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Travel
Deals in Your Mail:
How
"Special" Are You?
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It probably couldn’t come at a more welcome
time: the cold of winter, middle of exams, assignments piling
up - a notice that you have been specially chosen for an amazing
deal on a luxury vacation. All you have to do is call to arrange
your trip. How could you go wrong with a deal like that?
Deals like this are continually popping up with the promise of
helping you get away from it all. But frequently the only departure
that takes place is you…from your money! In fact vacation
scams continually pop up as one of the most frequent swindles
that people fall prey to. After all who wouldn’t at least
be tempted by the lure of an escape to some warm tropical climate
in the dead of winter?
How do they work?
A notice comes to you in the mail or by phone telling how you
were specially selected to receive a luxury vacation package for
a low sum of money - in some cases even free. If you respond within
48 hours, you will receive this great trip and perhaps with even
some type of bonus. You just have to call a certain number to
arrange payment and claim this “chance in a lifetime”.
How can you loose? There’s plenty of ways:
Extras, Extras! First of all these racketeers
are out to make money so regardless of how wonderful a person
you are they’re not going to just give things away. Often
what these packages include is limited. They may include a 3 night
stay and but you have to pay for the flight, meals, ground transportation,
etc. They often set it up so you may have to buy the flight through
them at a set price (no seat sales here), or they may require
you to pay for transportation from the airport to the resort (on
a bus which they arrange and for which they set some exorbitant
fare). Travel insiders are quick to point out that when you add
all the cost up you are paying far more than if you had bought
a package from a reputable company to start with.
Creative Writing 101: The hucksters that
put these packages together may also promise “5 Star”
accommodation, which in the galaxy of hotel ratings, looks more
like it rates “3 Black Holes” or that “luxury boat
cruise” could mean you’ll be leaning over the edge of
some beat up fishing trawler. Remember that verbal or printed
descriptions can be very subjective, if not downright lies. Also
keep in mind that the equivalent of “5 Star” in North
America could be the equivalent of “3 in some other parts
of the world.
Waiting on the Tarmac: The package uses
some no name charter for its packages. The rules that govern charter
flights differ from those that govern regular scheduled flights.
Thus delays are common and you could end up delayed for hours
and even days or stranded in some remote place waiting to get
back home - meaning extra cost in accommodation and meals. By
delaying these flights the scamsters can then rent out your rooms
at your destination while you are sitting waiting to get off the
ground.
And Here’s the Pitch: Yes there’s
often a catch once you’re there - like a sales pitch. Bad
enough you are being gouged by some scam artist, what’s worse
as part of the deal you may be required to sit through some sales
pitch for time shares or some other so called “great deal”.
Just what you want when the sun is shining and the beach beckons;
to have to sit listening to some infomercial reject trying to
convince you to fork over more of your cash.
Warning signs:
The time-limited offer: A common ploy is
to get you to make a snap decision - before you have a chance
to check this out thoroughly with better business bureaus travel
authorities etc. Funny thing about these time-limited offers is
that they are mailed bulk or 3rd class mail - the slowest postage
route. If it’s so time limited why didn’t they try and
get to you sooner? If there is a time limit make a b-line to the
trash with this one!
On-line Scamsters: Many of these operators
now use the internet to scam you. Emailed promotions are a common
medium to scam people far more efficiently than by mail or phone.
Pops up ads in your browser window are another method of choice.
They need your credit card to verify your identity.
Never give a credit card over the phone to someone who has initiated
the call. Often these hucksters will ask for the card number before
they even quote you the price.
"We’ll send someone over."
They may even be so “kind” as to offer to send someone
to your door to pick up payment (in cash of course). Even if they
offer to pick up a couple of pizzas on the way over, don’t
do it. It’s definitely a scam.
Time to flee! Another sign is when you’re
asked to pay for one of these “deals” which you won’t
be receiving for sixty days or more. This gives them time to process
your payment. The longer between the time you pay and the time
you actually board the plane, the more time these shysters have
to close up shop and get out of town.
To Protect Yourself:
First advice is to avoid any offer where they
contact you. Following this simple rule will help you avoid
the vast majority of these scams. Sure a few may be legit but
chances are they’re not and the odds are stacked against
you.
Check out the company that is marketing
these to you and the actual tour operator with the Better
Business Bureau and the Association
of Canadian Travel Agents (ACTA ). In the U.S., see the Web
site of the American
Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). Also check with the airline
that you are scheduled to be flying, the hotel you are staying
at, or any boat that you will be travelling on. Some students
have been promised a direct flight to their destination on a charter
airline, only to find out that the airline doesn’t even fly
directly to that location.
Find out what provisions there are if your flight
is delayed or cancelled, or if you are bumped from your hotel.
Some operators notoriously overbook their hotels, so you and your
beach bound buddies show up to find your promised rooms are taken
so you end up being shuttled off to some flea bag motel a couple
of miles away that the operator’s brother happens to own.
Read all the provisions carefully. One place
these operators often don’t cut corners is in protecting
themselves. The fine print is important. What specifically is
included and what is exempt? If it is all-inclusive what does
the “all” include: Meals? Accommodation? Ground transportation?
Gratuities? Alcohol? (Since some students have been known to have
a drink or two on their vacations). If in doubt have a friend
in the travel business take a look at the contract to see if you
are on the hook for anything?
If you pay, use a credit card. While I don’t
recommend taking out a credit card just for this option, you may
be able to use yours if you have one or your parents’ if
you don’t and pay them the cash. There’s still a risk
but at least you’ll leave a paper trail and have some chance
of recovering some of your loss if it turns out to be a scam.
But as Karen MacKenzie, owner of Robert Q Travel (Strathroy) cautions,
“with increased credit card fraud you take a chance giving
your card to any tour operator that you’re not familiar with.”
Location! Location! Location! “Keep
in mind”, suggests Mackenzie, “that where the company
you are purchasing from is located, will likely affect whether
you are protected at all if you are swindled”. For example
if you are in Canada and purchase from a U.S. or international
company, you may have little recourse if you are scammed, since
different laws and regulations govern operators in each country.
Take action! If you do get taken in by one
of these scams or if you take a trip and don’t get what you
were promised, you can file complaints in Canada with your provincial
Consumers Affairs Office. or in the U.S. with the Federal
Communications Commission.
While most travel companies are legitimate, there are still plenty
just out to make quick buck. Unfortunately many specifically target
students who are on a limited budget and that many times don’t
have a regular travel agent to deal with. Also the difficulty
is that some of these shady characters set up shop, scam people,
close up and then pop up somewhere else under a different name.
Your best bet is to deal with a reputable travel agent particularly
one that deals in budget travel with reputable tour operators.
Have a horrid travel experience? E-mail
us, and we will post your experience (initialed only) so that
others can avoid similar disasters.
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