LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- A mother of three who has been working hard to earn some R&R was sold on what was billed as a free cruise. She did get taken for a ride, but it wasn't on a cruise ship. What's not to love about Carmen Electra promoting a free cruise? There are mail, e-mail and online versions of this “free” Caribbean cruise package. "Are you really giving a free cruise away?" asked Bruce Gadansky from the Better Business Bureau.
WHAS11 enlisted the help of Gadansky to find out more about the offer, an offer Elizabethtown's Amy Zetina found too good to pass up. “It looks so legitimate. It looks so real," explained Zetina. She got a packet in the mail indicating that she was the lucky winner of a free cruise. So lucky, in fact, she also won a $1,300 voucher.
Zetina agreed to pay only for port taxes. "If you don't know what you're getting into, don't give your credit card information over the phone," warned Reanna Smith-Hamblin from the Better Business Bureau. That's good advice from Smith-Hamblin, but too late for Zetina who agreed to pay $66 per month for two months. "I gave him my card number and then he said ‘we're going to go ahead and charge the card,’ and I said, “wait. You know, I don't have that much money in the bank. He said ‘well, don't you have overdraft protection?” said Zetina.
At the time, Zetina didn't know about the 458 complaints against Caribbean Cruise Lines, and it's F rating with the BBB. Gadansky uncovered during his phone call that Caribbean Cruise Lines is selling time shares in the Bahamas. Zetina says the company is also charging people's credit cards without authorization. “I was devastated, I started crying," said Zetina.
Three days after her phone call, Zetina says they got all they could from her account. Our several calls to the company in search of answers were transferred to managers who haven't called back, but operators are standing by for booking cruises.
Zetina didn't only contact WHAS11, she also called the BBB, the Attorney General’s office and she came to the police department in Elizabethtown to file a police report. Because of that, she got her money back.
As for Gadansky, he's still fishing for information. "Do you all mail anything out that I can show to my wife,” asked Gadansky before ending his conversation without giving up his credit card.
If you have a consumer problem you’d like us to look into send an e-mail to consumerwatch@whas11.com.
