Important - check your credit card statements - for "Travel Steps"

Mrs James said:

But to be fair Momma...you do find it hard to say 'no' :tassles:

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.......yes

simplynocturnal said:

I seem to have read ALOT of comments about the travelsteps club, as a member i thought it would be best for me to comment.
I had a call last week from someone calling on behalf of Ideal world, 'in assosiation with travel steps'. First of all they asked me a few customer service questions, then went on to say that as a thankyou for ordering with ideal world, i can have a 30 day free trial for a lifestyle and leisure brochure - the travel steps club. the girl then went on to saying what was in the brochure and that IF after the 30 day trial i wished to continue being a member, its £99 for a years membership and this would be debited from my account after the 30 day trial. if however i did not want to continue being a member, i could post back the brochure or call the number in the brochure. I accepted the offer, and received exactly what i thought i was receiving. I did check this with trading standards and apparently it is completely acceptable for companies to pass on your details to 3rd party companies. and only IF you agree to receive the 30 day trial, would you be charged. My advice to you all is to listen to your calls, it seems that all of you obviously didnt listen to what was said on the phone. The whole point of a 30 day TRIAL is that you are on a TRIAL. I have now kept my membership and will shortly be going on my holiday to the Costa del sol, free of charge thanks to the travel steps.

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So is it or isn't it free? I'm lost :33:.

SimplyNocturnal sounds like either a rep for this shoddy company or someone who is in denial after falling for this scam and desperately trying to justify being ripped off.....whichever, please don't bring your patronising spiel on here.
The innocent members of the dubious companies, who have underhandedly passed their private details on, are not stupid or deaf, my own phone caller stated he was from Ideal World, no other company was mentioned, and the brochure on offer was free and based on my shopping habits....seeing as I've never ordered a holiday from Ideal World how could it be....there's 2 lies to begin with, and I for one, don't deal with liars.

I hope you enjoy your FREE holiday and please feel free to take lots of pics as I'm sure we'd all love to see such a magical event.

I've POSTED this on ANOTHER thread but thought I'd POST it on HERE as this THREAD is MORE IMPORTANT than the other one with THE DEAF members on it.

"SimplyNocturnal sounds like either a rep for this shoddy company or someone who is in denial after falling for this scam and desperately trying to justify being ripped off.....whichever, please don't bring your patronising spiel on here.
The innocent members of the dubious companies, who have underhandedly passed their private details on, are not stupid or deaf, my own phone caller stated he was from Ideal World, no other company was mentioned, and the brochure on offer was free and based on my shopping habits....seeing as I've never ordered a holiday from Ideal World how could it be....there's 2 lies to begin with, and I for one, don't deal with liars.

I hope you enjoy your FREE holiday and please feel free to take lots of pics as I'm sure we'd all love to see such a magical event."

Is this where you are going Simplynocturnal?

From:http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=175868&Itemid=95

Travel Steps are offering free holiday accommodation in Costa del Sol when you sign up for a free trial with the holiday club. For most of us a holiday is something we are unwilling to give up even when times are hard and the recession is taking hold - this is a free gift you simply cannot ignore.

Travel Steps is giving you and your family the opportunity to stay free in their Pueblo Evita Resort in the popular holiday destination of Costa del Sol. Pueblo Evita is a gated resort which is very popular with families with small children. There are a couple of outdoor heated swimming pools as well as an indoor pool. Entertainment is available within the resort and within close proximity is a zoo, theme parks, aqua park, shopping centres, markets and of course the beach and marina just to name a few.

The accommodation provided by Travel Steps is a one bed apartment that sleeps up to 4 people. For those wanting to make further savings there is a fully fitted kitchen as well as the option of bars and restaurants within the Pueblo Evita Resort.

Malaga airport is 20 minutes from the resort and whilst you are responsible for your own flights, holiday insurance and transfers with off peak flights available for next to nothing this holiday is a fantastic deal and affordable for most. They seem to have forgotten about food
A part of Pressplay Home Shopping, Travel Steps is the holiday club that TV shopping and mail order companies are investing in to thank their customers for being loyal and placing orders with them in these difficult times. For more information on how to claim your free holiday through the Travel Steps holiday club visit, http://www.travel-steps.co.uk/free-holiday.php or call 0845 345 9745.

Perhaps you might like to look here too:

http://www.pueblo-evita.com/index.html

Oh Look! They're affiliated to RCI and if you still don't think this is timeshare, then you're thicker than you have already come across as, or perhaps you work for them!

Make sure you have your £80 returnable deposit ready to cover any damage/breakages

Enjoy your holiday!:54:

Well found MGS!!!!! Free holiday accommodation does not equate to a free holiday, and by the sounds of it once you're over there, you could end up spending a lot, lot more than you bargained for! Simply Nocturnal, I hope that you are in fact in someway connected with this dubious outfit, 'cause if not you're the sort of gullible idiot that these companies prey upon!

....Oh, I also would be surprised if you were to get your £80 back whether you broke or damaged anything or not, they'll find an excuse to hold on to it, of that I'm certain!

You do have to pay for your flights, and your food. There are restaurants on the resort but you are not obliged to eat there, you may leave the resort as and when you please. obviously after receiving the letter i was abit wary, as most people were.. hence why I came on here to read the reviews. This is why I contacted the hotel, the receptionist gave me all the info I needed to know, as any person would assume, you dont get something for nothing.. fair enough you are paying £99 for the membership, I guess this is how you pay for your accomodation. I used to work for Thomas Cook and before that I worked for Going Places.. PLEASE somebody enlighten me by telling me where on earth you can get deals like that from?! because i would be extremely interested to know!! But no, after you receive the invite to the bbq, you are not asked anymore about the holiday ownership - its your choice if you want to go.. if you dont.. you dont.. if you do.. you do!

Anymore info needed, contact me

And as for 'newbies', you make out like this site is a dating agency. Its a shopping review website, PLEASE do not think that because you have been on here for more than a few weeks that you are entitled to more of an opinion than anyother tom, dick and harry that may like to post on this website.

Kind regards x

Yes BBQ's with a very hard sell, I really hope that Ideal World ditch Travel Steps ASAP.

Less trouble IMO to throw £99 on a BBQ in your back yard!

simplynocturnal said:

And as for 'newbies', you make out like this site is a dating agency. Its a shopping review website, PLEASE do not think that because you have been on here for more than a few weeks that you are entitled to more of an opinion than anyother tom, dick and harry that may like to post on this website.

Kind regards x

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You're not entitled to less of an opinion, but as so many people here had reported bad experiences of having money taken from their credit cards/bank accounts, that your posts "stood out" somehow, and seemed very defensive over a scheme that requires you to have more than your wits about you when you join, and in some cases are being sent brochures without any recollection of agreeing to accept one, let alone ask for one.

I'm really sorry if this is going to sound super-cynical, and well done for doing your research, but until you've actually experienced this £99 holiday, and have come home relaxed, and not out of pocket in any way that you didn't plan for, I don't think you can honestly vouch for it. As I asked before, does the £99 just cover your accommodation, or can you take a friend/s with you on the same deal? ...or are you going on your own? It's one thing speaking to someone on the phone, I so hope you aren't being mislead...remember for the people on here who unwittingly signed up for travel steps in the first place, it all started with a phone call! Good luck anyway!

No its not just for me, its for up2 4 people, but I am going with 2 of my friends. The only thing that is free of charge is your accomodation, anything else.. eg flights, car hire, or transfers, food etc you have to pay for. But as we were already looking for a holiday, and with flybe flights at just £36pp, in total we paid about £70 for our holiday to spain. So to be fair, if anyone else could find a selfcatering holiday to spain for just £70pp then they have found a certainly good deal.

simplynocturnal said:

Anymore info needed, contact me

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No thanks.

My problem with you is your continuing rude and abrasive manner, particularly for a "newbie", and none of us is under the illusion that this is a dating agency. :22: I am one of many who have experienced problems with this company, added to which my sales person lied to me, as have others. It was extremely rude and patronising to suggest that we are a bunch of numbnuts that don't listen to, or can't understand, what we are told. :24:

to be fair Argey....Yaz does use this place like a dating site

Sorry Mrs J, I was only talking about oomans, I'd forgotten the meerkat.

:7:

simplynocturnal said:

You do have to pay for your flights, and your food. There are restaurants on the resort but you are not obliged to eat there, you may leave the resort as and when you please. obviously after receiving the letter i was abit wary, as most people were.. hence why I came on here to read the reviews. This is why I contacted the hotel, the receptionist gave me all the info I needed to know, as any person would assume, you dont get something for nothing.. fair enough you are paying £99 for the membership, I guess this is how you pay for your accomodation. I used to work for Thomas Cook and before that I worked for Going Places.. PLEASE somebody enlighten me by telling me where on earth you can get deals like that from?! because i would be extremely interested to know!! But no, after you receive the invite to the bbq, you are not asked anymore about the holiday ownership - its your choice if you want to go.. if you dont.. you dont.. if you do.. you do!

Anymore info needed, contact me

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It is not a hotel, it is a gated community holiday resort and if, with all your wealth of experience in the travel trade, you think that you will leave there without being pestered at least once, especially if you don't attend the welcome bbq, you are clearly living in cloud cuckoo land. Your lack of attendance will be noted and you will be contacted, probably by someone rapping on your apartment door at some ungodly hour before you have a chance to escape the compound for the day or when you are sunning yourself beside the pool. Only those whose appearance gives the impression that they cannot afford a pot to £iss in will be left alone.

£99 might seem like a bargain, but for £1 more you can buy an inspection visit, flight included, for one week which makes £99 not such a bargain after all especially when you consider you are going out there, albeit unwittingly, for the same purpose!

The cheapest return flight will cost you around £120 from somewhere like Luton, then you've got food which isn't cheap now thanks to the exchange rate, plus the security deposit so you're looking in the region of £450 bare minimum. There are far better last minute deals nearly always available, for less than £300 including half board!

Oh yes, I too worked for a travel firm. American Express Travel Services, for nearly 15 years, when Timeshare was exactly the same as it is now, except that word is now feared, so it's called Holiday Club instead.. New wrapper, same shite inside!

I also own a Timeshare, in Fuerteventura, bequeathed to me by a relative and whether I use my week or not, I have to pay maintenance fees (£349 per week, per apartment, this year, which is average for Spanish fees ) and if I want to save a week and take two weeks together it costs me around £125 to save the week. No wonder Pueblo Evita and other sites can take prospective purchasers out for £99, when each apartment is bringing in over £18k pa in maintenance fees alone.

The only saving grace for my complex is that it is now members and bona fide prospective members only, for whom income, maritial status/ confirmation that there is a partner and possession of a credit card checks are all made before an inspection flight is granted. Until 3 years ago "spare" units were let out via JMC and there were all sorts of problems with their clients, many of whom did not appreciate the beautiful facilities on offer, preferring to make trouble instead.

Does the £70 include taxes and surcharges? That is exceptionally cheap, are you flying from a "rural" airport?

The cheapest return flight is £130???? i dont know where you get your flights from but your gettin ripped off. It was about £38pp for out flight!! And that includes all taxes surcharges and airport fees. We also dont have to pay any maintenance fee either, so ontop of the flight the only thing we need to pay for is our car hire and our food and drink!

Either way IMO mad to touch Travel Steps with a barge poll.

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone on this board as I received the dreaded phone call from IW this morning and very firmly said I was certainly not interested in the travel club. In these credit crunch/recession times, I am absolutely certain that anyone who signs up and goes on one of their "deals" will get pestered from morning till night by timeshare sharks. Particularly now, there is absolutely no such thing as a free lunch or BBQ as the case may be.

Extremely informative posts (especially mrs J!:18 I'll certainly be telling them where to go if I get the phone call.