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Full Version: ATTENTION: ANOTHER BANK ALERT ON SUNTASIA MARKETING!
Californians Against Telephone Solicitation (CATS) > Telemarketing > Telemarketing-General
Joe
Like I have been saying all along, more and more alerts are being sent out by banks, tv new stations as well as the internet about these crooks.

The alert below was posted recently by Members Plus Credit Union warning it’s customers about Suntasia and it’s umbrella companies like Distinct Advantage, Travel Agents Direct and Freedom Gold.

Telephone Scam - BEWARE!

Members Plus Credit Union has become aware of a fraud scheme which has targeted some of our members. In this scheme a member is called by a marketing firm and led to believe that MPCU hired this firm. They claim that the member will receive free gifts, but that they need to confirm a bank account number. The caller will read off the bank’s routing number, which is public knowledge, and ask the member to provide the account number. The account number can be used to withdraw funds from the victim’s account.

The calls are usually placed from the “727” area code. In the past, this group has used the business names of Distinct Advantage, Freedom Gold, Capital Vacations, and Suntasia Marketing. Members Plus Credit Union has not hired Distinct Advantage, Suntasia Marketing or any other marketing company to call our customers. You should be very cautious of any free offer made over the telephone. Never give out confidential information such as account numbers, social security numbers or other personal information.

End of Alert.

You can see the MPCU posting for yourself by visiting the site at:

http://www.memberspluscu.org/ASP/whatsnew.asp

Scroll to the bottom and you will see it.
Joe
The following information is on Suntasia marketing and its promotions.

The address where ALL the telemarketing calls originate from is:

Suntasia Marketing
8751 Ulmerton Road
Largo, FL 33771
Tel#: 727-471-0276 or 1-800-NEW-TEAM

Website: http://suntasia.com/

Live calls to your house start with the numbers 727-683-#### or 727-471-####. There are 8 rooms which hold 24 agents in each plus a customer service area. You can actually see what Suntasia looks like on the inside by copying and pasting their website address above to your address bar.

The programs and the companies they currently promote are:

Travel Agents Go Direct (may have changed names again)
Distinct Advantage
Freedom Gold
FloridaWay
Prism Communications

Here is a list of programs they use to promote:

Agents Travel Network
Capitol Vacations
Florida Passport
Travel Agency Network
Teliflex Communications
VersaTalk

ALL the companies listed above have an “unsatisfactory” rating with the Better Business Bureau.


This is straight from the BBB website:

http://www.bbbwestflorida.org/commonreport.html?bid=11002452

BBB Reliability Report

The Better Business Bureau®
Serving Florida's West Coast
P.O. Box 7950
Clearwater, FL 33758-7950
(727) 535-5522 (24 Hours)
www.bbbwestflorida.org


Suntasia Marketing, Inc.
8751 Ulmerton Rd
Largo, FL 33771-3832
Telephone: (800) 639-8326
Fax: (727) 471-0274
www.suntasia.com

The BBB reports on members and non-members. If a company is a member of the BBB, it is stated in this report.

Original Business Start Date: November 1999
Principal: Mr. Bryon W. Wolf, President
Customer Contact: Mr. Donald L. Booth, General Counsel - (727) 471-0276
Entity: Corporation
Incorporated: November 1999, FL
TOB Classification: Vacation Certificates & Vouchers
BBB Membership: This company is not a member.


Suntasia Marketing, Inc. is owned by FTN Promotions, Inc. This report also references Guardian Marketing Services Corporation, an affiliate of Suntasia Marketing. These companies operate out of the same offices in Largo, Florida and list the same corporate officers.


Additional DBA Names

FTN Promotions, Inc.
Capital Vacations
Guardian Marketing Services Corporation


Nature Of Business

Suntasia Marketing, Inc. conducts telemarketing services for for various companies, which are listed in detail in the Customer Experience section of this
report.

This company report also references the name Guardian Marketing Services Corporation, an affiliate of Suntasia Marketing. Guardian Marketing Services Corporation provides the customer service for Suntasia Marketing and the various companies that it telemarkets.


Customer Experience

Suntasia Marketing has an unsatisfactory rating due to a pattern of complaints concerning misrepresentation in sales practices, unauthorized billing, refund disputes, and delivery issues.

Suntasia Marketing provides telemarketing services for the products of various companies. Each of these companies has its own BBB reliability report detailing the company and its complaint history. As the telemarketing service provider for these companies' products, Suntasia Marketing is the source for many of the complaints. You may get these companies' reliability reports by contacting the BBB of West Florida at (800) 525-1447 or its website, www.bbbwestflorida.org.

These companies include, but may not be limited to:

1. Agents Travel, 3993 Tyrone Blvd, St Petersburg, FL, (800) 432-6350
2. Distinct Advantage, 10500 Ulmerton Rd Ste 726-302, Largo, FL, (866) 545-5486
3. Florida Passport, 6822 22nd Ave N PMB 432, St Petersburg, FL, (888) 612-2894
4. Floridaway Dream Escape, 2655 Ulmerton Rd Ste 407, Clearwater, FL, (888) 488-8770
5. Freedom Gold, 10500 Ulmerton Rd, Largo, FL, Ste 726-302, (800) 853-0473
6. Prism Communications, 3665 E Bay Dr Ste 201B, Largo, FL, (888) 694-9151
7. Teliflex Communications, 3303 Seffner Dr, Holiday, FL, (866) 821-8674
8. Travel Agents Go Direct, 11125 Park Blvd Ste 104-364, Seminole, FL, (888) 546-8844
9. VersaTalk, 3303 Seffner Dr, Holiday, FL, (877) 494-7363


Suntasia Marketing's complaint information is as follows:

When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

The Bureau processed a total of 185 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 185 complaints closed in 36 months, 47 were closed in the last year.

Company Management

Additional company management personnel include:

Mr. Roy A. Eliasson - Vice President
Mr. Vance Vogel - Executive Director of Sales & Marketing
Mr. Michael Berndgen - Chief Financial Officer

Bryon Wolf, President of Suntasia Marketing, Inc., and Roy Eliasson, Vice President, are respectively the CEO and Vice President of Bay Pines Travel, Inc. The Bureau has a separate reliability report on Bay Pines Travel, Inc., located in Saint Petersburg, Florida.


Additional Addresses, and Telephone Numbers

Additional Addresses
9641 Gulf Blvd
Treasure Island, FL 33706-3209
Tel: (727) 367-6887


5621 Park St N
Saint Petersburg, FL 33709-6310
Tel: (727) 544-0776


5510 Gulfport Blvd S
Gulfport, FL 33707-4827
Tel: (727) 683-2240


13799 Park Blvd # 301
Seminole, FL 33776-3402


8601B Somerset Dr
Largo, FL 33773-2714


Additional Phone Numbers
Tel: (727) 363-4506
Tel: (888) 824-7675
Tel: (727) 360-5889
Tel: (727) 471-2058
Tel: (727) 471-0276
Tel: (727) 471-1777
Tel: (727) 471-1414

Report as of March 26, 2007
Copyright© 2007 Better Business Bureau®, Inc.


If you choose to do business with this company, please let the company know that you contacted the Better Business Bureau for a report.

BBB reports may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes.

The information in this report has either been provided by the company or has been compiled by the Bureau from other reliable sources.

As a matter of policy, the Better Business Bureau does not endorse any product, service or company. BBB reports generally cover a three-year reporting period, and are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. Information contained in this report is believed reliable but not guaranteed as to accuracy. Reports are subject to change at any time.
Joe
CONSUMER ALERT!

ANOTHER BANK ISSUES A WARNING TO THEIR CUSTOMERS REGARDING SUNTASIA/STRATEGIA MARKETING'S "Travel Agents Direct" !


The following is from the Associated Credit Union website:

Don't Take The Bait! Watch For E-mail & Phone Scams!

Current Scams

A company called Travel Agents Direct calls members to inform them that they've won free hotel and travel vouchers. They know the credit union's routing number and ask for your checking account number to debit you for just enough to cover mailing you the vouchers!

The company gets information from those who may have purchased products from online marketing companies or infomercials, who pass on the personal information to Travel Agents Direct.

End of Alert.

Like I told you many times before, bank alerts are becoming common for Suntasia/Strategia marketing company. If you want to see the alert for yourself click the link below.

http://www.acuonline.org/home/accounts.accounts_alerts
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