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Better Business Bureau St. Louis (BBB) advises consumers to use caution when responding to invoice letters from various Litchfield, Illinois-based travel companies.
BBB twice in 2021 warned consumers about letters from various travel clubs demanding payment for past dues. Since the last BBB warning was issued in July 2021, complaints against the businesses have more than doubled.
Consumers tell BBB they believe they canceled their membership years ago only to receive notice that their account is delinquent. The latest mailers consumers shared with BBB are headlined “Audit of Your Past Due Account.” The company claims it has mailed and phoned the customer repeatedly. Consumers who filed complaints with BBB said this claim is not true.
Consumers have contacted BBB about debt claims made by various “F”-rated businesses, including Castaways Vacation Club, Funseekers, Sealand Travel Club, Island Trader, Tradewinds Vacations, Coconut Club Vacations, Funtasia Vacations, Matrix Travel Network, Payless Vacations, Phoenix Vacations, The Travel Company, Voyager Vacation Club, Royal Palms Travel Inc., and All Inclusive Excursions. All businesses share the same address – a P.O. Box in Litchfield. BBB has received 126 complaints from consumers in 25 states about the businesses. Consumers also have filed five negative customer reviews.
“If you receive a letter from a company claiming that you owe them money, make sure to investigate those claims before you pay,” said Michelle L. Corey, BBB St. Louis president and CEO. “Make sure the company is following the regulations under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.”
A Bloomington, Indiana, woman told BBB she received a letter from the company in April 2022. She said she purchased a travel club membership with Castaways Vacation Club in 2007, paying approximately $5,000. She said she paid yearly fees for several years before calling to cancel the membership in 2018.
In its letter, the company claimed the woman owed yearly fees since 2018 and offered her a separation agreement fee of $670.
“They continue to send us emails and phone messages, saying we need to pay them, but we are ignoring them,” the woman told BBB. “We rarely used it, and the deals they offered were no better than what you could find online.”
The woman said she had been waiting to hear from the company for years before receiving the demand letter. The woman told BBB she had no intention of paying the company.
A woman from the Bronx, New York, told BBB she believed she canceled a travel club membership with Castaways Vacation Club more than ten years ago. She said she received a letter from the business in March 2022 that demanded she pays a $398 separation fee.
“I’m just ignoring them,” the woman said. “I canceled that years ago. The membership wasn’t that great. I didn’t use it much.”
A man from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, told BBB that he received a letter from Tradewinds Vacations in September 2022. He said he bought a vacation club membership from the company in October 2010 and has yet to hear from the company after the purchase.
The letter said the man had to pay $498 to cancel his membership.
“I gave in and paid them, even though I didn’t think it was appropriate,” the man told BBB. He said he was not satisfied with the membership.
A survey of more than 30 complainants showed that a nearly identical percentage of respondents decided not to pay the company any more money, paid a release fee, or were released without a fee after arguing they previously had canceled their membership. Over 75 percent of the survey respondents were over 55.
While the companies have been answering their BBB complaints, they requested in June 2022 for BBB to no longer call them.
The businesses are owned and operated by William H. Bailey and Christy D. Spensberger. Illinois Secretary of State records show Funseekers Vacations Inc. is registered as a foreign corporation from Delaware named Travel Services Limited, Inc.
The businesses previously have come under government scrutiny. A November 2000 consent judgment with the state of Indiana permanently barred the business owners from operating there after violating the state’s promotional gifts and contest act.
In March 2001, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office obtained a court order requiring the owners to change how the company sold its services and fully inform future customers of the right to cancel within five days. A consent judgment ordered the business to pay more than $45,000 in customer restitution and release consumer debt of more than $634,000.
In 2010, the Texas Attorney General’s Office charged the owners with violating the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
In 2014, the Wisconsin Attorney General fined the businesses $1.8 million as part of a deceptive marketing practices lawsuit.
BBB offers these tips on safe vacation planning:
- Research any business and its owners carefully before paying any money. Check the company’s BBB Business Profile at BBB.org or by calling 888-996-3887.
- When searching for travel deals on the Internet, avoid using broad search terms. Using broad search terms can sometimes lead you to websites that look official but are designed to trick users.
- If you attend a meeting where vacation club plans are sold, do not give in to high-pressure sales tactics. Take your time to decide and research what you are purchasing.
- Make sure you get all the details in writing. If you purchase a travel club membership and have second thoughts about the deal, you have a limited time to rescind the contract and get your money back. Refer to the Federal Trade Commission’s Cooling-Off Rule for more information.
- Pay by credit card whenever possible if you need to challenge the payment.
- For more information about travel scams, refer to a 2018 BBB study.
