tags: Scams
Ameri-who?
March 7th, 2005, by Rich.
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I just got a wonderful telemarketing call …
| Me: | Hello. |
| Me: | Hello?. |
| Me: | Helllllo? |
| Me: | [pauses] |
| Me: | Hello?. |
| Me: | Sorry I’m not receiving any audio from your end, so if you can hear me, hang up, or if you’re an automated dialler I’m just going to keep on so you pay for the call. |
| After just enough time for a generic answer phone message to have completed, a recording began to playback at me: | |
| Recording: | Congratulations! You have just won the jackpot! Hi my name is Michael Smith from the Corporate Reward Centre in Las Vegas. You have just won the jackpot! Please call ring free 0800 091 0084 to claim your prize and matching your claim code: Jackpot. Again that number is ring free 0800 091 0084. Congratulations, and we look forward to speaking to you. |
So, noting that my star sign is Inquisitive (with Curious rising) and knowing that 0800 numbers are freephone; I called them:
| Kitty: | Amerisuites Vacations this is Kitty, how may I help? |
| Me: | Who? |
| Kitty: | Amerisuites Vacations this is Kitty. |
| Me: | Sorry, What Vacations? |
| Kitty: | Amerisuites, like America but without the ca and add Suites. |
| Me: | Oh, OK, I’d like to collect my jackp… |
| Kitty: | *click* *beeeeeeeeep* [Kitty ends the call] |
My telephone number is registered with the Telephone Preference Service a UK body that regulates commercial phone spam, so legally they’re not allowed to call me, but they’re trying to force a loophole where commercial calls are banned but, they theorize, by calling it a competition, they can avoid prosecution.
So, not only has this company cold-called my TPS registered number, but they’ve also hung up on me, that’s just plain rude, I wanted to know who and what they are:
So, I called them, again:
| Carla: | Welcome to Amerivacations this is Carla. |
Carla proceeded to take my first name and asked for the number from which I’d called to check what prize I’d won. I gave her a false number. Surprisingly this had no ill effect because Carla came back and told me that I’d won £1301 towards a holiday in Florida, and that it was part of a prize fund allocated to 100 people and there were only 10 claims left on the fund - [irony alert] what luck!
Being a happy soul about this I mentioned that I’m in the UK, and that Carla didn’t sound local; she told me she was in Orlando Florida, and reiterated that this was a free call for me (just to make me really feel like I was special).
She then went on to explain that to claim my prize I’d need to pay the balance on a holiday in Florida at a Ramada resort near near Disneyworld - the package balance £598 for 16 days holiday for 4 - effectively an 80% discount.
The is is not a competition or a lottery, this company is selling holidays; there is no way to claim a “prize” without actually purchasing something, at which point they’ll discount the value of that prize from the purchase cost.
From the TPS website: “Under Government legislation introduced on 1st May 1999 and replaced on 11th December 2003 by the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, it is unlawful to make unsolicited direct marketing calls to individuals who have indicated that they do not want to receive such calls.”
Carla also explained that they are trying to rekindle interest in America as a vacation venue. She also explained that they are able to make these amazing offers because they keep their costs low, which they do in two ways:
- Direct Dialing.
- Word of Mouth.
Well, by direct-dialling me, unlawfully, they’ve certainly got a little word-of-mouth advertising.
The comments below add a lot of detail and you might also be interested in this followup article.
June 14th, 2005 at 9:35 am
Ohaah,
Those jokers too do have to respect the law. I suggest that you stop calling them and start writing them. You should send them a cancellation letter immediately and send a copy of that letter to your credit card company and also to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 407 South Calhoun Street, Tallahassee, FL, 32399-0800.
It would also be a good idea to mention explicitly that the florida status of cancellation gives you the right to cancel vacation packages within 30 days. The whole process might cost you 10 or 15 euro and some of your valuable time but in the end you will get your money back.
Peter
June 14th, 2005 at 11:02 am
just in case, contact address of Amerivacation:
AmeriVacation
7800 Southland Blvd. Suite #120
Orlando, Florida 32809
June 15th, 2005 at 3:41 am
once again i thank everyone for all thier input, i have chosen to send the package back after numerous attempts of contacting thier customer svc dept and being hung up on when i asked a question, i did see the package on line and that is why i booked because it seemed genuine… i originally recieved a pop-up ad on my computer i called, got disconnected but by then had given my number and they contacted me back, i dont think they have gotten to australia just yet… yes i did find it odd that they quoted me in pounds but i just figured the difference my self..well i am sure this has been a good lesson for all, even the folk in norway are now fighting them…who knows where they will try next….
June 15th, 2005 at 7:03 am
Hi Marie,
Sounds like they were not being at all cooperative with you by hanging up. So I hope you get your money back.
BTW, can you clarify “I don’t think they’ve gotten to Australia yet?” - because in your first comment here you said “I’m in Australia”.
June 15th, 2005 at 12:55 pm
I have just had a phone call from amervacation complaint department, saying that I can have a refund and a cancelation fee of £150, I said I still thought that was too much as I was conned. They put the cancelation fee down to £89 and I decided to accept this, just so the whole mess would go away, and I really need the money back. They tried to get my visa details agian to put the money back on my visa, but as I had already cancelled my visa, I said no. (I would not fall for this twice). They say they are going to send me a cheque for £609 in the next 30 days. I will just have to wait and see, I really hope I get this back as I go to tunisia next month and have no spending money.
June 15th, 2005 at 1:26 pm
If these people can get away with taking a £89 (=$175) cancellation fee from every person they mislead and sell to, then there’s no incentive for them to stop is there?
According to the DOACS - if you are within your 30 day cancellation period you are entitled to a full, no quibble, refund. Those are the terms under which all companies that wish to sell travel to (or in) Florida have to adhere in order to be in business.
If you have any difficulty obtaining that refund, complain to the DOACS - and then follow that up with a phone call - they’ve been very friendly, helpful and interested to know more when I’ve spoken with them.
June 15th, 2005 at 9:38 pm
Thanks goodness for this website, got a answer phone message from “Michael Smith” an hour ago, but thought I’d do a quick websearch on him before I called back!
June 16th, 2005 at 9:51 am
Vicky,
I got a complete refund and not thx to Amerivacation. I sent a cancellation letter right away and a copy of it to my credit card company. You really are entitled to a complete refund. Of course you should explain why you are entitled to a refund.
Peter
June 16th, 2005 at 10:01 am
the DOACS has indeed been most helpful. They sent me a letter stating that they would follow up my complaint. I can also still send them additional documentation to support my allegations. A copy of my complaint has also been mailed to Amerivaction.
Peter
June 16th, 2005 at 2:16 pm
Please can you help me, yesterday, Wednesday 15th June, i done a really stupid thing.
i got a phone call saying i had won the jackpot which was a holiday to Orlando,the first thing i said to them was how much is this going to cost me and was told nothing,so started giving this guy all my details and he said something about £698 and i told him that i wasnt paying anything and he put me through to another guy who then told me no we do not take any money today it gets took out 45 days before you travel,and that was just for taxes
he put me back to the first guy who started from the beging again and told me he was tapeing it. well i was ok with that and gave him all my details again including my credit card number cos i thought that was for the taxes and that it would only be taken out when i go,cos i had been promised nothing would come of my card till i went. i was ok with that,well this morning i checked my bank and £711.41 has been taken so now im even overdrawn and have lost the money cos i have just rung them and they played the second recording , and they said they have not got the first one and it is on the first one that i was promised that they would not take any money,
so now as you can see i need your help im really upset about the whole mess, i am disabled and live on benefits so as you can see i really can’t afford to lose that money.
i look forward to hearing from you. Many Thanks.