We received a phone call early this morning about 7:00am about me winning a holiday to Florida as I had entered my details about 6 weeks ago in a competition or something.I don't remember doing it. I immediately though ye right this is a scam just hang up, but for some reason they kept me on the phone and sucked me right in.

I put the phone on speaker for my husband to listen to as well, and even he though it was a scam but neither of us thought to just say no sorry we are not interested and just hang up. As we kept talking to then man I did ask him "is this a scam or a joke" he replied "no this is a legitimate call and company and what we offer is government approved". I thought ye OK but still a bit suss.(I still don't know why I am still listening to him).

After I finished speaking to him, he pasted me over to the "travel coordinator" to check my personal details (name, address, telephone number.email address) and to also take my debit card details. I asked what for he replied " to pay for the $998 tax to secure your holiday for you". I said to him "ye ok but we don't have that amount in our account, and he said " that doesn't matter we just need to enter your account
details into the system and even if it doesn't get approved today, it will show up that we processed your payment and secures you the holiday and you can pay the $998 at a later date before you wish to use the tickets". I said ye ok, (dummy me) gave him my details and at the same time my husband was going to check to see if the money
will come out as we only had a small amount in our account that we needed.

Unfortunately we lost $286.00 to so called secure our spot. I said to him " I thought you said that we could pay it at a later date!" he said" yes but master card
will attempt to take part of it out even if we try to take the full amount out. Then I thought this sounds fishy and yes, why would master card try and take out only $286.00 if he wanted to take out $998.00 that doesn't make sense!

I then asked him to reverse it and he said yes he can and it will be done straight away as I really needed that money. Then he said that a conformation email will be sent to us about the reversal and just hung up. I was dumbfounded, and knew straight away we were scammed.

We contacted our bank and told them what had happened and they said that when the transaction was done, their system automatically brought up an alert about the transaction and put a stop on our cards. They said that someone from our fraud team will ring me this morning about it and they said that we may be able to get our money back as the transaction is on authorization only and that an alert was raised automatically.

I am still waiting for the call and I really do hope I get the money back asap, but huge lesson learned, do not give details out over the phone unless you are ringing a company you know and have dealt with before.

Paid for holiday and now am $800 out of pocket... Is there anyway to get my money back???

Ipurchasede a holiday package from ASTAR that seemed an amzing deal, which had a 2 year time limit which ended April 2010. I have recently tried to contact this company to confirm my travel dates but they are impossible to contact, the telephone is never answer and some times it doesn't even seem to be connected sometimes. They don't even have a customer services team to help with any problems.
If this bogus company try to contact with with an amazing deal-DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY !!!

I am writing to express my concern what I believe are unethical standards operated by a company called Florida Resort Holidays.
Some three to four weeks ago whilst on a secure sight I responded to an email saying I was the 1millionth customer and it said I had won an all expenses trip to Florida and then onto the Bahamas for four people. I filled out the relevant details, email address and phone number and thought nothing of it until I received a phone call from the group on Saturday the 5th of December 2009 at 9.30am.
I was informed that I had won a 21 day package in Florida.
I have included details that were emailed to me as receipt for the package.
Thank you for your purchase!
The customer information we have on file is...
Name:
Email:
Customer ID:
Your Vacation Package and Itinerary will be mailed to:

Brighton North, South Australia
AUSTRALIA
Your vacation package and itinerary confirmation will arrive within 14 business days.

Purchase Information
You have authorized the following to be billed to the provided credit card.

Date: 12/4/2009 5:59:07 PM
Credit Card:
Approval #: 2734804737
Amount Billed: 998.00
*******************************
Total: 998.00
You have purchased our ACT62-998 package.
After providing your own transportation, you will receive:
7 days/6 nights Orlando
3 days/2 nights Fort Lauderdale
4 days/3 nights Cruise (Optional)
3 days/2 nights Las Vegas (Optional)
2-2 day Universal Theme Park tickets or a 7 continuous day rental car

If under 25 or a non-US citizen, you will be required to purchase insurance on your rental car.

Important Information
We ask that you re-confirm your travel dates with us at least 45 days prior to arrival. You may reschedule your reservation once without charge as long as the request is made at least 45 days prior to the date of your arrival. For special events, peak seasons and major holidays allow 60 days.
All resort destination accommodations are provided at nationally recognized hotels such as The Radisson Hotel or other comparable properties. While in Florida you and (spouse/traveling companion) will be required to attend tours about ownership at our partner timeshare resorts. It takes part of a morning or afternoon and it's fun and informative.
If and when you choose to take your cruise to the Bahamas, your meals as well as entertainment are all included when aboard ship. When you book your Bahamas Cruise segment a cruise fee will be required starting at $299.00(US Dollars) per person, based on double occupancy. Government taxes and fees, as well as fuel supplement charges are not included in the cruise rate.
Welcome aboard and have a great day!


Contact Us
You may reach us Monday - Friday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm EST. Our phone number is 1-877-817-5950 or for international guests 1-813-386-1100. If you have trouble dialing the number please contact your operator and have them dial the number.

Visit Our Website
For more information, you can visit our website at www.floridaresortholidays.com


THANK YOU FOR TRAVELING WITH FLORIDA RESORT HOLIDAYS!
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us:
Florida Resort Holidays
4104 W. Linebaugh Ave.
Tampa, FL 33624
USA Toll Free: (877) 817-5950
International: (813) 676-1100
Email: [email protected]


I was excited but rather tentative regarding the holiday and tried to listen intently to the rhetoric that was given, however it was rushed and difficult to understand they also mentioned that they wanted us to give 90 minutes of our time to listen to a presentation regarding time share whist we were on the holiday.
The conversation appeared to be very well scripted however they insisted I give details from my credit card so that they could hold the holiday until I made a decision I was under the impression I was not going have the money debited from my account until I confirmed that the package met my needs and the company was legitimate.
The person on the phone said he had already debited the account. I demanded he refund the amount however he refused. I shouted at him with my demands. He said he could not reverse the transaction and refused to do so. He referred me to another person who said he was the financial advisor or accountant for the firm.
He said he needed to record the transaction details. In the process of doing so I said I was unhappy with the process they had used and the money had been deducted from my account despite my pleas for it to be returned.
The finance Officer said that if I was unhappy with the holiday I could get a genuine refund after returning the tickets and details regarding the holiday.
I reiterated this point on the phone during the recording of our conversation I emphasized this fact and that I was re-assured by the company that if I returned the package I would get a refund. They even gave a web site address for me to look at to appease the conversation this was www.floridaresortholidays.com .
I believe I was unduly harassed by the company and they did not manage to appease me whatsoever.
I believe it is my right to have a cooling off period when succumbed by high pressure sales on the phone.
I did not want to proceed with the holiday.

The following day I was contacted by my Savings and Loans Credit Union and was informed by a customer advisor that it appeared I was a victim of a scam.
They suggested I contact the company and request they credit my account.
I have tried to ring the company however the phone is constantly engaged. I sent an email to ASTAR demanding they reinstate my account. They said they did not work this way and I would have to speak with a customer relations person. I have tried numerous times and cannot get through as it is always engaged.
I have sent emails to the customer service person requesting they ring me, however no response to my emails.
Savings and Loans have advised me that if I receive a package from the company do not open it but send it back registered mail.

So far I have received a telephone call from the company and they said if I did not receive the package to contact them and I could get a refund. I did not receive the package and emailed them that I wanted a refund

On the 31st of December a received a new version of the package by email. I immediately sent this back and said I was not interested in the package and wanted the money credited to my account including interest. I also requested they contact me as their number has been continuously engaged.
I have advised the Better Business Bureau of West Florida, Visa and the Australian Government to advise of the scam.

I sent regular emails and will continue to do so until I get some satisfaction. This is the advantage of being retired.

THey phoned me and said I have won a holiday for 4 people to florida and a cruise and that I only had to pay $998 they immediately charged my credit card and even knew how much money I had available on it.

Hope to get my money back