Complaint Review: Imperial Majesty Cruise Lines - Fort Lauderdale Florida

Ok, to those who have gone through this, you know where i'm coming from. I'm an 18 year old student who is fresh in college and just got a credit card from my bank (and I had made no purchases with it yet). I get something in the mail on September 27th at home with a $1600 vacation voucher and saying that I had a responsible financial history, so I called and wanted more info. I didnt get the voucher, but a vacation package for $758 dollars (what happened to the $1600). They presented it to me on a silver platter and at first I was blown away at the price and what I was getting all those vacations for. I was also half sleep just waking up when I got my mail. I got sucked in and gave them my credit card info and all. Later on I felt guilty that I did it because my mom still doesn't know that I did it. A few days later I called back asking about a refund and one of the sales reps was telling me I cant get a refund and the packages were prepaid and all. I was thinking why cant I not get a total refund because the package exceeded the credit line on my credit card so I technically didnt pay for the whole vacation. He kept saying its in the packet information, did you get it yet? So once I got my information, there was nothing about a No-Refund Policy. I called back and another person said that all they could do is lower my deposit. I said ok. I still wanted my refund so I called again on Monday (10/13/08) and another lady said the same thing that I could not get a refund. I just hung up in her face. I then sat back and used my Noggin. I looked up other claims on ripoffreport.com and how other people went about getting their refunds, so devised my own plan. I called back an hour or so later and a guy handled my claim. I was persistent in demanding a refund and he kept asking me questions, why? why? why?........ They also follow scripts while on the phone so I didnt want to fall into the trap like all the other times I called. So I told that guy that I had other friends who had been contacted by the same company and was unsatisfied. I told him that the companies status with the BBB was unsatisfacotry, and I was unhappy. He kept with his script. I then told him about a law in Florida that says a consumer has 30 days to refund a service or product. They kept saying that I wasn't a FLA resident, but I countered saying the business is in florida. He kept going on and on but once I said that I talked to VISA Disputes DEPT. They put me on hold and came back with a confirmation number for a refund the same day. To sum it up 1) Be Persistent and don't back down form what you want. Don't settle for anything less than a FULL refund 2) Scare the company! These are folks who are trained to scam you and make you fall in a trap so that can offer you a trip at a discounted price and end up getting more money from you anyway. Folks have gone on these trips and easily spent thousands of useless dollars with them. The last thing they want to have done is to be shut down or in serious trouble so....... 3) Do research and call them out of the frauds they are. Doing your research and letting them know that you know what they are doing scares them. Telling them about that Florida law and scaring them with VISA, Mastercard, or American Express Disputes DEPT. would give you what you want GOOD LUCK!!!!! :-)