great vacations now review: ONE HUGE SCAM!!!

My complaint starts with the fact that my mom was lied to. My boyfriend and I commonly travel with my mom and her boyfriend as a group. Before she purchased the package, she asked if it would be ok for us to come on the trips with them. She was told it'd be fine. She also asked that if we wanted to get our own package and just book at the same times would that be ok? They said yes. She purchased the package. Afterwards, I called and purchased the package after asking the same questions on January 07. The next day we called to book the Costa Rica vacation together. Several weeks later we found that both our vacations were denied because the company doesn't allow "group travel" which they state as two couples who know each other traveling at the same time. THIS IS NOT CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE WERE TOLD BEFORE WE PURCHASED THE VACATION PACKAGES. Although we were disappointed, we decided we would keep the packages and just travel at different times. We were told we had 30 days from the date of purchase to cancel the package if we changed our minds. My boyfriend and I booked our Costa Rica vacation again. We were set to travel March 07 of this year. When we booked, we were told that we could cancel or change the dates of our reservation as long as it was 15 days prior to the date the vacation is booked. Never were we told the money is non-refundable. After deciding that we would rather look for another agency that allows group travel, we decided to cancel our package on February 05. I called to cancel the package, with which I was met with a very hostile, aggressive, and nasty tone and series of questioning from the Quality Assurance representative named Richard Sanders I spoke with (how ironic!). I asked them to send an email stating this would be done and they said they would. After 4 hours had passed and I had not received an email, I called back. This was very important to me because I needed proof that the package was canceled that day since this was the last day to do so. I was eventually told that it would be done. After another 5 hours, I still had not received an email so I called back and requested not to hang up until an email was received by me. Only then did I receive an email. All 3 people I spoke with were very very nasty, sarcastic, and aggressive. As if this wasn't bad enough, the unresolved problem came in when I canceled the package. This is when I was told that I could cancel the package and receive a full refund for that, however, I could not cancel my reservation/booking for Costa Rica. When I booked the trip to Costa Rica, I had to pay $250.00 in taxes and fees. I am now being told that this money would not be refunded to me. I am being told that if I cancel the package, I lose this money and it remains the property of the agency. I asked why, since I am not taking the vacation, nor have I ever signed the confirmation letter associated with the vacation. The only response I received is that I agreed to it when I bought the package. This is not true whatsoever. Nothing in the literature I received says anything about this fee being non-refundable. So I was met with a tough decision: I could cancel the package and get my $500.00 back but lose the $250.00, or I could take the trip, but not be able to cancel the package because my 30 day cancellation period would have passed. I decided to cancel the package and get my $500.00 back (in which I was told it would take up to 2 weeks) since it was the larger amount, and pursue the $250.00 afterwards, which is what I'm doing now. Hopefully this may help others in the future.