888-621-6818
BW
BW
2011-06-06 21:05:49
Unknown
I didn't get a call but I received the info in the mail and was asked to call that number 888-621-6818. I received contained a boarding pass with the address: 706 John Nolen Dr. Madison WI. and it has a heading of "Way to go Travel"  the corresponding phone # to that address is:  Psay (address) and a phone number of 608 251 0268,  no one has answered it YET!calls me from 888-621-6818?
run away
run away
2010-05-10 00:07:27
Unknown
I know Troy and Jan quite well.
Don't give em any money. And as Bettine DeDubnic found, NEVER give em a place to stay.
Ching
Ching
2008-05-22 05:51:03
Unknown
Got the same mailing today. Didn't really trust it so I googled it and here I am. I am going to report it to USPS tomorrow.
Julie
Julie
2008-05-21 23:10:08
Unknown
Yes, my mother got one as well in Madison, WI. I'm glad to see it's the scam we suspected. The post office suggests that these mailings be redirected to their scam office, as it is illegal to send 'government look-alike mail" without a disclaimer. Let's all send in our scams to a postal inspector and get these guys shut down.

http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/govtlook.htm
Mema
Mema
2008-05-21 18:47:02
Unknown
I got one of these mailings too.  This looks just like a typical scam.  I wanted to find out what others know about it so I googled the number and have just looked at the postings on this site.  What I received is a mailing.  It looks like an IRS form (just like others here are describing), with the John Nolen address on the back.  It lists the number to call as 888-621-6818.  Of course, be sure to notice the disclaimer they have on the back: "*some restrictions may apply".  This could be anything, like: "First you must join our travel club and pay a $1000.00 lifetime membership", or "First you must sign over all of your possessions, children, pets, and internal organs for our use as we choose"....You get the picture.
Mike
Mike
2008-05-21 18:13:06
Unknown
I didn't get a call but I recieved the info in the mail and was asked to call that number 888-621-6818 I googled it and here I am. Having said all this  the offer I recieved contained a boarding pass with the address: 706 John Nolen Dr. Madison WI. and it has a heading of "Way to go Travel"  the corresponding phone # to that address is:  Psay (address) and a phone number of 608 251 0268,  no one has answered it YET!
Check it out!
Check it out!
2008-05-21 04:43:31
Unknown
There is a lot more information and video from consumer complaints on 800-413-5613  

Travelers say club took them for ride

Complaints - A Beaverton firm is accused of bogus offers and threatening members

Friday, March 07, 2008LAURA GUNDERSON The Oregonian Staff

Utopian Travel's sales pitch -- free airline tickets in exchange for sitting through an evening presentation on a vacation club -- sounded familiar to many of the estimated 400 customers who paid an average of $4,500 to join.

But some said what came after surprised them. When customers who felt duped by the vouchers or memberships asked for refunds, they said, the Beaverton firm's operators refused to tear up contracts and return money -- even within a state-designated cooling-off period. Customers also said Utopian employees made threats of lawsuits and used unsettling language in response to complaints.

By Thursday, 22 Oregon consumers had complained to the Oregon attorney general's office, spokeswoman Jan Margosian said. The complaints, she said, assert that Utopian made bogus offers not only of free travel vouchers but also of airfare discounts and club travel savings. Margosian said the complaints also contend the firm categorically refused refunds.

"Everybody seems to think people in a business like ours are just making a ton of money," Wilson said. "But a business like ours is very expensive to operate. We just can't have people calling and changing their minds on a large purchase."

Wilson said she wrote much of the BBB rebuttal, but one of her employees must have written the stray-bullet line. Wilson said she was unaware of a Utopian representative threatening lawsuits.

Utopian sells memberships in Vacation Travel Club, a separate company headquartered in Michigan.

Scot Ender, who owns Vacation Travel Club, said he can't help Oregon customers get refunds. He said that he doesn't collect the large upfront membership fees and that his club makes its money from $169 annual dues.

Ender said he can't control the claims of his 14 associated distribution firms. He discourages them, he said, from touting cut-rate airfares or quoting percentages for club discounts.

"We offer substantial savings," said Ender, who put the membership of his 18-year-old club at 35,000.

Utopian Travel has solicited customers in Oregon and Washington through postcards exclaiming, "We've been going crazy trying to contact you," and promising free airfare or cruises for hearing the pitch.

Wilson said she and her 25 employees hold gatherings in various Beaverton locations to pitch Vacation Travel Club to about 80 people a week.

Customers said Utopian employees pitched club membership as a lifetime access to exclusive travel and lodging discounts ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent.

The state is investigating the operation that's done business in Beaverton for six months.

Most of the 14 customers interviewed by The Oregonian said they were too afraid to comment publicly.

They pointed to the alleged threats, along with online postings of news articles about a 2002 capital murder case in Arkansas. Utopian owner Janet Wilson and her husband, Troy James Wilson, were charged with murdering a descendant of the Marshall Field's department store founder, although charges were dropped against Janet Wilson and her husband was acquitted.

Customers also said they were rattled by the firm's response to at least one complaint.

"You drew your guns and fired before the dragon even showed his ugly head," went a response signed "Janet Wilson, President, Utopian Travel LLC," countering one recent complaint to the regional Better Business Bureau. "This is a good way for people to get wounded with stray bullets."

Janet Wilson, who operates Utopian with her husband, said she has many happy customers and doesn't pressure anyone. "We take pride in our business, and we have nothing to hide," Wilson said.

Wilson confirmed her business must provide customers with a cooling-off period. However, she said, she doesn't grant every refund -- even those requested within three days. Wilson said she takes requests on a case-by-case basis.

"Everybody seems to think people in a business like ours are just making a ton of money," Wilson said. "But a business like ours is very expensive to operate. We just can't have people calling and changing their minds on a large purchase."

Wilson said she wrote much of the BBB rebuttal, but one of her employees must have written the stray-bullet line. Wilson said she was unaware of a Utopian representative threatening lawsuits.

Utopian sells memberships in Vacation Travel Club, a separate company headquartered in Michigan.

Scot Ender, who owns Vacation Travel Club, said he can't help Oregon customers get refunds. He said that he doesn't collect the large upfront membership fees and that his club makes its money from $169 annual dues.

Ender said he can't control the claims of his 14 associated distribution firms. He discourages them, he said, from touting cut-rate airfares or quoting percentages for club discounts.

"We offer substantial savings," said Ender, who put the membership of his 18-year-old club at 35,000.

Utopian Travel has solicited customers in Oregon and Washington through postcards exclaiming, "We've been going crazy trying to contact you," and promising free airfare or cruises for hearing the pitch.

Wilson said she and her 25 employees hold gatherings in various Beaverton locations to pitch Vacation Travel Club to about 80 people a week.

Customers said Utopian employees pitched club membership as a lifetime access to exclusive travel and lodging discounts ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent.

Joel Glick of Southwest Portland didn't buy a membership, but he said he attended a pitch to obtain the vouchers. When they did not pan out, he said, he complained to the attorney general's office and Better Business Bureau.

In a response to Glick's complaint, Utopian's rebuttals, which the BBB invited, went to the bureau and Glick. One included the stray-bullet line. Glick posted the statements on several consumer Web sites.

The rebuttal says that because independent vendors supply the vouchers, Glick's complaint about Utopian was misguided.

"Your very first step in this effort, and the most rewarding for you, would have been to contact Utopian Travel first before you blew your whistle to the Attorney General and to the BBB," the rebuttal says. "You drew your guns and fired before the dragon even showed his ugly head. This is a good way for people to get wounded with stray bullets. I guess you did not understand that Utopian is not responsible for denying your gift."

In at least two cases, Oregon customers of Utopian said the firm's operators threatened defamation lawsuits when they spoke of filing official complaints.

"I think that's absolutely ridiculous," Wilson said. "That's not how we do business."

At least one of the consumer Web sites featured copies of newspaper articles from Arkansas about arrests of Troy and Janet Wilson in New Mexico on suspicion of capital murder in 2002.

Troy Wilson stood trial and was acquitted in the shooting death of Bettine DeDubnic, who had been letting the Wilsons live rent-free in Arkansas.

Wilson said the dismissed Arkansas allegations have no bearing on her business in Oregon.

"What the state of Arkansas did was a bad thing," Wilson said. "I feel that I am a very good person, an earnest person -- regardless of what you read."

Laura Gunderson: 503-221-8378; lauragunderson@ news.oregonian.com
Reply  
Rating: +7 My Opinion - 7 Mar 2008
Janet Wilson states to the Oregonian that one of her employees must have written the statement to JG with the quote about "This is a good way for people to get wounded with stray bullets.".  However, on January 24th JG posted a letter in which Janet Wilson's name is written on the letter to him as the composer of this letter on 11-27-07.  You can read this letter on 800 notes.
Reply  
Rating: +4 Another TV news story re: Utopian Travel - 9 Mar 2008
Customers Say Travel Agency Offered Phony Vacation Deals

http://www.kptv.com/news/15531400/detail.html
Reply  
Rating: +3 Another article from The Oregonian - 9 Mar 2008
Take time when under pressure of sales pitch

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Vacations are supposed to be relaxing.

Yet the trip many local folks have taken with a Beaverton travel agency has been anything but.  The Oregonian reported Friday that 22 consumers who plunked down thousands of dollars to join a discount vacation club had complained to the state attorney general's office to say Utopian Travel hadn't delivered.

Utopian owner Janet Wilson, who sells memberships to Michigan-based Vacation Travel Club, said unhappy customers simply didn't understand what they were buying.

Wilson said there are many bad eggs in the business -- though she insisted she wasn't one of them. In a quick online search of the term "travel scams," The Desk dug up dozens nationwide over the past 20 years at least.

Questionable travel firms can be tough for states to track down, said Jan Margosian, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office. Such businesses and sometimes their owners, she said, often go by several names with financial ties to several states.

The office said it is investigating the firm, along with a similar and possibly related business, Suncoast Vacations, which also has sold discount travel memberships in the Portland area.

High-pressure tactics

Several states have taken careful aim at the industry.

In December 2006, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon won a state-record $1.9 million court order against Vacation Travel, a firm that, like Utopian Travel, sold memberships to Vacation Travel Club. Nixon said the company used high-pressure sales tactics, misrepresented the club's savings, consistently refused refunds and failed to inform consumers about a three-day cooling-off period when they could pull out.

Oregon consumers made similar accusations about Utopian, according to the state attorney general's office.

Missouri busted another firm selling Vacation Travel Club memberships in August 2004. Branson, Mo.-based Vacation Services of America was required to pay $10,371 in restitution for refusing to cancel memberships for customers who requested refunds within three days.

The feds also track travel-related scams.

In "Operation Travel Unravel," the Federal Trade Commission secured a $5 million settlement from Florida-based Med Resorts International and five related companies. The commission said the company misled consumers to believe they could "travel worldwide whenever and wherever the consumers chose."

Read the fine print

So, listen to The Desk here, folks. Slow down.

In considering major purchases in high-pressure situations, don't be afraid to ask for time -- 24 hours, let's say -- to read the contract. The fine print in Utopian's contract, for instance, spelled out that it did not guarantee exclusive discounts for all airlines or hotels.

Utopian owner Wilson said that for an average membership of $4,500, the travel club provides deep discounts for resorts and cruises at certain locations at particular times, especially trips scheduled within 45 days of departure.

Such an outline does not jibe with pitches that the nearly two dozen consumers who've contacted The Oregonian said they heard.

"That's the opposite of what was sold to us," said Paulette Poulson of Longview, Wash., who expected discounts at any time on travel options throughout the world.

Poulson said she spent $8,000 on a membership and tried for two weeks to schedule a 24-day European cruise. She finally gave up on Vacation Travel Club and booked the trip through Costco Wholesale in two hours.

Poulson and others also worry about future problems. Many Utopian customers provided credit card and bank account numbers, home addresses, copies of their driver's licenses and partial Social Security numbers.

"I'm just so bothered about this," Poulson said. "We might as well have taken our $8,000 and thrown it into the river." For federal and state consumer tips on how to research travel clubs, go to blog.oregonlive.com/complaintdesk.

Laura Gunderson
not buying it
not buying it
2008-05-21 03:30:22
Unknown
Another report of a mailing of this type received in Madison, WI. Description matches that above, although I did not call the number (888-621-6818). However, there is no information on the back indicating Sheraton Hotel or any other entity. The mailing was printed to appear as if it was an IRS-type form (fold and tear each end to open) and as if it had a carbon sheet embedded within it, however that effect is clearly fake - no carbon, just lots of ink and fake "reverse image" on back. The outside of the mailing has a label at the top that says "FORM 2008", again to make it appear government-esque I suspect. The postage mark area states "presorted first class US postage paid permit #850 mailed from zipcode 32114" which corresponds to Daytona Beach, FL. (Are they going to follow it up with selling swampland?) The logo for Northwest airlines is not the correct company logo - slightly different - probably not enough for most people to notice. (Official logo is circle, offset triangle, and NWA; logo in the mailing is circule, offset triangle, and a slanted N that when paired with the triangle and squinted at could be a broken W.) The logo for Dollar Rent A Car appears to be a direct duplicate of official logo.
Greg
Greg
2008-05-21 02:28:24
Unknown
I got a similar mailing today in Madison, WI, with the fake boarding pass and Northwest and Dollar Rent a Car logos. This is a scam for some kind of time share or travel club, where you have to attend a sales presentation and then get highly restricted and fairly useless vouchers. If you google these phone numbers you will find message postings discussing this same deceptive marketing practice:
866-241-0658
800-813-6994
800-470-1062

Here is a web address to the Ripoff Report, with information about this scam.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/315/RipOff0315313.htm

Here is a link to a Better Business Bureau warning posted in Kentucky that discusses this scam:
http://www.ky-in.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.asp ... c22592&art=5095
Sceptical
Sceptical
2008-05-20 21:58:03
Unknown
The off says on the back "Travel Provider: Way to go Travel". The address listed on the back of my offer is a Sheraton Hotel in Madison, WI..... I called the Sheraton & they do not have a travel agency in their building, nor is it listed in my phone book, so this is no doubt a fly-by-night travel scam.
Sunny
Sunny
2008-05-20 21:36:19
Unknown
I got one, too, which is why I'm checking the Internet to see if it is a scam or not.  Since Grant is the only one commenting, I'm not sure if it's fake or not.
Grant
Grant
2008-05-20 20:01:51
Unknown
Didn't receive a call from this number but rather what I take to be some kind of a scam mailing involving a fake Northwest Airlines boarding pass. The number in question is printed on the accompanying notice. It tells me that if I call the number, I can claim two free round trip tickets "to any major international airport anywhere in the continental United States".  It's fairly obvious to me that it didn't actually come from NWA and is somehow designed to scam gullible people.
1-858-397-5500 1-754-201-2382 1-231-732-2732
Call Type:
Comment:
Your name:
Validation:
© WHOSCALL.IN 2011-2024 - Privacy