- Report: #257770
Complaint Review: Travel Club International (TCI) Advantage Travel Horizon Travel - Tempe Arizona
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Author Confirmed
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Travel Club International (TCI) Advantage Travel Horizon Travel
2227 S 48th St, Suite A Tempe, 85282 Arizona, U.S.A.
Phone:
866-921-0111
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Travel Club International - Horizon Travel- Advantage TravelTravel Club International (TCI), Advantage Travel, Horizon Travel Yeah, not too smart, but ya get what ya get and ya don't throw a fit. Ripoff Tempe Arizona
After receiving a postcard to come hear the speil, we decided "what the heck" - we had been there, done that before and gotten a couple nights stay at a resort, or $50 gift certificates, so we made an appointment with Horizion Travel in Austin, Texas.
There were several couples there, and after listening to a very smooth presentation, we were separated into groups and our "counselor" Josh Yates gave us the deal. After about an hour, he finally came up with the bottom line of $3,795 + dues of $578, for the "Gold" plan, which would include the condo "Hot Weeks" also. We also got a "free" cruise and a condo stay of our choice. Well, the cruise wanted the port charges, which were rather expensive, and were for an inside cabin, so we passed on that. But, the condo was in Galveston, which was great for a long weekend and only wanted taxes paid up front. It only took from February to September for one of our "chosen" dates to be accepted, and wound up being a hotel instead of a condo, but we had a great time. So far, so good.
We then booked a condo in Branson, Missouri, and had no trouble with that reservation. Pretty good accommodations, although somewhat worn.
We had to make a grievance trip to California, and I called TCI and let them handle it for us - of course we knew there would not be any airline discounts, but the convenience was there.
We booked a cruise on Celeberity on our own by using the Celeberity web site, as TCI didn't have a cruise going the dates we wanted. No biggie - we're adults and have traveled a lot, so can make our own accommodations.
The dues came up (although we had been told we didn't have to pay dues unless we were booking a trip), and we decided in March of 2006 to make the one-time payment of approximately $1,000 to become a "lifetime member" with Horizon Travel. We got a nice letter from Monica Lindeman of Horizon Travel in Arlington, Texas congratulating us on being in the elite group of members chosen to never pay due again! Yeah, not too smart, but "ya get what ya get and ya don't throw a fit."
Then, in December 2006, we found a trip to New Zealand with TCI as the go-between for Newmans. We even had two friends from the Seattle area go with us for the same price - so we were pretty happy. The TCI representative was Marina Klein and she really worked hard and was very personable. No complaints about the service, although the hotel in Auckland left a lot to be desired.
In April of 2007, we received a letter from TCI Chief Operating Officer, Linda Mayhugh, notifying us of the change to Advantage and changing our membership number. Since that time the "Hot Weeks" have not been updated on the TCI web site. We have sent e-mails to no avail about that situation. We are now both retired and were looking forward to the condo travel, but after finding this Ripoff Report site, I am very learly to book with TCI ever again. "Let the Buyer Beware" has cost us about $5,000, and we are pretty sure we could have booked the same accommodations ourselves with a little more searching on the Web.
Seadad
Round Rock, Texas
U.S.A.
There were several couples there, and after listening to a very smooth presentation, we were separated into groups and our "counselor" Josh Yates gave us the deal. After about an hour, he finally came up with the bottom line of $3,795 + dues of $578, for the "Gold" plan, which would include the condo "Hot Weeks" also. We also got a "free" cruise and a condo stay of our choice. Well, the cruise wanted the port charges, which were rather expensive, and were for an inside cabin, so we passed on that. But, the condo was in Galveston, which was great for a long weekend and only wanted taxes paid up front. It only took from February to September for one of our "chosen" dates to be accepted, and wound up being a hotel instead of a condo, but we had a great time. So far, so good.
We then booked a condo in Branson, Missouri, and had no trouble with that reservation. Pretty good accommodations, although somewhat worn.
We had to make a grievance trip to California, and I called TCI and let them handle it for us - of course we knew there would not be any airline discounts, but the convenience was there.
We booked a cruise on Celeberity on our own by using the Celeberity web site, as TCI didn't have a cruise going the dates we wanted. No biggie - we're adults and have traveled a lot, so can make our own accommodations.
The dues came up (although we had been told we didn't have to pay dues unless we were booking a trip), and we decided in March of 2006 to make the one-time payment of approximately $1,000 to become a "lifetime member" with Horizon Travel. We got a nice letter from Monica Lindeman of Horizon Travel in Arlington, Texas congratulating us on being in the elite group of members chosen to never pay due again! Yeah, not too smart, but "ya get what ya get and ya don't throw a fit."
Then, in December 2006, we found a trip to New Zealand with TCI as the go-between for Newmans. We even had two friends from the Seattle area go with us for the same price - so we were pretty happy. The TCI representative was Marina Klein and she really worked hard and was very personable. No complaints about the service, although the hotel in Auckland left a lot to be desired.
In April of 2007, we received a letter from TCI Chief Operating Officer, Linda Mayhugh, notifying us of the change to Advantage and changing our membership number. Since that time the "Hot Weeks" have not been updated on the TCI web site. We have sent e-mails to no avail about that situation. We are now both retired and were looking forward to the condo travel, but after finding this Ripoff Report site, I am very learly to book with TCI ever again. "Let the Buyer Beware" has cost us about $5,000, and we are pretty sure we could have booked the same accommodations ourselves with a little more searching on the Web.
Seadad
Round Rock, Texas
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Dustin Rainey
Lakeland,Florida,
U.S.A.
Explanation of Advantage Travel relationship with TCI
#2UPDATE Employee
Mon, November 19, 2007
To clarify for the complaintant, Advantage Travel is a privately owned company that has been based in Florida since 1995. As you may or may not be aware, Travel Club International, Inc. along with their sales distributors, Horizon Travel, went out of business in late 2006 and was subsequently acquired by another company (ATR). On March 26, 2007 we acquired the TCI brand name and right to service their members however, we have no relationship or business dealings with Travel Club International, Inc., National Vacations, Inc. d/b/a Horizon Travel or any of their affiliate companies. Please allow me this opportunity to elaborate further in this response. This is a fairly small industry in which most companies know their competitors and what is going on with their business. We were approached by a John Narez in February of this year regarding the Travel Club International (TCI) members. Mr. Narez's company, Advantage Tour Resource, Inc. (ATR) had acquired the TCI members from Travel Club International, Inc. and was operating a service center in Tempe, Arizona. Apparently, like National Vacations and TCI, Inc. before them, ATR also found themselves in a position of having to close their business. As a result ATR had contacted most of the travel clubs in our industry in an attempt to find someone with the stability, experience and expertise to successfully service the members. On March 26, 2007 Advantage Travel entered into an agreement to acquire the rights to service these members as well as the right to the brand Travel Club International which the members were associated with. We registered TCI as a d/b/a in Florida, where our corporate office is based, and since this time, have been attempting to provide the services these members originally purchased. We have communicated to the members that we have acquired these rights and will be providing them with the agreed upon travel services in exchange for them paying us an annual fee. We do not know the current status of the entities Travel Club International, Inc. or Horizon Travel other than we know they are no longer selling anywhere and closed their corporate office in Texas. Our transaction did not involve either of these entities or, any of the previous owners or officers of these entities therefore, we feel there is absolutely no reason we should be brought into any disputes and will not be held liable for shortcomings of previous owners prior to our acquisition of the member base to include promises of fulfillment and/ or refunds. I would like to point out that had Advantage Travel not acquired the rights to service TCI members, those 10,000 plus members would be left with nothing and nowhere to turn. With our acquisition all TCI members will still have the ability to use their travel benefits. Hopefully I have provided you with sufficient explanation of our position in this matter however, if you have any further questions please feel free to contact me directly at (866) 921-0111 extension 203, via email to [email protected]. I would like to mention now that we have assumed servicing I am extremely confident that this membership will work for TCI Members and continue to provide their families service and savings for years to come should they choose to allow us the opportunity. Thank you for your time and understanding. Cordially, Dustin Rainey Executive Compliance Administrator Advantage Travel/ T.C.I.
