Is This Holiday Offer A Scam? Is There A Catch Or Did I Just Miss A Good Opportunity?

datguy_2

first just like to say im new here and this is my very first post, would appreciate as much feedback as possible. thanks

ok......
it all started about two months ago, i got an automated voice call from a company called cancun holidays, i immediately hanged up as i always do. a couple of weeks later i reicieved another automated message realising it was from cancun holidays again this time i decided to hear what they were offering. the basic jist of it was

199 per person (2person minimum) for 5 days and 4 nights, in cancun florida, if this offer is taken up there and then you can invite an extra two people for FREE! sounded intresting but too good to be true, so i hanged up again.

now a month and a bit later i reicieve another automated message this time i decided to find out what its all about. they gave me a personal number and put me through to an agent who had an american accent. don't worry i continually asked if the call would cost me anything they assured me it won't, guess i have to wait for the bill to be certain, but anyway this agent continued to inform of the offer.

it was still 199 pp for two people and an extra two people for free. which works out to 398 for four people. He also let me know that we would get an extra 5 days in orlando florida at no extra cost. also theme parks tickets and a car rental.

sounds to good? well if your anythin like me you right now would be foaming at the mouth awaiting to scream WHATS THE CATCH???

THE CATCH
(according to the agent and his supervisor who i insited to speak with)
The holiday offer is based around a 90 minute timeshare talk, basically while you are on both holidays you will be subjected to a strong american sales team talkin to you a hour and a half about the benfits of investing in a timeshare option. however i was also told by the first agent i spoke to that the higher my income was the better. The supervisor let me know there aim was not to make money on hte actual holidays but on the people who sign up for a timeshare and therefore they need to get as much people over there as they can hence the two free people offer.

Now alot of people would say no there and then. But i do not mind being flown thousands of miles away to have to endure a 1hr and 30mins sales pitch. i probably would ahve accepted the offer there and then if it was not for what happened next

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

well they told me this was a one time offer and they could not gurantee that this offer would be avialble 2moro. they kept on letting me know of the 50 other applicants and the exclusive offer only availble to my household. so due to this they asked for payment. i told them i had no money. so they asked for a deposit, agian i told them i had no money, that i would be paid at the end of the month. (sufficent time for me to evaluate the whole process) they said they have a no call back policy and wouldn't be able to phone me back and that i would loose my current offer status.

this did worry me a bit as i offered for them to call back as soon as a couple of hours to see if i could get sum money(another fib - always good to buy some time) no they insisted now or never....... and then the supervisor said

this is what i can do for you this is the lowest i can go due to your circumstances -( all in american accent)

199 for the complete offer
that is

5 days 4 nights for four people in cancun florida with theme park tickets to disney world and 7 day car rental,

with a seperate take now or take later at any time

5 day 4 night in orlando florida for four people

all for 199

99 deposit now and 100 payment at the end of the month.

the instant reaction in me (me being me) was F&#K OFF YOUR TRYING TO SCAM ME!!!!!!!

but after re insiting that i had no money and putting down the phone a few thought bubles began to pop in my head questions such as what if that really was the only catch? would a timeshare be that bad? i could offer 6 people i know this holiday for 250 each and earn a tidy profit at the same time save them a fortune. but what if theyre not even a real company tell me i can't have the holiday and take my money?

and so........ after all the thoughts i decided the best place to come was here! i would like to know if anyone has had a similar experience or even taken up the offer and what came of it.

for those unsure of what was on offer here is the website

http://www.mycancungetaway.com/

if you go to the customer login bit and type in TEN 0's e.g 0000000000 and login you wil see a display of the information they require from you and how you are billed.

so if anyone has any past experinces or even thoughts on the matter please feel free to post em up

again im new here so hello to everyone here
datguy

saveapenny

Do Not touch it its a scam....
I used to get these calls everyday (automated ones) I got in touch with BT and had them stopped

goanmad

Hey There! Welcome to MSE!

Not a very helpful comment but Cancun is in Mexico not Florida

mrcow

Cancun Florida?

As far as I know, there's no such place?

mrcow

Sorry (cross posted!)

But I've just checked my Florida map and can't find a Cancun on it!

saveapenny

I think he means cancun and florida, offered 2 holidays at 199 each one?
Someone off here went to Cancun for 2 weeks for 350 and didnt have to attend no hard sell

L_D_N

Not sure about this particular one as would agree the automated ones are scams but a friend of mine did sign up to one similar for last year. We went to Orlando, florida for a week then on to Fort Lauderdale for the second week. We had to pay for flights but all accomadation included.

Her package was £500 per person (she paid for her and her husband) which included:

all accom for the 2 weeks in the USA, 1 week in Europe and a weekend break in Europe. For up to 5 people at no extra cost.

They kept trying to put us on a cruise - DO NOT do that as you are virtually held captive to the time share people. A receptionist at one of the 5 star hotels we were booked into told us about it.

The hotel bookings were messed up on both weeks, again the receptionist, who was from England, said this happened all the time.

We just didn't go to the time share talks which meant we didn't get the free tickets.

All in all, four of us went to USA, costing around £180 for accom plus flights for two weeks. It was a good risk to take but not sure if I would have done it initially.

mrcow

If they are selling holidays in the UK, are they ATOL protected? I can't see a number on their website.

I know that I'd want some sort of protection/reassurance if I was handing money over.

Also the "log in" is a spoof, as the address is invalid. Why even have it? It looks weird? Anyone could put that on a site to show to people an example booking?

tonys_3

You have had 3 calls from them recently, so don't believe that they won't deal
with you again. They want your money now just as much as when you spoke to them.
As you knew you were going to call them, it would have been better to
check them out first. They were registered in Arizona in November 2005. I
checked with google and got no feed back at all, which is strange. If there
had been any complaints, it should have shown up by now. A possible
explanation is that they are only now getting into gear and so no feedback
is available yet-either good or bad.

Is it a good deal or a scam? On what is known so far, no one can say for sure.
If you do decide to take the plunge, pay by creditcard so you are covered
if it is a scam. Or wait till you can get updates from others who have been.

jon2432

If the holidays a scam so be it. If not you need to do a resistance to interrogation course for the time share presentation.When we holiday in Florida its part of the fun? We regularly go to presentations just to see what we can get. It sure beats a rainy afternoon winding the americans up. Plus side of it you come away with free tickets etc. Just be strong and see it as a game.

datguy_2

thanks for all your comments and help, i did a little investigation of my own also which led me to a site that fights against timeshare fraud and yes your right they are based in mexico for one but thats not the reason i don't think im going to go for it. after reading what this site had to say it seemed to much risk, e.g "identity theft, overcharging, no accomadation, stealing my money" for too little.

Also im not sure why this is but in the company search on the site it was not able to find the company, which could be because they just started as was said or could mean they are not actually a registered company again not worth the risk.

yes it is a fanatastic offer but im not that fussed to go on holiday right now and im sure if this offer was made to me now it won't be too hard to find another one like it from a more reputable source, so i'll keep my 199 for now.

who knows if i hit the jackpot i can get everyone tickets to fly out there lol.
if anyone else had similar holiday offers please share

also this is the site i went to

http://www.timeshare.org.uk/scams.html

thanks