Diane B.

We used Vacations Made Easy to book a dolphin tour at Myrtle Beach in April. It was phenomenal - great friendly and knowledgeable staff that walked around answering all our questions. No loud noisy captain, talking through the loud speakers all the time begging for money. The crew went out of their way to locate dolphins and direct us to the perfect spots- usually near shrimp boats. Everyone had a positive and great experience - lots of pictures for memories. A very reasonable price for the a 2 hour tour. No sea-sickness even though we went out in the open waters of the ocean. The only thing we didn't like was the fact that we had to go to Broadway at the Beach to get our tickets and get roped into trips we didn't like. They should have emailed our tickets.

I was scammed by Homeaway when they wouldnt refund my $250 deposit. They said that was not up to Homeaway to refund my $250 deposit, even though my bank statement clearly showed my $3,000 was deposited into a Homeaway account. Even Homeaways website states that they process all bookings and transactions.
After 5 weeks from returning from my vacation, I called the homeowner (through the Homeaway website), and they accessed Homeaways computer and manually refunded my $250 with no problem. They said that their account with Homeaway was set up so that the traveler would automatically get their $250 deposit BY HOMEAWAY after 7 days. (They set up the 7-day rule in case there were damages to be taken out.) The homeowner can apparently over-ride the Homeaway computer to get your refund back to you.
My advice is FIRST to contact the homeowner since Homeaways customer service people dont seem to be properly trained. Homeaway always tells people that its the homeowners fault, so you are saving yourself time and effort. Besides, the homeowner should be able to access your account through Homeaways system and do a manual over-ride. Pull up your account in Homeaway and see if you can email or call the homeowner about this. However, you need to know that your money is deposited to Homeaway, not the homeowner, so if there is fraud, Homeaway IS responsible.
If the homeowner cant help you, which may be the case since they dont actually have your money, then there are other options:
1. Go online to the Better Business Bureau,
2. Go online to your state Department of Consumer Affairs and
3. Go online to the state where you vacationed we went to NC so we went to the NCDOJ -NC Dept of Justice (or the state where your offense occurred.) These websites all have consumer complaint forms that you can complete online. Since theft is a crime,
4. I would call the sheriffs department and find out what your rights are and what steps can be taken. I would not just sit there and do nothing.
There are too many complaints about Homeaway from other customers because no one is holding them accountable. The only thing that will get their attention is when it affects their "almighty dollar". They should be held accountable for quality service. God bless you and hope this information helps you.