If you have been ripped of by these people please go to the Travel In Style Website and find out who to complain to. The web designer took down their site and put the contact information there.
We paid $1495.00 for their service, and the only thing we wanted at first was a rental car price.
On May 19 we called and left a message to get a car rental for August 28 to Sept. 3. We had no reply.
On May 28 we were in Tucson and stopped in to their office, to find out why we hadn't heard anything, and we were assured that we would probably hear by the time we got back to Las Cruces.
About June 16, I emailed Travel In Style to complain about the lack of service concerning the rental, but I had to leave a message. I received a call later that day asking for the information again for the dates that we needed the car. We hadn't heard from them by June 21, so I called to cancel my membership, and get a refund, but nobody from Administration bothered to call back. An agent finally did get back to me later that day, with a price of $374.00 and limited mileage. This is a travel agent price??? She also told me that they have had the information since the 16, but we never heard from them. I got a price myself from Interval International of $269.00 with unlimited mileage. We still had not had a reply from anybody in administration.
On June 23, I called to let them know we still wanted a refund because of the lack of service, and if they didn't respond by the 25th, I would take my complaints to the next level.
It's June 25 and no word from Larry Hackney in administration. So I called and told them I would be writing letters to the Better Business Bureaus of Las Cruces, and Tucson, and then copies of the letters to go to the Consumer Protection Services people in each city and state. I also told him that I would be writing to the Hilton Hotel that hosts the seminars, and that I am ready to publish this webpage. Finally, I told him that we will be in Tucson next month, and will file a suit in small claims court............Later in the day, we finally heard from Larry and he said we would get a refund sent to us sometime next week.
Well, here it is July 10 and still no check. I called Larry and had to leave a message, but no call back yet.
July 12 and still waiting so I called them AGAIN and was told everything is ready to go because the check was written, and we would get a call from Tina DeFabritis, but she never got back to us.
July 13 Lee Cummings called back after three calls this morning to Travel In Style. He wanted to see what they could do to resolve this problem, but I told him I just wanted my money back. Now I'm told that that will not be possible, and to read the contract I signed. We have not even received any information from them to this date. Evidently Jim, Larry, and Tina have lied to us about getting the refund all along. Just yesterday we were told by one of the agents that the check was being written that day. Lee did ask me to wait a couple of hours so he could get in touch with everybody to see what they actually said. Well we just got out membership card in the mail this afternoon. Later in the evening Lee Cummings got back to me and asked if I would wait until Friday morning at 10:30 before I acted because he wanted to schedule a phone conference with everyone and resolve this issue one way or the other.
July 16 It's 12:30 and they have not called back as promised. I changed a doctor appointment to make sure I would be here at the time they said, but like thier previous history with me they chose not to call. This is the last example of a total lack of concern or willingness to resolve this problem without going to court. So today I mailed the letters to the previously mentioned services, and included copies to The Travel Club, and the Consumer Complaint Division of the Attorney Generals Office in Phoenix, Az. And as I also told them I would, I submitted this page to some search engines. I just can't believe that they would not try to resolve this matter.
July 22 We filed the case with the Small Claims Division of Court in Tucson today.
August 12 I checked today at Small Claims, and they haven't answered the claim within the twenty days that the court gives. If we don't hear from them by next week, we will go to Tucson to have a judgement awarded.
August 18 Travel In Style has apparently split. The Attorney Generals Office it Arizona is actively looking for Tina DeFibritis and Jim Gutierrez. They think they are somewhere in California. We are on our way to Tucson to have a judgement awarded to us because they ignored the summons from the court.
August 20 We filed the paperwork today to have the judgement awarded because it seems that they have left the state. We stopped at the office and the doors were locked, nothing was inside, and there were notices of certified mail waiting for them at the post office.
September 7, 1999 We were awarded a Judgement by Default today for $1495.00 + costs. So our main complaints are:
1. They lied about giving us a refund, and telling us a check had been written.
2. It took over a month to get us a price for a car after the first request and many phone calls went unanswered.
3. It was a terrible price.
4. There seemed to be a total lack of effort or communication by anyone in Administration to get in touch with us and try to resolve the problem.
5. They split, and screwed everyone.
November 11, 2000 Well here it is, almost a year later, and guess what?????? We got a letter from the Tucson Better Business Bureau telling us to get in touch with the Arizona Attorney General in Tucson. Somehow they negotiated an out of court settlement with Defabritis, and now we are in on the settlement. She was ordered to come up with $10,000 and divide it up among the complaintants. I'll be happy just to get a buck or two from her. Our Civil case is still on the books and the AG gave me Defabritis' lawyers name. It's Ralph Ellinwood, 117 West Washington St, Tucson, AZ, 86701. We're going there later this month and will see if we can get the judgement paid.
RE: Tina DeFabritis dba Travel In Style
Our File: CPA 00-161
Dear Mr. Holgersen:
Enclosed please find a check in the amount of $257.41. This check represents funds recovered by the Consumer Protection and Advocacy Section. The amount of your check represents a pro-rata amount pursuant to an Assurance of Discontinuance obtained against the Respondents on October 13, 2000
Thank you very much for your assistance in this matter. This office's activities are directed to the investigation and prosecution of consumer fraud violations. It is only through complaints and information received from citizens like you that we are able to effectively enforce the laws of the State. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Ms. Oksane Pierce at (602) 542 7741.
Sincerely,
Janet Napolitano
Attorney General