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Tropical Universe

United States

Consumer reviews about Tropical Universe

Crystin Margo
Mar 20, 2013

You didnt win they want your money

This company had a booth set up at an expo I took my family and I to a few weeks ago. I just received the call today from a young lady named Niki. She went on to explain that I was one of the 50 people selected for a Florida Disney World vacation package. She asked me if I was able to make the vacation decision for the family (since my husband wasn't present) I answered yes. I assumed that I had WON a vacation since that is what the booth had advertized at the time I entered, so I said yes.

She went on to describe this amazing vacation including a 5 day stay at a first class Orlando resort, a $500 fun pack voucher, a packet of coupons for discounts at restaurants and theme parks, a 2 day package for Daytona beach, a 3 day package for cocoa beach and a 3 day 2 night Caribbean cruise, all with luxury accommodations.

I noticed that the wording she used to describe the packages were foreshadowing a purchase she kept saying "discounted " ,"for registering with us" "after signing up" "since this is the first time vacationing with us" . I could tell that it was not a free vacation that I had won. Then she slipped in the fee
" you are only responsible for the promotional cost of $249 per person for the first 2 people, up to 2 adults can accompany you for no additional cost."
I stopped her to ask when this fee is due. Of course she told me it was due today. I explained I could not fork out $500 over the phone without budgeting it. $500 may not be much but I don't just throw money around on a whim.

She transferred me to a gentlemen who really talked a good game. He came at me from every angle. I could tell the longer we spoke the more agitated he became. I asked if I could talk to my husband first and he said
" sure how about you put me on hold and call him."
I explained he was working that I could call back in a couple hours. He went on to explain if he let me call back he would have to let everyone call back and that was illegal because they only had 50 packages and if everyone called back they wouldn't have enough packages for the amount of people calling back...... HUH? lol I don't see how that made any sense at all. If you only selected 50 people then only 50 people would call back. It was obvious he was desperate to make a sale. He started to get an attitude with me saying
"When you answered the phone you told the lady you were able to make the decision for your family."
I said " Yes when I was under the impression I had won a vacation package."
His response was " No one told you that you WON anything, she said you were selected for a vacation package."

He went on for a while saying that the paper I signed up for clearly stated there was only ONE vacation package to be won, if you of course won it, if you were part of the 50 people "selected" it was a promotional package. Then he said sorry it didn't work out for you and hung up.......wow it sounds awesome if it is a REAL thing and not some scam it sounds like a dream vacation. But to be honest with you it has scam written all over it to me. If you cant call back its probably because they don't want you to do your homework. Trust your gut. My guess is the reviews on here about the vacation are probably from the people that work for or with them.

Tropical Universe
May 2, 2013

Company response to previous review

I am a customer service manager for Tropical Universe Inc. The company that was supposedly trying to “scam” the above mentioned customer… The only reason we were calling this applicant is because she showed interest, and filled out a registration form at an event. I would like to start by saying, this was not a “cold call” or unsolicited in any way. We in no way implied that anyone had “WON” anything. It clearly states on the registration form she filled out, that if she qualifies she would be contacted by phone, by our company.

All registration forms clearly state that you are currently attending an event that is offering a vacation giveaway to Florida or the Caribbean. Your odds of winning are determined by the number of entrees received at this event. ONE WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN FROM THIS EVENT AT THE END OF EACH DAY. If a winner is not present for the drawing they will be contacted by mail. In addition to the vacation giveaway, substantially discounted vacations of up to 90% off will be made available to only 50 qualified registrants by phone. All vacation packages are sold on a fist come first serve basis. You may also have the opportunity to purchase airfare, rental cars, extended stays and upgrades at additional discounted rates. THE OFFER GIVEN OVER THE PHONE IS NOT A FREE OFFER, CONTEST OR LOTTERY DRAWING! IT IS A GREATLY DISCOUNTED VACATION OFFER. YOU ALSO AGREE THAT REGISTRATION FOR THIS PROMOTION SUPERCEDES ALL STATE AND FEDERAL “DO NOT CALL” LISTS, AND YOU AGREE TO BE CONTACTED BY OUR COMPANY.

When we contacted this customer, we simply let her know that based on her demographics, she qualified for the vacations and had been selected to take advantage of one of the 50 Vacation Packages made available for this event. We are offering a Florida vacation package, retailed at about $4,000 that we are offering at a discounted rate of only $498 for 4 people. I’m not sure what part of that is a “scam”? Our travel representative and promotional managers are trained to give all registrants EVERY possible opportunity to take advantage of the offer. Anything from providing customized packages, smaller discounted packages, early travel dates, discounted airline rates, etc… We also have legal guidelines & regulations we have to follow for how we go about offering these vacation packages. Our corporate sponsors only issue 50 vacation packages for each event. In order to be fair to all registrants, we do limit the offer to one call per notification. Because of these circumstances, we are unable to hold on to the packages for any length of time, which makes it a One-Time Offer, sold on a first come first serve basis… We do not require any travel dates, names of travelers, or which trip they you to take first, during this initial phone call. The only decision we are asking you to make is whether or not you would like to take advantage of this discounted vacation package offer which would guarantee you these vacations at this price. The package is good for up to 3 years without any blackout dates or travel restrictions. You can travel with up to 4 people or 5 with kids 12 and under. We apologize if this offer may have caused any inconvenience… However, Tropical Universe is a perfectly legitimate and reputable company; we are a Fully Licensed & Bonded Seller of Travel in the state of Florida. And we are in no way trying to SCAM anyone! If anyone has any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our customer service department at [email protected]


Tropical Universe Travel Team,

adam brockhoff
May 14, 2013

tropical universe

What they tell you over the phone is there is a brief 90 minute time share tour in Orlando. When in all actuality every spot they send you there is a time share tour you must go on or you're forced to pay full price for your stay. Very misleading and deceitful way of conducting a "legit" buisness if you ask me.

labchick
Jun 21, 2013

Tropical Univers: something wasn't right

I was also contacted regarding a draw I entered at a homeshow. NOT to be sold a vacation, but to win a vacation. Subtleties of language is my business... so I listened carefully, asked for documentation to review before any purchase would occur - and I was transferred to another person, who could not believe I was questioning the company. Tried to send me to a website, which I refused. And? He was HOSTILE. IMHO if you have a legitimate proposition, send me the details. This Canadian wasn't born yesterday. If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.

Girlym
Dec 5, 2013

It is a scam they only want your money!!

They call you and make it seem like you won this extrodinary vacation when in fact you didn't and they want you to pay 500 dollars for the trip which really is reasonable if it were the truth.Had I researched the company more I would not have bought into this scam. I mean you do get to stay at these nice resorts for free... But there is a catch they do not inform you of. YOU HAVE TO GO TO THESE RESORT TOURS AT EACH PLACE AND SALES PEOPLE ARE PUSHY TRYING TO FORCE YOU TO BUY A RESORT. The worst part is even after you say you are not interested they still continue to waste your time. Time is money and 90 minutes of your time you will never get back. If you refuse to go on the resort tour you have to pay full price to stay at the resort. Not a fair company I suggest staying far away.I just wish they were more clear of the terms because no one informed me about the awful resort tours.I would rather pay full price for a vacation than deal with this. Keep your money, because there are way better travel opportunities out there. I did not appreciate being tricked into this company. I guess next time I will do my research.

JasonM
Jan 27, 2014

Tropical Universe

David Ross with Tropical Universe called me and left me a voice message stating the following. "This message is for ******* . My name is David Ross. You were over at the _ _ _ Sexapalooza and you had stopped by our booth and registered for a Florida vacation and a Bahama cruise. Well, I have some great news for you. You got the vacation. Congratulations. We have been trying to get in touch with you so please call me back at 407-641-2990 and I'll tell you all about. Bye Bye now."

I called him back. I gave him my name thinking that he would be like, Oh hey congratulations. I just left you a message. You won! But instead he had to look my name up first in the sea of names and numbers he had been working through. It was immediately obvious that he was a telemarketer but I didn't want to be too hasty so I kept listening. This man has the most soothing voice I have ever heard. He sounded very compelling and for a moment I was thinking maybe I had actually won. Even so, I told him that I was dubious about having won and that I expected there to be strings attached. He told me that 50 people at this event had been chosen to receive free vacations, which was surprising being that the event was so sparsely attended. I let him go through about 2 minutes of his pitch. He told me about the Orlando package, a cruise on Celebration Cruise Line, and went into great detail about all of the amenities including free meals, tickets to Disney, and coupons. Pretty soon I began to realize that a bait and switch tactic was coming. He began to describe to me a tax that every winner of a contest must pay in order to receive their prize and that he would be collecting that tax from me during the phone call. It was going to be $249. I politely told him that I was insulted for being the target of a scam and that I would be hanging up the phone now. This guy said nothing in reply and ended the call before I even had a chance to.

It wasn't a huge waste of time. I am not even that annoyed by not having won. But I know that this man is smooth and will sucker in a lot of people. What they are doing probably isn't even illegal but it is incredibly deceptive. Especially because his initial voice message, which I still have saved, has him saying that I won and call for the details. Instead, they should be saying, we have a promotional offering huge discounts to you and everyone else who attended the expo. Call us back for the details. If it happens that what they are doing is illegal, then I hope they get shut down and maybe David Ross will use his telemarketing skills and angelic voice to provide an ethical service. David Ross should become a crisis prevention telephone operator, a 911 operator, or even a poison control emergency operator. Then when not at work, he should volunteer for a victims hotline or for a suicide hotline. Use that magical voice you have for good David Ross. This deception just doesn't suit you.

Dontay
Mar 3, 2014

David Ross (Dream travel vacation)

BE AWARE OF DAVID ROSS! Called and said that I won a vacation by filling out an entry at the recent bridal show I went to- Bridalrama. He went on to talk a good game about this Orlando vacation that I won. Luckily my fiancé got on the phone and asked him what he wanted from him. He then went on to talk about a fee that we would have to pay of over $600. My fiancé told him to take us off the list and to not say we "won" a vacation, when really they just wanted our money. Be aware of this cold call, as there are many other reviews saying that they just want to take your money. I even tried to call this number back and a little boy answered and had no idea who David Ross was. Once David called me back, he insisted that that was his office number. SCAMMER!!!!

traveldude
Feb 9, 2015

Not a scam at all

Listen up, all you pikers out there, you filled out a cert at a show, period. We are simply calling you back with an opportunity to travel at a huge discount in exchange for a 90 minute tour. Your all too stupid to see that and just want to grip and complain at the end of the day because your life is miserable and you had a bad day and found the perfect opportunity to take it out on someone.
David Ross is a upstanding business man and stands by his word and has a excellent reputation with his merchants and resorts.
I happen to know Davis personally and this is no way a scam.
So for the women who first open this thread, you can shove it where the sun don't shine, and for the rest of you miserable pikers who want everything for free and get pissed because you didn't win it, you can shove it as well.
You want free? Take a look in the mirror, that's free, but to change that ugly mug you see, well that may cost you some money.

Corey Larose
Feb 17, 2015

traveldude: *You're a Joke

Dear traveldude:

For someone who seems to fully support this so-called "upstanding" businessman, you sure have a piss-poor way of gaining any customer confidence. How on earth is anyone supposed to take what you're feeding us as actual legit information when you use such degrading and distasteful language to people who are simply expressing their concerns? Can you honestly believe that your testimony is going to sway people into thinking that this isn't a scam? Sure, I too filled out a ballot at an expo a couple weeks ago, and sure, I too was excited to receive a phone call informing me that me and my boyfriend won a trip to Florida. But see, I filled out a ballot based upon the information that the guy at the booth was shelling out... "COME ON GUYS! FILL THIS OUT TO WIN A TRIP!" I, along with everyone on this planet, would not be running to fill out ballots for ANYTHING at a discount. People enter contests to WIN things. Not spend money. That's ridiculous. If you happen to know this "David Ross" personally, then I imagine you spend your time trolling the internet for threads such as this in order to paint him in a more positive light, but guess what buddy, you failed. In a world that heavily advises against providing credit card information over the phone, especially in situations such as this, you would think that people such as "David Ross" would be coming up with more creative ways to scam the unwitting. Thankfully, we're catching on.

Jacopo
Jul 28, 2015

Fake?

So I'll assume this company is fake

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