wife won a free trip **UPDATED**

M

miguelito

250+ Posts
UPDATED below, post 9 or so.


OK, Hornfans. Here's the deal.

Last night my wife gets a call saying that she won a free trip to Bahama. She went to a recent bridal expo with a friend and put her name in this 'contest.'

The details are something like 4 days in Orlando, 2-day Bahama cruise, 1-2 days in Ft. Lauderdale. Hotel, car, cruise, passes to Universal Studios included. We pay for flight there. When we get there we have to sit through a time-share presentation. Sounds not-too-bad so far.

But then they say that we need to send them $300 each Right Now to confirm, or reserve our spots. That's where my wife says she'll talk with her husband (bless her), and we were about to meet someone, so can the lady call back tomorrow.

So in my mind, the 'contest' is a timeshare setup, which on the surface isn't that bad. But the deal with the $600 up front doesn't sit well with me. I mean, if it all goes like they say, I don't think we could do all that (Orlando, cruise, etc) for any less money than that. On the other hand, for a 'free' trip, we'd end up paying for a trip that we weren't planning on taking in the first place.

I'm the kind of guy who likes to plan stuff myself (and with my wife, I guess), so the idea of going on a trip like that where everything is pre-arranged doesn't sound that great to me. I think I'd like to spend more than 2 days in the Bahamas.

I told my wife that when the lady calls back today, ask her to send us some info so that we know what we're getting into. I'm not sending $600 to a stranger based on a phone call. If they demand the money first, decline and hang up.

Have y'all heard of this, or been through this before?
 
Ha. I don't know.

My wife was totally buying into it, though. I never did get a good reason what the $600 was for.
 
Sounds like a scam. Why in the world would you have to pay $600 for a free trip? Best case it is a deal where they make you listen to hours of sales patches for condos.
 
I wouldn't just walk. I'd run away from that. When you factor in the airfare, you could take a similar trip for what this is going to cost. Not the same, just similar. Even if you're flying from Seattle.
 
You know what? Take that $600, drive up to Port Angeles, catch the ferry to Victoria, drive a few miles away from the city and find a decent bed and breakfast for a long weekend of unwinding. That would be a better use of the money.
 
That should have read:

....4 days in Orlando (at something less than a La Quinta out by the interstate), 2-day Bahama cruise (on a crappy, small ship with horrible food), 1-2 days in Ft. Lauderdale (see Orlando lodging).

Better off spending the money and picking your own accommodations.
 
UPDATE, Thursday.

The wife turned it down. When the lady called her back, she (lady) admitted that it wasn't a contest, it's a promotion for the timeshare deal. My wife said she wasn't going to send a stranger $600, and the lady said that was reasonable.

But on another note, my wife got another call from a travel agency who wants to give her a 2night trip to Vegas for listening to their presentation. At least this one is a local company, so we'd just have to sit through a 30minute deal (so they say), and airfare and hotel are included. I don't know which hotel.

So with this new contest/promotion, worst case is we lose half an hour and get a gift certificate to the Bon (also part of the deal).
Best case is we get to go to Vegas for a weekend.

I like the B&B idea. We're already planning something like that here in Feb.
 
those sales pitches are horrible and for some, they end up buying even though they went with absolutely zero intention of signing up. I'd stay away no matter how strong you think you are.
 
Well, I'll let you guys try to convince my wife she hasn't 'won' anything. When I was single I'd get that free Vegas trip phone call once a month. And my wife did give them her phone # at the wedding expo.
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However, she said we both have to be present at this new one in order to get the trip, so I might just have to be at the office working this weekend. I am pretty busy, after all.
 
Almost no one goes to these things intending to buy anything. But if people did not buy, these things would not exist.
 
Would you buy pills off of a TV ad that promised weight loss without changing your diet and exercise habits? I mean, if it was that easy, wouldn't said pills be raking in billions of dollars? There's always a catch. (I.E. Take them at 6:00 and don't eat anything after...I don't need pills to do what this will do)

That's the same as these scams. Sure, you get 3-4 free nights in a hotel and free airfare. But, what they don't tell you is that said accomodations are rundown, you have to pay taxes (including luxary taxes as it is considered a gift), ground transportation costs and you MUST pay for everything up front. If you want the vouchers for reimbursement, you have to sit through their sales pitch which lasts an entire day.

Day 1- Only get crappy late afternoon flights that no one wants to take and don't get to sit together.

Day 2- Spend entire day at the sales pitch. Get the evening on your own.

Day 3- Finally get a day of vacation

Day 4- Put on the earliest flight possible again seperated from your special someone.

Not to mention that you have to wait 6-8 weeks for the hotel to reimburse you for the nights you had to pay for up front. Realistically, it will cost you almost as much to get a package deal from a vacation provider. (And you can certainly have a much more enjoyable time on your own) These people prey on those that are trying to save a quick buck.
 
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