Description

I received a card in the mail with various cruise lines on it and a number to call with an RSVP code. I was told my partner and I would be in a "focus group" that would last 60-75 minutes, and in return would get a free cruise and a $100 restaurant gift certificate. Instead, it was a 2 1/2-hour sales pitch with pressure to become a "VIP" member of their travel company. (It seemed that other couples on the Zoom call did "join," but I have no idea whether they were actually connected to the company or not and doing this as part of the scam.) They did send me the emails to redeem the two gift certificates. However, when I followed the instructions to redeem the restaurant offer, this offer didn't exist at the restaurant. I spent a lot of time trying to get through the twists and turns of web registration - this also involved the company Survey Boss and Restaurant.com, and at one point they bounced me to a media site with no restaurants - and at some point my credit card number got loaded in. (I didn't type it in.) The people I spoke with when I called each referred me to someone else and claimed to be just a little person there who didn't know anything about how the company worked in the larger scheme of things. Among other things we were told at the "focus group" was that they had an excellent rating at Better Business Bureau and high customer reviews online.