bookVip.com IMS VacationsResort Vacations International COMPANY MISREPRESENTED PACKAGE TO COSTA RICA AND CLAIMS NO REFUND POLICY APPLIES Morth Miami INTERNET

In April 2016 booked and paid for a 4 night stay at a resort in Costa Rica through bookvip.com. The agent told me which airport to use, and thatshuttle service was available "just like in the states'. I paid an additional $80 to cover tips and gratuirites, and booked my air travel directly with an airline. Over a month later, on May 8th, i received a call from another company, that was affiliated with the resort, calling to 'verify' that I was aware that transportation to and from the airport was not provided. I was shocked to discover I not only had to arrange it myself (something I would have done at the time I booked had I known the need) but also that the cost for two of us could be as little as $240 round trip or up to $400, depending on who I used. I told him quite vehemently that was not what I had agreed to, and cancel the reservation. But he was Octavio Castillo of Vacations Unlimited, and I had to talk to bookvip.com to cancel and get a refund. Over the ensuing months, I spoke to three 'supervisors' in the 'refund department' at boovip, IMS vacations, Resort Vacations International, or whatever they were calling themselves that day who told me I missed the deadline to cancel because i only had 7 days, and did I purchase trip insurance? No? Too bad. Now, whether they told me that transportation was provided, in order to make a sale... and I think most reasonable people would agree that was the case, given the unsolicited phone notification from a company I had never heard of OR, that they merely omitted telling me about the need to book transport at a significant cost... omission of  a material fact necessary to make an informed purchase, any self-imposed limitations on the time to secure a refund are void. They owe me a refund, and refuse to do so.

I filed a complain twith the Louisiana (yes, Louisiana) Better Business Bureau for their area, but all they could do was get the company's response? "If our agent said transportation was included, prove it!" If you ar enot recording your phone call, they can lie with impunity. I filed this with Florida, which regulates the travel industry, and the company sent a bunch of paperworkwith arrows all over pointing out my signature and awareness of their refund policy, trying to snow the government with paperwork that is really meaningless. I don;t dispute the paperwork... just th elies they told to obtain it and my money

I considered taking this to small claims court where I would prevail no matter how many documents and notificiations of their refund policy they produced, but they have an address in Florida and it was a Florida bank where my money was deposited. And the fictitious name of bookvip.com is registered there, with an address in North Miami which is different from the address of the respondent. The registered agent, on whom I would have to serve the summons, has a new York address. The company is wholly owned by another Limited Liability in Louisiana which is owned by three people. To file suit, I have to either catch one of these scoundrels in my state, and file here, or or locate all concerned in their several states and pay for the service of summons, and then bear the expense of travelling there for the court date. It would easily cost ten or twenty  times the $500 I want to recover. Multiple companies in multiple states for less than a handful of owners is a good way to insulate yourself from legitimate claims, using the legal system to help perpetuate the retention of funds to which they are not entitled.

Bottom line, they lied to me, they took my money, and they refuse to return it. Do not do business with these people.