Summer Bay Resort

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Home < Hotel Scams ~ Summer Bay Resort

Guest

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 12:25 pm

This absolutely is my last post. I simply do not have the time to respond to each and every negative post.

You know how to reach me. (And don't forget this site's "Private Messages" option.) However, in closing, I'd like to provide this link:

http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf...bc?OpenDocument

which will take you to the Consumer Protection page of the Florida Attorney General's Office. It has great information to guide you much better than I can. It also tells you how to make a complaint against sellers whom you feel are not following the law. I am not a lawyer - only the daughter of a consumer whom I felt was not given adequate information in order to exercise a right. Remember: Florida gives you an automatic 3-day period, but Summer Bay extended the "cooling off" period to 7 days in its WRITTEN "Terms & Conditions". Don't feel bad because you fell for a well-planned sales pitch. That's the sales agent's job. But it is YOUR job to exercise your right to change your mind.

Those of you who do benefit from my information, please have my back and post your positive outcomes so that others will see that we are doing the right thing here. Don't let the player haters sway you from exercising your legal options.

GOOD LUCK & GOD BLESS!!!!

Guest

Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 4:24 am

Ohh, I am in trouble now, I fell for the scam, 7-days dead line has passed, my husband is going to be mad with me and my 2 children it seems are going to be very disappointed if we go there.

Well I will just have to grin and bare it.

Guest

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:12 am

Me again....... This story is a prime example for why you should not even bother to CALL - just FAX and MAIL your cancellation letter and then call your credit card company/bank to dispute the charge. Make sure you send your letter w/fax transmittal confirmation and delivery mail confirmation. Copy the Terms & Conditions from SBR's various websites. Keep all of your documents for when your financial institution requests back-up documentation (usually in 2-3 weeks). Most of the time Summer Bay processes your refund withing 24 hours of receiving your letter.

BE SURE TO CHECK THE AMOUNT POSTED ON YOUR CREDIT CARD. I HAVE RECEIVED NUMEROUS EMAILS FROM PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN QUOTED ONE PRICE ON THE PHONE & THEN HAD THEIR CREDIT CARD BILLED FOR AS MUCH AS TWICE THAT AMOUNT. IT IS IMPORTANT TO PUT THE AMOUNT YOU WANT TO BE REFUNDED IN YOUR LETTER & YOU CAN'T GO BY THE AMOUNT YOU'VE BEEN QUOTED ON THE PHONE.

PLEASE READ ALL OF MY POSTS BEFORE YOU START THE CANCELLATION PROCESS. IT WILL SAVE YOU A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT.

LET'S KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!

Guest

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 11:45 am

BADLADY....HELP?!?
My husband fell for the same scam. We tried to cancel within 24 hours and were told it couldn't be done. It took us beyond the 7days to learn about the cancellation period. The whole ordeal has cost us well beyond the $298 charged to our account. I've been stuck with the bill. Do we have any legal standing since they intentionally deceived us when we did try to cancel within 24 hours? When I did call back, I was told that since there was no 'note' to our 'account' of that call, that we were basically SOL. I told them to send me information via snail mail, and have never received anything. With all these problems from so many people, can't we file a class action lawsuit forcing them to change their ways? Even if I never get that money back, if we can force them to change, it would be worth it. I'm game and have taken on bigger fish and won. I just find myself in unfamiliar territory since it's through the internet and several states away. Surely there must be something we can do? I simply can't tolerate bullies and scamartists, and these people are simply glorified bullies/scamartists. As an advocate, any advice you would be willing to share with me would be appreciated.

Guest

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 4:38 am

i went to the dallas cowboys . com on sbr popped up it said i was a winner of a florida vaction . they were going to give me 1000.00 for my vaction and room for 7days and nights. all i had to do was go to www.sbr fl.com i did and found your site. thank you it saved me a lot of time and troubel and companys like this should be put out of bussiness. so thank you badlady717. from madman

Guest

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:49 am

yes this is a real pain and a bad company I purchase the vacation and the same day I call to cancelled but thomas the quality asurance manager will not take the cancelation I called my credit card and I will contest the chargers thru them they are getting despert to take you money. thank for posting the law and web sites I will make a complaint with the attorny general of florida

Guest

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 9:37 am

I KEEP TELLING YOU:

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND EFFORT CALLING. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU WRITE YOUR CANCELLATION LETTER, THEN FAX AND MAIL YOUR LETTER TO:

Summer Bay Resorts - Cancellations
P.O. Box 947720
Maitland, FL 32794
800-803-9534 - tel
407-875-0152 - fax

Be sure to print out a transmission report from your fax machine after sending and mail your letter with Delivery Confirmation.

We have managed to get dozens of refunds this way. This is the legal way to to do it. SBR is a Florida-based company and Florida state law mandates a 7 day "cooling off" period in which consumers can cancel any phone purchases. The only way to prove you cancelled is to do it in WRITING.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Guest

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 10:04 am

My situation is a little different. My boyfriend got a sales call for DirecTV. For purchasing the service through this company, he would get a cell phone & 'free' vacation package. We used my bank account info to pay the installation charge, but the vacation was never mentioned. They told him that he would need to call this other company on his own time, which he DID NOT. The next thing I know, I've got two $20 debits out of my checking account from this Summer Bay Resort!! I don't understand how they were able to take from my account with his name...the account only has my name on it. So I don't know what I need to say that I'm cancelling. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Guest

Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:58 am

HI badlady i can appercite your hardwork on "trying" to save peoples money.
all except that they are now paying alot more money when they go on vacation. The people your "helping" all (to include your mother) went through a legal verify dept. to make sure you understanding everything on tape. What the people here just had buyer remorse, its not a big deal you dont want it, Dont buy it.Fair enough?
If you win a car, you pay taxes on it right? You still have to pay for the maintance right? You still have to put gas into to go place, Right?And what about insurance?
The resort is great, the staff is excellent,the family thats want to take a vacation will a great time. and enjoy all of the amities, and remeber dont be mad that you did say "YES!" BADlady you should bring your mother down Spend sometime with her on vacation she obviously wanted a vacation and that way you can report educatedly about everything!If you dont want to take advantage of this great offer hang up the phone,
Makes sense, right?

Guest

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 7:39 am

To Doug@SummerBay.com,

I'm sure you are doing your part to protect your job. I am helping people for whom your company does not provide the information they need to cancel their purchase as mandated by Florida law. If your company is great, it should not have taken me FOUR DAYS to find the number and address to cancel on behalf of my Moms. Summer Bay offers a "cooling off" period and you are trying to make those of us who chose that option feel bad.

Your analogous reference to buying a car makes no sense at all (you do know the meaning of "analogous, don't you?). This is not about car buying or car maintenance or gas - this is about a company operating in good faith. I am not "trying to save people's money", I am giving people information that they should have been given anyway. Yes, they could have not purchased the sad little vacations, but the point is, after they do make the buy, they have the right to change their minds and be able to cancel under the law - something I don't expect you to either understand or accept since people who work in telemarketing of this kind usually can't do much else in life. I can both out-think and out-write you - as evidenced by all of the grammatical mistakes in your posting (" I appercite your hardwork", "...to make sure you understanding...", "..enjoy all the amities.."?) What the hell does that mean? Can you spell "G.E.D."? Kid, I'm not the one to mess with!

If you love this company so much, then convince it to do the fair and good-faith thing in giving the cancellation FAX NUMBER AND ADDRESS to purchasers at the time they call (don't bother with the phone number since the SBR Customer Service reps give everyone the runaround if they try to call). Many companies who sell by phone provide the cancellation info upfront - SBR doesn't even have the info on its website. BUT WHO CAN FIND ONE??!! ALL OF THE ONES WE HAD BEFORE HAVE DISAPPEARED! (www.beginmyvacation.com and vacations.summerbayresort.com). WHY ARE PEOPLE WRITING ME TO SAY THAT THEY CAN'T FIND A WEBSITE FOR YOUR COMPANY?? I COULDN'T EVEN GET ON WWW.SUMMERBAY.COM, THE WEBSITE SERVER FOR YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!! "GOOGLE" HAS A LINK AT WWW.SUMMERBAYRESORT.COM BUT, LIKE THE OTHERS, IT COMES UP AS "SERVER COULD NOT BE FOUND". AND THAT WWW.SBRFL.COM IS CUTE, BUT IT DOESN'T GIVE PURCHASERS ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE VACATION PACKAGES. THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT THEY ARE GETTING IN ADVANCE OF SUMMER BAY TAKING THEIR MONEY OR AT LEAST DURING THE 7 DAY CANCELLATION PERIOD. AND THE CANCELLATION INFO SHOULD BE POSTED ON THIS SITE SINCE IT IS THE ONLY ONE I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FIND.

SINCE YOU HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY, DOUG@SUMMERBAY.COM, WHY DON'T YOU POST A VIABLE WEBSITE FOR YOUR COMPANY? AND HOW ABOUT A WEBSITE WITH AN EMAIL LINK FOR CANCELLATIONS? YOU HAVE FORCED ME TO DO SOME MORE INVESTIGATION ON YOUR COMPANY, DOUGIE. DO I HAVE TO HAVE THE FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE LOOK INTO THIS?

Oh, by the way, Doug-O, I haven't TRIED to get people's money back, I HAVE SUCCEEDED REPEATEDLY!!! The number of successful postings on this site don't compare to the number of emails that I receive directly. I just might send every one of them a copy of your posting and your email address so that you can hear first-hand about how your company treats those who try to cancel via telephone. It's really poor customer service.

Neither me nor my mother are interested in coming to your little resort. First, we don't stay in places where we have to pay for clean towels and sheets in the "sister hotel" that SBR is likely to direct us to. More importantly, we are "Five Star Hotel" people not Motel 6-type people where the staff can't even spell. You didn't help your motel at all by putting a post on this forum. You need to go to

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...ee_Florida.html

and

http://las-vegas-hotels.tripadvisor...gas_Nevada.html

and see the reviews on your beloved Summer Bay Resort in both Florida and Las Vegas from unfortunate people who DID go. Some of their stories are contra to what you are saying. Many say that they ended up paying more money in order to get the amenities allegedly promised.

What you need to do is not to try propagandist tactics (oops, another big word!) to convince people against exercising their rights. Please note that I have never accused your company of scamming people - I am merely giving them information that Summer Bay should have provided them.

I hope you got a raise for this but, trust me, based on the number of emails I get, IT'S NOT WORKING!!!! I just got finished helping another purchaser who wanted more info on how to cancel.

Now go back to your minimum wage job, doug@summerbay.com and let me get back to getting refunds!!! (and I won't hold my breath waiting for you to post a viable web address for Summer Bay Resort)

Guest

Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:23 am

ATTENTION EVERYBODY:

Most of the Summer Bay Resort websites are back up this morning. I had a purchaser who was trying to cancel email me to say that she couldn't access the www.beginmyvacation.com and vacations.summerbayresort.com sites. I tried and had the same problem with those two and all websites listed for the resort except www.sbrfl.com. Perhaps their server was down last night.

Guest

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 2:02 am

I feel like such an idiot .They make it sound like such a good deal,I had talked to Karen(Virification Manager) On the 15th of august And she told me that I had 7 days to cancel if my husband didnt like the package. well ,I called today to cancel. And,the girl was so hateful,so i got hateful right back.and she hung up on me i kept calling back, they said they offered the package to me 100$ cheaper "LIARS". Finally this woman came on told me the same thing and then she said i will cancel all of it and i asked her,so you wont be taking no more from my credit card.and she said no.And hung up on me.And she was a supervisor .So i have no idea if they refunded my money i put down? My husband is very upset. I hope if i write to the resort like badlady said that i will get my refund. I pray to GOD. I wish more people would read these before they purchase anything thru summer bay resort. So they dont get scamed Its just sad that they do this to familys that dont have money rolling out the wazoo.

Guest

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2005 12:27 pm

Okay, it appears that most of the people who find this forum are not reading it completely (we are #6 on "Google" under SUMMER BAY RESORT - last week we were #2 - hmm, I wonder how we got bumped down.....)

Anyway, I can't repeat myself enough - DO NOT BOTHER TO CALL IN YOUR CANCELLATION - IT MUST BE DONE IN WRITING VIA FAX AND MAIL.

Several purchasers have asked me for a copy of the letter that I sent on behalf of my mother. Here it is:

(Date)

Summer Bay Resorts - Cancellations
P.O. Box 947720
Maitland, FL 32794
800-803-9534 - tel
407-875-0152 - fax

Via fax to 407-875-0152 & Priority Mail-Delivery Confirmation

RE: (Put in the vacation code number they gave you or your name, phone number and email address here)

To Whom It May Concern:

Per the Terms and Conditions of the Summer Bay Resort Vacation Package your company attempted to sell me by phone on (date that you purchased the vacation), which states “THE PURCHASER HAS FULL RIGHT TO CANCEL HIS/HER ORDER AT NO PENALTY WITHIN 7-DAYS FROM THE INITIAL OF THEIR PHONE ORDER”, I am canceling this order, effective immediately. This letter will also be faxed to your address in Clermont, FL and mailed via Certified Mail-Return Receipt today.

Sincerely,

(your name)

cc: (your credit card company or bank)
Mr. Charlie Crist, Florida Attorney General
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC At-Large)
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL)
Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL 5th)

FAX & MAIL YOUR LETTER IMMEDIATELY. Be sure to print out a copy of the transmission report from your fax machine after you fax the letter and send the letter via USPS Priority Mail-Delivery Confirmation. No need to waste money sending it Certified Mail-Return Receipt. Keep all of these receipts and print out a copy of your “Letter Of Confirmation” from the website www.beginmyvacation.com – the second page will be a copy of the SBR “Terms and Conditions”. You will need these documents for your bank or credit card company if SBR doesn’t refund your money within 48 hours. You can monitor their actions via your “account” on their website. You don't have to worry about actually sending copies to the politicians unless you have a problem getting your refund. DO NOT BOTHER CALLING THEM TO CANCEL. YOU WILL ONLY BE GIVEN THE RUNAROUND UNTIL THE 7-DAY CANCELLATION OPTION PERIOD HAS PASSED!!!!

In their defense, Summer Bay is very good about processing your refund once they receive your letter.

OKAY, this should sum it all up a little better. Now I do have some more information - a LOT more - to share but I will let this set in first. Holla at you later....

Guest

Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 1:18 am

Thank you so much badlady, my mum got sucked in to this as well. We didn't get as far as having to fax a cancellation because the company took three separate payments from my mum's credit card and none were for the amount she had authorised so her credit card company sorted it out. She did try to cancel before we found your information and she was told there was NO option to cancel at all and kept getting put on hold just like everyone else. Good luck to anyone else in the same situation.

Guest

Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 9:52 am

Congratulations, "Successful Get-Out"! Like your situation, I am getting more and more complaints from people who are getting varied charges against their credit cards/bank accounts other than the one they authorized, in addition to repeated hits against the account. I had a letter from a person who authorized $9.95 and was hit for the $9.95 and an additional $48 the same day. She allowed me to log on to her SBR "account" at www.beginmyvacation.com and there were two "My Vacation Packages" - one with a price of $9.95, the amount she authorized, and another for $398, which she knew nothing about. At the bottom of the page under "My Payment Information", the $9.95 package had a $0 balance but she still owed another $300 on the second unauthorized package. Fortunately her credit card had a very low limit and she had almost maxed it out at the time of the SBR charges. However, rest assured, if she doesn't close that account and transfer her pre-Summer Bay balance to another account, then open a billing dispute for the two debits, she will probably get added hits on that account until the remaining $350 is paid in full. She attempted to cancel via phone but was just given the runaround. Her calls were made on her cell phone which will validate her phone calls. She did send a cancellation letter via fax within the 7 day period instead of waiting for a "manager" to call her back which would happen after the cancellation period had expired.

I received an email from another purchaser who found our forum within hours of buying the package. He had be contacted by SBR and, at first, turned them down. Then they called back, referencing the name of a reputable company that he had dealing with before. Afterwards, he did a little research and could not find anything good on SBR so he put a stop payment on his check (which cost him $30!!!), then found our forun, and emailed me personally. He then transferred all of the money out of the bank account he had given to SBR and, per my instructions, sent a cancellation letter just to be on the safe side and to be able to support his case with his bank.

If you get caught up in this, please, please, please monitor your SBR "My Payment Information" to see the amount(s) and the increments of the debits against your credit card/bank accounts. And check out how many "Vacation Packages" you are being charged for, especially if you purchased one package for an extremely low price. Use common sense - who is going to sell a 9 day/8 night vacation for 2 people to 2 locations, two 2-day passes to a theme park of your choice, along with a cruise on a luxury ship for 2 to 4 people (the 3rd and 4th person are "absolutely FREE!!) to the Grand Bahama island for only $9.95? Let's get real, People!!!!

In a "sneak call" last week to the sales number, a sales woman tried to sell me that same package for 4 people for $598, which is still too low - but "a mere $18.68 per person" the sales woman told me enthusiastically. This is in spite of the fact that I had no "promotional code" which she "magically" found after I gave her my fake first name. Now, the $598 is minus the "$1,000 in "travel points" which lured most of you to make or receive this call. At no time did the saleswoman say that I would be staying at the Summer Bay Resort, which is a really nice place, but that I would have "access" to its amenities. She said that I would be staying at the “Inn At Summer Bay” (3 miles away from the Summer Bay Resort), Island Club Resort and Spa (6 miles away in the boondocks, now called the Island Hideaway: PLEASE read the reviews at http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...rt_Florida.html), or one of their ‘affiliated hotels’”. That’s how they get you.

Did you hear that the cruise would cost you an additional $159 per person at the time of your vacation reservation? I did. With the added $11 per night hotel taxes and fees, not to mention the cost of maid service, you could do better booking a vacation on your own. I was assured that my 4-person party would receive "9 days/8 nights of 5-star Gold Crown accommodations".

When I balked at giving the sales person my credit card info, she told me that my "75% off" price was only good for one day. I still didn't give up the info, so she said that she needed to transfer to someone who would "verify" something or another. She put me on hold and, guess what,
I HUNG UP THE PHONE!!!! and it was very painless - try it sometimes

You've read about my referring to a reputable website at www.tripadvisor.com which reviews hotel all over the country. I tried to get them to allow me to write a review informing vacationers about the cancellation information. After some research on their part, I was told that SUMMER BAY RESORTS (with a "S") is a vacation travel agency while SUMMER BAY RESORT is a hotel. You will notice on www.beginmyvacation.com that the heading is SUMMER BAY RESORTS. However when I talked to the sales company who tried to sell me a vacation package, I specifically asked if I was talking to SUMMER BAY RESORT or SUMMER BAY RESORTS. She assured me that they were RESORT. Yet my vacation package did not feature accommodations at the Resort - instead I would be at one of its "affiliated hotels". If you read your "account" page at www.beginmyvacation.com, you will see that you are just getting:

~4 days and 3 nights in Orlando, FL (nothing about accommodations)
~2 Theme Park passes
~3 days & 2 nights at one of Florida's Beaches (sleeping in the sand?)
~2 nights in the Bahamas (14 islands make up the Bahamas - go to www.bahamas.com" target="_blank">
www.bahamas.com for the entry requirements - passport or official
birth certificate required as of 1/1/2006 - passport cost for US citizens:
$97 for age 16 & up; $82 under 16)

That's why there are a large number of complaints from people who do go on this vacation according to the negative review on http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...ont_Florida.htm - they think they have paid for one thing but end up getting something less.

I have yet to figure out why some people get great accommodations and others experience a nightmare. It might have something to do with which travel company is booking your vacation and whether you will be "renting" a timeshare spot at the real Summer Bay Resort. If you wish to take this vacation and you have any doubt about what you were sold, make SBR send you WRITTEN confirmation of where you are going to stay (I was promised the 300-acre RCI-owned Summer Bay Resort located in Clermont, FL at 17805 Hwy 192, but eventually was told that I would be at an "affiliated hotel", the Inn At Summer Bay at 9400 Hwy 192 or Island Club Resort & Spa/Island Hideaway/Island Club West in Davenport, FL - who knows what the real name is but the address is 3100 Sand Mine Road) and what you are going to get (a trip via luxury cruise liner or a small ferry boat).

If you complain or try to get your money back on the phone, the sales people always let you know that you were taped. However, it appears that the only part that is taped is where you are giving out your credit card/banking info so that they can use that to verify that you authorized the charges. Tell them to play the part where they told you what they were giving you in return for you money. I bet they won't have that info. If you decide to go to Florida, tell them to find the tape showing what they sold you. If they claim that they can't find it or that they didn't tape that part, then make them verify what accommodations you are going to get in Orlando and the "Florida beaches" and what that cruise is all about - like where which island you are going to in the Bahamas, how you're going to get there and back, and where you're going to stay. Insist that you were promised "5-star Royal Crown accommodations". I don't know what "Royal Crown" means (you know I will find out and let you know ) but we all know what "5-star accommodations" are, don't we?

WHEN IS THIS GOING TO END? IN ADDITION TO THE POSTINGS ON THIS SITE, I GET MANY MORE EMAILS SENT TO ME DIRECTLY. WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE COMPLAINTS DIRECTLY TO THE FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL TO SEE IF WE CAN STOP SUMMER BAY RESORTS OR RESORT OR WHATEVER THEY CALL THEMSELVES TO JUST BE HONEST ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE SELLING. BASED ON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY PURCHASE THIS VACATION, I BELIEVE THAT SUMMER BAY WOULD HAVE LESS CANCELLATIONS IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE SO MANY HORROR STORIES ON UNBIASED TRAVEL WEBSITES. ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS GIVE POTENTIAL VACATIONERS THE TRIP IN THE PICTURES THEY PUSH ON www.sbrfl.com AND CONFIRM THE NAMES OF THE HOTELS VIA "SNAIL MAIL" WITHIN THE 7-DAY PERIOD. THAT WAY PEOPLE CAN RESEARCH THE ACCOMMODATIONS AND THEN CANCEL IF IT IS NOT UP TO THEIR STANDARDS.

But you know I'm going to stay on top of this and let purchaser know what I find. I am also going to put a report together of all of the negative postings on this forum, my direct emails, and poor reviews from travel websites and make a formal complaint to the Florida Attorney General's office. I sincerely hope that those of you who got refunds will back me on this attempt. Summer Bay is not the only company making these types of calls - we need to learn how to avoid this problem in the future.

That's all for now. I know I said sometime ago that I would not do anymore postings but people keep needing additional information or SBR keeps changing up its "game plan" and we have to "zig" when it "zags". (Sorry for any typos but it's 2 am & I'm really sleepy right now)

GOOD NIGHT, GOOD LUCK & GOOD NIGHT!!!

All times are GMT

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