Ramada Plaza Resorts Vacation cruise prize - fraud?

[cindymwood]

I just got the call tonight, it showed up Ramada ORL FTL on the caller display, and the number is 1 905 595 0659.
They have been calling all week, and I finally answered tonight, I had a feeling it was a scam, but I answered the questions anyway...

She said her name was Felicia and that if I chose to answer a quick survey I would be entered into a contest to win some sort of Vacation.

I agreed.
By they way, she already knew my name, and my husbands name, must me from the phone book I suppose...

When was your last vacation?
How much did you spend on that vacation?
Did you go with Family or Friends?
What type of Credit Card do you Use?

I then gave her my mailing address, and email adress and she gave me a code number to remember and the website address www.vacationmoments.com
The number I was to remember was S-06SV-03

I was told I would be contacted by email in the next 48 hours if I had won, and that I would need that confirmation number.

The date today is March 6 2008 and the time of the call was 7:56 pm.

I should have known better than to give ANY info at all to these people, but I didnt really realize until after the call, and I looked it up on the net. I had a gut feeling that I didnt follow and I should have.

I am very nervous, can they do anything with the info I gave them? (name, address, email addy?) I did not give my credit card number, they didnt ask for that on the phone, but they do know the type of card it is. I am still waiting for my e-mail, I am sure it will be here soon, I just wanted to post this after I read this thread.

I would really appreciate it if someone with a similar experience would contact me,...thanks a lot
Cindy

[Flames Fan]

Hillarious! I received the exact same e-mail/phone correspondance. Super high pressure sales tactics, which to me was the first tip off that it might not be on the up and up. The chick went so far as to tell me that I had the option of paying my credit card bill with the charge at my leisure, that I could just make the minimum paymet if I wanted to. I laughed and said thanks... idiot. When I insisted that I receive some formal mail correspondance I got the runaround and my girl said that I received an e-mail and then she offered to help me navigate their website. While she did that I ran a google search on the company and found tons of posts about them being a scam and called her on it. Although she attempted to deny the allegations she eventually conceded defeat and thanked me for my time and ended by saying that she hoped that one of my friends got the promotion and took me. I laughed at her and said that I hope not.

[bcteagirl]

Good job!!

[SSW101]

Hi everyone,
I'm not used to these types of sites. I only startec looking at them when I started working at Ramada Plaza Resorts. They really helped me rebuttle cutomer objections to securing their vactation packages. Thats the language that was used - we weren't selling anything; the package was already yours, you were selected. The only thing you have to decide is whether or not you want to go to Florida and the Bahamas and if you'd you us to pay for most of your holiday. My job was just to "secure" your guarunteed reservations and open-dated tickets. And we had scripted rebuttles for everything a customer could object to. I'm glad that this site is here for people who have internet access. The sad thing is that a lot of people do not get an opportunity to google this company first and read all of the complaints. They only know what they are told by the people who contact them. I wish I knew what I was signing up to do before deciding to work there. They are misleading to their employees as well. They make the package sound so appealing, but it really isn't. The "small promotional fee" is comparable to an all inclusive vacation from a travel agent (where you have a person in front of you, literature, and all the time in the world to decide), and the fee does not include airfare or meals. They say meals are included on the cruise. What they don't tell you until afterwards is that you are responsible for all beverages (not just alcoholic ones), as well as mandatory gratuities. And then there's the port and departure fees of $100-$200 per person. I'm from the Carribean, it doesn't cost that much to leave the islands. The vacation packages I sold were for four people. Those who do not have kids are told they can bring four adults. What they are not told is that they would all be staying in a tiny room with only a partition between the beds (how great is that for 2 couples?). But if they bring up that concern they are just told that if they would like to upgrade, they won't be charged full price, just that small promotional price again. I won't continue, there is a lot of information. If anyone has specific questions, I'll be happy to answer them for you. Just remember that they have structured answers for everything and they will keep pushing you to do it. And they have solid answers for why they can't call you back. Its total BS. Any reputable company would give you the opportunity to check things out. And the packages are not limited, they sell them all year round from hundreds of call centres. Please tell everyone you know about this scam so no one else loses their hard earned money on disappointing vacations. And dont wait for people to bring it up. They don't do call backs; the people who need to know about this are the people who have not been called yet.

[SSW101]

No they can't do anything with the information you give in the survey. They can only process a credit card with a credit card number and expiration date. And even then, its only a pre-authorization. They have to link you into a recorded line after that and confirm all the details (including all the fees you weren't told about in the sales pitch) on the recording and then get you to verbally authorize the transaction. If the the card gets processed and then you don't authorize it later on the recording, they can't actually charge it and the amount will be reversed. So you have nothing to worry about.

About their response to what you read online, they probably told you that the internet is unregulated, that there's stuff written about every company, and maybe even that its disgruntled ex-employees. Thats what we were always told to say. I'm glad you called her on it. They are right though, the internet is unregualted. Thats whats so great about it. People can be honest. Most of the posts on this site and others are from consumers who have nothing to gain from sharing their experiences with other conumers. Compare the credibility of that to the website (thats also federally unregulated) thats designed to sell stuff. And by the way, I'm not a disgruntled ex-employee. I enojoyed some of my time with the company, made a lot of money, and I quit for personal reasons. I'm just sharing this information because I don't think people should be misled like this.

What adds to the credibility of Ramada Plaza Resorts as a company is that they don't do anything illegal. If you take the package and give them your credit card, they are not going to steal your money or identity. They give you exactly what they say youre paying for. They are just trained to make it sound better than it is. They do mention the port and departure fees, the room and car taxes, the upgrades available at discounted prices, insurance surcharges, utility charges on the ship, etc. But when they are addressing concerns or trying to convince you, they keep repeating that its just that small promotional fee. Its technically not a scam. The package is what it is. But it is misleading.

Btw, the reason I will never mention the price is because different promotions and different call centres have different prices and I don't want to disclose which office I worked out of. I have friends there.

[wakami girl]

I also was called yesterday, then e-mailed confirmation of a free trip. Before making up our minds we googled Ramada Plaza and clicked onto this site. Thank you so much for this information, looks like they are at it again! We decided to not take "advantage" of this trip thanks to all the postings on this matter.

[Sally888]

I have gotten these calls 2 times in the past 2 months, always a friendly Jamaican lady. I hang up on her each time lmao! Glad smart canucks helped you!

[rachel1496]

Are they the ones that blow the horn in your ear when you answer the phone? I hate that stupid horn.

[tjs]

Yeah, that same scam just happened to me about 10 minutes ago. This is the NOT the same scam where they blow the horn into the phone (that has happened about 3 times so far and I just hang up before the horn finished blowing). They call two days before and ask 2 simple questions (how much did I spend on my last vacation and in what area of the world did I last travel to).
The lady on the phone had a 'north american' accent (not the stereotypical Indian accent or other "non-native english speaking" people that are used by many credit card companies to try to sell you a card).
They then gave me a code that is needed to confirm myself "if" (when) they call back and "if" (when) I am selected as a winner of the cruise package. Today they called back and once I told them the code, they said I won the cruise, plus some other odds and ends. It all sounded great and she was on the phone with me for at least 20 minutes explaining what I won in detail about the itinerary of the trip. They obviously were trying to slowly real me in for the kill (credit card info). She asked me for my mailing address to send out the packet of information outlining the trip details. I gave her the mailing information (no harm there - I get junk mail as it is - what is one more piece). After the 20 minutes were up, she "went to the printer" to "take the tickets that she just created for me". Then she said all she needed was the expiry date of my credit card (I guess they figure they would have better luck in getting that info from me first) in order to secure the open booking (afterall, I had up to 18 months to take the trip). I explained to her that I was not about to give her any credit card information until I had a chance to confirm that this was not a scam and wanted to wait until the mailed package arrived or if they had a web site or something to help prove they were legit (not that having a website alone proves anything, but could prove that they are affiliated with Ramada). She then had a great (almost 2 minute) speech ready to go about how secure they are and that there is a voice recording that me and my bank would have access to and that they fall under the federal trade laws, yadda, yadda, yadda (I can see it being convincing for alot of gullable people, but not me). She said that due to the time that it would take for the mailed package to arrive to me and the nature of the contest, she could not wait that long for me to verify their legitmacy. I asked her to hold on, then I just walked away from the phone and when I came back 5 minutes later, she was gone.
Bottom line - anyone that offers you anything for free (or cheap) and first demands that they have your credit information first, don't go for it.

[williamltank]

I was tricked into doing the survey, then received a call 7 days later. The call was the same as all the rest of the respondents.A man calling himself Douglas frost talking so quietly that the noise from my computer drowned him out,proceeded to tell me that our conversation was being recorded for my protection ( who has the tapes, and do they actually have a recorder. As the conversation proceeded he rattled off so much info that i could barely write it all down fast enough. He then askedme how my name should appear on the tickets, as it has to match my credit card info exactly, how tricky, and what was the expiry date of my card. NOW HOLD ON, doesn't this sound much like an authorization process, I declined to give him the date as I am not that gullable.I then told him that I do not pay for anything in advance or leave deposits without having proper documentation in my hands. The man on the phone attempted to bargain down the price saying that if i at least pay for the first two tickets the remaining two could be purchased at a later date. What happened to the family vacation they promised, as they were informed i have 6 people in our family? In the end he asked me to hold, after 2 minutes I hung up.

[TyaRose]

ok, well back in august at the super ex my boyfriend and I entered for a cruise to the bahamas. we got a call from them earlier tonigh and they told us we won but needed a credit card because everything will cost 299$. so we went to give the credit cared number because the parents woudlnt let them( the company called both). so we asked if we could get a call back later, they said no because 50 other people were in line for this deal, so we said ok after we couldnt get it through, we asked if they coulod call at 6 tommorow and they said they would, they gave us a website to see, its www.imcv.net and something about imperial majesty cruise( i didnt answer the phone) i googled it and heard bad things, but my grandma won a trip from the ex a long long time agot o florida and i remember her telling us about it. so is it really a scam? would the super ex endorse that? anyways, let me know ASAP. so far its looking bleak.

[Mr.tee]

I just got a call about the florida trip.I talked to this jennifer girl,I thought it must be a scam but played along.I noticed that she spoke well for an american,maybe to well,she said important and interesting instead of impordant and inneresting.I have also had the horn in your ear call"Hello this is your captain".One other call I got recently was from MCS.They said they helped people get lower interest on credit cards and some other stuff I can't remember.I checked them out online and came across a story in the calgary sun about how they lowered somebody's interest rate on their credit card then charged them $250.

[liwendyl]

Too bad I just read about this. I paid for the package! I checked with my credit card company, the payment was processed. I am so upset and wondering what I can do. HELPPPPPPPPPPPPP

[leftie]

I get them calls and lately the phone number is 000-000-0000 - I just now ignore the calls but it has gotten to the point that when I have a temporary lapse of memory and answer these calls, I ask them can they hang on for a sec and then I just lay my phone down and go about doing whatever I was doing - they eventually hang up. I do this is I am in a good mood and don't bite off their ear with sometimes not such a pleasant voice/language. Someday they will all get the hint not to call my number.

[kopykatz2001]

Wow, what people will do to get your hard earned money.