IRC Vacations
Complaint 219904 Details

IRC Vacations- BIG SCAM- Stay away from them
In October 2011, I and my husband received a call from them with a tempting offer to sunny Cancun. We purchased the offer, which was available to book until April 2013. We decided to go this year, and at the beginning of January we called to see what their availability was in order to schedule our vacation days at work. We were told the dates available started April 1, and not at Hacienda Tres Rios Mayan Riviera – the resort initially offered – but at Grand Bahia Principe Coba. We agreed to sign the papers for the hotel change, and paid the $59 USD booking fee (a previously unmentioned and unexpected extra fee). They assured us that they had availability at Grand Bahia Principe Coba from April 1-7, and that we could proceed to purchase our flights. We bought the plane tickets on January 5, 2013. Over the course of the following two months, we exchanged emails back and forth with the reservation representative, and she assured us that everything was alright. Throughout this booking process, the verification department sent us numerous interrogation papers asking for copies of ID to make sure we resided at the same address; a copy of our marriage certificate; papers inquiring about our income, previous vacation locations, credit card information, and agreements to attend their 120-minute time share presentation. This was not only extremely frustrating and a waste of our time, it was harassment and a violation of our privacy, since it was completely irrelevant to booking our stay. The reservation rep said the verification resort requires these signed documents to prove we meet the criteria to participate in this offer. On March 5, exactly two months later, someone from the verification department (a very rude individual named Mayra) called us to say there was no availability from April 1-7 at Grand Bahia Principe Coba, the hotel we booked two months earlier, or any other resort in the area. I was shocked by her bad attitude and complete lack of desire to resolve the issue. I told her we had booked time off from work, bought non-refundable plane tickets, and could not make changes to the dates. As she was unwilling to help, I asked to speak with her supervisor, someone named Silvia Flores, supposedly the head of verification department. (Sylvia had emailed to thank us when we originally bought the package in 2011, obviously hoping we would purchase time shares.) Now, however, she was nowhere to be found. It was then I realized just what a mess we were in, having been led to believe for this long we were actually dealing with a real travel agency. When we realized we had been scammed, I was beyond disappointed. This kind of dishonesty and greed, the unashamed willingness to exploit and hurt other people, are beyond comprehension. Luckily we were able to purchase new tickets with a trusted travel agency, using the same flights, on the same days scheduled. It turns out there was indeed space at the Grand Bahia Principe Coba, and it was actually cheaper than the scam offer, including the 1.5-hour transport from the airport. We are still attempting to recuperate the $1,360 we lost to IRC, although it’s unlikely. We just wanted to warn others and hopefully prevent this disaster from happening to anyone else.