Station owner, lawyer say everything's legal

By Bethany Chambers

Staff writer

bchambers@hometownnewsol.com

VOLUSIA COUNTY - The old adage "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," may be a cliché, but it's a warning that some customers of a local radio program are hoping others will heed.

After 27 years of being produced and broadcast by WELE 1380 AM radio in Ormond Beach, The Premier Travel Show, which sells discounted travel certificates, underwent a format change recently that has some local residents - and others from across the country - steaming and seeking refunds, and some experts saying the show takes advantage of senior citizens.

The customers claim the travel certificates are difficult to use due to blackout dates and endless paperwork and that hidden fees abound.

Vacation certificates, such as the ones the show sells, are "an arrangement whereby you pay in advance for the use of travel accommodations or facilities at some later date, with no specific dates for traveling," according to the Office of the Attorney General's Web site, myfloridalegal.com.

The attorney general warns customers that they are "paying today for a service which you might not want to use" and that "the 'bargain' price could end up being way too expensive."

Ormond Beach resident Doug Wilhite, who owns the station and parent company Wings Communications, said that through recent changes the show offers deeper discounts to a larger number of customers.

But the show isn't for everyone, some customers say. Traveling requires a flexible schedule and a willingness to follow a step-by-step process that can take months.

In the past year, complaints against WELE have come into the Better Business Bureau, Office of the Attorney General and Seniors vs. Crime, a statewide initiative to prevent crimes against the elderly.

No investigations have been conducted or files charged by the State Attorney's Office, attorney general or Ormond Beach Police Department, representatives said.

Complaints filed

Some customers, like three-year listener James Ruddy, 87, said they have used certificates from the show to successfully book low-cost trips. In May Mr. Ruddy and his wife spent a week in a timeshare at the Hilton Grand Vacation Resort in Las Vegas. The trip cost them $400, including two round-trip tickets on U.S. Airways.

And two weeks ago they spent a couple days at a hotel in Animal Kingdom at Disney World. They're now planning to take another similar trip, he said.

Others, though, have not had the same success.

The Better Business Bureau has received five complaints in 2008 about dishonest selling practices and false advertising, giving the station an "unsatisfactory rating." The Office of the Attorney General has received eight complaints in 2008.

Seniors vs. Crime, a volunteer arm of the attorney general, received eight complaints in the last two months alone at its South Daytona storefront, said volunteer Jane Parot.

Acting as a mediator, Seniors vs. Crime volunteers were able to secure refunds for most of the people who visited them, Ms. Parot said.

"So many elderly people get suckered in because they trust people," she said. "We have people spending $40 to $3,000 and sending (more money) in the mail."

One of the customers who turned to Seniors vs. Crime was 64-year-old Carolyn Glass of Holly Hill.

On April 1, she thought she'd found the perfect deal for a summer vacation for herself and her grandkids, she said.

For $27 she believed her "Take a Break" package would give her a weekend stay at a local hotel with pizza and movie tickets for eight, she said.

But, she said, she soon learned the deal was not as it seemed.

"I should have known it was an April Fool's joke," she said.

Had she read the fine print on a form she received later that month, she said, she may not have paid an additional $19 redemption fee.

By late May, when her paperwork came from the outside provider, she realized she would have to pay an additional $29.95 to request a hotel room for any one of three weekday dates at least 60 days away and that only two children could accompany her.

The pizza and movie tickets were actually a $100 rebate that could be mailed in after purchase with the original receipts.

At that point, it was a month past the 30-day cash refund deadline and she could only request a $46 credit for future purchases from WELE.

After Seniors vs. Crime stepped in, Ms. Glass received her refund last week.

What Ms. Glass spent on the show is low compared to others. Seniors vs. Crime took complaints from 82-year-old Robert Durand of Daytona Beach for $253 and from 61-year-old Judy Brasol of Daytona Beach for $456. Both of them have been refunded portions of that money.

"I'm happy I didn't have to go through the BBB or small claims court," Mr. Durand said last week. "But I wouldn't pay one more penny for their stuff, even if they promised me $1,000."

On tripadvisor.com, several disgruntled customers have joined together to file complaints with the Federal Communications Commission and to possibly hire an attorney.

That's where Pat Quigley, a 55-year-old medical office manager from South Daytona, and Amy Salisbury, a 45-year-old housewife from Niagara Falls, N.Y. met up.

They both had trouble when the dates for trips didn't fit their busy schedules and additional fees crunched their budgets.

Ms. Quigley invested $300 into a package she hoped to use to visit family in Milwaukee. After asking further questions, she said, she received an e-mail response from Mr. Wilhite.

"This is not a glass that is half full or half empty. This is a glass that is (97-percent) full, and you are going to throw it out over the (three-percent) empty part," he wrote. "Go enjoy your windfall and be happy."

The e-mail was "exasperating" and "egotistical," she said.

"If I find a $500 cashmere sweater at Macy's marked down to $100 and I get to the register and find out it's going to be $200, sure, it's still a good deal," she said. "But I can't afford it."

Ms. Salisbury, who heard about the show from a friend in Florida, had $2,600 invested in multiple packages.

"It makes sense they trade ad dollars for goods and services. I thought, 'That's just an awesome idea; no wonder they've been in business so long,'" she said.

A couple months had passed when she realized there were only 17 days in the year she could take her trips, so she asked for a refund, she said.

After an exchange of nearly 200 e-mails with the station, she reported her charges as fraudulent with the credit card company and got her money back.

Mr. Wilhite said he has broken his 30-day policy "over and over again" to satisfy customers if they ask for a refund.

Refunds take four to six weeks or one credit card billing period to go through and all merchandise - including the certificates - must be returned first.

"If somebody asks for a refund, we'll give it to them with no questions about it. I'm very supportive," he said. "The whole goal is to make peoples' lives better, not make them upset or mad."

Complaints against the show represent a fraction of the show's 15,000 registered customers, or those who pay $24 a year for certain club privileges, Mr. Wilhite said.

Mr. Wilhite blames the problems on a format change late last year that outsourced trip booking.

The show has also been picked up by a station in Palm Beach County and, added to its online streaming audio, has doubled its audience and quadrupled the number of items it sells. Packages now include more than one item, too, he said.

"One year ago this was all easy. We had half the staff we do today and we could find things quickly," he said.

Today he has 24 on staff, many of them family members, including his daughter, show host Trisha Weatherford, but he'd "need 70 on staff to deal with the number of customers."

By increasing the number of listeners, Mr. Wilhite has been able to trade advertising time for more and more products, he said, and the show now has a 27-percent profit margin.

Nothing illegal

The initial paperwork people receive within 30 days of purchase includes the additional fees, as required by state law, Mr. Wilhite said. Still, people don't read the fine print or "don't want to follow instructions," he said.

"It's clear they didn't understand everything," Mr. Wilhite said. "Our top concern is making our system as understandable as possible."

Ormond Beach elder law attorney Rebecca Becker, who is not involved with the station or complainants, said the "standards and scrutiny" for cases of fraud "are higher when dealing with the elderly."

"People can still be competent, but suffer under diminished capacity," she said.

Still, she said, the onus may be on the buyer under Florida Supreme Court precedent.

"The case says that, yes, this is an unfair contract and a bad deal, but you knowingly entered into it and we can't let you out of a contract just because you later realized it's not fair," she said. "There's an expectation that person will inquire. It's a good lesson here that people ask further about all the costs."

Mr. Wilhite said "there's nothing criminal" occurring and he's personally willing to answer questions before or after a purchase regarding costs.

"It distresses nobody more than it distresses me," he said. "Whether it's a $12 item, $24 item or $3,000 item, anybody can meet with me."

Within the next few months, customers should see a new storefront office for the station, with a larger staff and computerized order system, Mr. Wilhite said.

"We couldn't think of solutions before there were problems. We are taking a proactive approach now," he said. "Everything we try to do is with the well-being of the customers in mind."