Ramada Resorts Deceptive Company Uses Predatory Tactics... Not to Mention Rude! Fort Lauderdale Florida

I too have been duped by this awful company. In August of 2006, I was severely pressured into putting a deposit on this vacation package by a pushy representative and an argumentative "supervisor." They told me instead of the 18 months they allot for customers to plan their trip, they'd give me 3 years. Well, starting from August 2007 all the way to today, April 4, 2008, they harassed me with phone calls which became daily in the last couple of months. I answered several of these calls only to get conflicting information--some representatives saying my account had expired while others saying I indeed have 3 years. Finally, today, I answered a call from the "Expired Accounts Dept" of Ramada. I spoke to an extremely rude woman who actually hung up on me when I was demanding my money back. I called customer service and they eventually put me through to the department that handles refunds. Someone by the name of Charles informed me that since it has been almost 2 years, he cannot give me a refund. After apologizing for the multiple bad experiences I had with the company, Charles repeatedly told me that there was nothing he could do to get my money back. He did promise to take me off the call list and stated that I was not obligated to pay the remainder of the balance. I'm certainly not going to just eat the $698 deposit but it has been way past the initial 30 days stipulated in Florida law so what should I do? I have no interest in actually taking the vacation so I cannot ask for my money back after the trip, which I believe is an option mentioned by other Ripoff Report users. Anybody got any advice?

Standinguptobadbusiness
Jackson Heights, New York
U.S.A.