the phone and repeats everything thats included in the package to make sure I covered everything. I know employees
You can even sell any part of the package, I've heard of people who sold on ebay the two bonus hotel accomodations the ones in Vegas and Puerto Vallarta for $200 each thats about half your money back. How can this be a scam if the vacation is real?

William. You have got to be KIDDING?????. I think the facts speak for themselves. Please, Please, read read read. You, William of Carlisle, Pa, either can't read or have selective reading. Look at what you posted on this web site your name, city, and state, OPPS or is it ???????? when it came to blocking out your name in all places, Ha Ha, this proves the point again and again.. They just don't listen and just can't read.
William of Carlisle, Pa. how can you possibly ask for a fund as stated NON-REFUNDABLE, Transferable, Extendable, NOT REFUNDABLE. What does a hotel or airline tell you about super saver tickets, NON REFUNDABLE.
Many Many of our customers are extemely happy. Is just a sham, you can't please everyone. But we wish we could.

This company is a scam! I purchased and booked the vacation. We just returned from this trip and it is a complete ripoff!

I should have known there would have been a problem because immediately after I paid for the package, there was fraudulous activity on my credit card at 2 wireless phone stores in the Fort Lauderdale area. I had only used the card to pay for this vacation as I didn't even have the card 1 month! My credit card company caught it immediately and changed my account number.

Nonetheless, I kept the package and looked forward to our vacation.....

First, they try to sell you upgrades when you book the vacation. This is after paying them the first $898 for your package! I figured, it should be a nice vacation, why don't I upgrade it! So I paid the additional $344 to upgrade which included:
-Upgrade to ocean front resort in Fort Lauderdale
-Upgrade to Main Gate West Resort in Orlando
-Ocean View State Room on Cruise
-Upgrade from Compact car to Midsize car

You also have to pay $99 per person for the port charges & taxes etc. for the cruise at this time. So far, out of pocket $1,440.

On to the vacation......

Well, the first problem was at the airport car rental check in. The upgrade I purchased was not to a midsize car. The agent @ Budget Car Rental informed me that my upgrade was actually from Sub-Compact to Compact! First Rip Off right there! The agent at the car rental counter told me this happens all the time with Ramada and that the customers don't get what they're told they're getting. So in order to get a midsize car to fit all our luggage, I had to pay an additional $10 a day for the midsize car. On to the Welcome Center in Fort Lauderdale for check in......

Upon arriving at the Welcome Center, you think you are checking in to a hotel or "Picking up your vouchers for hotel, cruise & meals." But what you're actually doing is making a reservation to go to a time share presentation! And you have to give them a $40 in cash as a deposit to ensure you go to the presentation. They also try to entice you by giving you 2 additional free vacation vouchers which go in the envelope with your $40 and that envelope is sent over to the timeshare center where you have to go to the presentation. I was never told of having to attend these presentations when buying the package or reserving the vacation. Their literature does not mention anything about presentations either. After leaving the Welcome Center.....we went to check in to our ocean front resort which is not in Fort Lauderdale. It is in Pompano Beach......

WHAT A DUMP! The Ocean Pointe Resort is a dumpy old hotel. The rooms are disgusting and in need of tons of repair. Mold everywhere. We were afraid to touch anything and the carpet was disgusting! Here is a site with more terrible reviews that I found after visiting this dump.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g34571-d217353-Reviews-Ocean_Point_Resort-Pompano_Beach_Florida.html

You are also told that your meals are included with this package. You have the option of going to the buffet at the Ft. Lauderdale Welcome Center or using them at the restaurant in the Ocean Point Resort if you upgraded to that hotel. The restaurant at the Ocean Pointe is U.S. Steak House. The food was the worst I have ever had. My wife and I NEVER send food back or request credits at restaurants out of embarrassment and because we don't like to make a scene or make anyone feel bad. But this restaurant was completely unacceptable. My wife got sick from the veggie burger and the chicken fingers were completely burnt! We gave U.S. Steak House a second shot for breakfast the next morning and it was terrible at best!

We spent one night in the hotel and the next day we had to go to the timeshare presentation. We met a very nice young lady sales rep who was completely honest with us at the presentation since we were honest with her. The timeshare company is Vacation Village. She told us that Vacation Village pays Ramada 1/2 the cost of the vacation package and then makes
the customers go to the presentation. We toured the timeshare properties and they were very nice. When we asked why aren't guests accomdated in the Vacation Village resort instead of the Ramada dumps, we were told that Vacation Village can not fill all of the rooms with Ramada guests. There were 200+ people at this presentation and they are done several times throughout the day. Needless to say, after 4 hours of the presentation, we did not purchase a timeshare package at 18.9% interest as we are already happy timeshare owners with Hilton. The sales rep informed us that since we didn't purchase in Fort Lauderdale that we would have to go another presentation after the cruise in Orlando. That's when my wife and I blew our gaskets! We had already lost half a Saturday at this presentation and we would have to go to another one?!?!?!?

We went back to the Ocean Pointe Dump and immedately checked out! I paid the $20 tax and the receptionist knew I was upset. We ended up at a Hilton hotel and resort for the rest of our trip and out of pocket an additional $700!
We decided we were not going on the cruise or to the resort in Orlando. We had had enough of the nickel and diming and the initial experience and impression we got was that this was going to be a terrible vacation!

Since it was a Saturday, I figured I would call the reservation number on Monday to cancel the rest of the trip and request a refund. As I expected, I was transferred around atleast 5 times and everyone refused to give me a refund. They kept telling me to write a letter and fax it to them after the vacation was done. I told them I was not using their vacation and was not going to wait until it was done, I was at a completely different hotel and wanted my money back. After being transferred again, I was hung up on. I suspect they want you to write to them after the vacation is done because then they can argue that you used the package already and now you can't get a refund!

I called my credit card company right after speaking to Ramada and explained to them that the package was not at all what we were told and we were never told of the 2 timeshare presentations to attend. I had checked out of their hotel and was not using the rest of the package. The credit card company immediately reversed the charges and credited my account. For those who have been scammed, call your credit card immediately and request the charges be reversed. I received the dispute letters in the mail and filled them out.

I wrote all of this here so that hopefully anyone who receives their calls or letter in the mail will read this and be spared the nightmare of dealing with this company. One would think that a company such as Ramada would have a little more pride in their business dealings and that their reputation is a lot to lose. Apparently not! Ramada is just feeding their customers to these timeshare companies and reaping the rewards while your vacation is ruined! I read mixed reviews prior to taking this vacation package and gave them the benefit of the doubt. Boy was that a mistake!


*******DO NOT BUY THIS PACKAGE AND IF YOU ALREADY DID, CALL THEM AND CANCEL IT.***********
You will not receive a refund from Ramada so call your credit card company right away!
There are cheap vacation packages available online with reputable companies where you will stay at reputable places.

Ronnie Schlom is the owners name. He has an extensive criminal record including prison time.

They do business as "Three Amigos Travel" in Largo FL. They hire most of their workforce through half way houses praying on recovering alcoholics and addicts. You get no base moneys just 100.00 oer deal you get. Get less than five per week and you are shown the door. Loud music is pumping all around and tons of coffee and candy to crank the adrenaline. Although the music prevents chatting between sales reps in the boiler room. Employees are trained in less than two hours by a manager that says the "F" word like he owns the rights to it.

Ronnie's tactics are brutal and sometimes cruel. I have been in touch with a neiboor who works for Dateline NBC that is currently looking into this and several other local south florida scams for upcomming exposes.

Ronnie they are ironing your prison togs for you pal!

This is a real report of an active investigation on this company, they use Ramada Plaza in thier pitch and they were busted for lieing on thier travel agency application...

Department Press Release


08-31-2007
Major Bob Johnson,
(850) 245-1300
johnsoar@doacs.state.fl.usTerence McElroy
(850) 488-3022
mcelrot@doacs.state.fl.usBronson Announces Filing Of Charges Against Travel Agent
TALLAHASSEE Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson announced today that a criminal charge has been lodged against a Tampa woman for falsifying her application to sell travel in Florida.Charged with making a false statement on a state application - a first-degree misdemeanor - was Patricia Holguin, 44, the owner of Universal Action Travel, 7211 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa. She was issued a notice to appear in court by Bronson's Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement following an investigation by the department's Consumer Services Division.According to authorities, the suspect falsified the kind of travel packages she was selling to reduce the amount of bond that she had to pay. To protect consumers in the event a travel agency goes out of business or defaults on its commitments, a bond is generally required so that consumers can get their money back.Holguin is accused of denying that she sells travel certificates - generally open-ended travel packages where travelers can decide when they want to take their trip. By doing so, she was able to evade having to post a $50,000 bond, and instead posted a bond in the amount of only $10,000.In addition to issuing the suspect a notice to appear in court, Bronson's department also filed an emergency suspension order, prohibiting her from selling any travel certificates until she increases the amount
Great Vacation Destinations, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bluegreen Corporation of Boca Raton, Florida, agreed to comply with North Dakota law, paid $2,500 in lieu of civil penalties and provided refunds to all North Dakota customers. Plaza Resorts, Inc. which does business under various trade names including Ramada Plaza Resorts, Imperial Majesty Cruise Vacations, Imperial Majesty Cruise Line and Regal Empress Cruise Vacations, and a related corporation, VL Orlando Building Corp., agreed to comply with North Dakota law, paid $5,000 in lieu of civil penalties and agreed to provide refunds to all North Dakota customers upon request. Some RibFest leads were sold to directly to Resort Tours & Accommodations, Inc. of Winter Garden, Florida, which agreed to comply with North Dakota law and to provide refunds to all North Dakota customers upon request. Additional leads were sold to Universal Action Travel, Inc. of Tampa, Florida. Owner Patricia Holguin did not provide requested information and failed to adequately respond to a Civil Investigative Demand issued by the Attorney General. The Attorney General obtained a court order requiring a response to the Civil Investigative Demand and prohibiting Universal Action Travel, Inc. from doing business in North Dakota. After providing responses, the company settled the case by agreeing to comply with North Dakota law, paying $1,000 in lieu of civil penalties and providing refunds to all North Dakota customers. Additional Time Share Marketing Investigations In addition to the actions directly related to the RibFest event, three other time- share-related investigations and actions were also completed.

My husband and I attended an Irish Festival in upstate NY last weekend and he filled out the "free vacation" form. Well - apparently he "won" and we got the call yesterday. After a lot of talk, we were gullible and bought in for 1 person $298 - being told we could pay the rest later.

Well, I started reading online about it and low and behold there are a TON of negative comments about this "vacation package" - I learned of shoddy hotel rooms, an old crappy cruise boat, taxes and gratutity up the wazoo - and of course the timeshare thing.

Due to this website - I was able to get advice from a poster that I had THREE days to cancel.

I called up today - appx. 24 hours later and asked to cancel. I was transferred to a "Specialist" who tried everything in her power to convince me to keep it. I kept saying, no thanks, please cancel.

Finally she relented, I waited on hold for almost 10 minutes. She came back and gave me a confirmation Refund # and said it will take 7-10 days to go through on my ccard.

We shall see. I am worried they have all of my personal info. however. But - they did agree to a refund!

My husband and I attended an Irish Festival in upstate NY last weekend and he filled out the "free vacation" form. Well - apparently he "won" and we got the call yesterday. After a lot of talk, we were gullible and bought in for 1 person $298 - being told we could pay the rest later.

Well, I started reading online about it and low and behold there are a TON of negative comments about this "vacation package" - I learned of shoddy hotel rooms, an old crappy cruise boat, taxes and gratutity up the wazoo - and of course the timeshare thing.

Due to this website - I was able to get advice from a poster that I had THREE days to cancel.

I called up today - appx. 24 hours later and asked to cancel. I was transferred to a "Specialist" who tried everything in her power to convince me to keep it. I kept saying, no thanks, please cancel.

Finally she relented, I waited on hold for almost 10 minutes. She came back and gave me a confirmation Refund # and said it will take 7-10 days to go through on my ccard.

We shall see. I am worried they have all of my personal info. however. But - they did agree to a refund!

My husband and I attended an Irish Festival in upstate NY last weekend and he filled out the "free vacation" form. Well - apparently he "won" and we got the call yesterday. After a lot of talk, we were gullible and bought in for 1 person $298 - being told we could pay the rest later.

Well, I started reading online about it and low and behold there are a TON of negative comments about this "vacation package" - I learned of shoddy hotel rooms, an old crappy cruise boat, taxes and gratutity up the wazoo - and of course the timeshare thing.

Due to this website - I was able to get advice from a poster that I had THREE days to cancel.

I called up today - appx. 24 hours later and asked to cancel. I was transferred to a "Specialist" who tried everything in her power to convince me to keep it. I kept saying, no thanks, please cancel.

Finally she relented, I waited on hold for almost 10 minutes. She came back and gave me a confirmation Refund # and said it will take 7-10 days to go through on my ccard.

We shall see. I am worried they have all of my personal info. however. But - they did agree to a refund!

My husband and I attended an Irish Festival in upstate NY last weekend and he filled out the "free vacation" form. Well - apparently he "won" and we got the call yesterday. After a lot of talk, we were gullible and bought in for 1 person $298 - being told we could pay the rest later.

Well, I started reading online about it and low and behold there are a TON of negative comments about this "vacation package" - I learned of shoddy hotel rooms, an old crappy cruise boat, taxes and gratutity up the wazoo - and of course the timeshare thing.

Due to this website - I was able to get advice from a poster that I had THREE days to cancel.

I called up today - appx. 24 hours later and asked to cancel. I was transferred to a "Specialist" who tried everything in her power to convince me to keep it. I kept saying, no thanks, please cancel.

Finally she relented, I waited on hold for almost 10 minutes. She came back and gave me a confirmation Refund # and said it will take 7-10 days to go through on my ccard.

We shall see. I am worried they have all of my personal info. however. But - they did agree to a refund!

Thanks to this GREAT site was NOT ripped off because I was tipped off!!! Thank you ALL for your posts you have helped someone*****ME!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!! Hope this saves someone else! This is such a SCAM sounds too good to be true**** IT IS!! The man who called was speechless!! LOL! Meg

I want to address a few issues in the rebettual...


1. RPR mails out tens of thousands of these certificates through the U.S. Postal Service every day. We are not about to commit a felony, by perpetuating a fraudulent package through the mail.

2. Only 2-3 % of the recipients of these vacation vouchers actually respond. So the people that buy these vacations are really not the most savvy consumers out there.

3. Most people that come on this website and complain, are only here to get a refund. Just because, we want to keep our hard earned money does not make us crooks. Like Johnny said, try getting your money back from Delta. Or, better yet try returning a car to a dealership...it ain't gonna happen.


4. You people are given a full disclosure of the terms and conditions on the back of the credit voucher. 9/10 of the people I talk to do not read the materials we mail out prior to calling us about the package. Blame yourselves ...not us. If we were selling cars here, and you did not read your contract...can you blame me? No!...Take responsibility for your own decisions. If you did not want the vacation in the first place, we couldn't convince you to take action.


5. Like Obi-Wan said...the Truth is largely dependent on your point of view. This package is not for the person who has been on 10 cruises and owns timeshares throughout Florida. This vacation is for the Average Joe. Most people would not have the time or money or know how to put this package together themselves.


The MSRP on the is package is $2996
Most of you get a discount voucher for $1600
This brings it down to $1396 or $698 per person.
And we also now have a special sale going on where consumers get the cruise for free. That bring the price down to $996.

You guys get a 7 day economy rental car worth at least $300.00

You get 2 nights in Orlando plus 3 nights in Fort Lauderdale . A total of 5 nights of hotel accommodation's that cover up to 5 people. Even if you were staying at a Days Inn in the Ghetto, you would pay $70 or more a night. So the Hotel stay is worth at least $350.

Not to mention we include Breakfast lunch and dinner buffets for 2 , throughout the Florida vacation. Even if you ate at McDonalds the entire week in Florida, you would be spending at least $5 a meal x 3 meals a day per person = $210 in food, at the low end.

Not to mention the cruise which is worth on average $250 pp, including all the port taxes.

Don't forget the theme park passes that are free for a taking a second tour in Orlando, another $250 value.

So even if a consumer wanted to put this same package together themselves they would pay at least..... $1600


Not the mention they get 2 nights in Vegas and 3 nights in Mexico FOR FREE! Another $500 value.


Plus we can give you guys an 18 month extension on the package for free. Which if you got through customer service, would pay $90

We can also include 10 extra 2 night bonuses for free to sweeten the deal.

So, as you can see....this is an incredible deal.

Yes, the company wants to sell a timeshare. All companies that sell discount packages are selling timeshares.


The most important thing about this package is the fact it is " Open Dated".

You can travel whenever you feel like over a 18 month to 36 month period, with only a 2 month advance notice. The only time you cant go is a 3 week period during the year when the cruise is in dry dock. Oh, by the way you can reschedule for just $10.00

Trying booking a cruise thru a travel agent, then trying to change your date!

Add, the fact that this package is transferable as a gift to anyone you like. How can you go wrong?

6. If you don't want your CC/Debit Card charged then do not give us the numbers.


7. People will claim that us salespeople are notorious for lying. But, that sin is equal among the buyers as well as the sellers.


Just yesterday, I had a prospect call in and say she was never pitched a price. Even though we knew who she talked to and when. And we had her on tape recording, trying to low ball us. She lied about never being told the vacation was 798 down, and then trying to get us to lower the price. If you guys want fair treatment, quit playing your stupid little games.

"I am sick and tired of my company being called a SCAM."

If you're tired of your company being labeled a scam, perhaps it should not engage in such questionable business practices.

For example, I received one of these coupons from Ramada Plaza Resorts and when I inquired about the opportunities for refund if I changed my mind and was not satisified, as provided by Florida law, I was told that since I'm calling from Virginia, the company doesn't have to abide by Florida law; they said Virginia law applies.

Now I've been a licensed attorney for over 15 years and I have to say that is the most "creative" (and I use that word sarcastically) bit of legal nonsense I've ever heard. If the salesman is sitting in Florida, then he/she is subject to Florida law, no matter where the customer is calling from. Besides, Virginia's law is almost identical to Florida in terms of refunds for travel sales so it doesn't really matter which law is used, the consumer is entitled to a refund NO MATTER WHAT THE PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS SAY OR THE SALESPEOPLE CLAIM.

When I mentioned that I was an attorney and I knew darned well that their claim of not being subject to Florida law was nonsense, the operator become somewhat hostile and told me that I didn't know what I was talking about. Sure, lady, I'm a licensed and practicing attorney and you're a minimum-wage telemarketer hawking cut-rate vacations. I'm sure your knowledge of conflict-of-laws issues is superior to mine.

Next she told me that the phone call was being recorded for training and quality control purposes and to avoid any confusion as to what terms and conditions were actually being offered and agreed to. I said that was fine and that I was glad that we were all on board with having our conversation recorded. She paused and then asked, what exactly does that mean? I informed her that while she was making a recording of the call on her end, I was doing the same on mine. She immediately became quite angry and demanded that I not record her. Now I have to ask, sir, if your company is not in the business of scamming people, why on earth would your employees be so overtly hostile to having the conversation recorded, especially if, as you claim, your recording is to alleviate any confusion between the parties. Surely two recordings are better than one?

No, the only reason you don't want to be recorded is that there isn't really a recording on your end and you don't want there to be one on mine, either, so when you try your bait and switch, there's no hard evidence of what was previously said.

After having caught your employee in two outright lies in less than 10 minutes, I decided there was no way under the sun I was going to buy anything from Ramada Plaza Resorts and I terminated the call.

I am sick and tired of my company being called a SCAM. I am NOT ashamed because all the complaints are fruitless. This vacation is sold on a non-refundable basis. Why don't people understand this, go to any airline and by a NON-REFUNDABLE ticket. Gee, what does that mean??? We follow all the guide lines, ALL our customers must go through the shipping and verification department BEFORE any charges are applied to there credit card. They must have selective memory when it comes time to use there vacation. I get phone calls all day long "I want my money back" 18, 24, 36 months later are you kidding me. All the charges are explained over and over then audio taped. There balance if any, the taxes and surcharges are repeated again and again. The term Scam is used so freely. It means paying for something and receiving nothing in return. If I had a dollar for every customer that does not bother to read there paperwork when they receive it I could retire now. Oh by the way every state has a statutory period to cancel this type of a sale, it varies from state to state and it is from the time you receive the information. Maybe they can't read?????? There is nothing free in ths world.

I am sick and tired of my company being called a SCAM. I am NOT ashamed because all the complaints are fruitless. This vacation is sold on a non-refundable basis. Why don't people understand this, go to any airline and by a NON-REFUNDABLE ticket. Gee, what does that mean??? We follow all the guide lines, ALL our customers must go through the shipping and verification department BEFORE any charges are applied to there credit card. They must have selective memory when it comes time to use there vacation. I get phone calls all day long "I want my money back" 18, 24, 36 months later are you kidding me. All the charges are explained over and over then audio taped. There balance if any, the taxes and surcharges are repeated again and again. The term Scam is used so freely. It means paying for something and receiving nothing in return. If I had a dollar for every customer that does not bother to read there paperwork when they receive it I could retire now. Oh by the way every state has a statutory period to cancel this type of a sale, it varies from state to state and it is from the time you receive the information. Maybe they can't read?????? There is nothing free in ths world.

I am sick and tired of my company being called a SCAM. I am NOT ashamed because all the complaints are fruitless. This vacation is sold on a non-refundable basis. Why don't people understand this, go to any airline and by a NON-REFUNDABLE ticket. Gee, what does that mean??? We follow all the guide lines, ALL our customers must go through the shipping and verification department BEFORE any charges are applied to there credit card. They must have selective memory when it comes time to use there vacation. I get phone calls all day long "I want my money back" 18, 24, 36 months later are you kidding me. All the charges are explained over and over then audio taped. There balance if any, the taxes and surcharges are repeated again and again. The term Scam is used so freely. It means paying for something and receiving nothing in return. If I had a dollar for every customer that does not bother to read there paperwork when they receive it I could retire now. Oh by the way every state has a statutory period to cancel this type of a sale, it varies from state to state and it is from the time you receive the information. Maybe they can't read?????? There is nothing free in ths world.

This is mainly directed at previous poster SHIVA...current employee. First of all when someone receives information that they have WON a free trip can you blame them for thinking so? This is the first lie your company tells. Why not just offer a discounted vacation? Doesnt that seem shady and deceitful to you? You cant argue that.

How dare Ramada offer these vacations and make people go to timeshare tours for hours on end? Does that seem like a dream vacation to you Shiva? Would you sign your family up for that? No you wouldnt. If ramada told people UPFRONT that they would be spending hours of their day being harrassed by sales people then they would NEVER agree to the trip. Sure they mention it as a "tour" but they downplay it so much that the consumer doesnt see it coming. THAT IS DECEITFUL! You cannot dispute that. I wouldnt have a problem if they advertised it for what it was: A bargain, bottom of the barrel vacation in crappy smelly hotel rooms and ancient ships that should have sunk with the titanic.

Its the fact that they are offering something luxurious which it would never be. Now Shiva please dont fool yourself. You are working for a company that scams people. You book them and send them on their way. You know in your heart that these people dont know what they are in for. You are just trying to rationalize so you can sleep at night.

This is my favorite:
"Go on a vacation and enjoy yourself. stop complaining about the world around you. You know, you create your own world. the world is as you see it. so try looking at it in different perspective. try something new and amaze yourself."

WHAT A JOKE! LOL I am seriously laughing. Everyone in this room is laughing at you. People GO on vacations to enjoy the world around them! when you are faced with accomodations that smell like urine and are forced to sleep on the floor of boats its pretty hard. You tell me how to look at that in a different perspective. Im sure if you went through it you wouldnt be saying the world is how you see it. LOL. If thats your idea of "trying something new and amaze yourself" then there is seriously something wrong with you. You should get a promotion. Top scammer. Dont worry Shiva youve almost sold the whole deal to yourself.

Thank you so much Ripoff Report. I got the goods on the real deal here.


Sincerely
Terra

This is mainly directed at previous poster SHIVA...current employee. First of all when someone receives information that they have WON a free trip can you blame them for thinking so? This is the first lie your company tells. Why not just offer a discounted vacation? Doesnt that seem shady and deceitful to you? You cant argue that.

How dare Ramada offer these vacations and make people go to timeshare tours for hours on end? Does that seem like a dream vacation to you Shiva? Would you sign your family up for that? No you wouldnt. If ramada told people UPFRONT that they would be spending hours of their day being harrassed by sales people then they would NEVER agree to the trip. Sure they mention it as a "tour" but they downplay it so much that the consumer doesnt see it coming. THAT IS DECEITFUL! You cannot dispute that. I wouldnt have a problem if they advertised it for what it was: A bargain, bottom of the barrel vacation in crappy smelly hotel rooms and ancient ships that should have sunk with the titanic.

Its the fact that they are offering something luxurious which it would never be. Now Shiva please dont fool yourself. You are working for a company that scams people. You book them and send them on their way. You know in your heart that these people dont know what they are in for. You are just trying to rationalize so you can sleep at night.

This is my favorite:
"Go on a vacation and enjoy yourself. stop complaining about the world around you. You know, you create your own world. the world is as you see it. so try looking at it in different perspective. try something new and amaze yourself."

WHAT A JOKE! LOL I am seriously laughing. Everyone in this room is laughing at you. People GO on vacations to enjoy the world around them! when you are faced with accomodations that smell like urine and are forced to sleep on the floor of boats its pretty hard. You tell me how to look at that in a different perspective. Im sure if you went through it you wouldnt be saying the world is how you see it. LOL. If thats your idea of "trying something new and amaze yourself" then there is seriously something wrong with you. You should get a promotion. Top scammer. Dont worry Shiva youve almost sold the whole deal to yourself.

Thank you so much Ripoff Report. I got the goods on the real deal here.


Sincerely
Terra

This is mainly directed at previous poster SHIVA...current employee. First of all when someone receives information that they have WON a free trip can you blame them for thinking so? This is the first lie your company tells. Why not just offer a discounted vacation? Doesnt that seem shady and deceitful to you? You cant argue that.

How dare Ramada offer these vacations and make people go to timeshare tours for hours on end? Does that seem like a dream vacation to you Shiva? Would you sign your family up for that? No you wouldnt. If ramada told people UPFRONT that they would be spending hours of their day being harrassed by sales people then they would NEVER agree to the trip. Sure they mention it as a "tour" but they downplay it so much that the consumer doesnt see it coming. THAT IS DECEITFUL! You cannot dispute that. I wouldnt have a problem if they advertised it for what it was: A bargain, bottom of the barrel vacation in crappy smelly hotel rooms and ancient ships that should have sunk with the titanic.

Its the fact that they are offering something luxurious which it would never be. Now Shiva please dont fool yourself. You are working for a company that scams people. You book them and send them on their way. You know in your heart that these people dont know what they are in for. You are just trying to rationalize so you can sleep at night.

This is my favorite:
"Go on a vacation and enjoy yourself. stop complaining about the world around you. You know, you create your own world. the world is as you see it. so try looking at it in different perspective. try something new and amaze yourself."

WHAT A JOKE! LOL I am seriously laughing. Everyone in this room is laughing at you. People GO on vacations to enjoy the world around them! when you are faced with accomodations that smell like urine and are forced to sleep on the floor of boats its pretty hard. You tell me how to look at that in a different perspective. Im sure if you went through it you wouldnt be saying the world is how you see it. LOL. If thats your idea of "trying something new and amaze yourself" then there is seriously something wrong with you. You should get a promotion. Top scammer. Dont worry Shiva youve almost sold the whole deal to yourself.

Thank you so much Ripoff Report. I got the goods on the real deal here.


Sincerely
Terra

This is mainly directed at previous poster SHIVA...current employee. First of all when someone receives information that they have WON a free trip can you blame them for thinking so? This is the first lie your company tells. Why not just offer a discounted vacation? Doesnt that seem shady and deceitful to you? You cant argue that.

How dare Ramada offer these vacations and make people go to timeshare tours for hours on end? Does that seem like a dream vacation to you Shiva? Would you sign your family up for that? No you wouldnt. If ramada told people UPFRONT that they would be spending hours of their day being harrassed by sales people then they would NEVER agree to the trip. Sure they mention it as a "tour" but they downplay it so much that the consumer doesnt see it coming. THAT IS DECEITFUL! You cannot dispute that. I wouldnt have a problem if they advertised it for what it was: A bargain, bottom of the barrel vacation in crappy smelly hotel rooms and ancient ships that should have sunk with the titanic.

Its the fact that they are offering something luxurious which it would never be. Now Shiva please dont fool yourself. You are working for a company that scams people. You book them and send them on their way. You know in your heart that these people dont know what they are in for. You are just trying to rationalize so you can sleep at night.

This is my favorite:
"Go on a vacation and enjoy yourself. stop complaining about the world around you. You know, you create your own world. the world is as you see it. so try looking at it in different perspective. try something new and amaze yourself."

WHAT A JOKE! LOL I am seriously laughing. Everyone in this room is laughing at you. People GO on vacations to enjoy the world around them! when you are faced with accomodations that smell like urine and are forced to sleep on the floor of boats its pretty hard. You tell me how to look at that in a different perspective. Im sure if you went through it you wouldnt be saying the world is how you see it. LOL. If thats your idea of "trying something new and amaze yourself" then there is seriously something wrong with you. You should get a promotion. Top scammer. Dont worry Shiva youve almost sold the whole deal to yourself.

Thank you so much Ripoff Report. I got the goods on the real deal here.


Sincerely
Terra

I am what most people call a road warrior, I fly over 100k miles a year and I can not count the number of nights I spend in a hotel room nor how many days I spend in a rental car. Let's just say I have top status in many of the travel programs.

I receive a lot of these offers for a "free" or cheap vacations almost every day. I have studied them and found, IMHO, that 99.9% are rip offs. Look at the reply from Shiva, calling her (his?) customers stupid? That is what these companies look for, uninformed consumers. The only thing they want is their cut of the sale.

The old adage, "If it looks too good to be true, it isn't"; remains true to this day.

I go on these sites ever now and then to read the humor of people who listen to only what they choose to hear.

Like Jennifer who just posted on March 19th 2007 from Arizona. Sure enough Jen, you're right about most of the prices you've quoted. theres no denying that. You've come up with a total of 823.00. very nice, hope you're not forgetting to add your two extra bonus vacations : Las Vegas and Mexico into the cost. the two extra trips that we include as well for no additional fee. It seems that the actual total will come out to over 1396.00 don't you think?

So there are two folks that listen to the hype and probably missed out on a great trip to Florida if they've never been. and probably their first cruise as well. always being sceptical will not get you far. grey hairs yes.

I'm always so amazed to hear the amount of people that are calling in each day thinking that this is a free trip. It states right on the terms and conditions on the back of the travel voucher that its an "offer to sell travel". So while I'm spending twenty minutes letting someone know what to expect here in Florida, they're thinking about how they just "won" a vacation. What a bunch of morons! Where in this beautiful world can you get something for free? Can someone tell me that? I'm just so amazed everyday at the amount of ignorant people that are out there. it kills me.

We hide nothing, everything is required to be read to you word for word. sure we might make it sound a little more exciting. thats only because we live here and we know it's fun to be in a tropical paradise. But there's no tricks. no gimmicks. its all in right there....

But the stupidity of some people that I've read on here just amazes me. come on people. get real.

And another thing. You can go to any major company Walmart, Cadillac, Kmart,General Electric, Mercedes Benz, even our own head of the Government. There are going to be complaints about every one these listed. thats only normal. you cant make everyone happy. there's always going to be someone that thought they were mis-treated or abused. or ripped off. there will always be someone complaining about something.

Cant we all just get along? Go on a vacation and enjoy yourself. stop complaining about the world around you. You know, you create your own world. the world is as you see it. so try looking at it in different perspective. try something new and amaze yourself.

Stop wasting your time on sites like these when you could be laying on a long stretch of creamy sand beach somewhere under a palm tree like I am at this moment with my laptop. take care folks. loosen up some out there.

I received the $1600 voucher like the one at the beginning of the thread as well and called to see what it was all about. I was told that this "Spectacular Florida/Bahamas Cruise" vacation package was valued at over $3200.00 and all I had to do was attend a time-share presentation at the beginning of my vacation. I was told that this vacation package would cost my $698.00 per person for 2 people. The names "Ramada", "Carnival" and "Universal Orlando" lead me to believe this was a quality vacation. I purchased this vacation package 8/21/06 and was told I had 3 years to use it.

Over the weekend, my husband and I decided to look at the websites for the hotels we would be staying at and the cruise we would be taking. This is when I discovered the rip-off report as well as the actual prices for this vacation package.

This vacation is definately not valued at over $3200.00 and is not even worth the $1396.00 it would cost for 2 people (not including taxes, airfare to get to Florida, and incidentals.)

Here is what I come up with the vacation being worth:

The Bahamas Cruise on the Imperial Majesty Ship is $129 per person. You can verify this at: imperialmajesty.com/layout_ship.html

Ramada Plaza Resort Ft. Lauderdale is an average of $53.00 per night which can be booked at: tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g34227-d141952-Reviews-Fort_Lauderdale_Ramada_Plaza_Hotel_Resort-Fort_Lauderdale_Florida.html


Ramada Plaze Resort Orland is an average of $63.00 per night which can be booked at: tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g34515-d87760-Reviews-Ramada_Plaza_Orlando_Resort_East_Universal_Studios-Orlando_Florida.html

Car rental on alamo.com is $103.00 for a compact car

2 adult tickets to Universal Studios Orlando $130.00 ($65.00 per adult)

Grand total of $829.00

So why would I pay $1396.00, $567.00 more than if I booked these accommodations, cruise and activities myself? Plus I would not need to waste 2 hours of my time attending a time-share presentation with no intention of purchasing the time-share through Ramada since I already recently purchased one through Sunterra. That is $567.00 that I could use for the airfare to get to Florida or for activities I want to do on my vacation. I called the customer service number in the materials and stated these facts. I was told hotel and cruise prices flucuate and that they do not give refunds.

Thanks to the advice of others on this website, I have started a dispute process with my credit card company. Also I filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Division of Consumer Services. You can file your complaint online at : app1.800helpfla.com/

There were some other websites and phone numbers I made note of while reading through other posts here. First thing in the morning I will be following up with those as well. Hopefully I too will be able to get my $698.00 deposit back as well.

The true scam here is that they tell you the value of this trip is worth way more than actually so and that is my problem and why I would like my refund. Not that I simply changed my mind. But if you advertise you are offering something at a discounted rate, then it should be at a discounted rate. I should not be able to book the entire trip for a significant amount less than had I gone on the trip through Ramada Plaza Resorts.


UPDATE! I got the full amount I paid, the $698.00, refunded to my credit card on June 22, 2007. All I had to do was file my complaint with Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Division of Consumer Services. You can file your complaint online at : app1.800helpfla.com/

Now get started on getting your refund too!

Like a lot of you, I too was suckered into purchasing one of the Ramada Florida Getaways - but after researching the company on the web and coming across this site I was determined to get my refund.

I called the Customer service line in Canada 18002039783, which was answered by a customer service representative who had such a heavy accent I could barely understand him. I first asked for his full name before explainly that I wanted a refund for my trip purchase - my explanation for not needing the trip was that a family member had recently purchased a time share in Florida and had given me full access to it as they would not be using it until they retired (10 or more years from now) so I would no longer need the vaccation package. The Customer Service Agent quickly offered me a trade in for other packages to other locations (Las Vegas, Bahamas, Mexico) all of which I declined telling them that the time share my family had purchased was international - So I could use it to travel and didn't need their trips.

I was then put on hold and tranfered to another agent - first thing I did was get her full name and agent code, then repeated that I wanted a 100% refund for the package. She kept asking if I had ever been to Florida (if they ask you this be sure to tell them yes you have). They will try to offer you alternative travel accomodations, make sure you stick to your guns and keep saying you No you are not interested you just want your refund. I repeated the story of the time share to her saying that the Ramada vaccation package would be of no use to me.

Finally after 20 minutes of this, the lady says just a secong and the line goes blank - now I am annoyed so I say outloud "did she just hang up on me?" - to which she quickly comes back on the line and says no she is still there. So I clued in that although she had me on mute she was still listening to me - so here's what I say (as if I am talking to my husband) while I'm supposedly waiting for her to come back on the line.

I talk about how it was a good thing I came across the website about the fraud vaccations this company ifs offering, and that it was a good thing that I had already talked to a represetative at the Florida State Department of Consumer Affairs who had sent me the following info on my rights

1. Florida state telemarking law...you agreed verbally recorded but DID NOT SIGN so therefore you legally don't have to pay. Even tell them you will call the florida state department of consumer affairs and file a complaint.

this is their website 800helpfla.com/complnt.html

2. Unfair trade practices and consumer protection law AKA Mail Fraud

3. Fair practice act section 10-1-393

4. Florida Statutes #559.93 states that a consumer has a 30 day purchase refund

While still waiting (15 minutes now) I begin to discuss (with my husband) how I have already contacted my credit card company about the transaction, and had emailed them the consumer complaint website about Ramada. The representative from the credit card company informed me to first contact Ramada (phone, email request with a copy of all communicatios to the credit card agency), to ask for a refund, but if I was unsuccessful in receiving my refund within 30 days that they woud reverse the purchase transaction from Ramada and investigate the company for fraudulent charges themselves. I lastly discuss the possibility of passing this onto our lawyer who could certainly investigate the situation for us, and begin any necessary preceedings

Interestinly enough, the representative comes back on the line to inform me that I do qualify for my refund, and that she will put the transaction through right away. I should see it on my account within 3-5 days
Make sure you specify that you are receiving a 100% refund, with a stop payment on all future transactions.

Finally MAKE SURE to get a cancellation number on the phone. Ask them or just tell them, you want a cancellation number, with their name, ID, and request/demand a postcard, or letter in the mail with a confirmation of the entire cancellation process. Use this number to confirm with you credit card company later.

The trick is to remain polite - no matter how many times you are put on hold or how many alternative vaccations you are offered - keep saying NO - I just want a refund.

Hope this info helps someone else who might have been scamed by this company.

Tracy
Halifax
Nova Scotia, Canada

As Many Others have stated, i got one of these vouchers saying that it was totally a free vacation. I would personally like to challenge any Authorities of the Hotel that they truely are a complete Fraud.

The sales person i talked to was called joel Employee number=pn0730. Which i am pretty sure must have given me false info as well. The sales reps speak at a super fast speed and don't let you say anything at all. The moment you ask a question ( or attempt to)they give a totally different side to the conversation. And when i finaly managed to forcefully stop him from talking and say, let me think about it, he RUDELY SAID "WHAT". So i said i would call back,and he goes " Unfortunately due to high call volume, there is only one chance/call to take oppertunity of this" ( Again wrong, because my wife had called before about it. And then i said, "ok then, bye " . And he goes, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BYE"? . And i said" well i have a right to reject this if i dont' want to " And then he hung up.

100% refund back to my credit card today! And I have received a postcard from the company with the cancellation number.

Perhaps, if Ramada will renew their advertisements and tell the real deal, they will definitely attract customers.

One positive thing I can say to them: They were honest with the refund, it was no hassle!

Good Luck!

Jim of Pcola FL

100% refund back to my credit card today! And I have received a postcard from the company with the cancellation number.

Perhaps, if Ramada will renew their advertisements and tell the real deal, they will definitely attract customers.

One positive thing I can say to them: They were honest with the refund, it was no hassle!

Good Luck!

Jim of Pcola FL

100% refund back to my credit card today! And I have received a postcard from the company with the cancellation number.

Perhaps, if Ramada will renew their advertisements and tell the real deal, they will definitely attract customers.

One positive thing I can say to them: They were honest with the refund, it was no hassle!

Good Luck!

Jim of Pcola FL

100% refund back to my credit card today! And I have received a postcard from the company with the cancellation number.

Perhaps, if Ramada will renew their advertisements and tell the real deal, they will definitely attract customers.

One positive thing I can say to them: They were honest with the refund, it was no hassle!

Good Luck!

Jim of Pcola FL

I was also coached into buying into this "Grand Opening Celebration". I felt uneasy about it from the beginning, but after being transferred and each time receiving incentives and a payment plan I just did it. I went home and did some research on the resorts...they didn't look too bad, but definitely not 5 star resorts. Then my search engine brought up this website. I am so thankful I found it. I would have taken this vacation with my family only to be disappointed.

The next morning I called Plaza Resorts and received a confirmation of my refund within 15 minutes. The steps I took were:

1. call customer service; 800-435-7352 (be sure to have your personal ID number that was given to you)

2. let them know that I wanted to cancel and receive a 100% refund. I told them I was within my 30 days of purchase per Florida Statutes #559.93.

The representative tried to offer me 2 for 1 airfare (which I politely declined), and other offers to me to reduce the cost (before she went into any of them, I again politely told her I was not interested).She wanted to know if I was declining because of this website. I did tell her I did read information from the website, but the vacation (after speaking to my husband about it) wasn't a risk we wanted to take. She tried to get a little rude sounding after I declined all of her offers and after she found out I read information on this website (she did state to me that this was a very small fraction of the people that travel. I'd rather be safe than sorry), but that is to be expected.

My total time on the phone was 15 minutes;not bad. I thought it would have been worse. She provided me with a cancellation number and let me know I would also be receiving a post card confirming the cancellation. She also offered me a free mini vacation to Puerto Vallarta, Las Vegas, Williamsburg, or Florida but I politely told her no thanks. I hope this information helps everyone! This website helped me out and saved me money and possible disappointment.

I am very glad that I found the website
Yes, I was promised to get my refund, with a confirmation via mail.
My history with this company was coincidental, our family was planning our first cruise and we found Ramada Resort offers while soritng our mail during the weekend. I called and was hooked by their bait.
$698 for downpayment
the other $698 is payable upon filling out the forms
$198 for my 16 year old daughter if we take her to Bahamas and another
$99 for my 11 year old daughter, and oh yes
$100 for food
Here's the original package:

Your vacation package includes:
4 Days & 3 Nights of "Gold Key" award winning hotel accommodations in Ft. Lauderdale
3 Days & 2 Nights of "Gold Key" award winning hotel accommodations in Magical Orlando, FL
Round trip cruise aboard Imperial Majesty Cruise Lines; all meals & entertainment included, with a port-of-call on the beautiful island of Nassau, Bahamas * FREE $50 Casino Match Play Included!
7 days transportation by Alamo Rent-A-Car during your vacation with unlimited mileage
Choice of Universal or Disney Theme Park Tickets for 2 adults
Bonus Getaways:
3 Days 2 Nights in exciting Las Vegas, NV
4 Days 3 Nights in romantic Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
** since I am in the military, they Hawaii gateaways was also added, and with no extra charge my trip was extended until March 2010***
Additional Benefits included in your package:
$1,000 Internet Shopping Spree (Sunglasses, Binoculars, Rafts, Etc.)
$3,500 Discount Coupon Booklet (Gifts, Sightseeing, Shopping, etc.)
Total Price: $698 per person (1st 2 passengers only!)

BOTTOM LINE: I am very thankful I found this website, I followed how I get my money back and it work. I told the guy not to sell me any more stuff and if he really want to make a happy and satisfied customer, he will refund my money! After 10 minutes of being on hold, I was given a confirmation number for the refund. And GET THIS: just for trying to booked with them a 8 night 7 days vacation, they offered me FREE accomodation in LAS VEGAS and some other place. I politely replied, NO THANKS!
Oh by the way, my reason why i wanted a refund was; the trip sounded good, i felt rushed in making a decision, and I mentioned the FLORIDA SELLERS ACT, which got their attention.
Hope that my experience is lesson learned for everyone

I will try and explain to the best of my knowledge what this experience was like from A-Z.

I received a voucher in the mail that stated $1600 to use for vacation. I called the toll-free number and spoke to a sales consultant. I was a single student living on my own at the time. I was offered the package for vacation in FL and cruise to the Bahamas. I was told all I would have to pay is $498 per person.

Well I wanted to go by myself, i thought it was a good deal for what they said on the phone so I gave them my credit card number. After that was said and done they told me that the balance would have to be paid before I took the vacation. I asked them what balance then they stated it was for 2 people. I told them I was the only one going and they said it was the same price.

I spoke with a few people and was basically convinced that I already agreed to the deal and there was no way out of it. I purchased this in 2004. I received a call about a year later stating that if I paid my balance they would give me another year to schedule my vacation and if I paid an extra $100 they would upgrade my room on the cruise ship to an outside cabin and would upgrade my rental car. I would've taken the vacation sooner but I did'nt have anyone to go with.

I made a deal with my sister from Chicago that if she paid the airfare I would give her the other ticket since we both have spring break the same time, we just used this as as spring break vacation. I gave my sister the number for the resort so she could get plane tickets, they told her we would be staying in Ft. Lauderdale, arriving and departing from Ft. Lauderdale so we got plane tickets round trip for Ft. Lauderdale. We arrived around around 8pm and proceeded to the rental car center.

We picked up our Chevy Cobalt (small crappy car) and proceeded to the welcome center located inside the hotel. We were told we had to visit a resort and take a tour to pick up our cruise vouchers.

When I bought the vacation they made it sound like I would tour the facilities I was staying at. But in reality we had to drive 25 minutes away to a time share and hop in a sales persons car drive around town and then go back to the resort and be harrassed and pressured into buying time share.

Even after I told him no 3 times they kept pushing asking if I could afford it and changing figures, and last offering us forclosured time shares. After the 3 1/2 hour ordeal with them we were exhausted we got dinner and went back to the hotel and went to sleep. The hotel was nasty and smelled bad, the water was yellow and the drains didnt work, I took a shower in a puddle of water and the toielt didnt flush. We then got up early the next day to board our cruise ship.

When I saw the ship I about cried, it was tiny compared to the other ships and was so old. The ship smelled of rotten eggs and I ordered double beds and they gave me 1 double bed. Since I was traveling with my sister I wasnt going to sleep in the same bed as her so I ended up sleeping in a deck chair. The food was nasty and so was the water, the entertainment was horrible. The day in the Bahamas was really only a few hours and we didnt have time to do anything fun. The ride was rocky and bumpy, it gave us both headaches, and were told by the captain not to complain because it could be worse. I was so releived to get off the dumpy boat.

We drove to Orlando we got their late because it was a 3.5 hour drive. We had enough time to eat dinner pick up our hotel vouchers. When we picked up our hotel vouchers we were told to take another tour. we explained we were not willing to go on another time share and the women explained it was nothing like what we did in Ft. Lauderdale so we agreed. It was a 1pm the next day. The hotel was dumpy and smelled like urine. The wall sockets was busted and sparked when i plugged my laptop in it. Wallpaper was peeling and the air conditioner was loud and noisy.

We got up and went somewhere to eat breakfeast, we drove around a bit and then went to the place to take a tour. The lady at the Ramada Plaza Resort Lied to us it was exactly like the other time share and was basically identical, fortunatly we got a very nice sales person that tried to get us out of it but it didnt work and we ended up going through the entire thing again.

Another 3 hours wasted.. same thing over again. We ate dinner and went to sleep. The next day was our last day in FL we had to leave early about 1am just to catch our flight so we didnt do much that day. We went to seaworld but only for 2 hours because thats all we had time for and went back to the hotel, took a nap and then drove back to Ft. Lauderdale to return the rental car and catch our flight. We drove a total of 816 miles on our trip that wasnt suppost to have much driving at all.

Both hotels did not have free breakfeast so we had to buy our own. Some of the other expenses that we were not aware about were the following:

2 Nights Ft. Lauderdale Hotel Charges : $24.00
Cruise Ship Charges: $79.00
3 Nights Orland Hotel Charges: $36.00
Rental Car Charges: $65.50

I did some research and I could've booked the same hotels, same cruise, and same rental cars for less than the $1100 I spent. I was definetly scammed into this time share trap. I don't even feel like I had a vacation, I feel like the whole trip was on their behalf.. which it was. At least I will never get scammed like this again. I learned my lesson.

I will not let this go and I want to see this company shut down so they dont scam anyone else. i felt so bad for the other people on the trip because I know they were getting scammed too. How can Florida let this company stay in business? If anyone can help me please do so. I will write my letter to attorny general, bbb, and fraud agencies.

Why am I going to book with them and give them another $698? They have such a poor reputation of customer satisfaction. I would gladly engage with anyone in a class action suit against this company. There hard sell tactics persist today. They continuously tell you if you do not purchase now you will not get the same deal. Not to mention all the areas above other people have stated poor service, misrepresentation of quality of accomodations, location, and affiliations. I have asked for my money back and they have refused.

Needless to say as a military member who has little time with his family and not much money, I am embarassed that my wife and I were taken advantage of by this scam.

This is a copy of a letter that was written to a Consumer Information Specialist for the State of Massachussetts.

I have been having an incredibly tough time dealing with a travel agency I took a vacation from about 9 months ago. Basically, everything that was promised in the vacation, was not delivered, and when all was said and done, me, and 8 other friends of mine were left with a big bill, and a vacation that was more agonizing than enjoyable.

I got a letter in the mail telling me that if I called this toll free number I could receive a vacation for free. So of course I called, and spoke with a VERY pushy saleswomen, who convinced to take the vacation, which would only cost 600$+. She told me that if I didn't say yes right then, that the offer would not exist for me again, so it was either now or never. So I made the mistake of saying "now".

The itinary of our vacation was that we would arrive in Ft. Lauderdale and stay at a "Luxury" hotel for 4 days/4 nights on the beach. We would then proceed to a "Luxury" cruise line to the Bahamas for 3 days/2 nights, and finally finish our trip staying in Orlando for 2days/1 night. The only other accommodation we were supposed to receive was a free rental car for the week.
One other thing to note, was that because of the number of friends who were accompanying me on this vacation, we had to purchase THREE seperate packages, because one package only accommodated 4 people, and we had 9 people in all.

The day we arrived at the Ft. Lauderdale was a disaster. We had to take a bus to ALAMO Rent a Car, and realize that our free rent a car was actually not free. We ended up haggling with the Travel Agency for 3-4 hours to get them to give us more than ONE car because surely 9 people and their luggage could not fit in ONE car. I ordered THREE packages, and therefore should have gotten more than one car.

The travel agency was supposed to send us these "vouchers" to use at the rent-a-car, hotels, etc. for everything that we paid for, but they didn't send us the vouchers for some reason or another, so that at every stop, we had to get the travel agency on the phone and get them to fax the vouchers to the different merchants. This usually took 2-3 hours each time, and it happened at the 3 different hotels we stayed at, the Alamo Rent a Car, and the cruise boarding.

After we squeezed into our TWO rent a cars, which we ended up spending a total of 620$+ for the week, we proceeded to our beach front luxury hotel we were promised. We arrived at this poor excuse for a hotel, that was about 20-25 minutes from the beach.

I proceeded to get the travel agency on the phone to find out what the hell happened, and after about 2-3 hours, convinced them to get us a room at the Sheraton Yankee Clipper on the Ft. Lauderdale beach. That hotel was very nice. Probably because it wasn't a Ramada.

Then came time for the cruise. The Salesman for the travel agency convinced me to take their ship called the "Ocean Breeze" instead of the Carnival ship we were supposed to take because supposedly the "Ocean Breeze" was a nice ship, with more things to do. When I first saw this ship, the "Ocean Breeze" that I was supposed to be boarding I almost cried.

It was a over-sized garbarge barge. The first thing I noticed about the ship was its swimming pool, which was a 5-ft by 5-ft hole in the floor. We were promised a "stateroom" with luxury accommodations, but, you guessed it, there was no luxury about it.

In fact, the Travel Agency didn't reserve enough rooms for all of us. We only got two room, which slept three each, for the nine of us. That means 3 of us had to sleep on the floor for the cruise. THE FLOOR! Can you imagine going on a cruise and having to sleep on the floor?!?
The rooms themselves were disgusting. They looked like stow-away cabins. They were about 5' by 8' closets, with tiny skinny bunk beds that folded from the walls, and NO window, another thing we were promised. The ship apparently was built in the late 50's and boy did it feel like it was.

When we arrived in Nassau at 10am. we were told that we had to be back on the ship at 6pm for departure to Florida. What happened to the 3 days/2 nights in Nassau? We were only allowed one day, and didn't even get to experience the night life. The rest of the time we spent on the rust-ridden ship. There are more details that I could get into about how aweful this trip was, but I think I explained the major ones.
After calling up Ramada Plaza Resorts, they assured that if I wrote a letter of complaint to the "Compliance Department" I would get some sort of a refund. I did this 3 times, and had my friends do it as well. Every time I talked to a customer representative, they gave me the run around, telling me it would be handled next week, or that they had to put me on hold, and never took me off hold, or that I'd have to speak to a superviser who wasn't there, but would call me back when they were. Every time they told me just the things I wanted to hear just to get me off of their back, and it almost worked. I almost gave up after 2 months of nagging them, until I read on the internet, a similar story of someone who had almost the same experience as me, and it re-vitalized my energy to try and receive some sort of compensation for this disaster of a trip.

I ordered a product - in this case, it being a cruise, and I feel I did not receive that product. I came home after the trip feeling more stressed out then before I went on the trip, and that's NOT the purpose of a vacation. Anyway, I hope you can help me resolve my problem, or at least lead me to someone who can. Thank you for taking the time to read my complaint
WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO SPEND A TOTAL OF $1600 AND PUT THEIR FAMILY THROUGHT THIS?

You say you got roped in as well as quite a few people. Now what I observe is that over 95% of the complaints on here are the same and have to do with refunds which is a concern and a question everyone should ask when purchasing anything of value.

But to say you got roped in or tricked into buying, that sounds kind of weak. I mean, they can't make you give them your credit card number. If you don't like making snap decisions like that without doing your due dilligence then that is your right to say no. What you should have done was hang up or checked this site before calling them.

I mean, honestly, did they twist your arm and demand your credit card number? No. I don't know why I even post, except for just the dialogue, but...my .02 cents worth.

On a side note, has anyone heard of Coast 2 Coast? It is a vacation club I guess, where you buy a membership and are supposed to get really great discounted deals on travel. I went to the presentation and walked out without buying anything being the name Coast 2 Coast first came up today and not the name on the mailer. They too do the you have to make your decision today, but after picking at their brains, I was invited to come back for the offer. Just curious as to if anyone has had any experiences with them.

I don't know if you can consider this a scam or not but along with all of you I got sucked into this vacation too. Like the rest of you when I saw all the negative feedback on this site along with others I decided not to do it so I called my credit card company and explained what happened. They told me not to worry that they would take care of it and do a chargeback.

I was called at least 10 times before I actually took the call so it made me laugh when they said they only call once for this ideal trip. So ok I'm an idiot and got sucked in. They told me I was the Grand Prize winner of a 2 day cruise to Nassau. Ya well it looks like everyone else was too! Also I notice everyone was not stated the same cost. Some paid $698.00 some $498.00 and some more. Some it was for 1 person some for 2.

If this is legite why is everyone paying a different price for the same package? This company seems to have been doing this for years as the complaints are dated way back. How are they staying in business with so many complaints?? Eventually it's going to end. So, if you paid for this trip with a credit card and have read all this junk so you don't want the trip now just call your credit card company and ask them to do a chargeback, they will! Don't bother with these people.

MY daughter recently won a 4 day trip to Pheonix, Arizona for 2 and it didn't cost her a cent! They even paid her plane fare round trip from Connecticut. So in reality, if you gotta pay you didn't win anything. Next time I'm booking my own vacation. Give me an 8 day free cruise and I might think about it! lol
Good luck all!

I don't know if you can consider this a scam or not but along with all of you I got sucked into this vacation too. Like the rest of you when I saw all the negative feedback on this site along with others I decided not to do it so I called my credit card company and explained what happened. They told me not to worry that they would take care of it and do a chargeback.

I was called at least 10 times before I actually took the call so it made me laugh when they said they only call once for this ideal trip. So ok I'm an idiot and got sucked in. They told me I was the Grand Prize winner of a 2 day cruise to Nassau. Ya well it looks like everyone else was too! Also I notice everyone was not stated the same cost. Some paid $698.00 some $498.00 and some more. Some it was for 1 person some for 2.

If this is legite why is everyone paying a different price for the same package? This company seems to have been doing this for years as the complaints are dated way back. How are they staying in business with so many complaints?? Eventually it's going to end. So, if you paid for this trip with a credit card and have read all this junk so you don't want the trip now just call your credit card company and ask them to do a chargeback, they will! Don't bother with these people.

MY daughter recently won a 4 day trip to Pheonix, Arizona for 2 and it didn't cost her a cent! They even paid her plane fare round trip from Connecticut. So in reality, if you gotta pay you didn't win anything. Next time I'm booking my own vacation. Give me an 8 day free cruise and I might think about it! lol
Good luck all!

Hello. I decided to check up on here and saw a response from Amy. Yes, it does say Coconut Creek which is fairly close. I am a very very part time resident of Florida. My main residence is up in Philadelphia. Actually a suburb of Philadelphia, Bucks County.

I come down to Florida usually for a month or two during the winter months when I had my fill of cold weather.

I wasn't skeptical about the flight. I was a little skeptical just because of the price and I have traveled and cruised and the price was reasonable cheap.

I was just thinking about it since they get you to make your mind up with the one phone call thing. I questioned them about well, I will have to pay for a flight and then food and park tickets and the whole 9 yards which is when they threw in all the meals at the resorts.

Now the Ramada in Ft. Lauderdale, when you pass it from the outside is nothing to really look at, but once you go inside, it is an entirely different atmosphere.

For the money it's not bad. And as far as the one call thing, a neighbor of minegot it and called and wanted to talk to her husband about it. They did everything they could to get her to comit, but she wound up hanging up the phone. She told me about it and when I shared my experience, she decided to do it. She called back and they were like, oh, you called on such and such a date already.

Now here is how valid their one phone call deal is, she just said, Oh, I called and when I gave them my id number I got disconnected and could not get back through. They still re-pitched the entire thing again. And was more then willing to take her money.

Don't listen to all the negativity on here. Don't listen to me. If you got this sent to your home, read it. Read all of it and do some homework, google Imperial Majesty Regal Empress, you will see the ship. Listen carefully to what they are saying. Take notes and at the end question them again to make sure what you wrote is right. If you want to cancel, look in the package ASAP when you get it. Depending on what state you live in, it will tell you what the cancelation period is.

Listen carefully when they "record" the conversation.

That's all.

I was called endlessly from a Florida number. I usually don't pick up calls from unknown numbers and let them leave a message. However, after I had had too many missed calls and no messages from the same number, I reasoned it might be an old friend and picked up.

The woman gave me the same sphiel, "you've won a 2 day cruise to the Bahamas!"..."isn't this an opportunity of a lifetime, Miss?" I beleived her but I was standing firm on only taking my "free" cruise and not the whole package when she transferred me over to talk to her manager who invited me to check their website, and persuaded me that at $398, for two people, the 3 nights in Ft lauderdale + 2 nights in Orlando was a good deal. They also emphasized that I would have to make the decision then and there or lose the opportunity. Thankfully, I wasn't asked to go to any timeshare presentation stuff.

It looks like I might not be able to take the cruise; they never told me abt visa requirements. However, I am still planning to brave it and go for the Orlando/Ft.Lauderdale vacation. I am grateful to everyone for sharing their experience; if it goes wrong, I now know what to do. Will update on how my experience was.

this same company called me and my mom yesterday morning, and as i was searching for more info on Ramada Plaza and their resorts i came across this website. Me and my mom recieved the call because my mom filled out an online sweepstakes about 2 months ago and they called her to tell her she was the grandprize winner. We were really exited and we recieved all the info everyone else did, but we were very careful and didn't make any payments yet.

They are supposed to call us back this coming friday so that we can confirm that we will be able to make payments on their payment plan and thanks to this site, we will now be able to ask all the neccessary questions to make sure none of this happens and to find out if this really is a scam. I already have my questions ready. Thank you to all of you, for your complaining and for the rebuttles about what is true and what is not. Now I know what to expect when they call me back.

I just received this notice in the mail and, of course, called to see what it was all about. It all seemed very interesting, but no matter how good it seems, there is no way that I would be giving out my credit card number to someone over the phone. My boyfriend decided to investigate and, lo and behold, he stumbled across this site.

When the second lady came on the phone she was very nice at first and then became pushy and hung on me! Funny!!

Well I have been reading all the comments and I keep seeing Reba tell us how much she enjoyed the vacation, that she was at first skeptical because of the plane tickets, this is what I found amusing because I saw that she is from Coconut Creek, FLA which (after checking map quest) I see is about 15 minutes away from Ft. Lauderdale. Now I am not saying that you did not have an enjoyable experience, nor am I suggesting you work for the company, but why would you need a car rental or be skeptical about the cost of airfare

I just received this notice in the mail and, of course, called to see what it was all about. It all seemed very interesting, but no matter how good it seems, there is no way that I would be giving out my credit card number to someone over the phone. My boyfriend decided to investigate and, lo and behold, he stumbled across this site.

When the second lady came on the phone she was very nice at first and then became pushy and hung on me! Funny!!

Well I have been reading all the comments and I keep seeing Reba tell us how much she enjoyed the vacation, that she was at first skeptical because of the plane tickets, this is what I found amusing because I saw that she is from Coconut Creek, FLA which (after checking map quest) I see is about 15 minutes away from Ft. Lauderdale. Now I am not saying that you did not have an enjoyable experience, nor am I suggesting you work for the company, but why would you need a car rental or be skeptical about the cost of airfare

I just received this notice in the mail and, of course, called to see what it was all about. It all seemed very interesting, but no matter how good it seems, there is no way that I would be giving out my credit card number to someone over the phone. My boyfriend decided to investigate and, lo and behold, he stumbled across this site.

When the second lady came on the phone she was very nice at first and then became pushy and hung on me! Funny!!

Well I have been reading all the comments and I keep seeing Reba tell us how much she enjoyed the vacation, that she was at first skeptical because of the plane tickets, this is what I found amusing because I saw that she is from Coconut Creek, FLA which (after checking map quest) I see is about 15 minutes away from Ft. Lauderdale. Now I am not saying that you did not have an enjoyable experience, nor am I suggesting you work for the company, but why would you need a car rental or be skeptical about the cost of airfare

I just received this notice in the mail and, of course, called to see what it was all about. It all seemed very interesting, but no matter how good it seems, there is no way that I would be giving out my credit card number to someone over the phone. My boyfriend decided to investigate and, lo and behold, he stumbled across this site.

When the second lady came on the phone she was very nice at first and then became pushy and hung on me! Funny!!

Well I have been reading all the comments and I keep seeing Reba tell us how much she enjoyed the vacation, that she was at first skeptical because of the plane tickets, this is what I found amusing because I saw that she is from Coconut Creek, FLA which (after checking map quest) I see is about 15 minutes away from Ft. Lauderdale. Now I am not saying that you did not have an enjoyable experience, nor am I suggesting you work for the company, but why would you need a car rental or be skeptical about the cost of airfare

I too got sucked in by this promotion, and regretted it 5 minutes after I hung up the phone. I thought that my offer was unique, and that I somehow "won" this opportunity to buy this vacation package. The day prior to receiving the phone call with this offer, I was called by Ramada, and was asked to participate in a survey, and for my participation, I was entered in a draw for this wonderful opportunity. So thinking this was a special, unique offer that I "won", I took it. Then I came across this website, and I realized that I'm not as smart as I thought I was.

After 7 days, I called customer service in a very polite, non-confrontational tone ... but based on the feedback on this forum, I was expecting (and planning) for a fight for my money.

However, it was very easy, and the deal was done within 5 minutes of calling. I was presented with another offer, to retain the vacation with a lower deposit (ie: get ~80% of my money back), which I politely declined, and I informed him that I was not prepared to commit to any travel plans over the phone at this time. I then got my full refund.

Thanks for everyone's feedback on this thread, otherwise, I wouldn't have realized what my rights were.

Also, although I didn't appreciate the hard sell technique which got me into this mess in the first place, the customer care representative with Ramada was very polite and professional in issuing my refund. Sounds like I was luckier than most.

I just advise everyone to not be intimidated to ask for your money back, be polite and non-confrontational, but stick to your guns, and don't give up until you have your refund. Based on my experinece, you shouldn't have any problems. My situation was within 30 days ... I really feel for those not as lucky.

Hope that helps someone out there.

We received a call from one of their "boiler room" call centers on Monday, 10/1/06, saying we had been selected as a winner of a Ramada Plaza Resorts drawing. It sounds a little different from the rest of the experiences I've read about. We were given choices of the vacation, w/ cruise or a $4,500 cash option. Obviously, my wife was skeptical as the person from the call center was specific in that all we had to do was show up at the Embassy Suites in Grapevine to collect the $4,500.

I called and was told we would not be pitched to buy anything, that yes, we would be given a check for $4,500. Reluctantly I agreed to go. My wife & I sat in traffic for an hour and arrived at the Hotel and were directed to a conference room, marked BEACHCOMBERS VACATION CLUB -Ramada Plaza Resorts. We were met by a lady with a clip board and asked to provide a credit card and drivers license.

I watched to make sure that they did not copy my credit card numbers or in any way run them off and she returned them. We completed her forms and she asked us why were there. We told her "to collect our $4,500" and she snickered and said "are't we all?"

Another guy came over and introduced himself as the sales manager and told us while laughing, that they were definately not in the business of giving away $4,500! I just wanted to leave but told him he should be ewmbarrassed to be involved in such a slimy business and he just laughed.

Needless to say we left, but not before telling everyone waiting outside that they should also leave before these knuckleheads took advantage of them.. Some did.

The whole point is I believe that these crooks have had so much trouble that they are changing their name to BEACHCOMBERS VACATION CLUB. BEWARE! If it looks too good to be true, do not let them convince you that it is. I asked for the manager of the hotel and told him he should be more carefull of the slimy companies that he lets use his meeting rooms!

Rick
Bridgeport, TX

Hello all, I really want to thank Christina from New York. Thanks to her I was able to get out of this scam, aka Ramada Plaza Resorts. I too was suckered into this great offer and found it a good deal for a poor college student. I was completely dismayed to do a search, out of interest on the company after paying the deposit amount, and find out about the scams the company was offering. After doing diligent research, I looked up statutes and sections of Code under florida law, for the Florida Sellers of Travel act which states that within 30 days of payment it is unlawful to refuse a refund regardless of the stipulations, such as a recorded agreement, it also is unlawful since only a verbal agreement was made and is inadmissable in court, if you only made a verbal agreement and not a written one then you are entitled to the full refund. All I had to do was remind them of the state laws that they were violating and my refund was returned to me within a week.


Tip: if they hang up on you call them back and ask for the same person, just be persistent and don't take no for an answer and you will have your money back in no time. Call the number listed by Christina from New york and follow my advice and you will get your refund. Thank you so much ripoffreport for getting my money back and hopefully this will help others get their money back and not be scammed by this vile and contempful company.
Hope this helps,

Well, I wish I had came on to this site before I had called them and paid $798 yesterday. I know I still have time to get my money back, but I'm gonna wait for the package to arrive first.

After reading most of the reports, I found my experience somewhat different. It must be due to the fact that some of the reports were filed two years ago. When I called them, "Mitch" answered the phone and he explained to me everything about the trip: I would be responsible for my transportation to Ft. Lauderdale, where I would get a rental car for the whole duration of the trip (unlimitd mileage), the 3 days 2 nights in Ft. Lauderdale (I'm responsible for hotel tax&incidentals),
the 3 days 3 nights on the cruise (Free food, I'm responsible for alcohol, gambling, and gratituity), then 1 more night in Ft. Lauderdale before driving to Orlando and again (hotel taxes and incidentals are to be paid by me). He did say something about going to a 2-hour presentation and touring the luxury mansions.

He had also stated the extra trips to Puerto Vallarta, Las Vegas (Golden Nugget).

He then said the total would be $798 (for two people, non-refundable ) with $345 for each additional person. I would also be responsible for the port fees of $99 per person. After I had agreed to pay, he took my credit card information and transferred the call to another sales person to verify what "Mitch" just said. I repeatedly asked the second salesman "Marcus" that all I have to pay is the $798 plus the port fees and incidentals and taxes, he said "yes" to all the questions and then his supervisor cut in and reaffirmed his answer. "Marcus" must be new because he sounded nervous, but all of them were polite. (I've dealt with bad salespeople before, I just want to smack them in the mouth)

I'm glad to read all those resources about how to get my money back. As I said, I would wait until the package arrives and read all the fine prints. You can treat this post as a "rip-off" or "rebuttal" in progress. If I take the vacation, I'll update all the details. If I don't, I'll let you know if I got my money back or not.

I just want to know why are the prices so different even for someone who posted as late as 2006? I see $698 per one person while I get $798 per couple. Maybe you can help me there, Steve?

Hi everyone. I too was ripped off by this company. So I called the Florida State Department of Consumer Affairs and I field a complaint.

If you are like me, and you did not sign any papers, but verbally agreed to pay, then ACCORDING TO FLORIDA STATE TELEMARKETING LAWS, you are not required to pay.

So if you file a complaint, then they will contact the company and in a few weeks your credit card will be reimbursed.

Website is http://800helpfla.com/complnt.html
Ph. 800-435-7352

Good luck to you all!!

Hi everyone. I too was ripped off by this company. So I called the Florida State Department of Consumer Affairs and I field a complaint.

If you are like me, and you did not sign any papers, but verbally agreed to pay, then ACCORDING TO FLORIDA STATE TELEMARKETING LAWS, you are not required to pay.

So if you file a complaint, then they will contact the company and in a few weeks your credit card will be reimbursed.

Website is http://800helpfla.com/complnt.html
Ph. 800-435-7352

Good luck to you all!!

Hi everyone. I too was ripped off by this company. So I called the Florida State Department of Consumer Affairs and I field a complaint.

If you are like me, and you did not sign any papers, but verbally agreed to pay, then ACCORDING TO FLORIDA STATE TELEMARKETING LAWS, you are not required to pay.

So if you file a complaint, then they will contact the company and in a few weeks your credit card will be reimbursed.

Website is http://800helpfla.com/complnt.html
Ph. 800-435-7352

Good luck to you all!!

Hello, I received the voucher in the mail about 2 years ago, and was told I was randomly selected for it. I went ahead and signed up for the trip, knowing that is was non-refundable because I was told about 6 times before getting off the phone! It took me a while to pay for the whole thing, because I also upgraded my package to include a trip to Cozumel, Mexico.

My husband and I went on this trip for our honeymoon and had a great time. Yes, the Ft. Lauderdale "resort" is land-locked and not as nice as they make it seem. But we upgraded to a very nice hotel in Boca Raton that was on the beach for a small price. Given the actual per/night price of this hotel, we were given a great deal.

If you are going to just one part of the trip, yes it is cheaper to just go on your own, without this company. BUT if you plan on taking any other vacations in your future, this package is worth it. We got 2 whole cruises with time in Florida (we got to see tons of Florida, from Miami to Key West all the way north to Boca Raton and Palm Beach), and the cruises took us to the Bahamas and Cozumel Mexico. We also are looking forward to our extra mini-vacations, such as Las Vegas and especially Puerto Vallarta.

We know we will have to pay to get there, and some fees when we get there, but just like these other trips, if you put everything together, we are really saving money altogether.

This has given us the opportunity to take 4 separate trips for the price of 2-3 (I know, I've really checked this out on orbitz.com and the actual websites for the hotels we've stayed at). This is a great package, and yes I was very nervous after reading these reports but I was told it was non-refundable, so I went anyway and I don't regret it!

Debbie =)

I was lucky to find this web site and all comments. I was especially impressed with Elisha's report. This sounds like an easiest way to get a refund, since my husband also agreed to pay via the phone and didn't sign any papers. Elisha called Florida State Department of Consumer Affairs. I went to the Internet but didn't find it. I found Florida Deparment of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Is this the right one? If so, which form to use to file a complaint? Please let me know.

I finally have a hope to get my money back!
Thank you.

Hi everyone. I too was ripped off by this company. So I called the Florida State Department of Consumer Affairs and I field a complaint.

If you are like me, and you did not sign any papers, but verbally agreed to pay, then ACCORDING TO FLORIDA STATE TELEMARKETING LAWS, you are not required to pay.

So if you file a complaint, then they will contact the company and in a few weeks your credit card will be reimbursed.


Good luck to you all!!

Hay ya'll after 19 phone calls in 6days from this company I finnaly got rid of them. They offed me another 1000dollars off but Thanks to ya'll warning me I was happy to say NO!! Thanks ya'll

Hay ya'll after 19 phone calls in 6days from this company I finnaly got rid of them. They offed me another 1000dollars off but Thanks to ya'll warning me I was happy to say NO!! Thanks ya'll

Hay ya'll after 19 phone calls in 6days from this company I finnaly got rid of them. They offed me another 1000dollars off but Thanks to ya'll warning me I was happy to say NO!! Thanks ya'll

Hay ya'll after 19 phone calls in 6days from this company I finnaly got rid of them. They offed me another 1000dollars off but Thanks to ya'll warning me I was happy to say NO!! Thanks ya'll

Hello. I will post the number to customer service for you tomorrow. Just call them and let them know and they will make sure you do not get any phone calls.

I did go on the vacation. I did receive some upgrades on the phone. I guess if you tell them no the first time, they add some stuff on.

Anyway, me and my family did go and had a blast.

Hay ya'll I have a question. I have receved 15phone calls from this company in the last 3days every time they either don't leave a message or they hang up. When I call the number back it just rings. I know that this number is for this scam as I have resurched it. What can I do to get them to stop calling?

Everyone is upset about not being refunded their money because they werent able to travel or decided to cancel after viewing this website. But did anyone actually decide to take the vacation, and go on the bonus vacations? Maybe it isn't so bad for $698 a person, you get a week and a cruise in florida and get to visit mexico and las vegas. it doesnt sound all that bad to me.. I want to hear from someone that decided to go please! before the 30 days is up and i cant cancel

We got ripped off by this company about 3 years ago- Thanks to my father in law who brought over the information he was sent in the mail. We bought the package, thinking that $698 was for 2 adults.

In February 2004 my husband got orders to Iraq for 6 months. During his tour he emailed me and asked me to contact Ramada to find out how much time we had left to take our trip, because we would only have about a month when he got back.

When I called they told me that we had until March 2006 to book our trip, but that we still owed $698 for the second person. This sounded a bit steep, we have went on many vacations using "last minute deal" websites and we have gotten round trips to Las Vegas (from Georgia) for a low at $300/person, including air fair.

When I asked for information on places we could stay I knew immediately from the names that the hotels were "garbage" and we would never stay in some of the places. So I told the rep that we would not be able to take our vacation due to my husbands situation in Iraq and I told her that I wanted to cancel it. And I got the spill about no refunds.

I attempted many times after that to get a refund on the $698 but was very unsuccessful. My husband and I agreed that we would rather call it a loss than to loss more money on a vacation like this.

About 2 months ago Ramada called my house and my husband answered. They told him that his vacation had expired and asked if he wanted to go ahead and renew it, being that he had no recollection of the original conversation we had about this company he told them yes and gave his Credit Card number. Another $876 Then called me and said "we are going on a cruise"

After we talked it over and I reminded him of the $698, he called the company and told them he wanted a refund. He was told that you have to wait for a package in the mail before you can cancel. (In the package it says you have 3 days to cancel) And then he was told, "You are not eligible for a full refund"

When we received the package- 17 days later- I called the company again, this time I was told that we needed to call the company within the first 3 days. This rep was very rude, and told me that I should have called within the first 3 days. And I told him that my husband did, (but of course he had no record of that)
I told him that according to FLA law he had to refund our money if we called within 30 days- and he said "We have our own laws!"

At this point I am very frustrated with this whole situation, so I took the advice of Denise - Groves, Texas, and send 6 letters, certified mail. Within 48 hours of receiving the package Ramada Plaza Resorts had fully refunded our Credit Card.

Then about a week later we received a letter FLA consumer affairs, stating the situation was under investigation. Then another letter from Ramada Plaza Resorts stating they were sorry for any inconvenience we had suffered.

THANK YOU RIP OFF REPORT AND SPECIALLY THANK YOU DENISE FROM Groves, Texas- I wouldn't have known where to start without your advice

As in VA.

First off, I don't know who you are talking to. If you are implying that whoever Reba is who probably has b***s is me, one who does not have them, but seems to be talking to one who is one then you are completely mistaken.

The info I put on the board from the script? YES, you did learn something when you worked there. Why shouldn't it be there, that is what is conveyed in a nutshell when one calls.

I never asked about you sitting around and waiting to post, but d**n, you must since you, ahhh, never mind.

And where did I once mention talking to an Attorney in Wisconsin? I think I addressed someone on the DNCL from VA.

As far as making $300 a week? Hey, for some people that is not bad compared to where they came from. For me, my weekly checks are just a bit more then that thank you very much.

You insist on this being a scam. You have not once shed one ounce of proof that it is. What have you checked out and researched to say it is a scam? Now, I know you don't have the time to sit and wait for this response and will probably be a month or so when you get it and maybe respond, but I will keep an eye out for it.

Is this a SCAM? NO. Is it a beautiful vacation at a discounted rate? YES. Is it the Waldorf in NY? NO. Is it very nice? Yes. Cruise ship? Brand NEW. Ahhh, that must be the scam.....geeze louise.

Now maybe you claim this to be a scam when in fact you are disgruntled because you couldnt make that $300 paycheck that you so ridiculed.

Do we expect everyone who receives the invitation to purchase this package? Absolutely not. A small percentage does. Some people call just to get the info.

Gena, out of curiosity, which office did you work in? Hallandale or Oakland Pk?

Hope everyone has a great week.

As in VA.

First off, I don't know who you are talking to. If you are implying that whoever Reba is who probably has b***s is me, one who does not have them, but seems to be talking to one who is one then you are completely mistaken.

The info I put on the board from the script? YES, you did learn something when you worked there. Why shouldn't it be there, that is what is conveyed in a nutshell when one calls.

I never asked about you sitting around and waiting to post, but d**n, you must since you, ahhh, never mind.

And where did I once mention talking to an Attorney in Wisconsin? I think I addressed someone on the DNCL from VA.

As far as making $300 a week? Hey, for some people that is not bad compared to where they came from. For me, my weekly checks are just a bit more then that thank you very much.

You insist on this being a scam. You have not once shed one ounce of proof that it is. What have you checked out and researched to say it is a scam? Now, I know you don't have the time to sit and wait for this response and will probably be a month or so when you get it and maybe respond, but I will keep an eye out for it.

Is this a SCAM? NO. Is it a beautiful vacation at a discounted rate? YES. Is it the Waldorf in NY? NO. Is it very nice? Yes. Cruise ship? Brand NEW. Ahhh, that must be the scam.....geeze louise.

Now maybe you claim this to be a scam when in fact you are disgruntled because you couldnt make that $300 paycheck that you so ridiculed.

Do we expect everyone who receives the invitation to purchase this package? Absolutely not. A small percentage does. Some people call just to get the info.

Gena, out of curiosity, which office did you work in? Hallandale or Oakland Pk?

Hope everyone has a great week.

As in VA.

First off, I don't know who you are talking to. If you are implying that whoever Reba is who probably has b***s is me, one who does not have them, but seems to be talking to one who is one then you are completely mistaken.

The info I put on the board from the script? YES, you did learn something when you worked there. Why shouldn't it be there, that is what is conveyed in a nutshell when one calls.

I never asked about you sitting around and waiting to post, but d**n, you must since you, ahhh, never mind.

And where did I once mention talking to an Attorney in Wisconsin? I think I addressed someone on the DNCL from VA.

As far as making $300 a week? Hey, for some people that is not bad compared to where they came from. For me, my weekly checks are just a bit more then that thank you very much.

You insist on this being a scam. You have not once shed one ounce of proof that it is. What have you checked out and researched to say it is a scam? Now, I know you don't have the time to sit and wait for this response and will probably be a month or so when you get it and maybe respond, but I will keep an eye out for it.

Is this a SCAM? NO. Is it a beautiful vacation at a discounted rate? YES. Is it the Waldorf in NY? NO. Is it very nice? Yes. Cruise ship? Brand NEW. Ahhh, that must be the scam.....geeze louise.

Now maybe you claim this to be a scam when in fact you are disgruntled because you couldnt make that $300 paycheck that you so ridiculed.

Do we expect everyone who receives the invitation to purchase this package? Absolutely not. A small percentage does. Some people call just to get the info.

Gena, out of curiosity, which office did you work in? Hallandale or Oakland Pk?

Hope everyone has a great week.

As in VA.

First off, I don't know who you are talking to. If you are implying that whoever Reba is who probably has b***s is me, one who does not have them, but seems to be talking to one who is one then you are completely mistaken.

The info I put on the board from the script? YES, you did learn something when you worked there. Why shouldn't it be there, that is what is conveyed in a nutshell when one calls.

I never asked about you sitting around and waiting to post, but d**n, you must since you, ahhh, never mind.

And where did I once mention talking to an Attorney in Wisconsin? I think I addressed someone on the DNCL from VA.

As far as making $300 a week? Hey, for some people that is not bad compared to where they came from. For me, my weekly checks are just a bit more then that thank you very much.

You insist on this being a scam. You have not once shed one ounce of proof that it is. What have you checked out and researched to say it is a scam? Now, I know you don't have the time to sit and wait for this response and will probably be a month or so when you get it and maybe respond, but I will keep an eye out for it.

Is this a SCAM? NO. Is it a beautiful vacation at a discounted rate? YES. Is it the Waldorf in NY? NO. Is it very nice? Yes. Cruise ship? Brand NEW. Ahhh, that must be the scam.....geeze louise.

Now maybe you claim this to be a scam when in fact you are disgruntled because you couldnt make that $300 paycheck that you so ridiculed.

Do we expect everyone who receives the invitation to purchase this package? Absolutely not. A small percentage does. Some people call just to get the info.

Gena, out of curiosity, which office did you work in? Hallandale or Oakland Pk?

Hope everyone has a great week.

I just got this in the email and as many of you have said, I wish I saw this before I paid. However, I did call them back and kept telling them I want to cancel, and as expected the man kept trying to talk me into it. He said he put me and my fiance on the carnival ship instead of the other dump for free instead of paying the 400 dollar fee to go on carnival.

I was just wondering if any one has gone on the bonus vacations, because this package doesnt sound too bad to me and there are people that have gone on it and had a decent time. For 698 a person, you get a 7 day vaca including a cruise and 5 nights in florida, and then two extra vacations.

If anyone has information for the bonus vacations or some info would be great before I make any more decisions until 30 days is up. Thanks alot!

This Reba chick is unreal. Or, should I say, Steve from Ft. Lauderdale? LOL... You both seem exactly the same. Except when your "Reba" message wasn't getting through, you figured you'd try the more educated sounding "Steve".

You are flat out quoting what you're told to say on your script, yet you say you "asked a friend" that's an attorney about Wisconsin travel? Please, please, please, get over it. I know the game. I worked there myself. I couldn't live with myself being a scam artist and lying to people's faces about this dump they'd be staying in.

And why does it take me so long to answer you wanted to know? Because I don't sit here and obsess over what people are saying that may take away business from me like you do. I only check every once in a while to see if and when this scam company goes under. You keep watching the boards and come back with another witty statement. Maybe you'll actually get up to $300 a week!! Ooooooh...wouldn't that be nice?

I wish you a great trip and hope you get the honeymoon you want to take. As far as what you posted about wanting to call back, I am not sure if you read your voucher under the terms and conditions, but it does say it is limited to one phone call per notification as well as it is told on the call. It is actually one of the first things we tell you before getting into the vacation itself.

Now to address how you got this offer. You received it because your husband is in the military. This offer NORMALLY goes out to past guests of Ramada, Students and Military Personelle.

As far as the Do Not Call List, there are rules that are followed. Ramada did not initiate the origional call. But for more info, you can look up the DNC rules and regulations.

Anyhow, best of luck to and yours in the future.

I receved a advertisment in the mail like so many of you. I had not signed up for anything, I have never even been to a fair so I have no idea how they got my info. But I called them thinking it sounded to good to be true well when they answered my first question was does it cost me anything. They said that it was only going to cost me a little but that they would explain it to me.

My husband and I had never had a honneymoon and is currently deployed in the Navy and I thought that a trip would be a great welcome home gift. Well after I listend to their speel and was about to go for it I got a nagging feeling in the back of my neck. Up unitl then they had just named a bunch of numbers of what they would cover and all that but had never given me a set price of what I would have to pay well, I did not like that so they tried to foster me off onto the manager to "close the deal" when I hesatated they were rather upset and pushed harder I asked if I could call back becuause I wanted to discuss it with my husband they said no.

My responce to that is that if they were not going to give me time to speak with my husband I was not going to give them time to give them my credit card. That was 3 months ago. Today I receved 5 phone calls from them where they hung up. I am on the Do Not Call List and have reported them. To all of you who say that you enjoyed the vacation. I am glad you did but I don't like pushy people and I hate it when someone tells me and I quote "you know you run the house why do you need to speak with your husband" My husband and I are a team.

I read small print, I saw that it was non-refunable on the flyer but then when I asked they said that it was refundable. So nobody in that company can figgure out what they are doing. I would not book a trip with them for anything. Thankyou for all of you that posted you made me feel better about my dision. When my husband gets home we will go on a vacation without the help of Ramada.

Hello. I have worked in the Hotel Industry for quite some time while I was in college. I currently work for this company as well.

I was reading the complaints listed here, calling this vacation a scam or a rip off and is as far from the truth as possible. I did my due dilligence in researching this company and the product.

Now to me, it seems as 99.9% of the complaints are from people who could not get a REFUND. I don't know how things were done back in 2004 as I am a more recent employee, but this package is pitched to the T. You are told of all fees up front. You are told what you are responsible for once you are at the resorts, for the car rental and on the cruise. You are informed of the complete price of the vacation. You are also informed of the tour you are required to take as well unless you live in CA or IL. You are not required to take the tour and get the discount automatically.

You are told it is requested that you pay the first ticket of $698 and the other half is not paid until you are ready to travel.

This is all repeated to you by our shipping and verification department who also puts this all on an audio tape. This is on file with your credit card company and our corporate office as well. It is told to you about the refund policy up front and you are asked to verify if anything was offered to you that was not said on tape.

If you were not listening, does that make it OUR fault as a company?

And then I hear people say that the $1396 for 2 people is not a great deal. Now I am interested in hearing this one. I saw someone put numbers up. People all the time say to me they can go online and get hotels cheaper. You know what? You are correct. You will get a much cheaper price staying in a hotel/motel or an Inn. But you are staying in a resort. If you are going to compare prices, then compare apples to apples and not apples to oranges.

You are told you are 15 minutes to the beach. I don't know what else more you want.

For those that throw this away based on what a few people have said here, then that is your perogative. This offer is then passed on to someone else.

And yes, we do offer incentives to people who can not make up their minds. Now this is normal practice in the Hospitality business. Ask anyone that is in the biz. Now when I say in the biz, I don't mean a housekeeper or a pbx operator. But talk to a front desk supervisor or office manager or the sales managers. They do it all the time.

There is a reason why it is offered.

And back to the scam part. You have a letter saying it is good for the next 72 hours of receipt. It is stated to call with your traveling companion, it is also stated that this is an offer to sell vacations. You know most of the package already before even calling and have the 72 hours to do research before calling. It is stamped by the post master which means this vacation has been looked into by the postmaster and the State Attorney Generals office, both in Florida and in your states. It has been sent 1st class mail and not bulk mail where someone licked a stamp and put it on. It has been verified already. It is up to you to do your due dilligence before calling.

And remember, most importantly, you are calling US. We did not pick up a phone to call you. Some people leave this job all the time because they are not making the money they thought they would. This is sales. You either have it or you do not have it. Plain and Simple. Sales is not for everybody. I know we have a lot of fun in our office while we are working, yet very professional too.

I look forward to reading some of the responses to my post. Wait, let me rephrase that. I look forward to reading the thought out replies. If you still think this is a scam then let me know why you think it is a scam. If you would like something explained further, then let me know, I will try to explain it to you.

Hope you all have a great weekend and upcoming week.

I am a former employee with Ramada Plaza Resorts call center in Ft. Lauderdale FL. My job was to answer the phone calls and try to sell the vacation package. I was told to read the entire script word for word because there is plenty of legal jargon in there that covers Ramada's rear end. The vacation package is actually legal, but the way the script is written makes it very difficult for your average consumer to understand. It's filled with hidden disclaimers.

I was never told that customers could get a refund, we were instructed to say that the vacation could be extended for a small fee or transferred to another person, but the customer had to buy it first. The script talks about the Ramada Plaza resort in Ft. Lauderdale but neglects to mention that it is in a terrible neighborhood surrounded by heavy traffic. All we say is that it's about 15 minutes from the beach. Not with the traffic in that area! When a customer would balk at buying the vacation, the managers would take over the call and sweet talk the customer into buying it, offering food included, $50 in gambling tokens and the option of extending the time limit to three years. Some people fell for it and bought the package.

I cannot say what the cruise is like, nor what the resort in Orlando is like. What I can say is that while the package is not a scam, in reality it's not as great as the script describes. I no longer work for the company because I felt uncomfortable telling customers how great the package is when it's not. The sales reps get paid on commission, the more money the customer puts down on the deposit, the higher the cut for the sales rep. I guess I didn't sound convincing because I made very little money! You can imagine that the reps will say just about anything they are legally allowed to say because we all wanted a bigger paycheck! If you receive one of these voucher package deals, don't bother. You'll probably be disappointed because the description sounds amazing and the trip really isn't.

Today I received a "Ramada Plaza Resorts" travel document, exactly the same as the one shown at the top of this thread. This is the fourth one of these I've received in the past year. The previous three, I sent to the shredder. With this one, I decided to check out the rip-off reports. Sure enough, my first impressions were shown true.

From the second I looked at the ridiculous, faked (but believable to someone who doesn't know better) travel voucher, I scoffed. I've learned over the years to not trust any phone call, e-mail, or junk mail that I receive, EVER.

Rip-offs like this one really get under my skin, because they prey on good people to make a dis-honest buck. I'm holding this voucher ticket so that I can report it to the BBB as well. Not that it'll make any difference, but I can know in my mind that I'm trying to stop this.

To read the rebuttals of the people that are behind this ridiculous rip-off is really infuriating. They claim that people know what they're walking in to, that it says very clearly that they're being bought into some time share pitches and things of that nature. Well, looking at this piece of mail that's in my hands, I had to search for the "fine print" to expressly say that in return for the vacation, I'm being asked to attend a time share presentation.

Anyone that has to use fine, hidden print in their mailings in order to fall within the fringe of the law is someone not to be trusted. I'll be telling my friends and family about this rip-off. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories!

Ross B.

Guys, why are you expecting a 5 star hotel on the beach and a luxury cruise liner with a balcony room if you are paying so little?? Were you also expecting white glove service and a presidential suite for $700 for the week?? What about a private helicopter picking you up from your house and your own cruise ship?

Next time when you go on vacation just remember, you get what you pay for. I know people who work for this company and NO, IT'S NOT A SCAM. But it is not going to be luxury accomodations that usually go for $500 a night.

There is nothing DECENT in South Florida for less than $200-$300 a night! Not to be rude and make fun of you but come on! It's important to take a vacation once or twice a year, but if you can only afford to travel this way, buy one of those timeshares (they really will help you save money)!

Sorry you got ripped off but at least it was a good learning experience.

It took you some time to come back Mx. Margate. What thread of proof do you have that I work for them? I own and operate my own business. I don't work for anybody now or in a long time. I only answer to myself and my customers.

Like I said, you will come back with gibberish on how I do work there. So, I would love to hear how I do work. Just because a small handful of people did not have a great time or even a good time means that the ones that did are not valid? Who cares if folks are reading from a script and don't sound good doing it. At least they took the time out to try.

I never have nor will I ever be employed by this company. I will however be a customer of Ramaada based on my experiences.

And to the one from Wisconsin who said something about how Florida law does not pertain to her. That is partly true, being that you are booking from that state and did not make your travel plans in Florida. You are bound by your state laws when it comes to travel. I asked a close friend who is an attorney.

Anyhow, good luck to anyone going on the trip. I challenge you to have a horrible time as Ms. Margate says.

Hi,

I posted earlier how they scammed me. I did my homework and read the laws, identifying numberous violations of the 2005 Florida Seller's Act. As expected, the rep I spoke to (Latoya) was extremely rude and attempted to refute every claim. I even went as far as having a friend call, say he had been offered the package previously and spoke to a rep, decided against it then, and now was interested in taking it. They said, "sure, no problem" - he hung up. When I first called them and got scammed, I repeatedly asked to think about it and call back - they said it was a one-time offer and if I hung up, I couldn't get it again -lying bastards!

Also, I quoted many other violations, such as the cancellation period. She told me that b/c I'm in Wisconsin, they don't have to abide the Florida laws, only the Wisconsin ones. Does that make any sense whatsoever? I don't think so, but if someone knows the answer, that'd really help me out.

I'm sorry, people who had a good travel experience don't scour the internet for websites badmouthing the trips they took in order to clear the travel company's name and then check back periodically to make a rebuttal when someone calls them out on the liar they are.

You DO work for the company, otherwise you wouldn't be so d**n defensive. And I didn't say there was anything wrong with a script, but the crack smokers they hire to work there can barely read. Once they've sold enough vacations, they're fired and put back on the streets to find the next sham company to work for. Sound a little familiar to you? Luckily, I wisened up and went back to school and got a REAL job, not working for losers and thiefs.

You know what I'm saying is true. But you think you'll be the different one, the one that makes thousands a week ripping people off. You'll work really hard, work lots of hours and come home with $100 - $200 a week if you're lucky. You must be proud of that...congrats.

Get smart - get a real job and stop ripping people off! You'll feel much better after you do.

I suggest that whoever wants to cancel their Ramada vacation package must never call Ramada's customer service, but write a letter of cancellation to the person who signed the credit voucher, Daniel Lambert. Mail it through USPS and never forget to pay for a return receipt so that you have proof that they received your letter of cancellation. Calling their customer service number is useless because they will tell you that the package was not sold on a cancellation basis and they will never let you cancel. If the package is truly not sold on a cancellation basis, then why did they bother putting this on their customer service page: "For your security modifications or cancellations of vacations can not be accepted via Email."

If you did not set a schedule for your travel or haven't signed a contract with Ramada or 30 days have not passed before you cancel, you still have a chance to get a refund. Just fight for your rights because I am sure that Ramada knows that they are in violation of some travel laws, but the consumers just have to find out what they are. Read and study the Florida statutes carefully and you are sure to have something against them. Visit this site:
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0559/ch0559.htm

File a complaint at www.800helpfla.com/

First off, I do not work for this company. I actually own my own business. It is easy for people to post something or write someone when they do not get their way. Very rare you see someone who writes when they had a great experience. And because my experience was different from yours means mine is not accurate?

Get a life. I am not leaving posts in hopes that Ramada makes a lot of money. I left my post because it was an awesome deal, we did save a lot of money and had a great time. If people did their due dilligence and would just read the voucher then they would know what it was they were getting BEFORE they even called.

Now I am not sure if you worked for this company and you made reference to someone reading a script. Well, when I called, it was obivous that someone was reading a script and I was actually expecting someone to be reading a script when I called, but when the promotional manager got on, it didnt seam as if he was reading from one. If he was, he was very good at what he was doing.

But it seems that people are more complaining about the refund policy which it was said up front in the recording we did that it was not refundable. I did ask about it too and they were up front with me.

So once again, I ask, what is the real problem?
Now I do expect you to be a sourpuss and spout out how you think I work for this company or how full of it I am or the fact that there are many unhappy people here, but you know what? If you take the number of people who travel and travel is one of the top industrys in our country and take the number of complaints here, I think my odds on a great vacation is great and my experience proves it.

So once again, Thank you Ramda for a great vacation.

Do you think we're stupid? You're the same lame-brained morons that sold these scam packages to begin with. You want to make it all seem ok so that people will read these and say "wow, this really worked out for some people". Then they'll be all warm and fuzzy when you move in for the attack.

How do I know this? I did this myself. When I was selling these sham vacations, I used to leave posts where people were bad mouthing us and say what a wonderful time my family and I had in Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale. Honestly, we put people up in run down dumps and the company makes huge amounts of money off them them. What traveler in their right mind would be happy about that??

The sales people make crap, but we're made to believe we have the potential to make thousands a week. So we work harder and harder, telling more and more lies. It doesn't happen. By the time we leave, the owners wind up paying us what equals to $1 - $2 an hour. What a dream job! That's why it's all crackheads and lunatics that work there. They can barely read the scripts provided to them.

Have fun while it lasts. Don't sell enough sham vacations and you'll be out on your a*s. It happens every day.

Hello. I too received this notification. I was a bit skeptical at first and listened to what they had to offer. I was hesitant although it did sound like a great vacation. Then they put a promotional manager on and I said it sounds nice, but the cost of plan tickets and then to upgrade my rental car, I am not sure if it may be feasable plus having to purchase food.

Well, the manager talked to me, gave me a chance to make sure I was dealing with Ramada. I did call 411 and the resorts and they confirmed everything.

This manager also threw in all of our meals at the resort. This made it seem like a better deal.

Well, we purchased it, then found this site and became a bit scared on what we did.

So we decided to go ahead and book the trip since we did pay for it.

Now, I don't know what everyone is complaining about, but we had a blast. Granted, we didn't stay at a 5 star heavy duty hotel, but it was beautiful.

Everything that was said to me over the phone was correct. We had a great room, only a little bit from the beach. We went on the cruise and had so much fun, we are going back next summer.

We loved Orlando, although it was a little drive, but they did warn us. My kids thought it was the best thing when we took them to Disney. The food was great. ATmosphere was great.

We went through the tour. They did tell us about the tour and I did read it on my voucher so that wasn't a surprise. The tour was pretty cool and if it were feasible moneywise, I probably would have purchased that time share. But, not a bad trade off, spend a couple of hours and get an awsome vacation.

We are booked for Puerto VAllarta and are staying at the Hacienda....Oh my.

For the ones complaining about this trip, I still do not see the valid complaint. Did you not read your notice before calling? Did you not listen to what they pitched? Did you just hear what you wanted to hear? It was made very clear to us about the refund policy as well.

THank you Ramada for giving us a great vacation. We will be back soon.

A general site dealing with timeshares and some of the California laws.

I, too, got my money back after paying over time for the "vacation." Don't recall how I did it, it's been some years, but when I told them that I just couldn't do it, the money was back in my credit card in no time.

Also, you can do a stop payment or inquiry through your credit card company. Most credit card companies have no problem in assisting their clients with refunds.

And if it sounds to good to be true, check HERE first!

Thank you, Rip-off Report!

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

ramada plaza resorts is the biggest scam company in america. the owner ronnie schlom has a big mouth, big ego, and little balls. he hides behind his goof troop management and is a real pirate,with no regard for other human beings. this product is garbage and so is his staff. the company is almost out of buisiness, and he was laughed out of his orlando office. hey ron keep up the good work there pal,THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTILL MORALE IMPROVES LOL.

I got my money back from RPR. My fiancee and I found a website with a thing set up for an online complaint to some FL legal thing (I'm sorry, I can't find it now, and can't remember details)

About 2 weeks after we filed our complaint, RPR refunded the entire 698 back to our accounts.

Hope this helps

Hi,

I was also just scammed by them. I called and tried to get my money back just recently. It has been approximately 5 months since I paid my first $698. The rep (who was a huge jerk) refused to give me the refund I requested, stating that in the information I was provided, it stated that I have 60 days to cancel (which I didn't read all of, regretfully), and just now decided to cancel and found this site. I've seen some bits and pieces on how to cancel after the scheduled deadline, which everyone else has indicated as being 30 days - can anyone who's gotten a refund after the deadline explain how they did so (in it's entirety, if possible)?

Thanks

I have always been known, by friends, family, and my husband, as finding "great deals" in travel. While I cannot say that the Ramada package was a "GREAT" deal, I can honestly say that it was a GOOD deal.

I received the same "coupon" in the mail, as pictured above. Granted, I thought they'd be hard-pressed to tell me it was a $1600 savings, but I did do some research (and I DID read all the fine print). Let's face it, when there's a time-share involved, you know there are going to be stipulations attached.

We didn't want to do the cruise because it would have been a waste of the rental car for that time. Besides, we had family and friends in FL that we wanted to see. So, we altered the package to 3 nts in Ft Laud. and 3 nts in Orlando, with the 7 days of rental car for $398 TOTAL (not each).

I was perfectly aware that we were obligated to attend a time-share presentation in Fort Lauderdale, in order to get the "Bonus" trips to Las Vegas (2 nts), Williamsburg (2 nts), and Puerto Vallarta (3 nts). We attended, and it was a 2 hour nuisance, but the rest of the time was ours to spend how we wanted.

In Ft Laud. we were put in the Whyndam FLL, which was VERY nice, and close proximity to the highway and beach. In Orlando, we were put in Best Western Lakeside, which was only a mile or two from the exit for Disney. We weren't planning to go to any theme parks, so we weren't really crazy about the location, but if that's what you're going there for, it's great! There were a bunch of good restaurants & shopping within walking distance, too.

We opted to do another time-share presentation in Orlando. Even though we didn't want any tickets to theme parks, they offered to give us $128 CASH for doing it. Another 2 hours (which we had a presenter with a great personality); a great breakfast; and $128 later, we were back on OUR time!

All in all, we spent around $500, after the taxes you are required to pay for the hotels and car (which is very clearly stated in the "fine print") and the $128 cash back time-share, for which we received 6 nights lodging and a rental car for a week. Pretty good deal, if you ask me.

But it doesn't stop there! We also have our 3 trips to Vegas, Williamsburg, and Vallarta! We have already booked (and confirmed) our trip to Puerto Vallarta in May, which is another 3 free nights (although we will pay the tax on that too, which by the way, was $45 at the Whyndam and $30 at the Best Western). So, after Puerto Vallarta, it's probably going to total around $550 for 9 nights of lodging and a week of rental car.... easily equating to less than $50/night, and we've still got two more trips we can take.

Ask questions!!! When I first called about this package, I probably spent almost an hour on the phone with these people, making sure I knew what I was getting. If you're not sure what they said, ask them again! Have them repeat things 10 times, if you need to.

If you're looking for something for nothing, you're not going to find it. But if you're looking for a bargain, and you have the tenacity to keep saying "NO" to a time-share salesman, it's a good deal. If you consider it a "rip-off", it's probably because you didn't know what you were doing, and you have no business buying something that you don't understand.

Sorry it didn't work for you!

I have always been known, by friends, family, and my husband, as finding "great deals" in travel. While I cannot say that the Ramada package was a "GREAT" deal, I can honestly say that it was a GOOD deal.

I received the same "coupon" in the mail, as pictured above. Granted, I thought they'd be hard-pressed to tell me it was a $1600 savings, but I did do some research (and I DID read all the fine print). Let's face it, when there's a time-share involved, you know there are going to be stipulations attached.

We didn't want to do the cruise because it would have been a waste of the rental car for that time. Besides, we had family and friends in FL that we wanted to see. So, we altered the package to 3 nts in Ft Laud. and 3 nts in Orlando, with the 7 days of rental car for $398 TOTAL (not each).

I was perfectly aware that we were obligated to attend a time-share presentation in Fort Lauderdale, in order to get the "Bonus" trips to Las Vegas (2 nts), Williamsburg (2 nts), and Puerto Vallarta (3 nts). We attended, and it was a 2 hour nuisance, but the rest of the time was ours to spend how we wanted.

In Ft Laud. we were put in the Whyndam FLL, which was VERY nice, and close proximity to the highway and beach. In Orlando, we were put in Best Western Lakeside, which was only a mile or two from the exit for Disney. We weren't planning to go to any theme parks, so we weren't really crazy about the location, but if that's what you're going there for, it's great! There were a bunch of good restaurants & shopping within walking distance, too.

We opted to do another time-share presentation in Orlando. Even though we didn't want any tickets to theme parks, they offered to give us $128 CASH for doing it. Another 2 hours (which we had a presenter with a great personality); a great breakfast; and $128 later, we were back on OUR time!

All in all, we spent around $500, after the taxes you are required to pay for the hotels and car (which is very clearly stated in the "fine print") and the $128 cash back time-share, for which we received 6 nights lodging and a rental car for a week. Pretty good deal, if you ask me.

But it doesn't stop there! We also have our 3 trips to Vegas, Williamsburg, and Vallarta! We have already booked (and confirmed) our trip to Puerto Vallarta in May, which is another 3 free nights (although we will pay the tax on that too, which by the way, was $45 at the Whyndam and $30 at the Best Western). So, after Puerto Vallarta, it's probably going to total around $550 for 9 nights of lodging and a week of rental car.... easily equating to less than $50/night, and we've still got two more trips we can take.

Ask questions!!! When I first called about this package, I probably spent almost an hour on the phone with these people, making sure I knew what I was getting. If you're not sure what they said, ask them again! Have them repeat things 10 times, if you need to.

If you're looking for something for nothing, you're not going to find it. But if you're looking for a bargain, and you have the tenacity to keep saying "NO" to a time-share salesman, it's a good deal. If you consider it a "rip-off", it's probably because you didn't know what you were doing, and you have no business buying something that you don't understand.

Sorry it didn't work for you!

I have always been known, by friends, family, and my husband, as finding "great deals" in travel. While I cannot say that the Ramada package was a "GREAT" deal, I can honestly say that it was a GOOD deal.

I received the same "coupon" in the mail, as pictured above. Granted, I thought they'd be hard-pressed to tell me it was a $1600 savings, but I did do some research (and I DID read all the fine print). Let's face it, when there's a time-share involved, you know there are going to be stipulations attached.

We didn't want to do the cruise because it would have been a waste of the rental car for that time. Besides, we had family and friends in FL that we wanted to see. So, we altered the package to 3 nts in Ft Laud. and 3 nts in Orlando, with the 7 days of rental car for $398 TOTAL (not each).

I was perfectly aware that we were obligated to attend a time-share presentation in Fort Lauderdale, in order to get the "Bonus" trips to Las Vegas (2 nts), Williamsburg (2 nts), and Puerto Vallarta (3 nts). We attended, and it was a 2 hour nuisance, but the rest of the time was ours to spend how we wanted.

In Ft Laud. we were put in the Whyndam FLL, which was VERY nice, and close proximity to the highway and beach. In Orlando, we were put in Best Western Lakeside, which was only a mile or two from the exit for Disney. We weren't planning to go to any theme parks, so we weren't really crazy about the location, but if that's what you're going there for, it's great! There were a bunch of good restaurants & shopping within walking distance, too.

We opted to do another time-share presentation in Orlando. Even though we didn't want any tickets to theme parks, they offered to give us $128 CASH for doing it. Another 2 hours (which we had a presenter with a great personality); a great breakfast; and $128 later, we were back on OUR time!

All in all, we spent around $500, after the taxes you are required to pay for the hotels and car (which is very clearly stated in the "fine print") and the $128 cash back time-share, for which we received 6 nights lodging and a rental car for a week. Pretty good deal, if you ask me.

But it doesn't stop there! We also have our 3 trips to Vegas, Williamsburg, and Vallarta! We have already booked (and confirmed) our trip to Puerto Vallarta in May, which is another 3 free nights (although we will pay the tax on that too, which by the way, was $45 at the Whyndam and $30 at the Best Western). So, after Puerto Vallarta, it's probably going to total around $550 for 9 nights of lodging and a week of rental car.... easily equating to less than $50/night, and we've still got two more trips we can take.

Ask questions!!! When I first called about this package, I probably spent almost an hour on the phone with these people, making sure I knew what I was getting. If you're not sure what they said, ask them again! Have them repeat things 10 times, if you need to.

If you're looking for something for nothing, you're not going to find it. But if you're looking for a bargain, and you have the tenacity to keep saying "NO" to a time-share salesman, it's a good deal. If you consider it a "rip-off", it's probably because you didn't know what you were doing, and you have no business buying something that you don't understand.

Sorry it didn't work for you!

I have always been known, by friends, family, and my husband, as finding "great deals" in travel. While I cannot say that the Ramada package was a "GREAT" deal, I can honestly say that it was a GOOD deal.

I received the same "coupon" in the mail, as pictured above. Granted, I thought they'd be hard-pressed to tell me it was a $1600 savings, but I did do some research (and I DID read all the fine print). Let's face it, when there's a time-share involved, you know there are going to be stipulations attached.

We didn't want to do the cruise because it would have been a waste of the rental car for that time. Besides, we had family and friends in FL that we wanted to see. So, we altered the package to 3 nts in Ft Laud. and 3 nts in Orlando, with the 7 days of rental car for $398 TOTAL (not each).

I was perfectly aware that we were obligated to attend a time-share presentation in Fort Lauderdale, in order to get the "Bonus" trips to Las Vegas (2 nts), Williamsburg (2 nts), and Puerto Vallarta (3 nts). We attended, and it was a 2 hour nuisance, but the rest of the time was ours to spend how we wanted.

In Ft Laud. we were put in the Whyndam FLL, which was VERY nice, and close proximity to the highway and beach. In Orlando, we were put in Best Western Lakeside, which was only a mile or two from the exit for Disney. We weren't planning to go to any theme parks, so we weren't really crazy about the location, but if that's what you're going there for, it's great! There were a bunch of good restaurants & shopping within walking distance, too.

We opted to do another time-share presentation in Orlando. Even though we didn't want any tickets to theme parks, they offered to give us $128 CASH for doing it. Another 2 hours (which we had a presenter with a great personality); a great breakfast; and $128 later, we were back on OUR time!

All in all, we spent around $500, after the taxes you are required to pay for the hotels and car (which is very clearly stated in the "fine print") and the $128 cash back time-share, for which we received 6 nights lodging and a rental car for a week. Pretty good deal, if you ask me.

But it doesn't stop there! We also have our 3 trips to Vegas, Williamsburg, and Vallarta! We have already booked (and confirmed) our trip to Puerto Vallarta in May, which is another 3 free nights (although we will pay the tax on that too, which by the way, was $45 at the Whyndam and $30 at the Best Western). So, after Puerto Vallarta, it's probably going to total around $550 for 9 nights of lodging and a week of rental car.... easily equating to less than $50/night, and we've still got two more trips we can take.

Ask questions!!! When I first called about this package, I probably spent almost an hour on the phone with these people, making sure I knew what I was getting. If you're not sure what they said, ask them again! Have them repeat things 10 times, if you need to.

If you're looking for something for nothing, you're not going to find it. But if you're looking for a bargain, and you have the tenacity to keep saying "NO" to a time-share salesman, it's a good deal. If you consider it a "rip-off", it's probably because you didn't know what you were doing, and you have no business buying something that you don't understand.

Sorry it didn't work for you!

I recieved a call from these guys this morning, and the saleslady told me that, "because I'm in California," there wouldn't be a time share sales event included in my vacation. She said people in some states who accepted the offer do have such an event attached to their vacation, but that people from California who accept the offer do not.

I can't understand why this would be the case, unless maybe somehow time shares are illegal in California or something. She was unwilling or unable to explain the reason to me during the call.

She said all they want from me is the chance that I will recommend their services to others, and that there would be no attempts to sell me anything.

If anyone here can understand why people from California wouldn't have the time-share sales event attached to the offer, could you explain what the reason is? Or if someone can explain how what the saleslady said about this is somehow deceptive, that would be welcome as well.

-Kris

I followed the suggestions from Denise of Groves, TX above and got all of my money refunded. Do a google search for Florida Sellers of Travel Act 2005 to find the current law, read it thoroughly, then write a letter to Daniel Lambert of RPR clearly stating how his company has broken the law in your specific case (my letter was over four pages long!). Honestly, after reading the actual law it is astonishing how many violations RPR makes. Even selling a package with a deadline of more than 18 months from the date of purchase is a violation!

Also, file complaints with the Florida Attorney General's Office and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, and make sure you inform Mr. Lambert that you are filing these complaints. The people at these offices will be very willing to help. It took me just over three weeks to get my refund.

Two days before Christmas and this is the best present I could have hoped for! Thanks to everybody on this site whose wonderful advice helped me get my money.

Jordan
Mount Vernon, IA

It's a rouge property who's abusing the Ramada name. There are only two Ramada Plaza Resorts, one in Fort Lauderdale and one in Orlando. They are not affiliated with the large hotel chain Ramada. The owners of the 2 resorts are the same people who own the phone room and sell the rip off vacation packages!

I am a college student and got sucked into this. I thought it would be a great and affordable way to vacation seeing as if I have alot of financial obligations with school. Then reading up on the subject I realize its going to cost way more than they had made it seem like and there is no time to take this trips. I really need a refung but I am past the 30 day mark sited in the florida act. ANY Advise??!!

if you want your money back and you did not have a date certain certificate than you have 30 days if you picked you dates than it is non-refundabel ,just like delta ,american or any of the other top mayor airlines do ,have you ever got your money back from one of them no ,they dont give it back its all the same .you have to read and understand what you are getting your self into.

I bought this package about 6 months ago and just got back from my trip. I got what I paid for. IT WAS NOT A SCAM -- I GOT EVERYTHING THEY PROMISED.

First off -- they DID tell me when I bought it that it was non-refundable, but is WAS transferrable. If you choose to buy it, you gotta take it! You can extend the date, though, to a certain extent. They also clearly stated the extra's that I'd have to pay. Those included hotel taxes, car rental taxes/fees, my transportation to FL, and other meals besides breakfast.
The people on the phone were a bit pushy, but thats to be expected in this type of deal. But they were not rude, and all my questions were answered. They also delivered on everything they promised. I had told them I didn't want to go to Fort Lauderdale or the cruise. I told them I only wanted the package if I could spend the entire time in Orlando. They gave me that. I also told them I wanted Islands of Adventure tickets instead of Universal Studios, I also got that. I asked about an upgrade on the car. It was $36 to upgrade to a compact, and thats what I paid (plus tax).
Another thing -- they told us because we lived in Illinois, we didn't have to attend any sales presentation for the park tickets. When we got there, at first they wanted to sign us up for the presentation. But then I re-iterated that we're from Illinois. The guy checked something, came back, and said I was right and gave me the tickets -- no big deal.
The hotel was fine. In some ways it was nicer than I expected. At first we had a room on the ground floor. But that seemed a bit musty, like it had flooded at some point. They gave us no trouble when we asked to move upstairs. Our room on the 4th floor was quite nice. Clean and comfortable. The public areas of the hotel were nice. A lovely lobby with piano bar and gift shop. The restaurant where we had breakfast was fine. Clean and decent food. The pool area was very nice.

THIS IS NOT A SCAM. YOU DO GET WHAT THE PACKAGE STATES. (And, as I mentioned, I was able to tailor the package to what I wanted for NO ADDITIONAL FEE.) If you have doubts about whats included with something, ASK!! They will give you the full details of everything. My package was $498 and I spent an additional $108 on the taxes/upgrades. I feel I got a fair deal on this trip. I did save money based on paying for everything separately. Don't be naive about these things -- you can't expect a full-size car for no extra fee when the package says "sub-compact". If you're realistic about what you are getting, you will be happy with this package.

My boyfriend and I recently fell pray to this rip-off. He recieved the voucher in the mail for $1600 in travel cash. He felt this could be a great way for us to get a great honeymoon.

When he called they made him put $398 down and required him to pay $398 for the next few months until the $1400 trip was paid off.

I googled this company and found this site and I thank you all for your comments. It's because of you that we were able to get our money back in record time.

I originally thought that I had purchased a wonderful deal with this vacation, but after having read all of your experiences with RPR I am convinced that I have been scammed. Unfortunately for me, I purchased the vacation package in April or May (about 6 months ago), so I will not qualify for the 30 day cancellation allowed by law. Does anybody have any suggestions for me? Have all of your cancellations happened within the 30 day period? What are my chances of getting a refund?

Thanks in advance.

This same thing happened to me a while ago. I recieved this "package" in the mail. So I called up and inquired about it.

In the last 4 months I had not been at any conventions or registered for anything. And if I do, I use a PO box, not my home address, (where my vouchers were sent). I had already caught them in lie number one.

The sales person started talking to me, and I kept asking questions. I was told that the voucher would be used to take care of the "cost" of the trip, so I was getting a free trip, airfare included. Then a 2nd person chimed in, "Well actually that's not correct. The $1600 has already been applied as a credit." The first person hung up and the second person started giving me the details. How to cancel, how long I had to pay, how long I had to use it, etc.

It was one of those "too good to be true" things. And they kept asking for my credit card number. That sent off a big red flag. I told them that I didn't have a credit card, so they offered to take a check by phone. I told them that I didn't have a checking account. (Neither of is true, I just don't give out that information to ANYONE on the phone, ever. Besides this was starting to smell like tuna.) They then said I was no longer able to recieve the trip because of those two facts. And then he hung up on me.


A few weeks later I recieved another phone call telling me that they lowered the price of the trip to $400 per person! I told them no thanks and hung up.

I'm glad I was smart enough to figure out this was a total scam way before I got caught up in it.

If it is past the 30 days, you have two choices. Call your credit card company and just explain that you were lied to. OR try this...I use to work for bts (bradik telemarketing service). That is a company that sold these vacations. Go to www.showsmart.com that is the same company, showsmart though deals with the tradeshows that they get there list from. ALl the contact information for the company is there. The owners name is jeff drutz by the way. If you want to talk to someone about it, thats the best way to do it.

I am in the same situation as Rob in Edmonton. I'm ready to fight but I want to be prepared...any suggestions?

Thanks to rip-off report and other web sites there is information available to get a refund. My biggest problem is it has been 10 months since I was scammed into paying the 698 USD. Have people been able to find a sure fire way for getting refund even after 30 days? I know I don't want to take the vacation now since reading hundreds of complaints. Please share you ideas. Thanks.

Thanks to rip-off report and other web sites there is information available to get a refund. My biggest problem is it has been 10 months since I was scammed into paying the 698 USD. Have people been able to find a sure fire way for getting refund even after 30 days? I know I don't want to take the vacation now since reading hundreds of complaints. Please share you ideas. Thanks.

Thanks to rip-off report and other web sites there is information available to get a refund. My biggest problem is it has been 10 months since I was scammed into paying the 698 USD. Have people been able to find a sure fire way for getting refund even after 30 days? I know I don't want to take the vacation now since reading hundreds of complaints. Please share you ideas. Thanks.

I to have been taken in to the scam.

The voucher was actually never addressed to me. It was sent to my girlfriend. She called the number on the voucher, and talked to one of the repressentitives for at least 45 minutes.

She was presented with the $6__ offer. She asked me about it, and I said, "No." She told them this, and they seemed to have given her more offers. She presented me with each one, and I kept saying no.


I told my girlfriend to ask for the information in writing. I never heard any of the responses. I asked her to look up the website. and she did. I was stunned to see how vague the site was. It had no information at all about this offer.


A few minutes later, my girlfriend decides to give them her credit card number. The credit card was denied. At this point, the sales person asked to speak with me.

I took the phone, and the sales repressentitive started to yell at me.
I asked the representive a few simple questions. She responded by telling me that she had told my girlfriend this already. She was very short with me. I was about to hang up on her, but my girlfriend started yelling at me too.


I felt I had no choice but to take her offer for $149. I wasn't given any information. I feel that this was a case of fraud. I didn't hear what I was paying for, or any of the details in this matter. The charges have not yet gone through.

This was yesterday. Today, I called and asked for a refund based on the legal actions based on the website: http://www.800helpfla.com/pdfs/SOT04.pdf
page 7.

She immediately transfered me. I sat on the phone a few minutes, and I got a busy signal. That was the last time I was able to get through on the phone. At this point I don't know what to do. I feel that this money has not really been aproved, and that if they take this money from my account, it would be equivalent to theft. I don't really know how to prove this. I will not be satisfied until Ramada realizes that this "sales pitch" is costing the corporation 10 times as much as it brings the corporation.

Ramada seems to have lost face. The company name makes me sick to my stomach. I have already told 20 people my story in 1 day. I am sure these people will never have anything to do with Ramada, Carnival Cruises, Imperial Majesty, or Universal Studios ever again.

Thank you

Hello! I received this so called "SPECTACULAR Travel Voucher" in the mail today. It looked too good to be true (which is always the case), and I decided to search for this "resort". Well, I found this website. To make a long story short, I found out about this horrible company and the horrible scam they are pulling on people!!! THANK YOU RIP OFF REPORT FOR EXISTING!!! And I will always count on this website for up-to-date information on product complaints and such, now that I know this website exists!!! Hopefully more people will investigate things, before they get scammed!!!! :)

Enrico...he/she says they DID call the number and it cuts off after one ring.


I'm not going to get into my long story, but I "won" one of these, too, and was suckered into it, as well. But after some calls and not taking no for an answer, all is well.

Clifton,

Thats all you need to do. By law they have to do it or they can be fined $11,000.

It is an automated dialer that keeps calling you and it will until you take their call.

Make the effort to call the number on the caller ID and it will stop.

I had received the travel voucher for the Ramada vacations a few months ago. I called to check the price, you know, just curious. I thought it might be a good deal. I have never purchased anything like that. The sales rep was nice at first, but when she told me the price, I replied that I could not afford that amount. I tried to get off of the phone with her at that time, but she kept hasseling me. She got angry and hateful with me, but I finally got out of the conversation. I'm glad I did not purchase the vacation package! But now, I have been getting phone calls. It started on Sept. 6th. My caller ID shows RAMADA PLAZA RESORTS and the number shows up as (561) 424-0845. I looked up the area code and its a Florida number. They have called everyday, more that once a day for the past 7 days now. When I do answer their call, they hang up. I really don't appreciate these harrasing and obnoxious phone calls. I tried to call the number back, but the line just gets cut off after the 1st ring. If anyone can help me with this, it would be great. I don't know whether I sould call my phone company and report it, or contact Ramada and cuss them out!! Any suggestions???



Thanks,

I was in touch with Ramada Plaza Resorts (1 800 203 9783) and spoke to a customer care specialist. The conversation started at 11:00 AM and I was off the phone just a bit ago (now 11:23)...not bad! Anyways, I explained that I would like to CANCEL my reservation/vacation package and was very persistent, but friendly. She was very helpful, however tried to sell me another package. I interuppted in saying that when the time comes I would be in touch with them if we were interested in vacationing with them. I explained our situation and how it is just not feasible right now or anytime soon. I made it very clear that it would be appreciated that the full refund be credited back to our credit card since we are within the 30 day period of reserving the vacation. I was put on hold a couple of times, but in the end she stated that I should see the full refund back onto my credit card within 48-72 hours. Now lets hope that this is correct! She also stated that the refund receipt/certificate would be in the mail within 7-10 days. We need to send back the package that we received in the mail and thats it. She than went on to say that as a gift from Ramada Plaza Resorts, we would be receiving a "free complimentary 3 days 2 nights vacation with them". We have a year to take advantage of this "free" trip and would have to call the reservations dept. with a 60 day advance. I thanked her and said that we would be in touch if need be and confirmed all the details of the refund with her. I repeated everything that she had said to me (have a pen and paper ready!) and I was than given a Cancellation number. Jennie, I followed all your instructions and thank you so much! Fingers crossed!!!

I saw an ad in the paper advertising a position for "Travel Agent", [answering customer queries. No sales. No exp. req] Thinking no sales, i applied for the job.



After i was hired, i was put through training for the position of "Promotions Director" for Ramada Plaza Resort, Orlando Ft. Lauderdale Vacations. The whole 3 hours of training before being put on the floors consisted of reading over the script, and reading over the rebuttals to the most common customer objections.They insisted that we keep control of the call and never let the client interrupt. They kept stressing to "Cushion, Rebuttal and Close!", meaning when the client has a question, read the predetermined answer and then ask for the credit card number and get the persons information down.



Bradik Telemarketing Services is the external company which hired us to work as Promotions Directors for RPR. This company had such a high employee turnover rate that the room never looked the same 2 days in a row. New people are constantly shuffled in, and old rep's that did not perform well in the week prior were released/fired/quit.



Due to the high employee turnover rate, employees of that company do not have actual employee numbers. The three digit number which the "promotions director" discloses to the customer is actually just the last 3 digits of their Social Insurance Number. And that number is only given to give an air of legitimacy to your title.



The whole sales pitch is straight from a script.



"Hi ____ this is ____, Promotions Director at RPR orlando ft. lauderdale vacations. Recently you were at ____ and you filled out a registration form for a 11 day 10 night Florida Bahamas cruise vacation. Do you remember that? Great! well i have some great news for you! We've completed our final screenings, and your one of the registrants from the show, picked based on your demographics, to receive an unforgettable Florida Bahamas cruise offer. So basically ___, out of the thousands of registrants, you were one of the lucky few selected demographically."



then the next part of the script requires that we check registration to make sure that they still meet the "requirements", however it is really just to give the person a visual image that the "promotions director" is checking things over. Really, these things do not count at all. The registration forms that they give us wiht the numbers of the people on it sometimes only have the name, number and type of credit card used. In which case, still makes the demographic requirement. (wiothout age, sex, marital status, address etc.)



after reaffirming the information, "Its Official! you're going to Florida and the Bahamas!"



then you would give the excited person all the details and then when it comes to the point of "Great! Lets get you registered! Now ill print your first two tickets off as........ "



THERE ARE NO TICKETS BEING PRINTED BY THE "PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR"



this is said and done to "create a visual image" to the customer that we actually care about them. The only thing we take down are the name that it appears on the ticket, and the credit card number. Any other questions such as "anyone in your party require any special assistance?" or "would you prefer a smoking or non-smoking room?" are completely bull, and used to conjure up the illusion of something tangible to the customer.



At this point, if there are any questions by the customer, It is time for the rebuttals. Most of the questions customers ask are all along the same 5-10 questions, which again are scripted. They are all designed so that there is a Cushion/Rebuttal/Secure. Cushion to put customer at ease, Rebuttal for saying that we cannot do that, and close to ask again for the credit card. Customers are given 3 questions/rebuttals before the "PD" takes away the package. They do so because people will usually take what they can lose.



"Now ___, Please understand that i am completely impartial as to whether you take your package or not. My job is to simply notify you of your vacation offer and register you for your pre paid tickets.



____, it is already your package. I can only think that when you registered, you did so witht the intentions of taking holiday. Well with this $3285US vacation offer, you only pay the fee of 199.50US per person,as well as Gold key accomodations, a rental car for your entire stay. So, your not actually considering giving your package away are you? Great! Lets get you registered!"





If i knew about this earlier, i wouldn't have applied. Right now for the first 30 days, they hold the first 3 days of training pay from you if you decide to quit before then. So i am under contrat with them until they release me. So please be aware of these things, that nothing is truly free.





after reading these things online, i can only say that i am ashamed that i have sold some of these packages off to people. I hope word spreads quickly about this.

I purchased the first half of my trip in 2004. And then when I purchased for my girl friend in may of 2005 i was told the hotel would be on the beach or within walking distance of the the beach in ft lauderdale. I arrived at the Welcome center to find out that the Wyndham FLL is right next to the airport that i just drove 25 minutes away from to get to the welcome center. When I asked if the Wyndham was on the beach like i was told I was told no it is not and i was not told it was on the beach. Then asked if I had something in writing saying that I was promised a hotel on the beach. I then was told it would be 45 dollars more a night to be moved to the "on the beach hotel". I told her that I would like to talk to a manager and was asked to fill out a form. I explained nicely that i was promised a hotel on the beach or one with in walking distance. The manager then "explained" to me that I was wrong and the person would not have told me this. After telling the manager I wanted a refund and being told it was not refundable I asked her to move me to the "on the beach hotel" to credit she dialed a number on the phone who knows if that went to the next room or not but told me that it was a holiday weekend and I should have booked it ahead of time. At this point I went ape s**t. I went crazy and told her to give me the vouchers of the hotel and I would be going there for the next two nights and find my one f**king hotel for the rest of the trip should could take her f**king trip and shove it up her f**king a*s. Sorry for the explict language but I'm just getting home today and still pissed off about the experience. My girl friend and I drove to the port to see the ship I was told it was a medium size ship. Ya it was about 15 times the size of a boston whaler. SO f**k that we decided right then and there that was the end of this f**king bullshit ramamda stay. We went to the best western "pelican beach resort" it was beatiful and expensive but it was right on Ft Lauderdale beach and it was great. Don't be suckered in. I'll be calling Monday and asking for 1400 of the total cost. If not I'll tell them I have hired a lawyer and they can deal with him. If they don't take to this idle threat I'll spend the 1250 and hire a lawyer to f**king sue there asses. This company is rediculous and should be put out of business.



thanks

I am yet another victim of the Ramada vacation package nightmare. They called and said that you are a lucky winner to a great vacation in Florida, Bahamas. Immediately, I was suspicious, and then I asked if there is any costs involve in this vacation. Then they said I have to listen to all the things they said before I can ask any questions. Then they start to talk, which sounded like some kind of prayer.



They keep repeating how luxurious this vacation package is and that I'm truly lucky to have won it. I truly believed that they are talented salespeople, I don't know how they got me to give away my mastercard information. Maybe they know how to brainwash.



Anyways, I called the next day and asked to cancel. Once again, they convinced me to change the vacation package to a cheaper package and extended it for another 18 months. After a week, I feel uneasy about the vacation package, so I called to ask for a refund. However, they tell me that they don't do refunds.



I was shocked... and they said that they will send me a letter in writing where I can try the package, and if I don't like it, I get 100% money back guarantee. This is getting more and more suspicious, and then I found this site. I quickly realized my mistake.



I should have said cancel, not refund. Ramada don't do refunds. And also, you must mention the Florida Sellers of Trade Act, where you are entitled to full refund without penalty if you cancel within 30 days else they will also tell you that you can't cancel your vacation package.



I followed the steps made by Jennie from Boonville,New York, and they finally agree to refund me fully. Thank you Jennie.

p/s I also called my credit card company in case they do not refund my money.

Ramada won't give up on me. The Vice President of Promotions just called and wanted to know why I wanted to cancel the vacation. She offered me a 7 night stay in Orlando for $220 a person, create your own itinerary, all meals included, 2-4 tickets to Universal Studios, 10 free vacations to sell on Ebay in order to pay for my air fare, 3 YEARS to use this package, and all this while still giving me all of the money back on my card, just because they don't want to lose my business.

I received the $1600 travel voucher in the mail, and when I called, a man named Charlie with a smooth, easy-going personality described for me the beautiful, high-class, discounted vacation I would be receiving for only $698 each for two people, $199 for the next 3-4 people ($99 for under 13). The package included a 2 night stay in Ft. Lauderdale, a cruise to the Bahamas on an Imperial Cruise ship, and a 2-night stay in Orlando at the Ramada Plaza Inn resorts. I was told that I had to confirm my vacation package on that phone call since there was only one phone call allowed per travel voucher. I deposited HALF of the amount of one person (he bargained with me) and was told I had up to 18 months to take the trip with 60 days advance notice. I would have had to pay for air fare and $25 a day for a rental car since I am under 21, but that the deal was really worth it and we would be treated like royalty. I was also told when I asked that I could not cancel the trip but I could transfer it to another person.



I admit it was naive and foolish of me to deposit, but I felt like it was a really good deal at the time. However, I then conducted some research. I found out that the hotels and cruise line were worth a lot less than what I would have been paying for them. I also found this site and many others like it that said how fraudulent the company is. Thanks to Christina from Carmel, NY, here on ripoffreport.com, I learned about the Florida State Sellers of Travel Act. YOU SHOULD ALL LEARN ABOUT THIS ACT. It states that it is unlawful for a travel company to refuse a cancellation request and full refund for anyone who cancels within 30 days after payment of the trip or receipt of the travel certificate, whichever is later. There are no exceptions to this rule! View http://www.800helpfla.com/pdfs/SOT04.pdf



If you have been suckered into this scam, follow these steps:



1. Call 1-800-203-9783.



2. Ask to speak to a customer care specialist.



3. Explain to them that you would like to cancel and since you purchased the package less than 30 days ago, you are entitled to a full refund without penalty.



4. Have the above web site in front of you (page 7) so that you can quote to them the applicable part of the law.



5. If they try and tell you that there are reasons that you are not eligible for a refund, or if they tell you they will extend your package, or if they continue to try and make you offers, STAND FIRM. BE PERSISTENT. Continue to make your point.



6. If they still will not cooperate, ask to speak with their supervisor.



I followed these steps and received a full refund AND, they tell me, a complimentary vacation to Orlando or Ft. Lauderdale. Good luck to you all. Let me know if this works for you.

Just wanted to say that yesterday night I was able to knock these people down to a price of $149 upfront, with a total of $200 off the price of $1,600. Nonetheless, I was really excited about it. I orignally got it via Postal Mail. The rep Jamie, was a fluke. Me and the fiance couldn't stop laughing at the "script" she was obviously reading.



Enter today, I Google Ramada Resort Vacation and low and behold this site comes up with a direct link to this thread. I got about half way done reading the comments and called the 800 number immediately. I talked with a rep and told him that I was mislead on the phone and that the details of the package weren't explained properly. He told me he would send in writing that the trip would be fully refundable if I was not satisfied. I of course declined. I told them that since I'm in the state of IL I would like to cancel this trip and be refunded the money back on the card. He had no problem. If there was a problem, I would of course taken the action that many others have taken.



How can these people stay in business. If these people were in Chicago, the Mayor, the Governer, the Attorney General would be all over these people. I feel sorry for the people who couldn't get their money back.

I was scammed by the coupon/voucher you get in the mail. I didn't apply for it or fill anything out. I have never even been to the trade show.



I paid $798 per person to up grade to the 4 day cruise (which I was told was a 5 day). I also was told the hotel was near the beach. Now I guess that "near" the beach is subjective. My hotel was over an hour from Ft. Lauderdale and the Ft. Lauderdale beaches. I am only 24, so I skipped the rental car, bc if you are under 25 it costs extra. I was told I would be fine. That was also a total lie. My hotel room smelled, the entire hotel smelled, it reminded me of when I use to visit my great grandmother in an old folks home.



So after that all sucked, my friend an I went on the four day cruise. The cruise was awesome. We had the best time! It made us forget the nasty Ramada not near the beach hotel. Our cruise was a standard Carnival cruise on the Fascination.



I agree with the above reports Ramada may be the worst company on the planet, but if you have been scammed at least enjoy the cruise, and look at the time share tour as a celebrity homes tour. We told our guide up front that we couldn't afford anything so he just kind of drove us around and pointed out cute houses. It was a beautiful property, but thanks to Ramada... I am broke!



On a side note, because the hotel in Mitgate (they pretend it is Ft. Lauderdale, but it isn't) was so awful I am scared to take the Vegas and Peurto Vallarta trips. Has anyone just decided to make the best of this and taken those trips too? Are those hotels as bad?



Thanks for the insight!

I am an ex-employee of Ramada Plaza Resorts. I want the public to know the owners name and how to reach him. Warren is 31, and has bought 3 large corporate buildings in the last 2 years in N. Palm Beach, Boynton Beach and Pompano Beach Florida. Warren has made his money from taking your money. How many people have been scammed... Hundreds of thousands. Ever met the man...? Used car salesman and is willing to sell his soul for a dollar... A shame in deed....



Former employee....



Anyone want his number....?

I am an ex-employee of Ramada Plaza Resorts. I want the public to know the owners name and how to reach him. Warren is 31, and has bought 3 large corporate buildings in the last 2 years in N. Palm Beach, Boynton Beach and Pompano Beach Florida. Warren has made his money from taking your money. How many people have been scammed... Hundreds of thousands. Ever met the man...? Used car salesman and is willing to sell his soul for a dollar... A shame in deed....



Former employee....



Anyone want his number....?

I am an ex-employee of Ramada Plaza Resorts. I want the public to know the owners name and how to reach him. Warren is 31, and has bought 3 large corporate buildings in the last 2 years in N. Palm Beach, Boynton Beach and Pompano Beach Florida. Warren has made his money from taking your money. How many people have been scammed... Hundreds of thousands. Ever met the man...? Used car salesman and is willing to sell his soul for a dollar... A shame in deed....



Former employee....



Anyone want his number....?

I am an ex-employee of Ramada Plaza Resorts. I want the public to know the owners name and how to reach him. Warren is 31, and has bought 3 large corporate buildings in the last 2 years in N. Palm Beach, Boynton Beach and Pompano Beach Florida. Warren has made his money from taking your money. How many people have been scammed... Hundreds of thousands. Ever met the man...? Used car salesman and is willing to sell his soul for a dollar... A shame in deed....



Former employee....



Anyone want his number....?

I also took the advice of others, including Denise from Texas who provided a template for a letter to send to Ramada. I contacted them today via phone only to be told that my letter was received by the likes of Daniel Lambert and James Verillo and that they STILL will not give me a full refund.



However, I did notice that for the first time out of my 5 times calling Ramada, the Sales Rep (Ronny) mentioned that if I was not happy with my trip, that they would refund me the full amount I paid AFTER my trip and once I wrote a formal complaint as to why I was not happy.



My problem is that I do not wish to even travel on this vacation because I know this is definitely a scam and I know that it will be a waste of time and money. If anyone can give me ANY advice on what I should do at this point, inlcuding Denise, please let me know....thanks.

Thank you, Denise from Texas. I followed instruction posted by Denise from Grove Texas on Oct 14th titled "Got my money back", it works.



I got my money back within 2 weeks.



Thank you, Denise

Wendy,

Yes, it IS the same scam this thread is talking about. I got the $1600 voucher in the mail, thats how I got hooked. I called, and then they want you to pay $698 more towards the whole package. They claim the total cost is less than you would get yourself, but afterwards (unfortunately) I researched it and found the same components of the package for less money. But I got a refund. (See my message a few comments above).

Good luck.

Hi,

I recently recieved in the mail a voucher worth 1600$ for a "package" that resembles all of yours. It includes 2 nights Gold key hotel stay in Orlando, Cruise, 3 nights in south floridea and more. It also includes a voucher worth 1600$. I'm wondering if this is the same "scam" that you are all talking about and somehow were forced to pay for additional fees that mounted to 700$ + over the phone? It has been made clear in your discussions that some of you BOUGHT tickets but were unable to get refund, but I just wanted to know if this 1600$ voucher is a new scam? Did they just take your credit card number and charged you unrelated fees or was it all explained on the phone? But I don't even remember ever having entered a contest or draw for this...? It would be helpful too if someone had that site with all the scam example vouchers. Thanks!

Hello Everyone,



I am a telemarketer or promotions director for Ramada Plaza Resorts. I phone people that fill out ballots at trade shows and events and tell them about this package (the 698 package). I would just like to say that all of you need to do TWO things READ and THINK.



BEFORE you sign something that you didn't READ THINK about the consequences. I have talked to people who weren't even aware that they had signed up for this promotional offer because they just signed anything that was handed to them at a trade show. On these ballots it clearly states, Will Be used for Travel Offering. On the back are many pieces of information like This Ballot will be used for Timeshare offering. READ the information given to you and THINK before you give out your information such as phone numbers and address. People are calling you because you didn't know what you wre signing up for. If someone calls you because you have signed a ballot say I am not interested please remove my ballot and we will gladly do so.



I would also like to say that I TELL EVERYONE THAT I SPEAK TO IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT CANCELING THIS TRIP DON'T BUY IT SAVE YOURSELF THE HASSLE. If you are not 100% sure, don't buy anything. Most of you here are in a twist because you DIDN'T READ,YOU DIDN'T LISTEN AND YOU DIDNT THINK. Many of you haven't even taken the trip. There are people who will love this trip, likewise there are people who will hate it. So next time guys before you A) Fill out and sign something that you never read and B) Buy something that you're not 100 % sure you want STOP!

I'm so glad i googled this vacation package before i actually took it. I too was lured into this vacation package and now after reading all these comments i'm becoming a little skeptical. I find 1 good response for every 20 criticisms. That makes me think twice. After reading this I contacted the 800 number they give you in the welcome voucher and (surprise) the representative I talked to was extremely rude and all she said was if there is something that can be done that she could do it and there was no one else that she could put me through to. I was hoping that someone who has had success in getting a refund from this company give me some tips on how i too can get my money back. I really should have done this sooner but up till today i believed that i was actually gonna go on a "first class vacation" for a "good deal".

I'm so glad i googled this vacation package before i actually took it. I too was lured into this vacation package and now after reading all these comments i'm becoming a little skeptical. I find 1 good response for every 20 criticisms. That makes me think twice. After reading this I contacted the 800 number they give you in the welcome voucher and (surprise) the representative I talked to was extremely rude and all she said was if there is something that can be done that she could do it and there was no one else that she could put me through to. I was hoping that someone who has had success in getting a refund from this company give me some tips on how i too can get my money back. I really should have done this sooner but up till today i believed that i was actually gonna go on a "first class vacation" for a "good deal".

Even though you are told repeatedly that money cannot be refunded, IT CAN BE! I have mine and my friends have theirs. My first check had been cashed for 6 months by the time I read this report. If paid by credit card, report to them, also. They will help you.

Call customer service and ask to talk to a supervisor. You won't get to, but document every time this happens and their lack of courtesy. File a report [online] with the Florida Attorney General's Department of Consumer Services. Document all verbal statements made that are false. Copy all information that is false and misleading.

This is a "budget" ship, not "luxurious" cruising. The hotel rooms are $59 on the internet, not a $75 value. Any change made by them in the package or any part of the package that is different than quoted in the original phone call can be grounds for cancellation.

Fax the company with your all the misrepresentations stated. Be polite, but FIRM!

I worked for this company for three days, I walked out just before break on the third day. I actually almost walked out in the board room the first 1/2 hour of training.

It is a complete farse!



On the "script" it states that you must be 21 years of age or older and that the people are chosen by demographics, BS.

You can't tell me that a person who is 18 or 19 is the proper demographics!



What about if the person has only filled out their name and phone number? They didn't fill in their income, age, address, credit card company, whether they are married or single. A name and a phone number are not a demographic! Would this not mean they don't meet the demographics? Would tis not mean you throw this registration away?



"Tell don't sell", this is what they tell you until you get on the phones, then it is "come on guys, let's get these people registered, we had a horrible night lastnight".



On my third day when I hadn't sold anything, they were telling me I needed to get batter. When I said I would try my best they told me that I needed to sell something. The only response I could come up with was...



"I'm telling, NOT selling. If they want it they take it, if they don't I don't care!"



cheers,

I fell into the same trap as many other people. Luckily I found ripoffreport.com! It pays to do your homework! I found the names and addresses of the principals of the company by searching for corporate and partnership records on the internet.



The following is a letter I sent to several people at RPR and at some other government agencies. I sent the letter certified. RPR signed for it on Monday and I received a full refund on my credit card on Wednesday. Good Luck!





June 16, 2004

Daniel Lambert

Ramada Plaza Resorts

2419 E. Commercial Blvd.

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308



RE: FULL REFUND DUE TO VIOLATION OF FLORIDA'S DECEPTIVE AND UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES ACT



Dear Mr. Lambert:



Please refund the full purchase price of 2,035.00 for the vacation package I purchased from Ramada Plaza Resorts based on false and misleading advertising and statements. My package information is as follows:



Client Number: XXXXXXXX

Issue Date: 04/30/04

Down Payment: $738.00 on 05/05/04 via telephone

Final Payment: $1,297.00 on 05/13/04 via telephone



This letter is a formal demand letter for full refund of the above funds. Ramada Plaza Resorts has willfully and knowingly violated Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by engaging in unfair methods of competition, unfair, unconscionable and deceptive trade practices, including, but not limited to, travel scams, and false or misleading advertising.



Ramada Plaza Resorts OFV/IM, LLC is in violation U.S. Postal Service Mail Fraud Laws since you chose to send your false and misleading advertising and propaganda via the U.S. Mail.



Complaints against Ramada Plaza Resorts, Ellen Wasserstrom, Registered Agent, Daniel Lambert, Manager, Robert Tantalo, Manager, and James Verrillo, Manager, have been filed with the following agencies:



Florida Division of Consumer Services

Florida Attorney General

United States Postal Service

Texas Attorney General



If full refund is not received within 15 days of receipt of this letter, I am prepared to begin legal proceedings that include a class action lawsuit in the State of Texas.

I purchased this package after being promised a Spectacular Florida/Tropical Caribbean Cruise vacation package in return for my completion of a one-page survey evaluating the hotel and cruise accommodations at the conclusion of the vacation. The names Ramada, Carnival and Universal Orlando lead me to believe this was a quality vacation. I have since learned that my deluxe award-winning accommodations include two sub-standard hotels and a very old, poorly kept ship. The Internet is full of dissatisfied customers and governmental warnings and litigation. Before booking the vacation, I looked up the hotels on the Internet. Both looked nice. Upon searching the web for things to do in Fort Lauderdale, I found an incredible amount of negative publicity. I contacted my friend who lives in Boca Raton, Florida. Since I live over 17 hours from Fort Lauderdale, she went to investigate the hotel for me. Unfortunately for me, all of the negative comments were true. Her evaluation was, You can not take your kids there for vacation!.



I contacted Ramada Plaza Resorts on June 11, 2004 at 6:00 central time to cancel my trip and request a refund. Each representative I spoke with said that I was being recorded for customer service and quality control purposes. I then told them that I was recording them. They all refused me the right to record them. I guess I don't blame them, since no one employee has ever told me the same information. The details are always different. I finally spoke with a gentleman named Saul and told him to cancel my trip scheduled to begin 07/12/04. He said he would cancel the arrangements and I could reschedule within the next 18 months. I told him I had no intention of rescheduling and that I was pursuing a refund.



Today, a Ramada Plaza Resort employee contacted me at my office to confirm my travel plans. I told him that I had cancelled those plans and was pursing a refund. He got very rude and told me that the trip had not been cancelled. He also said that I would have to pay a cancellation fee if I did in fact cancel the trip. No cancellation fee was ever mentioned! Just another fraud by your company. I immediately faxed a cancellation to your company. Any charges to my credit card will be refused. Also, this charge will be an Unauthorized Charge and will constitute Credit Card Fraud.



Furthermore, if I would have booked this trip myself using the Ramada website and the Cruise Florida website, it would have only costs me $1,727.50. Where is my $1,600.00 savings? Fraud and Deception!



Since you, your co-conspirators, and your company are no strangers to litigation, you know all too well that it will be worth your effort to see that my refund is sent to me promptly. I have no intention of going away or letting this end until I have been fully justified. I may be reached by U.S. Mail ONLY. All correspondence must be in writing. Telephone calls will not be accepted!



You may credit my credit cards or mail the refund to the address at the beginning of this letter.



Sincerely,



XXXXXXX



Cc: 1) Ellen Wasserstrom 100 W. Cypress Creek Rd., Suite 700 Fort Lauderdale FL 33309

2) Robert Tantalo 2419 E. Commercial Blvd., Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale FL 33308

3) James Verrillo 2419 E. Commercial Blvd., Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale FL 33308

4) Office of Attorney General Charlie Crist, State of Florida - Consumer Fraud Division,

The Capitol PL-01 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050

5) Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Division of Consumer Services, 2005 Apalachee Parkway, Rhodes Building, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-6500

It has been around for ages and still applies today. If a deal sounds to good to be true, guess what? If you purchase any trips or cruises, do so thru a reputable travel agent, pay by credit card and GET THE TRAVEL INSURANCE!!



A reputabl agent gives you face to face accountability, not some her today gone tommrow telemarketer

Credit card companies are interested in their customers and protecting their customers. Purchased with credit card, feel like your not getting what you paid for? contact the credt card company and intiate a charge back (also guaranteed to get a company that is ignoring you to quickly respond, to many charge backs affects the percentage companies pay for processing charges via a card)

Travel insurance is by far the best thing you can get for a trip, Death in the family, Military deployment, hurricane in the area of your trip? use the insurance get a refund. Save the headache

I'm so glad I found this Website, because I got tricked into the Ramada Plaza Resorts scam, too. I followed the advice of Mike from Kansas City, Missouri (submitted 1/15/04) - Thank you, Mike!!

WHat I did was to write a letter stating I was entitled to a refund by the "Florida Sellers of Travel Act", which states that I may cancel any contract without penalty within 30 days of payment. Also, mention the Florida Attorney General. Anyway, I got a call back from someone who was so helpful and friendly, and got my refund!! Call 1-888-217-2620, ext. 4296, and ask for Ben in the Confirmations Dept.

He will ask you why you want the refund, I just told him the travel wasn't feasible for me now, and also I found through research that I could get a better deal myself. Well, I got my refund, and I hope this helps many of you.

If this is a great deal for you, then why is Ramada pushing it so hard? This deal is nothing more than a time share sales pitch. I received a call and Googled "Ramada Plaza Hotel" and this site (thankfully) came up. After reading a couple of posts, it became evident to me that I had not won a prize or been selected for a special offer, but rather was on a sucker list for this sales pitch.



People, you are being sold here. There is no value to this vacation. This is a chance for Ramada to get $700 from you, which covers their costs. Then they make their profit with payments from the time share operators they deliver you to.



Thank you "Ripoffreport.com" for saving me from this ripoff.

To anyone who whines & complains about NOT BEING ABLE TO GET A REFUND - you need to get a life. TOO BAD, SO SAD. Not every business in this world is a Wal-Mart where you can take something back just because you don't want it any more OR decide that you cannot use it. Before you invest a nice sum of money such as $600 or MORE into a vacation package, always read the details & research it first. And if you're a big enough sucker to buy something from a telemarketer WITHOUT DOING RESEARCH on the product, you need to learn how to become a smarter consumer.

As like most of the other people of this forum, i wish i would have read this before i got involved with Ramada Plaza Resorts.



I received a 1600.00 credit voucher that offered 4 days /3 nights in Ft. Laurderdale, 2 day cruise to the Bahamas - 3 days / 2 nights in Orlando with free tickets to my choice Dislany Land or Universal Studios - upon my arrival i would recieve a free rental car from Alamo with unlimited miles for the duration of my stay and for company appreciation - the representative included a Gold Key Card which meant everyone ate free. The total cost of this package was 698.00 per person - double occupancy required and any additional person would be 99.00.



During the conversation with the sales rep i specifically told him I am a single mother with two kids and i didn't have that kind of money on hand that day. He understood and replied "Ramada understands that and i would be eligible for a payment plan" He then sent me over to the verification department and she went over the package details and payment plan and had initially told me that payments wouldn't be charged until 7/3/04 - i agreed because the funds would be available at that time. so we proceeded with the conversation (it was recorded) All she needed me to say was "i authorize the charges" before i said that i specifically asked her when were the charges going to be charged she said 07/03/04 - then i complied with "i authorize the charges" Needless to say, they billed my card moments after we hung up the phone.



I was furious when i checked my account and noticed it was in overdraft - nearly every bill i had paid for that month was returned due to insuffient funds -



When i called Ramada to cancel the trip i spoke with the most rudest person ever in Customer Service - Christina - we argued back and forth - she even played the recorded conversation and it clearly states that the charges would not be charged until 7/3/04. Based on her attitude during the call, i vowed avoid Ramada EVER. She told me that i couldn't get a refund because it was a pre-paid vacation - i asked to speak to someone else. Floor Manager, Wayfle proceeded to assist me - he told me all he could do was refund me 262.00 and they would ahve to keep 87.00 - i told him that would not work simply because it would be ludaris for me to pay 87.00 for something that was there mistake. I expressed to him the financial hardship this charge had caused and we went back and forth for about 45 minutes and he finally said he would refund me the full amount and throw in a 3/2 night trip to Orlando.



Well, I haven't seen the credit yet, but it's suppose to be on the way.

I purchased a Ramada Resort Vocation last April for $698, the package include 3 days at Ft Lauderdale, 2 days cruise to Bahama and 2 days at Orlando Florida plus some bonus get away vocations. At the time of the purchase, i was misreprented the information that the package was $698 per couple, or if you choose to go alone, it's also fine. However, when i received the travel materials from Ramada, it showed that i need to pay another $698 in order to book the trip. I was so astounished and tried to call the customer service to cancel the vocation because of the misrepresentation of the information. Also at the time of the sale, the telephone sales agent didn't mention anything about the re-entry visa to US, so for international students, there's no way we can take the cruise trip to Bahamas. After i explain the situation to the customer support, they refuse to refund any money.



Feeling that i already paid $698, i reluctantly paid the remaining balance $698 and decided to take the 3 nights in Ft Lauderdale first. When my girlfriend and i arrived at the motel like so called "First Grade Hotel" on route 441 which was far from the beach(Ramada does own several other hotels near the beach, but apprently that's not for the package buyers), we were given a brochure about a "Mandatory trip for both couples to the welcome center" the next afternoon in a place about 30 miles away. Having no idea what this mandatroy trip would be, i called the number on the brochure and the agent who answered the phone was evasive about the subject. Since we only had two full days to stay in Florida, we asked if we can ommit the "mandatory trip", but the answer was no. The next day, on arriving the welcome center, we found out that we were "sold" to a local real estate company for 2 hours for $300 dollars to become the potential buyers of their time-share vocation house. At the time, i strongly objected the mistreatment by Ramada and asked to talk to the manager.



The manager said that it was my responsibility to fulfill the 2 hours presentation or I wouldn't be given my hotel vouchers which means i would need to pay for the hotels that i already paid for! Hello? What are the customers to Ramada Resort? We felt like being sold like cattles and being treated so badly and so different compare to when they first approach us to sell vocation package.



I remembered clearly that I did not agree to attend any sort of the real estate sales presentation as part of my obligation for this vocation package. I remembered cleared that i was not told by the sales agents about such presentation at the time of the sale. We were taken to meet with at least 4 sales person from the local real estate company under RCS for at least 4 hours ( not the 2 hours they stated) before they reluctantly let us go. Two of the sales persons clearly told us that they paid $300 dollars for getting us to meet with them. This bad experience totally ruined my vocation and i am sure it caused trouble to many other innocent people who just want to enjoy their time with their familes. I am sure Ramada Resort violated the law in doing this and i want to file a lawsuit against them with all other innocent consumers who are misrepresented or mistreate by Ramada.





The followings are the list of misconducts by Ramada Resort:



1. Misrepresent the vocation expense. Seems like $698 at first, but actually $1396,



2. Sell customer's time to its parterners for $300(per couple) without their consents.



3. Misrepresent the condition of hotel as "first class accomadation", but actually just mediocre. (On the last day of stay, both of our hotel key failed to work and the service were bad).



4. Overchage the vocation package. It's about $1400 dollars for 5 days of hotel rooms, one week of car rental and 2 cruise tickets.



Cruise ticket ---$200max *2 = $400

5 days of hotel -------------$400-600

1 week of car rental-------$100



total would be somewhat around $1000 at the most conservative way in my opinion, they charge $1400 + $300 for selling our 2 hours = $1700.



I would welcome any media or law office to contact me thru Rip-off Report.com to straighten out the problem and if you happen to have the similar experience and complaints please join me in fighting the wrongs.

I have a long story about Ramada Plaza resorts. Here it goes. I originally purchased my cruise for my wifes and my anniversary. We had chosen a date but where not able to take our initial trip due to a death in the family. I forgot about our trip and had to reschedule. Since the first trip had expired, I was given the option to upgrade to another trip for and additional $450.00. I reluctantly accepted because Ramada said I would not be given a refund of my initial trip. This took the cost up to $1845.00. Ramada lead me to believe that I was lucky I was able to get this new package. (If I would have known about this site then, I would have called the "Better Business Bureau" immediately) When my wife and I finally called to confirm our dates, Ramada offered uf additional upgrades. The upgrades included a better ship. (From the Imperial Majesty, to a Carnival Cruise ship) An ocean beach resort, and an upgrade from a compact car to a midsize car. These additional upgrades were purchased for $400.00. Grand total for our trip $2245.00. And this didn't even include Airfare.



When we arrived at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport we proceeded to the Alamo rent a car booth. We were expecting to be given a midsize car. The counter person advised us we had upgraded to a compact car. Ramada had initially reserved us a Sub-compact. Being it was an 8 day trip, we had two big suitcases and they wouldn't fit in our compact. So we had to pay for an additional upgrade to our midsized car. Cost of that upgrade, an addition $189.00. (Are you starting to get the picture?) Our Total for our trip is climbing. Now to almost to $2500.00.



We proceed to the welcome station and are pleased to find out that we are not staying at the hotel where the welcome station was. We upgraded to our "Oceanbeach Resort". So after receiving our directions to the port of Miami and the Timeshare presentation headquarters, we headed off to our "Oceanbeach resort". When we arrived we were relieved to find the red "RAMADA" sign, and our Oceanbeach resort. The trouble was that they sent us across the street to another part of the hotel. The decor was early 70's. The kitchenette was circa 1960, the beds were at least 20 years old, soiled, and the boxspring had a metal bar protruding out of one of the sides. We were greeted with our own, roach welcoming commitee. This is no joke! My wife was devestated. She was to the point of tears. She immediately called the welcome center and informed them that we were not going to settle for our meager accomodiations. To our suprise and glee, we were given a room at a Sheraton in Ft. Lauderdale. About 10 miles from the beach. So much for our upgrade to an "Ocean beach resort".



We went to the Timeshare headquarters and sat through there spiel. Our sales man was very eloquent and we purchased a timeshare. We received our cruise tickets and enjoyed the Carnival Cruise.



When we arrived at the Orlando welcome center we once again were thoroughly disappointed with our accomodiations. The hotel was subpar and smelled of soiled diapers. We refused to stay at the hotel and were moved to another hotel next door.



To conclude. When we initially received our offer, we saw the name RAMADA and thought, reputable company, must be a legit deal. NOT the CASE. After complaining to Ramada Plaza Resorts we were refunded $200.00 for all our trouble. Making our trip grand total just under $2300.00. I'm not sure if I can claim or ask for a full refund since we took the trip. Can anyone out there give me some answers? If you can reply via a consumer comment I will keep a lookout for any answers. Thanks for letting me tell my story about Ramada Plaza Resorts.

a lot of yall are blaming the telemarketer. i had no clue people felt this way. the only reason i found this site was i put the co. name in yahoo trying to find our site to see what the hotel looks like. (which, by the way, is www.ramada-plaza-resorts-orlando-ftlauderdale-vacations.com and www.ramadaplazavacationmemories.com which we give to you at the beggining of the pitch, so obviously you werent looking too hard....)



i went on the 198 special (the 4/3 in orlando 3/2 in ft lau and 3/2 in vagas then you either get the rental car or the universal or disney world package),a nd it wasnt that bad. the reason you get it for so cheep is because it is a TIME SHARE TOUR. which we also make VERY clear. do you really think that for $40 to $50 per person you are going to get a convertable rental car and going to be staying at the freakin breakers? its 10 days of vacation. that breaks down to about 4 to 5 dollars a day per person per day.



and for that guy who said "you have to see how annoying it would be for a customer to have a recording thrown in his face" from the title "sell it!" we dont throw it in your face, we tell them and every costomer i have talked to have been releived. that recording is for your safty so you know that there are no hidden cost or fees. you can call the 1800 # and listen to it. so obviously yall werent listening closely enough because we say everything on and off tape. and if you dont catch it the 2nd time around (on the recording) thats is sad because useually the verification department talks so freakin slow like they are just learning how to read in the 1st grade.



and for the lady who said that she cant extend her package because her husband left, if you call customer service, they will extend the package for you for $29 every 6 months.

Last year, my family went on a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. We just so happened to stay at this resort.



We were quite pleased with their hotel and services.



I hate to hear about this scam. This year we sail out of Miami, but had concidered staying with them again. I Still Would. The resort is great and the Beach Is Absolutely Wonderful.

Today I received some so-called registered

documents from Ramada Plaza Resorts, offering

a cruise travel voucher claiming to be worth

$1600. Having read about this company's offers being nothing but a scam, I put everything I received from them right into the shredder.



Thank you Ripoff Report!

It IS possible to get your money back from Ramada Plaza. It took me only one week.



I too was sucked in to this scheme. But the day after I was charged for the vacation, I did some research...(Should have been the other way around. Learned the hard way.) I found nothing but negative reports about this company.



Do a search on Google, as I no longer have the info. There are several websites (as well as testimonials from this site) where you can obtain the phone and fax numbers needed to contact the right people of this company, as well as numbers and websites for contacting the Attorney General in Florida.



As I did not want to deal with these people any more than I had to, I faxed first, then called. I sent 2 faxes containing the same info to the VP of the company and his secretary. TIP: Carefully describe why you are requesting a refund. Don't attack them or give them any reason to cause more trouble. Be professional. Be firm. But don't go off on them. Let them see that you are an intellegent individual who is serious about getting a refund. When contacting by phone, don't accept any "bonus trips",perks, etc. Say NO, and mean it. I cited misrepresentation as the main reason I would not do business with their company. And I informed them that I had already contacted the Attorney General regarding their practices. (Which I did.)



Once I told him this, I was surprised at how quickly he responded by refunding my money. If they tell you they don't do refunds, they are lying. Keep calling until you find someone who will.



REMEMBER: Confirm with them that they are refunding 100% of your money. Make copies of all of your faxes. Get names of anyone you talk to. Write down ALL information. It will seem like a huge hassle. BUT...Not compared to losing hundreds of dollars, or worse yet, going on one of their "vacations". You won't regret your efforts. I hope this helps.

I was scammed by RPR as well. After two years of holding on to the package, I did some very extensive research and found a website dedicated to the scam. There is a lot of advise on how to get your money back. You have to ask for it firts a number of times from RPR...just for the record, and write down all details. Then you have to fax the information to the CEO's admin. I have a new PC at home, so I don't have the site's address any longer, but you can find it through google. This site has the fax number that you need. I got ALL my money back after less than a week from faxing the admin. The website gives you sample letters, including item by item all the laws Ramada is violating. When you quote them, you WILL get your money back. Good luck!

Hello

I was doing a general search on my name Jennifer Hastie and Travel (I own a travel website and have nothing to do with this vacation package stuff just happen to have the same name) and a link to this badbusinessbureau.com came up...I feel like a victim because this person (Jennifer Hastie) who happens to have the same name as mine works for a company that's been reported...Do you think you could take her last name off there? to save the other 5 to 10 Jennifer Hastie s in this whole big world alot of headaches...especially for one like me who also works in the Travel industry and just happens to have the same name ...I'd hate for any confusion or association as Hastie is not as common a name as say Smith or Brown. Thank you for your consideration.

If this is the property I think it is by description, the daily rate is listed as $56.25 on Ramada's website.



HINT: It's cheaper to make a direct reservation.



These people ARE scum. I'd make a personal phone call to the President of Ramada, or send a personal letter with copies of everything and see if either (a.) there's a rampaging franchisee or (b.) it's a rouge property who's abusing the Ramada name.



Another hint: Don't get it off the website. Find some good addresses and phone numbers on the company's Securities and Exchange Commission's filings. That's how I busted Sprint PCS on a cell phone problem, and it got solved extremely quickly. They called my house 4 times to check the status of the refund. Before I did that, I didn't get the time of day.

I am reading these because I got an inventation. I scanned it so everyone can see it. I see now that someone has the nerve to send a rebuttle on behalf of this swindling company. Are you kidding me? They have the nerve to refer to this company as "the Ramada." This is not the Ramada. This is nothing more than a pack of thieves. I thought this type of swindling went out of fashion 15 years ago.



I think it is time to wake these people up. If consumer revenge sections of local television stations don't work, I have a friend named Bubba in Boca Raton that can help out.

As a former employee of Ramada's telemarketing efforts I must rebutt the assertion that Ramada uses forms to sign people up for later contact. Now, although this might be factual in some cases...as far as I was made aware---while an employee---prospects are sent a "certificate" through the mail and asked to respond by phone to a toll free number.



Prospects are led to believe that they have been "specially selected" to "receive" this vacation. Notice the key words: specially selected and receive. The phone salespeople are mandated to keep the prospect on the phone for at least 18 minutes in order to put the prospect at ease before asking for their credit card number.



Furthermore, as Ramada requires a credit card order as preferred method of payment they are in violation of the Telemarketing Statute within the state of Florida.



Vacation packages sold over the phone are some of the worst rip-offs for consumers (the reason I no longer work for Vacation Phone Rooms) as the consumer is generally misled into how their information was received to contact them. Some Vacation Phone Rooms even go so far as to state that the prospect filled out a form somewhere---when in truth they are calling straight out of the phone book.



A constructive tip: When called in reference to a Vacation Package and the sales person begins to ask questions such as:

"Now are you still happily married or happily single?"



"Do you still enjoy an income of....?"

"And are you still a holder of (any one of the major credit cards)?"



Simply hang up....for you have been called straight out of the phone book and the company is merely probing to see if you are in fact qualified for their "presentation."



Think about it...if they really had this information they wouldn't have to ask!!!

One more thing: If in the state of Florida (I don't know the laws in other states) ask if you can send a check or money order...if the answer is no that company is in violation of Florida law and should be reported.

Have A Great Day---A Direct Marketer With A Conscience

We (six of us - my wife and I and two other couple friends) just returned yesterday from our Ramada Resorts vacation - 3 nights Ft. Lauderdale, 3 nights Carnival cruise and 2 nights Orlando. What can I say but it was more than a fair deal. We got a brand new Alamo rental van which was supposed to be unlimited mileage, a good cruise to the Bahamas, and good hotels. We saw almost half of Florida, from Miami to Orlando, including the Everglades, and enjoyed Universal Studios, the beautiful Ft. Lauderdale beaches and downtown Miami. These for the price of $698 per couple and a couple of hours sale presentation for a timeshare.



The additional costs, of course, should be expected, like the $98 per person port charges and the car rental insurance, which is a bit shocking (about $360 per car for 8 days for complete coverage). We waived the individual economy cars and got an Astro van instead for the six of us. Of course, the cost of car insurance is no more a Ramada matter but already a state regulations issue, the cost depending on the coverage you want. We paid more than $400 for the van insurance and another hundred for the van-car difference and divided the costs threesome, which was far advantageous than individual cars. These worked well for us as we didn't have to drive in convoys.



These folks, of course, expect a return on their investment so they try to hardsell you a timeshare, and that's their job. You either buy or not and it's up to you. We dind't buy but they honored their end of the bargain by giving us the entire vacation. Like any other vacation, we spent money but that's personal. We had a good time and Ramada delivered what they promised.

We (six of us - my wife and I and two other couple friends) just returned yesterday from our Ramada Resorts vacation - 3 nights Ft. Lauderdale, 3 nights Carnival cruise and 2 nights Orlando. What can I say but it was more than a fair deal. We got a brand new Alamo rental van which was supposed to be unlimited mileage, a good cruise to the Bahamas, and good hotels. We saw almost half of Florida, from Miami to Orlando, including the Everglades, and enjoyed Universal Studios, the beautiful Ft. Lauderdale beaches and downtown Miami. These for the price of $698 per couple and a couple of hours sale presentation for a timeshare.



The additional costs, of course, should be expected, like the $98 per person port charges and the car rental insurance, which is a bit shocking (about $360 per car for 8 days for complete coverage). We waived the individual economy cars and got an Astro van instead for the six of us. Of course, the cost of car insurance is no more a Ramada matter but already a state regulations issue, the cost depending on the coverage you want. We paid more than $400 for the van insurance and another hundred for the van-car difference and divided the costs threesome, which was far advantageous than individual cars. These worked well for us as we didn't have to drive in convoys.



These folks, of course, expect a return on their investment so they try to hardsell you a timeshare, and that's their job. You either buy or not and it's up to you. We dind't buy but they honored their end of the bargain by giving us the entire vacation. Like any other vacation, we spent money but that's personal. We had a good time and Ramada delivered what they promised.

We (six of us - my wife and I and two other couple friends) just returned yesterday from our Ramada Resorts vacation - 3 nights Ft. Lauderdale, 3 nights Carnival cruise and 2 nights Orlando. What can I say but it was more than a fair deal. We got a brand new Alamo rental van which was supposed to be unlimited mileage, a good cruise to the Bahamas, and good hotels. We saw almost half of Florida, from Miami to Orlando, including the Everglades, and enjoyed Universal Studios, the beautiful Ft. Lauderdale beaches and downtown Miami. These for the price of $698 per couple and a couple of hours sale presentation for a timeshare.



The additional costs, of course, should be expected, like the $98 per person port charges and the car rental insurance, which is a bit shocking (about $360 per car for 8 days for complete coverage). We waived the individual economy cars and got an Astro van instead for the six of us. Of course, the cost of car insurance is no more a Ramada matter but already a state regulations issue, the cost depending on the coverage you want. We paid more than $400 for the van insurance and another hundred for the van-car difference and divided the costs threesome, which was far advantageous than individual cars. These worked well for us as we didn't have to drive in convoys.



These folks, of course, expect a return on their investment so they try to hardsell you a timeshare, and that's their job. You either buy or not and it's up to you. We dind't buy but they honored their end of the bargain by giving us the entire vacation. Like any other vacation, we spent money but that's personal. We had a good time and Ramada delivered what they promised.

We (six of us - my wife and I and two other couple friends) just returned yesterday from our Ramada Resorts vacation - 3 nights Ft. Lauderdale, 3 nights Carnival cruise and 2 nights Orlando. What can I say but it was more than a fair deal. We got a brand new Alamo rental van which was supposed to be unlimited mileage, a good cruise to the Bahamas, and good hotels. We saw almost half of Florida, from Miami to Orlando, including the Everglades, and enjoyed Universal Studios, the beautiful Ft. Lauderdale beaches and downtown Miami. These for the price of $698 per couple and a couple of hours sale presentation for a timeshare.



The additional costs, of course, should be expected, like the $98 per person port charges and the car rental insurance, which is a bit shocking (about $360 per car for 8 days for complete coverage). We waived the individual economy cars and got an Astro van instead for the six of us. Of course, the cost of car insurance is no more a Ramada matter but already a state regulations issue, the cost depending on the coverage you want. We paid more than $400 for the van insurance and another hundred for the van-car difference and divided the costs threesome, which was far advantageous than individual cars. These worked well for us as we didn't have to drive in convoys.



These folks, of course, expect a return on their investment so they try to hardsell you a timeshare, and that's their job. You either buy or not and it's up to you. We dind't buy but they honored their end of the bargain by giving us the entire vacation. Like any other vacation, we spent money but that's personal. We had a good time and Ramada delivered what they promised.

Hi Jennifer...I was recently scammed by your company. As you don't think it's fair that people aren't clear with rules and regulations, I don't think it's fair that companies like yours remain in business. I will tell you ALL the details of my encounter with your money-swadling company: I received a voucher in the mail and called only to see what it was about. I wasn't prepared to make any kind of deposit on anything. My price was $498 PER PERSON and there WAS a $99/per child fee (Because my child is under two, it was going to cost us $79 for him.) AND an additional $198/per person fee. There is no way I could've taken myself, my fiance, my child and my mother-in-law for $698. This trip would've cost me $1,673 before I ever even packed a bag. You are mistaken. Secondly, I have been planning a wedding for the past 3 months and haven't been to any "shows" or registered for anything. I NEVER signed up for anything. I was told that you randomly selected me. (From where, who knows!) The recording you speak of is hard to hear and the gentlemen speaking speaks very fast. It is not taped, the only thing that's taped is the gentleman rambling off his spill. When I asked if I could hear this taped conversation, I was told no. I cancelled this package because lawsuits in 10 states and 700 formal complaints can not be wrong. If you are naive enough to believe the Ramada spill, you should take a vacation too!

My wife had purchased this $698.00 per person package for our wedding present get away. My wife is in the millitary and was recently deployed, and they wont let us move our date on the package or refund it. Do NOT purchase anything from the Ramada Plaza Resort, or the National Travel Agency. They will take what you have and with no remorse take you to the trash to be recycled with everyone else including us.



What happened to the Great American Dream has it gone awry?

This is such a huge scam it is amazing. I was looking for a second job to supplement my income when I stumbled across this telemarketing advertisement. I inquired and learned the inside scoop immediately.



At the time I managed a hotel in Fort Lauderdale which actually was a beachfront hotel. The Ramada that comes with this package is landlocked close to the Florida Turnpike. The hotel is more like an early 70's motel.



They will send you beautiful certificates and brochures that make it seem like the real deal. Meanwhile they are back in this little boiler room like atmosphere ringing bells everytime they get another sucker to fork over their hard earned cash.



Every aspect of this scam is a joke. They have such huge turnover it is amazing. The accomodations are a joke, the cruise is a joke and the throw in Vegas trip is also a joke. You are forced to pay a extra fee if you want to change dates. Trying to cancel is next to impossible.



Oh yeah the names of supervisors are changed so much you would think they were in the witness relocation program. Stay far away from this scam company.

I also bought into this scam. For $600 over the phone, and only this call, "you can't wait, if you don't do it now, you'll never get this offer again". Yes, it is transferable, and you can sell it - if you pay the outstanding $600 first. My daughter had to have surgery, and we missed the date we were supposed to have used our vacation by.



The sales person did say that we could extend our time, but she didn't say only if we paid another $600. We just paid $600 for a video and booklet.



We will never stay or do business with anything connected to Ramada if we can help it! I talked with two separate customer service reps, and they refused to even let me talk to anyone else.



I would have to call again, at a later time/date. And I was assured that NOTHING could be done unless I paid the additional $600. Expensive lesson for nothing.

Troy, sell the vacation package. Ramada is at least giving you the option of transferring the ownership of the vacation, which usually doesn't happen with things like this (and stuff like cheap airline tickets).



To the Ramada sales/marketing rep, you really focused too much on the recorded line as binding contract, etc. Telemarketers gloss over details, and while I believe that the customer probably was informed that the trip was non-refundable, you have to see how annoying it would be for a customer to have a recording thrown in his face. It doesn't make me respect your company any more, even if I can see how you are legally correct.



It would probably be more helpful if you were to focus on the fact that apparently the trip is transferrable. At least the customer has an option, although not the one he was seeking.



Also, Jennifer, I wouldn't gloat about how "valuable" the trip is --if it was such a great freakin' deal, maybe Ramada should be willing to take it back...

Troy, sell the vacation package. Ramada is at least giving you the option of transferring the ownership of the vacation, which usually doesn't happen with things like this (and stuff like cheap airline tickets).



To the Ramada sales/marketing rep, you really focused too much on the recorded line as binding contract, etc. Telemarketers gloss over details, and while I believe that the customer probably was informed that the trip was non-refundable, you have to see how annoying it would be for a customer to have a recording thrown in his face. It doesn't make me respect your company any more, even if I can see how you are legally correct.



It would probably be more helpful if you were to focus on the fact that apparently the trip is transferrable. At least the customer has an option, although not the one he was seeking.



Also, Jennifer, I wouldn't gloat about how "valuable" the trip is --if it was such a great freakin' deal, maybe Ramada should be willing to take it back...

Hi, my name is Jennifer Hastie. I am a promotions director for Ramada Plaza Resorts Orlando Ft.Lauderdale Vacations (I sell the packages). My company has very great promotional offers and when people aren't clear with rules and regulations I just don't think it's fair that we should get a bad name for someone elses mistake. I have a very strong feeling that Troy here hasn't given out all the details concerning this situation.



First of all the price for the vacation is $698 there is no $99 per child fee, the 3rd and 4th travellers are FREE. So it's $698 for FOUR people.



Second the way it works in our company is we go to shows (boat shows, art shows, wine shows etc.) and we set up booths for people to fill out entry forms for a discounted vacation, so Troy filled out this entry form (the rules and regulations for the vacations are always posted at the show)



Troy got a call from us and one of our representatives gave him all the details of the package. Maybe this representative failed to mention that the package is non-refundable BUT he WAS told in his 'security recording' which is a process after the qualified registrant (Troy) decides to buy the package. The registrant is sent through to Ramadas Verification and shipping department where a verification officer outlines the package, reverifies shipping and billing information and asks the registrant if they authorize the charge of 698 on their credit card (This is specifically done so the customer is clear on everything they're responsible for and everything we're including).



One of the lines in the recording is This package is sold on a non cancellation basis. That whole conversation with the registrant agreeing to everything and the verifier verifing is recorded. It is available to Troy so I suggest he call the 1-800 number he received, give them his personal reference number and ask to listen to his recording. That recording is a bonded contract because Troy agreed with everything. Unfortunaley for Troy that security recording is exactly like a contract. And looks like his signature is right on the dotted line.



Anyways Troy, why would you want to cancel the package? It's great! It's worth 3,085! If you're getting it for 174.50/person I'm sure you should have no problem selling it, plus you have those 2 free vacations that we included for you (I notice you forgot to mention that!)