Vacation Village Resorts The Berkley Group, Inc $99 Target Gift Card Fraud Fort Lauderdale Florida

To whom this may concern,

I would like a check of $198.00 mailed to me by September 30, 2013 as I was just issued two “$99 cards that could be used at Target” by your company’s reps at two different Bridal Shows that I attended. Both reps told me that no purchase was necessary, all I had to do was fill out a form with my personal information and I was issued a card that said “$99” and was told it could be used at Target.  I went to Target and had over $100 in my cart, but was told by a Target manager that I could not use the card that your company had issued. The card has your company’s name on it.

The basic definition for the civil tort of fraud is intentionally making a misstatement of fact, meant to induce reliance, which causes reliance and then a party suffers damages.  Your company made a material misstatement of fact “the $99 card can be used at Target” in an attempt to garner my personal information. I relied on that promise and gave my information and now am out of pocket.  I will notify the Better Business Bureau and other appropriate authorities and attempt to locate other patrons of the bridal show in an attempt to locate a class for a possible class action lawsuit unless I receive your payment of $198.00 not later than September 30, 2013.  Thank you in advance for prompt attention to this matter.

This was their reply:

Thank you for taking the time to email us. I have reviewed your request along with the marketing materials used at our events in California. I have also reviewed this matter with our Director of Marketing Operations.

Attached for your reference is a copy of an Official Entry Form that you completed at one of the events that you attended. Please note that if you completed two Official Entry Forms, the second Official Entry Form would have been discarded during the data entry process as we only register each telephone one time in order to avoid calling the same person twice on the same promotion.

In reviewing the Official Entry Form, you will see that it provides details of the promotion that we were offering to be purchased. There were no representations made, verbally or in writing that the keycards that you received (and faxed me a copy of) were worth $99 (or any amount) or that they could be used at Target or any other retail store. The keycards are given out simply as a reminder to participants and clearly state: “4 Days 3 Nights Only $99 plus Travel Allowance” and “PLEASE KEEP THIS CARD IN A SAFE PLACE – Your Travel Coordinator will contact you soon to activate your keycard – See Terms and Conditions”. The keycards do not indicate that they have any cash value or any value with any retailer. To the contrary; the keycards advertise an offer for a 4 Day 3 Night vacation package at a cost of $99. Furthermore, the Official Entry Form does mention of a “$99 refund after travel of the offered second 3-day/2-night vacation in Las Vegas by issuance of a $99.00 VISA Gift Card”; perhaps this is what caused you to misinterpret the promotion or perhaps you confused our promotion with that of another vendor’s?

In addition, the Director of Marketing Operations confirmed that the proper equipment/display was used at these events and that the personnel that staffed these events were fully compliant in their understanding and marketing of this promotion to the public.

After having reviewed all information, I find that there was no wrong doing, fraud or misrepresentation of any kind on our part. As such, I cannot accommodate your request for payment of $198.00.

Thank you again for your email.

My reply here on RipOff Report

This company has had their Better Business Bureau certification revoked, so here I am at RipOff Report.  My friends and I heard loud and clear what their reps said at the Bridal Shows.  There was NO mistake made on our part.  Just misrepresentations on their part.  I hope a class action attorney sees this and helps justice be served.