Universal Fun Pass Scam

Good news!
All Season Travel have put the money back onto my credit card
I got a letter in the mail from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services saying that they needed more information to continue with my claim, but they also stated that they had sent a copy of the complaint to All Seasons Travel.
I'm thinking that maybe All Seasons Travel have felt the pressure and therefore refunded my money?
I also put the pressure on in my emails to them saying that I would continue fighting them until I got my money back.
I'm just so relieved! And this has been a big lesson for me and a mistake that I WON'T be making again!

That is very good news.

I must say that I am surprised, I have never heard of this happening in this type of scam, please be double careful, its likely just me but I have a bad feeling about this and I am not sure we have heard the end of it.

Thanks for the advice Ralph,
I sent an email back to Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and said that I'm happy to leave it at this stage because I have my money back but I urged them to look into the company so that other people didn't have the same problem.
I have also been re issued with a new credit card so they can't take money from me again. As far as I'm concerned I don't want anything to do with them!

As I said its probably just me.

You have taken all the right precautions and the money is in your account so things should be ok.

Fantastic news scammed1986 and it's the reward for your attitude and perseverance, and demonstrates to others what can be achieved. Also your success improves the chances of success for others.

You only have to Google the name of the company to get an idea of their record and reputation, and that's no one's responsibilty but their own and they can never expect things to improve until they change their tactics. Though they appear to target foreigners nowadays to limit the likelihood of legal challenge, it seems they haven't factored in the damage it does to them reputationally in the USA too, to have their name associated with so many complaints. I notice that they also market under different trading names.

I can understand why it's possible to achieve success if you're persistent, as times are tough in Florida with the economy and oil spill, and anything harming the Florida travel reputation is going to find big business interests involved there pushing for action to clean up more than just the sea. Traders facing a wave of claims for refunds are also likely to lose their merchant trading facility which effectively puts them out of business.

Thanks GomerPyle,
I'm just so relieved to have my money back. I think the more complaints that are sent to the authorities the more chance we have of stopping these guys too.
The only good thing to come out of this whole situation is that it has been a big lesson in how easily you can get sucked in by these people. I will now be MUCH more careful in the future

Some people often ask me "where did they get my details from? ...... they seemed to know so much about me when they phoned me!".

Think about a recent return trip from a vacation when you filled in that three page Holiday Questionnaire in the hope it will win you some sort of prize.

No doubt it started with questions totally related to your vacation, then moved on to questions about your 'Lifestyle' including which types of Credit Cards you use, the income bracket you fall into, the number of people in your household and their ages .... the list goes on ....newspapers, visits to the cinema. (It often seems to be endless)

Did I miss out - Name, address, e-mail address and telephone number. ?

Why do Travel Operators need all that information ? ..... some are quite happy to sell it on, and you can often read the results in Forums like this.

Posting this from Adelaide, Australia...

I have had numerous missed calls on my mobile from Unknown numbers... mainly because I could not answer the phone when they rang due to work mobile phone policies... when I checked my phones during break I could not of course call them back...

Anyway, today is an off day for me and again I continue to recieve calls.... finally I managed to answer one...

On the other end of the phone was a rather 'Chipper' sounding American male called Greg Phillips... He proceded to tell me that I had filled in a Pop up competition online and Congrats I had won a "Holiday to Florida" for up to 4 people with All Seasons Travel...

I do not recall ever doing this but like people have said above he did seem to know some detail with regards to me... He then proceeded to ask for my relationship status and details about my partner, like phone number so that they could contact him as well... I told them he did not have a mobile phone.

He then proceeded to tell me where we would be staying and the holiday inclusions, the cruise, car hire the hotels.... all sounding wonderful... Then a famous tv judge came to mind... judge judy... and her advice on scammers!!!

I played along with Greg and he then transffered me through to their travel consultant to work out the details... This person greeted me with my name to which I replied uh huh? He then asked how the weather was... I said to him that I was unsure about what I had heard.. he then told me it was not a free holiday as nothing is for free and it would cost me $998.00... Bearing in mind the previous person had also advised that we would have to pay for our own flights. I then said to him.... Well if it sounds too good to be true it probably is!!! He became quite abrupt and said... Well I could tell you werent interested from the moment you opened your mouth.....

Me, I am just grateful I spotted the scammers as I have read all this wonderful forum since!!! Nothing in life has ever come easy to us and I doubt it ever will!!!

Fellow Australians be warned.... for what you will fork out to these scammers... You could have a great holiday in your own backyard!!!

Hi Tigerfan, welcome to Scamwarners from another Aussie,

I am glad you recognised this rort for what it is, unfortunately not everybody is as lucky.

Thank you for sharing your story, it all helps.

I often get similiar kinds of calls although I am never too sure what they are up to because I never let them get too far

One thing I did want to make clear is that while these people are currently targeting Aussies, they may/do also target people from any country in the world.

I think the version you were offered Tigerfan, was the opportunity to go on a never ending timeshare pitch in third rate accomodation with extras mounting at an alarming rate as time progresses.

You made the right choice and giving credit card details over the phone to a stranger is never a good idea. The fact that they ask for card details is warning enough, and why ring an Australian when you have the additional cost of flights on top of everything else ? If they can't sell it to Americans, it must be a bad idea.

If they have your address I wonder why they can't mail lucky winners ? Clearly they want to rush you into a bad decision. If a stranger on the phone is in a rush, tell him to call you back, or better still put the phone down on him. Don't worry, if he's a scammer he'll call back.

I'm in Canada and I just fell for this scam and I can not believe I willingly gave my cc info like that.. I'm usually the most cautious person ever. They really do have it down to an art, don't they?

They're now "Universal Action Travel".. the caller speaks really really quickly with such enthusiasm that it takes you by surprise so you don't really know what to expect at first. I enter contests regularly so I really did think I had won, even though the warning signs were so glaringly obvious. I can't believe I didn't trust my instincts! She even fed me bullshit lines, that I had entered a contest "a few days ago" (not telling me the exact date, but I did enter a bunch of contests over the last week..) and that I could've entered it from facebook, twitter or the like (I don't use social networking sites to enter contests though) and then she said how they have many different contests on many different sites. The fact that she was vague and not giving me exact information should've sent up red flags, and they kind of did, but I let down my guard and completely went with it. UGH. Then she kept going through so many details about the trips and shoved down all this information on all the things that are included, all the places I'd be staying, making tons of friendly conversation, asking me about what I like to do, who I'd be taking, yadda yadda yadda, and I totally fell for it.

I hesitated several times before giving the credit card information out, asked several questions and they've really perfected their lines and reassurance.

So I freaked out after the call, called up my credit card company and told them what had happened. I was on hold a whole hour waiting for them, which was just freaking me out even more, because the charge was probably going through while I was waiting. My cc company reported my card as lost, that was the best they could do currently, though they said the charge actually has appeared and is being processed.. so it hasn't fully gone through yet, but it's waiting to, which is just completely upsetting, and they can't do anything about it till it goes through. Now I have to wait to get my new card, which will take a few days.. then register THAT card, THEN dispute the charge, and only when it's gone through. My brain can't handle this. I want to do whatever it takes to get it fixed RIGHT now, but I feel kind of helpless. I felt pathetic telling them I had willingly given my information out.. my friend said I shouldn't have told them that, but I think it'd be even worse to lie to the credit card company and then have them find out, no?

Should I email the company immediately, or call them? I tried to call them but of course it's not their operating hours.. but I'm not sure if I should leave a message telling them I want to cancel, or wait and call in the morning to try to talk to someone directly (asking for more information first, playing it nice before cancelling) so I can at least talk to someone on the phone first. Since I'm in Canada, they said it'd take 10-14 days to receive that package, but I don't want to wait that long.. and that's if I even get anything from them. I want to get this fixed ASAP. The longer I have to wait, the worse it feels.

My bank didn't really give me a whole lot of slack since I gave out the information willingly.. so I've been reading through as much information that I can online, and I'm kind of stressed out about how to fully convince them that it was a full scam, because it could be a potential trip, right? I also don't have their terms and conditions yet, so I don't quite have full out proof yet that they're cheating me. But I just don't want to wait till it's too late to do anything.

Just to keep track of all the details..

I just called the company up, and someone did pick up. I told them I wanted to cancel the package and get a full refund, and she told me that the charge was actually still pending and still hasn't gone through yet. She asked me why and I said I did not want it anymore. She then said that she said I had agreed to the charge, which I said I did not, that I was not aware that I would be charged right away. Then she said she has the recording of the call from last night, saying that I did agree to the charges, and that she would happily play it back for me. So I said it was not necessary, because I did not trust that recording, or their practices. She then kept prodding me about why I didn't trust their reputation, and that if I did a search online, I would find tons of great reviews for them, and how they're licensed (or to that extent) with the BBB. I said I don't trust any of that information, and kept pressing that I wanted the charge cancelled and a full refund as soon as possible. She kept bringing up the fact that I could get a refund after 30 days, should I be unsatisfied with their service.. which I know is complete bull, and seems like just their way of avoiding Florida law that states that I MUST get the refund within the 30 days. I insisted I wanted a refund WITHIN 30 days, if not as soon as possible.

Then she (keeping her cool so far, as I have kept mine) brought up the fact that the package was already sent, and that it had my tickets and everything in there, so they could not provide me a refund, because I guess the 'product' was already sent out to me. So I would have to get the package, SIGN IT (to which I know from reading all these messages, that the purchase is non-refundable) and THEN try to cancel it and get my refund. Total BS. I wasn't quite sure how to handle it at that point, but continued to press that I wanted a refund and that I refused to wait for it.

So her next ploy. She said she would have someone call me back "within 24 hours" and get it all sorted out. I said they need to call me sooner than that and that I would not wait a full 24 hours. Also that I could not access the phone in the evening, so the sooner the better.

That was basically the entire call. I know there wouldn't be any relenting on their part, so I had to just end it there somewhere. At least I had tried, and now I get to wait for my new card, and go through with disputing the charge.

Anything else I could have done? I will try to send an email to them as well, formally requesting a refund and cancellation. I know none of these attempts would get my money back, but I knew I had to try anyway, if not then to tell my credit card company that it is a complete scam and that they refused my refund.

Earlier in this thread I have posted the steps to take.

I also have some additional information that will help support your claim to your credit card company.

It beggars belief that any bank would allow people like this to operate a card handling facility, but they do so at their own risk, and at the risk of their share holders and depositors.

The company Universal Action Travel have quite a reputation and, in my opinion, they appear to be doing all they can to retain it.

http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/press/2007/08312007.html

2007 -

Bronson 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.

http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/press/2009/03162009.html

2009 -

TALLAHASSEE - Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced the arrest of a Hillsborough County woman for running an unregistered telemarketing operation.

The suspect – Vorotnikova Ekaterina, 24, of Tampa.- was arrested on a warrant issued by Bronson’s Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement (OALE) following an investigation by Bronson’s Consumer Services Division and OALE. She is charged with operating an unregistered telemarketing operation, a third-degree felony.

I found two websites

http://universalactiontravel.net/index1.html

whois universalactiontravel.net

Registrant:
Patricia Holguin
NA
NA, NA 00000
US

Domain name: UNIVERSALACTIONTRAVEL.NET

Administrative Contact:
Holguin, Patricia [email protected]
NA
NA, NA 00000
US
+1.8132832493
Technical Contact:
Holguin, Patricia [email protected]
NA
NA, NA 00000
US
+1.8132832493

Registrar of Record: Aplus.net
Record last updated on 20-Nov-2009.
Record expires on 26-Aug-2010.
Record created on 26-Aug-2006.

whois universalactiontravel.com ...
Registrant:
Patricia Holguin
NA
NA, NA 00000
US

Domain name: UNIVERSALACTIONTRAVEL.COM


Administrative Contact:
Holguin, Patricia [email protected]
NA
NA, NA 00000
US
+1.8132832493
Technical Contact:
Holguin, Patricia [email protected]
NA
NA, NA 00000
US
+1.8132832493


Registrar of Record: Aplus.net
Record last updated on 20-Nov-2009.
Record expires on 26-Aug-2010.
Record created on 26-Aug-2006.

This information is freely available in the public domain and my opinion represents fair comment.

If anyone wishes to challenge me, I have plenty of other examples I can quote that exist elsewhere in the public realm. I'll be out tomorrow, but will be back the day after, probably feeling a little grumpy too.

Thanks so much for the reply; I've read through the entire thread a million times times as well as other resources.

Since they said they'd call within 24 hours, I called them once more, and lo and behold, I easily got in touch with a supervisor type person. No, I won't wait for YOU to call me. I want service when *I* want service. Not surprisingly, it was a long call with tons of run-around. Some things they stated...

- Apparently if you give them the credit card information, including the numbers at the back, this gives them the right to play the recorded message to the credit card company. What in the world?

- They never told me it was non refundable, but now it is! Surprise!

- They kept denying me bringing up Florida law, and that since I did not get the package yet, I can't get a refund because I've yet to give them the opportunity to provide said service.. and only till AFTER 31 days, should I not get any service in that time, THEN I could get a refund. YEAH that's not suspicious at all.. saying you can't request a refund until AFTER 31 days.. knowing for a fact that Florida law says you can if you request it within 30 days.

- insisted - yet again - that since the package is sent, there's nothing they can do till I sign the package, and if I do NOT sign, they won't refund me. (Any attempt to say this is all not true makes them defensive, saying that I have no proof otherwise, that any negative stories are hearsay, and I can't make such accusations like that, etc.)

- I pushed that I would not be signing any package, that they could easily void out whatever they have sent me, be it some ticket or voucher. Those would have some validation number, which could easily be voided, should they be this big reputable company.

- I wanted a copy of the terms and conditions RIGHT NOW, through email, but of course she could not provide that for me because I had to wait till I got said package. Wouldn't a valid company be able to provide such information at a drop of a hat?

Funny enough, I think I threw them off a few times. But oddly, I won't even be surprised if they're reading this right now.

Since when have issues that appear in public records been deemed hearsay, particularly when made by the authority that regulates their industry in Florida state ?

They have the right to play anything they like to the card company - 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' if the card company can be interested to listen but that has no significance. Just don't allow them to play it with you on the line with the card company, and you are within your rights to refuse to participate in a three way call. Just put the phone down if they try to intiate such a situation. It'll make you feel good too.

Follow the steps laid out earlier in the thread then deal with your bank.

I can provide more non-hearsay fact if needed.