Austin, Texas; October 28, 2008 – Tom and Christi Jones say Sea Land Travel enticed them to attend a seminar at their Austin office last June with the promise of two “free” round-trip airline tickets plus $300 worth of “free” gas. At the sales presentation, the Jones’ say they were asked to join the Bon Voyage Travel Club, which would make available to them thousands of exclusive hotels and condos around the world at steeply discounted rates. Sea Land Travel books trips for the Bon Voyage Travel Club.
The Jones’ dreamed of taking trips to Australia, New Zealand and Alaska, so they paid nearly $5600 to join the travel club, but it was weeks before they were able to access Sea Land Travel’s website. When they finally did, they were dismayed to find that no condo units were advertised in any of the places they wanted to visit. What’s worse, they discovered the units that were shown on the website were available for the same rates to the public without paying the $5,593 membership fee.
Then the Jones’ found out the “free” airline tickets they had received for attending the sales presentation were anything but free. To use them, they would have to pay $130 in processing fees, plus additional fees and taxes. And any travel dates they wanted to choose were not guaranteed, but were conditionally granted within a 90-day period. Getting their “free” gas wasn’t going to be any easier either. The Jones’ say it involved substantial and cumbersome paperwork and an expensive application process that just wasn’t worth it.
When Richard and Susan Dooley attended a Sea Land Travel sales seminar here in Austin last July, they say they too were promised significant savings on condos, hotels and vacation packages, with no travel or blackout restrictions. The Dooleys paid more than $5,000 to join the Bon Voyage Travel Club, but like the Jones’, it was weeks before they were able to access Sea Land Travel’s website. When they finally did, they discovered that many of the vacation sites listed were not places they wanted to visit and again, there was no price difference between what Bon Voyage Travel Club members paid and what could be purchased by folks who were not members.
Disappointed, both the Dooleys and the Jones’ tried to cancel, but say Sea Land Travel told them it was too late. Their contract’s cancellation policy states “ purchasers may cancel the contract for any reason within 3 business days (including Saturdays) from the date of the execution of the contract by sending a written notification of decision to cancel by certified mail… with a postmark of the third business day (which includes Saturday) from the date of the contract.” Both couples contend the company deliberately kept them from being able to access the website, so they would miss the 3-day rescission period.
Mickey Moore did cancel in time and was able to get back most of his membership fee, but the company withheld $698 to cover “a 15% restocking fee and a $399 processing fee.” The same thing happened to Lester Witcher. The company refunded most of his $2500 membership fee, but withheld $675.80.
BBB has processed 7 complaints about Sea Land Travel as of November 6, 2008. Five other complaints are pending. BBB has requested basic business information from the company, but has not received a response. Some consumers say the company claims to be a member of BBB during their sales presentations. Neither Sea Land Travel nor Bon Voyage Travel Club are or have ever been BBB Accredited Businesses in BBB serving Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas.
Based on an investigation by BBB, it appears Sea Land Travel and the Bon Voyage Travel Club are affiliated with Castaways Vacation Club, which is also known as Beachcomber’s Vacations. A report for Castaways Vacation Club can be found at http://reports.hurdmanivr.com/print/0825/63029?isbureau=Y&gid=0&gen=0&lid=1. BBB has processed 22 complaints about Castaways Vacation Club. According to the company, they fulfill the travel end of vacation packages purchased by consumers from other travel clubs. They claim they do not receive money from the sales of memberships to those other travel clubs and are not able to address refund issues.
Travel Clubs are a “suspect industry” with BBB due to a high level of misrepresentation and dissatisfied customers, but there are a number of reputable travel clubs operating in the U.S. Before signing up with a travel club, vacationers should do their research and check the company’s Reliability Report with BBB first at www.bbb.org to make sure that it is trustworthy.