DAZZLING DEALS OFTEN TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

01-09-2000

Have you received an unsolicited offer via mail, telephone, fax, e-mail, or on the Internet regarding an unbelievable deal on an exotic cruise or a travel package to a nifty destination?

Though many of these offers may be legitimate, many others unfortunately aren't.  Travel shams and scams are a billion-dollar-a-year rip-off that has consumer advocates alarmed.  Some high-pressure communications inform you that you've been selected to receive a free cruise or vacation, upon advance payments to cover "certain fees or handling costs."  Or maybe it's an invitation to join a "vacation club" or buy "vacation vouchers" or "certificates," which supposedly can be traded in for airline tickets or hotel rooms, at some future date.

Too often, when travelers try to make reservations, they discover that space is never available or that the up-front fees they paid don't actually buy them a trip or anything else of value.  Or maybe the offer involves cheap air fare, with a commitment to buy relatively expensive nights in a hotel. Other common ploys try to lure travelers to enticing destinations with the promise of a cheap vacation that turns into one long sales pitch for timeshares orreal estate.

Sometimes, the reality of the situation doesn't become apparent until you actually arrive someplace, and have your expectations dashed and vacation ruined.  There's no easy, reliable way to be sure you'll get what you think you're buying in every case, and some research is always required.

The best advice is "buyer beware." Always be skeptical about any unsolicited offer that promises huge savings for booking cruises or hotels, especially during peak travel seasons. Same goes for deals that require an immediate response.  When the solicitation arrives via phone or e-mail, ask to be mailed printed materials. If the sales people are not willing to do that and to also give you time to evaluate the offer and make a considered decision, terminate the discussions right there. Remember, oral promises are impossible to enforce, and information received via e-mail or Web sites is not much better. 

When the printed materials arrive, read them carefully. Do they clearly and accurately describe what the offer includes, what your costs will be, along with your rights and responsibilities? Consider the fine print in the back of the brochure as much as the pretty pictures and clever prose.  Are specific hotels, airlines, or cruise lines mentioned? If so, it would be wise to call them and make sure they actually participate in the program. Always be suspicious of vaguely worded descriptions, such as "includes all major hotels and airlines."  Is there a waiting period before you can use the trip, or an expiration date after which whatever you're buying will no longer be valid? If you decide to cancel, how much of your money will you get back? 

Obviously, it's also important to read any agreements carefully and calculate the complete costs you're incurring, including taxes and other fees before you sign on the dotted line or commit a single cent. And never, ever provide credit card information to an unsolicited sales caller.  But the hard, cold reality is that any offer is only as good as the company that makes it, and checking out a reputation isn't always easy. 

Several years ago, Congress enacted legislation designed to help curb the worst travel abuses, especially those that involve interstate transportation, but enforcement is haphazard, at best.  Major operators in various travel sectors have banded together in organizations that maintain common standards of fair consumer practices among their members.

These include

the American Society of Travel Agents (703-739-8739);

United States Tour Operators Association (212-599-6599);

National Tour Association (606-226-4444) and

Cruise Lines International (212921-0066).

Consumers can call and see if a particular company is a member or whether any complaints have been filed against it. Not being a member of one of these organizations shouldn't absolutely exclude a company, but membership is certainly a positive indication, though no absolute guarantee of your eventual satisfaction.  Better Business Bureaus across the country also maintain files about travel companies against which they've received complaints, but those files are generally maintained in the city where the company is physically situated.

You can get a list of more than 150 Better Business Bureaus via phone or the Web. Call the Western Pennsylvania bureau at 412-456-2700 or www.pittsburgh.bbb.org.  If the travel company is located in Pennsylvania, the state Bureau of Consumer Protection is another place to turn for background information or a complaint history.

If you have a relationship with a good travel agent, you might also ask them to evaluate the offer, its components, the price as well as the reliability of the company that's selling it. Even if you have to pay a small fee for the evaluation, it will be money well spent. 

Another option is to contact one of the states that have taken a more pro-active approach to protecting travel consumers. Generally, these programs require non-exempt "sellers of travel" who are either located in that state or sell directly to its citizens to register, to maintain certain standards of fairness and stability, and to be backed by posted bonds or insurance programs. 

Florida and California have the most developed programs. Both provide qualifying companies with registry numbers and maintain files which can be accessed by consumers. So ask if the company is registered as a seller of travel in Florida or California and get their number.

The Florida Sellers of Travel Association hot line number is 800-599-3565; the California Seller of Travel program can be reached at 213-897-8065. 

Again, participation in these programs is only an indication of a company's business reliability, but no guarantee that they're not overstating their promises. Also, keep in mind that larger companies with five or more years of business history may be exempted from the programs. 

It's always important to be a skeptical consumer.  One fax we received this week trumpeted "Under-booked Vacation Packages with Airline tickets . . . 8 day 7 night Disney/Daytona/Bahamas Vacations." The advertised price was $149 per person, based on double occupancy. Close reading of the offer reveals that the package actually includes two nights in a "Holiday Inn or like accommodations outside the gates of Walt Disney World," and "2 nights at famous Daytona Beach . . . at the Holiday Inn or like accommodation." In addition to the hotel room, customers get a variety of passes and discounts booklets "valued at over $500" and a several-hour excursion cruise on a floating casino. 

The offer about the cruise to the Bahamas (with four days and three nights in the Bahamas Plus Airline Tickets) was limited to the first 50 reservations. No other transportation is included.  Reading through the hyperbole and sales pitch, this offer boils down to a double room for four nights in two non-specified hotels, for $298. That's not a particularly great price for off-season rooms in Florida, especially with the "$39" processing fee that is added on to the transaction. Although the company involved did prove to be a member in good standing of the Florida Sellers of Travel, it didn't prevent them from trying to misrepresent what they were selling.

Although you would probably be accommodated when you got to Florida, it would be best to not let your expectations get out of hand.  The bottom line: If a travel deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.

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