Special T Travel Aka Travel Shopping Spree T ripoff Blatent robbery - take your money & refuse to refund as advertised in cancellation policy Casselberry Florida
On May 17th 2005 I bought a vacation package from Special T Travel for U.S $898.00(having been told I had won a "special deal" on the internet. I decided to cancel this package as the cost of airfares fron N.z to Florida proved to out of my range. I followed the company's "Cancellation Policy" and advised them in writing of my intention to cancel and returned the vacation package within 30 days.
On June 7th I spoke to a customer service rep who told me that my cancellation was in order and that my credit card would be refunded within 30 days. When this didn't happen I rang again and was told that because I cancelled in June the refund would appear on the July statement. Still no refund in July so I emailed customer service and received an email from the Compliance Department.
Angie (from the compliance department) assured me that my vacation package was returned to special T Travel in the appropriate Time frame and qualified for a refund. She said that this refund was never processed and that I should contact my credit card company and dispute the credit. When I asked for details about the date that they initiated the credit and transaction reference numbers to give to the Credit Card Company I didn't receive any reply.
I sent another email pointing out that the company is in breach of their advertised cancellation policy and the State of Florida's Seller of Travel Act. I have also written to their Principal Contact Jerry Feild. But nearly 3 months after my purchase - still no refund.
Sally
Thames 2801
New Zealand
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Sally
Thames 2801,Other,
New Zealand
Refunded at last
#2Author of original report
Fri, September 02, 2005
After filing a complaint on this site and to the Florida local authorities I got several more emails from Special T Travel advising me that they were unable to refund at their end (no reason given) and that I should dispute the credit with my credit card company on the grounds that I had paid for merchandise and not received it. They even gave me a letter saying that I had returned the merchandise and was entitled to a refund. My credit card company allowed me to dispute the credit and the credit was reversed on 31/8/05 which is about 3 & 1/2 months after my original purchase. I have had to pay 2 months interest on the money but at least I have got the money back - phew! If you are in a similar situation as I was with this company my advice is to complain to as many places as you can and try and dispute the credit - you can do it after 30 days if you have the right grounds for dispute apparently. I think the scam is to keep the money, and only refund if the pressure is put on. It is interesting that in 2 emails the company told me that they were unable to process a refund from their end - I think that really shows that they have a policy of not refunding even though they say they do.