Vacation Inspirations |
| United States, South Carolina, Charleston |
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Consumer reviews about Vacation Inspirations |
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marjoe5050
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Feb 18, 2015
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Vacation Inspirations877 642-8747
1662 Savannah Hwy Suite 150, United States, South Carolina, Charleston
www.vacationinspirations.com
Vacation Inspirations Misrepresentation
While on vacation in Charleston, SC we were approached on the street by a representative of LowCountry Tours and Attractions to attend a presentation of their wholesale travel opportunity. They offered us $100.00 to attend a meeting the next morning. We listened to the sales representatives and were told that we would have significant savings if we became members. We paid $5,394.00 on 11/24/14 after being told that this was the best discounted price down from $7,995.00 which was the original offering price. At no point during the presentation did we hear any mention of the fact if we signed the contract and paid their price that the payment non refundable. When we returned to our hotel room that evening, my husband and I (both senior citizens) checked out the internet reviews of LowCountry Tours and Attractions AKA as Destination Travels and/or Vacation Inspirations. We found that many members were very unhappy with the service provided by these companies for various reasons primarily that the services that had been promised were not available and that their attempts to make reservations and contacting the company representatives had not been successful. In addition, we found that the amount that had been charged for membership varied from $1,995.00 to upward to somewhere around $7,995.00. Why the different prices? We had just paid $4,995.00 plus document fee of $399.00 + $5,394.00. We immediately realized that we should not have given them our credit card payment. We contacted Visa immediately but we were told since the transaction had not been posted to our account, there was nothing they could do until it did post. The following day I called the number for LowCountry Tours and spoke to a receptionist. She told me that in order to cancel our membership I needed to write a letter to the Board of Directors. I mailed the certifed letter to them on 11/26/14 requesting cancellation of the membership and the refund of our payment. We then monitored our credit card statement and when the charge appeared on our account, we filed a formal dispute of the charge. A few days ago we were notified by our credit card company that we had lost our dispute. The merchant advised the credit card company that a credit was not due. The merchant has yet to respond to our certified letter of 11/26/14. So I am reporting that I believe this company to be a scam and I plan to report them to the Better Business Bureau of Charleston. I believe they are taking unfair advantage of seniors and misrepresenting their services. In addition, I recently discovered that the State law in South Carolina provides buyer's remorse purchase cancellations for some specific types of purchases. Buyers that purchase vacation time share units have five days to cancel this type of contract. This right is mandated no matter where the actual transaction takes place. I believe that I followed the proper procedure to get a full refund and that the company takes advantage of its cutomers by misrepresenting its products without full disclosure of its refund policies. This misrepresentation of their travel services should be stopped and I should be rewarded a full refund.
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bash71
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Feb 18, 2019
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Vacation Inspirations229 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC, 1662 Savannah Hwy Suite 150, United States, South Carolina, Charleston
We were scammed for $6593
We were scammed for $6593 by Vacation Inspirations.
We stopped at a kiosk in front of Vendue Travel in Charleston on 1/5/19 to inquire about a carriage ride. A representative said they would give us a free carriage ride, a free harbor tour plus a $100 for dinner if we came back the next day to sit through a 45-minute presentation. This was very high pressure in that he told us we would be stupid to not take advantage of this offer as we wanted a carriage ride anyway. To ensure our return, the representative took $20 from us which would be returned if we came for the presentation the next morning. In hindsight we realize Vendue Travel is not a real travel agency; it is a front for Destination Travel, Vacation Inspirations, Low Country Tours & Attractions and The Vacation Station.
We returned on 1/6/19 to Vendue Travel and sat through a presentation. Even though it was set up for four couples, we were the only ones in attendance. The presenter, a young woman, said we could receive significant savings on trips through their travel club which had 14 offices and hundreds of travel agents. The presentation was a combination of slides showing beautiful vacation locations and a chalk board highlighting significant financial savings on hotels, cars, cruises, hot deals and condos. She said if we acted immediately, we would receive $3000 off their standard $8995 membership charge. She said the membership could be shared with business associates, friends and family and passed down to our heirs. The only stipulation was we had to act now!
We succumbed to her sales pitch and were escorted into a back room to sign a contract and pay $6593. We were hurried through a signature session by them and told it was “just standard stuff”. No one took the time to definitively state it was a non-cancellable contract. We signed the contract and were given a membership number.. It was a hasty decision and one that we regret. We are both senior citizens (73 and 69) and are pretty sure based on our research that elders are the demographic they prey on.
We went home and researched Vacation Inspirations on-line and found that they had multiple and serious complaints with:
- The Better Business Bureau of Charleston https://www.bbb.org/us/sc/charleston/profile/travel-agency/vacation-inspirations-0663-34004033/complaints
- Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/vacation-inspirations-savannah
- Charleston Channel 5 TV Station http://www.live5news.com/story/30411931/live-5-investigates-dozens-of-complaints-filed-against-local-vacation-clubs
We were shocked to find lengthy complaints against Inspiration Vacations lack of service (impossible to get agent on the phone); substandard accommodations and amenities; and, insignificant cost savings. These people felt they had been defrauded and wanted their money back.
Initially we were encouraged by some 5-star reviews on Vacation Inspiration’s website, on Yelp, and on the Better Business Bureau of Charleston’s website, but upon investigation, we determined that these are fabricated testimonials. The uniformity and lack of detail in the rave reviews was in stark contrast to the substance and uniqueness of the complaints. When I asked the company for customer contacts to substantiate their glowing claims, they declined to offer one. You have to ask yourself, what kind of a company would create false reviews?
Vacation Inspirations’ website has 463 reviews, all of which are 5-star but all are uniformly short and lack detail. On each one, when you hit “read more”, there is nothing more to read.
https://www.customerlobby.com/reviews/35755/vacation-inspirations/
All of Yelp’s 5-star reviews were submitted by reviewers who only give 5-star reviews. These are professional reviewers. Click on their names and you will see they only give 5-star reviews to many and all businesses. https://www.yelp.com/biz/vacation-inspirations-charleston-2?osq=vacation+inspirations.
The Better Business Bureau of Charleston’s website has only 5-star reviews that again are short and lack detail. https://www.bbb.org/us/sc/charleston/profile/travel-agency/vacation-inspirations-0663-34004033/customer-reviews
We decided that we would immediately cancel the membership and made it a point not to use the vouchers they gave us or even engage at all with their website as it might be construed as accepting the membership. We acted quickly because we noted that South Carolina has a Buyers Remorse Law SC-27-32 which gives consumers 5 days to cancel a contract and receive a full refund. It is possible that since this is not a time share (which is continually stressed in all Vacation Inspiration’s documents in an obvious attempt to circumvent this law), it may not apply to our situation.
We attempted to cancel immediately but have been met with a lawyer's response that the contract can not be cancelled..
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bash4331
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Feb 19, 2019
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Vacation Inspirations229 Meeting Street, 229 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC, 1662 Savannah Hwy Suite 150, United States, South Carolina, Charleston
Let's Get together and fight!
If you have been scammed by Vacation Inspirations, please contact me at [email protected]. I would love to present a united front against this company with as many people as possible since they seem to be able to skirt responsibility for misleading and false promotion.
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