Omni Florida Holidays
Complaint 300659 Details

My parents recieved a phone call, to their house phone, at approximately 8:30am AEST. It was a female, who stated their name was "Melissa Meruhee" from OMNI BORDER TRAVEL. She informed my father, who had picked up the call, that they had won a holiday. My father passed the phone to my mother, "Melissa" told my mum it was from a survey she had filled out. She had my parents names and address and confirmed these with them. She excitedly told my mother to put the phone on speaker, so everyone could hear this amazing holiday they'd won.
She then told the details of the holiday: 6 days/7night at the Radisson in Orlando. 3 days in Fort Lauderdale. Cruise in the Bahamas. 3 days in Vegas.
My mum was suspicious, the call was crystal clear and did not sound like an overseas call.
"Melissa" informed us she would transfer the call to the travel consultant. This guy stated his name was "Charlie". He was also overly excited about this trip my parents had "won". Asking "do you know who you'll take? What about your kids, what are their names?". My mum, still suspicious, asked if it was a scam. "Charlie" laughs this off, stating, "do you think we would spend $1.85 per minute on an overseas call if this was a scam?".
Further details were discussed, he provided a phone number (001117279409452) and website (www.omnifloridatravel.com) and said a confirmation email would be sent through after their conversation. "Charlie" informs my parents there is a $299 per person cost, for taxes. He asks my mum which credit card she would use a MasterCard or visa. My mum told him which. He asked for the expiry date, my mum was hesitant and began to say no she won't do that. She'll wait for the confirmation email and call back. "Charlie" said no, it was a one time offer. My mum refused again and "Charlie" hung up.
My parents are lucky they refused because after hanging up I, their daughter (who had heard most of it), proceeded to get on the Internet and research it-- discovering it was a scam and others had fallen victim to it.
These people were very convincing, and sneakily calling early on, waking my parents up, overwhelming them when they were still hazy. People shouldn't get away with this.