The Travel Consultants

My wife and I were invited to a presentation at the MOA in June of 2015. They claimed we could vacation at world class resorts for a fraction of the cost. Even though I firmly believe in ‘no free lunch’ and ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t’ I confess that after the slick slide show, we were actually considering becoming members. However, the sales people were very high pressure which makes me very unconfortable. During a brief moment when the sales person left us to think about their offer, I Googled the company and the top five hits were all scam alerts. We got up to leave but were guided to another sales person to continued to push us even more. They reluctantly gave us the ‘free travel vouchers’ which I just discovered are offered by a company with an ‘F’ rating from the Better Business Bureau. We didn’t lose any money, but felt cheated of 3 hours of our time.

Great service for cruises and resorts. My husband and I highly recommend this company. Kind and courteous staff as well

This travel agency likes to scam anyone it can con into believing they can offer «wholesale» travel pricing if you join their travel club!
I was invited to a «special presentation» and offered free airline tickets for attending. (These tickets turned out not to be free at all and the phone caller lied and said they were with American Airlines). During this very high pressure sales presentation we were made promises of very, very low wholesale pricing on exotic vacations and hotel accommodations at almost ½ of a normal rate. The owners Melanie and Brian Danz told us of trips to Hawaii for pennies on the dollar and gave us their «grand opening» pricing if we signed up. Regrettably, we did. It was many thousands of dollars…
The contract we signed stated that we had 10 days to cancel our contract. It also stated that if within these 10 days, we chose to book a trip with The Travel Consultants; we would waive our right to cancel. To me this is like saying, you can buy this super cheap car and return it within 10 days if you do not like it… but if you get in it and drive it, too bad… you own it!
So, my husband needed to travel out of town on business. He was very hesitant about this company. I called and received a quote from Melanie Danz. Much to my surprise it was ½ the price of what I was quoted when contacting the hotel directly. I asked Melanie to book the room for my husband and provided her a business AX to pay for the charges. I realized I was agreeing to the terms of this contract by booking this room. But with the price being this good, I was okay with that and happy with my decision.
Until…
My husband went to check out of the hotel he was at. He was told that the room HAD NOT been reserved at the rate quoted… HAD NOT been paid for in advance… AND that he was liable for the full rack rate and needed to pay the hotel directly. The front desk also informed him that whoever had booked the room for him did so on a public website that anyone can book on (similar to expedia). I was furious, BUT I still had 3 days «right to cancel» per my contract.
So I promptly went to see Melanie Danz and told her about my issues and that I was not happy with the club I had joined and that I wanted to cancel. She said she was sorry, offered me another bogus «free airfare» certificate and took my cancellation. Thought I was finished and happy to have found out before it was too late that this company lies and swindles people out of their money with false promises and bogus pricing.
Three days AFTER I cancelled this company charged my AX card in full! Not only that but a week AFTER my husband checked out of his hotel room, The Travel Consultants charged him for the hotel room they had given us a quote on even AFTER they knew we had already paid the hotel directly!
They are now refusing to refund my money. They keep saying that because I «booked travel within my 10 days right to cancel I waive my right to cancel» This would be all fine and good IF they had provided me with the hotel room at the price they QUOTED me in the first place! I have tried several times and filed a dispute with AX to have the Danz’s reverse these charges. They refuse.
Sorry for the long story, but I am telling ANYONE that will listen DO NOT SPEND YOUR TIME OR YOUR MONEY WITH THE TRAVEL CONSULTANTS at the Mall of America! They are very dishonest people and their travel club does not provide the service and pricing they promise.
Thank you for reading.