Victim Location 01890
Total money lost $633.75
Type of a scam Travel/Vacations
I was contacted by a person who said that he worked with the professional trade organization to which I belong (IHRSA) and was responsible for arranging hotel rooms for the trade meeting that is taking place this spring (2018). He said that the hotels surrounding the convention center there sell out often during conventions. He said that I can reserve rooms for my company in advance to ensure that we are not shut out. When I said I wasn’t clear who would be attending he said that i can reserve the rooms and cancel any time before the end of January. Assuming that I was dealing with the company in charge of bookings for the meeting, I said that we would need two rooms for three days each and gave my Amex card to secure the hold. It turns out that they have no link to IHRSA. They billed the 25% that they said they said they needed as a "hold" and now consider it to be a deposit. They do not refund deposits — in this case over $600. In the call I was assured several times that I could cancel at any time. I even remember the man saying that at the last minute they get a lot of requests which creates a waiting list so there is never any problem placing the rooms with other attendees.