Spring is approaching and many families are making vacation plans for their upcoming spring break. Your Better Business Bureau warns vacationers to be cautious in planning their trip.
Each year, hundreds of vacationers get scammed by fraudulent spring break offers that promise, but fail to deliver that much needed “fun in the sun.” Travel fraud is an on-going problem and families are an attractive target during this time of the year.
Not all fraudulent offers involve losing money; however, some are misleading. The accommodations may not be what you expected, or what you thought you paid for. Travel packages may not include confirmed hotel space or flights. And, even if accommodations and flights are confirmed, the actual cost of the package is sometimes misrepresented when businesses fail to inform customers about additional fees.
The BBB suggests that vacationers be cautious of these “red flags” when considering travel offers:
- Heavily discounted offers - If the offer is significantly lower than the regular price of travel and sounds “too good to be true,” it probably is. Be sure to shop around to evaluate prices from several businesses.
- Policy changes - A business that will not accept credit card payments is preventing your best avenue of recourse should the business not fulfill its obligations; forcing you to pay by cash or check instead virtually eliminates your chances of canceling the transaction or obtaining a refund.
- "One call, one chance" - On the initial phone call, some high-pressure sales businesses will put a deadline on their offer to try and get you to commit on the spot, saying that the offer will expire if you do not buy right away.
- Hidden costs. Does a "bargain" travel package include all costs associated with the trip, i.e., ground transportation, lodging, meals, port fees, taxes, peak season price increases and gratuities? Are you being asked to travel to a distant location before the company pays for "free" travel?
- False bookings. Before traveling, confirm all arrangements yourself with the airline, cruise line and/or hotel. Even though you have paid for the trip in full, it’s possible that your actual reservations don’t exist.
For additional information and advice you can trust and to get free Reliability Reports™ on thousands of travel-related businesses, start with bbb.org.
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