Carnival also says they can change your room at their discretion if the room hold more than you have..even if you pay double but go single…or if you pay double but there is a sleep sofa. If the room hold 3 and you onl;y paid for 2 they can move you.

Earlier this year I booked a room on Carnival…and paid in full. They said I could add a roomie at any time…..but it was $50 to change..but I could add a roomie up until the day before we sailed… So I wanted until I was sure of whom the roomie was (family). Then the slimy turds tried to UP the fare to the current fare for the room after having my money for months. Well DUH paying in full means you cant change the rate. SLEZZEBALLS…Luckily I had listed everyone at Carnival and their phone number and had copious notes. Carnival is a sleezy company. Read the T&Cs…

I had higher hopes of the State regulators to come down on LJ when it is in black and white that their own ads state that they sell TRIP INSURANCE.

So please include us in any legal avenues we could all take together.

jtrophy@aol.com

The cruise was cancelled on July 14, 2008 due to a medical emergency. I called the phone number on the contract and was informed the contract had been transferred (without notifying me) to. Prime Travel Protection, Inc. 5310 Ward Road Suite G-01 Arvada, CO 80002 (800) 219-1891. I called and requested a claim form which I received within one week.

The forms were filled out per the instruction sheet included in the package and sent by resistered mail to Universal Assurance Group, LTD at the same address listed for Prime Travel Protection on July 29, 2008. The package were delivered on August 3, 2008.

On October 21, 2008 I received a letter requesting my wife’s medical records from May 14th 2007 through July 31st 2008. The records were sent via registered mail on Oct. 24, 2008 and received on Oct. 28, 2008.

On November 29, 2008 I received a letter saying the claim was denied because the adjuster didn’t think medical emergency was severe enough to cancel the cruise and proof was required that my wife was able to travel when the policy was issued.

The cardologist who performed the angiogram and her family doctor both submitted letters. The cardologist said she could not travel on July 18, 2008 and the family doctor said she was able to travel on May 18, 2007. I submitted both letters with a cover letter appealing the earlier decision and haven’t heard from anyone since. I’ve tried to call, but the phone has been disconnected.

After reading information on your blog, I believe the travel agent and the so called Travel Insurance companies are ripping off people. This is th 5th cruise purchased through Best Price Cruises. Each cruise included ‘Trip Protection’ coverage. The travel agent always suggested buying the policy.

I’ve contacted Florida Department of Financial Services at (805) 413-3030 and filed a complaint agains the travel agent and the travel protection companies.

I’m hoping to recover the $6, 546.90 I’ve lost because of the cruise being cancelled.

Prior to selling Prime Travel Protection, did you also sell VPS and Trip Assured?

Have you sold any real travel insurance between 2003 and September, 2008?

Have you known Jerry Watson for more than three years?

Man, if you can answer “NO” to these questions truthfully, you’re OK with me. If you do, though, you’d better be sure that you can answer the same questions the same way under oath, because Authorities assure me that you’re going to have an opportunity to do this.

Ann gave the facts. Cruise booked from Bonnie Bruce Anchors Away, Charlotte office on 11/27.07. Payment $12,639.66 including $861 for travel insurance.

Anchors Away and Travel Protection Services told Ann she had 72 hours to cancel so, if she didn’t think she would recover, cancel anyway. Doctors advice – don’t travel.

Simple – no problems there!

From that fateful day everything went down hill and the cool practiced expertise of Jerry Watson kicked into gear.

“We lost your records.” “Colorado is dealing with it but we have answered their questions.” Then the old standby – just don’t respond.

Finally the denial came sans records from the eminent medical professionals on the staff of Travel Protection Services – Jerry and Christine Watson.

Ann told me Debbie Boorman the insurance person with Anchors Away thought the claim would be honored.

Not a chance! If Anchors away employed an insurance person how could they not know the TPS policy was bogus? How could they not know TPS was NOT licensed? How could they not know when Ed Mass had dealt with the previous out of business company Trip Assured?

The Anchors Away invoice dated in November 2007 records clear as day 11/27/2007
INSURANCE PAYMENT $861.00.

After all Jerry Watson as salesman and VP of Trip Assured paid Ed Mass 40% commission on all insurance sales.

They knew each other.

Ed Mass was well aware that Trip Assured received cease and desists in 7 states and now the very same Jerry Watson was setting up a new company selling the same bogus product and still did not have a license. Then Watson did it two more times!

Ann has remarkable tenacity, intelligence plus an inquisitive mind. She took her complaint to the Florida Department of Insurance and the Florida Bureau of Investigation where she learned a very serious multi departmental investigation was already in progress.

Anchors Away had the good grace to return airfares and hotel payments after the cancellation leaving $8564.70 due back to Ann

Once Ann had exchanged information with our group of previously unconnected volunteer activists she realized the sad case was not about denials of claims but about travel agents failing in their fiduciary and professional duty to be cognizant of ALL products they sell to travelers. That is their job. Florida law also defines insurance, unauthorized entities and the responsibilities of “sellers of insurance.”

It is the writer’s personal opinion that Ed Mass and Anchors Away broke the law and should be punished to the full extent the courts will allow.

I asked Ann, what do you want? “A check for $8564.7 from Anchors Away.”

Most cruise bookings involve a couple, usually a Husband and Wife (Sig. Other, etc.). Every booking that I’ve seen lists the individuals separately (Larry and Mary Conroy), and the same procedure is followed for travel insurance and airline bookings. That being the case, is there any prohibition against filing separate Small Claims Court suits? This would require the payment of two filing fees, but the fee, which I think is about $69, is modest when compared with the prospect of reclaiming an additional $5000.

By contrast, a very good friend of mine had to cancel a European trip last year because he was diagnosed with a severe case of prostate cancer during his yearly physical. As it happened, he had purchased travel insurance from Travel Insured, one of the many reputable travel insurance companies. When he showed me the cancellation form that the company sent him, my first thought was, “Now the runaround begins”. Looking at the form, I was dumbfounded that the Physician’s statement block was about 6″ by 1.5″ in total. In the block, his Urologist had written: “Mr. Fuller was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Feb. 15. The severity of the cancer makes it imperative that his radiation treatments begin immediately”. This was all that was required, except for details backing up the amount being claimed, and contact information for the MD. Bob submitted the form, and was paid in full within two weeks!
What a difference compared to the runarounds that people who are posting on the board are receiving from their travel agents!

If some of you victims out there have claims, and the total of your claim is under $5000, the maximum claim that you can bring suit for in Small Claims Court in the State of Florida, I urge you to use this method, and use it FAST. There’s always a possibility that these travel agents will pull a “Jerry Watson” and declare bankruptcy, which would leave you no one to sue.

There are a lot of good, free resources on the internet which will show you the precise steps to follow in your suit. Ons site that I’ve found helpful is http://www.legalzoom.com, and there are many others. There are certain steps that have to be followed, and this site covers the steps in easy to understand, non-legalese. language. They will even, I believe, help you with the paperwork for a relatively modest fee.

You will quickly realize the author of this story is not a professional writer. But, I’ll tell it anyway.

An Oklahoma lady lets call her Ann, suffered the frustration of cancelling a cruise with Holland America Line because her doctor made an ambiguous remark. He said Ann could travel but only in a wheel chair. But his advice was, do not travel.

The responsible travel agent Anchors Away asked if she wanted insurance but Ann declined. Anchors Away charged her anyway!

However the mistake would pay off – she had cancelation insurance recommended by her travel agent Anchors away of Clearwater Florida regardless of whether she wanted it or not. She paid a premium of $861.00.

Perhaps everyone reading this story has started in exactly the same way.

After the worry of a serious medical problem losing a dream cruise the medical bills started to pile up. Ann thought it was, in the end, okay because she had purchased insurance.

Like the rest of us the horror of discovering her insurance was not insurance and the issuer was a previous felon and perpetrator of the same scam several times was bewildering.

After the facts sharpened in her mind Ann was outraged and complained to Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Tennessee and Oklahoma regulators.

And, of course, to Ed Mass owner of Anchors Away, whom she thought should reimburse her because he had a fiduciary responsibility.

Ed Mass refused to respond to her complaint at first. Later, he adopted the runaround tactics of PTP/TPS and Jerry Watson. He asked three different times for medical documentation. Still no resolution.

We are all painfully aware that filing complaints with state authorities costs dozens of hours of work, especially when you are ill or injured.

Eventually Ann found “the group” and was able to communicate with similarly scammed travelers.

To be continued………………………

Snag #2: Correct again – the case would have to be filed in the jurisdiction of the travel agency. My post was related to Katy’s issue and because she lives in Central Florida jurisdiction would not be a problem.

Snag #3: Again, Pat, good points. Collecting a judgment could be a problem, but since the claim is against a viable entity (e.g. the travel agent) it would be easier than trying to collect against a company like PTP.

Lastly, the fact that Carnival allows an entity engaging in illegal activity to sell their product should be enough for the company to take some kind of action – especially if the matter became public.

Regarding your suggestions about Small Claims Court, I’m not a Lawyer, and you might be one, so I’m requesting your help in providing additional guidance. I’ve had some limited experience in filing suits in Small Claims Court, so I’m aware of some of the frustations. Perhaps you can guide us in a strategy for getting around some of the snags.

Snag #1 involves the monetary limits for filing a small claim. If you assume that no claim will exceed $6000, a modest sum based on the claims that I’ve seen listing the actual amount lost by defrauded customers, only fourteen states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois,Minnesota, New Mexico,Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah have claim limits as high as $6000. That leaves thirty seven states and the District of Columbia out in the cold. $6000 is a modest sum when you consider the cruise cost, non-refundable airfare, hotels, excursions, and so forth, all of which should be considered when someone purchases travel insurance.

Snag #2 involves Jurisdiction. You can sue a business in your state if the business has an office, warehouse, retail location, or any significant business dealings locally. For the majority of customers who booked a cruise with LJ, Best Price Cruises, or SmartCruiser over the phone, this means that the customer would have to travel to Florida to file a claim. That alone would cause most of the Senior customers who book cruises to throw up their hands in frustration and concede.
While exceptions might be made for people ordering a cruise over the internet, which could allow them to file in their home state, I’ll bet that the high-priced Lawyers from LJ, BPC and SmartCruiser could tie up the courts for years in determining whether any booked cruise fits this exception.

Snag #3 involves the actual collection mechanism. If you win your case, the party that owes you money has a specific period (usually 30 days) to pay. If he or she doesn’t pay, you have to then assume the dual role of creditor and collections agent. You could then ask the court clerk to help you find the defendant’s property out of which the judgement could be paid, but realistically, in States with low monetary Small Claims Court limits (Arizona -$2500; Kentucky – $1500; Massachusetts – $2000; Rhode Island – $2000, etc.) How much time and money would you have to invest before you you exceeded the amount of the judgement….which you would still probably not collect? There are, of course, more drastic remedies, including Garnishment, Liens, and Writs of Execution, but do you really think that a Senior living on a fixed income has the time, money, and patience to outlast the resources of these companies who owe them money?
There are, of course, other Snags, like determining the precise name of the company that you’re suing, but their degree of difficulty is far outweighed by the thrre major snags listed.

I appreciate your input, Glenn, and I hope that you’ll continue to post on this Board. You’ve already contributed with your mention of the Carnival angle. However, I want to make sure that many defrauded and frustrated customers don’t charge off in another direction before they realize some of the roadblocks that may await them.

The state regulators who are investigating this matter may not have the ability to secure a refund for you. Usually they will assess penalties in civil action against the travel agencies involved. I feel you are spinning your wheels attempting to contact local TV stations and I am personally outraged that Mr. Carrier asked YOU to contact the Colorado authorities. It was Legendary Journeys who got you in this mess and it is up to them to handle the matter. You have one advantage and that is you live in Florida and can easily file a claim in small claims court. If you should win, an interesting precedent could take place that could be very serious for Legendary Journeys and any other travel agency who sold PTP. Another option could be for you to connect with a few other Florida victims and retain an attorney to file for you against LJ. It would be important to work with a few other victims to make the dollar amount worthwhile for an attorney to pursue. The work involved for one client would be the same for several as the issue is identical.

The “bottom line”, Katy – don’t spin your wheels with the media. I would pursue legal action and let Mr. Carrier know that if you prevail LJ would be on the hook to reimburse EVERYONE. Maybe that will make LJ think about settling with you.

In addition, I would file a complaint with the United State Attorney in your local area. I believe there is an office in West Palm Beach. And finally, I would not forget about Carnival Cruises. Carnival appointed LJ to sell their product and pays them a commission. Forget your letter to “Group Research” – send a personal letter to each of their key executives (see link below). Let them know about the company they have authorized to sell their product and inform them that you will be more than happy to picket in front of their offices with all the other victims, with signs that read…”CARNIVAL CONDONES ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES OF ITS AGENTS”

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=CCL