The Visitor Center, Hawaii Visitor Center, Steven D. Nicol Demanded full payment of vacation early, kept the money, didn't book it and refused a refund. Denver Colorado

My sister and I booked a Hawaii vacation back in May, being told a small deposit ($300) was due and the balance ($2,000) would be due 3 weeks prior to the departure date. Six weeks prior we receive a phone call demanding full payment, saying it was due - so naturally we assumed we misunderstood and paid in full to confirm our vacation.

Yesterday (8 days before our departure date) we receive an email from the company referencing the stressed economy and increased fuel prices, saying they could no longer bear these costs and to contact the wholesaler as our vacation "may be affected." We are middle class, twenty-something working students who had to put serious effort into saving for this vacation, and our lives have been revolving around this vacation for months - changing work and school schedules, dieting, exercising, etc. etc. So this email was undoubtedly very alarming, and what followed was even worse.

We contacted the wholesaler who informed us that The Visitor Center is filing for bankruptcy, never paid for our vacation beyond the $300 deposit, and that in order to keep our vacation we would have to pay again (with the price having now increased) and hope we get our money back. Weary now of booking with this wholesaler we request a refund of the $300, only to be told this money came from The Visitor Center by check so they can only refund them - not us.

This morning we finally got the Visitor Center on the line (Wayne is the man who appears to be the only person working there) who did not offer any more help, and suggested we contact out credit card company to dispute the charges. Unlucky for us we paid for this with out bank check cards, so while we did receive a temporary credit - it is subject to investigation and resolution and doesn't carry the same protection as a credit card. When asked why they couldn't refund our $2,300 he said it wasn't possible, the money is not there.

Upon further investigation, we found that the owner of this company (Steven D. Nicol) owns 3 homes in Colorado, and from the looks of the company profile under the Colorado Chamber of Commerce website, it appears this company has dissolved twice before. In addition, their website which used to only feature Hawaiian and Mexican vacations, is still up and running with no mention of this and now offering European vacations! We believe there is a serious case of fraud here, and feel that it was criminal to demand our money only to pocket it - knowing they would be filing for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy protects against creditors and merchants - not customers, and we intend to get justice.

What started as persistent excitement for our vacation has turned into unshakable grief, no vacation, and the decision of whether we should book again and risk not getting our money back. If anybody else has experience something similar, please join my Yahoo group Visitor Center Victims, as we will be considering a class action suit if enough people come forward.

Jasmine
Lake View Terrace, California
U.S.A.