Buyer Beware! SCAM

[deerby27]

I would like other Cruise Critic Readers to be aware of a scam that I fell into. I made a reservation for an NCL cruise with a travel company that responded to my ************* request. This agent had the best price, so without hesitation I booked my cruise through him. I have booked several cruises through ************* agents and never had a problem. I was told there was a $250.00pp deposit required at booking, which I am used to. I still don't remember doing this, but the agent asked me for my credit card number for $250.00 and requested me to make another $250.00 to his PayPal account, which I apparently did. I received an invoice from the agent by email reflecting the $500.00 deposit being made, with the final payment due in July.

In July I called the agent to make the final payment and I was told to make the payment to his PayPal account, when I questioned this, he told me that is how he takes payment. I made the PayPal deposit as requested and was sent an invoice from the agency via email reflecting the payment and marked Paid in Full.

Three days ago (28 days from sailing) I received an email from NCL saying I had a balance due. At first I thought it was some kind of scam, but all the information was correct including an advance payment I had made for dinner reservations. It showed that only $250.00 was paid at booking, with another $250.00 still owed and the final payment amount. In August a $200.00 payment was made using a MasterCard on the account with a balance due amount of over $1200.00.

I called the agent and he told me that there must be some mistake and he would look into it and get back to me in 24 hours.

I decided to call direct to NCL to find out what was going on. The first person I talked to at NCL told me that I would have to take it up with the travel agent.

The next day when I did not hear back from the agent, I called him and he told me that it would be taken care of, that he some accounting issues in his office and he was working on it.

Later that day I got another invoice from NCL reflecting a $300.00 MasterCard payment on the account, still a balance due of over $900.00.

I again contacted NCL and again I was told to take it up with the travel agent. At this point I lost it, I demanded to speak to a supervisor. After waiting on hold for a supervisor for 20 minutes, I was cut off. I called again and after losing it again, I was connected to a supervisor. Mr Lopez was very helpful, he call the agent and vowed the check into it further and get back to me.

Later that evening I received a call from the agent and he assured me that it would be a cleared up by the next morning. (Yeah right)

I waited until almost noon the next day, then I created a dispute With PayPal for the amount of the final payment. That apparently got his attention, within an hour he called me and assured me that the balance due was paid to NCL and he emailed me a copy of the paid in full invoice from NCL. He wanted me to contact PayPal and get his funds released, which I told him I would after I called NCL and confirmed that we were paid in full. I asked him why he never made the full deposit to NCL at booking, his answer was that NCL only asks for $250.00 so he keeps the other $250.00 in his account.

I tried to cancel the dispute with PayPal online, but I guess it did not take.because I got a call from him later that night desperately begging me to call PayPal and get his funds released. Which I did.

I also disputed the PayPal payment with my credit card, which I had to cancel.

I also reported the agency to ************* and was told that it was the second complaint with the same issues and they had severed their relationship with him.

The moral of the story is, always make any payments for your cruise directly to the cruise line.

In over 30 Cruises, this is the first time I have ever had such a problem, hopefully never again.

__________________

[luddite]

Always use a credit card. Never, ever use a debit card for this.

 

She Who Must Be Obeyed books direct with the cruise line.

[MsTabbyKats]

I would do anything where funds were sent to Paypal.

 

It's not really a scam, and I can understand why the agent wanted you to do this....but it really isn't in your best interest.

 

I'm glad it worked out for you...

[FLAHAM]

...or to a reputable travel agent, of which there are many.

[B6ConMe]

I would like other Cruise Critic Readers to be aware of a scam that I fell into. I made a reservation for an NCL cruise with a travel company that responded to my ************* request. This agent had the best price, so without hesitation I booked my cruise through him. I have booked several cruises through ************* agents and never had a problem. I was told there was a $250.00pp deposit required at booking, which I am used to. I still don't remember doing this, but the agent asked me for my credit card number for $250.00 and requested me to make another $250.00 to his PayPal account, which I apparently did. I received an invoice from the agent by email reflecting the $500.00 deposit being made, with the final payment due in July.

In July I called the agent to make the final payment and I was told to make the payment to his PayPal account, when I questioned this, he told me that is how he takes payment. I made the PayPal deposit as requested and was sent an invoice from the agency via email reflecting the payment and marked Paid in Full.

Three days ago (28 days from sailing) I received an email from NCL saying I had a balance due. At first I thought it was some kind of scam, but all the information was correct including an advance payment I had made for dinner reservations. It showed that only $250.00 was paid at booking, with another $250.00 still owed and the final payment amount. In August a $200.00 payment was made using a MasterCard on the account with a balance due amount of over $1200.00.

I called the agent and he told me that there must be some mistake and he would look into it and get back to me in 24 hours.

I decided to call direct to NCL to find out what was going on. The first person I talked to at NCL told me that I would have to take it up with the travel agent.

The next day when I did not hear back from the agent, I called him and he told me that it would be taken care of, that he some accounting issues in his office and he was working on it.

Later that day I got another invoice from NCL reflecting a $300.00 MasterCard payment on the account, still a balance due of over $900.00.

I again contacted NCL and again I was told to take it up with the travel agent. At this point I lost it, I demanded to speak to a supervisor. After waiting on hold for a supervisor for 20 minutes, I was cut off. I called again and after losing it again, I was connected to a supervisor. Mr Lopez was very helpful, he call the agent and vowed the check into it further and get back to me.

Later that evening I received a call from the agent and he assured me that it would be a cleared up by the next morning. (Yeah right)

I waited until almost noon the next day, then I created a dispute With PayPal for the amount of the final payment. That apparently got his attention, within an hour he called me and assured me that the balance due was paid to NCL and he emailed me a copy of the paid in full invoice from NCL. He wanted me to contact PayPal and get his funds released, which I told him I would after I called NCL and confirmed that we were paid in full. I asked him why he never made the full deposit to NCL at booking, his answer was that NCL only asks for $250.00 so he keeps the other $250.00 in his account.

I tried to cancel the dispute with PayPal online, but I guess it did not take.because I got a call from him later that night desperately begging me to call PayPal and get his funds released. Which I did.

I also disputed the PayPal payment with my credit card, which I had to cancel.

I also reported the agency to ************* and was told that it was the second complaint with the same issues and they had severed their relationship with him.

The moral of the story is, always make any payments for your cruise directly to the cruise line.

In over 30 Cruises, this is the first time I have ever had such a problem, hopefully never again.

__________________

 

 

I'm really sorry you were put through this, it must have been very upsetting, I'm sure I would have been ripping my hair out. I'm fairly new to cruising and was lucky enough to get hooked up with a great PCC at NCL. He's always been fantastic and even calls me if there's a deal I'd like. Hopefully you won't run into this problem again.

 

Are you booked on a cruise then? If so, hope you have a fabulous time.

 

Love to cruise,

Connie

[QuiGonJohn]

What's with the starred out items in the original post? Kinda makes it hard to get the full benefit of a warning.

[B6ConMe]

What's with the starred out items in the original post? Kinda makes it hard to get the full benefit of a warning.

 

 

We're not allowed to use Proper names of any Agencies or Company names of any sort.

 

Although this one : "that responded to my ************* request." I'm not really sure about... I would have thought it would just be quote or something but could have been a specific name.

 

Hope this helps...

[B6ConMe]

deleted

[Bars7816]

"The moral of the story is, always make any payments for your cruise directly to the cruise line."

 

It's my understanding that if you book through a TA, that is who you make payment to. I don't think you can download edocs unless the balance is paid in full, though, so you would know if payment has not been made to NCL.

[kcwingwalker]

Always use my green "Don't leave home without it" credit card. This company has an excellent reputation for resolving problems.

 

We bought a home theater set up a few years ago for our new house and put everything on our card. The equipment came from a famous BB company. From the moment of delivery things went down hill rapidly.

After repeated visits and calls we had no help or resolution from the BB company.

 

The matter was turned over to the green credit card folks for resolution. And, they acted quickly. The BB company had 30 days to respond and begin the resolution process. They never responded. After the 30 days we were issued a full refund and told that the equipment was ours. Incredible, but true.

 

No debit cards when I make major purchases, I stick with my favorite green card!

[sdmike]

Folks that are suggesting to only do business with the cruise line are missing the boat here (no pun intended). Yes, that's much lower risk, but the message here is to 1) select a known and reputable TA if you go that route, and be suspicious of anything that seems out of norm. Thankfully the OP got this resolved, but I would not suggest people stray away form legit and very helpful (and often better priced) TA's.

[GSD4ME]

Not sure what benefit it would be to the agent to have funds deposited into Paypal account.

 

My daughter sells on ebay and whenever someone pays her through Paypal, she is charged a certain percentage of the sale in fees by Paypal.

 

So if a travel agent was receiving cruise payments through his paypal account, I can't imagine how much in fees he would be paying back to Paypal. Seems like a losing situation to me! (And would indicate that something just wasn't right with the whole transaction).

[SissasMomE]

I would never, ever, EVER send a cruise payment thru Paypal!!

[CactusFlower527]

Not sure what benefit it would be to the agent to have funds deposited into Paypal account.

 

My daughter sells on ebay and whenever someone pays her through Paypal, she is charged a certain percentage of the sale in fees by Paypal.

 

So if a travel agent was receiving cruise payments through his paypal account, I can't imagine how much in fees he would be paying back to Paypal. Seems like a losing situation to me! (And would indicate that something just wasn't right with the whole transaction).

 

 

agreed.. you lose anywhere from 2.5 -2.9% depending on your volume. And I don't understand why he was holding $250 in his own account ..or was the PayPal account owned by the travel agent................... my guess is he's putting the money in something where he's earning interest, but I still don't know how long it would take to make up the paypal fees. Personally, I've seen some savings accts that pay 1% (Smarty Pig is one)...but most pay FAR LESS than that (1/10th of a Percent); Even though paypal has a dispute system, its only good for a short amount of time ..45 ? 60 ? days.

I would never use it for services that were months and years out.

 

>>I was told there was a $250.00pp deposit required at booking, which I am used to. I still don't remember doing this, but the agent asked me for my credit card number for $250.00 and requested me to make another $250.00 to his PayPal account, which I apparently did. I received an invoice from the agent by email reflecting the $500.00 deposit being made, with the final payment due in July.<<

 

as for the OP saying he/she doesn't recall authorizing that $500 transaction to Paypal......................if a company/person has your CC number they CAN run it through paypal. It's an option (for businesses) called VIRTUAL TERMINAL. It works like a virtual credit card machine, only it runs through Paypal.

[Demonyte]

What's with the starred out items in the original post? Kinda makes it hard to get the full benefit of a warning.

 

I think that refers to a website where TAs can compete against each other for cruise passengers asking for quotes - NCL forbid TAs marketing their cruises in there earlier this year.

[flcruiser1969]

I am sorry you had that experience but that is not something I really need to be told. I would never have done that and I would not have had the paypal complaint taken off. He is a crook.

[terrydtx]

"The moral of the story is, always make any payments for your cruise directly to the cruise line."

 

It's my understanding that if you book through a TA, that is who you make payment to. .

 

This is not true, I always use a TA and never book direct with the cruise line because I get so much better customer service from my TA. When I book a cruise and give her a CC for deposit and any other payments, the payment goes directly to the cruise line immediately from my CC and can be checked online with my CC company. She is a local franchise with one of the largest cruise line booking agencies and 100% reputable.

 

The real moral of the story should be never use any online booking person or company you know nothing about and can not show up at their doorstep when there is a problem. The OP is very very lucky she got this resolved.

[johnsak123]

Nothing against you but the flag for you should have been to make a payment to pay pal and not the agency directly

I also am strongly against using a debit card since your defense against fraud and wrongful transactions is so much better with a credit card.

It takes forever to get your money back with a debit card dispute

Lesson learned I guess

[francina]

When in doubt get their CLIA number and check up on them.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

[solorizor]

I went to an award winning TA who got me a great deal for 17 nights flights included no single supplement. For just £1000 this is a cruise from genoa to brazil over this Halloween :) x

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[HokiePoq]

I would never, ever, EVER send a cruise payment thru Paypal!!

 

 

Neither would I. No debit cards, either.

We do remit to the agencies we book with.

[NMLady]

"The moral of the story is, always make any payments for your cruise directly to the cruise line."

 

It's my understanding that if you book through a TA, that is who you make payment to. I don't think you can download edocs unless the balance is paid in full, though, so you would know if payment has not been made to NCL.

 

Even when you book through a TA you do not make payment to them. They pay cruise line directly with your credit card number. Your credit card statement should always show the cruise line, not the TA, as the payee.

 

I would never make a payment to a TA's account since that is not how cruise lines operate with a TA.

[NMLady]

Not sure what benefit it would be to the agent to have funds deposited into Paypal account.

 

My daughter sells on ebay and whenever someone pays her through Paypal, she is charged a certain percentage of the sale in fees by Paypal.

 

So if a travel agent was receiving cruise payments through his paypal account, I can't imagine how much in fees he would be paying back to Paypal. Seems like a losing situation to me! (And would indicate that something just wasn't right with the whole transaction).

 

There is a way to make personal payments through Paypal that don't incur a fee.

[rimom71]

Yikes...reading this post, even with the lack of ID, I have a bad feeling that our upcoming November BA cruise is booked through this guy. The confusion about accounting as well as the Paypal stuff sounds frighteningly familiar. When I went to look at his website it has been changed to something completely different ( not even travel related). I will be rattling some cages tomorrow for sure!:eek:

[B6ConMe]

Yikes...reading this post, even with the lack of ID, I have a bad feeling that our upcoming November BA cruise is booked through this guy. The confusion about accounting as well as the Paypal stuff sounds frighteningly familiar. When I went to look at his website it has been changed to something completely different ( not even travel related). I will be rattling some cages tomorrow for sure!:eek:

 

I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed that you simply put the wrong addy in or something similar. I wish you luck and hope it turns out ok for you.