800-221-3099
BL
BL
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
Tonight was the second time in one week for these callers; the first time they claimed it was not a sales pitch, and I told them do not call again... that I was not interested in anything they had to offer.  The caller (male) was very rude, and hung up on him.  Tonight they called again, first a female voice asking if she was speaking to "name/last name" and when I said yes, she put a male on the line and he identified that I was speaking with "Global Travel Network out of Roseville."  I angrily told him I told the 1st caller (less than a week ago) to remove me from the list and never call back.  He claimed he never called me before and I told him I didn't care which one in their team it was that called, that I did not want to be called again and that I did not appreciate the 1st caller's rudeness.   Again I hung up on them and called *69 to see what number was used to generate the call.  It was from an unlisted number.  I searched the name on the internet and discovered this set of comments...sounds like a match to what I suspect they are ... scammers.
Leatherneck
Leatherneck
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
"America's Airways" but in lower right hand corner, small script, "not valid for travel call for details" [Didn't receive call but mail, with number to call]
Oh, Oh!
Oh, Oh!
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
Look at this; Stacy & Stan also posted the same letter on another site. Think they work for the company? (I do.)

From the “What its Worth Dept.” I got a call from a woman at Global Travel Network who selected our entry slip and needed us to come to the office and claim a vacation package. We had signed up at a kiosk at the sportsman show last year for a $25,000. GRAND PRIZE. I knew it was a “come on” for a sales tour and played along, we have done the timeshare tours in San Francisco and Vegas for show tickets and dinners before. The lady offered different travel packages, no mention we won the money of course, so I picked the 5-day cruise to the Mexican Rivera and agreed to go the next evening to pick it up as long as my husband would agree to come with and we could schedule a sitter. I was told no children are allowed at the presentation due to insurance reasons. The next morning starting about 9AM call after call came in to “confirm” we would be coming. I picked up on the 5th call and said we would be there absolutely! Yes, 15 minutes early to do the paperwork- a survey form to find out our income, age and marital status and OF COURSE YES, we will bring and show our major credit card- finger over the numbers and it never leaves our hand plus our driver licenses for name verification and matching addresses. A different woman, the Awards Coordinator does the confirmation calls to the attendees and reminds everyone what to bring, how to fill out the survey paper correctly and goes over the address and directions to the office- I suspect this call comes from a call center somewhere far away because it sounded like she was reading the directions and it didn’t make sense to me. I had googled the address for directions and that is where I found this forum, so I am already prepared for what we are in store for.

We found the building and the reception office and I was relieved to see we were not the only ones that came for the vacation. The check-in process seemed simple enough like going to a doctors office and filling out a one page survey / registration just like I was told. While we were waiting, one couple was excited and made friends with all of us, they were here to pick up the free trip they had won, they had that doe in the headlights look and I could tell the rest of us had been there and done that- seasoned travelers I guess. We were greeted by the man that heads up the place and then ushered into the main room. All the couples were paired up with a travel coordinator and we met our salesman too, who by the way wasn’t a salesman, he did reservation confirmations in the back but so many people showed up he tore himself away from his tasks because he didn’t want us to have to wait or be turned away without our cruise. This was a nice approach and he was well practiced, he seemed believable and for a moment we were off guard.

The presentation was well presented, up beat, humorous at times and very comfortable. The design of the group sales meeting boiled down to everyone that vacations wants to save money, get more for their dollar and have the flexibility to go where and when they choose. Who can argue with that? Our non-salesman, backroom confirmation agent suddenly turned into a vacation counselor with super knowledge and walked us through the common sense reasons we must have this plan in our lives and we agreed every step of the way with him, because it was so common sense. The presentation lasted right at one hour and fifteen minutes, we were not going to decide to sign anything then and there and of course he had a playbook of reasons to overcome our objections to buying in on the spot but we were un wavering and even though he had his game face on, we brought our “A” game to the office to pick up our 5 day cruise. He did signal to a superior, manager or closer to review his program notes, financing options and his apparent failure to impart the wonderful benefits of buying today the discount vacation club membership that was being offered at an un-heard of price that will never be offered at this fantastic price ever again- not even tomorrow if we walk out of here tonight and decide after sleeping on it to buy it tomorrow – we explained our feelings are firm about not buying anything from them right now and since we have now been introduced to the company and met them face to face, we will seek out others that use the program for references, just like we found our babysitter. When I asked him if I should use the Internet to find satisfied users of this system or would he like to give me a list of satisfied members for me to speak with he just sighed, lowered his head and signed off on our departure paper to get us our complimentary cruise. On the drive home, Stan and I thought this was a curious move on Ted or Todd’s, whatever his name was, part because I would have suspected he would have continued with at least some type of follow up information but his speedy “give in and get them out” attitude made us wonder if this was all a deception or if he was having a bad day or if other couples were easier to sign up than us and he just didn’t want to spend any more time with us. We were really scratching our heads thinking this was going to at least have some element of pressure in the sales process.

We did receive the cruise folder certificate and it came with 2 round trip airline coupons, which we did not know we were getting. It was my understanding we had to make our own arrangements to get to the departure port in Los Angeles. The 5-day cruise had quite a few restrictions as to when we could schedule and reserve it. We had to pay the taxes which including the port charges was $287 which this also included the charges, service fees and taxes for our round trip flight on American Airlines to LAX. The cruise line had transportation from the airport to the port and that was included also. All in all it took us about 4 months from start to boarding. We would have had to pay the taxes and fees anyway even if we had booked straight through an agency or with the cruise line. So we did get a cruise that was spectacular! We were on board “Splendor” and we do not have one complaint. The whole sales thing and getting our package pretty much went the way they said on the phone. I suppose the sales process was about as pleasant as we have ever been through. I can see how booking the cruise could be confusing if you do not understand the steps, but the customer service line put us in touch with knowledgeable, helpful agents who seemed like it was their job to get us on that trip and walked me through the steps.

I have looked around for information on Global Travel Network people who use the plan but I have not found much of anything helpful. The price and annual membership costs did not seem un-reasonable or over priced to us and the fact that the staff at the meeting did not treat us like they are “used car salesman” makes me wonder. What I have found and I re-visit this every few months, is that they have been around for a long time. I see some people had some kind of run in or hurt feeling syndrome about the sales process… I get the idea those are newbie’s or are afraid of the good-natured huckstering that comes with this kind of advertising and sales deal because the Better Business Bureau still rates them and it seems any complaints are resolved. We register for free stuff all the time so the next time I get a call or a give away in the mail we have decided to go back, for the free stuff AND ask them for reference because we really are interested in a club plan like this. In my searching around for information about this vacation club I read mostly unbelievable accounts of fraud and scams and high-pressure tactics. This is our experience and it isn’t like anything that I have seen posted. I have checked with the local regulation agencies and Global Travel Network has been at the same address for at least 9 years and it has not been fined or shut down. We don’t loose any sleep about not buying in and I would like to find their customers who use them. This is my .02 worth.

Stacy & Stan Bagshaw
Denver, CO.
18669601914
18669601914
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
From the “What its Worth Dept.” I got a call from a woman at Global Travel Network who selected our entry slip and needed us to come to the office and claim a vacation package. We had signed up at a kiosk at the sportsman show last year for a $25,000. GRAND PRIZE. I knew it was a “come on” for a sales tour and played along, we have done the timeshare tours in San Francisco and Vegas for show tickets and dinners before. The lady offered different travel packages, no mention we won the money of course, so I picked the 5-day cruise to the Mexican Rivera and agreed to go the next evening to pick it up as long as my husband would agree to come with and we could schedule a sitter. I was told no children are allowed at the presentation due to insurance reasons. The next morning starting about 9AM call after call came in to “confirm” we would be coming. I picked up on the 5th call and said we would be there absolutely! Yes, 15 minutes early to do the paperwork- a survey form to find out our income, age and marital status and OF COURSE YES, we will bring and show our major credit card- finger over the numbers and it never leaves our hand plus our driver licenses for name verification and matching addresses. A different woman, the Awards Coordinator does the confirmation calls to the attendees and reminds everyone what to bring, how to fill out the survey paper correctly and goes over the address and directions to the office- I suspect this call comes from a call center somewhere far away because it sounded like she was reading the directions and it didn’t make sense to me. I had googled the address for directions and that is where I found this forum, so I am already prepared for what we are in store for.

We found the building and the reception office and I was relieved to see we were not the only ones that came for the vacation. The check-in process seemed simple enough like going to a doctors office and filling out a one page survey / registration just like I was told. While we were waiting, one couple was excited and made friends with all of us, they were here to pick up the free trip they had won, they had that doe in the headlights look and I could tell the rest of us had been there and done that- seasoned travelers I guess. We were greeted by the man that heads up the place and then ushered into the main room. All the couples were paired up with a travel coordinator and we met our salesman too, who by the way wasn’t a salesman, he did reservation confirmations in the back but so many people showed up he tore himself away from his tasks because he didn’t want us to have to wait or be turned away without our cruise. This was a nice approach and he was well practiced, he seemed believable and for a moment we were off guard.

The presentation was well presented, up beat, humorous at times and very comfortable. The design of the group sales meeting boiled down to everyone that vacations wants to save money, get more for their dollar and have the flexibility to go where and when they choose. Who can argue with that? Our non-salesman, backroom confirmation agent suddenly turned into a vacation counselor with super knowledge and walked us through the common sense reasons we must have this plan in our lives and we agreed every step of the way with him, because it was so common sense. The presentation lasted right at one hour and fifteen minutes, we were not going to decide to sign anything then and there and of course he had a playbook of reasons to overcome our objections to buying in on the spot but we were un wavering and even though he had his game face on, we brought our “A” game to the office to pick up our 5 day cruise. He did signal to a superior, manager or closer to review his program notes, financing options and his apparent failure to impart the wonderful benefits of buying today the discount vacation club membership that was being offered at an un-heard of price that will never be offered at this fantastic price ever again- not even tomorrow if we walk out of here tonight and decide after sleeping on it to buy it tomorrow – we explained our feelings are firm about not buying anything from them right now and since we have now been introduced to the company and met them face to face, we will seek out others that use the program for references, just like we found our babysitter. When I asked him if I should use the Internet to find satisfied users of this system or would he like to give me a list of satisfied members for me to speak with he just sighed, lowered his head and signed off on our departure paper to get us our complimentary cruise. On the drive home, Stan and I thought this was a curious move on Ted or Todd’s, whatever his name was, part because I would have suspected he would have continued with at least some type of follow up information but his speedy “give in and get them out” attitude made us wonder if this was all a deception or if he was having a bad day or if other couples were easier to sign up than us and he just didn’t want to spend any more time with us. We were really scratching our heads thinking this was going to at least have some element of pressure in the sales process.

We did receive the cruise folder certificate and it came with 2 round trip airline coupons, which we did not know we were getting. It was my understanding we had to make our own arrangements to get to the departure port in Los Angeles. The 5-day cruise had quite a few restrictions as to when we could schedule and reserve it. We had to pay the taxes which including the port charges was $287 which this also included the charges, service fees and taxes for our round trip flight on American Airlines to LAX. The cruise line had transportation from the airport to the port and that was included also. All in all it took us about 4 months from start to boarding. We would have had to pay the taxes and fees anyway even if we had booked straight through an agency or with the cruise line. So we did get a cruise that was spectacular! We were on board “Splendor” and we do not have one complaint. The whole sales thing and getting our package pretty much went the way they said on the phone. I suppose the sales process was about as pleasant as we have ever been through. I can see how booking the cruise could be confusing if you do not understand the steps, but the customer service line put us in touch with knowledgeable, helpful agents who seemed like it was their job to get us on that trip and walked me through the steps.

I have looked around for information on Global Travel Network people who use the plan but I have not found much of anything helpful. The price and annual membership costs did not seem un-reasonable or over priced to us and the fact that the staff at the meeting did not treat us like they are “used car salesman” makes me wonder. What I have found and I re-visit this every few months, is that they have been around for a long time. I see some people had some kind of run in or hurt feeling syndrome about the sales process… I get the idea those are newbie’s or are afraid of the good-natured huckstering that comes with this kind of advertising and sales deal because the Better Business Bureau still rates them and it seems any complaints are resolved. We register for free stuff all the time so the next time I get a call or a give away in the mail we have decided to go back, for the free stuff AND ask them for reference because we really are interested in a club plan like this. In my searching around for information about this vacation club I read mostly unbelievable accounts of fraud and scams and high-pressure tactics. This is our experience and it isn’t like anything that I have seen posted. I have checked with the local regulation agencies and Global Travel Network has been at the same address for at least 9 years and it has not been fined or shut down. We don’t loose any sleep about not buying in and I would like to find their customers who use them. This is my .02 worth.

Stacy & Stan Bagsh
Summer B
Summer B
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
My husband has been recieving calls from this company from several different numbers. He finally started keeping track and has been harrassed weekly by them even after threatining to sue. They got his number off of Craiglist and call even though we are on the national do-not-call- registry. We finally got ahold of someone in charge that didn't just hang up... we are now trying to settle the matter!
Katie1952
Katie1952
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
I have been receiving at least 4 calls per week in the evening, sometimes twice a night 1/2 hour apart. Each time I ask them to remove me from their list and they say they will. Some of the calls come from Roseville and other times Washington DC both say they are Global Travel. I went to the Better Business Bureau and filed a complaint. Hopefully this will help. They called me again last night and I advised them about my complaint with the BBB and they said "I'm sorry I will remove your name/phone number right away". Hopetully this will be the end of it.
Donna
Donna
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
Actually I got a call and a postcard and the number now for Global Travel Network in Roseville, CA is 800-514-2493 and it is also a scam..  So beware of that number also..
JJ
JJ
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
Oh and I'm sorry, I don't speak English perfectly.
JJ
JJ
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
All of you are saying this is a scam...but its more advertising? I went to one of their presentations the other day and yes, it is a "scam" if you think that them trying to give you a free trip in order to get you to hear the product, which is actually amazing if you travel a lot, they are selling is considered a scam. I know I was treated with respect and didn't feel like I was being cheated at all! At the end of everything they gave me a free trip, which I had to pay taxes on, but come on. I'm going to Vegas and just paying for taxes. They advertising just like any other company...that's all.
THANKS FOR SAVING ME THE CALL!
THANKS FOR SAVING ME THE CALL!
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
I just wanted to say thanks to those who have posted. You probably have saved me some time & frustration. My postcard had a picture of house on the back of it with a sold sign in the yard. We just bought the home & I hate that they some how know that.

Thanks!

J-
NC
Dale
Dale
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
I didn't bite on this one, but just for yucks my wife and I decided we'd "play along" on one of these pitches, just to see if we could get the "incentive".  I won't go into the details, but let's just say it's not "impossible" to get the incentive, but you've got to want it pretty bad, and it's never "free".  

For instance, you probably can only fly on certain months and certain days in those months, to certain cities.  You probably would have to commit in advance and pay your taxes and fees before you even know exactly when you'll be flying, and things like that.  So the bottom line is that you will never collect on the incentive and you'll have suffered through the pitch for nothing.

If you can find the sales literature for the incentive fulfillment companies (as they are selling to the hard-pitch companies), you can see that the hard-pitch sales companies buy these incentives for really cheap because the incentive providers make it so inconvenient to collect on them that they almost never have to fulfill to anyone.

I received a post card in the mail with the only unique identification on it was the phone number: 1-800-221-3099. The card said:

----------------------------
Featuring Major
US Airlines
Fly the US Skies
Claim: 2 Roundtrip Airfares
CONGRATULATIONS
Claim Number: (7 digit number)
Selected Traveler: (my name)
Call To Claim: 1-800-221-3099
* Thank You America Promotion. Continental US
Airports.
Certain restrictions apply.
----------------------------

On the back of the post card was a picture of some sail boats.

That's it! These guys are getting smarter about naming the company on their promotional materials because they know once it gets plaster all over sites like this, they'll need to print new stationary! So they try to limit the "searchability" of the things they print on their promo. Hopefully you searched the 800 number and found this advice.

Here's the scam:

They get you to spend a whole lot of your time listening to a pitch, and then make it almost impossible for you to get your "free" airline tickets. I put "free" in quotes because they never say "free". They say "Claim", as if all you need to do is call and say "I'll take 'em". Well, if you play this thing until the end, you will have spent real money and who know how many hours. Then you end-up with tickets to somewhere you didn't want to go, at a time when you didn't want to go there.

DON'T BOTHER! IT"S A WASTE OF TIME!
parandzem
parandzem
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
received 2 complementary roundtrip airfares ticket and I called in that number. They asked to attend some class for 90 minutes and at the end I'll be receiving tickets.

It looks like fraud or some marketing speech. Not going to attend
kel
kel
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
Thanks for all the feedback.  I received the "2 Roundtrip Airfares" offer in the mail.  As a result of all of your research and willingness to share, I will not call these scam artist.
elaine
elaine
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
after checking it's look like a scam.
jcw9788
jcw9788
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
They are at it in Roseville, CA as Global Travel Network with the same type of mailer. (not a phone call) This one says specifically "...Solicitation for Travel Membership, 90 minute presentation required. Age, income and cohabitation requirements apply..."
buckshot
buckshot
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
For sure a scam! Called them and they said I didn't qualify for the free stuff because I didn't make enough money. Disguised as US Airlines
poisu
poisu
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
I received 2 complementary roundtrip airfares ticket and I called in that number. They asked to attend some class for 90 minutes and at the end I'll be receiving tickets.

It looks like fraud or some marketing speech. Not going to attend....

ho ..
Diamonds
Diamonds
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
We did not receive a call but continue to receive bogus airfare package offers.  Unable to access means to be taken off mailing list.
The Truth
The Truth
2011-06-06 20:57:18
Unknown
Received via US Mail offer for "Two round trip airfares to most major international airports of your choice within the continental U.S."

The back of the enclosed "Boarding Pass" states "Developed by Global Exchange Development Corporation (GEDC), whose business is the sale of vacation ownership.  Principal place of business is 26691 Plaza Drive, Suite 100, Mission Viejo, CA 92691"

It's a time-share scam.

It never stops...
Oh, Oh!
Oh, Oh!
2011-02-17 19:42:35
Unknown
Look at this; Stacy & Stan also posted the same letter on another site. Think they work for the company? (I do.)

From the ?What its Worth Dept.? I got a call from a woman at Global Travel Network who selected our entry slip and needed us to come to the office and claim a vacation package. We had signed up at a kiosk at the sportsman show last year for a $25,000. GRAND PRIZE. I knew it was a ?come on? for a sales tour and played along, we have done the timeshare tours in San Francisco and Vegas for show tickets and dinners before. The lady offered different travel packages, no mention we won the money of course, so I picked the 5-day cruise to the Mexican Rivera and agreed to go the next evening to pick it up as long as my husband would agree to come with and we could schedule a sitter. I was told no children are allowed at the presentation due to insurance reasons. The next morning starting about 9AM call after call came in to ?confirm? we would be coming. I picked up on the 5th call and said we would be there absolutely! Yes, 15 minutes early to do the paperwork- a survey form to find out our income, age and marital status and OF COURSE YES, we will bring and show our major credit card- finger over the numbers and it never leaves our hand plus our driver licenses for name verification and matching addresses. A different woman, the Awards Coordinator does the confirmation calls to the attendees and reminds everyone what to bring, how to fill out the survey paper correctly and goes over the address and directions to the office- I suspect this call comes from a call center somewhere far away because it sounded like she was reading the directions and it didn?t make sense to me. I had googled the address for directions and that is where I found this forum, so I am already prepared for what we are in store for.

We found the building and the reception office and I was relieved to see we were not the only ones that came for the vacation. The check-in process seemed simple enough like going to a doctors office and filling out a one page survey / registration just like I was told. While we were waiting, one couple was excited and made friends with all of us, they were here to pick up the free trip they had won, they had that doe in the headlights look and I could tell the rest of us had been there and done that- seasoned travelers I guess. We were greeted by the man that heads up the place and then ushered into the main room. All the couples were paired up with a travel coordinator and we met our salesman too, who by the way wasn?t a salesman, he did reservation confirmations in the back but so many people showed up he tore himself away from his tasks because he didn?t want us to have to wait or be turned away without our cruise. This was a nice approach and he was well practiced, he seemed believable and for a moment we were off guard.

The presentation was well presented, up beat, humorous at times and very comfortable. The design of the group sales meeting boiled down to everyone that vacations wants to save money, get more for their dollar and have the flexibility to go where and when they choose. Who can argue with that? Our non-salesman, backroom confirmation agent suddenly turned into a vacation counselor with super knowledge and walked us through the common sense reasons we must have this plan in our lives and we agreed every step of the way with him, because it was so common sense. The presentation lasted right at one hour and fifteen minutes, we were not going to decide to sign anything then and there and of course he had a playbook of reasons to overcome our objections to buying in on the spot but we were un wavering and even though he had his game face on, we brought our ?A? game to the office to pick up our 5 day cruise. He did signal to a superior, manager or closer to review his program notes, financing options and his apparent failure to impart the wonderful benefits of buying today the discount vacation club membership that was being offered at an un-heard of price that will never be offered at this fantastic price ever again- not even tomorrow if we walk out of here tonight and decide after sleeping on it to buy it tomorrow ? we explained our feelings are firm about not buying anything from them right now and since we have now been introduced to the company and met them face to face, we will seek out others that use the program for references, just like we found our babysitter. When I asked him if I should use the Internet to find satisfied users of this system or would he like to give me a list of satisfied members for me to speak with he just sighed, lowered his head and signed off on our departure paper to get us our complimentary cruise. On the drive home, Stan and I thought this was a curious move on Ted or Todd?s, whatever his name was, part because I would have suspected he would have continued with at least some type of follow up information but his speedy ?give in and get them out? attitude made us wonder if this was all a deception or if he was having a bad day or if other couples were easier to sign up than us and he just didn?t want to spend any more time with us. We were really scratching our heads thinking this was going to at least have some element of pressure in the sales process.

We did receive the cruise folder certificate and it came with 2 round trip airline coupons, which we did not know we were getting. It was my understanding we had to make our own arrangements to get to the departure port in Los Angeles. The 5-day cruise had quite a few restrictions as to when we could schedule and reserve it. We had to pay the taxes which including the port charges was $287 which this also included the charges, service fees and taxes for our round trip flight on American Airlines to LAX. The cruise line had transportation from the airport to the port and that was included also. All in all it took us about 4 months from start to boarding. We would have had to pay the taxes and fees anyway even if we had booked straight through an agency or with the cruise line. So we did get a cruise that was spectacular! We were on board ?Splendor? and we do not have one complaint. The whole sales thing and getting our package pretty much went the way they said on the phone. I suppose the sales process was about as pleasant as we have ever been through. I can see how booking the cruise could be confusing if you do not understand the steps, but the customer service line put us in touch with knowledgeable, helpful agents who seemed like it was their job to get us on that trip and walked me through the steps.

I have looked around for information on Global Travel Network people who use the plan but I have not found much of anything helpful. The price and annual membership costs did not seem un-reasonable or over priced to us and the fact that the staff at the meeting did not treat us like they are ?used car salesman? makes me wonder. What I have found and I re-visit this every few months, is that they have been around for a long time. I see some people had some kind of run in or hurt feeling syndrome about the sales process? I get the idea those are newbie?s or are afraid of the good-natured huckstering that comes with this kind of advertising and sales deal because the Better Business Bureau still rates them and it seems any complaints are resolved. We register for free stuff all the time so the next time I get a call or a give away in the mail we have decided to go back, for the free stuff AND ask them for reference because we really are interested in a club plan like this. In my searching around for information about this vacation club I read mostly unbelievable accounts of fraud and scams and high-pressure tactics. This is our experience and it isn?t like anything that I have seen posted. I have checked with the local regulation agencies and Global Travel Network has been at the same address for at least 9 years and it has not been fined or shut down. We don?t loose any sleep about not buying in and I would like to find their customers who use them. This is my .02 worth.

Stacy & Stan Bagshaw
Denver, CO.
18669601914
18669601914
2011-02-09 20:06:31
Telemarketer
From the ?What its Worth Dept.? I got a call from a woman at Global Travel Network who selected our entry slip and needed us to come to the office and claim a vacation package. We had signed up at a kiosk at the sportsman show last year for a $25,000. GRAND PRIZE. I knew it was a ?come on? for a sales tour and played along, we have done the timeshare tours in San Francisco and Vegas for show tickets and dinners before. The lady offered different travel packages, no mention we won the money of course, so I picked the 5-day cruise to the Mexican Rivera and agreed to go the next evening to pick it up as long as my husband would agree to come with and we could schedule a sitter. I was told no children are allowed at the presentation due to insurance reasons. The next morning starting about 9AM call after call came in to ?confirm? we would be coming. I picked up on the 5th call and said we would be there absolutely! Yes, 15 minutes early to do the paperwork- a survey form to find out our income, age and marital status and OF COURSE YES, we will bring and show our major credit card- finger over the numbers and it never leaves our hand plus our driver licenses for name verification and matching addresses. A different woman, the Awards Coordinator does the confirmation calls to the attendees and reminds everyone what to bring, how to fill out the survey paper correctly and goes over the address and directions to the office- I suspect this call comes from a call center somewhere far away because it sounded like she was reading the directions and it didn?t make sense to me. I had googled the address for directions and that is where I found this forum, so I am already prepared for what we are in store for.

We found the building and the reception office and I was relieved to see we were not the only ones that came for the vacation. The check-in process seemed simple enough like going to a doctors office and filling out a one page survey / registration just like I was told. While we were waiting, one couple was excited and made friends with all of us, they were here to pick up the free trip they had won, they had that doe in the headlights look and I could tell the rest of us had been there and done that- seasoned travelers I guess. We were greeted by the man that heads up the place and then ushered into the main room. All the couples were paired up with a travel coordinator and we met our salesman too, who by the way wasn?t a salesman, he did reservation confirmations in the back but so many people showed up he tore himself away from his tasks because he didn?t want us to have to wait or be turned away without our cruise. This was a nice approach and he was well practiced, he seemed believable and for a moment we were off guard.

The presentation was well presented, up beat, humorous at times and very comfortable. The design of the group sales meeting boiled down to everyone that vacations wants to save money, get more for their dollar and have the flexibility to go where and when they choose. Who can argue with that? Our non-salesman, backroom confirmation agent suddenly turned into a vacation counselor with super knowledge and walked us through the common sense reasons we must have this plan in our lives and we agreed every step of the way with him, because it was so common sense. The presentation lasted right at one hour and fifteen minutes, we were not going to decide to sign anything then and there and of course he had a playbook of reasons to overcome our objections to buying in on the spot but we were un wavering and even though he had his game face on, we brought our ?A? game to the office to pick up our 5 day cruise. He did signal to a superior, manager or closer to review his program notes, financing options and his apparent failure to impart the wonderful benefits of buying today the discount vacation club membership that was being offered at an un-heard of price that will never be offered at this fantastic price ever again- not even tomorrow if we walk out of here tonight and decide after sleeping on it to buy it tomorrow ? we explained our feelings are firm about not buying anything from them right now and since we have now been introduced to the company and met them face to face, we will seek out others that use the program for references, just like we found our babysitter. When I asked him if I should use the Internet to find satisfied users of this system or would he like to give me a list of satisfied members for me to speak with he just sighed, lowered his head and signed off on our departure paper to get us our complimentary cruise. On the drive home, Stan and I thought this was a curious move on Ted or Todd?s, whatever his name was, part because I would have suspected he would have continued with at least some type of follow up information but his speedy ?give in and get them out? attitude made us wonder if this was all a deception or if he was having a bad day or if other couples were easier to sign up than us and he just didn?t want to spend any more time with us. We were really scratching our heads thinking this was going to at least have some element of pressure in the sales process.

We did receive the cruise folder certificate and it came with 2 round trip airline coupons, which we did not know we were getting. It was my understanding we had to make our own arrangements to get to the departure port in Los Angeles. The 5-day cruise had quite a few restrictions as to when we could schedule and reserve it. We had to pay the taxes which including the port charges was $287 which this also included the charges, service fees and taxes for our round trip flight on American Airlines to LAX. The cruise line had transportation from the airport to the port and that was included also. All in all it took us about 4 months from start to boarding. We would have had to pay the taxes and fees anyway even if we had booked straight through an agency or with the cruise line. So we did get a cruise that was spectacular! We were on board ?Splendor? and we do not have one complaint. The whole sales thing and getting our package pretty much went the way they said on the phone. I suppose the sales process was about as pleasant as we have ever been through. I can see how booking the cruise could be confusing if you do not understand the steps, but the customer service line put us in touch with knowledgeable, helpful agents who seemed like it was their job to get us on that trip and walked me through the steps.

I have looked around for information on Global Travel Network people who use the plan but I have not found much of anything helpful. The price and annual membership costs did not seem un-reasonable or over priced to us and the fact that the staff at the meeting did not treat us like they are ?used car salesman? makes me wonder. What I have found and I re-visit this every few months, is that they have been around for a long time. I see some people had some kind of run in or hurt feeling syndrome about the sales process? I get the idea those are newbie?s or are afraid of the good-natured huckstering that comes with this kind of advertising and sales deal because the Better Business Bureau still rates them and it seems any complaints are resolved. We register for free stuff all the time so the next time I get a call or a give away in the mail we have decided to go back, for the free stuff AND ask them for reference because we really are interested in a club plan like this. In my searching around for information about this vacation club I read mostly unbelievable accounts of fraud and scams and high-pressure tactics. This is our experience and it isn?t like anything that I have seen posted. I have checked with the local regulation agencies and Global Travel Network has been at the same address for at least 9 years and it has not been fined or shut down. We don?t loose any sleep about not buying in and I would like to find their customers who use them. This is my .02 worth.

Stacy & Stan Bagsh
Dale
Dale
2010-01-20 01:53:29
Telemarketer
I didn't bite on this one, but just for yucks my wife and I decided we'd "play along" on one of these pitches, just to see if we could get the "incentive".  I won't go into the details, but let's just say it's not "impossible" to get the incentive, but you've got to want it pretty bad, and it's never "free".  

For instance, you probably can only fly on certain months and certain days in those months, to certain cities.  You probably would have to commit in advance and pay your taxes and fees before you even know exactly when you'll be flying, and things like that.  So the bottom line is that you will never collect on the incentive and you'll have suffered through the pitch for nothing.

If you can find the sales literature for the incentive fulfillment companies (as they are selling to the hard-pitch companies), you can see that the hard-pitch sales companies buy these incentives for really cheap because the incentive providers make it so inconvenient to collect on them that they almost never have to fulfill to anyone.
Whatever
Whatever
2009-09-29 02:10:52
Unknown
OK.. so i got the mail and came here to see what it was all about. Thanks to the couple of posters who actually called and had some input. I am not going to call myself, but I don't understand why everyone is so worked up about it. My understanding is that you WILL get the free tickets if you go listen to whatever they are selling. I just don't feel like being pressured and saying "no thanks" a bajillion times for a couple of free plane tickets - not a good enough reward for the PITA. Good luck folks, and remember - they do have to honor the promotion, if you don't mind being strong-armed. If you really want plane tickets somewhere, it's not that bad a deal.
itdoesntmatterwhoiam
itdoesntmatterwhoiam
2009-09-18 22:54:58
Unknown
And who exactly asked you for a credit card #???!! When i called, and yes i have called. No im not interested in the promotion, but im also not one to bash someone for actually having a job in this type of economy either. Noone asked me for my credit card #'s. They DID ask if i was a major credit or debit card holder. Have any of you ever been to a sales presentation before? By your postings the answer is no. And i sure as hell wouldnt call someones company just because i disagree with their marketing approach and tell them how to do their job! They dont call you and tell you how to do your job, do they? They dont get names off the caller ID either. Your names are floating out there for a lot of people to get a hold of. If you do any business on the internet, sign up for stuff, enter contests, refinance you home, own a credit card, etc. Do you realize that unless you are signing a privacy statement,when you give your info out, that says the company you are giving the info to is not going to sell to a third party, GUESS WHAT??? Then you receive stuff like this in the mail. Im still not sure why people get so bent out of shape over "junk mail". If you dont like it, dont call, dont respond. Is it that hard? How many of you have opened your junk e-mails and found all sorts of ads about FREE this and FREE that. Did you respond to those?! I bet you did and then you were pissed because it wasnt free! How is it those arent scams and people arent gripping about those? And just to clarify one last thing: I have been to a timeshare presentation before and received my complimentary vacation certificate (and used it) when you are all bent out of shape because you thought it was free, heres the defenition of complimentary(free as you like to call it):                3. something given or supplied without charge, as lodging, transportation, or meals, esp. as an inducement to prospective customers.
 Guess what? Your CERTIFICATE you receive at the presentation is FREE you didnt pay anything to receive the certificate did you? no. Now once you have the certificate, THEN you must pay refundable desposits and taxes on the gift you receive. IF you can avoid paying taxes, please let everyone here know how you do it, I know we all want to know how. Im still very unclear how everyone wants to call it "fraud" Is it fraud because you dont like the promotion or how you have to go about getting the vacation? Or is it fraud because you didnt qualify for the promotion? could you clarify that as well please. :)
P.S no i dont work for the company.
cat person
cat person
2009-09-17 21:18:27
Unknown
Didn't get a call; got their "official" piece of junk mail instead. Called them to see about their junk! Gave the "Offer number" and it required me to travel to Pittsburgh, PA to listen to 90 min. of garbage.  Wanted a credit card # and a spouse/significant other's name.  Hello?  They got my name from the caller ID--remember, we can't block 1-800 numbers!  Asked why she would work for such a scam producing company.  Operator did NOT ID herself; company is "reservation services"; flying is with Global Presentation Companies. Not a scam company. Yeah, right!  I plan to file with the postal system about the scam attempt.  So, Mr/Ms. it.matters.who.I.am, that can't ID yourself with even a first name, would you like me to mail you the papers where YOU can participate in this stupid program?  This is NOT marketing, it is fraud.  Their paper even states that "this offer is not valid in states where prohibited."
cat person
cat person
2009-09-17 21:17:04
Unknown
Didn't get a call; got their "official" piece of junk mail instead. Called them to see about their junk! Gave the "Offer number" and it required me to travel to Pittsburgh, PA to listen to 90 min. of garbage.  Wanted a credit card # and a spouse/significant other's name.  Hello?  They got my name from the caller ID--remember, we can't block 1-800 numbers!  Asked why she would work for such a scam producing company.  Operator did NOT ID herself; company is "reservation services"; flying is with Global Presentation Companies. Not a scam company. Yeah, right!  I plan to fine with the postal sytem about the scam attempt.  So, Mr/Ms. it.matters.who.I.am, that can't ID yourself with even a first name, would you like me to mail you the papers where YOU can participate in this stupid program?  This is NOT marketing, it is fraud.  Their paper even states that "this offer is not valid in states where prohibited."
Steve V
Steve V
2009-08-23 12:31:50
Unknown
I got the same mail with boarding pass and called this number for curiosity. Got connected to some telemarketer in Texas. She said to receive the promotion we have to attend a session for 90 minutes at our choise in our city.
It all sounded as timeshare promotions and possibly scam. They become more inventive to bring people in.
I am not going.
We've  been there ones in Orlando. Very pushy people.

Steve V
M
M
2009-07-25 19:43:46
Unknown
"complimentary two roundtrip airfares" is the same thing as free airfare tickets
I bow to nobody.
I bow to nobody.
2009-07-13 02:12:12
Telemarketer
I got one too and am happy boards like these are around. Yes, it DOES say "complimentary" (which means "free"; someone-who-does-not-matter!!) and it says "your vacation package" and "special gift" so in that it is a scam and implied fraud.

OF COURSE I would never call, if you call they have a reason to harass you! They'll be on your a** forever and have a reason to, as soon as YOU contact a co. like this, you can not get them on the do-not-call-list anymore. So, "someone-who-does-not-matter" is probable an ally of these low lifes and I hope my two cents helps a few people not being taken for a ride here.

Best suggestion: open it, identify the above phone number and put it in the recycling bin. That way you're making sure their letter is not a total waste. LOL! Keep this happy, people, there are too many bitter people in this world, let's help each other out!

I bow to nobody, never did, never will.
RIP OFF
RIP OFF
2009-06-15 18:55:44
Unknown
yep no where on my letter says free win or won but that word complimentary leads me to believe FREE so don t waste your time toss it and don t get ripped off
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