Travel seems to attract more than its share of crooks and sharpies. Here’s a rundown on some of the worst offenders: how they work, how you can spot them and how you can avoid getting caught.
Deliberate theft. How it works: In the pure scams, crooked operators try to get their hands on your money with no intention of giving you anything of value in return. The operator gets some sort of prepayment or deposit from you, strings you along, then disconnects the phones and disappears.
Symptoms: A postcard or phone call saying you’ve “won” or been “specially selected for” a “free” trip. To qualify, you need only pay some sort of processing fee or deposit; you may be asked for your charge card number.
Prevention: Assume any offer claiming you’ve won or been specially selected for anything is a fraud. Don’t ever give charge card information to a stranger who has called you.
Inadvertent theft. How it works: A tour operator, stretched thin financially,”borrows” your prepayment to cover overdue bills for services supplied to earlier travelers. When the operator’s travel suppliers close off credit, the operator folds.
Symptoms: This one is almost impossible to detect before it enters the fatal stage. It happens even to “reliable” tour operators.
Prevention: Buy tours only from operators that belong to one of the three trade associations that operate consumer-protection programs-ASTA, USTOA or NTA. Buy with a charge card, so that you can request a chargeback (a cancellation of the bill) if you don’t receive the services for which you paid. Buy travel insurance (about $5.50 per $100 of coverage) against operator failure.
Disguised purpose. How it works: Timeshare or land-development promoters promise you a free or cheap mini-vacation. Alternatively, those promoters set up booths in a vacation area, perhaps disguised as official visitor centers, that trumpet heavily discounted admissions to local visitor attractions. Either way, the catch is that the only way to take advantage of the offer is to sit through a high-pressure sales presentation.
Symptoms: A postcard or letter saying you’ve “won” a free vacation, or a kiosk with signs touting discounts on local admissions.
Prevention: Read the fine print carefully-you’ll usually see the timeshare tie-in acknowledged in some way. If you’re willing to endure the sales pitch, go ahead and give the offer a try. But take along all the sales resistance you can. If you become convinced that a timeshare is a good idea, don’t jump to buy from the developer, whose price will include all sorts of marketing costs. You’re apt to get a better deal by buying a resale unit.
Bait and switch. How it works: You all know this one. A travel promoter features service at a very low price, then tries to sell you a pricier service.
Symptoms: Tour operators love to print an eye-catching price such as $299, $399 or $499 in great big type, preceded by “from” in much tinier lettering. When you call or check with your travel agent, you find that the “from” price is available for only one or two weeks of the year, and at only one or two hotels-often hostelries that even the roaches would shun.
Prevention: If you find some bait that’s really attractive-and really available-check it out. If the switch is too expensive, say “No, thanks.” Above all, be very careful of the bottom-priced hotels: All too often, they’re dogs.
