Pacific Dreams review: SCAM 56

I had a horrible experience during their presentation. You can read about it at: http://fightpastor.com/2011/06/20/beware-of-just-dreams-guys-www-just-dreams-com/

Yes Pacific Dreams is bad and should be avoided. I sadly made the mistake of signing up and was very excited at the time for all of the savings I would get on travel. Unfortunately when I got access to the travel software I was very disappointed (several days after the deadline when you are allowed to leave your contract - why would they do that unless they KNEW that you would be disappointed when you actually saw the product?). We specifically told them we stay only at high end properties when we travel and that Maui is our favorite destination. They assured us that they have luxury places in Maui and mentioned some names of properties that are very nice. But when I searched their system all I found was run down old time share units - less than 10 properties on Maui searching all the way into next year. And the pricing was similar to what you can find elsewhere fairly easily. Searching in other areas yielded similar results. I also checked the hotel "savings" and again found there to be little difference from booking on Expedia for the same hotels on the same dates. Very disappointing.

The sales people will point to sites like this and say that time share sales people will fabricate these "lies" since Pacific Dreams is taking away their business. That actually made sense and I bought it. They also state that the claims that they used to be known as other companies is untrue. That is also a lie as it's quite easy to see that they were previously called Destination Paradise among other names. The reason they have to change the name every year is due to the complaints and bad reputation. Check out the Better Business Bureau for Destination Paradise and see that they got the lowest rating (F).

Again do not buy into this and please save yourself a couple of hours and don't go to the presentation and make a mistake like I did. . .

OK they've agreed to refund my money, and if they follow through then I'm going to reverse my opinion quite a bit, because that would be an indicator that there is an acceptable level of honesty and trust to their system. Maybe these guys really are trying to do it better than the previous incantations? I hope so. When I get the money back, I'll post up a follow-up.

We almost got sucked into this SCAM! They WITHOUT OUR CONSENT signed us of for a credit card and CHARGED IT $7995.00! Our representative we were working with told us that they were running a credit check, they NEVER told us that the paperwork we filled out was for a credit card. If you are considering this AT ALL please consider the following red flags...

1. The cancellation period is 3 days from the day you sign up. You recieve the username and password in 10-14 days after you sign up. (This means you can not even see the product you are purchasing for 8 Grand, before cancelling.) Oh and you have to cancel by mailing the cancelation form in, within the three days. While you are on vacation.
2. During the consultation after the presentation they never leave you to talk with your spouse or discuss for more than 1 minute.
3. There are many people in and out of the room during the consultation, and they intersperse the paperwork between the interuptions. People coming in to congratulate you and shake your hand, free gifts, bags, they even brought us a freaking pineapple! This is an obvious distraction tactic used to overwhelm your senses.
4. You do not have the option to go home and think about the offer, do research, or anything like that. The deal has to be made in the room at that time to recieve the price they are asking.

There are so many more things about this company that are disconserting.

They almost got us to sign the contract but we started putting the pieces together, then they really started putting the pressure on. They offered us an additional free trip (they already offered us one free vacation) for a total of two free trips. Then they started cutting the price, they were putting on the pressure so much and we were like "We need to get the hell out of here!"

This is when we demanded to leave with all the paperwork we had filled out up to that point. This is when we found out about the credit card they already set us up for. Like I said, they told us they were running a credit check, they brought back the paperwork for the approved credit card with two transactions already processed before we even knew we had it! What kind of company sets up and CHARGES a credit card for $7995.00 without clearly explaining that to the customer? This literally ruined 3 days of our vacation.

With the red flags piling up (I didn't even come close to mentioning all of them here) we started to worry they would really scam us and steal our identities. We were so worried, and it tooks us days to calm down from it.

I would have gladly gone back and paid full price for the excursions we saved money on. I would have paid the extra 200 dollars in a hearbeat.

The 8 thousand dollar transaction finally disappeared a couple of days after we arrived home. I feel so bad for the people who actually signed the contract, and had to deal with life after that. It was a NIGHTMARE to get out of and we didn't even go through it all the way, I can't imagine how bad it would be for the people who really got sucked in.

What's really cute is the poster who "can speak on behalf of the company" trying to scare people from sharing their stories by threatening legal action.

Classy. Real Classy.

Pacific Dreams is a TOTAL SCAM. RUN RUN RUN. The reason Pacific Dreams insists that you turn off your cell phone is so that you do not google the company during the presentation. Well, I did not listen to these scam artists. I googled them on my iPhone and quickly found it was a scam. It is unbelieveable that this kind of vultures are roaming the tourist hot spots trying to suck in vacationers into this bogus scam.

Also, here are a few other giveaways that this is a scam. During the presentation, they advertise nice resorts at Whistler for December travel. Well, I happen to know Whistler very well, and December is the worst time to go because the snow level is very low during that time. As such, ALL Whistler resorts gives huge savings to customers. So why do we need Pacific Dreams to get a 50% discount when the hotels give this discount. Also, the hotels that Pacific Dreams offered discounts on are not located in Whistler village. They are third rate hotels.

Another tipoff was the shills they had planted in the crowd, i.e., each couple is given a Pacific Dreams representative who is clapping and agreeing with the presenter. What a joke. Immediately after the presentation, I told our representative: "NO...not for us...we're leaving..." He tried to keep us, but I reminded him what I had him promise me at the beginning of the presentation, i.e., that this was not a hard sell and that if we didn't like it we could simply leave. Well, we did just that. I really hope other vacationers don't get suckered into this scam.

Take everything wrong with Timeshares and their selling practices, multiple by 50, add in a whole lot of nothing for an expensive price and you get Pacific Dreams.

My fiance and I travel quite a bit and have been known to go to time share presentations to get discounted stays or activities now and then. We are used to the high pressure sales and the rapidly decreasing price over time. When we sat in on a presentation by Pacific Dreams in Maui, we didn't realize that a company would outright lie just to get business.

We were warned by the sales person about somebody who had been posting fake scams and ignorantly we bought into it. Like many things it was a while before we had another opportunity to travel and when we went to do so we realized just how big of a SCAM this really is. By this time it was definitely to late to cancel so we're just hoping to help others to not make the same mistakes we did. Remember, for every person who complains there are tens if not hundreds of people who just chalk a mistake up to a bad decision or they don't want to admit to getting scammed. I'll admit it though, we bought it hook, line, and sinker.

We had a three major problems with the service which is why we had to warn others. The least of all is the software. It looks like it is written 15 years ago and it is as hard to navigate as anything i've seen here on the web. Worse is that you can't book trips to any place you would actually want to go. Thinking of a romantic trip to Paris? Not even an option. We weren't able to find any major city anywhere in the world that it allowed. The worst clincher though is even when you find a far off remote place and you are supposed to be getting some great deal, the prices where over twice what we found in a quick 5 second search of accommodations on the web. The one thing they say they are good at, getting great deals around the world and their prices don't even come close to what's competitive.

It is a waste of several thousand dollars for us from this scam. I hope others don't make same mistake!

Anybody else on this site right now? Is Pacific Dreams worth 8 grand?

Bill, you should read the above. Pacific Dreams isn't even worth $50, let alone 8 grand.

I am the Director of Sales at Pacific Dreams in Maui. I have made the follow offer to EVERY complaint on this site...

"If you will provide me your name, purchase date and membership number, I will be happy to make the following offer to you. If we are unable to provide you a great value for your very next trip/vacation I will see that you are refunded the money for your purchase. I stand by the product and services we offer. If you will contact me at [protected] I will see that you are serviced well or you receive a complete refund of your purchase. "

To date no ONE person has taken me up on this offer.

I am the Director of Sales at Pacific Dreams in Maui. First of all we have NEVER changed our name and public records clearly show this. Secondly, we have the highest rating of any timeshare/travel company in Maui with the BBB and this is very easily verified. Lastly, I have made the follow offer to EVERY complaint on this site...

"If you will provide me your name, purchase date and membership number, I will be happy to make the following offer to you. If we are unable to provide you a great value for your very next trip/vacation I will see that you are refunded the money for your purchase. I stand by the product and services we offer. If you will contact me at [protected] I will see that you are serviced well or you receive a complete refund of your purchase. "

To date no ONE person has taken me up on this offer.

We recently got free tickets to see the play Ulalena by listening to the Pacific Dreams presentation. After about 15 years of being annoyed with timeshare exchange company's inability to get us condos where and when we want, and high maintenance fees, this sounded like a big improvement, so we bought in. But when I did a Google search on the company, up came the scam reports. I researched for hours. Such companies do have a terrible reputation, but despite all the claims that Pacific Dreams was a scam company constantly changing the company name, I could never verify this.

Chris, the manager that handled us did not high pressure us into the sale. He followed up on everything he said he would do for us. He was always polite and pleasant to work with. But the complaints, even though they could not be verified, triggered our drive for a refund. The refund request would be my only test of the complaints.

We called the charge card company the night before making the request. We were told the charge was there and they can refund as fast as they can charge it. When we asked for the refund and said why, we were told these complaints were mostly started by competitors, not real clients. We were challenged to find any proof of the negative claims. I had already tried to verify the claims and had not been able to. When told we could not get a refund because it was never a charge, only an authorization, we called the charge company again and discovered that was true and Pacific Dreams had cancelled it for us.

So my only real test of the negative complaints was how they handled the refund request. Like any respectable company, they cancelled the charge and did it professionally. I never found any validity to these complaints. Yet the complaints were enough to scare us off. My only suggestion would be to inquire on your own if you have concerns. Use these complaints as a red flag to make a few calls to find out if they are truly valid.

My wife and I attended this presentation and found the experience to be similar to other posts. The price of the product was reduced each time we said no. Also to differentiate this post, I am not a timeshare sales rep. I am a tourist who has sat through all presentations. The presentation did say no cell phones, which if you google things, not so good information comes up about this company (Pacific Dreams) or the past names. During the presentation they did not show a live version of the website, which I found very interesting since that is what they are selling. I have never bought something before seeing how it works. We also had to ask and wait for our $25 deposit, which the manager handed over after making my wife wait for 10 to 15 minutes. Makes sense given the refund stories posted on the site. Last comment is that while it is hard to read who is legit on posts, this is just my account of the sales presentation and someone who was skeptical and said no to buying. If this product truly works, then show how it does during a live presentation. Sell me on your product and not on your word which has been beaten up. The power of Internet is great when it comes to learning about who does business the right way!

I too had a horrible experience. I purchased this software licnese to purchase discounted vacations last July 2011. I have not been able to purchase one vacation on this site. The dates are never available and the properties are lousy. I was given a $500.00 voucher and have not been able o use it as I can purchase vacations cheaper on Expedia, alegiant, and cheapcarribean - for the dates I want - for a property that is ocean front. airfare is not cheaper, hotels are not cheaper, vacation packages are not cheaper. I recently filed a complaint with the BBB and am in hte process of filing with department of consumer affairs who told me that they have numerous complaints on pacific dreams.

We recently attended the presentation in Maui. We received discounted tickets to a luau and in exchange agreed to go to the presentation. They were very upfront that it was a sales presentation, that it would take about 90 minutes, and that the discounted tickets to the luau were ours regardless of whether we purchased the program. We were not charged fees or taxes on the luau. The presentation itself was also very upfront. and low pressure We decided to join after discussing several options with our sales person. I checked out the BBB website and it shows a rating of B- for this particular location. There were complaints that people purchased the program and once they started using it found it was not what they expected. In response to this the company has offered at 365 day refund period which is stated on the BBB website and was presented to us at the presentation. The complaints were all listed as resolved by the BBB. I am willing to give it a try, and having a year to get a refund seems like I have nothing to lose. We travel a lot and I think you have to be open to where you will stay and flexible based on what is available. It seems like most of the complaints are coming from the timeshare industry. We have sat through those presentations as well and they are much higher pressure and a much bigger commitment.

Hi, no one has commented on this since 2012 but can anyone help. We purchased back in 2011 and am trying to see if we can get our money back or what we can do.
We were scammed into it, tried to get out of it but it was too late.
Please if anyone can help, please message me.