Budget Rent-a-Car slime move

*Updated July 29, 2008* I should probably change this item to “Elite Excursions and the Banks team up to relieve you of your money..”. Anyway, Clark Howard – a local consumer advocate – just posted an item that I thought relevant to this whole fiasco:

The Berkeley Center for Law and Technology analyzed corporate America to see which companies have the highest incidence of ID theft. The No. 1 company? Bank of America.

*End Update*

Is anybody else getting tired of these companies picking on our less savvy citizens?

I just received this in the mail from Budget Rent-a-car and find it eminently distasteful that they use this tactic to fool folks into subscribing to their “Elite Excursions Membership”.

budget_slime_tactic

The fine print under the cash amount says “Cashing this check activates a membership in the Elite Excursions program.”.

I’ve seen several of these over the years and every time it galls me that they appear to be specifically targeting folks who are either too trusting or too dumb to understand that this is not a check without strings attached.

As with all terrible advertising – this one is headed for my shredder.

This reminds me of the time I received an envelope from Circuit City with “Final Expiration Notice” boldly printed on it. The idea being for me to urgently open the envelope and respond to their Extended Service Policy offer.
I was so incensed that I wrote them a snail-mail letter (this was back in 2000 after all). I told them what I thought of their tactics ending with,

I am certain that I am not alone in my sentiments and wanted to at least let you know that your tactic has led me to shop elsewhere for fear of receiving yet more undeserved “Final Notices”.

I really can’t abide misleading or sensational (shock) advertising and just wanted to rant.

147 thoughts on “Budget Rent-a-Car slime move”

  1. I assume you have rented from budget before. Next time you rent a car, send a copy of the reciept to both budget and the firm you go with, clearly stating the reason for switching companies was this cheap trick, to the VP of marketing of both companies, and the presedient. (A copy to one of the MAJOR newspapers might also be useful).

    Just make sure that the other company that you go with is not owned by budget (or it’s parent). Sending a letter to Great West life saying you bought your insurance from Canada Life instead would just give them a laugh.

  2. i recived one of these with a credit card payment. the funny thing is googling “elite excursions” comes up with nothing. what a scam.

    i am very interested now in finding out more about the program. who runs it? how it could it be legal? and why do so many large corporations utilize it?

    let me know if you find anything out

    junkmail314@yahoo.com

  3. I just received the similar offer from Bank of America. They have offered one month free trial with a complimentary gift.
    I was wondering, did anybody have try the Elite Excursions services? I am travelling to overseas quite alot, and thought it would be nice to have a possible way to save money.
    But, when I read the sentiments here… I was not sure about this company anymore. Are they scam?
    I was about to give them a trial because I received the ads from a big name american bank.
    Please feed back, thanks!

  4. Ironically, when I google now for Elite Excursions, my own website comes in as the top offering.

    My original rant was not so much about Elite Excursions per se but rather regarding the tactic being used by Budget to trick folks into subscribing to the service.

    But, as Steve points out, if you can’t find them with a quick web search, you have to wonder just how legitimate they really are.

    If you want to get money back from your credit purchases, consider a cash-back credit card instead. Bank of America is offering a VISA card that offers you 1% back on all purchases up to a maximum of $600.

    Also some organizations, one of which you may already be a member, offer their own deals. AOPA offers a 5% back card for any purchases from participating Aviation businesses. The places where I rent my planes participate in that program so that’s an easy $250 back every year.

    I’m no fan at all of “Air Miles” or any of the convoluted prize programs. The programs to which I’m referring aren’t offering *huge* returns, but 1% – 5% guaranteed is 1% – 5% more than I had before.

    One more rant at the end of all of this. I discontinued my membership with the American Automobile Association (AAA) when they started adding “optional” charges to their billing statement. In-Line with the regular, legitimate charges they started adding charges for other services that you could take only if you wanted to. Believing that the vast majority of their customers are in the older age bracket I see this as nothing more than a way to fool folks into purchasing products that they did not intend to get. I know *I* had to look twice at the statement to realize that these charges were not mandatory. Tsk Tsk. I hope they have discontinued this practice. In another 3 or so years I may look into joining up with them again.

  5. I get a whole slew of those checks and always cash them. If you cancel the service during the first 30 days then there is no charge and the check amount is yours (the highest value I have gotten was $25 but they are usually like $5 or so).

  6. I got the offer for Elite Excursions from a well-known catalog company after a purchase. Their offering one month free to check it out plus an MP3 player to keep regardless. I’ll see and report back the good, bad and/or ugly.

  7. I also got an offer from BOA. This definitely needs to go to locan news channel as no one can get more details about this Elite excursion deal. The offer does not give in to more details.

  8. I received an Elite Excursions Registration form from Bank of America…. Yipee,I have been selected to do a CONSUMER PROFILE 2005! I get to claim a complimentary digital camera.

    I too intend to complain to BOA for this underhanded tactic. I have often cashed teaser checks, setting up a reminder on my online email account, or my Outlook calendar so I remember ewhen the dadline to cancel is.

    And by the way… if you receive 1-5% back on your cc purchases… it tends to be better than what the back pays on savings accounts. I have a points type of card from BOA, and use it for virtually all my purchases, instead of using cash or Debit. I get paid once a month, so I pay the bill at that time. I find it easier to track my spending that way anyway. The bill is paid in full every month, so no finance charges to offset the “interest” paid.

  9. Man, so glad I found this web site… Funny enough, this page was what came up when I googled elite excursions. I also travel overseas quite a bit and was psyched about the benefits… However, once a good friend told me “if it sounds too good to be true, it’s probably not true”… I think this is the case with elite excursions. Especially since they are not really clear about how their organization works. I have decided not to receive their offer, I don’t think a digital camera is worth the trouble!! – and did any of you find anything positive about Elite Excursions?? – or heard of a satisfied costumer?? – wonder why??!!

  10. Apparently I cashed the check that enrolls me in the Elite Excursions program back in March of 2005. The first month was ‘free’ and I did not get a charge on my credit card until May. Also in May, I became very busy with a new job and adjusting to living in a new city. I never received any of the Elite Excusrions mailings at my new address and always intended to investigate this monthly $19.99 charge on my credit card. Well, today I finally got around to it and was told by a not-so-well-spoken gentleman with a heavy Bronx accent that I have accrued $700 in airline vouchers and are eligible for 50% discounts on automobile rentals. He offered to send the mailings to my new address so that I could at least review the service before deciding to cancel. Seeing as how I just got charged, I figure I may as well review the materials before canceling on the off chance that there are some useful deals. I doubt I will see any return on the $140 I have paid into this program. My advice to those who get this offer is to trash that check or at least be conscientious of how long you have to cancel your enrollment. For the benefit of those suckered into this program or those curious about the legitimacy of these alleged deals, I will post again when/if I receive these ‘fantastic’ offers.

  11. Look out for Elite Excursions. They are the same company as Travelers advantage. Once you get an agent to answer the phone, you will be super lucky if they can book your travel properly. Then when you try to call back, be prepared to wait on hold forever.

  12. I got a charge on my Apple Credit Card (Juniper Bank) this month for $19.99. I couldn’t tell what it was, but when I called Apple, they explained it was for Elite Excursions. I’ve never heard of this company, nor did I knowingly authorize any charge from them. At Apple’s request, I tried dealing directly with Elite Excursions, but of course, every voice mail jail option dumps me to a “your request cannot be processed at this time – please call again later” recording. Go figure. I called Apple back and disputed the charge and they were very helpful. This is an obvious case of deception at best, and fraud at worst. Of course, when you Google “Elite Excursions,” you can’t find anything about them on the Web except for this site. I hope this posting helps others fight this madness. Thanks. Doug.

  13. I can’t help but be amazed that my site is one of the only ones that shows up in a Google search for Elite Excursions!

    Please post any comments or follow up that you have with respect to dealing with these folks. Either good or bad. I’d like for folks to be able to have as much information at their disposal as possible before making any decisions about dealing with Elite Excursions.

  14. File complaints with the BBB. The more the better. If you call the 877 488 9283 number for Elite Excursions, the give you this address: Travelers Advantage, PO Box 6100, Westerville, OH 43081. It appears that Elite Excursions is part of Trevelers Advantage which is part of the Trigeliant Corporation in CT. This is important when filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, because the online form requires you to fill in the state in which the company is located. Several choices in the BBB’s site do come up for Travelers Advantage in CT (rather than OH). If you go to Trigeleant’s web site there’s a list of phone numbers for all the little scam companies they operate, and also Trigeleant’s address, which is 100 Connecticut Ave., Norwalk, CT 06850. I am filing two complaints, one for the address in OH, and one for the address is CT. Good luck to everyone. The fact that several choices for them inside the BBB website shows that other people are complaining too.

  15. agree. file a complaint. I called them first thing in the morning to get to a real person (on the membership services number-back of the flimsy card they send)

    they are incorporated in Delaware, obviously for tax reasons, but if you file correctly with the BBB they will eventually take some heat.

  16. I just got my credit card statement and there was a charge from Elite Excursions. I never authorized the charge. I googled the phone number and it led me to this website. I never signed up for any travel any thing. I tried to call the number and you can not get a live person!! I called my bank to dispute the charge and they are claiming they nothing about it. This seems like a scam to me!

  17. Not legitimizing anything, but http://www.eliteexcursions.com/ will bring you to the company’s website. I also signed up for the trial month for an mp3 player, an offer through bank of america. I sent the information back on August 7th, and haven’t heard anything else. It seems as though I won’t receive my membership packet until my free one month trial is over… but I just wanted to let everyone know, if they haven’t found it, there is in fact a website for these guys, http://www.eliteexcursions.com/

  18. Yep, I checked it out and http://www.eliteexcursions.com/ does go to a site that looks to match the elite excursions folks we’ve been talking about. The site must be brand spankin’ new as trying to Google it, even with the site: modifier yields absolutely no results.

    But the site has a lot to say about their offerings. Given their earlier modus operandi (see above comments) you may wish to exercise care in your dealings with them.

  19. I signed up for elite excursions about a year ago in order to get a ‘free digital camera’ for taking a consumer opinion poll. This offer was through Bank of America, and it said by sending the offer i am signing up for a first month free trial then 19.99 every month thereafter. Of course it said I wouldn’t get the camera for 4-6 weeks. I never got the camera, and I called BOA about it, several departments, and they have no idea who or what elite excursions is. So I never had to cancel or get any charges. I though maybe my poll just got lost in the mail.

    Now just recently I got the same poll for an mp3 player this time. I sent it out and haven’t heard back yet. So I imagine if there is a scam, it is when you cancel within the first month to avoid charges, they don’t send the free item and they make there money on those who forget to cancel.

    Bank of America is a very shady company for being affiliated with these guys. BOA is also shady for other reasons… When i opened an checking account with them, my credit report then showed a negative entry regarding an old Fleet account I had taken care of years prior. Apparently BOA tried to bring back an old charge without telling me. Took me months to get them to remove it…. shady bastards

  20. We’ve received the official looking $15 check from Elite Excursions. The letter has the Chase Bank logo and all, but the first sentence says “Cash this check to enroll in Elite Excursions offered by Trilegiant WHICH IS NOT AFILIATED WITH CHASE.” !!! What concerns me is: How Do They Get Your Credit Card Number to Automatically Bill You?

  21. I finally noticed this on my bill of $19.99 a month (for 10 months). I found this site, and took it from here. I called my Visa and I told them about this, and they immediately called it “Fraud”, and assigned me a new card. Visa will also reimburse me for the months these criminals stole from me. I NEVER signed up for this. I NEVER travel, nor have I ever rented a car. Visa gave me these following numbers to call to report these people. Apparently these are the “National” phone numbers for victums of fraud that goes all over the U.S.. I would advise getting new cards so that in the future they can no longer collect from the cards you are using now. I hope they go to jail, or someone get’s it. I am going to call their # (1-800-548-1116) on Monday to complain about what they have done, and that I reported them.

    Here are the National #’s for Fraud Reports.

    Equifax….1-800-525-6285
    Trans Union….1-800-680-7289
    Experian….1-888-397-3742

  22. Just looked at a credit card bill and found not one, but 3 separate charges by TLG Elite that I didn’t authorize, two for $19.99 and one for $99.99. I’m furious about this but something tells me I’ll get the run around when I try to call them. Will report this to the Better Business Bureau.

  23. I FINALLY got through!! Use 1-800-457-3693 and ask for Billing Dispuits. I told one of the workers there that works for this Elite Excursions and told him what has happened, and about this being a fraud and a scam. I told them to take me off their computer, …….so they are sending me 2- $19.99 checks in the mail……DO NOT GIVE THE YOUR NEW CREDIT CARD #. I got a new visa card so they can no longer draw on my account. I read him the riot act.

    For the remaining 11 months that they charged me, they are sending me a check, BUT I have to write them, and request that I DID NOT authorize this, and they will send me a check for $19.99 for the rest of the 11 months.

    I had 13 month’s total that they took from me. The guy did not hesitate one bit when I told him I NEVER authorized this, and I am going to report them to the 3 Better buiness bureau’s I have posted in my previous post.

    The ADDRESS to get your money and wage a complaint, IF you can’t get through to the number above is;

    Travel Dept.
    P.O. Box 6100
    Westerville, Oh. 43081

    I had no problem getting through to these people with the phone # above. Now we’ll see IF the send me my 2-$19.99 by check, then AFTER I write them the letter, I will see IF they send the other 11 remaining month’s.

    I would advise all of you to follow my lead here. They STOLE from us and they need to be reported, which I am going to do right now by calling the 3 national better bussiness bureau’s above. Good luck to me, and good luck to all of you. Let’s kick some booty!

  24. That’s great information Linda! I’m sure it will be helpful for other folks trying to get a human ear to talk to about this.

    Please do follow up with whether they honored their promised reimbursements. I’m very curious to see how they if they can be counted on to do right by you.

  25. I don’t like to sound negtive but be careful how you cash that cheque.

    At my bank, if I cash a cheque, they write MY bank account number on the back of the cheque. That cheque will then eventually work it’s way through the bank system back into the hands of the issuer.

    I would not want my bank account number to get into the hands of someone that has stollen from me, and then gotten my mailing address.

    King

  26. I cashed the $15.00 check to enroll in Elite Excursions a couple of months ago, and called before the month was up to cancel my membership. Their telemarketers are very slick — they won’t take no for an answer. I’ve called twice to cancel, and each time they just offer to extend my free membership for another month and send me other types of discount offers. When I called to cancel yesterday, I told them that I rarely travel and that I only cashed the check because I needed the $15.00 at the time, and they said they would send me coupons for gasoline. At least they haven’t charged my credit card, but I’m annoyed that they’re so insistent that I keep extending my free membership for another month in order to “evaluate” their program. Next time I call to cancel, I’m going to have to play hardball.

  27. I just got this Elite Excursion promo and I was about to mail it out when I thought to Google it first. I found this site, obviously I threw out the offer. It just amazes me that they use the Bank of America logo in their letter to make it look legitimate. This is defintely a scam!

  28. Thanks for the info! I was about to put it in the mailbox for my “free” portable DVD player when I saw this site. Now it’s in the shredder! You would have thought that Bank of America would investigate just a little bit more into their marketing partners, but I guess not.

    Keep up the good work, fighting the good fight for American consumers!

  29. Received the same offer this week ( the DVD/Bank of America one ) and just looked at it last nite. Like many others, decided that Google might be a good idea before signing on and ~~ well, I suppose you know where the offer is now!!

    Just might have to talk to Bank of America about this little endeavour ~

    Keep it real ~

  30. Hey Linda (or anyone else)
    Did you ever get your money? I got charged 12 months by these B******* too and I want to get my money back!! Any response from the agencies you reported them too? Has anyone? Or has anyone heard from BOA about their partnership with these people??

    Thanks!!
    Sara

  31. It’s funny how the blog began, but many thanks for what it has become. I actually sent in the Elite Excursions membership for the free portable DVD, via Bank of America. I trusted it for only that reason. Well, after reading all of these horror stories, I have called and cancelled. They answered quickly, but were not very willing to cancel…I haven’t even received any package from them yet. If anyone needs the cancellation number, it is: 1-877-488-9283. Thanks again! I will be sure to google things like this in the future…

  32. Thanks so much for running this blog. I was about to send in for the free DVD/CD/MP3 player. I trusted that this was a legit ad since it came from Bank Of America. Just to be sure I tried to google elite excursions and the only thing I got was your blog. Your awesome!
    I will be tossing this ad out and saving myself a huge hassle. THANKS!

  33. Linda, great work! I saw this blog when my wife and I first found the charges on the bill, but I didn’t get down to your post, so didn’t have the phone number.

    I just spend an hour, called 7 different numbers (each person I reached gave me a different one). Finally, I got the number 800-548-1116. I was able to reach someone with this number (unlike the 877-488-9283 that was on the credit card statement). Although it seemed like the same automated system.

    I told them I wanted to cancel and just kept saying “No Thankyou” every time they started asking if I wanted to try something else. Then, I asked if they could verify how I signed up. The customer service rep said they would transfer me to the “Account Verification” department, but really they just transferred me to their supervisor. The supervisor was able to 1. Refund all three months worth of charges (well, at least she said she would), 2. take us off the list for further solicitations, 3. request a copy of the check they sent to us (that signed us up for the service in the first place).

  34. I sent the poll and the Elite Excursions sent me some kind of magazine.
    I took a look at it and it’s actually not that bad.
    they have a lot of affiliation with a lot of hotel in the world.
    I also send the card for a free portable DVD Player.
    Just be sure to cancel before 30 days of receiving the magazine.
    also, the cancellation process is very easy.
    I called and told them that I want to cancel my membership
    they ask why and I told them that I change my mind
    and then that’s it. I got a cancellation number.
    Thanks

  35. yeah !!!!!
    I got a free dvd player from them
    I just received it today.
    It’s worth it to send the poll and cancel it within 30 days
    the process is simple and easy
    thanks

  36. I received the Portable DVD offer from Bank of America about a month ago and sent it in right away. ABout 10 days later I got a membership kit from Elite Excursions and I prompmtly canceled so I would not be charged. Still waiting for DVD player though. I am on the phone with Bank Of America while I write this. The rep is contacting Trilegiant Corporation to find out what’s going on.

  37. hi Rob,
    I think it took me 6-8 weeks to receive the dvd player in the mail
    just wait patiently and they will send you one

  38. few days ago, I got another poll from bank of america
    this time, it is offering a free $80 gas gift card from AutoVantage Enhanced
    (by the way, I checked the price of the portable dvd and it’s about $80)
    so basically, these companies are giving $80 in products
    I’m going to try it again and see if I get the $80 in gas
    I’ll post again next time for the update from Auto Vantage Enhanced
    thanks

  39. Via 3-way call between myself, the Bank of America rep, and a rep at Trilegiant Corporation/ Elite Excursions, the Elite Excursions rep stated it will take 6-8weeks from the time I sent in the “card” included with the membership kit. I am not sure if there was any card included, I don’t do not remember. If there was I would of certainly sent it in. Perhaps thay can claim I never sent it in to avoid sending the dvd player, when in fact they never included one in the kit… Anyhow, I will wait the 6-8 weeks and report back then. The Bank of Amercia rep stated that they had nothing to do with the promotion, other than allowing Elite Excursions/Trilegiant to pretend they were Bank of America, and that they are not responsible if I do not receive the dvd player.

  40. I just happened to land on this website after googling the phone number associated with a $19.99 charge that Bank of America had charged on my account without my authorization (apparently for the past five months for a total of $100.00 now without me realizing it). Since I have “paperless” or electronic billing I never noticed this oversight until reviewing my account today. Upon calling the Bank of America automated phone service it stated a charge for a “check” of this $19.99, a check which I had never written. I angrily called Bank of America and they disassociated themselves from the charge but at my insistence the Bank of America claims representative transferred me directly to this fradulent company called Elite Excursions. I spoke to an Elite Excursions representative who immediately gave me a cancellation number to have my “membership” and automatic monthly charge canncelled/stopped immediately. I insisted on having the $100.00 already charged to my account refunded immediately, but the Elite Excursions rep stated that I would have to do this in writing by sending a letter to the followng address (which I hope others who have also been duped can use to submit their claims):

    Elite Excursions
    Attention: Executive Support
    P.O. Box 6100
    Westerville, OH 43081

    The only recollection that I have now why these automatic charges started is that I received a flyer from Bank of America some 6 months ago offering me a Discount Travel progam (along with a free MP3 player) for a one time fee of $19.99, which I could sign up for and cancel immediately or later within 30 days. Since I never received any such travel package nor this MP3 player (which the Elite Excursions rep that I spoke with today lied to me about being sent to me on October 15th), I logically assume this offer was no longer available or being offered by Bank of America. I never received a confirmation/package of any kind from Bank of America nor Elite Excursions stating my membership into this program; thus, no option to cancel my membership afterwards. Again, since I have “paperless” or electronic billing I never noticed the oversight of these automatic charges until reviewing my account today. Bank of America’s actions is quite deplorable and unacceptable , as Bank of America is very aware of this scam being perpetrated and pepertuated by this Elite Excursions company, and yet Bank of America continues to send these offers to thier clients in the mail, charges clients’ accounts without authorization and then refuses to be culpable or accept responsibility for their actions when confronted. I encourage everybody to send a letter of complaint to the BBB against both Bank of America and Elite Excursions. You might also want to contact the media (your local tv stations) and alert them of this deplorable actions of one of US’s biggest and supposedly respected company, Bank of America. Good luck to you all.

  41. An Addendum:

    FYI- This so-called “Elite Excursions” also goes (or formerly went) by “Travelers Advantage,” as this the name of the company that I remembered sending me the offer via Bank of America some six months ago. The company has a website, as follows:

    http://www.travelersadvantage.com.

    I had researched and visited this web site above when I received the offer from Bank of America back around September 2006, which is what gave me the confidence that the offer was legitimate (especially from a company like BOA). If you go to the BBB site, you will find the following listings:

    Trilegiant Corporation, Trilegiant Great Fun, Travel Advantage, AOL Travelers Advantage, AOL Travelers Advantage, Elite Excursions.

    The company appears to be mostly or have originated out of Houston, TX and/or Trumball, CT, but it is the same fraudulent company with different names, states, and address, as follows:

    Elite Excursions
    PO Box 1042
    Trumbull, CT 06611
    Telephone: (877) 488-9283

    Elite Excursions
    PO Box 6100
    Westerville, OH 43086-6100

    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) Friendswood, TX 77546
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) PO Box 42930 Houston, TX 77242
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) 10015 S Main Houston, TX 77007
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) 3100 Hayes Houston, TX 77082
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) PO Box 42330 houston, TX 77242
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) PO Box 421129 Huston, TX 77242
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) PO Box 42930 Houston, TX 77242
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) PO Box 42930 Houston, TX 77242
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) PO Box 4221129 Houston, TX 77242
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) PO Box 421129 Houston, TX 77242
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) PO Box 42930 Houston, TX 77242
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) 1500 City West Blvd Ste 300 Houston, TX 77042
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) PO Box 42937 Houston, TX 77027
    Trilegiant Great Fun
    (Travel Advantage) HOUSTON, TX 77027

    Traveler’s Advantage 40 Oakview Dr Trumbull, CT 06611
    Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) 100 Connecticut Ave Norwalk, CT 06850
    Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) PO Box 111110 Trumbull, CT 06611
    Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) 80 Oakview Dr Trumbull, CT 06611
    Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) PO Box 1029 Trumbull, CT 06611
    Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) 39 Lindeman Dr Trumbull, CT 06611
    Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) PO Box 1017 Trumbull, CT 06611
    Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) 7 Cambridge Dr Trumbull, CT 06611 Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) PO Box 1035 Trumbull, CT 06492
    Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) TRUMBULL, CT 06611
    Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) PO Box 1038 Trumbull, CT 06611
    Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) PO Box 111133 Trumbull, CT 06611
    Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) PO Box 1016 Trumbull, CT 06611
    Trilegiant Corporation
    (AOL Travelers Advantage) PO Box 6100 Westerville, OH 43086

    Additional DBA’s, Addresses, Telephone Numbers, and Fax Numbers

    Additional DBA Names
    Citishopper
    Buyers Advantage
    Shoppers Advantage
    PrivacyGuard.com
    Travelers Advantage
    AutoVantage
    Complete Home
    Dinner On Us Club
    Health Saver
    Netmarket
    PrivacyGuard
    Sears Discount Travel Club (Cendant)
    AOL Netmarket
    Just For Me
    AOL Travelers Advantage
    AOL Credit Alert
    AOL AutoVantage
    AutoVantage.com
    Credentials Services
    Dental Plus Group Plan
    Family FunSaver Club
    Great Fun
    Great Options
    GreatFun.com
    Homeowners Savings Network
    Hot-Line
    Netmarket.com
    OurCompleteHome.com
    ShoppersAdvantage.com
    Today’s Homeowner Values
    TravelersAdvantage.com
    Complete Home Tradespoerson Referral Network
    CompleteHome
    Net Market
    Sears Discount Travel Club
    AOL Netmarketing
    Digital Protection Plus
    TLG Greatopt
    Privacy Guard Support Services
    CT Hotline
    TLG Great Options
    Citibank Premier Dining Club
    Premier Dining Club
    Home Services
    Credit Alert
    Travel Advantge
    BAC Privacy Source
    National Home Protection Services (NHPA)
    Support Services
    Travel Advantage
    Customer Service Center

    Additional Addresses
    PO Box 6100
    Westerville, OH 43086-6100

    Additional Phone Numbers
    Tel: (203) 956-8907
    Tel: (203) 956-1076
    Tel: (800) 318-6870
    Tel: (800) 290-8603
    Tel: (713) 667-9173
    Tel: (800) 892-2833
    Tel: (800) 580-7467
    Tel: (800) 544-4663
    Tel: (800) 825-4663
    Tel: (203) 965-5196
    Tel: (614) 823-5153
    Tel: (800) 318-2709
    Tel: (800) 313-4440
    Tel: (180) 087-6778
    Tel: (800) 295-8006

    Additional Fax Numbers
    Fax: (614) 823-5060

    I hope this helps. Please be careful and protect yourself against such companies (BOA included) masquerading around as legitimate business operations.

  42. Bank of America would like to play “dumb” and disassociate itself from the Elite Excursions, yet BOA promotes and endorses Elite Excursions on its (BOA’s) website, as found here:

    http://www.bankofamerica.com/warranty/index.cfm?template=elite_excursions

    I hope BOA don’t remove this link any time soon. If Bank of America is not willing to accept responsibility for the actions of this scam of an operation, then why are they endorsing Elite Excursions? All clients who have been duped by Elite Excursions via Bank of America should be rightfully compensated by Bank of America.

  43. Hi!
    I was looking for some information about Elite Excursions and this is the only website that comes when I google.
    I got the free DVD player, I called to cancell and now they offered me 30 more days “free trials and a “buy one get one free” round trip to anywhere in the US…
    Let’s see what happens…
    At least I have the DVD…hehe…

  44. I got the same offer mentioned from BOA about the free DVD player. Long story short…I did the trial and canceled on the very very last day which was like Feb 7th. I did not at all believe I would be getting this DVD player…but balls to god, it came on SATURDAY, out of NOWHERE (the 24th of feb). The order is filled by a compay called USA Fulfillment and it came by USPS priority. Its actually pretty nice too…the little promo slip in my packet said the screen was only 5inches….but the one that came to me was 7inches, widescreen.

    The elite excursions shit is…well…shit. I wouldnt use them if my life depended on it. Its not a scam company persay, but im fairly positive you could find better rates for 99% of travel on any normal travel website.

    This is the first time ive EVER actually got a promo gift. I hope all of you actually get yours too…well….someday.

  45. I got the 7″ widescreen DVD player also instead of a 5″. Charger, cig plug charger, headphones, remote, etc all came with it.

  46. So is this a real website or another scam? I have been trying to cancel a charge on my credit card for five months. I unknowingly paid for a service for ten years that I belived was an annual fee till this past October 2006. All I want to do is cancel this service and have them credit my card. But now five months later I am still trying. I was told to send copies of this invoice to an address in Westerville,OH. When I Googled this address your web site Marc’s Musings came up with (AOL Travelers Advantage) PO Box 6100 Westerville, OH 43086. So what is the real scam now??
    Kris

  47. Hi Kris,

    Yep, this is a real website. Frankly I’m amazed at the response that this post has generated! I can’t vouch for any of the numbers and information that folks have provided here, but I have no reason to doubt that it is legitimate.

    Try some of the tactics / numbers provided here and, if those don’t work, you should seriously consider changing your credit card number. It’s a pain if you have many automated payments depending on the card, but sometimes it’s the only way to get some unscrupulous business’ hand out of your pocket.

    If your credit card company won’t change your number or otherwise assist you with preventing these unwanted recurring charges, fire them and get a new credit card. I don’t use a lot of credit cards, but I recently (about a year ago) changed to amazon.com’s credit card – you can see it advertised on Amazon’s site. They’ve been square with me and I have received my 1% cash back in the form of Amazon certificates without having to jump through hoops or deal with blackout dates or any of that other nonsense. The certificates automatically appear in the mail as I earn them. So I’d certainly recommend it. I’ve replaced my Bank of America “Financial Rewards” card with it.

    Good Luck!

  48. These companies (Elite Excursions and AKA’s) must pay BOA some very large fees for the opportunity to do these mailings in care of BOA. Why else would BOA even get involved. I don’t fully understand BOA benefit in affiliating themselves with this tactic. What advantage does BOA have in this? BOA doesn’t make money by debiting $19.99 a month out of my account? I don’t get it.

  49. Here’s a new twist on the fraud operation. After booking 2 tickets to Mexico on Cheaptickets.com, an offer came on the confirmation page (I think) that offered a 20% rebate if I tried a membership in the Great Fun discount program (service provided by Trilegiant). Catch is, you have to join, then wait until after you take your trip to send in your trip receipt for your rebate.

    GLC Great Fun started charging my credit card 9.99 a month immediatley, and sent me some bogus membership card in the mail. After checking the web, I find all there complaints for these jerks, so I called today to cancel. I got a cancellation # after demanding my membership be cancelled. I didn’t even bother with the rebate, as I knew it was just another ploy to keep charging my cc. We will see how the cancellation works, some people have had problems getting billed even after the cancellation request.

    What really ticks me off is that I got scammed right from CheapTickets! That really sucks!!!

  50. This is such a scam. I NEVER signed up for this. When I called BOA, they acted like they had nothing to do with this. I am going to seek legal action. If so many people are getting scammed by this, we really need to DO something about this.

  51. I would just like to thank this site for this information. I saw a debit on my account that I use only for savings. I called BOA disputing the charge, and was told to contact their affiliate @ 1-877-488-9283. I called the number receiving a busy signal. I searched Google for the phone number and came up with this site. Thank you for publishing this information so people may stay informed. I am in the process of disputing the charge, hopefully this site will save others from this offence.

  52. I just saw a charge on my Juniper credit card that I never signed for. After many phone calls and research this is the only website I found that had any info on this. I just canceled my ccard, am being issued a new account number and card. What I dont understand is how they got my account number in the first place, I never rented a car or sighed up for anything with this card. I did recieve a magazine in the mail from them shortly after returning from mexico, but I never even used my card there either. Juniper says I have to contact elite exc. to try to get them to refund my 19.99. Im not holding my breath but atleast it wont be showing up on my card ever again, I hope!

  53. update on this mess. After talking with elite exc today they were working with Juniper Bank and sent me a check which I cashed and automacticaly sign me up with elite exc. They claim they will end my membership as of today and credit my account the 19.99 within 10-15 days. I just think it is very sad that the offer came as a check from juniper bank but yet they would have nothing to do with trying to issue me a credit, I had to contact elite exc myself to try to get that credit! Juniper bank new all along why this charge appeared and all they would do was cancel my account and reopen it with another account number. Do you think the offer may be sent to me again being this is a new account I have just opened. I will not fall for it again, I thought the check from juniper was like a money back credit for purchases I had made in the past, MY FAULT!!!

  54. Been over 3 months, still no DVD player… So I just called Trilegiant again @ 877-488-9283 and now they said they already sent it way back in Dec ’05. That’s funny, why couldn’t they see that a month or two ago when I called last. They just told me to wait. Anyhow, the person on the phone says they will send out another portable DVD player and I should expect it in 7-10 business days. Hmmm, I wonder why they say 6-8weeks the first time. Well, I will report back in a couple weeks. Hopefully I will have a dvd player to watch movies on my long plane ride coming up.

  55. hey,
    Its Josh again
    Sorry I did not post for a long time
    I have been busy for the past few weeks
    anyway, I got the letter from Auto Vantage Enhanced with the $80 gas coupon about 2-3 weeks ago.
    To get the $80, I have to buy gas first and mail the receipt with the coupon to Auto Vantage then they will give me a check for $20.
    I have to do this every 3 months, because I can only get $20 per quarter ($80 total)
    also, I just canceled my membership today.
    again, the process was very very easy
    I took me about 5 minutes to cancel it.
    so, I will post again when I get my check
    Thanks

  56. It’s now April 19th, and “re-sent” DVD player still has not arrived. So I just called them and they said it’s normally 7-10 business days but sometimes may take 10-15 business days and I should wait a little longer…

  57. I thought I had lost my membership packet I received from Elite Excursions, so I was googling them to find the number to cancel. I received the membership packet on 3/27/07 and mailed in my order form for the free portable DVD player immediately. I noticed that my trial period was up April 4th, so I called them and they offered to extend it for one month. I received my free DVD player today, and I called to cancel about five minutes ago. I did find my membership packet, which sped up the cancellation process. I never used their services, but I did get my DVD player with no charges!

    However, I did notice that Bank of America took them off their website, so there might be some fishy things going on, so beware!

  58. Hello again,
    Good news!
    I just received my $20 check from autovantage (for the first quarter)
    I took probably about 3 weeks from mailing the receipt
    to receiving the check.
    Anyway, Rob, did u get the DVD player ?
    I hope you will get it soon
    Just post again when you get it.
    Thanks

  59. Well, like alot of folks here I just signed up to get the free DVD player. I called the cancellation number (1-877-488-9283), told them I wanted to cancel (I didn’t even have my member number because I trashed my menbership package when it arrived), and after 2 minutes of them pitching the product, they gave me my cancellation confirmation number, and that was that.

    All in all, pretty painless for a free dvd player, even if it is a crappy one. Don’t blame the company for your failure to read the fine print, people: Buyer beware.

  60. Gordi, I rec’d the DVD player. I think you will be impressed. It is actually quite nice for free. 7″ widescreen with all kinds of accessories.

  61. Friday May 18, 2007
    We just got online to view my bank statement and there was an unusual charge. My husband inquired about a charge on this account I rarely use I had no idea about it. I recently had to replace my debit card on that account and then had to call BOA to activate it.

    My husband just so happened to land on this website after googling the phone number associated with a $19.99 charge that Bank of America had charged on my account without my authorization! THAT was when we found the charge was from Elite Excursions from THIS web site!!!! I never authorized the charge. I never signed up for any free dvd, cd or digital camera …. And certainly nothing at all to do with travel NOTHING!
    After reading ALL your postings I felt prepared to take action.
    First I called Bank Of America I gave them very little information about the problem just stated that I NEVER ordered the product or AUTHORIZED the payment to them. The woman, Cynthia Washington, was VERY WELL AWARE of this sort of problem and instantly gave me the Elite Excursions number 1-877-488-9283.
    I asked Cynthia; “HOW could this have happened?” She responded “Did you recently re-activate a new debit card?” I replied; “Yes”. She said “Perhaps you had punched a wrong number when prompted through their system and I must have requested it by hitting a wrong number on my phone key pad.” OMFG!
    I spoke to “Sabrina”, an Elite Excursions representative, who immediately gave me a SALES PITCH! I called to cancel and now they offered me 30 more days “free trials and a “buy one get one free” round trip to anywhere in the US… yada yada yada! Amazing!

    I asked her what part of “I never ordered this product, I am upset that this could be charged my BOA account without my knowledge and I WOULD NEVER USE A company who uses such HIGHLY DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES EVER!”

    She then preceded to SALES PITCH me again… informing me that my “membership” could be transferred to other family members! I INSISTED SHE give me a CANCELLATION CONFIRMATION number to have my “membership” and automatic monthly charge cancelled/stopped immediately. She told me the $19.99 would be “credited back to my account within 10-15 days!

    I informed her I would be following up and confirmed her name and the cancellation number back to her. I called back to the Elite Excursions and got “Tairk” sales rep who stated that my account had been cancelled. I asked him “How could this have been activated in the first place?” His response was I “had to have signed a hard copy letter and mail it back to them which had the “free” DVD (?) offer enclosed” That was a LIE!

    What concerns me: How Do They Get Your Credit Card Number to Automatically Bill You?

    10-15 days is just totally unacceptable to get reimbursed funds Elite Excursions STOLE from my account! So I just finished calling my BOA again and went through the whole thing again with them I got them to also give me a confirmation number on the electronic Claim and to be immediately reimbursed the fees. Ughhhh 2 hours on the phone/ internet on this one! But thanks for all your stories and help!

  62. My father never subscribed to Elite Excursions but they started charging his card. He never sent away for a free item or cashed any check. Isn’t it illegal to start unauthorized charges? I filed a complaint against Trilegiant Corporation (the parent corporation)

  63. I was told that i signed up for a free DVD player i never even heard about . They charged me 4 times with out me noticing. Once i noticed i called BOA and they said they couldn’t do anything and gave me the 1-877-488-9283 number. After i spoke to 3 people i was able to talk to a manager who said he’d refund my $79.96. 10 days later they refunded $59.97 so i called back, then i was told they can only refund 3 months back anything more i would have to write to the company. So now I’m in the process of writing a letter to get my money back. Then I’m changing banks!!

  64. Okay, so I noticed a charge last month, but did not think much of it as my husband is prone to forget to tell me about purchases that he makes. Of course, there was no real information except the phone number on the online banking page. Needless to say, I just entered it into the checkbook and decided to ignore it. Then, it was there again today… Who the heck are these people??? Where did they get our account information??? We NEVER signed up for anything!!!! No dvd player, no travel discount, nothing! So, I called the number to find out why they are charging my account, and they are not open yet. So, I googled it and am so glad that I found this site.
    BOA has caused me nothing but trouble since I opened the account and I had every intention of closing it. Now, there is no doubt in my mind that as soon as I get this taken care of, the account will be closed. I will simply take my money elsewhere.
    I am beginning to wonder, from the volume of people who did not ever sign up for anything, if there is some recourse we can take against this company that is simply taking our money.
    Anyone have any information, please let me know.

  65. I see that everyone has had problems with Elite Excursions and BOA. However, they apparently have now partnered with Chase credit cards. I always deposit the free checks, and I am well aware that I am signing into a program. However, I always cancel the program the second I get the membership info (hey, it’s free money!). However, Elite Excursions NEVER sent me a membership packet, yet they started charging my card for membership! I called tonight well before their 11pm closing time, and they were closed. I would be out of business if I ran my company that way!

  66. I just got a similar DVD offer from US Bank for a $14.99 / month service from “AutoVantage”. The offer was from US Bancorp Insurance Services LLC, a subsidiary of US Bancorp (the holding company that owns US Bank) .

    This means that US Bancorp, and ESPECIALLY U.S. Bank are immune to any legal repercussions. The only company that would suffer if we managed to win a class action lawsuit would be US Bancorp Insurance Services LLC.

    L.L.C. or Limited liability company – the owners of the LLC, called “members,” are PROTECTED FROM LIABILITY for acts and debts of the LLC.

    FUCK BANKS! I keep my money in a shoe box and carry a mini 30.

  67. My great Aunt recently ended up in the hospital and while she was there I took over her finances and what I found was sick. My aunt is 81 years old. SHe is on a fixed income of about $650/month. When I went to the bank to get her rent money there was nothing there. When I contacted the bank I found she had been signed up for Elite Excursions and every type of insurance you can think of. Like Accidental death. Come on do you really think a lady at the age of 81 is going to die by accident? If not why sell her accidental death insurance. Plus Do you think she is going on an excursion on her own. Not likely. My aunt had over $910.00 in over drat charges all because these companies saw a easy target. People watch out for your older family members. Talk to them make sure they are aware this is not the friendly 20-40. Mrs Clever is not your next door neighbor.

  68. Oh by the way the bank My Great anut banks at is Bank of America and 5 of the companies debiting money from the account are BOA sponsered

  69. Today, I finally decided to balance my check book, and long and behold, I have this “Boaelitexc” charge to my bank account directly debited every month from my checking account. Not knowing what this charge is, I did some research, and realized this is Elite Excusion. I have never received any membership material, and don’t remeber signing up anything; don’t even remember if i received or cashed the little check! the charge went back for 6 months, and i have never received any membership material that even describes their service. This is a prime case for class action lawsuit.

  70. my mom has a juniper credit card and she’s been charged $19.99 for TLG EliteXC. They have a 1 877 488 9283 number. I called today, Saturday, but it’s closed. I will call again on Monday. How helpful are these people in canceling that credit protection that my mom did not request? Anything I should keep in mind? Thanks to all.

  71. Elite Excursions…A.K.A Bank of America took $ out of my acct. I NEVER cashed a check OR signed a form. ARE WE ALL JUST GOING TO POST IT ON THE INTERNET OR TRY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT??? THINK ABOUT IT…I WAS TAKEN FOR $120, THEN REIMBURSED $60 BUT BOA HAS REFUSED TO REIMBURSE THE OTHER 1/2, SO THEY MADE 60 $’S OFF OF ME. NOW, MULTIPLY THAT BY THEIR…WHAT?….MILLION (AT THE LEAST) PEOPLE THAT BANK W/THEM? THAT’S $60MILLION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    THE SAD THING IS THAT $60 IS A BIG DEAL TO ME AND………………..
    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I WANT IT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    DO YOU ALL NOT? OR DO YOU WANT A MULTIBILLION $ CORPORATION TO CONTINUE TO GET EVEN RICHER BECAUSE WE DID NOTHING????????
    I DON’T KNOW WHAT CAN BE DONE BUT I WILL FIND OUT, THEY MESSED W/THE WRONG AMER.

    FYI: IF YOU WALKED IN TO ANY BANK (LET ALONE THEIR’S I’M SURE) AND TOOK EVEN A DOLLAR FROM ONE OF THEIR EMPLOYEES, REST ASSURED THAT YOU WOULD BE TAKEN TO JAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    if you doubt that, test it out.

  72. Huge problems with Juniper Bank and Affinion / Elite Excursions!!!!

    Was unwittingly charged over 200.00 on my Juniper Apple credit card by Elite Excursions.

    Juniper and Elite Excursion’s responses into my inquiry have been veiled and totally unhelpful.

    I NEVER signed up for a membership with Elite Excursions.

    I have taken up the matter with Barclays Corporate, Apple Corporate, the BBB, and the SEC.

  73. I too was charged $19.99 for 5 months before I caught this. I’m very angry. My daughter called the number on my Chase statement and they told her that I would have to send a letter challenging three of the charges, but they would send me a refund for 2 of the months. I’m not as young as I used to be, but I’m not dead and my eyes are still good. From now on, LOOK OUT, I’ll be going over anything from Chase with a fine tooth comb! I’ll let you know how it goes with the letter. I never cashed their so called “check” and have no need of their so called “services.

  74. Last month I called Elite excursions to cancel my mebership but my card as still charged. So I called again. This time they gave me a confirmation number. So you think BOA is involved in this? If they are then we should all switch banks.

  75. You will all be happy to hear that during my second call to Elite I requested a “full refund” for all charges on my credit card. Today my daughter went online and checked out my account. I see that I’ve been refunded for all the money that I’d been charged. Once in awhile something does go right!

  76. I just found all of my charges by Elite Excursions after over a year. I have a Chase credit card. I immediately googled and got this website. I plan on pursuing this in the morning, as it is “closed” before the closing time. I hate to see other people go through this, but glad I’m not alone. If anyone is pursuing legal action, I’m in!!! I will be consulting a lawyer friend of mine to see if he has any advise or other lawyers I should talk to. If anyone has any suggestions on how they got their money back quicker or more effectively let me know.

  77. Thanks to Jennifer here (the comment on June 8th) I got the Elite Excursions no in her comments, called them, apparently they have credited the amount they charged me. Mine was a similar DVD player where I never got the DVD player or the membership material. I will still need to check with my bank, but thanks – to this blog writer and the comments!

  78. Accidentally sent to me rather than to the Blog from Amy:

    this absolutely needs to be pursued legally, a CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT seems to be in order. I personally do not have the money to hire a lawyer, being a single mother and all, which I think is sick that a multi billion dollar co. is STEALING $ from their customers like this. If anyone knows a lawyer that is willing to go after a corporation such as BOA let me know, they need to be held accountable for their dispicable actions. I’m looking into hiring a pro bono lawyer, i don’t know how many time (at least 6) that i was thrown into overdraft because i thought that i had enough $ but my checks bounce because this “fee” was then taken out of my acct and i wasn’t aware of it and the cost in overdraft fees. yet again…..a MULTIBILLION $ CO. is STEALING from a working lower class-single mother. If they’re stealing from me, then how many others?

  79. Folks,

    For sure I’d love to hear about any success stories you have had in your dealings with Elite Excursions and their cohorts in such questionable business practices.

    I think it speaks volumes about a financial institution that they would share your information with a third party and then not stand behind transactions made against your account by that third party.

    It is very difficult for an individual to pursue legal action or to exact punitive measures against such institutions. The best you can hope for is that a lawyer (a topic for another day) will initiate class action proceedings and get everybody involved a settlement worth 2 dollars or whatever is normal these days. Ignoring the fact that the motivation (and result) is that the lawyer just gets wealthy, the cost to the bad-faith corporation is enough that it *can* have an impact on how badly they behave in the future. A couple million or so customers represented in a class action suit can be quite the expensive judgment for the company even though it is a joke for the represented complainants.

    Individually, I think you can express your dissatisfaction by closing your accounts and taking your business elsewhere.

  80. I beat them at their own game.

    I hadn’t received my membership materials, so I called and they said they would send again. They also said I would not be billed for my 2nd month. I documented first/last name of person, time of call, etc. I received the packet and immediately sent in the paperwork for the free DVD and Priority Pass. I cancelled the Elite Excursions membership before the free 2nd month expired, however, they still billed me. I called and after about a 10 minute discussion where I provided names and dates, they removed the charge. A few weeks later, I still received the free DVD player. The Elite Excursions included free one year membership to Priority Pass which allows you in airport clubs four times for free. I used two clubs during longer layovers. And I have never heard another word from them.

    These companies prey upon the lazy and easily confused. If you keep your documentation thorough, you can beat them at their own game. The same goes with credit card companies. I’ve gotten free airline tickets, free Starwoods points (which gave me four free nights at a Sheraton) and other things, and I’ve closed the cards before the first free year was up. A wise consumer can win if you play their game right.

  81. I have the same situation as Scammed Retiree. I recently checked my accounts at Bank of America and found the Elite Excursions charged $19.99/month (“Boaelitexc”) to my checking account (not credit card) since this May. Not knowing what this charge is, I googled the website and realized this is Elite Excusion. I called the phone number (800-283-9237) in the transaction description and told the Rep I’ve never signed to be a member of Elite Excursions and never received any membership material. I asked the Rep how the company got my bank information and who authorized the company to enroll me. The Rep said the BOA had a survey and I took the survey and singned for the member. I told the rep I never did the survey and asked the Rep for the proof of the autherization. The rep told me to fax (614-823-5153) the request. I am thinking that BOA may be involved in this. If someone is seeking for a lawsuit against the company, please put me on the list.

  82. I just checked my bank and saw that 19.99 being taken out of my account and I am pissed I’m a mother of three with very little money to be just letting go. I f their is any thing we can do about this to avoid it from happening agin.Please let me know.

    I don’t know how they got my info becouse I just reserved a car but found out I did’t have the money to rent the car so I called and canceled the rental. I did it on the internet so i didn’t sighn a thing.

    I sick of going threw things that just shouldn’t be happening I’m on a sticked buget and can almost not afford to feed me and my kids. What do you do?

  83. I been billed for the past 1years and couple months, i was wondering does anyone share with the letter that they have sent to the elite exclusion to get their refund back. They sent me back 2 payment of 19.99 but i was bille for the whole 1 years. If someone can paste me the formate of the complain on the site , it will be wonderfully helpful includinging the contents on what i should write to get my refund back. Ty

  84. Last month I noticed this $19.99 charge on my Juniper account and thought nothing of it. I figured I must of purchased something I forgot about with my Juniper card which I never ever use. Stupid me. Just got my monthly statement again today and same thing, $19.99 from TLG ELITEX with the phone number 877-488-9283. Since I know I haven’t used this card this past month, I thought I’d investigate. I googled the phone number and got this amazing blog (thank you all!). I then checked past transactions on my Juniper account and noticed this TLG ELITEX has been withdrawing $19.99 from my account since I first opened my Juniper account, 8/23/06… 14 months. $280 dollars. Pissed?? Yep. I have only used this card to purchase items from my local Apple store and have never sign-up for any promo offers/ free DVD players, gas cards, lap dances, whatever. I don’t travel and I’ve never rented a car. How can some fraudulant comany aquire my account number and take money from me with out my authorization? Is Juniper in on this as well as B of A? I would like to take each employees mothers out to a nice sea food dinner and NEVER call them again.

  85. Just want to let some of you know..phone calls and letters do get you your money back, just don’t know how far back they will pay…peolple really need to watch their bank accounts and read all fine print on everything they look at sign up for etc. Good Luck to you all.

  86. Hi Thank you to everyone on this blog!
    I’m a tightwad so I check my credit card statements every month. I used Chase for a balance transfer to help pay off my wedding and was about to pay off that credit card when I noticed a charge on my statement from TLG*ELITEXC followed by a number (which is your account number)
    Now, I know how the free stuff scams work, I kept the paperwork for a while and am positive I cancelled this account already. However, I still got charged. They asked if I had my cancellation number (silly me, I should have guessed you haven’t really cancelled anything unless you call back to cancel twice and kept your cancellation number) and they proceeded to tell me that I still had an active account. Anyway, I nipped it in the bud since the first $19.99 charge only happened two weeks ago and they were happy to give me a refund and cancel my membership. Of course , you have to be firm and refuse both their offers to try to keep you a member.
    The phone number I used was from this blog 1-877-488-9283 and they needed the membership number (found after “TLG*ELITEXC” on your credit card bill) and your zip code. I don’t know what they’d do if you don’t have your account number with them handy , or about reversing older charges, so good luck!

  87. I too was part of this scam. Except I never signed the check. Shame on Chase mastercard being part of the scam. I made two phone calls to TLG Elite and two to Chase to finally get it off.
    The part that got me was when they insisted I signed the check. I requested a copy of the check. They said it should arrive in 5 to 10 days. I will let you know if they actually send it to me.
    Next stop Attorney Generals office!

  88. Two months ago I cut up my chase card and out of curiosity I signed on to my account where I found this mysterious $19.99 charge and a late fee on top of that for not paying it. I called up chase and asked the customer service rep what this charge was. After stalling and putting me on hold for 5 minutes he came back offering that he came up short upon “researching” this charge and/or company….LIAR. He then provided me with this 1-877-number and said if I call them up they can reverse my charge. Upon immediately calling this number, the Elite Excursions rep told me that I had cashed a check for $9.25 (come on I’m not that desperate) and it automatically signed me up for their membership. After chit-chatting with this rep (and her repeated attempts to tell me about all the benefits of the membership) I found out that Chase was 100% a part of this and knew exactly what the charge was from the beginning. After sitting for a moment fuming, I realized why I cut up my Chase card in the first place. Fortunately enough, I caught it right away, sorry to hear some of others didn’t. After 2 years of them pulling off this scam, lets put an end to it.

  89. Thanks for this blog! It confirms that we’re not the only ones whose account has been siphoned out of 19.99 monthly for the mythical membership with Elite Excursions. My husband and I were sucked into this scam through our Bank of America account. Since we travel quite a lot we thought it might be worthwhile to check it out and with a month’s free membership and a MP3 player we wouldn’t lose–or so we thought! Silly us! We received absolutely nothing from our membership–no membership card, coupons, statement–and needless to say, the MP3 player was also nonexistent. We forgot about it until we noticed the 19.99 charge on our Bank of America appearing each month for more than a year! When I called the number listed I was told of all these wonderful membership mailings sent to us that I must have thrown out as junk mail, which we certainly never received. The supervisor I talked to when I insisted on canceling this bogus membership told me that he was only authorized to refund our account 79.99 which would appear in 10-15 business days, and gave me a fax number (614) 823-5124 to write a letter of complaint (attn: Traveler’s Advantage Review Board) to petition for the whole $280 back. Fat chance but I will not give up trying! It was our fault for not being more vigilant inspecting our account records, and for falling for the scam in the first place. Lesson learned, but I still want our money back!

  90. Guys, it looks like there might be a class action suit in the works. Check out this website:

    http://www.girardgibbs.com/trilegiant.html?gclid=CLnV6oXi4Y8CFQ66PAodM2xFEg

    I am in the boat with those of you who never signed a form, chased a check or took a poll but yet are seeing $19.99/month debited from my checking account for the last five months. My fault for not being more vigilant, but rest assured, I will be closing all three of my Bank of America accounts over this. They were pretty unconcerned when I called to complain about it. So far I’ve seen two months of charges charged back and my overdraft fees refunded, so that is a little bit of progress. Now Elite Excursions has given me the same spiel they’ve given others about having to fax a letter to get the rest of my money back. I will fax a letter (from my attorney) and make the request but I’m not holding my breath. I’ll be paying a lot closer attention to all of my accounts in the future, not just the ones I use regularly. I urge you all to do the same. And also, please report this POS company to your state attorney general’s office. It may at least help others from being taken the way we have been.

  91. Yes, I have just found out that I am a target in this sickening scam. Between the “Elite Excursions” & “Great Fitness” and Bank of America’s NSF fees, They have swindled over $1500 from me since May ’07. I am like many of you, a single mother of small children living paycheck to paycheck. I am on board with ANY of you that are looking into a lawsuit. Please keep me posted!

  92. My rip off experience was with Juniper CC/ Barclay’s Bank that are affiliated with Elite Excursions. I tried to file a claim with Juniper CC and they denied being associated with the company and would not honor by charge back. I gave Girard Gibbs LLC my info and they did not contact me.

    The real kicker is that Juniper sent me another email trying to get me to sign up again after denying any association with this company. If you get the so called checks, NEVER mail them in. I malied mine, cancelled within 30 days, and they never honored my cancellation and subsequently charged me for nine months. They never sent me a sign up packet so I didn’t know that they “failed” to process my cancellation. What a scam! They could get sued for $100 million dolaars and are still walking away rich!

  93. I have also just learned that BoA has been taking $19.99/moth from my checking account for at least a year, for a Euro Excursions membership which I never signed up for. I called BoA customer service and they explained that the membership was automatic when I accepted an offer for an MP3 player. I never got an offer for an MP3 player, let alone accepted an offer for an MP3 player, and certainly have never received an MP3 player.

    When I called BoA customer service to complain, I was told they could refund me for two months but would not go back any further.

    Has anyone taken any legal action regarding this???

  94. Just found out today that I was one of the Victim by this company called ” GREAT FUN” Phone number 1-877- 488-9480. PO BOX 6100 westerville, ohio 43086. I was not aware that they have actually charge from my credit card for almost 2 years already. They lied that all they charge for was only a month. I have the credit card statements in my hand and it says almost 2 years. I am an Active duty, in the Army, so I constantly travel. I do pay my credit card on time, but to my mistake, I overlook on some of these charges. When I found out about the Scam, I called right in to cancel the membership. Cancellation was done but I found out the charges continue on. Another TRICKY part also is that if you have been inactive with that credit card, there would be no monthly charge from the scam company. On the other hand, the charges would be hiding somewhere in your statement on the months that you have actually use the credit card. Several phone calls after that, all they told me was to fax all statements and they will reimburst. I wasn’t sure how true that is.

  95. i just found a 9.99 charge on my wmau account that i didnt authorize

    HCS*IDNTITYPROTECTPLAN is what the charge says

    but the number that wamu gave me to call is 800-313-4440

    when i called that number i got a dfferent story each time. rather amusing actually. definetly something fishey. so i googled the number and found this blog. the number shows up on the list of elite excursions nums.

    this must be yet another scam they are running.

    luckily for me i was looking to see if a check cleared and this charge hadnt even cleared yet and was the first one. i have already gotten a provisionary refund.

    the moral of the story is
    check your monthly statments!

  96. It has happened to me too, but i never recieve anything they just started taking money from my account, this ELITE EXCURSION company.

  97. What a great website! I opened what I thought was typical junkmail only to read a slimy letter by John Sessler thanking me for purchasing membership in his foneybalony company Elite Excursions. I’d never heard of these people muchless purchased anything from them. I serched the web and found this blog and instantly called these scammers to cancel membership that I’d never heard of to start with. The idiot who answered the phone informed me that Chase Bank had sent me some sort of rewards check that I’d cashed which automatically enrolled me into this scam. I told her very angrilly to cancel membership immediately when the silly twit launched into a sales pitch. She thought this was FUNNY!! I called Chase Bank to report my card lost or stolen and the Indian rep launched into some long-winded sales pitch for Chase’s anti fraud services. Trilegiant is operating out of Norwalk, CT scamming people by the thousands nationwide. Since 2001 several states have ordered Trilegiant to stop its fraudulent practices and they are still going strong. States are getting big settlements and the common Joe’s getting hosed!

  98. I just got a “check” from Trilegiant Corp via Budget Car Rental, and googled this site.

    Apparently, one of Budget’s sister companies is Trilegiant, and Chuck Fallon, Budget’s Executive Vice President of Revenue Generation (I love that) worked with them.

    There must not be any more opportunities making money providing valued services, and Mr. fallon has to resort to duplicity.

    Check out his photo. It’s a measure of some justice: http://www.budget.com/budgetWeb/html/en/aboutus/companyinfo/execbios/profilefallon.html

  99. I just received a so-called check that will activate a membership in “Just for Me”, whatever that is, when I cash it and allow membership fees to be charged with my credit card that is on record with Budget. I called “Just for Me” and complained and then called Budget’s customer service line. Budget accepted a formal complaint from me and promised to remove my name from their “list”. I let them know very clearly that I will not rent cars from them in the future. The only way to make these guys stop this is to hurt them financially. Call Budget’s customer service line at 800-214-6094 and give them a piece of your mind. At the very least it feels good having made the call – but remember the poor schmuck who takes your message is not the decision-maker, so be nice to her/him.

    Happy New Year.

  100. Marc – Thank you for your blog! I googled AutoVantage and stumbled upon this blog. I was thinking about joining this “club” for $15/mon to get a free MP3 player and then cancel. Anyway – I won’t be doing this.

    Great consumer blog!

  101. I checked my Chase CC statement for a charge of $119.99. I immediately called Chase to disupte the charge and the lady on the phone said it was a “club/organization membership” which was their classification and I should contact the company first to try for a refund.

    She gave me the number (877-432-3117) which I called to only find they were open M-F 8AM-11PM. When I Googled the company nothing legit came up for business except some third-party websites and this web blog.

    I called my CC company back to dispute the charge which they said Chase would issue a call/fax/letter whatever to get the charge credited. If that didn’t work within 28 days I would get a letter stating the situation with the charge.

    I will be trying again tomorrow to the company to see “what’s up.” Any hassle from them and I will contact my lawyer. This kind of scam/business is entirely unethical and should NOT be legal.

  102. hey again,
    I actually agree with what David said. He posted a comment on September 20th, 2007. He said “If you keep your documentation thorough, you can beat them at their own game.” This is exactly right. My father also had the same experience.
    He was offered an emergency assistance service by AutoVantage Enhanced (this company is under Trilegiant) for $149 a year. My father asked me if he should accept the offer for a free mp3 video player. Then, I said sure, just dont forget to cancel it on time. So, when he got the membership material, he sent the free mp3 video player card and keep material . He then called the company to cancel the membership. He said that the person on the phone promise him to send him another mp3 video player if he does not cancel the membership today plus give him another 30 days evaluation for free. He then wrote down the person’s name.
    After a few weeks, he got the mp3 video player. But then he got another mp3 player just as promise a few weeks later. So, he called the company to cancel the membership few days later, wrote down the cancellation number and got mp3 player for free. Until now, he never had a problem with this company.
    So, a good tips will be : accept the offer, keep the membership material, send the free offer card, cancel it on time, write down the cancellation number, then in a few weeks you will get a free stuff.

  103. I received my credit card statement in today’s mail and an item for $119.99 appeared. The phone number (877-488-9283) appeared alongside the the entry, TLG*ELITEEXCUR…. My enquiry resulted in the person at the other end advising that I cashed a $9.50 check (in Nov 2007) from a Chase Credit Card promotion that automatically placed me in their Travel Club. I challenged this and further asked for his supervisor. She came online after several minutes and repeated the orignal speel. TLG is to return documentation within 4-6 weeks. While I never cashed their check I am now contacting Chase Credit Card for an explanation as to why they would participate in such a scam.

  104. I also had issues with TLG Excursions through an apparent Chase Credit Card rebate check.

    The gentleman I had on the phone didn’t seem to fight me too much. I told him he was mistaken (who knows?) and that I never signed up from this “travel program.” He tried selling me on it but I cut him off mid-speel and told him to cancel my membership and refund my money immediately by reversing the charge on my CC.

    He complied and said it may take upto 30 days and I said he had one week.

    5 days later it was credited back to my account.

    Unethical business practices like these should be what Congress asks about…not steriods.

  105. PO Box 6100, Westerville, OH 43086 –> I have recently discovered that my debit card has been charged $11.99 monthly (for the past eight months) to LiveWell.net. LiveWell is promoted through 1-800-FLOWERS and somehow obtained authorization for membership charges to my bank account. I see from this blog that this PO Box is registered for several other “scam”-ish companies, including Elite Excursions.

    I’ve requested a full refund for the charges incurred, but we’ll see what happens. Watch out for LiveWell!

  106. I just got a $119 charge on my Chase card after cashing a couple of those $9 elite excursion checks. I cancelled within the trial period, so I called the company. When I told the guy I wanted to cancel, he told me a bunch of bs and added “I’m going to keep your membership active and go ahead and send you the coupon booklet. Is this ok?” twice. I was firm and said “No. I cancelled my membership after before the 30 day trial period so I shouldn’t be charged. That’s what it said in the fine print.”

    He then stated I would have the charge taken off my card in 15 days.

    Be firm and mention what I did – they will quickly budge. If not, threaten to report them to the Better Business Borough… that was going to be my next move 😉

  107. I have been charged from May 2007-Jan 2008 19.95 a month from BOA Elite Excursions without my permissions. They have been taking it out directly from my bank account without my permission.
    What did you do to get your money back I have written 2 letters and have gotten no response.

  108. I have been charged from May 2007-Jan 2008 19.95 a month from BOA Elite Excursions without my permission. They have been taking it out directly from my bank account!
    What did you do to get your money back? I have written 2 letters and have gotten no response and closed my account

  109. In January, I saw a $59.99 charge from TLG Hotline on my statement. It almost slipped by, but my husband happened to be in front of the computer and so he googled it. Well, you’ve read it all in the previous posts. Supposedly I cashed a $9.50 check which signed me up for this “fraud protection service”. Although I remember seeing that check come in the mail, and it looked like a cash rewards check for charging on my Chase Credit card, I don’t believe I cashed it because it looked suspect. Anyway, in January I saw the $60 charge, and after a few phone calls, I got the charge taken off my next statement. I was just about to mail in my Chase customer service survey that they had sent me after my complaint where I had actually thanked them for reversing the $60 charge, when I looked at the same statement with the reversal and saw a $119.99 charge for TLG Elite Excursions! So I called, and she said that because I had cashed a 9.50 check in Dec, I signed up for this travel discount service! I told her I had already called about this before for the “fraud protection” plan, and the only protection I need is from you guys! She tried to give me 2 $50 vouchers if I’d keep the plan. I said I wanted nothing to do with it-cancel all TLG memberships! She gave me a cancellation number, which I didn’t receive from the last set of phone calls dealing with this issue. I reopened my Chase customer service survey and told them what I thought of them and their relationship with their “3rd party partner” TLG. This is outright fraud. If I hadn’t been discriminating about looking at my credit card charges, this would have slipped through the cracks, and I’m sure that this is what they are banking on. $180 could have been lost to nothing. BEWARE!!!!!!!!!

  110. All you have to do is NOT cash the checks. I work there and grow so tired of hearing people call in about these charges they see on their credit card statements or receive membership packets and say “I never signed up for this!”. Our reps really DO NOT care if you keep the service or not (and really wish there was a different way for you people to cancel your stupid membership). The checks purposely have the terms and conditions written on them in more than one place (including on the back just above the endorsement line in plain book print (not fine print) so people will read it.

    As for who to get mad at… our clients. Places like CHASE (esp. them), BUDGET, BANK OF AMERICA and so on. They are the places that call Trilegiant and want to offer the service to their customers. Those clients decide who to offer the service to, how much it will cost them, which benefits they will get, and whether or not they are suppose to receive a refund or not if they wish to cancel.

    Also reporting the company to the BBB would be a pointless effort on your part and threatening to sue the company makes no difference to the person you are talking to on the other end of the phone. Once you hang up (and they are happy when you do) they never have to even remember they’ve ever spoken to you. They are graded on whether or not they make the attempt to save your membership and docked if they don’t. You are offered things as a procedure and if you say no… we hurry up and give you a cancellation code you we can STOP TALKING TO YOU. It sucks because many of the jerks that call in act as if the representative on the phone signed them up (you really don’t have to swear at us either because all we are trying to do is read a script). IF you are signed up and you know you have shredded the check… sue your bank of whoever because they are the ones who gave the company your credit card information (and ask for the proof of enrollment address because we do have that department available for you).

  111. I’m laughing at what Jessenia is saying, I never cashed any check, yet am getting money taken from me. I called Elite Excursions and was given a fax number (1800-964-8115), which I use to send a letter requesting full refund. Over the phone I could get the refunds for the past 2 months. Has anyone successfully gotten a full refund?

  112. Chase Bank and Trilegiant Corp have an agreement. Google the two names together and you’ll find that the State of Tennessee won a lawsuit against the pair for deceptive practices.

    Chase has a “rewards” program for their credit card customers. Periodically Chase will send checks for small amounts that supposedly reflect a % refund on credit purchases. Cash that check and you’ll likely get a mailing from AutoVantage Enhanced…a Trilegiang subsidiary…informing you that you’re a member and unless you call or mail a discontinuance you’re credit account will be billed…

    read all the small print

  113. I found debit transactions from Elite Excursions on a secondary account with BOA, which I barely use and check. This company is partnered with BOA. Apparently they “BOA” had given out the account numbers to Elite excursions. I was told by my local BOA manager to go to small claims or hire a lawyer!

    Recently a similar fraud case settled with Wachovia–http://www.charlotte.com/123/story/597084.html

    I think anyone who has been affected by these fraudelent account debits should find joint legal representation, since it is obvious that BOA or Elite Excursions do not intend to refund all debits.

    Let’s act now before it is too late!!!!!!!!!!

    t_mertig@yahoo.com

  114. OMYGOSH — they just showed up on my checking account as an electronic withdrawal. I’ve never cashed any check y’all are talking about or heard of them before. I dont use budget rent a car. My bank was nice enuf to put a stop payment on it free of charge. I would really like to know how they got my information though. pretty sleazy if you ask me.

  115. I have discovered that Bank of America gives away private information such as account numbers to third party associations such as Elite Excursion. Later, those companies start charging $20 monthly. I went to the bank and their solution is to activate an option called “OPT OUT” which apparently stops the sharing of your private info with other companies associated with Banl of America.

    I’ve been charging for 2 years can you believe it?

    I’m sending an email to Help Howard from channel 11. Plz, guys send your complaints also, it can’t continue this bulshxx

  116. Wow, this is a lot of responses, hope I receive one back: I’ve just noticed that I’ve been being charged a fee from these guys since January. How would I go about fixing this problem? Or who can I refer to in order to get this fixed? A response ASAP would be most appreciated…

  117. John, contact your credit card company immediately and tell them the charge is not authorized and tell them the full total amount of the unauthorized charges. They may have a time limit on the no. of months they will credit back, but they should stop it immediately. There should be a customer service phone no. on the back of your card.

  118. John, you should go to your bank and make them call to that company to get all your money back. It seems that Elite Excursions get a little intimidated when a representative from the bank calls. Anyway, make sure that when the representative from your bank calls to get the name and id number of the Elite Excursion employee. Plus make sure to ask in your bank for an option called OPT OUT which stop the sharing of customers private info with third party associations

  119. i have just got 120$ charge on to my chase credit card from Merchant Name: TLG*EliteExcur… when i searched google .. this page showed up…. my god ,,, there are so many people here with that problem….
    the story about me is that i guess i did cash the 10$ cheque which i got a year back.. and now i just came to know that they charged me 120$ for a membership…

    can any one please give suggestion and guide me for what i have to do to get my money back and get rid off this membership… membership…

  120. I just received one of these in Arkansas that was dressed up as if it was some sort of gas rebate. However, in the fine print it was an agreement to be charged fees for some sort of Health Saver club. I looked on the Arkansas Attorney General web site and found that our state had been in litigation with Trilegiant and made them agree not to do that, so I sent the paperwork with a complaint to the state’s Consumer Protection Division. If each of us would make prompt complaints to the States Attorney Generals there is a chance they can take this company to its knees. Only through powerful litigaton can these unscrupulous business practices be stopped. In Illinois a class action law suit won $25 million. I don’t like frivolous law suits, but in this case I’m on the lawyers sides. So, complain, complain, complain to your State Attorney General or find a law firm on the internet who has a class action suit going against them. Consumers must fight fire with even bigger fire! (Do a google search on Trilegiant.)http://www.consumeraffairs.com/scam_alerts/tlg.html

  121. I have had a membership with Elite Excursions for several years now. Yes I get charged a modest fee every month, but I have literally saved thousands of dollars on my trips, according to the company rep on the phone. It’s so easy to pay them because they take it out automatically from my account, I don’t even realize I paid it most times. Plus, whenever I try to cancel they are very friendly and give me another year membership at a discounted (5%) rate.

  122. Marc,

    Not only does it happen to trusting or dumb people. (I’m trying to excuse myself maybe). I had a problem related to Budget too. This month I rented a truck online for moving. I called, as they suggested, to confirm the truck would be ready. After confirming, they asked if I wanted to get information on an insurance that would cost one more dollar of the cost of the rent. Too good I know, but I didn’t find a reason at this point to suspect that I was going to be tricked by Budget. I said yes and they tranferred me to some one else. They gave me the info on the insurance, some hundreds of bucks that could pay for the repair of the truck if I smash it or something. Not being used to driving a 20 feet long truck, the first thinking is that you could misscalculate its size and “scratch” it. After accepting this “deal” they told me I had been signed in for a monthly service blah blah…and I said -WHAT? please cancel this. – I can’t. he said. -you would have to call later to cancel.
    The thing is I’m right now trying to cancel it. I don’t know at what point I got distracted to fall into this or if there was a point where I could have catch it. You don’t expect these scams from what you consider to be a serius company.

    Long description but I hope it can help someone who is renting a truck this way.

  123. July 2009, and Trilegiant remains vigilant in it’s agressive fleecing business. I received a “check” from them, clearly targeting me from a transaction with Budget Rent-a-Car. My best guess is that this transaction took place about 18 months ago, which leads me to believe Trilegiant bought access to a list from Budget of roughly year-old travel transactions. Year-old transaction records are cheaper for them to buy, so I guess their conversion factor — the total number of mailings they send out vs. people who actually cash the check — remains attractive despite the weakness of these “leads.” Trilegiant is obviously vile to the core; the “check” (or “Enrollment Form”, as aggressive litigation has no doubt convinced them to begin labelling their mailers) stunk like day-old sturgeon. But what gets my knickers in a twist is Budget, pimping my credit card number to this third-party snake. I will never again rent a vehicle from Budget, and will encourage others to boycott.

  124. I know it’s late in the game, but I wanted to comment on my experience with the company.

    Earlier this year I received the “Free DVD Player” offer with my US Bank Statement. I sent in the offer, but never heard anything back. A couple months later as I was doing some reorganizing, I came across the extra copy of the offer page, so I called them to see what was going on. They said they had sent me the claim card, but I never got it. Anyway…I received the new claim card within about a week, and my membership packet too. I canceled the membership immediately and forgot about it altogether. Well, just today (about 3 months later), I got the dvd player in the mail! I couldn’t believe it!

    I also signed up for the free trial of “Traveler’s Advantage” and “Great Fun”, after booking a hotel room online. Along with those memberships, I was to receive $30 cash back on the hotel, and $20 cash back from dining out. As soon as I received my membership packets, I canceled. It took about 2 weeks, but I received both of the cash back checks, after submitting my receipts.

    All in all…was it worth the time and effort of canceling???? I think so. It was easy, and I ended up with a DVD player and $50.

  125. just went to their website, clicked on the contact info, contacted them and cancelled my membership. they may even refund my last payment.

    just be frank and stern.

  126. Elite excursions (elitexc) has been stealing money from my parent’s account for two years. Whe I called and asked to return the money they said that my parents had signed an agreement. My parents don’t speak English so they were unable to understand who was taking the money. IN my case elitexc was a bank of america scam. So, we filed a small claim against bank of america and got at a year and a half worth of money. My suggestion is file a small claim against both the bank that you have an account with and the elitexc. Document everything and take them to court. Skip mediation and in front of a judge and explain the situation. Also, spread the word. They don’t like publicity on the scams they are running.

  127. Thanks for the information, i posted your blog to my facebook group in the category `Budget Rent-a-Car slime move`. Regards, Katy

  128. Today I realized that I had FIVE different companies charging me every month for bogus memberships, ALL OF THEM originating from Budget rent a car’s “slime move mailing” that started this post, including “Great fun”, “Health Saver”, and 3 others. Although they all list different phone numbers on the amex statement, I was able to cancel all 5 accounts by calling the first one, which shows that it’s just one big scam.

    So why was I dumb enough to cash the checks? Because I often buy software and other stuff that have mail in rebates for small amounts like $10, so when I get one of these checks, I just assume it’s that. I never even SUSPECTED that cashing a check could tie you to anything – this is insane, and it has cost me over $600!! How can you be enrolled in some membership without having given an actual, clear, consent, such as a signature?!?!

    Can this really be legal?

    Apart from that Tenessee lawsuit, has anyone heard of people getting their money back? Budget getting sued? A class action? Anything?…

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