|
Montelleoo
May 2, 2010
Fake Vacation Contest
The scam all starts at some type of bridal show, usually at the Signature Grand on State Road 84. You fill out forms to "win" trips to the Bahamas, Orlando, etc. So the next day you get a phone call stating you have won! The trip is yours, all you have to do is attend a simple meeting...the whole thing is a trick. It turns out every single person who enters the phony contest "wins" a trip. So you drive to this place by an American flag on a pole, is to the seemingly empty building and speak to some spanish woman named Christine. Her husband Peter will have you sit down and wait as all of the "winners" walk in to claim their prizes as well. This meeting will be a 3 hour long sales pitch full of lies and out of context health dangers warning that you need to buy their pots, pans, air purifiers, water filters, china, cutlery, etc. to maintain your health. At the end of this pitch they tell you these items are $3, 600 but of course you get $1, 000 off, so you only pay $2, 600 for 6 pots, a sauce pan, some knives, and a juicer. The payment plan is over a 9 YEAR period where you only pay 25 dollars a month. He talks about how normally pots and pans from expensive stores like Williams & Sonoma or Neiman Marcus would cost $12, 000...has he never heard of Wal-Mart, Target, or QVC where you can buy a whole box of pans for $80? During the pitch, Peter will show you all these ridiculous things he claims his pots will do for your food...food will never stick, you never need oil to cook just an ice cube, you will have less fat, save money, easy to clean, there suction lids, thermometers, and blah blah blah...I felt like a victim of gypsies in the old days where they show you their cart of junk and try to trick you into buying it. The catch to the "free trips" they promised is that airfare isn't included, almost all dates are taken and you must use the trip in a year or else its no good. Well, when you call to try and book the trip, they tell you that there are no available dates for a year. That of course means there is no free trip, It's all a lie to try and get you to come in. If you buy things and tell your friends, they give you money off in the fashion of a pyramid scheme. Peter also claims the company has been in business for hundreds of years, and the pots he uses to cook with are 40 years old...what a joke. There are motivational posters on the wall trying to make sure the salesmen never forget what there goal is, money. There is a "Dream Board" where the bosses have pictures of BMW's and other luxurious items they want to finance with all of your money they steal. Even the music piped through the room is full of subliminal messages, all bizarre songs about "living the dream" and "buying yourself what you deserve". The lyrics were all trying to convince you to buy things...the whole experience is incredibly misleading and disturbing. You leave with 4 less hours of your time, and if you fall for their tricks, thousands of dollars poorer. That is unless you open their credit card they offer you also...
|