Paradise Resorts and Accommodations / Florida Travel Enterprises
Complaint 286223 Details

I received a phone call from a woman who said her name was Sara Koch and said she was the Promotional Director of a company called Paradise Resorts and Accommodations. She gave me a phone number 727-526-9195. She said they pulled my name from a ballot I had submitted at an annual event at the convention centre and that I had won a "highly discounted vacation package" consisting of 4 days and 3 nights in Orlando, Florida; 3 days and 2 nights in Daytona; 3 days and 2 nights in Fort Lauderdale; and 4 days and 3 nights in the Bahamas. All for just $198 to cover myself and my husband, plus 2 free additional guests. She also said we would get 2 free cruises to get us down to the Bahamas. She provided a second customer service number 1-888-871-6461 and a reference number for the 'Division of Consumer Services' which she said was connected to the Attorney General of Florida. She gave me the company's license number: ST35801.

Ms. Koch said that the discount coupons they would send would be personalised so they needed my credit card. I asked if I would be able to read the documentation prior to giving my card and she said (very convincingly) that I had to give my credit card information and everything would be sent right away. She pressured me into committing immediately and said this was my official "call" - whatever that means. After I got off the phone, I felt suspicious so I called my credit card company to find out that she had charged my card as soon as she got the number. I cancelled my card, but the payment will go through and all I can do now is dispute it once it shows up fully. I tried calling the customer service numbers but could not get through or even leave a message. I emailed the company at [email protected], which was the address provided to me, but it bounced back saying the address was non-existent. Unfortunately I was not at a computer when I received the call or I might not have gotten scammed. When I was able to access the internet afterwards, I discovered plenty of complaints about this company on the Better Business Bureau website and their company website is one of the worst travel sites I have ever seen. I was able to find their address and I wrote a cancellation letter which I will send first thing tomorrow, but I have little hope of this company actually following through.

The address I found for cancellation is:

Floyd Townsend Assoc. Inc. DBA
Paradise Resorts and Accommodations
5501 28th Street North, Suite 34
Saint Petersburg, Florida
33714 USA

It was in their Terms and Conditions, which were sent to me after the fact, and which included many more terms and conditions than were provided to me on the phone, even though I asked for clarification on a number of topics - included the extension of the 12 month time limit to take the trip. Ms. Koch said it was free, and in the terms it stipulates an additional charge. It also lists a number of things that are not included in the offer promised over the phone, such as payment of a tourist tax on arrival. I asked if there were additional fees and I was told there were none except the flights to get to the resort. She said we could travel anytime, regardless of peak periods, and we would not be charged any additional fees. The terms and conditions state that additional charges will be incurred per night during any special events. Overall, the call was severely misleading and misrepresenting of the entire "package" and as I've learned, illegal for the company to solicit people like that and to get them to pay for products and prizes over the phone without producing reasonable proof or paperwork first.