Back to the Caribbean reviews and complaints
The good, the bad, and the ugly - discover what customers are saying about Back to the Caribbean
Welcome to our customer reviews and complaints page for Back to the Caribbean. We understand that making informed decisions about where to invest your time and money can be challenging, which is why we've created this platform for our community to share their honest feedback about their experiences with Back to the Caribbean.
On this page, you'll find a comprehensive collection of reviews and complaints from real customers who have used Back to the Caribbean's products or services. Our reviews are authentic and unbiased, providing you with a complete picture of the company, its products or services, and their customer service.
Whether you're considering doing business with Back to the Caribbean, or you've already had an experience with them, our community's reviews and complaints will give you a valuable perspective on what to expect. Our goal is to help you make informed decisions about where to invest your time and money, and we hope that our platform will be a valuable resource for you.
Please feel free to browse our reviews and complaints and share your own experience with Back to the Caribbean. Your feedback is an important part of our community and will help others make informed decisions.
Took a chance and it worked out
After reading various complaint boards, my girlfriend and I decided to give Back to the Caribbean a try, reluctantly so, and were impressed that everything worked out. Initially, we ran into trouble due to an age problem at the resort that we wanted: turns out taht through the company, both members in the party need to be 28 years old, this was not told to us initially until we tried to book. After contacting supervisors and even emailing the president of the company, Ross Fischer, not only was the matter handeled, but we were compensated with additional perks. Once at the resort, we checked in without difficulties and did have to attend a 90 minute presentation on vacation packages but this was known ahead of time. I am as skeptical as they come, but took a chance and had a great vacation with my girlfriend. This is a legit company, they delivered what they promised, and were there to help when we ran into difficulties. As with any big decisions in life, if you have specific concerns make sure that your questions are answered before committing.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
TOO OLD and too much trouble
Don't even THINK of working with this company. We purchased this GREAT DEAL to go to the Caribbean it turms out, although one of us is the right age now, by the time we would travel we would be TOO OLD to get what was promised and we'd have to pay the Rack Rate - a significant rise in price than what we "won.". So - we called and were offered Mexico where it would be 2 more years before we were TOO OLD but we cannot come up with a resort other than a cheap economy looking resort. So I asked for a resort on their BackToFun website in Florida - no - can't do that one. And if we don't go to the Caribbean or Mexico we are stuck having to take 4 short trips - all to different destinations. In short - do not even THINK of taking Back to the Caribbean up on their offer just to get the privilege of watching a high pressured presentation to buy into a cheap resort program. We're still figuring out what we are going to do to use our $518 offer, we may just write it off like other stupid investments we've fed to Wall Street. This is not worth the trouble.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
How old is too old? Is there an age limit for any of these destinations?
New Destinations
This is Ross Fischer, my wife and I are the owners of Back to the Caribbean
I am writing to let people know that we have new destinations, including St. Maarten, Aruba, and Bonaire with Divi resorts. And for the next 7 months only, you can also travel to Grand Cayman(must travel by October 31st).
Some people were not able to go to Aruba on their original package because the resort we were using--The Aruban--their employees went on strike, and the government took mit over and cancelled contracts. Similar issues with Puerto Rico, and with Grand Cayman there was the hurricane (ivan) that destroyed the resort for several years.
If you sent in a request form and we were not able to fulfill, we will have that on file, and we will reinstate any expired packages and let you travel for FREE.
If you never traveled, but it was because you just never used it, we will be happy to reinstate your package for a small fee.
If you have traveled with us, you may be eligible to recieve another package offer
You can visit backtofun.com for more details on the resorts, and you can email me at [protected]@backtofun.com if you have any questions.
This company, Back to the Caribbean doesn't have a destination in the Caribbean that does business with them today. I would think that it is because they are a total rip-off. Save your money and time by hanging up on them and enjoying the rest of your day.
I am here to tell you that it is an absolute lie. I tried to book St. Marteen and now am told there is nothing in the Caribbean. I intend on filing a suit against them to get my money back. They are a true scam and ripoff company. They never answer their phone and the only time you can talk to someone is when they are hustling you on their scam.
false representation
This company rang us and said we had "won" a holiday, 6 nights in Florida and 7 nights in Cancun or Puerto Rico. We had to pay $518.00 admin costs and pay for our own flights and attend a timeshare tour, but were assured that the accomadation was five star luxury standard and would normally cost much more. We checked the web site of this company and also the web site of the resort and were impressed by the photo's of the accommadation and the facilities of the resort. However when we arrived it was a different story. The accommodation was more like two star. Very dated, tired and scruffy and not very clean. It was supposed to be a self catering apartment but had no crockery or cutlery supplied. The only cooking appliances were a small microwave and a coffee maker. The hotel stank of stale food as people were getting take out meals and leaving the rubbish in overflowing bins situated in the corridors. This was nothing like what we had been told to expect or had seen on the web sites. We also had to pay resort and service fees which were not advised about until we received the confirmation of our booking a
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Do not believe anything Ross Fischer has to say. IF YOU CAN REACH THEM BY PHONE AFTER YOU PAY, which doesn't happen you will receive a run around. I purchased one of their product and was NEVER able to use it. If you are interested in being a part of a class action lawsuit against Ross Fisher and Back to the Carribean contact me at dheadden@hotmail.com.
I bought Back to the Carribean only to find a year later they in had absolutely zero locations in the Carribean. This tells a lot about how their business is operated. I applied to my Chase credit card for a refund, was granted one, then had the bank reverse the charges again and put charges on a credit card that had been closed over 6 months. They used a paper I signed while trying to get a confirmation on my Carribean trip. They would not discuss confirmation without the paper. Believing this to be a formality I signed and returned the paper. Then and only then I was told they had zero locations in the Carribean and I could either go to Mexico or use the US location. Do not sign any paper because it says they can change location after you sign it. I'm with Chase on this. If anyone is interested in being a part of a class action lawsuit contact me at dheadden@hotmail.com
this is Ross Fischer withBack to theCaribbean. I have tried to message this customer from this site, but he has not responded. He may no longer subscrive to or visit this site. We have several Thompons that have pruchased and traveled from England. I would say this is maybe the second or third complaint total in 8 years and thousands of customers that had a problem with the quality. That is normally our strong point because the resorts we use are 5 start timeshare properties. Hope to solve this one soon.
Again, I apologize to all for not realizing these blogs were adding new complaints. This is now rectified.
Ross
Back to the Caribbean complaints
My name is Ross Fischer. My wife and I are the owners of the company Back to the Caribbean. After googling the words Back to the Caribbean scam and reading the comments, I felt compelled to write my own complaint.
First of all, everyone obviously has the right to complain, especially if they have a legitimate reason for doing so. The problem is that every complaint is published, regardless of whether it is true or not. There is no penalty or accountability for writing a complaint that is false, or even worse libelous or defamatory. There is no vetting procees to find out if it is true or not, which is understandable but disappointing.
The only recourse the company has is to respond to the complaint.
So here goes...
First of all we have sold 23, 000 packages in 6 years, and have less than 50 complaints with the State of Florida. According to the state, we have closed all of our complaints with the title "Closed Satisfactorily" With the BBB, we have 110 write-in complaints. According to the BBB statistics, 98 of 110 the customer was satisfied with our reponse or given a refund, 8 did not respond to our reponse, and 2 we refused to refund or accomodate. That's 2 out of 23, 000.
We are not only a Licensed Seller of Travel with a$50, 000 bond with the state, but we are also a Licensed IATA and ARC travel agency, which means we can book anything; cruises, airfares, and anything else you can think of.
Our complaints concerning the difference in destination choices are generally valid, because we allow our customers 18 months to use each vacation, sometimes we have offered destinations on the phone and by the time someone travels, the resorts change their terms or even change our contract without our consent or approval. What we do is we try to offer destinations that are as good or better, and we try to give extra amenities such as extra nights or extensions. Our terms do say, destinations are subject to change based on availability. This situation only happens about 5% of the time; 95% of the time we are able to give customers the destination they want. 90% of the people that are given alternate destinations are happy with our resolution. So that leaves the half of one percent that has a complaint.
In response to complaints about receiving a refund, we do not give refunds just because 9 months later a person decides they dont want to go any more. Florida law allows a customer 30 days from the date of purchase to cancel, just like most retail stores. After 30 days there are no refunds. We stand by that policy because we allow customers to extend their package a year at a time for $99, or the trips can be transferred to another person 26 or older.
In reference to any complaints that we do not respond to emails or calls(which was very few), this is not true. Once, there was a two week period when there was an employee that was not responding to customers without our knowledge, and when we found out the situation, that was rectified.
I must say the one complaint that hurt the worst is the one from the "unknown" employee. I am 90% sure I know who this employee is, who said we are a scam and I am all about money. This same person was with the company almost from the beginning, was one of the employees that got to go on the company trip to Grand Cayman in 2005, and was not happy with a pay cut due to the fact that I had to hire another person to help with the job she was responsible for.(Hence the 2 week period of unanswered calls).
In reference to changing our name, we have never changed our name. We have been Back to the Caribbean since we opened (you can go to www.sunbiz.org to see our corporate filing rbf marketing Inc. dba Back to the Caribbean) We had an affiliation with the Caymanian company that owns www.backtothecaribbean.com andwere allowed to use their website for the first 3 years. When we no longer had that affiliation we had to create another website, which is how we created www.backtofun.com. We liked it because we do more than the Caribbean, but also when we were on the phone, many people would misspell Caribbean and tell us the website was down.
Lastly, unfortunately with travel, no one ever takes the time to write a positive respsonse, but it is so easy to disparage someone on the internet. Again, we have sold 23, 000 packages and have less than 50 complaints with the state, all responded to satisfactorily.
We will continue to do make mistakes, but we will always try to do the best we can to make things right.
Ross Fischer
Husband to the President
Back to the Caribbean (www.backtofun.com)
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I WOULD LIKE ANY REAL PERSON TO ANSWER THE PHONE OR RETURN MY NUMEROUS PHONE CALLS/EMAILS REQUESTING ASSISTANCE WITH BOOKING MY VACATION. I HAVE FOUND THE ABOVE COMMENTS TO BE TRUTHFUL: PHONE NUMBERS ARE NO LONGER WORKING NUMBERS, EMAILS NEVER RESPONDED TO, ETC. I HAVE TRIED TO BOOK MY VACATION FOR A MONTH NOW ALSO! I GUESS OUR ONLY OPTIONS ARE TO CONTACT THE BBB AND OUR LAWYERS! MY CONTACT INFO MR. FISCHER IS AMY GREGG AT [protected]. FEEL FREE TO CALL ME AND SCHEDULE MY VACATION, ALL WHILE CLEARING YOU BUSINESS NAME THAT HAS SO MANY NEGATIVE COMPLAINTS! I LOOK FORWARD TO SPEAKING WITH ANYONE!
Mr.Fischer, I too purchased a vacation package from back to the Caribbean which later became back to fun.I've been trying unsuccessfully for several months to get in contact with the company in order to book a vacation.all the phone numbers have been disconnected and there are no responses to my emails.My name is Dianne Bryant.You can reach me at [protected] if there is any way you can assist me.thank you in advance for your response.
I would like Ross or anyone from Back to Fun to contact me. I have left messages with my email since Oct. 31 and no one has made any attempt to either call me, nor email me. On top of that, when I got my November credit card bill, I found an unauthorized charge for $349. When my last contact with them was in January 2014, when I did successfully book a vacation that I was satisfied with, I don't know how they felt authorized to make a charge to my credit card. No response has been made to my numerous calls and emails to them since Nov. 11 concerning either trying to book my remaining 2 vacations, nor the unauthorized charge. I've found some of the phone numbers are no longer in service that are on the internet, and the others all seem to have full voice mails for days on end. Please respond to one of the messages I have left you!
Ross Fischer, please phone me about a charge that was put on my credit card unauthorized. If you look back at your records I booked a vacation in 2012. The phone representative was not truthful on the phone so my vacation was refunded in August 2013. Today I have a charge on my credit card...haven't authorized anything from your company. Someone did call and I told them I was not interested...that does not mean to charge me again! I have left several messages within the last two days. Also emailed several addresses...we will see if this gets a response. Some of the phone numbers are disconnected. I can be reached at 573/[protected] central time or you have my home phone on file. Looking forward to your call.
Dear Mr Fischer. I would love the opportunity to rate a vacation taken with Back to the Caribbean - Back to Fun, however what is a considerable investment for a single woman (mother of 5 and grandmother of 6), I have never been able to access my account. I have sent several emails and left several phone messages - too many to count at various times over the last year or more. I have been forced to book my vacations by other means. I'm a very fair and reasonable person and would love the opportunity to try out the service I purchased. But at this point I am having serious doubts that I will ever be able to see any benefit from my investment. In fact I am hoping that I have not fallen victim to a full on scam. My member ID is 1046941. I love to travel, which is why I signed on to this service. If you could pass along my ID information to someone who is able to rectify the situation, I would be happy to post a more positive experience.
Wow! Some people make mistakes and then try to blame somebody else for it. It's NOT the responsibility of "Back To Fun" to remind customers that they have a trip booked and then when the time lapses, they want a refund! Then, when they can't have one, the have the odacity to try and smear their reputation? Boo hoo hoo! It's their OWN fault for NOT paying attention to their responsibilities! HOWEVER, MY family and I took a trip to Aruba And had NOTHING BUT FUN, FUN FUN! I am GREATFUL to have gotten the opportunity to go down and spend a week there (which was WAY WAY WAY TOO SHORT of a time to spend there!) We had TOO MUCH FUN and didn't wanna come home so soon! We made friends there and hope to one day go back and visit again. Scuba diving was AWESOME there, exploring the island, riding horses on the beach into the ocean, exploring caves, learning Auba's
Please note the new thread I have started, "Back to the Caribbean now has Grand Cayman and Aruba again, plus St. Maarten and Bonaire"
This is Ross Fischer. I am writing in response to the comments posted by customer ID 4081122. First of all, I like your username, as at least it denotes you are a real customer with a real verification number. Most people try to hide their identity, and then make a bunch of false claims.
In answer to your first concern, it is a great question.
BBB complaints are totally different from state complaints. At that time, there were approximately 50 complaints. Many of the complaints overlap(in other words, if someone wrote the state, chances are they wrote the BBB. Many people that write the BBB dont complain to the state. 90% of the time there is a State complaint, it is because the customer is requesting a refund, and for whatever reason we felt was valid, we refused to give it to them. Then the state decides arbitrarily if it needs to be refunded, which usually is decided in our favor.
As far as the BBB, when I checked last week we had 127 complaints in 3 years. This was much higher the previous 2 years. We have only had 25 complaints in the last 12 months. So about 2 a month. This is out of 28, 000 packages; 3, 0o0 new customers a year. The reason we had more complaints in 2008 and 2009, is that we allowed an affiliate company to sell a vacation package for us, and they did not handle customer service properly. That is no longer the case, everything is done in-house.
The most important thing about complaints against us, is that 100% of State complaints are resolved, and on the BBB, 125 out of 127 are resolved. That means either the customer was happy with our response, or the BBB/State was happy with our response.
As far as changes in destinations, we have NEVER, EVER changed a destination ourselves. When a destination is changed, it is something beyond our control, and done without our permsission. Whether it was a Hurricane that destroyed a resort in Cayman, or in your situation with Aruba, the resort we were using went on strike and was taken over by the government and all contracts cancelled. That is why one of our 7 basic terms have to be "destinations are subject to change based on our allotment"
Having said that, we have the best destinations in quality and quantity that we have ever had.
We have a contract now with Divi Resorts, and they have given us an allotment at 3 of their beautiful properties: St. Maarten, Aruba, and Bonaire. You may already know, as I responding to this late, I didnt realize this thread was active. Again, because you had to switch destinations, we will always try to give you some extra caveats, depending on the destinations.
If this has worked out for you, please respond on this board with the same level of intensity as your original post...
thanks again.
This is Ross Fischer. I am writing in response to the comment posted by Don't Get Taken: First of all, Anthony has been with us 5 years, and has never tried to convince anyone to wait to travel. I don't really even understand what you are insinuating. As you may know, we only call people that fill out a registration form while they were IN the Caribbean, (hence the name Back to the Caribbean) so many people cant travel right away. I dont understand why he would try to convince them to wait anyway, or what you are saying we are trying to "get away" with.
As you stated, Florida Law allows a 30 day cancellation policy, however I am sure Jeremy(who has been with the company all 8 years and knows the laws), was explaining that if there was fraud involved in any travel company(or if we cant travel you anywhere in your package), you are entitled to a refund whether it is 30 days or 9 months. there are no hidden details, our terms and conditions are written in as big a font(or bigger) than this post.
This is Ross Fischer. I am writing in response to the comments posted by Tanvini--While I agree with you that one complaint is too many, we do our best to have as few as possible. Unfortunately, this site posts complaints regardless of there veracity. For example, a common theme is someone doesnt use their package for 3 years, and then calls us for a refund. Well, I don't want any complaints but I cannot give someone a refund because they put it in a drawer and forgot about it. We give this person extensions for cheap or for free, but no, they want a refund. And they try to extort it by saying "If you don't give us a refund I will complain to the state, credit card, etc." Well, the state and everyone all side with us and say the customer is not ENTITLED to a refund. So what do they do? They come here and call us a scam, etc. We have a 99% satisfaction rate, so I can say in my heart we do the best we can.
SCAM
Do not buy anything from this company they are a complete scam and they do not delivery on their vacation pacakges. I know from first hand experiance. They sell you a package in hopes that you never want to use or forget about it. Once you go to book Customer Service never returns you call or emails. When you do get a hold of them nothing that you purchased is available and they make you attend a timeshare tour even though they say you don't have to.
Very poorly ran business that will steal your hard earned money be awear
Funny that this company is defending themselves on a complaint site. Why is Holly using an email for backtofun? looks like the company had some issues and wanted to run away from the original name.
You can contact attorney general of florida and you can contact you bank or credit card and dispute the charge. They will protect you against this as they are not fulfilling on their contracts that you agreed to.
Since my bad experiences initially with this company, the owner has been extremely diligent in helping me use my certificate. He has contacted me several times and has been understanding of what happened. He even offered to make up for the miscommunications etc. by extending my package for free. I still have yet to use the package but am pleased with the cooperation and communication so far. I am looking forward to booking a vacation as soon as I am able to travel again.
Good afternoon. I work for a vacation room in Ft. Lauderdale (not Back to the Caribbean). The only reason that you receive such a tremendous savings on the vacation packages is because they want you to attend a timeshare presentation in hopes that you purchase one. Don't believe it when they tell you that "it's a promotion." I guarantee that you could call back the next day and get the same exact price! The employees make commission, so that's why they ask you to make a decision right there on the spot! Hope this helps some of you.
In response to Diane NYC, you are absolutely correct. Through no fault of our own, the developer in Puerto Rico, stopped giving us the rooms and broke our contract. In 8 years, this has happened once, with Puerto Rico. In Aruba in 2009, the resort the Aruban had the resort's employees go on strike indefinitely, and the government took over the property and canceled almoat all of their contracts unilaterally, without any notice..even an email. That is why we have to have in our terms, "Destinations are subject to change based on availability", because this is rare, but it does happen.
Having said that, I have great news, that we have Grand Cayman(6 days/5 nights) back, St. Maarten, Aruba, and even Bonaire. I am going to create a new post, with all the info on there. I am also going to try to send you a message through this site to try and help you work it out. If your package is expired, we will renew it for free.
In response to amy5. First, I want to say I appreciate the way your post was worded, as you aren't saying we are not legit, you are just asking the question. The funniest posts to me are the ones that say "run, they are a scam", and never purchased a package...so, how would they know?
There are many promotions that are "today only" If there is a 50% off sale, you can't go to and get the 50% off the next Day. That Does Not that mean they are a scam. We provide our license numbers, our company website, and many other details that can be verified immediately while on the phone. We give you a package good for up to 3 years depending on where/when you go. You are protected by your credit card company against fraud. However, in the end, if you don't feel comfortable doing business that way, that is your prerogative, and we say "thankyou for filling out the form" and go on our merry way.
But just because we sell a limited promotion, it does not make us a scam.
This is Ross Fischer with Back to the Caribbean. I am sorry I have not responded to these complaints sooner but I thought that I was supposed to recieve emails from complaints board everytime there was new post, but I was not.
First, in response to Jhuff: that is 262 complaints to the State in all 8 years in existence, 100% of which have been "Closed Saitfactoily by the State. See that is my problem with these sites, they put up only have the story.
By the way more than half of those complaints were because Grand Caymanian Resort was destroyed by Hurrican Ivan in 2004. 2, 000 people had been promised Cayman in the 12 moths prior; I offered different destinations, including Captain Morgan's resort in Belize(where a reality show was filmed), and several other great properties. I gave away an extra night and fresh 18 month time periods for everyone. 95% were very happy to not lose out on their package. 5% wanted a refund that they WERE NOT entitled to. So, they went to the State to attempt to get a refund, and were told that indeed, they weren't entitled to one. Those are an example of a resolved compaint. Again, 100% resolved, 262 in complaints in 8 years where 28, 000 people have packages. The math is less than 1%. Now, IF you purchased a package from us you can email me at ross@backtofun.com and I will do my best to help.
In answer to Sorry I Signed, we do a promotion with Discover for a free night. I get paid the same with them as with others, it is a deal with Discover, as they like our business. Did you pay with Discover? Did we not give you the free night? Again, if you have a problem with your package, email me at ross@backtofun.com... Otherwise, "Conspiracy Theorists of the World...UNITE!
I would like to know why you get an extra day if you use Discover card?
What is the difference of Discover, Visa, or Mastercard? Maybe Ross and crew get to keep their money more often with Discover?
If this company is legit, why can they give me time to think about it and do some research before I make the purchase instead kept ask me for my credit card number. Good thing I didn't.
I've tried very many times to call the Back to the Caribbean telephone number and Back to Fun numbers and both just keep ringing. When you leave a message, no one ever calls back. I've dealt with the BBB and the Division of Consumer Affairs and the latter has stated that the company is selling these packages unlawfully as they should not have expiration dates. They also should not require extensions as they are vacation certificates and can be used at any time. How can you possibly use it if no one responds though?
I've spoken to Ross Fischer's wife and she has been incredibly rude on the telephone and her customer representatives are not helpful in the least bit. I am still waiting for a refund which seems to never come.
I think my next step is to get a lawyer and make a case.
I tried to book our vacation in October 09 (purchased in March 09) only to be told we could not go to Puerto Rico. When we purchased we speciffically to the sales guy we did not want to go to Mexico. We told him we only wanted to go to PR. Funny thing is he NEVER told us there was a possibility that the destinations could change. Just got on the website this morning to book Aruba...guess what...the resort is CLOSED! That leaves Mexico and the Dominican Republic... we have been to both and want something different.
BUYER BEWARE...RUDE...AND YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR...$500 FOR A WEEK IN THE CARIBBEAN AND A WEEK IN FOLRIDA...TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? YES...
So much for my 25th anniversary trip...
I posted a complaint about Back to the Caribbean a year or two ago on this board and elsewhere. Holli from Back to the Caribbean contacted me earlier this year, confirmed that our complaints were valid and attempted to provide a resolution.
We haven't booked anything yet so I can't say for 100% sure, but Holli responded professionally and once she confirmed that our complaints were valid, offered reasonable and appropriate options for us. I don't agree, therefore, with comments on this board that Back to the Caribbean is a scam.
I will post again once we have booked a trip and able to confirm (hopefully) that Back to the Caribbean delivered on their commitments.
Vacation trap
I purchased a vacation package from Back To The Caribbean and at the time of purchase or on the contract there is no mention of cancellation. With the current economy, I called to get a refund only to find out that I am not able to cancel. I was never told that I would not be able to cancel nor is it written on any of the documents that I have received from them. Furthermore, my lawyer wrote to them and completely ignore the letter. Now I find myself having to sue them.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I used this company three years ago. Was able to book Brandon MO but didn't want the rest of the package. We paid for it and told them to keep it. Three years later I get a charge on my card. What is going on. I have called and the machine puts you on hold for 6 minutes the tells you to leave a message. So they KEEP your credit card numbers and charge you years later... Not good..
Anything positive on this website must be a plant as these people are reprehensible!
Important FYI...BBB Warns of Deceptive Travel-Related Promotions (This article has been updated as of February, 2011.)
Better Business Bureaus across the United States and Canada are warning consumers about an increase in deceptive travel-related offers.
Consumers are contacting the BBB to inquire about travel companies that promise "too-good-to-be-true" travel deals. These offers arrive unexpectedly in consumers' mailboxes, or over the telephone, office fax machine or Internet.
Typically, the consumer is told that they have won a "free" trip and must call a number to claim their prize. Or they receive a fax at their place of business promoting an unbelievable vacation deal that looks as if it came through inter-office channels. Others were contacted by someone offering a travel club membership, allegedly worth thousand of dollars.
According to BBB experiences, some bogus promoters have been known to take consumers' money, without providing the travel or trip that was promised. Other promoters advertise rock-bottom prices, but hide certain fees until the deal is sealed. Some promise luxurious accommodations and services, but deliver far less. Still others don't reveal that the deal includes an obligation to sit through a timeshare pitch at the destination. Finally, some promoters guarantee consumers that they can get a full refund if they decide to cancel the trip, but fail to make good on their promise.
Consumers are encouraged to obtain the names, addresses and telephone numbers for the lodgings, airlines and cruise ships advertised in a vacation promotion.
Fraudulent travel deals can be hard to distinguish from legitimate ones. Their intent is to lure people into buying vacations that they otherwise would not consider.
The BBB recommends that consumers get the details of the promotion in writing, including the refund and cancellation policy, before they send a check or provide credit card number information. If asked to provide a credit card or bank account number for verification or identification, the BBB says to reconsider. This information can be used to make fraudulent charges or debits to the consumer's accounts.
If you are tempted to respond to online travel solicitations, the BBB recommends that you not judge the agency solely by the appearance of its website. Online travel scams are increasing in part because it is easy to disguise your identity in cyberspace.
This article has been updated as of February, 2011.
After five years, I received a telephone call tonight from Barbara from BTTC. As many have already written, our troubles began in 2008 after receiving a phone call from a representative from BTTC advising us (husband and myself) that we had "won" a 7 day, 6 night stay in Mexico, plus 4 days, 3 nights in Florida or Las Vegas. Yes, Mr. Fischer, we were told we had "won" the above trips. After going over the details with the representative (and trust me, I can and will provide more details because I do have notes & emails to prove everything I am writing), we were advised we needed to pay $500 for administrative and tax fees. That should have been the red flag for us but it wasn't. We paid $500 and our certificate for the vacation package was mailed to us. Nothing in the certificate indicated vacations were based on "availability." The only caveat I remember was having to provide 60 days notices prior to the travel date requested.
We contacted BTTC in late 2008 or early 2009 in an attempt to book the vacation to Mexico. Several telephone calls were made and messages were left, but NO ONE returned our calls. Finally, we emailed BTTC and several days later, a representative by the name of Johnnye exchanged emails with us. Again, I have saved all emails and can prove everything I am writing. Johnnye was not quick in checking our requests and in fact, was quite rude to me. My husband contacted Johnnye to satisfy any misunderstanding and rudeness. This didn't last very long as every attempt we made with Johnnye to book the Mexico vacation resulted in non-availability for the dates we wished to travel. Again, our requests were ALWAYS presented more than 60 days in advance of the time we wished to travel and we were always informed there was no availability.
After much dissatisfaction with Johnnye and her rudeness, we contacted our credit card company to report that we were not receiving what had been promised in the travel certificate. Our credit card company is American Express and we provided all documentation to them, emails, certificates, etc. AE contacted BTTC and apparently BTTC assured AE they would make good on the certificate and extend our certificate timeline for an additional year at no cost.
Five hundred dollars is a lot of money to lose and that is exactly what has occurred. The terms of the package we were promised were changed with no notice to us. The resorts we were advised were our winnings were never available. Puerto Rico was offered as an alternative, which we turned down.
I find it rather ironic that five years later this company is calling us again in attempt to get us to revisit what they have to offer. The only way I will entertain anything this company has to offer is if they refund my $500. At this point, I am not interested, nor do I trust anything that BTTC has to offer.
Mr. Fischer - if you want to make this person happy, give me back my $500, otherwise, I will relay my dissatisfaction with BTTC on any and all complaint boards. I don't care that you think this is a threat, it's not a threat, it is a promise. Further, don't call me a liar, I can prove every point mentioned above.
In 2010 I bought a package for $518 with a destination of Cancun, Mex which included 6 days in this location plus two other 2-night locations in the USA. (I learned later that each one required a 90-minute presentation.) To date we have not made it out of the USA. Understandably Back to Fun canceled Cancun because of the drug problems, and offered to replace. In the past 2 years an acceptable replacement has NOT been forth coming (and I keep asking). We paid $518 for a fully paid vacation in Cancun, but so far the proposed substitutes offered elsewhere in Mex have a $65 per day per person surcharge (For 2 people that is $130 per day). To encourage us not to file a complaint, our time limit was extended indefinitely. The situation remains unresolved. If Back to Fun comes up with something within the next 6 months, I will see about reporting a positive ending to this story. Otherwise, I will need to report to both the State and the BBB.
David
is it any good?
who is jane summer?
is it a fake name perchance?
We also have booked our 2012 vacation - with a reputable cruise line. We have had no issues with any of the arrangements. Between our travel agent and the online services all has gone well.
Even last years vacation went very well. This was after the runaround and BS from BTTC . Reputable companies care about their customers.
We can hope the authorities will end this scam. In the end BTTC will get what they deserve. I believe stealing is against the 7th commandent but apparently it only applies to honest people.
Cantputmyfingeronit - good luck!
Just by way of an update, I have submitted complaints with the Florida Attorney General's Office, Better Business Bureau and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (the agency that licenses BTTC to sell travel). I just received a final notification from BBB yesterday as follows: "You have indicated that you are NOT satisfied with the business' response in the matter.
However, in the judgment of BBB, the company's response is reasonable. Although, we realize that you may still feel the matter is not resolved, we have closed the case. Your complaint will remain on file for 3 years and be reported to the public as disputed by the consumer." For the record, BTTC's offer was to extend my contract or give me more stays or something like that.. It didn't really address the fact that I wouldn't trust them to book my next oil change, let alone a vacation stay in a foreign country.
I have a feeling that what BBB really WANTED to say was: "You're the dope who gave out his credit card number over the phone to some clown who told you that you that you had to make an immediate decision while he was recording the call. Didn't that strike you as odd behaviour for a supposedly legitimate company? You deserve what you got, dummy!" If they had said that, I am sorry to say that they would have been absolutely correct.
Clearly, given the way BTTC conducts business, they know all the tricks to avoid giving refunds and it's doubtful that they care about their rating with the BBB or they would have changed something by now. Besides, by the time people figure things out, it's usually too late (as it was for me). My hope is that most people will Google them when they're on the phone getting the sales pitch and find this site. I also want to be sure that, if indeed they have a pattern of poor behaviour with regard to dealing with customer complaints, that it is documented in as many places as possible - I have long sinced kissed that money goodbye and have already planned and partially booked my next two vacations in 2012.
One step I have not yet taken is to contact my cruise line (and probably others as well) to suggest that they warn their guests about filling out contest forms during shore excursions. I will probably get to that in the next week or so. Coming back to this site after getting a notification of your post reminded me to do that :)
"Can'tputmyfingeronit" is absolutey correct in what he says about BTTC. We had / have the same issues with this company. His complaint is a carbon copy of ours in just about every detail and circumstance. We contacted all the appropriate agencies to obtain a refund but so far nothing has transpired. It has been a year since we contacted the PA Attorney General 's office. The PA AG office forwarded complaint to FL AG office and so far we have heard nothing.
To top it all off we received a call on 02/17/2012 from a representative of BTTC asking why we have not booked / used our "vacation package". We had the rep on speaker so we both could hear what he was saying. After asking his question, we proceeded to inform him of our problems with his company. We found it to be humorous and really sad that he had no knowledge of our problems with BTTC. Seems like the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. This seems typical of companies like this, aka "scam artists".
Learned Lesson
Go eat at "Golden Corral" and shut the f*** up. You sound like a fat loser. If you can't afford to take your family out for dinner, then DON'T. $21 for two people is an amazing price unless the food that you are eating is garbage. Judging by your standards **cough cough** the food that you eat is mostly garbage. I feel sorry for your 2 year old son. He's probably obese like you and needs far more that $1.99 worth of food to satisfy his cravings. Try cooking a healthy meal at home for your family.
Giving a Voice to Consumers
At ComplaintsBoard, we know how real consumer issues matter. Our platform is a special place for honest opinions, where people share their reviews openly and honestly, whether good or bad.
Our team checks each complaint or review thoroughly to confirm that each one comes from a real customer experience, keeping our platform trustworthy.
We're totally cool with complaints, as long as you've got some evidence to back it up. Whether it's a photo, a detailed story, or documents, providing evidence makes your complaint more believable and helps others make smart choices.
ComplaintsBoard is more than just a place to share complaints; it's a community where we talk things out fairly. We welcome reviews that not only point out problems but also mention any positive experiences, giving a balanced view.
We're dedicated to providing a fair and unbiased platform for all complaints. Every complaint is important to us, no matter what it's about, ensuring your concerns are heard and respected.