My weekend get away/family reunion

[joec]

Well as I told you all a while back we got a call to setup a log cabin in Pigeon Forge Tennessee a while back for the amazing price of $150 for 2 nights and 3 days. Ok first off my wife dealt with this and it was her idea to get friends and family to come at the same time.

Ok we drove the 200+ miles from Lexington to Pigeon Forge inside of 2 3/4 hours with no problem however once we got off of Route 40 we spent 2 hours going the last 10 miles due to traffic. Now granted we hit the place at about 5 PM on a Friday afternoon. Now #1 son and his wife flew in from Washington state and got a cabin a few miles from ours arriving a day before us as did my best friend and his family. Number 2 son and youngest son showed up the next afternoon. Now the reunion was fun as was the meal my wife and I prepared.

Ok all went well until they gave us the keys to the cabin at which time, after months of setting this up had never been mentioned we had to listen to a sales pitch. So we said fine we will spend an hour listening to it, but no they set it up for 4 PM on a Sunday afternoon with us required to be out of the cabin at 11AM. Then come to find out the insisted on us taking a tour in a limo through the god awful traffic on the only road in the place. Now this tour was supposed to take 1 hour but usually runs 1.5 hours then 45 minutes of their sales pitch. Sunday when we went their again fighting the worse traffic I've seen since the turnpikes of Miami Florida I said no. This morning I wake up to see they charged my credit card an additional $268 for the cabin. At any rate it won't happen again ever and the wife did make some calls to the better business bureau as no mention was ever made of listening to a sales pitch at all or if we didn't attend it worked out to $150 per night. We was simply told that this was a resort among many others there offering people special rates to rent cabins.

 

[mhend]

That stinks! Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are notorious for this kind of thing. You can't walk down the strip without someone offering you something ( for example, the new zipline rides) without their being a sales pitch for a condo or cabin behind it. I have been going there since I was a little girl and am taking my kids up there this week actually.

 

[Adillo303]

Sorry it went that way Joe.

 

[QSis]

Awwwww, Joe, that's lousy!

I certainly think you should be able to get credit for the additional money they charged you, and I hope your wife makes her point with the BBB.

Lee

 

[Sass Muffin]

That sucks Joe!
I remember you telling me all about it, and how excited you were at the idea of getting away with Dawn and having the family there too.
Good Lord! Sounds like what was supposed to be a planned family getaway, turned into a surprise! you will now be screwed scheme.
I am so sorry honey.

 

[lilylove]

sounds like you were used and abused.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Oh crap, Joe! I hate that happened to you. You might want to contest the charges with your credit card company. They are almost always on your side and take complaints about scamming very seriously. Of course, it still doesn't make up for your time and aggravation.

 

[Kimchee]

I had a friend when I was a kid whose parents actually sought out these deals
and that was what they did for vacations!!!!

Sorry you got stuck this way, and I would definitely contest the other charges with your card carrier!!

 

[joec]

We have put in a formal complaint with both the credit card company (debit card) and the BBB. We will see how it turns out. My sons took their younger kids to the go cart track and it cost them $25 for each ride. The place is a bit too rich for my tastes in this day and age. Oh well at least the cabins where all nice and I did love the jacuzzi in the master bedroom. I also enjoyed shooting pool with my sons which I've done since they where young. We also made a big dinner Saturaday night of Roast Beef, mashed potatoes and a Caesar salad that my youngest son made the dressing for. We brought our own foods as sales tax there on everything at 10%.

 

[Doc]

Sorry to hear that Joe. I despise those sales pitches. Making the appointment for a time AFTER you had checked out seems way out of line. Especially for that late Sunday afternoon. Totally unreasonable.

I've never been down that way but will be careful if at some point we do mosey in that direction.

Your family outing sounds like fun. To bad the sales slime had to get into the mix. Good luck getting this resolved.

 

[joec]

Well Doc it was a learning experience to say the least. I have forbid Dawn from setting any more of these things up. At least my buddy and sons just rented cabins out right with out the scam.

 

[Doc]

Don't be to hard on Dawn Joe. Sounds like she was hogswaggled by some slime-ball salesman trying to get someone in the cabins so they could take advantage of them.
They work on a commission and it's a numbers game. Do whatever you can to get the people in the cabins and then the other side takes it from there. I suspect Dawn was totally in the dark as to what was coming. Could have happened to any of us. Thanks for letting us know about it so all of us here are less likely to get fooled by these types of shenanigans.

 

[joec]

I agree but then we were told nothing until the keys to the cabin was handed to us. Up until then we assumed we simply got a special offer on a cabin for a weekend.

When we got the keys was the first mention of any sales pitch as nothing was ever said in setting up the reservations over the last month. They told us we had to attend a 30 minute sales pitch on Saturday but called later to cancel it. They then called back and said the scheduled it for 1PM Sunday which then got changed till 2 PM. Now we was there at 2 PM but told we was to come back at 4 PM. They also told us it was a 1 hour tour in a limo followed by a 30 minute sales pitch and if we didn't make it we would pay full price for the cabin rental instead of the rate we was originally given with no mention on the phone. I at that point wasn't attending anything at all since we had checked out of the cabin by 10:30 that morning. I sure wasn't hanging around for till 7 or 8 PM to drive home and open the office the next day.

 

[buckytom]

josie, sorry about the scam.

btw, the better business bureau is a joke, so i hope you don't expect to get any satisfaction there. the companies that are members of the bbb pay for the priveledge to fool people into believing that the bbb is some kind of consumer protection service.

what they do is accept your complaint, notify the business, and let them respond. then you get to retort, and they respond again. over and over. that's it.

if you try to pursue it, they ignore your complaint until their self proclaimed timeout period expires, then they post the complaint as being "resolved - unable to reach the consumer for further comment".

i just went through this with a roofing company who nailed me for $400 while they didn't fix a thing. they laughed when i threatened them with the bbb, the idiot on the phone explaining to me how it works and that they've "beat" every other complaint.

after it was all over, i realized that the idiot was exactly right. like i said, the bbb is a joke that is there to waste a consumers time and get paid by it's members for it.

on the other side of the coin, it's extortion to the businesses in that if they don't become members, they list the complaint as unresolved.

 

[joec]

I know buck, hence we don't belong to it.

We have only had one complaint in 25 years. That was some guy who worked for a bank and though because they charged him to pay his bill with us we should have gotten his check which we never got. He really got verbally abusive to Dawn when she told him we had no record of his payment. I walked in the middle of it and told him to leave. At any rate the bank never sent us a check as he didn't give them a place to send it too. He eventually paid up including late fees and vacated. She did file a complaint but I figure either way I'm out the money and they are forever off my list of things to do.

 

[CaliforniaCook]

Sorry to hear this, Joe. It takes me back many years ago, when I used to receive time share promos in the mail. You have to attend the sales pitch (usually scheduled at a time to screw up your weekend - at 2 or 4 PM), & take the tour - if offered, to receive the free gift of choice. We went to one in Palm Springs, & another at an *upscale campground with cabins etc. in the middle of the desert. I did get the free gift (portable TV), etc., but we spent our gas $ to get there & back. The free lunch was more like cookies & coffee. It's all about making the sale, but we still tried to make the most of the weekend. Booked a hotel room & stayed another day (at our expense), or packed up the cooler, & had a lovely afternoon out in the "wilds."

The invite came via mail , & terms & conditions were clearly stated. You must attend the pitch/seminar & tour to receive the free gift or whatever they were offering.

*The campground timeshare(?) was in the middle of the desert. There was a hole where the pool was supposedly going to be, & no water was hooked up, yet. I asked the gentlemen, who was going to drive us around on the tour, about same. Apparently he didn't have the answers as to when it would be completed, pics etc. Instead he said, "You're just here for the free gift." We didn't bother with the required tour, as he said he would just give us the gift. He was not knowledgeable/couldn't provide any answers, & probably wanted to just make a quick commission buck.

I believe some are legit, but you must comply with the terms/conditions, & sit through "the pitch."

 

[joec]

We once went to Key West for a weekend just my wife and I. Well during the night a bad storm hit and when we got up in the morning their was no power except for a local Howard Johnson's which was jammed. We started driving home and saw a restaurant sign blinking on the side of the road in Tavinere so we stopped and went in. Well they gave us a menu with no prices as well as a complementary drink either a Bloody Mary or a Daiquiri. They had a buffet there to die for with stone crabs, lobster, fresh shrimp, omelets so we dove in. Well when we got done eating I asked for the check and was told this was for going through the sales pitch next door at the time sharing space. I told them I wasn't aware that it was on that so left a nice tip and left. One of the best brunches I've ever had and even with leaving a $20 tip it is also one of the cheapest.

 

[Sass Muffin]

This is going to go way off topic, Joe.. but I too have been burned myself in a sales pitch.
I went to Petland a few years ago to buy dog food.
There was a miniature dachshund (doggy in the window) that I fell in love with.

This young kid (obviously trained well in sales) came up to me and asked me if I wanted to hold him (only it wasn't a him, it was a her).
He brought the little weenie over to me and I was taken to an enclosed area to get to know the dog.

All the while I am cooing and going nuts over the prospect of taking home a sibling for Gretchen.
A stack of paper work is shoved at me during this, another worker is running around the store suggesting I buy this and that for the pup.. I am waving my hand like a fool saying ok.. ok... all the while with my heart attached to the dog.
I trusted them, thinking they had my best interests in mind as a new Mommy to the dog.

Trouble is, I didn't read all the fine print in the contract that was at the bottom of page (what was it now...page TWELVE?) that stated if for any reason I ever returned the pup, I'd be out a huge chunk of change that I paid out right.
I wrote out a check for Oliver (Olivia) for over $400.
After all was said and done, I was burned in the end.

Lesson learned: Never purchase or agree to anything in hopes it will be nice or positive. Caveat emptor (even when it comes to gorgeous little dachshunds).

2 days with us and Gretchen tried to mangle the pup.
Nothing I did could make her accept a new dog in the house.

I fell for the pitch and got screwed and left with a broken heart in the end.

 

[joec]

Yes I have seen that before, my grand daughter got her dog that way at a pet store in Louisiana. She still has the dog though. You should of seen what we had to fill out on a questionnaire to adopt Biggs from the pound here. You would of thought I was adopting a child not a dog. It is the only dog I've ever gotten that was dumped on my by one of my kids or I purchased out right. He has worked out well though.

 

[QSis]

Sass, what happened to Olivia? Did you return her for no, or less, money?

Lee

 

[PanchoHambre]

ha ha back in the 80s my folks used to get loads of free and steeply discounted ski vacations out of the vermont condo sales game. They sold us hard and figured the folks were loaded, fancy address and taking 5 kids + friends & grandparents skiing... little did they know folks were broke. Grandparents = free baby sitting and friends kept us out of their hair. once we wore out our welcome at one condo we would move on to another... they would get so pissed when my step-dad refused to drop a quarter mil (back then!) on a shabbily built condo you could rent for cheap.

I did one free sales pitch in Vegas for a time share for a brunch coupon and show tix... bad brunch and really hilariously bad show (best part was a charlie daniels impersonator) again they go so pissed at the end when they got you to a table with a salesperson and I am like I am a friggin grad student with $20 bucks to my name and tens of thousands in debt so like um NO not gonna be buying a time share but thanks i'll enjoy the brunch cause im broke.

 

[Sass Muffin]

Sass, what happened to Olivia? Did you return her for no, or less, money?

Lee

I returned her and was out over half of what I paid for her.
Pet supply stores that sell animals should be avoided by souls like myself.

 

[GotGarlic]

I did one free sales pitch in Vegas for a time share for a brunch coupon and show tix... bad brunch and really hilariously bad show (best part was a charlie daniels impersonator) again they go so pissed at the end when they got you to a table with a salesperson and I am like I am a friggin grad student with $20 bucks to my name and tens of thousands in debt so like um NO not gonna be buying a time share but thanks i'll enjoy the brunch cause im broke.

Hee hee, we did something similar once. We did a weekend at a timeshare on the beach in the North Carolina Outer Banks with a couple of nice meals included. I loved that they started the sales pitch with the question, So where do you all go on vacation? And we said, either my mom's house in the Florida Keys or DH's parents' house on a lake in Michigan.