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.
May 6th, 2005 at 4:35 pm
I too had problems with amerivacations but Iwas so lucky that the autoritytime from my cc was past, so that the transaction was blocked. I ave been surching on the internet for the possibility to do something about it and i found the DOACS ( Florida Department of Agricultere &Consumer Services ) I contacted them about this company and the told me that the couldnt find a company
registered by that name . the told me that i could make complain against this firm by filling in a form that you can find on the internet URL: http://www.800helpfla.com and send it online to the
department .
It helpt by me because the have contacted me by phone and told that the wanted to refund the money. Maybe this can be a clou for anyone hows cot to deal with this company and i wish you
all good luck. you never wil know if you dont try it
May 6th, 2005 at 6:33 pm
My daughter received a message while out saying she had won a free cruise etc.. The person who answered with “claims” dept then hung up .She tried later to claim”free” trip.I telephoned the same number and spoke to a very nice man who gave his name as Barry Jackson adding he was no relation to Michael Jackson I asked him all about the prize and all seemed well till he asked for the expiry date on my or my daughters credit card.At this point I smelled a rat but politely said nobody in their right mind would give out information to a stranger over the telephone free holiday or not. I remember hearing these words on Watchdog “if it seems too good to be true usually it IS too good to be true! I also asked him to send a letter to my daughter outlining the exact holiday and any costs and she would be happy to consider the proposed “free holiday” My daughter is in England and I live in Scotland We are both on the TPS not that it seems to make any difference as the call came from the States. Barry Jackson also said he would be happy to pass me on to either Visa or Mastercard to confirm it was legitimate I said I wouldn`t believe them either even if they were offering a free place in Heaven. Do you think perhaps I was a little too harsh??? I only wish some of the ones who gave out their credit card details would have done the same.
May 8th, 2005 at 10:40 am
I’ve been scammed too. What is the address that you need to send the cancellation letter to? I’m within the 7 days.
May 8th, 2005 at 2:05 pm
Hi - just to add to all of this, I received the very same ‘recorded’ congratulations message last night. I rang them back today, and spoke to ‘Vincent’. I am also registered with the TPS (plus mail and email), and I queried this with them. The response this time was different - I have been ‘told’ that this is actually a Visa card promotion, and that 100 prizes have been given out ranging from £100 to £1301 off this ‘vacation package’ of 7days in Orlando, 3days in Fort Lauderdale, 3 nights in Daytona Beach - plus as a bonus 3days Grand Bahamas cruise. Also that I will receive 2 day passes to any Walt Disney resort, plus $500 discount card, and that I will have NO port taxes to pay, but I will be responsible for travel within the country, but not getting to America in the first instance. Also advised that I need to give my card details to secure this vacation today, and that the actual value of this 16day vacation for 4 (or 5 if the 5th person is under 12) is £1999, and I (plus 9 other lucky people) have won the top award of £1301 meaning that I need to pay £698 but that no funds will be due today. I will be sent the details within 7-10 days, and once received I need to sign the receipt to authorise them to debit my funds, and that whilst I’m there I will need to be present at a VIP breakfast or lunch presentation (not hard sell) of their other vacation locations’ Well this all sounds jolly nice and kind of the Visa people don’t you think??! Bearing in mind I have been told that no funds will be debited, until I have sent my receipt back - I’ll be interested to check my bank balance on Monday! Will keep you all posted.
May 9th, 2005 at 3:46 pm
I was on the Internet and was downloading some things when a window poped up which said congratulations and to call a number. So I did. To Amerivacation. They told me that I had won a trip to orlando florida and a cruise to Bahamas. This sounds really great because I live in Sweden and I only have to pay them 798 euro. I checked out their homepage, it seems ok but Can somebody with similar experiences tell me what to do? I gave my adress and my card number to them but I have not yet received the package with brouchures. I thought this was going to be the trip of my life but have I been fooled?
May 9th, 2005 at 9:11 pm
MY MUM GOT A CALL FROM THIS COMPANY SATURDAY 7TH MAY - MY SISTER STUPIDLY CALLED BACK ON SUNDAY AND PAID NEARLY £700 ON HER CREDIT CARD FOR MY MUM AND THREE SISTERS TO GO ON THE “HOLIDAY” TO FLORIDA. I CALLED THE COMPANY TODAY AND GAVE A FALSE NAME - ANGLEA SIMMONS TOLD THE GUY MARCUS MY MUM BOOKED WITH HIM YESTERDAY - SAID MY MUM WAS PATRICIA SIMMONS - HE SAID HE REMEMBERED HER - LIE - HE TOLD ME HE WAS AFFILIATED WITH ABTA - GAVE ME NUMBER ST35765 - CHECKED ABTA WEBSITE NUMBER DOESN’T EXIST!! I PRETENDED TO BE INTERESTED SO I COULD GET AS MUCH INFORMATIONS AS POSSIBLE. TOLD MY SISTER THEY WERE PART OF HYATT GROUP - I CALLED THE HYATT REGENCY IN ORLANDO FLORIDA AFTER MUCH EFFORTTRYING TO FIND THE NUMBER - SPOKE TO THE MANAGER OF THE HOTEL WHO SAID THIS IS A SCAM! BEFORE GIVING ANY MONEY TO THE COMPANY YOU SHOULD TRY FINDING THE NUMBER FOR THE AMERISUITE VACATION CLUB IN ORLANDO - REAL HOTEL AND ASK IF THEY HAVE ANY IDEA ABOUT THIS. I AM A TRAVEL CONSULTANT FOR THOMSON HOLIDAYS - LET ME TELL YOU ALL THAT FLORIDA TOURISM IS BOOMING - I KNOW! FOR A HALF DECENT HOLIDAY IN FLORIDA FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR FOR 14 DAYS IT CAN COST ALMOST £4,500. THE OLD SAYING - IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT PROBABLY IS!!!
May 9th, 2005 at 9:13 pm
Our son was playing on the computer Runescape. Suddenly he asked mummy to come and have a look for the screen: “Congratulations! You are the 1.000 000 visitor of this page. You have won Caribbean Cruise vacation for three nights and two days. Please call immediatelly 001 321 282 2911.”
The time was running out all the time and I took the call to that number. There was a very kind person called Carla. I asked her about the matter. That was true, we had won the vacation. I was told also that we would take a reservation for a hotel suite for 80 % discount for a week. It was the only cost we had to pay, the Caribbean Cruise is free. I was not able to decide the matter at the phone so quickly and I was asked to visit their website http://www.amerivacation.com to confirm the reservation.
I have visited Florida many times and I have spent long times in that lovely country. I have travelled in many other coutries in the world but never got this kind of possibility to get the vacation. Do someone know the company or this Carla E.? Are these stories above asking the same matter as I do? Please answer me if you know something about the matter! I appreciate of your help. I did not confirm anything or did not let Carla know my credit card information or passport details. I am looking forward to get your information.
May 9th, 2005 at 10:44 pm
I received one of these scam phone calls this afternoon. It sounded so good. I first asked where they got my telephone number from, no answer, I said “nobody phones you with a free holiday”. I was told the same as all the above and would have to pay £698 tax. I think I asked too many questions and they never asked me for my credit card details. I then tried ringing the number she gave me 0800 091 4761 but could not get anybody. When I did get the operator - who sounded rather strange, (I suppose a robot computer !) she said she would put me through to customer services but the line went dead. I have tried looking on their website which I think is a poor site which does not give me any ambition to go for one of their holidays - even if it is free or £698. Just remember, no one is going to give you anything FREE these days. If they phone again, yes I will let them go on and on and let them pay for the call, that’s if I have the time.
May 10th, 2005 at 7:27 am
I too was scammed last night. 698.00 taken out of my VISA. They told me I had a 30-day cooling off period. I wanted to go to Floriday, with my family, so I foolishly fell for it. Before giving them details, I scanned their web-site to check it was valid. All seemed okay, but didn’t realise the port taxes, and air-fares etc. I would like to know whether this holiday is genuine or not, and worth going on, or simply a complete scam? I got an ABTA reference but not sure how to check it all out. Who should I write to, to cancel this in the allowed period.
May 10th, 2005 at 9:31 am
I got home on Sunday evening to have one of these messages on my answer phone. So i rang it. WOW, that sounds good, i thought after an American woman went through the speech. But hang on now she wants my credit card number already to confirm i’ve won the price.. Yeah right. Give me your web site address and i’ll look and call back i said. After clicking on FAQ and it not taking me anywhere my suspected something wasn’t right again. Also what exactly did i get for my money?
I phoned back, after all it is a free phone number, and then i made her go through the whole lot again, which she didn’t like. But no mention of flights? Are they included? “No they aren’t mam” she reluctantly replied. So, i thought why didn’t she say this last time before trying to get my C Card details? Can i have this all in writing, exactly what i get for my money? Not until the balance is paid. Suprise, Suprise. So i just said i’d call back again after talking to my husband. That’s when i found this site.
I’m so glad i’ve read all your comments and i too am a member of TPS. I just hope that people do get these holidays and would definately be interested in knowing how one went, if anyone wants to EMail me. But i just hope everyone hears about them before it’s too late.