"Congratulations! You have won a free holiday!"

... so the recorded message said when I picked up the phone this afternoon.

It seemed that some time about 5 years ago (because the address they had for me was old), I may have filled out a form somewhere on the Internet giving my name, address and phone number.

I keyed in '1', as instructed, and was connected to a very pleasant sounding lady with a strong Indian accent who assured me that I had won a free 14 day all expenses paid trip to Cancun, Orlando and Daytona Beach for me and a partner! Surely the trip of a lifetime!

She introduced herself as 'Rachel Adams' (not a name I would naturally have associated with the accent) and told me that she was calling from a company called 'Resort Vacations' based in Orlando, FL (and she gave me a full address and a website). She outlined the basic details of the package (6 days in Cancun, 5 days in Orlando and 3 days at Daytona Beach and she gave hotel names but I didn't catch them).

Then she passed me to a gentleman named 'Jeff Palmer' - again a name I would not naturally associate with the accent - who asked me if I was over 26 and had a Visa or Mastercard. He explained that, for security reasons, they could only offer this holiday to those who qualified. I confirmed that I did. Then he said that I would be receiving a package through the post which would allow me to accept or reject their offer within 30 days. It was at this point that I felt it necessary to distinguish between 'package' (as in holiday) and 'package' (as through the mail) because now he said that it was necessary to charge me £298 registration for this 'package', though I understood him to say, quite clearly, twice, that I would not be charged NOW.

He then passed me to a third person (whose name I didn't catch but I think it was 'Cindy' ... again with an oriental accent) who wanted the verification code on the back of the card. At that point I said 'Oh no you don't!' and hung up!

Jeff called me back and reassured me that I was not going to be charged now, they 'just needed the verification code so that they could make the charge when I had decided'. Can you get rats in telephone lines? I began to smell one, anyway! I could see that, when the charge appeared, it would likely take me more trouble than it was worth to refuse their offer and get the charge cancelled!

--------------------

Half an hour on the phone (OK, it was their bill)!

I checked on the address they gave and came up with something interesting.

3956 Town Center Blvd, Orlando, FL 32837 DOES exist and it is a huge business block with numerous suites. Suite #416, I found from a 2007 directory, is occupied by:

The Entrepreneur Authority
of Central Florida Lic. Franchise Advisor
Brian Watson (owner)
3956 Town Center Blvd. #416
Orlando, Florida 32837
407.354.4450
email: bwatson@eAuth.com
www.eAuth.com/Watson

"TEA Consultants are the industry leaders in matching high caliber people with proven business models. Through our Franchipreneur 100TM listings catalog, we provide a superior selection of franchise opportunities. Many of these opportunities are exclusive listings that we alone can offer. In 2006, TEA was awarded the Chairman’s Award from the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers (AAFD) right here in Orlando.
Our proven, industry award-winning process:
· Educates you on the finer points of Franchising
· Clarifies your entrepreneurial goals
· Advises you in selecting a good business “fit”
· Guides you throughout your validation process
· Refers you to valuable small business experts
Our monthly seminars are open to the public and free-of-charge. "

This doesn't sound to me like a 'Package Holiday' company and the website I was given ( http://www.resortvacationsvip.com ) has a completely different address!

That, too, it turns out, is part of Perfect Travel Promotions (PTP), which is a division of Perfect Communications and Promotions, Inc. and is the "in-house Travel Agency of Direct Mail Express (DME), one of the top Direct Marketing companies in the country."

It began to look very much as if my "free" holiday was going to start off costing me £298 for a pack of information including a promotional DVD. I suspect that the 14 days in three resorts would probably involve compulsory attendance at some very hard marketing seminars aimed at extolling the virtues of buying time-share rooms at certain hotels with the glittering option, no doubt, of selling the unwanted time I had bought at a very attractive-sounding profit.