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Aug. 21st, 2008
Ramada Plaza Resorts Scam
Aug. 21st, 2008 08:03 pmI got a call a few weeks ago from Ramada Plaza Resorts saying I was eligible for a vacation draw if I answered a survey. Being kind of bored at the time I figured "what the hell". Sure enough, next day I got a call saying I won. Yippee, a free vacation.
Except of course, it wasn't free.
I figured, Ok, scam. They haven't gotten any information that wasn't easily found on the web anyway, so no harm done. A few minutes of my time was wasted but nothing else. I ignored the email.
Flash forward to today. I get a call from them again. Their story was changed to it being a promotional vacation that they give people in certain demographics. They told me it gave them tax write-offs and that it became cost-effective because they were counting on me becoming a repeat customer.
I confided that I'm not a trustworthy person and they countered with lots and lots of security features to ensure that I wouldn't be ripped off.
blah blah blah. Everything I was told fell into three categories:
It was around the time they mentioned their website (http://www.vacationmoments.com/) that I came to my senses. I googled vacationmoments +scam and got many many hits. Same with their phone number 800-203-9783. Clearly this was a bunch that did not have a lot of satisfied customers.
At that point I terminated the call. At no time did they receive my credit card info.
I called up Ramada hotels (the real Ramada hotels).
So yeah, sounds like a big damn scam. What the exact nature of the scam is - not getting anything for your money, or getting something a lot less then you think for your money - I don't know. Be warned though.
Too good to be true can go two ways: Not actually that good or not actually true.
Crossposted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
calgarians.
Except of course, it wasn't free.
I figured, Ok, scam. They haven't gotten any information that wasn't easily found on the web anyway, so no harm done. A few minutes of my time was wasted but nothing else. I ignored the email.
Flash forward to today. I get a call from them again. Their story was changed to it being a promotional vacation that they give people in certain demographics. They told me it gave them tax write-offs and that it became cost-effective because they were counting on me becoming a repeat customer.
I confided that I'm not a trustworthy person and they countered with lots and lots of security features to ensure that I wouldn't be ripped off.
blah blah blah. Everything I was told fell into three categories:
- This insanely low-priced vacation isn't really that insane.
- This is not a scam.
- So, can we book your vacation?
It was around the time they mentioned their website (http://www.vacationmoments.com/) that I came to my senses. I googled vacationmoments +scam and got many many hits. Same with their phone number 800-203-9783. Clearly this was a bunch that did not have a lot of satisfied customers.
At that point I terminated the call. At no time did they receive my credit card info.
I called up Ramada hotels (the real Ramada hotels).
"Ramada customer service, how may I help you?"Exactly the terse brush off I'd expect from a corporation that wants nothing to do with some crackpots, but also doesn't want to get sued for calling them crackpots. Interestingly, they also knew who I was talking about without me spelling it out for them. Ramada Worldwide is clearly well aware of vacationmoments and wishes they'd just go away.
"Yeah, I got a call from someone using your name that I think is a scam."
"Ramada Plaza Resorts is not affiliated with Ramada Worldwide", Said the operator who was now decidedly chilly, "You can reach them at 800-203-9783."
So yeah, sounds like a big damn scam. What the exact nature of the scam is - not getting anything for your money, or getting something a lot less then you think for your money - I don't know. Be warned though.
Too good to be true can go two ways: Not actually that good or not actually true.
Crossposted to
calgarians.