Encenta Promotions vacation getaway certificate ripoff Orem, Utah
I tried to use a vacation getaway certificate that this company has promoted with various charities and businesses for 2 free hotel nights at a Marriott property. To redeem the nights, an application has to be sent in to Encenta with 3 dates with each > 15 days apart, > 30 days in advance of the first date and no reservations given
I did this early August for 3 dates in Sept. and Oct. and recieved a letter back 9/02/04 stating that none of those dates were available and since my certificate expired the end of October I wouldn't be able to comply with the previously mentioned time requirements to re-submit for 3 new dates!
What a rip-off. There is no phone number, FAX, or email information to call the company, just a PO Box. The company that teamed up with Encenta to give out this certificate has been excellent in handling my complaint but have not been able to get Encenta Promotions to resolve the hotel certificate redeemtion. My advice is to stay away from any travel promotions sponsored by the Encenta Promotions company.
Sid
Loma Linda, California
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Michael Gelber
Orem,Utah,
U.S.A.
Response for Vice President Sales & Business Development
#2UPDATE Employee
Mon, October 18, 2004
To whom it may concern:
I am going to provide a brief response because of my concern with the feedback of less than 1% of those we work with.
First and foremost, we are human, and if in any situation there appears to be an upset consumer where we as a company, or one of our staff have made a mistake in taking care of legitimate concerns brought to our attention, then we have always been proactive in taking care of the situation, not only to satisfy the consumer, but the client who's consumer had received the certificate from.
Please keep in mind, that we are not a travel agency. We are a promotions company that is in the business of adminstrating the relationship between the properties, our clients and thier clients. This is a promotional certificate, not unlike many with airlines, that require certain criteria to be followed to take advantage of the offer. In order for us to provide this program at the price point we do, there are certain terms that are in place for it to fit, and if any of those terms are excused, then it changes the integrity of the program that was underwritten. We cannot ethically make arbitrary decisions, otherwise this would change the integrity of the model that is created.
For those that wish to wait to the last minute with a 12 month certificate, or for those that feel we should make exceptions for them, I am sorrry, but we can't. For the hundreds of individuals that have chosen to support the terms and conditions, we thank you, and trust that you have enjoyed your 2 night Getaway.
We literally travel hundreds of consumers weekly, and as is always the case, publicly you normally will only hear from those that are upset, rather than one of the thousands who's letter we have received thanking us for the trip.
It is important to understand that this is a mail in promotion, just like a rebate, which is a mail in, not call in. However, in our case, when we receive a correctly filled out request, more than 80% of the time, we then assign a staff member to handle all the reservations from that point forward, live. The $50 deposit required is simply to assure that a guest is going to show up to the property for their FREE getaway, and that they have the courtesy to cancel by 6pm if they cant.
If need be, I could provide 100 satisfied consumers to every 2 that might be dissatisfied.
Vice President Sales & Business Develpment