Welk Resort Group Reviews

When I didn't check in on the 4th you would think a phone call would have been in order. I would think this should be company policy to check on the status of my arrival. That would have resolved everything. As I could have gotten in the car and lost only 1 day versus the entire week! I have sent 2 emails made 4 phone calls and were promised a manager would call back within 24 hours. I am still waiting. If I don't get some resolution to my problem I will be ending my relationship with the Welk organization. This saddens me since I have enjoyed the resort since 1992.

I read 28 reviews and the bad reviews outnumbered the positive reviews by a large margin. It was after reading the horror stories: 90 minute presentation turned into 4-5 hour ordeal, the lies they tell just to close the deal, inflexible organization, poor management of the property, hassles with getting desired vacation dates, excessive maintenance fees, questionable exchange fees, poor re-sale potential ($1), and bogus "gifts" that I decided to not waste my time.

I called the number provided but it went straight to voicemail, just as was predicted/experienced by the other posters! I guess I was hoping that Welk resorts would be different BUT this site told the real story! I am irritated to the point that I will lobby the Staple Center to get them KICKED off the premises. They are full of excrement and are out to swindle you! I wish I could warn others before they plunk down $40 and sit through a high-pressure sales pitch and the resultant buyers remorse when they are subject to the shady business dealings. RULE OF THUMB: If you have to pay a deposit to attend any sales pitch, it's BOGUS. Run away as fast as you can!

A representative of Welk named Mary contacted me to purchase more points. She seemed to have all of my information when she was trying to sell me something, but when I asked her about booking travel or a vacation or changing my credit card, she wasn't able to provide me with any answers. Interestingly enough, she informed me that: all travel is done by points, not days; no one from Welk books anything for you, you have to go through Interval International; book at least 6 months in advanced (the sales agent told me he booked a room in Hawaii 5 days before his travel date and got an excellent hotel, I have been trying to book a trip for the past 2 months for a trip in April and I can not even get a room!); there are no extra weeks. So she wasn't quite sure where I got all of this information.

I went ahead and contacted Interval International, and the customer service was even worse. Apparently, we're not platinum members with Interval International the way we are supposedly platinum members with Welk; and their website is a glorified version of Travelocity or Expedia - where there are absolutely no discounts. I was extremely hesitant in investing $25,000 into something like this, but I had good faith and trusted our sales agent who told us his life story and why he himself is a time-share owner. If Welk Resorts only way to earn revenue is by lying to their customers and taking their hard earned money, that's horrific. DO NOT FALL FOR ANYTHING THE SALES PERSON TELLS YOU! IT WILL NEVER BE IN WRITING!!!

I was upset for a long time that day. I will never attend another timeshare talk in this lifetime or another! I have yet to try to redeem the gifts but don't have much confidence.

Here are the specifics of what I was offered:

4. A 7" Android tablet

At no point did the Welk representative state there were any costs for the gifts. She specifically asked me what color Android tablet I wanted so they could have it available for me when after the 90-minute tour. She also said they had a special offer if I attended the weekend of July 5 and 6 - an additional prize. Finally, she asked me to call an 800 to confirm my attendance and promised that if I did there would be additional prizes. I paid the $40 deposit in cash and was assured it would be returned to me after I attended the 90 minute tour.

I was given a written receipt with my tour date and time, my list of prizes and the color of the Android tablet I had chosen. I called to confirm the following day, and when my call went to voicemail I left a message confirming my attendance. I received two calls back, one asking me to confirm and a later call acknowledging my confirmation but also asking me to call back regarding the details of my prizes.

Once I returned the call the offer details from Lawrence Welk Resorts changed. The woman I spoke with first told me they had no open appointments available, since I had failed to confirm and I would have to book another date and time. I had a written confirmation, had called 3 times to confirm and had paid a $40 deposit!

Next, the woman listed my prizes for me, before referred to an Android tablet "voucher" but a tablet. When I asked about the voucher she said I had to order the tablet, specify the color I wanted and pay a large shipping and handling fee. I explained that I had already chosen a color and had been told it would be waiting for me; plus the color was even written on my receipt. The woman continued to insist they hadn't offered that and maybe the representative I spoke with was just new and incorrect.

Next, the Welk phone representative explained I would have to pay the port fees for the Catalina trip. Port fees are one of the larger costs for cruises and trips to Catalina, and when I complained that this hadn't been explained to me she said they tell everyone. I had a friend standing next to me when I signed up for the tour, and the woman working for Lawrence Welk Resorts definitely never said anything about costs. She referred the trips as "prizes" or "gifts" and reasonable consumers don't assume that gifts and prizes have a cost unless that is clearly explained.

Unfortunately, because I trusted the offer made by Lawrence Welk Resorts I had told my daughter we were going to Catalina and told my son he could have the Android tablet. Once it was clear the costs were going up for the "gifts" from Welk, I cancelled my tour and had to tell my kids we wouldn't be receiving the Catalina trip or Android tablet.

Lawrence Welk Resorts cancelled my tour and have agreed to refund my $40, via check, and after an estimated 3 weeks. They conceded they had misrepresented themselves and I was even told that they receive regular complaints about not telling prospective buyers about the costs of the "prizes." I read a number of other reviews on this resort and it's clear they misrepresent the prizes and the terms in order to solicit prospective buyers and then change the terms once people have paid a deposit and/or shown up for the tour.

A few minutes later, the sales manager came back with "good news"! He told us that Go Properties would accept my Las Vegas property and put in writing on a Go Properties Liquidation form, "$8400 + fees $495 - $8895 total". Putting the quoted price less the written trade-in, I considered our net cost to be ~$2200. While I didn't have my Las Vegas property deed on hand, I was told not to worry, that Go Properties would be in touch with me in the near future to handle the trade in part of the transaction. In the meantime, we signed a purchase agreement, made a down payment with Master Card and signed a 10 year note for the balance of the full purchase price. The note had a zero interest if paid in full within 6 weeks, otherwise interest would be ~15%.

After a month had passed and not hearing from Go Properties, I paid off the balance of the note via American Express, in anticipation of receiving $8400 from Go Properties upon signing over my deed to the Las Vegas Property. In February, we received a letter from Go Property, dated EXACTLY 60 days after the date of our signing our sales agreement. It outlined the procedure for relinquishing our Las Vegas ownership. I called to inquire about the $8400 promised. It was then for the first time that I was told that I would receive nothing for my Las Vegas timeshare. In addition there were other fees totaling $950 that I was to pay by check to Go Properties along with my deed!

At that point, I recognized the scheme for what it was. Contacting the sales staff at Branson proved frustrating, as I was told one lie after another. The first was that the anticipated property transfer fee for the my resort had increased in the two months. I called my Las Vegas resort and verified that there had been no changes in transfer fees. I immediately filed a dispute of charges for both the down payment with Master Card and the note payoff with American Express. I also contacted the Consumer Affairs Office of the State of Missouri Attorney General to file a complaint. I reached out to Welk Resort's corporate office in California thinking that perhaps the problem was an overly zealous sales staff in Branson and hoping that Welk's corporate office would rectify the problem simply via rescission of our sale and refund all monies tendered subordinate to the sale. I did not get a response from Welk until I subsequently filed a complaint through the Better Business Bureau of Missouri.

Ultimately, both Master Card and American Express refunded 100% of all funds we had paid to Welk. I'd submitted my narrative along with supporting documents to both credit card companies. Welk did not contest the matter, choosing to not respond to multiple contacts by both American Express and Master Card and declined AmEx's attempt to mediate our dispute. We then began receiving collection calls and letters increasing our alleged indebtedness due to our non-payment. Throughout, my request was that now that we had retrieved our funds, that Welk would rescind the contract, keep their points and we might go forward as though the sad event of December 2012 had never happened.

Through reviewing of Federal Trade Commission website, I was able to turn off the all collection calls from Welk. Welk had failed to respond to inquiries from the Missouri AG's office. Finally, Welk sent a response to the attorney general stating that they had "written off" our alleged debt. The AG's office sent us this information along with copies of certified letters which Welk claimed to have sent to both myself and my wife dated October 2013. This was the first time we'd ever seen these letters or learned that Welk had written off our note.

In the meantime, I'd applied for an American Airlines credit card through Citibank Visa, which promised 30,000 miles and waiver of baggage fees. Surprisingly, for the first time in my life, my application for credit was rejected. When I spoke to the bank, they referred to a "write off" of ~$10K on my credit report, which had reduced my credit score from >800 to under 700!

So, the net result of our interaction with Welk is that we recovered our funds (thank God!). Welk has its points, however, I am left with a blemished on my credit report. We are grateful for escaping the timeshare trap laid by Welk; however, the end result is that Welk has defamed my credit worthiness and dishonored my reputation. This was entirely unnecessary and does not set the matter right. This could have been accomplished simply through an amiable rescission of our sales agreement.

I am now in the process of obtaining my credit reports from the 3 national credit agencies, in order that I might dispute the ill report against my reputation and credit worthiness. In summary, the bait (the Welk property) is desirable and our stay was enjoyable; however, the deception involved in the sales presentation including both written and oral misrepresentation of trade in value of my resort should have voided our sales agreement and all subordinate notes due to the substantial and material misrepresentation regarding the trade in value to be granted for my Las Vegas property.

Welk's policy of "rescission is not an option" is ill advised and unconscionable in light of the 60 day lag time between the signing of the contract and our first becoming aware of the misrepresentation of our trade in's impact upon our net purchase price. Given the multi-state scope of Welk's scheme, involving Missouri for the resort, California for Welk's HQ and New Jersey for Go Properties, I submitted a complaint via the Federal Trade Commission as well as a "tip" on the FBI's website.

Apparently that happens automatically if you buy a studio. There was NEVER a mention of that resort or that rule the whole time we were there. The VERY next year, Welk sent us an invitation and showed us a letter with a new rule that from now on, you can only get a studio if you bought studio points. The problem with that is ONLY their Branson MI resort has studio points. SO basically now all the money that I paid at the San Diego resort can only be used at Branson. I tried to stop paying the $900 maintenance fees, but they sent it to collection. I called them and asked to sell my points (you have to sell through them) it turns out, after fees and commission, I get a whopping $25.00 for my points (that's right, twenty five dollars!!) despite my self acclaimed savviness, I was royally scammed.

We are fully aware we are not even close to being the elite bunch of owners who have more invested but being that this was our first timeshare ownership (though I have dealt with others and their ownership), it was sort of a trial for us and what we hoped would be a good experience and make us go on vacation every year. Not only could I easily book a vacation online to anyplace, we have tried to book through Interval/Welk for the same cost, but we would have much less hassle.

In our first attempt we booked our first week last Sept. and were nothing but excited. Being that I started a new job in August and my boss said I could possibly still get the week off as long as surveyors were not at my work during that week, I kept the week. We were not told until the week before leaving that they would arrive; therefore I could not take off work, so I was forced to cancel. After going into Welk last weekend, we were told by the representative we had not lost either our bonus week nor our regular week and it was easy to book.

Today we began the attempt and first called Interval to book in Oct. so we could buy our plane tickets now (in accordance with the available facilities) as well as to ensure there would be a unit in the area we wanted to go. We were told that because of our late cancellation last year, we are essentially penalized and can only book 2 months out (which is also ridiculous since we still had to pay the taxes which Interval was able to keep), and that our week expires in Sept. In past experience, the longer we wait to book, the less facilities available. I called Welk to ask about our bonus week as well of which I was told we never returned the letter (which we never received) advising to accept and he could do that now but it expires the end of May anyways, so basically good luck being able to use that as well.

This has been the absolutely worst experience of my life, and actually puts a damper on taking any kind of vacation utilizing either Welk or Interval. I am looking into selling, but almost feel guilty pushing this hellish experience on anyone else. You would think in an industry such as travel and timeshares that customer service would be a leading priority but that is obviously not the case in terms of Interval or Welk Resorts. Not only would I not recommend this program or organization to anyone I know but I will do anything I can to ensure that all prospective members are full aware of what they are going to be getting themselves into, especially if they do not have the money to just lose out on.

Upon arrival we checked in then were asked to show ID and a credit card and waited to be seen by staff. Finally we got called into a lobby filled with a lot of other people, so at that moment we did not feel important anymore, we started talking about the Welk Resort staff's family and the things he has accomplished by being an owner of the greatest timeshare on earth. He seemed to know information about every place we would like to visit and gave us some cool feedback but it felt like he had read a book about how to turn people's spirits high by telling them how cool it is there and places he has visited, and the funny part was that other staff members were pitching the same lines to people that were in attendance.

Finally after 3 hours went by (Not 90 Minutes) he showed us around the area and the suites and believe me the place was beautiful to see. We went back to his table then talked for another 45 minutes. I made a decision not to buy into it at this time, and it didn't sit well with the staff member and mentioned that how can I do this to my family and destroy their memory bank which is something they will treasure forever. I held my grounds and said not at the moment, he would counter offer with downsizing my suite to make it more affordable, and would advise us to cut back on our normal day spending and get rid of cable TV for 1 year and by doing so, it would show me how I can afford it after all.

Finally when I said that my mind was made up and I ain't buying into this at the time, he escorted us to another location where we felt thank God it's finally over, but to my surprise we got another staff member that tried to convince me and offered us an opportunity to get into this timeshare and locking in the deal simply by buying a $999.00 package and at the end of the year if we decided to buy into the timeshare, they will give credit towards the $17,000.00 plus. I stood my grounds and still said no, then when asked about our $40.00 cash we gave earlier in the month, he gave us a credit Voucher, and would get it refunded into our credit card that we showed earlier upon checking in, now the showing of the credit card in the beginning makes sense.

This whole experience was a nightmare and as far as getting our 3-night accommodations to San Francisco is still a challenge to come not to mention you have to pay upfront for "Taxes" and no guarantee by travel agency as read in the extremely fine prints. My advice to you is Salvage your marriage and keep your family by not investing in this timeshare and please Ladies don't do it.

The One hour presentation will last anywhere from 3 to 5 hours, if you have not purchased some involvement before that amount of time has elapsed. The presentation is centered around how Welk is different because of the points arrangement rather than a week equivalent at another resort for the week at the home resort. This was supposed to allow a Welk owner to potentially have multiple weeks for all of the points available for the Welk unit. We were sold on the fact that with the generous number of points in the Welk Platinum package, we would have sufficient trading power to at least have a couple of weeks per year at other resorts.

Here is how it really works from experience. One week's ownership of a one-bedroom unit at a Welk Resort will get you 90,000 Points (90,000, sounds like a lot for a one bedroom unit). Those 90,000 points will get you one week at another Welk resort (of which there are only 5 or 6). So...one week = one week. Only way to get more points...buy a bigger unit!

The second point was that these points could be used at any Interval International resort, so one could virtually go anywhere in the world. Guess what, try to find one available, we tried last June to find one in Florida, for use in October. We weren't too particular, first choice Marco Island, none available. Second choice Key West, none available, Sanibel Island...none available, Sarasota... none available... Finally found one in Destin, northern Florida in October, not the idea part of Florida.

Then the next surprise, our 90,000 Welk points would only get us a Studio (one room) unit in the Interval system. Didn't find that out until we arrived in Destin. The Studio unit was equivalent to a Motel 6 room. Finally upgraded to a one bedroom unit for an additional cost of $175.00. Just a note, the one bedroom unit had two bathrooms, trouble was, to get to the bedroom from the living area, one had to go through both bathrooms. Called the Quality Assurance Manager at Welk Branson, he assured us that we should have been due a one bedroom originally so we asked him to help recover our upgrade cost, $175.00, still waiting for his call back!

Final note, if you do decide to attend the timeshare presentation, keep in mind, if you purchase a timeshare, and walk out of the front door, Welk will not buy that timeshare back, not even for $1.00. Why, maintenance fees; our maintenance fee for a one week unit for 2014 was to be $819.00, of which property taxes were only $14.58 for our one week's ownership, or $758.16 for the year. What is left amounts to $804.42 per week, or $41,830.00 per year above the actual property taxes to manage and maintain a one bedroom unit. Problem is, you are responsible for the entire maintenance fee as long as you own the timeshare, every year, and guess what, every year it goes up. If you believe this is a reasonable fee, go for it. Our final cost of the week in Destin was approximately $250.00 original processing fee for the Interval reservation, $175.00 upgrade fee, and the previous maintenance fee for the year the points were issued, $700.00, or a total of $1,125.00. I'm sure I can find a pretty nice place to have a vacation for $1,125.00 per week!

Final, final note. Recently Welk was kind enough to provide us with the name of a company who will buy our timeshare, offered price $1.00, our purchase price in 2012, $10,200.00. We are accepting their generous offer.

Third, I get a call at 3:36 pm and was told that my room was ready. I went to the lobby to check-in and was told I was mistaken that no one had called me. I had to show my phone with their number so she can see that I did receive the call. She came back and said, "Okay, but your room has been changed." I asked her why and she said there was a maintenance problem. Fourth, there was a mouse in our room. I called to get someone in there to get the mouse out. It took 40 minutes and two phone calls later to get someone. Apparently, the front desk did not inform the maintenance team until after I made the second call. The maintenance manager told me himself and showed me his walkie-talkie.

Fifth, checkout time is 10 am. I called and asked for an extension on our check out. Again, I was willing to pay for the extra time, but I was told the latest was 10:30 am. Sixth, I have placed two calls and left two messages to the manager, Louisa and assistant manager, and I have not received a call back. All in all, they are not very accommodating and they are very unfriendly. This place is beautiful and there are lots you can do but because of these experiences, I will not be back.

We didn't receive anything. After re-reading the contract with my lawyer, they stated that I need to put in writing that I was canceling my contract with Welk Resorts, because they breached the contract on their end. Well, in doing so, I started to get collection calls and after notifying them again that we canceled due to them not meeting the contract, they told me that I was still liable for the payment. That's not even true per my lawyer. I have written and spoken with them and asked them to stop calling as they were not going to get anything from me as they broke contract.

The only response was that they show the welcome package was mailed out and we should have received it, and I informed them that it was too late. Per the contract that we signed with them, it stated within 2 weeks, not 3 months. So, I told them to cancel. They are still harassing me.

They explained to us that since we were buying three weeks, we could vacation or rent out for profit to help cover our maintenance fees (all the fees were more than $1000 per year and we found out after the first year). As with selling, we have found that using this timeshare for rental purposes is also nearly impossible. So, we doubt that we will make any money at all even though the salespeople used this as their sales tactic.

One of the bigger selling points they pitched during the presentation was the ability to exchange our timeshare to travel to other resorts all over the world. But we have since found that there are multiple fees associated with the exchange service. We have tried exchanging our timeshare weeks, but everything is either fully booked, there is no exchange in the area we want to go or we can get a two-star hotel, which is not an equal trade. Also the exchange locations are very limited. We contacted Welk to ask about the possibility of them buying back the timeshare but the only way is to give back for free plus we need to pay for the contract fee or $1 to sell it to the company that would supposedly buy our timeshare. We were completely shocked with this information since we were told we would make a profit.

So based on this information, I was paying my payments accordingly. But in February 2012, they reported me 30 days delinquent to Experian for my 12/2011 payment which they processed on 1/6/12 so about 36 days behind but nevertheless within the month of January as I've been doing for months now and had never been a problem because that was exactly how they told me they report their credit to credit bureaus. Once again, they never have sent anything in writing disclosing any changes in their credit reporting practices to advise me this would be happening. They are claiming they never said such a thing to me on how and when they disclosed their credit reporting information to the credit reporting agencies. However, my previous payment history and the way they have been reporting my credit history to these agencies clearly reflects that I am the one telling the truth.

I filed a consumer complaint with the BBB on 2/15/12 and they closed their file as unresolved on 3/2/112 due to the lack of cooperation from the Welk Resort to resolve this matter amicably. I truly believe the Welk Resort Group or his agents are acting in bad faith only because I'm stating the facts. I do not feel they have a consistent and fair way of reporting payment histories to the credit reporting agencies as I can only say that based on my personal experience with them since 2006 and when disputes are in fact made. They aren't willing to resolve the matter at hand. I would like for the FTC to look further into my complaint and claims against the Welk Resort Group. I pay all my bills on time. This has been the only creditor I've had issues with in many years. I also feel they are discriminating and acting in bad faith towards me because I have a Hispanic accent and because I've addressed their lack of consistency in their credit reporting practices.

I have worked in the finance industry for many years now and I personally found they credit reporting practices to be out of the ordinary as the many mortgage companies I've worked for always report based on the due dates and not end of month but again I do value my credit history very much and work hard at maintaining a good credit score as well as a good payment history with all my creditors. Reason for which is I feel that their business practices are deceiving and unfair especially when they aren't providing ample written notification whenever their reporting practices are about to change. If I had been notified ahead of time, I would have known what to do immediately thereafter in order to avoid my credit being affected by their changes. I would no longer recommend any of my friends or family members to do any type of business with them. Stay away!

When we contacted Gateway Travel at (866) 670-5050 on the telephone number listed on the mailings to claim the gifts, Cynthia, the lady from itineraries, informed me that she was going to send the itinerary that we discussed two weeks before the travel days as leaving from San Diego Airport in the morning on July 12, 2011 and returning from Las Vegas airport in the afternoon on July 15. I agreed to pay the extra night. No itinerary was sent, and Cynthia started to avoid my phone calls.

We believe that Gateway Travel had no intention of providing the advertised travel services. Welk Resorts and Gateway Travel make consumers believe in promises of free gifts, then misrepresentations about their hotel accommodations and airfare that, probably, was not available. They mislead people for the purpose of defrauding and enriching themselves.

On February 27, 2011, I went to visit the Welk Resorts and received the vacation package instructions to contact Gateway Travel.

On May 24, 2011, I spoke to Regina at Gateway Travel. She was very nice. She finally confirmed our option 1 for travel days on July 12 to July 15, 2011. She told me that we were staying at the Flamingo Hotel and I agreed to pay the extra night at the Flamingo Hotel. She advised me to wait for the confirmation letter in the mail and return it back with a $79 money order.

On May 25, 2011, I sent Regina's supervisor, Steve, a thank you letter via email at **.

On May 30, 2011, I contacted Regina because I did not receive the confirmation letter. She told me that it was already sent and to give it a couple of days. And if not received, just send the money order to her attention.

On June 4, 2011, I received the confirmation letter giving me until June 1 to send it. But Regina said it was okay because the confirmation letter was received late. On June 6, 2011, the $79 money order was sent.

On June 13, 2011, I called Gateway to confirm that the money order was received. I was advised to wait for my itinerary two weeks before my travel day.

On June 30, 2011, I spoke to Cynthia from the itinerary section at Gateway Travel. She asked me if we wanted to leave from San Diego Airport in the morning and come back from Las Vegas in the afternoon. I told her yes. She also told me that we were going to stay at the Palace Station because there was no more availability in the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. I agreed. Cynthia then told me that everything is okay. Then at this time, she asked me if I wanted to cancel everything and receive $200. I did not accept and she told me that she was going to send me the itinerary via email as soon as possible by close of business on June 30 or the next day.

I checked my email every day. Gateway Travel closes on weekends and then July 4 was a holiday. I did not receive any emails and we started to worry.

On July 5, 2011, I called Cynthia from itineraries and she tried to avoid me. I told her that I was worried and just wanted to make sure that my travel was okay. She responded that everything was okay as she told me before and just needed concurrence from a supervisor and that she was going to call me or send me an email within 72 hours.

On July 7, 2011 at about 3:30 PM, I contacted Gateway Travel and asked for a supervisor. I was transferred to Cynthia again. She was very rude and told me that availability to travel from San Diego was no longer an option for us. She told me that we will be traveling from Los Angeles instead. I explained to her that this was not what she told me before and explained to her that my husband is a truck driver and I was not going to make him drive on his vacation. She did not appear to care about our situation. She just told me I have two options, take it or cancel it.

I started crying and begging her not to do this to us, that she just ruined our vacation. I also explained to her that we get two weeks of vacation a year and that our second week was already scheduled for September 2, 2011 for our cruise. She did not care. I asked her when she was going to tell me the bad news and she told me that she usually calls a couple of days before the travel, which I think it is not customer friendly to tell travelers that the planned itinerary is no longer the option.

On July 7, 2011 at around 4:30 PM, she finally transferred me to her supervisor, Steve **. He already knew about the problem and just confirmed the information that Cynthia had already told me. I also begged to Steve to change the time or the day for the week of travel, in which he told me, "You know you can only leave on a Tuesday and come back on a Thursday," as the agreement says. He then told me that he was willing to give me another option which was $200 cash and take care of the trip myself.

I did not accept it because with $200, there is no way I could find last minute airline tickets for this price. I got home and asked Steve to speak to my husband. My husband did not want the $200 either. He told Steve that we wanted our trip to Las Vegas, as previously agreed. They started arguing and raising their voices and Steve hung up on my husband. They never called us back.

On July 8, 2011, I called Welks Resort at 1-800-652-0056, to explain the situation and I was referred to speak to Jason **, a supervisor. I left two messages but he did not return my call.

The week of July 12 to July 15 was a waste of vacation time. We spent the week at home. It was very hard for my husband to take time off from work because his schedule is very strict. They have to make sure that another truck driver covers his schedule. Vacation time for us is very important and we always plan ahead very carefully. We were home so sad and depressed. I had migraine headaches all week just remembering the nightmare that we went through with people from Gateway Travel. It was a very frustrating and stressful situation. We took a lot of emotional abuse!

On July 18, 2011, we decided to file a complaint with BBB via email. Complain ID **. I asked for $1,000 to cover for a trip to Las Vegas on our own schedule and arrangements, probably until next year. And we also want to make sure that Gateway Travel and Welk Resorts do not mislead any more customers, resulting on a waste of earned vacation time that we eagerly wait for.

On July 21, 2011, Steve from Gateway Travel called me to tell me that he was very sorry about cancelling our vacation. He tried to offer me a trip to Las Vegas for three nights instead of two nights and leaving from San Diego at any time any day. I just needed to tell him when and he would schedule it. I asked him why he did not give me this option the week of July 7, when I begged him for it. He told me that I did not ask him for it. This is a big lie. I then told him that it is a nightmare dealing with him.

Now, he is trying to make it look like he is very concerned about us. I told him that I was going to ask my husband. Steve told me to tell my husband that the $1,000 we asked for is not going to work.

On July 21, 2011, I asked my husband, but his only day off is Sundays so there is no possible way to take any time off again, even on a weekend.

On July 22, 2011, I sent an email to Steve to tell him that we cannot accept his new option.

On July 24, 2011, I went to Sports Arena Swat meet and spoke to Marc **, event supervisor from Welk Resorts. We told him about the problem. He appeared to be very concerned and he said that he was going to refer the problem to Sterling **, his Supervisor at 1-800-652-0056. They don't want Gateway Travel to treat customers the way they treated us.

On July 25, 2011, an email received from Steve said, “As I said, I want to resolve. When can we talk?” I responded via email, “Please see the BBB correspondence with our proposal.”

On July 26, 2011, Steve from Gateway Travel called me again to tell me that the $1,000 is not going to work and that he is going to send his response to BBB. No response was submitted to BBB.

Someone needs to stop these people from ruining vacation time that is so hard to earn. And we counted the days for July 12 to come and what a disappointment! All he said is "Sorry".

On July 26, 2011, I found information about Seagull Vacations. It has the same address, phone number, same employee names and Steve Steer was the President. These two companies appear to be the same, yet the name was changed to Gateway Travel.

Seagull Vacations have about 115 complaints with Better Business Bureau (BBB) in Phoenix, Arizona. Welk Resorts have been using both companies, Seagull Vacations and Gateway Travel, knowing that this is a scam.

Months went by, and we came into some serious financial debt. So, there was no way that we could make this trip. And honestly, we completely forgot about it because we never received a confirmation. Apparently, in the "small print", they state that if you do not cancel the reservation two weeks before the reservation date, they will charge you $250.00. So, the other day, we noticed that our bank account had been depleted, because they took the money out. As I mentioned, we were never given confirmation for the resort (other than the charge to our account for the deposit), so we completely forgot about it.

When I called to speak to Tammy (our "travel specialist"), she was rude and not helpful at all. She stated that the $250.00 charge was in the contract. I gave a rebuttal to her that it also stated in the contract that they did not accept debit cards (which they did from us) and you had to make $75,0000 a year (which we do not), be creditworthy (with which we are filing bankruptcy), and that we should have gotten a confirmation letter via email no later than 72 hours after booking the vacation. I called Tammy again when I did not receive a response for my rebuttal. And my wife also called her. She will not credit the money back to the account.

We wasted 5 days (trips to Escondido). We also have to make alternate vacation plans and pay higher airfares due to the timing.