This company has a legal department that ensures that the contests they run have the requisite veneer of legality.  Any complaints listed above do not violate any consumer protection laws.  The company fully discloses the purpose of their contests on the entry forms that are filled out.  Many times, children will enter their parents names for ATV's, cars, cruises, or snowmobiles.  The entry form states that the information will be used to contact you regarding vacation offers, points based travel rewards programs, or timeshare.  It is a timeshare company, one of the larger ones actually as they are affiliated with Interval International.  

-It is not their intention to steal your info or charge your credit card without your consent
-If you don't want to attend the presentation, don't.  Smearing their name for something you didn't participate in is pretty weak sauce
-If you don't read fine print, you are due for a "rip off" anyway
-Don't be such wusses

"oooh I got a call about something... I looked up the number... I'm such a consummate consumer.  Oooh look at me!  They tried to steal my credit card and told me my son was ugly."  <-- that's the majority of posts on here.  You're dumb, get off the internet and get an education.  

Source:  I used to work there.

dont know much. but tomorrow at 190 river street, portland, maine there is another gathering of hopeful 'winners'.  anyone with legal experience will be most welcome. please. you would know what questions to ask.

Hi, I got the same call about calling Byron Williams this morning, saying to claim my prize that I won. I checked out the name and  number and is no such person fitting this description in the area code which I was given. Thanks to the information on here I will not be calling Mr. Williams today, by 9:00 pm. The lady that called came from an IL number. I live in NC.

Got the same call yesterday, but the number for Byron has changed to (207) 869-0165.  NO THANKS!

Thank you United States military for the internet.   called me too...claims center.....entered last year...congratulations....call Bryon Williams at 207 869-0165.

September 16, 2011 - I got a call from a man asking for either my husband or me.  He said we won the cool car cold cash giveaway and asked if I remembered entering that contest.  I certainly didn't remember and I told him that I didn't.  He went on to ask if I wanted to collect the prize.  When I told him sure, he asked me to get a pen and paper and told me to call Bryon Williams (spelled it out) at 1-800-229-9612 to collect my prize.  I called, left a message and no one called me back.

"Liberty" called and said that we won a prize in the "Cool Car Cold Cash Giveaway" that we entered last year with the Festiva Adventure Club.  We were instructed to call Byron Williams at 1-800-229-9612 before 5pm today or to try tomorrow.

same call but I did a google search on the number before calling and found this!  Thanks for saving me the time and effort.....I won't be calling back now!!!!!

I just received a call that my husband had entered a contest and his name was picked as a winner.  If you believe that my husband who died in 2002 filled in an entry blank, go ahead and call for a prize.

Had a similar message on our answering machine this afternoon left by a woman, my only regret is wasting the piece of paper I wrote the number down on.  I have been to these kind of things before, they are very shady and a bait-and-switch at best.

Just got the call a few minutes ago too. Same names/numbers etc...Scam.

I received the same call on 08/09/2011 from some woman who said she was calling from Portland, Maine, stating that my husband and I were finalists in a contest (no mention of name of contest, the company, or what the prize was). My husband and I do not enter contests as a couple (I only put 1 name if I ever do) which immediately made me suspicious. Said to call Byron at the number listed. Came up as Private Name, Private Number on caller ID. I immediately went on line to google the number and found this site.

I have absolutely no interest in winning any prize or buying a time share, going to a hotel, etc. I haven't had a credit card in over 10 years and have no need for one, which probably would have disqualified me anyway.

Waste of my time to answer these calls (I actually let the answering machine pick up since I didn't know the number because 99% of the time unknown/private numbers are no one I am interested in talking to).

I don't want any prize and did not enter a contest, so that is a total lie and nothing I want anything to do with.

I had a somewhat similar experience.  I received a phone call from someone at the "Claims Center" in Portland, Maine saying I had filled out a card at a local mall or business within the last year and I was a chosen as a finalist and was guaranteed to win either a new Ford Explorer, $25,000 cash, a 4 night vacation in Daytona Beach or a 27" TV sponsored by Festiva Adventure Club. They told me I needed to call "Byron Williams" at 1-800-229-9612 before 9pm that day to accept (He called in the middle of the afternoon; what legitimate sweepstakes gives a winner 6 hours to accept a prize?) and that I should call now because "Byron" was at his desk.   At first I thought great, I won something!  However, I'm suspicious by nature and this started sending off warning bells the more I learned and the more questions I asked. I called the number, got an answering machine and left my name and number.  "Byron" called me back within 30 minutes. "Byron Williams", would not give me an address for his "Claims Center" company, just saying he was working for Festiva Adventure Club.  He would also not give me an e-mail address, website or phone number for Festiva Adventure Club; instead he told me to google it.  I was told I had until 9pm that night to decide if I would accept the prize  and that if I did, I would have to go with my wife (only couples were eligible), both with a photo ID and either a credit card or check book, to a scheduled group meeting/presentation/prize drawing that would last about 90-minutes in the next four days at an office at 191 Riverside Drive, Suite 1B, Portland, ME.  I inquired why they needed a credit card or check book and he assured me it was only to validate the winner's identity.  Uh huh... sure.  Apparently we couldn't even bring our 1 year old son to pick up our guaranteed prize because one of their rules was that no children younger than 4 could attend the meeting.   During our conversation the man was definitely playing scare tactics and trying to push me into accepting; twice saying he was going to draw another name because I didn't sound interested and was asking too many questions.  Really?  Too many questions?  While I am very skeptical of things, I'm also an optimist, so I ended up saying I would call back after I spoke with my wife.  I did some googling online and turned up nothing but complaints about Festiva Adventure Club/Hospitality Tours and this 1-800-229-9612 number.  He mentioned absolutely nothing about trying to sell timeshares, but it seems obvious now that that is the ulterior motive.  Needless to say I won't be calling back to accept my "prize".

Just got the same call.  Why can't Byron call himself?  I am also on the do not call list!
I have been to these award events before. Its always the same. You do get a prize but with stipulations and after the last supposedly free vacation I won (and had to pay taxes and fees that came to the same price if I had booked it myself) no way am I going to that again.  If you have plenty of time on your hands and dont mind a hard sell and jumping through hoops go ahead, otherwise dont call Byron.

well why are u complaining if you never called .The one thing you and all the people complaining and belly acheing on here is that you never called or went down to claim your prize. Now im not jumping to byrons defense here but maybe you should do some looking into it before writing these complaints . We went and it was just fine . I got a free trip to florida I plan on useing as soon as I get a chance ,,

Just got a call from a woman asking for either my husband or me.  She said we won the cool car cold cash giveaway and asked if I remembered entering that contest.  I told her that I didn't, but she went on to ask if I wanted to collect the prize.  When I told her sure, she asked me to get a pen and paper and told me to call Bryon Williams (spelled it out) at 1-800-229-9612 to collect my prize.  I asked her who sponsored the contest and she replied, "we did".  I had to come right out and ask who "we" is.  She told me it was the Festiva Adventure Club in Portland Maine. She told me that I should call right now because Byron was at his desk.  I don't know why Byron didn't call me himself, but I didn't bother to call him because after reading everything here, I'm not interested.

I see byron is catching alot of flack from people who never even come down to find out whats really going on ,, lol Me and my husband went , the people there are very nice . We got our gift as stated by byron , and a 30 dollar visa card , i put gas in my vehicle and we actually bought a nice condo out in florida .

I actually went to the promotion and It happened just as Byron stated . He sounded like a stand up guy , he gave it to me straight . We enjoyed ourselves . If you give it a chance and go you might be better off , we left out with the gift as byron stated and we got a 25 dollar visa card and me and my wife went out for dinner afterwards .

Thanks Byron

Byron gets around. Didn't take more than 2 seconds to figure this one out, and 30 seconds to put it on the donotcall COMPLAINT notice.

Caller said his name was Byron. He left a voice message inviting me to call him back to claim a prize from an entry form submitted between a year to one and a half years ago.
No mention of his company name, the event I attended, or what the prize was.
Made me laugh!

I got a call from someone who said they were from the "claimants department". They did not mention the company or what "sweepstakes" I entered a 1 1/2 years ago. I don't enter sweepstakes. I was asked to call Byron Williams to claim my prize at 1-800-229-9612. I didn't call. Waste of my time and it has ripoff written all over it.

SCAM!!!

I got a call message from "Byron" at 1-800-229-9612. He said I won a prize in a drawing and to call him back so we could discuss it. He didn't leave a company name, or line of business. I knew it was a scam. I didn't enter a drawing; couldn't have won. I'm on my state and the federal do not call lists. I called the number another time, and again, no comany name or line on the machine. "Byron Williams'" machine said he was not at his desk and to leave a message. I reported him to the "donotcall.gov" website instead.

I got the same phone message from "Byron".
He sounded well-educated. I wonder if he is a robot.
Thanks to whocallsme for providing a forum to check out scams like this.

Just received a call saying I won the cool car cold cash giveaway and needed to contact Byron Williams at 800-229-9612. Nice to see Byron is still arouns 4 years later...

I got a call that James was the winner of a "Cool Cash Give Away" through Festiva Resorts. My name is not James, but I know that my number was once assigned to James.  On my call back to 1-800-229-9612,  I was to ask for Byron Williams.  James, my father, was the owner of a Festiva property before he died in March 1999.  It is now May 2011.  Obviously this is a marketing ploy to get the phone answerer to go to a presentation to buy a(nother) time share.  I would probably say that if you like a "really hard sell" you should go.  If not stay away and enjoy the weekend with your family.

Byron left a message for me that I won a drawing and to call him back at 1-800-229-9612. Problem is, I didn't enter, and knew it was a scam. I called the number back another time, to see what company it was. I am on the State and Federal do not call lists, and in my state, the company gets fined $5,000. per call. Anyway, when I called back, "Byron Williams'"
machine said he was not at his desk and to leave a message. The few calls I do get, I report to the "donotcall.gov" website. I am doing that with this one now...when these nuisances get fined, they move on...or go broke!

Recieved 3 calls from Byron, before calling back. No Prize was stated on the answering machine. I Called to see what all the fuss was about. He stated the same claim as mentioned above. Navigator, Cash, cruise, or 32" TV. Never asked for personal Info. But requested that a Credit card and established checking acount, be my 2 forms of Identification when I showed up for the Prize claim. Googled the call back number and contacted the place where I was told to report to. (which happened to be a Hotel near where I live.) The staff on hand at the hotel had no idea what it was about. Waiting to hear back from the manager. They also had my email which he emailed me directions to the pick up. Email came from atooztravel AT aol.com  But based on the numerous reports over the web, and the similarities in prizes. It looks like a scam. call back number was 1-800-229-9612

Same message on answering machine from "Byron" for my wife. Call did not show up on CID. No info about the company or "contest".

I also received the same call with all the same details. I spoke with a guy named Byron.

I just got the same call, not sure yet you have to go down and sign for the prize need to search a little more before showing up to something like this.  "You were selected as a finalist.. please call to collect your claim number"
"Cool Card Cash or Cruise"

"Visit our Beachside Village Resort in Falmouth MA for a brief meeting and select from a drawing of any of the prizes below"
2008 Cadalliac Escalade
8 Day Bahamas Day Cruise - Celebration Cruise (Boo!)
10N Hawaiian Getaway
2500 Cash
32 Flatscreen

Location:
Beachside Village Resort
Falmouth MA
45 Surf Drive