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Report: #204414

Complaint Review: Travel Agent Go Direct -Florida Dream Escape - Largo Florida

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  • Reported By: Atlanta Georgia
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  • Travel Agent Go Direct -Florida Dream Escape 2655 Ulmerton Road Largo, Florida U.S.A.

Travel Agents Go Direct - Florida Dream Escape Fraudulent Advertisment Major Ripoff Predators All Lies Billing Largo Florida

*UPDATE EX-employee responds: Here's how it's done!!

*UPDATE EX-employee responds: BREAKING NEWS ON SUNTASIA MARKETING!!

Show customers why they should trust your business over your competitors...

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On July 7, 2006 I received a phone call on my cellular phone stating I won an Airfare, vacation and 100 dollars worth of gas in one package if I joined Travel Agents Go Direct for $20 a month and a $59.95 start up. Gas prices were approximately $2.80 per gallon. I was told I would have two weeks to cancel after receiving my information package.

I read the packet. There were ten, ten dollar vouchers each redeemable after purchase of gasoline and sending in receipts of gas along with voucher. The Airfare and cruise line portion of packet were redeemable in the same manner.

I called immediately to cancel the transaction with the company. The automated system confirmed that I would be removed from their database. The company attempted to cash a check on my account on the July 17, 2006 causing it to overdraft for a fee of $30.

Today August 4, 2006 I called an unknown number on my cell phone, it was the company again stating they sent me a free vacation; they called me several times I did not answer.

I'm going to the bank and try to get my money back from the company and close my account.

Theodore
Atlanta, Georgia
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 08/03/2006 04:26 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/travel-agent-go-direct-florida-dream-escape/largo-florida/travel-agents-go-direct-florida-dream-escape-fraudulent-advertisment-major-ripoff-predat-204414. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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#2 UPDATE EX-employee responds

Here's how it's done!!

AUTHOR: Joe - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Saturday, August 05, 2006

To begin with Suntasia Marketing is located on 8751 Ulmerton Road, Largo, FL 33771 and their corporate website is www.Suntasia.com. Bryon Wolf is President and CEO, Michael Berndgen is the Chief Financial Officer and Roy Eliasson is the Vice President of Management Information Systems.

There are about 8 rooms total that hold about 24 agents in each. Six of those rooms are outbound (an automatic dialer that calls you), the other 2 rooms are for inbound calls (people who call in and are curious about who called them or maybe have a complaint). There is also one big room for customer service only, where they are suppose to handle the cancellations or any other concerns from customers like being billed without having the product in hand. Any phone numbers the agent gives you for their products they're selling(Travel Agents Direct, Floridaway, Prism Communications, Dinstinct Advantage, Freedom Gold etc), ALL lead to the same place, SUNTASIA MARKETING in Largo.

Your name, address and phone number are obtained through a third party company that they purchase it from. The third party company gets their information by the products you buy, or any other transactions you do that contains your personal information. They DO NOT and are NOT allowed to have or sell your SS#, DOB etc. Once the information is bought by companies like Suntasia, it is put into their dialer system to call you. The dialer clearly labels the list of names that are brand new leads and also how many times that specific list has been called. Unfortunately, this information is only seen by the manager of the room. He or she has access to it from the bridge (the big, high desk overseeing the agents when you enter the room).

Vericheck is a software system connecting them to all the banks nationwide that confirm whether you have an open checking account or not. Grocery stores, retail stores all use them to scan your checks to make sure your account is legit.

The only information the agent has on their computer at the time when they call is your name, address and telephone number. That's it. After they give you their mumbo jumbo script about how you qualified and the free gifts (gas, airline vouchers etc) you'll be receiving, they tell you it's a reward for maintaining an active checking and ONLY active checking account holders qualify. They ask you for your bank name and the city you opened it in. The reason is b/c they can obtain your routing number through what else? That's right Vericheck! It is only then that many are fooled to believe that the agent has your account number as well. The excuse the agent uses is, we need you to verify the number to make sure it's you, but when you call their bluff they either hang up or put a manager on the phone to push for the sale and get the account. Their tactics are slick even downright insulting.

They usually say that you made a purchase through one of their 400, 1000, 1700 affiliates (pick a number yourself) and that is how your name was entered into their system for this special promotion. ALL A BIG LIE! Like I said before, they bought the names and numbers from another company for anywhere from .20 cents to up to .60 cents per name. Oh and by the way this same information can be sold to another company by the people who bought them in the first place.

If you make them mad the agent can recycle your name back into the system. B9 is the code for DNC (Do Not Call List) on their system but unfortunately many times it is not used b/c they want to get back at you. The only way to get these people off your phone is by sending them a CEASE and DESIST letter to their corporate address. Donald Booth is their lawyer and the letter should be addressed to him. When they call again ask them for their FULL name and let them know they need to code your phone call as a B9, Do Not Call, after you hang up with them.

This company was raided by the feds a couple of years ago. They were there to look at what the agents were saying over the phone with their scripts. This is why management watches the agents to make sure they are not using any other scripts but their own. Sadly many managers turn a blind eye when their top sellers re-word the script to their own liking just to make a sale. I have one of those scripts that are used.

Thank God I don't work there anymore.

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#1 UPDATE EX-employee responds

BREAKING NEWS ON SUNTASIA MARKETING!!

AUTHOR: Joe - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Saturday, August 05, 2006

FINALLY SUNTASIA MARKETING IS GETTING EXPOSED!!

The media has started picking up the story on Suntasia Marketing and it's crooked enterprise. The following link is from KOMO Channel 4 News in Seattle, Washington. Please copy and paste it on your address bar. It has vital information on how to report these guys and the investigation that is on going. Fantastic video report.

http://www.komotv.com/buyerbeware/story.asp?ID=44298

If everyone raises their voices just a little bit these guys can be run out of town.

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