681 Comments

• Janice says:

  24/04/2006 at 18:23

  Hi Everyone,

  I stupidly got sucked into this scam as well

  I was very vulnerable at the time I received the phonecall to say I had been selected (I had just finished my treatment for Breast Cancer and my youngest son had just got over having a brain opperation).
  I am also a single parent and the money I used (£590) for what I thought was going to be a well deserved holiday, was money I had over from the sale of my house (had to sell to be near family during treatment etc.,).

  I phoned Royalty Holidays/Holiday Fulfillment and they said that I couldn’t cancel now that I had to wait for the documentation to come through then return it with a covering letter. I photocopied all doc’s then did as requested (10th feb 2006) since then I have phoned them and emailed them constantly and to date (24th April) I still have not received a refund, they have now told me I am not intitled to one!

  I have spoken to so many different people and emails have never been replied and calls never returned.

  NAMES

  • So-called Manager – Anthony (gave me direct number which just went through to normal line)
  • So-called Supervisor – Kimberly (very polite but very abroupt when I wouldn’t accept what she was saying)
  • Then a number of others, Roy, Vince and Paul to name a few…all bloody useless!

  I also phoned my bank to see if I could do anything and they said that due to the fact that I gave them permission to take the money from my account, there was nothing I could do.
  All I can say is that I will never be taken in again and hope that word gets around about what a scam it is.

  I am going to start an email warning people of this scam and asking them to forward it onto as many people as possible.

  I am also getting onto ‘WATCHDOG’ and would advice as many of you as possible to do the same.

  These people have got to be stopped!

  Good Luck to everyone else who has been conned by these B…..ds!!!!
• Karen says:

  25/04/2006 at 05:20

  I am very disappointed to read through all these as i have been trying
  to get our money back for four months after cancelling on the same day! It was celebrationpromotions.com with a website offring the holiday to florida daytona beach etc all transferrable too but we couldn’t go that far with a child under age couldn’t do some of it anyway. We have rung and rung seemingly legitimate number as calls were taken receipt numbers given and waited in queues, spoke to mangers etc, who knows really it could be just a few people in on it…I am at a loss about what to do next, contacting a solictor would cost as much as we’ve paid but it just makes me so ANGRY, has anyone done that?
• Yvonne says:

  27/04/2006 at 11:13

  Same story, same story, same story. My experience is with Royalty Holidays…identical to what others experienced. Ive been trying to get my money back since December 2005. No luck yet. But I have a bit of info. for those who are not far gone in the process. My bank informed me that with most credit card issuers (eg VISA and Master Card) there could be up to a 120 day period when you can contest a purchase, particulary if you have not signed a voucher. Your bank could challenge it and have the payment returned. Then the vendor must take it up with their bank/credit card company.
  Scum like Royalty H assure you your refund is being processed to delay you as long as possible till the specified period has passed (as happened in my case).
  So if you feel uneasy about your purchase- get in touch with your credit card company NOW!!!
• Léan van de Werken says:

  27/04/2006 at 18:41

  I got the same call this morning.
  Later I checked the site and credibiltiy. I got in touch with my creditcard company, they blocked my card immediately and gave me information to send a cancellation email and signed written letter to them.
  This scam is registered on a dutch site as well: http://www.opgelicht.nl

  Example cancelation letter:

  To:

  Globalweeks,

  4009 Old Denton Rd. – Suite: 114-323 – Carrollton, Tx 75007

  From:

  Lean van de Werken

  April 27, 2006

  Dear Sir/Madam,

  Herewith I cancel my booking for the vacation package and cruise through the services of your company as confirmed before by telephone, dated 04/27/2006.
  As far as part of the costs of the travel is covered by a prize or award granted to me I waive all rights in this regard.
  I urge you to restrain from using my credit-card data in order to collect any monies from my account, and as far as you already did collect anything from my account, to refund the total amount immediately.

  Please confirm by returning mail, that you accept my cancellation and refund all monies collected from my credit-card account. Your confirmation should be unconditional.
  Documents or packages received from you will be returned immediately.

  My creditcardnumber is:

  You provided me with the following information:

  ————————————-
  General Information
  ————————————-
  Merchant Account: Royalty Holidays, LLC
  Date/Time : 04/27/2006 15:53:10

  ————————————-
  Transaction Information
  ————————————-
  Transaction Amount : $738.00
  Transaction ID : 112224423
  Authorization Code : 98UJ69
  Transaction Type : Card Capture
  Response : APPROVED
  AVS Results : Service not supported
  CSC Results : CVV2/CVC2 Match

  ————————————-
  Customer Billing Information
  ————————————-
  First Name :
  Last Name : VAN DE WERKEN
  Address :
  City :
  State : HOLLAND
  Zip Code :
  Country : NL
  Phone : 3130
  Email : @hotmail.com

  ————————————-
  Customer Shipping Information
  ————————————-
  First Name :
  Last Name :
  Address :
  City :
  State :
  Zip Code :
  Country : US
  Email :

  The way you exploit your activities and convince people to make any booking is considered unacceptable if not fraudulous, at least according to Dutch laws and regulations. In case you would refuse to meet my requests within 14 days I will not hesitate to inform the proper authorities and take further legal actions, both here and in your country.

  Kind regards,

  L.J. van de Werken

  The Netherlands

  I hope this type of scam gets more attention in teh media to warn people for it.

  Greetings to all adn good luck with the site!
• Rich says:

  27/04/2006 at 19:49

  Hi Léan, thanks for such a detailed account.

  If I read that right, there are two names in that message – it’s addressed to “globalweeks”, but the merchant account is listed as “Royalty Holidays, LLC”.

  Perhaps Royalty Holidays have a new brand-name, or perhaps this is a new agent, or perhaps the “globalweeks” name came from a previous template?

  If you could confirm this it would be very helpful – the third option seems most likely because a little digging shows the following…

  The website (GlobalWeeks.com) is run from the same server as the near identical brands of GetAwayWeeks.com and WeeksWorld.com.

  Another reader has pointed out that the machine which serves all three of those sites has an IP address just 2 digits away from the machine that serves GreatVacationsClub.com – about which the first page of Google search results contains a fair bit of bad press.

  The whois information [1] [2] [3] [4] for all four websites points at a company called Resort Condominiums International, LLC. 7 Sylvan Way, Parsippany, NJ 07054, US

  That’s RCI Pacific, yes that RCI, the very well known timeshare operator; part of Cendant. I’m sure if they are connected, such a reputable (publicly listed) company will want mountains to be moved to ensure customer satisfaction, which I why I ask whether the letter was from a general template or specific to this sale.
• Graeme says:

  30/04/2006 at 06:48

  I fell into a similar situation as many others as Best USA Vacations had contacted me, and told me that I had won a trip as a promotion through Visa and Mastercard. He told me that he simply needed to verify that I did in Fact have a Visa card. Foolishly, I gave him my number, and information. He then went on to tell me more about the trip that i had just “won”. He then asked me if he could verify my Mastercard number, at which point I became suspicious and hung up. I immediately called Visa and they tole me that Best USA Vacations had put through a transaction of 598.00 US dollars on my card, without even telling me or having me authorize it. I called Best USA Vacations back, and was told to leave a message, and of course nobody called me back. The next day I continually harassed them by calling nearly every half an hour, as I kept getting brushed aside, being told that they were busy, and they would call me back. Finally after about 6 hours of calling the receptionist rudely said “fine, I’ll get you someone”. I spoke with an agent named “Ashley” who I explained my situation to. Apparently they record the confirmation part of the telephone conversation, and since I hung up, they had no record of me declining or accepting the transaction. She agreed to reverse the transaction within the next ten minutes. However, This did not show up even days later, and many unanswered e-mails and phone calls were left. Anyways, I saw the local news channel do a story about this company, and they said that if any individuals had had problems with them to contact the FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER SERVICES, which is run by the government of Florida, and you can file a formal complaint with them about the company, or any other company based in Florida for that matter. you can also contact them at
  (850) 488-2221. Luckily, days later I was notified that the original transaction had been credited to my Visa account, and ultimately, I had got my money back! So make sure to contact the agency above in Florida, as I believe they were an integral part of getting my money back, and if not at least they know how difficult this company was to deal with. As well, I assume that for those of you that were taken advantage of by the company in Texas, ther is likely a similar consumer affairs division like there is in Florida, that can help. Possibly try to search for one on the internet. Hopefully this helps!
• Graeme says:

  30/04/2006 at 06:58

  I forgot to write that the web site for the Florida Division of Consumer Services is http://www.800helpfla.com, and you can click on file a complaint. On their web site they state that between the first of January and the 17th of March 2006, they have recovered $1,799,522 dollars from 9,391 complaints that have been filed. It is worth a shot!
• ingrid says:

  01/05/2006 at 17:52

  yes we got oure mony back!!! from visa!!
  im very happy!!!!
• Sarah Z says:

  02/05/2006 at 22:50

  Yeah I fell for the Best USA vacations.com and when I checked my visa,I was charged $600.00 for. I recieved the package this morning but it didn’t have really any information. I was told it was a tribute to hurricane Katrina in hopes of rebuilding their clientel. Someone like myself and my husband can’t really afford a vacation but I figured we deserved the break. I’m extreamly skeptical but I can only hope in my heart that this is genuine and maybe now of days we can still trust the odd stranger rather than getting conned by your neighbour. Don’t people understand that things like this can cause divorces? Where is your morality? If it helps I have a few contact names and numbers they supplied me with;

  Representative: Mike Douglas or Clinton Brown
  contact number: (407) 999-0000 or (407) 481-1185
  website: bestusavacations.com (where no prices are supplied?!)
• jelli says:

  03/05/2006 at 08:53

  We’re from Australia, Perth. My family and I just recieved that same voicemail message on our home phone (so they’ve also reached further than Norway)

  Thanks to the stories we’ve read from others on the net about it… we’ll be staying away from it.
• Sarah Z says:

  03/05/2006 at 17:10

  Okay, this morning I was able to get a hold of a representative in customer service for Best USA Vacations. I called (407) 843-0336 at 7:30am Alberta time zone. I was reading some some people’s experiences and in defense to Best USA Vacations, they did make me very well aware that my visa would be charged that same day of them calling my house and within a month of recieving my package I could return it for a refund. However, it’s not simple. Under terms and conditions, bullet eight states the following in the package that I recieved yesturday;

  You may cancel this contract without any penalty or obligation within thirty days from the date of purchase or receipt of the vacation certificate, which-ever occures later. If you decide to cancel, you must notify the seller in of your intent to cancel by returning the package back as well as your notice to: Best USA vacations, 4525 Vineland Rd. Ste 207, Orlando Florida 32811. Black Diamond Marketing Inc. is bonded and registered with the state of Florida as seller of Travel ST36067. Hopes this info helps someone!
• Rowland says:

  09/05/2006 at 08:41

  I live in the UK and on 8 March 2006 received a late night phone call from ‘Best USA Vacations’ telling me I had won a free holiday that was being promoted via VISA. Next morning I found my account had been debited by $1050 without my permission. A couple of weeks later an advertising pack arrived. Included was a cirtificate of purchase – this was returned immediately by Recorded Signed For mail.
  The company has currently ignored all my attempts (including Receipted email) to refund me.
  Having contacted the Florida Trade Commission and the Florida Consumer Services it is obvious BestUSAvacations is a serious scam opperation that appears to be fully supported by the major bank clearing companies – they too, (VISA etc) are making a living out of this illicit business. Florida and the USA needs to clean up it’s control of this kind of trader and to close them down. The harm it is doing the image of Florida and the USA is world wide.
• Graham says:

  09/05/2006 at 13:56

  I also received the calls from 08444 823333. They try to trick you into thinking you “missed” the call, but in fact you got hung up on. If you call back, they give some spiel a like “you may have missed a call about your mobile phone services, please hold the line until an operator is available”.

  Of course I hung up immediately. My guess is that they want you to stay on the line, racking up premium call charges.
• David Braime says:

  09/05/2006 at 18:30

  Hi Rich and anyone reading. I posted on this site last July regarding Sunshine Travel Escapes. Not many have posted here on this company but I have found them on other sites like ripoff.com. I thought that my experiences with the Florida Licensing authority DOACS might be of interest.

  Although they replied promptly to my complaint they seemed overly bureaucratic when it came to filling out the affidavit. I was between homes at the time I filled this in and omitted the exact date the transaction took place because the holiday package was buried in my stuff somewhere in a garage! In any case I had already given them a copy of my receipt which had this date on it. I later confirmed this date via email.

  The consequence of this is that they now claim that I do not qualify for compensation through a bond payed by Sunshine Travel when they registered. I am disputing this of course but wondered if anyone else has heard about this bond that companies apparently pay to DoACS to cover possible customer complaints against them. I have never heard mention of it on this or any other site!

  Incidentally Sunshine Travel now claim to be bankrupt (what, with all that cash they must have scammed?) and I am pressing DOACS to keep me informed on any legal action the authorities may take against the people behind this company.

  Interestingly Doacs have told me that owners of companies have to prove their identities and have no prior dodgy business background in order for them to be given a license. If this is the case how on earth did Atlif Hemani (et al.) manage to set up so many dodgy travel companies running the same old scam? I would be interested in any comments you guys have.

  David
• Rich says:

  09/05/2006 at 19:36

  Hi David, thanks for the update.

  The bond that the DOACS require is a fairly good insurance against an honest company making a mistake or two, but, since it’s limited at 25,000 US Dollars it’s unlikely to cover the debt left by any company that is less than reputable.

  You mentioned Altef Hemani, but he’s not the registered agent of this company. That person according to the publicly available business documents is Kyle Kelley.

  The company’s registered office is 4525 Vineland Road, Suite 207, a postal address which SarahZ mentioned just a few comments ago, except that time it was in connection with BestUSAVacations.

  It could be that this is a common maildrop of both companies with no more connection than that, but to complete the story, Best USA Vacations is a licensed fictitious name of Black Diamond Marketing, Inc..

  Basically the links here are only circumstantial and its perfectly feasible that these are totally unrelated companies that happen to be selling similar products using similarly outsourced services.
• clarke says:

  09/05/2006 at 20:12

  Thank you very much for sharing this information. I just missed a call on my mobile (08444 823210)and am naturally suspicious of any number starting”084…”, let alone “09″. Some years ago my severely ill (and soon to die) father was gulled into buying one of those expensive rip off holidays in Florida, ie with no flights. Sadly, he paid using Americ*n E*press, who are 100% less helpful than Visa. And last year a good friend suffered a massive credit card overcharge in a ‘reputable’ florida restaurant. My advice? Visit all the other normal nice healthy states (eg Arizona) and avoid Flo.
• David Braime says:

  10/05/2006 at 17:02

  A further update to my dealings with Doacs. My contact there informed me today that the person behind Sunshine Travel had been fined for ‘violation of Statutes’ I bet the fine had minimal impact on the profits he must have made. The company reps who do the selling no doubt get away scot free with their fat commisions! and can take up other jobs with a similar ‘sell holidays anyway you can’ employer.
  I have taken issue with DOACS over their affidavit form that you have to fill in to make a claim against a company. This form asks “On Month/Day/year, I learned that the travel services I contracted for were not going to be furnished’ This was totally innapropriate for my case and for most of the cases I read about on the web. I was worried about the legal implications if I had filled this out as my dispute was about obtaining money by deception. I felt that Sunshine Travel could have chalenged this affidavit by pointing out that they had in fact sent me a travel package! I don’t know if this is the only travel related affidavit DOACS uses or whether I was simply sent the wrong one. I will be questioning them further on this matter.
• Steve says:

  11/05/2006 at 22:46

  Hi, I booked this holiday with a holding deposite of $600. Finaly went ahead and booked April 2006 after checking ABN number.

  The 3 day Bahama cruise has been confirmed; but the Orlando and Daytona part cannot be confirmed until July. We are Hopefully going in December.

  Here is a new contact number to call from Australia 00181-4079971732. The lady I spoke to on this occation was Nicole very helpfull. Good luck and happy holliday.

  Steve
• andrea says:

  12/05/2006 at 02:34

  I got a phone call in feb saying i had one a holiday.
  I normally steer well clear of things like this but was hooked in. I feel like such a fool.My card was debited the next day with a stream of calls to them from me to find out what on earth was going on I stll have no paper work & no refund.Its now been 3months!
  Up until finding your site I still held hope that the continual stream of bullshit they have been spinning me might just be true.watch out for CELEBRATION PROMOTIONS 1047US$ later I feel sick to my stomach.I have let my credit card provider know who has contacted the fraud dep. & i will hear back soon.
  Im so glad i found this site .
  Yours gratefully
  Andrea
• jackie says:

  16/05/2006 at 21:34

  I got conned with best usa vacations.i’m partilly paralised and get a invalidility pension I sent my package back on the 9th of december they said that they didnt recieve it until january 28 I cant afford to lose this type of money i’ll be years paying it off if somebody could please help me to get it back or tell me how to do it i live in dublin worst of all my husband doesnt even know about this.Something should be done with these people they shoulnt be let get away with this its people like me that would love that type of holiday but couldnt afford it but thought they were great doing it this way please help
• John says:

  17/05/2006 at 16:17

  Hi jackie, they tried the same with me (plain lying: “we received the package too late”), see earlier.

  What helped me was that I had a tracking number from my local postoffice, which I could check on http://www.usps.com
  That, plus my complaint to the DOACS finally convinced them to return my money.

  Hope this helps you.
• Helma van Kuijk says:

  22/05/2006 at 16:02

  I initially refused the package from AResortWeek, but I had to accept it in order to get a refund.

  So i did and sent the package back April 27, they havent recieved it.

  I sent it priority and they needed to sign for it. I emailed the reciept to them and they still refuse to refund.
• Rich says:

  22/05/2006 at 16:59

  Hi Helma, some background info would probably help others a lot, so some questions:

  If you had refused to accept the delivery, the shipping company should have returned it to the sender, which woudl have sved you money. Why did you think you needed to accept the package in order to get a refund?

  You mention that the company had to sign to receive the returned package, so your postal service should be able to provide you with some proof of that delivery (not just proof of posting) – is that what you emailed to AResortWeek?
• Robert Keyes says:

  22/05/2006 at 19:52

  Earlier in the discussion Rich wrote: Perhaps you’d like to take this opportunity to discuss (defend) your company’s apparent use of international telesales calls where the recipient is told “Congratulations! You have just won a free, all-inclusive cruise to the Caribbean!”, when it appears they have won no prize at all. Does BestUSAVacations subscribe to FEDMA do-not-call lists? This would mean that only people who enjoy marketing calls can be contacted, which is a good start. Can prize winners receive their prize if they dont buy anything from your company? If they can’t, do you think the “prize” story is in anyk way misrepresentative or dishonest??

  Like any company on the planet we use different marketing stategies at different times.

  Yes we use a free cruise (port taxes and government fees not included) and yes people may or may not take the cruise at their own discression. Which is why we also offer 5 day 4 night cruises (once again port taxes and government fees not included). We also offer 5 days and 4 nights in Cancun Mexico (good for 2 adults and 2 children) as a free bonus. As stated in previous discourses we are frequently lumped into a category by readers who have had bad expeiences with other companies. We have thousands of satisfied customers. Sincerely,Robert Keyes
• Klaus Zak says:

  24/05/2006 at 12:10

  I am konfused: Keyes repeated Boakes questions, but why he did not answer them? It makes not sense!

  It looks like Best USA Vacations are not good listening!
• Yves Poirier says:

  25/05/2006 at 18:58

  Hi,
  I received a call from “RoyaltyHolidays” this afternoon.

  I had just conected my phone line in my new house about an hour before… Luckly I didn’t give them my Credit card #. I told the gentlemen (who was very friendly) that I wanted to verifie a few things about there company, and that I would call them back later on tonight. That’s when I found this website.

  Thanks you very much!
  This probably saved me $500US…
• Jim Nicol says:

  26/05/2006 at 04:40

  You mean I’m not really one of 25 random phone numbers contacted twice a year with a super amazing discounted Forida vacation???

  I’m one of those guys who is desperate for a family vacation who sucked this elixir of too-good-to-be-truishnous with a big fat straw. It’s been 36 hours since I ‘signed’ up, so I’m eager to get this ball of appeals and disputes rolling with VISA and/or BestUSAVacations (or whoever the heck they are). VISA tells me that a TransWorld Company (some medical supply company) is the business that actually made the charge to my account . The kicker is that although this REEKS of scam based on that alone, VISA can do nothing about it, until the company refuses to issue me a credit OR they fail to supply the service they ‘verbally’ (UH OH) contracted to give me – too bad they’re the only ones who ‘recorded’ the conversation. I immediately wanted to dispute the charge at which point it was recommeneded that I don’t. This is where these scammers are reallllly smart. If one disputes a claim BEFORE they don’t actually receive what they were promised, all the company has to do is provide the claimant’s name, address, and credit card info and the dispute will most likely be denied. According to the helpful dispute agent, one needs to be patient and wait for one of those two things – the company reasonably refuses you your cancellation credit OR they do not provide you with the services they promised. OH MY GOD!!! I just thought of something. I told the charismatic agent on the phone that I wanted a 6 month extension on the already preset window of 18 months – SO…now that means that I would have to wait for 2 years now before they can be pegged with not providing me with what they promised!!!! Of course that means that they would have my 600 bucks for 2 years and could probably stare at me through the window singing na na na na boo boo without fear of much more than me tossing myself against the window trying to rip their heads off. Guess I’d better get that cancellation process in motion. Thanks for listening to my rant and I hope it helps someone down the road.

  Jim from sun-filled, fun-filled Alberta Canada. (come and vacation here for ALOT less than 10 grand!!)
• Marilyn Williams says:

  28/05/2006 at 01:02

  Re – SunKissed Travel

  I was sucked in by SunKissed Travel 18 months ago. I have dealt with Paul Guske /Michele Taylor/Alan/ and currently Dionne. I was simply trying to confirm package – then tried to transfer it – you would think that would be a simple transaction. After my “transferee” got fed up with all the bullshit – she pulled the pin. She is convinced SKT is a scam and so do I. I have still not resolved anything. They keep saying “please dont feel like that” “let us correct this for you”. I could kick myself for being so naive – anyone that is legitimate does not play you along for 18 months hoping you will go away. I have just sent a final e-mail to Dionne, I will post my reply – if I get one. To you Paul Guske and Michel Taylor, yes you were ever so convincing over the phone but you lived up to your promises. I cannot see how you “for some reason” don’t receive my e-mails. I hope I can post a positive conclusion to this saga and renew my faith in the human spirit.
  Marilyn Williams
  masandruss@hotmail.com
• misty meechan says:

  31/05/2006 at 11:05

  Hi,
  I am pregnant with my second child and have just been scammed buy these money suckers {calypsocay}. Being nieve and pregnant I got really excited about the cheap holiday, now my partner of 6 years and the father of my two kids is threatening to leave me I just hope the next person doesn’t get tricked like I did. One tip for all readers DONT USE YOUR CARDS ON LINE IT WILL RUIN EVERYTHING YOU HAVE WORKED HARD FOR.
• Kevin says:

  01/06/2006 at 16:15

  I got a call yesterday and a after a recording I got a live representative who offered to lower my interest rate to 6.9% on all my credit cards. Right from the start this sounded sketchy so I asked what I had to do to qualify. She said I need to have at least $5000 in debt and at least $1000 in available credit on my card. Then she said if I did, they contact the credit card company and get them to lower my interst rate. Right! Like my credit card company is in it to pay them to get less money from me in interest. I mean this is how credit card companies make money. “Why would they do that”, I asked. The rep told me it is what Account Ledger Solutions does and the credit card company is happy to do it. Well, I am not that stupid. The company name she gave me was: Account Ledger Solutions and the phone…same as above 1-800-361-4140. Clearly a scam!
• Marilyn Williams says:

  02/06/2006 at 23:53

  Re: SunKissed Travel – a follow up on my previous comment.

  I keep getting the same reply: “we are sorry you feel like that – how can we correct this for you?”.

  They said that they cannot give me a refund as I did not request it within 30 days – how was that possible when I didnt receive the package for 2 months after I was sucked in?

  I have NO DOUBT that SunKissed Travel is a scam – I am here to prove it. They have strung me along for 18 months – I have spent a fortune on calls from Australia to Florida – Paul Guske and Michele Taylor are full of it – I have dealt with them both – they are all full of promises when you speak to them but they are just very good at their game.

  It really saddens me to think there are people like that in the world. I am going to do all I can to discredit this company – hopefully if enough of us find the right channels to follow this though – they will be put out of business before they can hurt too many more people. I cannot believe they took me for a ride – I never considered myself a fool but right now I feel like one.

  I am happy if anyone wants to contact me scorpio1@nex.net.au
• Rich says:

  03/06/2006 at 09:38

  Hi Marilyn,

  They said that they cannot give me a refund as I did not request it within 30 days – how was that possible when I didnt receive the package for 2 months after I was sucked in?
  

  The 30 day period that the DOACS gives you starts when the package arrives, so if based on your two-months estimate, you have contacted SunKissed at any time during the 90 days after the contract was created and requested cancellation. I Understand that its unlawful for a company to reguse to cancel a holiday in such situations.

  It sounds like you’ve had some difficulty in exercising your vouchers, so your best bet is to contact the DOACS and possibly seek legal advice, since Sunkissed may themselves have broken the contract if they have not enabled you to use the vouchers.
• Terri says:

  03/06/2006 at 14:47

  Received a call yesterday from Royalty Holiday with Visa and Mastercard..(who by the way are competitors????)selling a vacation package to Flordia, Cancun or cruise which sounded too good to be true. Therefore had to investigate to where I have been directed to this page.
• cong says:

  09/06/2006 at 01:24

  Oh my God!!! I was really really naive of giving sunkissd travel my credit card details,believing that I have won a fantastic Holiday in Florida,Carribean and Cancun. I even told my inlaws that they can go with us on this holiday.., My father in law just died of car accident and I became pregnant ..so our plan to travel by May 2006 was put on hold..I called sunkissedtravel and tell them that I would like an extension of the travel and they agreed…till next year.2007….What Now? can I still got my money back? Pls help…
• jonathan ross says:

  12/06/2006 at 12:48

  Marilyn,
  I “won” a trip from Sunkissed last year 2005 in April. After trying to transfer the package to a friend I was unable to get ahold of anyone to confirm the transfer. No responses to my phone calls or eMails.

  I filed a complaint with the DOACS. Hope I can get my money back.

  What other options are there really?
• Phil Greyson says:

  14/06/2006 at 15:38

  I brought a travel voucher off ebay for 5 days all inclusive trip to Cancun. I was told that all I had to find was the flights. This was with royality holiday ( same address as above ) . I have now been asked for $199 per person for something call port fees. I have beed told that unless I pay these fees I will not be able to use my voucher. The person who sold me the voucher is no longer registered with ebay.
• dean robbins says:

  19/06/2006 at 17:47

  yes im another one who foolishly got sucked in by royalty holidays.got a package for £490.was told i had 14 days cancellation period.spoke to wife and cancelled within 24 hours.was then told they would give refund once they had received tickets back in post.i duelly did this but was then told they had received tickets after 14 days so money was non refundable!!!i have no tickets,no holiday and £490 credit card bill!!!
• Crystal says:

  19/06/2006 at 18:58

  I live in Canada & I was just contacted by Royalty Holidays stating I “won” a free trip to Floriday. I only had to pay $599 USD. Wait, I thought it was free? I asked again & again who he was with, to which he finally told me Royalty Holidays. He even gave me the web site address & told me to look at how legitimate it is, as I was asking what the catch was. So I Googled them while I was on the phone with him. Then I told him the search resulted in scam warnings. He started yelling that I was supposed to type in the ADDRESS, not a SEARCH! Gee, silly me… He promptly hung up on me. That might work for someone else, too. I’m glad he told me to look them up on the web!
• Joel says:

  22/06/2006 at 06:42

  I got the call today about the free trip but hung up promptly. No one gets anything for free like that. It is interesting to see that there are so many people out there who aren’t cynical about things like this.

  People who make scams like this need to be in prison. I wish more was done to punish it.
• Randy D says:

  23/06/2006 at 22:34

  I am from nova scotia canada and I just recieved a call from royalty holidays telling me I had won an 1100.00 plus discount on a vacation to orlando/ bahamas/ fort lauderdale/ and other resorts . I figured it was a scam so I played along to make them waste their time and when i refused to disclose my credit card info. they even passed me to a supervisor who tried his best to reassure me that it was a safe thing to do because the transaction was being digitally recorded for my safety ( I could not see anything safe for me when they were the ones doing the recording ). to say the least he was really pissed after half an hour of of their best scaming tricks and made no sale ! If it sounds too good to br true then it usually is …
• sherisse bigland says:

  28/06/2006 at 20:25

  Hi, I’m a Canadian who just today realized how truly horribly I got scammed. Less than a month ago, I recieved a call from a Royalty Holidays sales rep in conjunction with Visa, they told me I had won a vacation package, and explained how great it was to me. I was still not completely convinced that this was a good idea, so I told them I didn’t want to give out my credit card info over the phone, so they reassured me that the charge wasn’t made to my Visa account until after the 30 day period, during which I could cancel the package risk free (as in I would not be charged anything so long as I sent back all of the documents they sent me within 30 days). I recieved the package from them the next week via a DHL carrier and looked it over, the documents themselves seemed alright and the only cancellation fee that they were informing me about was if I cancelled a trip I had already booked if I chose to keep the package. I decided that I probably wouldn’t use it and it would be a waste of my money, so I sent it back via Canada Post, and all was fine and dandy. Yesterday I picked up a message on my phone saying “This call is for Miss Sherisse Bigland, this is Anita Lowe with Royalty Holidays, I’m just calling to let you know we have recieved your package and your refund is being processed, also to let you know you will me charged a hundred dollar cancellation fee, thank you.” *click* OK, what?! I understoon when I accepted this thing that I would not be charged anything, and I already paid to send it back to them, $100 is a lot more than nothing, I have to say. Today I called them and talked to a customer service representative, who was a little more than rude, I was trying to find out exactly what this cancellation fee was for, and she kept cutting me off, and then told me that if I didn’t stop interrupting her and let her talk she would hang up on me, which she did as soon as I tried to ask for a letter from them stating that they would actually be refunding the amount for the original package. So, I called back, and just my luck, I got the same horrible cow again, this time I clearly stated that I wanted a letter saying that they were refunding all but $100 of the original amount, and she told me that they don’t send out letters. So, basically when the money hasn’t been put back on my credit card in a month, I have no proof that they were supposed to and no way of getting that back. Then I asked what the cancellation fee was for, and she told me that they have to pay people to put the package together and the DHL service to deliver it, so they charge me $100 for that. After telling her that I had been told explicitly that it was risk free and that the documents sent to me never mentioned anything of this cancellation fee, she told me that I was only being refunded $399 of the original amount and to have a good day. Now, I called Visa and they have told me that they will help me with this, but they don’t know what they can do about the $100, other than try to dispute it. So, long story short, I will never be accepting anything like that ever again.
• Steve Kincade says:

  29/06/2006 at 13:37

  Well,

  They are still at it. My call said I had just won over 1,000 points on my visa or MasterCard and I qualified for a trip for only 25% of the cost.

  I just kept asking questions and finally the said, “I’m tired” and she hung up. She kept talking about the scam vacation and I kept talking about the points. She did say that I “won” the points, just from my regular use of the card!!

  Oh boy, they are getting worse and worse.

  By the way, I found this site and started reading the reports online while she was on the phone. I was going to ask her about some of these reports, but she hung up on me before I had the opportunity to ask her about these.

  Oh well, maybe they will finally black list my phone number … do you think?

  Enjoy your day. Be aware, be smart.
• Dan -from canda says:

  04/07/2006 at 19:15

  wow…telephone scam exists all over the world

  this morning my sister received a call from this “calypsocay”
  vacation resort company, so the guy gives a bunch of offers, she ran it through me and asks me if its a scam or not, so i listen to the guy chitter on about how amazing and lucky we are to be “randomly selected” for this “prize”
  the deal was $598 i believe, with a bunch of other offers that i don’t even remember anymore.

  anyhow, so my sister gets me to check out this company, i searched it upon google, everything seems to check out, websites, bunch of pictures, contact informations. while i was looking for clues that whether this is a scam or not, my sister handed them her credit card number, but she decides to use a card that had a limit on it, so it didnt go through, and the girl just told her to “go get another card so we could finish the transaction.” cover blown!
  so she cancelled the registration, and later cancelled her credit card, while the lady hesitates to say ‘yes’ when my sister asked whether or not if they’ll erase all her credit card informations.

  just as it ends, i found this site, so thanks! for confirming this.

  best of luck to you people out there
  dont get scammmmed!!
• Christy Daman says:

  13/07/2006 at 19:07

  Just wondering what carrier they used to bring you the information about the trips. I think i was also scammed and i am MAD. I don’t want to leave my name, cause i’m embarrassed.
• John Piers says:

  14/07/2006 at 19:30

  My question is, What can be done by someone who got scammed by Royalty Holidays? They refuse to credit my Master Card after I returned the Holiday package. Now I cannot contact them because their phone is always busy (likely no longer in service), anf they do not respond to e-mails. What agency in the US deals with this kind of fraud?
  Please let me know so that I can take some action.
• Anita says:

  16/07/2006 at 07:03

  Received a call from Calypso Cay. Absolute scam, wanted credit card details etc. Very pushy, said I wouldnt have enough on the limit, still wanted details anyway. Offered website http://www.bestvacationsworld.com what a dodgy peice of shit that is, no links, no way to contact, no details of company. Stay the hell away.
• amy says:

  17/07/2006 at 14:49

  Hi all
  I wrote in a while ago about Royalty Holidays, who had sold us a holiday package and then refused to refund us after we cancelled within 14 days, (before they had even managed to send us the brochure package.) It took months of phone calls, emails, and finally we realised that the company will simply avoid refunding you any way they can, to the extent of calling up and promising a refund, if only to get you to stop asking for one. They never actually process a refund, they just keep telling you they will, so that you leave them alone for a while. They get especially attentive if you start to talk about hiring a lawyer to look into this, but they still never process a refund, unless they think they can charge you a fee instead (which they never mention).
  So – what you need to do is get on to your bank/credit card company as soon as possible and raise a dispute over the payment and then keep following up with your company. It has taken us six months but our credit card company has now fully refunded the amount to our card, finding in our favour during the dispute.
  Don’t waste your time with talking to Royalty Holidays, just send them a registered letter (and keep a copy) explaining your situation and detailing why you want a refund, so that you have “made a valid attempt to resolve the issue with the trader.”
  They won’t answer you, but at least you will have done everything required, and it saves you on telephone charges.
  Do make a complaint to the State Attorney General’s Office too, as the more complaints they receive the worse it looks for Royalty Holidays’ company register. Unfortunately this means they’ll just close down and rename themselves so that you don’t recognise the same scam under a different name.
  Whatever you do, don’t give up trying, I know how hopeless and angry I have felt these last few months, and to be honest, we had come very close to giving up and had nearly resigned ourselves to losing that money, so you can imagine how excited we have been these last few days since getting the news (even now I don’t quite believe it, I’m getting my bank to confirm the details of the dispute in writing so I can frame it or get it printed on a t-shirt or something.)

  So if you have just reached that first point of realisation that you are dealing with a company that simply works on a different sub-basement level of basic human principles to the rest of us, then it is time to get very mad and then get to work. It will take a long time, numerous emails, phone calls and letters, and there is no guarantee at the end of it, but you simply cannot let people like this get away with manipulating our good faith and trust, without any repercussions.

  Good luck to everyone out there trying, and please, keep trying.
  cheers
• -Irwin C. Snider says:

  19/07/2006 at 11:10

  I have been caught too.Iam presently using my CC Co to nullify my payment
• Joseph from Canada says:

  21/07/2006 at 22:24

  I just had a call from a bestvacations.com saying i had ‘won’ a vacation to orlando..s.t
  so i listened…then it came…my ‘free’ holliday would cost $349 per person… they then wanted my credit card info… i said i would require then to send me the offer by letter…they refused… i refused to give them my credit card details…and that is itit
  it. Oh the ‘canadian’ phone number they gave me was 1-800-824-1533… when i called it they said they were calypso cay vacation… basicaly they are a scam of some sort.

  note their domain name is run by http://www.godaddy.com
• Joseph from Canada says:

  21/07/2006 at 22:33

  oh…if you want to complain their internet provider regarding bestvacationsworld.com (calypsocayvacations) go to http://www.godaddy.com or just email abuse@godaddy.com