Sweep Accuses Travel Outfits, One in County

Government regulators lashed out Tuesday at what they called unscrupulous travel operators, accusing 25 companies--one of them in Fountain Valley--of deceiving consumers about the costs and strings attached to discount vacations.

As part of a nationwide sweep dubbed Operation Trip Trap, state and federal regulators announced they have filed 47 lawsuits against travel companies, particularly targeting those that mislead college students about spring break trips.

“Students get down there and find out they don’t have the reservations they were promised,” said Andrea Foster, who directed the crackdown out of the Federal Trade Commission’s Atlanta office. “They end up with eight students to a room or sleeping in a hallway.”

The FTC, joined by California and 19 other states, also took aim at telemarketers who tell consumers they have won free or cut-rate trips that end up costing thousands of dollars more than expected or require travelers to sit through time-share pitches.

“People are very vulnerable to the suggestion that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Paul M. Ruden, the American Society of Travel Agents’ senior vice president for legal and industry affairs.

ASTA, which represents about 10,000 U.S. travel agencies, estimates that travel fraud costs Americans about $10 billion annually.

The California attorney general’s office filed two suits Monday as part of Operation Trip Trap. One was filed in Orange County Superior Court against Fountain Valley-based Island Tours Inc. and Surf & Sun Tours Inc. of Phoenix. The other, brought in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accuses Dream Marketing of Winter Park, Fla., of charging inflated fees, operating without a license in California and selling hotel packages without warning that they required vacationers to sit through pitches for time-share units.

Dozens of spring break travelers complained about travel packages purchased from Island Tours and Surf & Sun Tours, said Sandra Michioku, spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office. The state’s lawsuit alleges the companies delayed students’ departures for days, often resulting in lost hotel reservations, and switched them from promised hotels and airports without warning.

Jason Lindley of Raleigh, N.C., paid $936 for air fare and a stay at Cancun’s luxurious Oasis hotel. Instead, he departed eight hours late after being bused from the Raleigh airport to Charlotte. Then he found out he was staying at a different hotel--way different, he said.

“They put us in this little dump,” said Lindley, adding that he had not received a refund. “We were supposed to have a quad and got a double [for four people]. Then our flight home was 15 hours late. I’m glad something is being done about it because it was the trip from hell.”

Island Tours President Mike Erickson blamed the miscues on Surf & Sun, saying his company merely resold packages that the other firm arranged.

“We didn’t do anything,” said Erickson, whose company handles more than 8,000 trips a year, almost all of them during the four-week span of spring break. “It’s like selling bad eggs--you don’t know until you break them that they’re bad. Every single student [who refused to travel because of delays] has been refunded their money.”

Surf & Sun could not be reached for comment.

California regulators are seeking cease-and-desist orders against the companies they have sued, restitution for customers, and penalties of at least $50,000.

The FTC filed complaints seeking similar redress from five other companies: American International Travel Services Inc. of Deerfield Beach, Fla.; Air-Land-Sea Reservations Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; All Around Travel Club Inc. of Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.; Resort World Inc. of Las Vegas and Cervenik-Anderson Travel Inc. of Phoenix.

Cervenik-Anderson’s general counsel, Brian Burt, denied the FTC’s allegations and said the commission was “painting with a broad brush” in including the business in its complaint. Messages left with other companies were not returned.

American International and Air-Land-Sea sold vacation packages, in some cases telling consumers they had won their trips as part of a prize promotion, without disclosing that the deals hinged on attending one or more time-share pitch seminars, the FTC said.

FTC officials said it is difficult to gauge whether travel fraud is increasing, but it consistently ranks among the top 10 complaints on lists compiled by state and national consumer agencies.

The FTC did a similar sweep in 1997. Foster, who directed the latest crackdown, called Tuesday’s action a way to reinforce that effort, coupling the lawsuits with a consumer education campaign made up of brochures and tips listed on the agency’s Web site, https://www.ftc.gov.

Times staff writer Stephen Fuzesi in Washington and Associated Press contributed to this report.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

How to Head Off a Travel Scam

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Oral misrepresentations: You are promised a deal the telemarketer can’t deliver but you won’t know it until your money is gone.

Contradictory follow-up: Company may agree to send you written confirmation of your deal, but it may include additional charges and conditions.

TO PROTECT YOURSELF

* Be wary of “great deals” and low-priced offers.

* Don’t be pressured into making an immediate purchase.

* Ask detailed questions about what is covered and what isn’t. Get names of hotels, airlines, airports and restaurants and ask about cancellation/refund policies. If the agent can’t answer, hang up.

IF YOU DECIDE TO BUY

* Get name of the company providing reservations and tickets; it is probably not the telemarketer.

* Get all information in writing and compare it with what you agreed to on the phone.

* Don’t provide your credit card number or any bank information over the phone unless you know the company.

* Don’t send money by overnight mail or messenger. Paying with cash or check forfeits your right to dispute charges under the Fair Credit Billing Act.

* Check with organizations listed below to see if any complaints have been registered against the travel firm or provider(s).

WHERE TO COMPLAIN

American Society of Travel Agents, Consumer Affairs, 1101 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314.

California Attorney General, Public Inquiry Unit, PO Box 944255, Sacramento, CA 94244. Include your name, address, telephone number and a description of the problem, including the name of the company involved. Or use the online complaint form at https://www.caag.state.ca.us.

Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center takes complaints toll-free at 877-FTC-HELP (382-4357); TDD, (202) 326-2502; by mail at 600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC 20580. Or use the online complaint form found at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm

Sources: Federal Trade Commission, California attorney general

Los Angeles Times