Global Escapes / Global Explorer?

We went to a ';presentation'; last night (in Eden Prairie MN) for a company called Global Escapes. They do kind of a timeshare type of presentation, but what they%26#39;re selling is access to their website that offers timeshare, hotel and condo reservations all over the country and USA at reduced rates. They charge nearly $7000 for this access! You become a ';member'; then you have access to make these types of accomodations. The problem was that they refused to show us the live website - they would just show screen shots during a slide show type of presentation. We did not buy, although several folks did.

When we got home we looked for information on the internet and found nothing. Neither did their website exist where they said it did (www.globalescapes.net) Has anyone heard of this company or purchased from them? Are they legitimate?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Julie

Global Escapes / Global Explorer?

Julie,

We were called by the same company to attend the presentation. Their catch is to promise a three day trip to Vegas or Orlando - no purchace required. I was curious since your post is the only one anywhere the Google pulled up about the place, did you still get the trip since you did not buy into the pitch? I%26#39;m guessing that there%26#39;s some escape clause they built in somewhere. I don%26#39;t want to waste an hour if they%26#39;ve got a ';weasel'; clause.

Thanks in advance...

Global Escapes / Global Explorer?

fyi - the website is: global-escapes.net, apparently a travel agent in georgia that runs globalescapes.com has encountered this confusion already..;)

Hi Julie:

Thanks for your posting. We also attended a ';presentation'; last night in San Antonio Texas for a company called Global Escapes. It was the same type company mentioned in your e-mail. They said they have been doing business in Minnesota for 13 years, and that they have been in San Antonio since March 2004. The group was also shown screen shots during a slide type of presentation.

We also tried to find information about the company on the internet and found nothing until we was found your response. Have you found out any more information on this company? If so, are they legimate? Have you made the purchase? If so, are they legitimate.

Pigeon

I did find the website for them eventually, however, since we didn%26#39;t ';buy in'; we can%26#39;t really look and see what travel accommodations are really available. It%26#39;s impossible to know if they have the accommodations availibility that they claim they do. One thing that concerned us was that they refused to show us the ';live'; website - all we saw was screen prints.

When we asked the sales person to show us the site, they went back and printed some stuff off to show us. Wasn%26#39;t good enough... we wanted to see the live site. So, he went and got the manager. She was incredibly rude! Told us that she wasn%26#39;t going to ';waste her time'; showing us this unless we were committed to buy! So... we got up and left. Did not get our ';prize'; as promised.

I did finally find some info on them on the Better Business Bureau website. They have been members for about a year, but have many, many complaints logged. I think it%26#39;s probably best that we did not waste our money there.

Julie

PS. Their website is http://www.global-escapes.net

Julie

Hi julie -

I too have been receiving numerous calls from this company. They claim that I filled out a form and need to call them to ';claim my vacation prize';. When I attempt to call and try to get my name off whatever list, they hang up and keep calling. Now they will not even take my call when my phone number comes up, yet the telemarking messages are still on my machine all the time. Additionally, when I try to pick up my phone when that number comes through, nobody is there. It is very frustrating, so I too, need information regarding how to get ahold of this company. I have tried there website as well.

I just received a call about a sweepstakes I entered and she said that I have to go listen to a presentation by Global Escapes in order to claim my prize which could be, but now I%26#39;m guessing won%26#39;t be, a 2006 Ford Explorer. Hmm, not sure if I want to waste my time if I%26#39;m going to receive absolutely nothing and they are going to tell my that I must buy something in order to win. Has anyone else had any experiences to share? I don%26#39;t know what to do, I%26#39;m thinking their sweepstakes offer is a load of crap. HELP!

So, despite the obvious pitch going on... has anyone gotten their free prize? Like the others, I%26#39;m guaranteed 1 of 5 prizes. There%26#39;s no purchase necessary and all I do is spend 90 minutes there. ( All what I was told at least)

I want to know about the prizes, obviously they%26#39;re a bit of a scam if they won%26#39;t show you the site but at the low end of the prize spectrum is a 27'; flat screen. For the sake of giving them the appointment of their life and an hour of my time, I%26#39;d personally say it%26#39;s a worthy investment. I just want to know if I should come with equipped with hidden mic%26#39;s/cameras.

Any reputable company with the resources they%26#39;re claiming to have does not need to telemarket. I wouldn%26#39;t buy access to their site in any scenario, however I would love to bring this to the public domain if they%26#39;re THAT despicable.

I didn%26#39;t get the prize, but then, we walked out before they really finished the sales pitch (because they would not show us the website that they were selling) And actually, their ';worst'; prize is the 3 night vacation. It does not include airfare, you just get 3 nights in one of their hotels. And I%26#39;ll bet you would get stuck listening to another sales pitch.

Has anyone had a positive experience with this company?

I did find them on the local Better Business Bureau site. They had something like 17 complaints in just a few months.

Julie

I just returned from a Sales presentation this evening for ';Global Escapes'; and would have preferred to spend my time another way. All in all, I would recommend if you want to do a big favor to those of us who may not have any evidence of our being there, review global-escapes.net before you go there, bring a tape recorder and/or hidden camera and ask questions (in front of the entire group) like ';Can you see the live website on one of their computers?'; or ';Who maintains their website?'; or ';I was trying to find your website online and wonder if you could write down the website address?'; (if they put globalescapes.net without a hypen it does not exist...and global-escapes.net is currently very amateur) or ';Why does the building state %26#39;Vacations%26#39; instead of ';Global Escapes?'; or ';What is the physical address for their corporate headquarters?'; /';Do they have anything official with their company information on it?';/';Do they have any business cards or anything permanent with their name on it around their office?'; (the website says a PO Box in FL but their Telemarketing Service indicated they were in GA) or ';Why do they have a Telemarketing Service make their calls?'; and ';Why is the Telemarketing service registered with a Yahoo! email address?'; a free internet provider for which I could setup a free email address and no one would know better. or ';How long has you company been in business?'; and ';How did they start out?'; Who is the owner of the company?'; or ';What is the owners name and his experience in the industry?'; or ';Why is he out of the office today?'; “Why don’t the Salespersons have name tags or business cards?” (first and last name)?” or “Why do they not provide any handouts to take away?” “Is there something that I can take away with me to detail the offer they mention is good for life within the presentation?” (the $8,995 offer).

These questions might actually make them a little flustered, but are very legitimate questions if you are going to spend $3,000-$9,000 +$200/year on access to a website that does not even seem to have a login location nor appear professional.

If you receive the prize, (most likely the FL vacation which has significantly higher odds when you see the scratch ticket later), you will notice it has 3 separate vacation parts for which they are in different cities and no trasportation provided in between, and the person providing the prize will not know the details because the ';prize vacation'; is not administered by ';Global Escapes'; (a travel agency). Why would they offer a prize vacation and not administer it themselves? Are they not a travel company?

Ultimately, I would suggest not to sign anything! (they will attempt to have you sign a liability release and, when I did not, the receptionist straight out told me she would forge my signature on the release). I did not feel comfortable, so I did not sign it...that%26#39;s it, end of story...