A not so dream vacation...

Chris Della Rocco

November 15, 2006 09:16 am

— Many Decatur County employees, including those at the Greensburg Daily News, have seen the fax that shows up titled in bold letters, MEMO. The fax is labeled To: All Corporate Employees; From: Human Resources Dept.; Re: Employee Vacation Time; Reply To: 1-800-975-8340.
The fax details a limited-time only offer for all employees to company vacation packages at wholesale rates. The destination package is Cancun, Mexico for six days at $321 per person. It includes all meals and drinks as well as a free Oceanfront Resort upgrade, free stay and meals for children and unlimited non-motor water sports access. The bottom of the fax states the package was booked up in a few hours last time it was offered and to contact the above number to reserve a trip.
After reading the fax, it sounds like a great bargain. Another great offer stated on the fax is, the vacation package is open dated and valid for one year. One Greensburg resident responded to the fax and called the number. She found out the deal is anything but good.
“I called only to question the offer and they had an answer to everything I asked,” the local business employee said. “I gave them my credit card number and received a packet with a list of resorts in Cancun my husband and I could choose from. However, the dates we wanted to go on vacation were all booked. The only way we would have been able to go was if we paid for a $900 upgrade, and that was the cheapest one. If it wasn’t for my credit card company backing me up, and stopping payment for the vacation package, we would have been out $1,200.”
After going through the experience, the local resident did some investigating and believes more than 50 percent of vacations through TravelComm, the company that offered the fax, are scams.
“You can go on a vacation through the company, but you’ll end up paying an arm and a leg to go,” she said. “The offer is very misleading. The company was located out of Florida before being sued. Now they’re located in Canada.”
The Daily News, after receiving the fax several times, did some investigating and researched the company on junkfax.org. Reporters found out the company, Cancun Cheap, has had several names (TravelComm, All Exclusive Cancun) and telephone numbers. The company has also been called one of the worst junk fax companies around. Also on junkfax.org, many others, like the local employee who contacted the Daily News, have told about their horror stories in dealing with the company. According to postings, they had to pay thousands of dollars for a vacation they never went on.
The newsroom also called the number to find out what people are being told from the company and talked to a representative who said his name was Ruben Saint at extension 749. Saint explained Cancun was hit by a hurricane and tourists don’t want to travel there. He said there are hundreds of beautiful resorts that sit empty and the government asked his company to help tourism by promoting the ‘unbelievable’ rates.
Saint did answer most of the questions asked, but something came up in the conversation. The fax stated the offer was from the Daily News Human Resources Department offering employees access to our company vacation packages, but not once did Saint mention anything about a corporate vacation package. He only explained about how the Cancun Government is allowing for the promotion. Saint guaranteed all resorts can be visited any time of year for $321.
After he gave his selling information, he asked for a credit card number to book a vacation at the rate. Instead of getting a credit card number, he was informed he was talking to a reporter and explained our reason for calling. Saint then paused and said he would have to get a manager and put us on hold. After several minutes, he came back and said there was no one available at the time to talk to and then offered the vacation package one last time.
To get more information about junk faxes, visit www.junkfax.org.
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