Ramada Plaza Resorts Fraudulent misrepresentation of vacation package Fort Lauderdale Florida

Below is the letter of complaint that I sent to the offending company. I received a full refund shortly thereafter. I encourage others who have had similar experiences to use my letter as a guide to getting a refund.

January 1, 2003

Dan Lambert
Ramada Plaza Resorts
2419 E Commercial Blvd. #100
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
Tel: (954) 630-9449
Fax: (954) 567-9399

Re: Request for full refund following Ramadas fraudulently misleading description of vacation package #*******-025RP


Dear Mr. Lambert,

The purpose of this letter is to explain Ramada Plaza Resorts (RPR) fraudulent misrepresentation of the vacation package that I used from 12/19/02 to 12/26/02.

I am requesting a full refund of the $1,700 I paid for the vacation package. RPRs dishonest and fraudulent description of the vacation package violates the Maryland Unfair Trade Practices Law as well as various laws as the states Consumer Protection Laws, as described by the states Attorney General.

Below I describe how RPR misled me by misrepresenting its offer. I have also enclosed documentation of multiple lawsuits against RPR for its fraudulent activities.

These cases show that my terrible experience with RPR was not unique, but rather is quite common as the company routinely lies to customers and misleads them. RPR operates under several company names in order to mislead customers and protect itself from the consequences of its illegal behavior.

I am furious at the awful treatment I received from Ramada. I am requesting that Ramada fully refund my vacation package because of the companys fraudulent claims and misleading operation.

These problems include Ramadas failure to provide the vacation for which I paid, Ramadas numerous misleading descriptions of aspects of the vacation, as well as Ramadas failures to correct its errors.

I was extremely dissatisfied with my vacation and I look forward to Ramada making up for my awful experience. I paid $1,700 (approximately $700 each for my wife and me, plus an addition $300 an hotel upgrade) for this vacation, but the vacation experience was nothing like the package that Ramada sold to me.

Ramada misled me and attempted to get even more money from me by failing to abide by the terms of the vacation that it sold to me.

During my vacation I complained several times to Ramada and explained each of the problems outlined below. I have already contacted my credit card company and informed it that I will be taking action against RPR because of its misleading business practices.

If I do not receive a full refund, then I plan to contact the following authorities to inform them about RPRs illegal and misleading business practices:

Charles Bronson, Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services
The Better Business Bureau
The Florida Attorney General
The Federal Trade Commission

Part I: This section describes the process by which RPR fraudulently offered me the vacation package by misleading me in order to make the package appear much more attractive than it was.

In March of 2001, I received a solicitation in the mail from RPR. The solicitation offered a vacation package, to which I responded by calling RPRs toll free number. A representative named Julia told me that the vacation package was a one time only offer that could not be purchased anytime after my phone conversation with her.

After taking careful documentation after the phone conversation, I allowed the sum of $698.00 to purchase a secure deposit for a vacation in my name; I later paid another $698 for my wifes ticket, as well as $300 for a package upgrade. However, I later learned that this description of the offer as an exclusive, one-time opportunity was fraudulent.

Indeed, one can purchase this same package at any time at http://www.dreamtimetours.com, and just a week before my vacation, I received another call from RPR offering me the same package, which it claimed again was available only on this one time basis.

Thus RPR fraudulently misrepresented the nature of its offer and its availability, which is a direct violation of Florida law.

RPR indicated in the solicitation that the vacation offered were valued at over $2,800, but for a limited time, RPR was selling it at a highly discounted price of $698/person for a total of $1,396.

This is deceptive and misleading because the actual retail value of the vacation I recently took was significantly less. The vacation included:


Two nights of first class accommodations at the Ramada Plaza Resort Hotel

Premier Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line or Imperial majesty Cruise Line

Three nights of first class accommodations in south Florida

Transportation for seven days provided by Alamo Rent-A-Car

After taking the vacation, I have determined the actual retail value of the trip as follows:

One night at the Ramada Ft. Lauderdale on Commercial Blvd. ($50/night): $50.00

Two nights at the Quality Inn Hotel at 1208 N. Ocean Blvd. ($129/night): $258.00

2-night cruise on Imperial Majesty Cruise line (2 people @ $100.00): $200.00

2 nights at the Radisson Barcelo in Orlando ($90/night): $180.00

7-day Alamo car rental: $130.00
Estimated total retail value of my RPR package: $818

Thus the trip value is nowhere near the $1,396 that RPR claimed was a discounted rate, much less the $2,800 price indicated in the solicitation, or the $1,700 that I paid for my vacation. Aside from the problems with the inflated cost, my vacation was not worth the $818 because of the continuous problems caused by RPR, which I detail below.

In the solicitation I received in the mail, RPR claimed the package was being offered to me was part of a prestigious nationwide marketing study and promotion.

Only after I purchased the package did RPR inform me that the vacation package was actually a timeshare program, in which I was obligated attend to a timeshare presentation. If I had known that the market study was really a timeshare presentation, then I would never have signed up for the vacation.

Furthermore, as I explain in detail below, RPR forced me to attend two timeshare presentations, not one, in order to receive the gift that it promised to me upon completion of one presentation. Thus RPR required me to pay more than the retail price, while it also required me to take part in a timeshare presentation that took time away from my vacation. RPR fraudulently solicited the package as a discounted vacation in exchange for quality feedback.

Additionally, the solicitation sent to me indicated that the trip offered a choice of the carriers Premier Cruise, Carnival Cruise, or Imperial Majesty Cruise.

The solicitation made no mention of additional cost to choose a carrier, which implied that each service was available and that all were all of equal value. However, this was not the case, as RPR again misled me.

Only after paying for my deposit did RPR inform me that I would have to upgrade to a more expensive package in order to go on the cruise line of my choice. I was never informed of this in the solicitation or at the time of sale.

Part II: This section provides a day-by-day account of RPRs mistakes, fraudulent claims and failure to address its errors, all of which ruined my vacation.
The problems began on my first day in Florida.

My wife and I arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on Dec. 19, looking forward to spending several days at the upgraded, luxury, beach-front hotel for which we paid. I chose the upgraded hotel because Ramada described it as a luxury resort with excellent dining facilities, a deluxe exercise area and other amenities.

However, the hotel where we stayed (the Ramada Fort Lauderdale on Commercial Blvd.) was a low-class hotel in an unattractive, commercial area that was a 20-minute drive from the beach.

The hotel smelled like an athletic locker room, the room was dirty and dank, the room had no refrigerator, the tap water was yellow, the restaurant in the hotel was unattractive and grungy, etc. etc. These accommodations were anything but deluxe.

Because room we checked into was dirty, we had to change rooms later that evening, which was another hassle. I called the hotel from the my cell phone and was told that a room for the evening would cost a mere $50 for someone off the street.

This was an early of many indications of RPRs failure to give me the vacation for which I paid.

On the night of Dec. 19, I called the Fort Lauderdale Welcome Center to complain, but the person who answered the phone told me that the manager had left for the day.

Therefore, he claimed, we could not change hotels until the next day. We were forced to remain in this dump when we should have been a luxury, beach-front resort.

I told him to have the Manager of the Welcome Center call me the next day. I never received a call from the Manager.

I met others in the hotel who were on Ramada vacations, and they too were furious about the poor accommodations.

They had already gone on their resort tour, and their tour guide informed them that Ramada and the hotel where we were staying had received several hundred complaints from customers who had been misled in similar ways to my experience.

In conducting research since taking my trip, I have found countless cases of fraud committed by RPR. For examples, see the independent and aptly named websites: www.rprsucks.com and www.ripoffreport.com, as well as others.


On Dec. 20, my wife and I drove over an hour each way to get to our resort tour.

Ramada had informed me over the phone that after completing the 90-minute tour, we would receive free passes to Disney World.

However, after completing our tour of the Radisson West Palm Beach, which took over two hours, David at that Welcome Center told me that we would receive the vouchers in Orlando.

This was not part of a nationwide marketing survey as RPR claimed in its solicitation, it was a scheme to sell timeshares. My wife and I were unable to change hotels until 6:00 pm on Dec. 20.

We had lost nearly two days in the run-down hotel on Commercial Blvd. This package was a horrendous way to begin what was described to us as a luxury vacation.

Ramadas problems continued. We moved to the Quality Inn Hotel at 1208 N. Ocean Blvd, which is also not a luxury resort.

It was a low-end Quality Inn Hotel. The exercise room was very small and had old equipment.

The hotel restaurant was grungy and had a foul odor of tobacco smoke. When I checked into the Quality Inn, I again called the Ft. Lauderdale Welcome Center to find out why we were not in a luxury hotel.

I was told that the Ramada Resort on the beach, which was several blocks from us and was the hotel where we should have stayed, had no vacancies.

Again my wife and I suffered because RPR fraudulently misled us in describing the vacation as much more valuable than it was.

Our vacation failed to meet the description of what we purchased from RPR. In falsely describing the quality of this hotel and other locations where we stayed, RPR again violated Floridas applicable laws.

I again asked for the Manager of the Welcome Center to call me on my cell phone in order to discuss these problems.

I received no such call, despite leaving multiple messages for her at the Fort Lauderdale Welcome Center. Not only was I extremely angered by the poor quality of our vacation, but I resent having to take time from my vacation to address Ramadas myriad errors.

On 12/22/02 we departed on the Ocean Breeze ship. This portion of the vacation also failed to meet the description of the trip that we were given and which led us to purchase the package.

First, the boat was over 40 years old, small, poorly equipped and unattractive. The rooms were tiny, the beds uncomfortable; the boat was not a floating luxury resort as RPR described it to me in its solicitation. Second, RPR told us that once we were on the boat, all expenses would be covered except for alcohol and gambling.

This was not the case. Small bottles of water cost upwards of $5 and cans of soda were similarly overpriced. The ship automatically billed us $39 in gratuities.

Other similar charges appeared despite the fact that we were told that the cruise was all-inclusive. Again I tried to contact the Manager at the Fort Lauderdale Welcome Center in order to rectify these numerous errors.

I left multiple messages with Christina in which I stated firmly that I needed to speak with the Manager. I never received a return call from the Manager, even though I waited on hold over 20 minutes and left my cell phone number for her.

On 12/24 we arrived at the Orlando Welcome Center (OWC). RPR had told us that we could pick up our Disney World tickets at the OWC. However, a Senior Employee with a British or Australian accent at the OWC told us that we had been misled by Ramada and the Fort Lauderdale Welcome Center.

If we wanted the vouchers for the Disney tickets, he told us, then we would have to take another resort tour. I explained that that was incorrect, as Ramada had told us that we would receive the vouchers after taking one tour.

The OWC double-checked and confirmed that we had been misled. Yet again RPR lied to me in order to make its package sound more luxurious than it was.

We would have to take another tour to receive the tickets. Yet again Ramada misrepresented the terms of the vacation package.

Yet again we lost vacation time because of Ramadas failure to provide the vacation features that we purchased.

I decided to purchase the vouchers outright from the OWC and then be reimbursed for them after taking my second tour (recall that Ramada had informed me that I would only have to take one tour in order to receive the tickets).

However, when I went to claim my refund, the representative at the tour facility (2901 Parkway Blvd/ Kissimmee, FL 34747) claimed that I was only entitled to a 50% refund of the price I paid for the Disney tickets.

I had to argue with her for several minutes to convince her that I was entitled to a full refund, despite the fact that I had in my hand the OWCs written guarantee of the full refund.

This sort of unpleasant and dishonest experience was typical of my vacation, as I found myself having to fight for things for which I had paid or been promised based on my purchase of the vacation package.

In sum, my vacation was ruined by Ramadas fraudulent sales practices, misleading information and failures to provide me with what I purchased.

As documented, these errors are deceptive and fraudulent. Furthermore, they violate applicable laws of Florida and Maryland. I look forward to receiving from Ramada a full refund for my vacation package.

Thank you.

Dan
Silver Spring, Maryland
U.S.A.

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