Tags: Scams
Florida Vacations - How to cancel.
June 16th, 2005, by Rich.
Several people have emailed me, or left messages asking for help in getting a refund from Florida based holiday companies (such as AmeriVacation, YourVIPTravel, etc), either because they have bought in haste, or feel they have been misguided by the sales person. In this article I hope to condense all the comments from other stories into a simple action plan.
Your Rights
According to Florida State Law “You have a right to cancel your purchase and receive a refund within 30 days of the date of purchase” after which, “the seller has 30 days from the time of receipt of your notice of cancellation to send you a full refund”. [source] [corroborating source]
The law exists to regulate Sellers of Travel to and from Florida, as well as Sellers of Travel whose place of business is in Florida - it helps to maintain the reputation of Florida as a welcoming vacation destination and protects the citizens of any country by forcing licensed sellers of travel to follow strict rules, including the ones about refunds; so the suggestions listed here are valid from any country.
Action 1 - Call
- Call the number you originally dialled.
- Politely and clearly state that you are calling because you wish to cancel a contract.
- Ask them to confirm the company name and address to which you should send a cancellation letter.
- If the person on the other end bluffs or prevaricates, remind them that Florida State Statute 559.933 is quite clear on your right to a full and prompt refund.
- If they verbally agree to send you a full refund, accept this happily, but you should not stop yet because if they were to forget to send it, or lose the note to say that you’d called, or had a computer crash, (etc. etc.) then you’d have no evidence that you called within the 30 day cancellation period.
Action 2 - Write
- Write a letter of cancellation.
- This is a generic letter template.
- This is an AmeriVacation template.
- Send the letter by an international recorded delivery service.
- From the UK you could use International Signed For.
- Sometimes the companies will state that “you have to return the package”, this is usually just an obstruction tactic, but if they insist, take photographs (and scan or photocopy) everything that you return (example).
Action 3 - Complain always
If you you’re unhappy about the experience and wish to air your grievance, then please do. Lodging a formal complaint will quickly raise the profile of your scammer so the DOACS can monitor them better:
- Complain to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (who regulate the selling of travel in Florida) using this form.
- Inform your “local” national press so that others do not go through the same experience.
- In the UK there is the BBC’s Watchdog Programme
- In the Netherlands, there is Opgelicht.
Action 4 - Write to your credit card company
- Write to your credit card company and tell them that you are seeking a refund from the vendor.
- Explain why you feel the company misrepresented itself.
- Include a copy of the letter you sent to the vendor.
- Use local legislation if necessary:
- If you’re in the UK and the vendor refuses (or is unable) to provide a refund, then the Consumer Credit Act 1974 section 75 is your fallback. It makes the credit card company equally responsible for any misrepresentation (which in the case of AmeriVacation there has been), so should attempt to claim the refund from your credit card company.
Action 5 - Help Others
If you succeed in getting a refund, using this or an alternative method, let others know by describing your success below, I’ll modify the above steps as appropriate.
August 25th, 2005 at 8:50 pm
Hello again,
Today a Justin Hall called from Sun Kissed Travel customer service and told me that my contract is impossible to break and that I had accepted this during the verification process. In other words, a refund can not be made. He told me that my vacation package were routed today and that he have had an conversation with my credit card company when they confirmed that the $1100-transaction, made by Sun Kissed Travel, appears to be OK.
To convince me that I´ve made a great deal he offered a $100 gift card to pay some of the airfares. I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. I think these guys are really creepy and it’s hard to accept that they can get away with this fraud.
If this company runs a serious business they would accept a cancellation and sell the travel to someone else but I don’t think they do even if they claim otherwise.
I’ve filed a complaint to Florida Dept.of Agriculture and Customer Service but they haven’t responded yet and I will also contact my credit card company and try to make them understand that this people are swindlers.
August 25th, 2005 at 9:59 pm
Hi Dan,
The initial message you left on this site was dated 11th August 2005, so by my feeble calculations Florida State Law grants you another 16 days in which time you may legally cancel the contract, if that is what you wish to do.
My opinion is that sending the Travel Agent a recorded delivery cancellation letter, and copying your Credit Card company and the DOACS is your strongest move, because it ensures that if you have not been entirely reimbursed within 30 days of the travel agent’s receipt of your letter, then you can turn to your Credit Card company and obtain a refund from them.
In the mean time I’m sure the DOACS will be delighted to hear all about your “impossible to break contract”.
August 26th, 2005 at 2:54 pm
Hi Rich,
OK, I have already contacted DOACS and filed them a recorded cancellation letter by e-mail. This time I will write a new one and send it to Sun Kissed Travel, my Credit Card company and to DOACS as a supplementary to the earlier complaint I´ve maid. I hope that will do. Thanks for the tip!
By the way, do you think it will be enough to send it by e-mail or do I have to send a recommended letter by mail to the travel agent?
August 31st, 2005 at 2:20 pm
Hi
The Sunkissed scam has reached Ireland and I fell for it. I am now out of pocket to the tune of €725. I fell prey to a pop-up on the internet on 21st April 2005 and rang them number giving my credit card number. A work colleague reckoned it was a scam so I rang VISA straight away but the money had been taken from my account. I rang Sunkissed to cancel as well as emailing them. On April 23rd I read an e-mail from them sent on the 22nd April stating they had already shipped my itinarary details and to wait and review this first. It stated on the receipt they e-mailed to me that I would have to pay a further €58.00 in order to receive the itinerary details but in this case I didn’t have to. It also stated on the receipt that it would take 10-21 business days for delivery but in fact it took 26 business days to arrive. Sun kissed shipped out the itinerary details on May 25th after they telling me they had already shipped them on April 22nd and I received them on May 30th. I have a receipt of all this. After many calls and emails I was informed that they would refund me and to wait for a month to check my credit card balance. When I received my credit card bill, low and behold no refund. On June 22nd I e-mailed them all the correspondence we had previously as requested by them, and also stating I still wanted to cancel all of this. I faxed them all the e-mail correspondence we had as well as the itinerary details. They sent me another e-mail stating we do not refund money outside 30 days of purchase and to also review terms and conditions.
I found this website today and have followed the instructions but am not optomistic.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:34 am
Also to add to the above they have breached their own terms and conditions. I received and e-mail from them on 24th August to say they are not refunding my money to dispute it with my credit card company and they will not dispute it with them. Since I sent the first message only yesterday there is another person complaining about these shower I am not the only one.
September 2nd, 2005 at 4:37 pm
Hi,
I am also a victim of this scam and live in Switzerland. Does anyone know of local legislation (european?) that could be used to ensure the cancellation within the 30 day limit ?
many thanks
Rey
September 5th, 2005 at 6:25 pm
Hi Rich
I am following Dan’s request’s.
And i have done, what he have done.
I am living in Denmark.
Does this Count for people living in Euro.
Your opinion is that sending the Travel Agent a recorded delivery cancellation letter, and copying your Credit Card company and the DOACS is your strongest move, because it ensures that if you have not been entirely reimbursed within 30 days of the travel agent’s receipt of your letter, then you can turn to your Credit Card company and obtain a refund from them.
September 5th, 2005 at 6:40 pm
To Melissa
The form you received, from Sunkissed Travel can you give it to Rich so he can place a link, like the rest of the Nice Forms he got here on his Homepage.
September 5th, 2005 at 7:02 pm
Hi Jan,
If you’re not happy with a vacation package you have bought then you have a right to a refund within 30 days.
By using a guaranteed mailing service, contacting the DOACS and your credit card company, you ensure that there can be absolutely no unforseen or unfortunate mishaps with the cancellation and refund process.
This is a “belt & braces” approach, but it seems to be the best solution because it ensures that the legal bodies that provide protection to the consumer are fully aware of your experience.
September 5th, 2005 at 7:44 pm
Hi Rich
Thanks for your fast reply.
I will recommend this homepage to the consumer in Denmark
Thanks for a great work you are doing here, for people.