Traveluniversal, is it the real thing or a scam?

I was the other night on the internet and I go to this webpage that I normally go to listen music. Anyways... I go everyday and the other night there is this pop up saying that I was visitor 1000 or whatever and I won a travel to Florida, etc. I never click on those things but it was the first time I that I saw that pop up in the page so I click, put some information, phone, etc. A few day later I go a call confirming that I am who click on the webpage etc and they offer me this nice package to Florida and Mexico. They gave me their address, costumer service number, web page, explained me everything... I have to say they were really nice. The place is called travel universal and you can see the information of the package they offer me at www.traveluniversal.net Their address is 4015 huxford court tampa, fl, 33624 and costumer service number is 1866 7833000

My point with all this is, Is there a way I can check for these people to know for sure is not a scam? because obviously they wanted my credit card number to check, I said I don%26#39;t have with me in the moment so they said that I can call whenever to complete the registration and they will send me all the tickets, etc.

This is my first time writing to this forum so I really don%26#39;t know what to expect. You can see at the webpage that they have organized trips for 100000 families, etc, so I guess if they are the real thing, some travel agencies will know about them, right?

If you have any ideas about my case I will really appreciate it.

Thank you very much

Traveluniversal, is it the real thing or a scam?

Point A would be a basic lesson in Internet safety. Never give out any personal info over a transaction you did not initiate--i.e. pop-up ads, junk email, etc. You weren%26#39;t even looking for travel to begin with. You said you were just listening to music. They put that ad up there to hook you into giving out your info.

Point B would be of COURSE IT%26#39;S A SCAM!

Traveluniversal, is it the real thing or a scam?

I should also mention as a warning that this very post could be a guise to get someone to go to the website. Who knows what kind of spyware they have running on there. Don%26#39;t cut and paste, folks!

Always be leery. A common ploy down here in Florida is the time-share game. They basically give you two or three nights free in a hotel but in exchange you have to sit through many hours of time share selling meetings. That might be what you have. Or you can check with the better business bureau www.bbbonline.com and type in their name to see if there have been any complaints. Either way, I would be nervous. Florida, unfortunately, is a land of scams, and I would be very hesitant and cautious to give out my cc number to anyone I%26#39;ve never heard of. Hell, a flight from Southwest Air doesn%26#39;t cost nearly what you%26#39;ll pay if you get taken.

VARIATION ON A THEME.....

I have experienced a variation on the old timeshare condo sales pitch.

The call comes from a ';travel company'; that offers a free caribbean cruise, airline tickets to Las Vegas or Los Angeles AND ';gas money'; for coming to their office and a free dinner at a local restaurant.

What do I have to do? Go to their office and consider ';using their travel service'; for my future travel plans.

What does it turn out to be? A pitch to BUY A FRANCHISE from them so that I can become my OWN TRAVEL AGENT and get ';industry discounts'; when I make my travel reservations.

It may be ';legal'; but I find it unethical to operate a ';travel agency'; just so I can get travel discounts. In addition, in order to do it right you will have to get licenses, file reports with the state and the federal government, etc. Things that they don%26#39;t mention during the sales pitch.

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And with regard to the original posting on this site: OF COURSE it is a scam; and/or the posting itself is a scam intended to get you to visit the web site so you can have some spyware installed on your computer!

Hi, i received the same call today and i wonder if it%26#39;s true or not...please can someone help me

edg3crusher@hotmail.com

The address for Travel Universal is that of a PRIVATE RESIDENCE in a RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD located a couple of miles from my house in suburban Tampa, Florida.

The tax records show that it is the property of a 62 year old female. I am not including her name and telephone number, but a diligent investigator could discover them by searching the address in the records of the Hillsborough County Tax Collector, followed by a name search on the web site called Zabasearch.

If you are comfortable doing business with a private individual working out of a private residence - that is your choice.

One last word of opinion. If someone offers you something of value, they must have a motive. Usually they expect to sell you something that will make them a profit which is well beyond what they have offered you. Obviously they don%26#39;t sell the product to everyone who accepts the offer, so the product must be highly overpriced to cover the expense of giving away the something of value to many people, while making relatively few sales.

If an offer seems too good to be true - it probably is.

And in the words of P.T. Barnum: ';There%26#39;s a sucker born every minute.';

Hi leito13,

I%26#39;m having the same problem i am thinking of buying a time share at the Orange Lake country Club Orlando and i%26#39;m all ways worried that they could be scams or rip offs, I wondering if you have come across OLCC in your web browsing. We went on a tour of the place and it seems a great place but!!!!!!

Regards Paul

Why don%26#39;t you hop on over to the E Bay site and see that they are selling Orange Lake Country Club for as little as $299 by people desperate to unload theirs. If you reallly liked the place , buy it from someone else ( though I don%26#39;t recommend that either) rather than at the incredible price you would pay to the timeshare vultures.

I always follow my instincts and a golden rule - If in doubt don%26#39;t !

This sounds like a variation of a scam to get your credit card details.

No-one gives anything away for nothing, besides which, if you have won a prize, why do they need your credit card details?

If you have genuinely won then there should be nothing to pay.

We have had a number of similar scams in the U.K., one of which is to say you have won a prize but you need to pay a service fee, but the goods or services never appear.

regards

Gismo

I know this is an older post but I wanted to add my 2 cents to this anyway.

First, I am a travel agent. I have worked from my home for 6 yrs and in the industry for 12 yrs this coming December. I can not say this loud enough and clear enough.....NO LEGITIMATE TRAVEL AGENCY WILL CONTACT YOU TO WORK FOR THEM UNLESS YOU CONTACT THEM FIRST AND ARE A CURRENT AGENT W/A DEGREE!! If you get a call like this one poster here did, you can be assured it is a scam.

Yes, travel agents do get some travel discounts and benefits but nothing like we did 8-10 yrs ago. It%26#39;s the love of the business that keeps current agents in the field. If you are promised unlimited travel benefits, run in the opposite direction b/c you%26#39;re looking at a major problem!!

Hope that helps some. If you%26#39;d like any other info, post here and I%26#39;ll answer any questions you have.

GOOD LUCK!!

Karen

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