State orders Vegas travel company to issue refunds

Monday, May 17, 2004 | 10:27 a.m.

The Nevada Consumer Affairs Division has accused a Las Vegas company that markets travel discounts of using fraudulent and deceptive tactics to lure customers and has ordered the company to refund fees paid by consumers who complained about the company's services.

The state Department of Business and Industry's Consumer Affairs Division in March issued an order requiring Travel More Now Inc. to return $25,598 in fees to seven consumers and to stop engaging in deceptive business practices. The state has asked to seize the money from a security bond posted by the company. The order followed an administrative hearing based on complaints made by nine consumers.

Travel More Now Inc. is a membership vacation club that offers discounts on flights, hotel accommodations, cruises, time share units, condos and other travel services. The company recruits members through oral presentations about its services and then enters into a contract with members.

The company is fighting the allegations. It filed a petition in Clark County District Court April 23 to stay the order pending a judicial review of the case. The state's order contains "erroneous" information and is "arbitrary or capricious as characterized by an abuse of discretion," the petition said.

"Obviously we didn't agree with findings," said Jim Kilroy, the company's president. "We have thousands of happy members who enjoy the value of our membership. We have become one of the largest travel clubs in the country."

The state complaint is an isolated incident, he said.

Kathleen Delaney, a deputy attorney general representing the Consumer Affairs Division, said the decision against the company "was well founded" and that consumers are entitled to restitution. A briefing schedule will be set and a District Court judge will decide whether to grant the petition for judicial review, she said.

According to the order issued by the Consumer Affairs Division, Travel More Now customers were invited to an oral presentation "with the promise of substantial discounts" on travel products and were also promised payment of a percentage of the difference in rates if the consumer located a lower travel rate. The order also said consumers complained that they were able to locate lower rates for vacations than Travel More Now could locate.

In its petition, Travel More Now said the company's contract -- previously approved by the Consumer Affairs Division -- is "unambiguous." The contract, "contains no guarantee that Travel More Now would locate the lowest fares, only that members were entitled to savings" of up to 50 percent or 25 percent on travel services, the complaint said.

The contract required that consumers who found and wanted lower rates than those quoted by Travel More Now to fax to the company a travel itinerary exactly mirroring the Travel More Now itinerary at least 48 hours prior to ticketing, the company said. The contract also has consumers agree not to rely on any written or oral representations made by agents or employees of the company, it said.

The state's order claims Travel More Now "knowingly advertised goods and services for sale with the intent not to sell them as advertised." The company also made "false or misleading statements of fact concerning the price of goods or services for sale or lease or the reasons for, existence of or amounts of price reductions."

Two of the nine customers who complained about the company's services are not entitled to restitution because the pair signed their contracts in Missouri, which is outside the state's jurisdiction, the order said.