Complaint Review: Magic Vacations - Tampa Florida

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Cummings" [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2002 1:55 PM
Subject: PLEASE REMOVE CEO'S CELL PHONE NUMBER FROM YOUR WEBSITE

Dear Editor,

I am writing on behalf of MVI Marketing (Mini Vacations, Inc.) to respectfully request that you remove the cell phone number of our company's CEO Mike Burke from your website ripoffreport.com. This phone number was placed on your website by someone claiming to be an ex-employee but falsely using the name of a current employee. We certainly are not requesting
that anyone's comments on your website be censored, but we feel that allowing an individual's personal cell phone number to be published without his consent constitutes harassment.

We would be appreciate a response from your office as to whether or not you remove this phone number. Thank you.

Brian Cummings
Mini Vacations, Inc.

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-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]
Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2002 5:14 PM
To: Brian Cummings [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Fw: PLEASE REMOVE CEO'S CELL PHONE NUMBER FROM YOUR WEBSITE ..MVI Marketing / Magic Vacations ripoff # 24759

We are sending this to go before our review board. I can tell you, I never heard of them removing something like this, but I will send it anyway..

Question: Why is there over 50 Rip-off Reports on your companies (under various names) ...how come you don't resolve them? There are over 100 e-mailed complaints to us here at Rip-off Report too!

[email protected]

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----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Cummings" [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, August 09, 2002 7:50 AM
Subject: RE: Your Questions


Dear Editor,

I hope you will remove this phone number and please consider the following:

we are certain that the person who placed the phone number on your website is a former executive who now works for a competing firm and has an interest in attacking our company's reputation. Her comments were made in self-interest, not out of any empathy for consumers.

Now, I hope to answer some of your questions. First, our primary
corporation is Mini Vacations, Inc., although we do business under the name "MVI Marketing". Another affiliated corporation is Diamond Escapes, Inc., which sells higher-end vacation packages to corporations which use them as employee rewards. Diamond Escapes is much smaller than Mini Vacations and I
do not believe anyone has ever complained against Diamond Escapes on the RipoffReport. So, you are dealing with only one company, Mini Vacations, Inc.

Mini Vacations has been in business for 18 years and its primary product is the vacation certificate, which is typically a voucher that offers recipents two complimentary nights of hotel accommodations at one of a dozen or more vacation destinations listed on the brochure. At any given time, we have in
excess of 2 million vacation certificates in circulation. Accommodations are based on availability and there are limits on the certificates' use. This is all fully explained in the certificates' terms and conditions.

These certificates are sold to businesses which in turn award them to their customers as an incentive to make a purchase, attend a sales presentations, opt for an ungraded service, etc. With few exceptions, consumers receive our certificates as a gift.

Why are there so many complaints? There are several answers to that question, but the primary reason is misunderstanding of the product. The misunderstanding stems from a lack of communication sometimes on our part, sometimes on the part of the consumers (who may neglect to follow the instructions on their certificates) and most often on the part of our distributors.

Improving our communication with customers has become one of our company's biggest challenges in recent years, as we have experienced tremendous growth. We have also created new products that may offer airfare, cruise accommodations or week-long condominium stays. The challenge comes in patroling our corporate clients to ensure that they accurately represent our
products to their customers. We have about 8,000 corporate clients and we do alter or terminate our relationships with them when we uncover a pattern of complaints that suggests they are not fairly representing our products to the customers.

Additionally, your website makes it very easy for a consumer to complain anonymously about any company and encourages them to get "revenge." You are even highly critical of the Better Business Bureau and would be considered an "extremist" among consumer advocates. However, you are obviously offering a valuable service to the public by giving people a forum to air their complaints. We take complaints against our company seriously and make our best attempt to contact the customers and resolve their issues.

You may feel free to forward any customers' emailed complaints either to my attention or to the attention of Lindsay Gordon ([email protected]). We both work with the different fulfillment departments to investigate complaints and find solutions to satisfy our customers.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Brian Cummings
Mini Vacations, Inc.

We at Mini Vacations were very disappointed to see the slanderous rebuttal made by someone masquerading as a former employee who deceitfully used the name of a current employee.

Mini Vacations has been in business for 18 years and is one of the largest promotional travel companies in the nation. Our business depends upon customer satisfaction and we attribute our success over the years to providing our customers with enjoyable and affordable family vacations. We serve more than 8,000 corporate clients in North and South America. At the present time, we have hundreds of thousands of vacation certificates in circulation nationwide that have been distributed by our clients. We simply could not stay in business if we did not take care of our clients' customers.

Therefore, it is preposterous to suggest that our Customer Service personnel are trained in any manner other than to accommodate the maximum number of travel requests that they receive.

Lastly, Mini Vacations has accommodations contracts with hotel corporations that provide the room allotments for our vacation certificates. Although we always strive to accommodate our customers' first travel choices, sometimes our room allotments are fully booked at a particular destination. For this reason, we request that customers submit an alternative date that can be accommodated in case their first choice is unavailable. However, we can and do accommodate our customers at every destination listed on any of our vacation products. It is patently false and fraudulent to state, as this person did in their rebuttal, that we do not have accommodations for most of the locations on our vacation certificates.

Ironically, our commitment to customer service is evidenced on this very consumer revenge website. As you can see, if one of our customers feels they need to complain about our company on the Ripoff Report, we take action to provide them with whatever assistance can resolve their problem. And, in our replies, we provide full names, email addresses and phone numbers, unlike the consumers who provide at most only their first name.

Thank you.

The owner of the Company, MVI, is Mike Burke Sr.
Their new office is in Sarasota. Only Customer
Service call center personal work in Tampa. The Tampa number is (813)621-1400/ Mike Burke's Cell phone number is 941-685-5021. The COO is Jim Valente.

The customer Service people are trained on how NOT to travel people especially if they do not meet the time share qualifications. Most of the locations on the certificates are not even hotels that they have contracts with or work with. That is why you can not travel.

The only to get to them is them is in a lawsuit.
If there is an attorney that is willing to do a class action suit or go after them for Federal Mail Fraud.

Good Luck.

The fastest way to request/get refund is by sending an e-mail to:
[email protected]
or/and
[email protected]
or/and
[email protected]

AND if they do not answer, to fill a complaint with Florida Florida Department Consumer Services.
They have so many travel related complaints, that they created a special form:

http://www.800helpfla.com/pdfs/sotclaim.pdf