Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/25/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In June 2024, my husband and I were approached about this travel program in VA beach. During their sales pitch, we were informed that if after 5 years and we had not used their services fully, we would receive 100% of our money back. That was the selling point for us, We agreed to sign up with the program. We initially deposited $2000 and have been paying $145/month since then. We were offered a 1-week free vacation stay to any available place they had, redeemable within the first 6 months of sign up. When my husband tried to redeem 5 months later, they were requesting a non-refundable deposit fee. We did not end up using the voucher. When we tried to book months later through their website, for another trip, my husband looked at the booking rates and they were not any different from the hotel website rates. Also, the options and dates available were very limited. We learned then that the program was useless.
  
  When we looked at the contract closely, there was no mention of the 100% money back guarantee. It was mentioned on a separate advertisement paper, but not on the contract, and it was unclear as to how it works. We learned also there was a free cancellation period within 7 days of contract signing, which no one informed us at the time. Had we known, we would have looked into the program sooner and cancelled then. Husband called their membership customer service to find a way to cancel, but there was none. He was informed “once we paid off the full amount, we could sell the service to someone else”. It feels like we got trapped in a scam with no way of exiting.
  
  We were misinformed from the get-go and would like to cancel. None of their representatives have been helpful at all.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/09/2025

  BBB Representative

   

  Please find Global Connections' response to complaint *********

   

  **** *****

  Director of Membership Administration

  ***** ********

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/12/2025

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Dear *** ******

  We received your reply regarding
  our complaint. To answer your point, the days we attempted to use the
  membership were April 18-22, 2025 in Virginia Beach. We started looking on your
  company website in mid-February. Our membership, as stated in your reply, is
  for $399 for the week. However, when my husband attempted to book a condo for
  those dates, those dates were available but there was an extra fee. We learned
  then that there were no savings through the membership, as was initially
  advertised to us. We realized this membership was useless to us.

  However, the main concern we have with Global Discovery
  Vacations is the lack of transparency and misleading information provided to
  us. At no point during our initial signing of the membership where we informed
  about the 7-day cancellation window. Also, our biggest dispute is during the
  initial signup, we were informed that if we don’t use the membership fully
  within a certain number of years, we get a full money back guarantee. This is
  what prompted us to sign up. However, there is nothing on the contract that
  states that. We learned later it was on a separate advertisement paper that is
  not legally binding. This is the main issue we want addressed and remedied. If
  it cannot, we would like this membership cancelled under false pretense.

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ***** *******

  Business Response

  Date: 05/16/2025

  BBB Representative

   

  Please find the attached follow up response to complaint *********

  consumer would like her credit waived

   

  **** *****

  Director of Membership Administration

  ***** ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/27/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In 2022 my daughter and I went to ***** **** ***** in Gaitlinburg TN with my GDV vacation club membership. We were strongly suggested with high pressure to attend a timeshare upgrade meeting and then swindled into an upgrade, selling me more stars with high pressure sales tactics with 3 different sales people. They never set up my auto draw from my account and months later proceeded to send me to collections and will not allow me to have any access to my original account. I feel they have stolen my original fully paid account membership and have not allowed me access at all since. I have contacted their Collection company TSI that I pay monthly $213.41 per month. And l have asked TSI several time to send me a statement detailing my paydown. The collections company says they will send it but they never do.
  When I call Global the girl that handles this, is never in the office and will call back and I never hear from her. Or they tell me to call back on a specific day...and conveniently she isn't there.
  I would at very least like full access of my Global Vacation club account that I already owned in full and a full statement of every payment made with a balance.
  If this is not resolved I will be calling an attorney, I feel they have stolen my original membership. It was not disclosed to me that I would not have my original membership. They sold it like I was buying more stars for more weeks.
  I originally paid over $7,500 for my original membership that Global will not allow me access to use that membership PLUS the $2987.74 that I believe I've already paid towards these new stars

  Business Response

  Date: 03/07/2025

  BBB Representative

   

  Please find the attached response to complaint ********.  Please let me know if you need any additional information.

   

  **** *****

  Director of Membership Administration

  ***** ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/28/2025

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In Sept., 2024, my husband and I attended the New Mexico State Fair. Upon entering, we were approached by a vendor from Grand Destinations selling vacation packages. My husband and I assumed that because these vendors were on the New Mexico State Fair grounds, they must be a legitimate company. We signed up for a Zoom presentation on Oct. 16, 2024.
  -We were promised a free 2 Night Hotel Stay if we signed in 15 minutes early, which we did.
  We never received any information about the free 2 night hotel stay.
  On Oct. 16, we met via Zoom with "Dan" from Global Connections. He presented a very enticing vacation package. The SPECIFIC things he mentioned were:
  -Mexico 8 day cruise for $379 per person. When we tried to find this cruise, we couldn't. The best deal we could find was a 7 day Mexican Cruise for $814- $998 per person. When I was finally able to speak with our agent, "Dan", he guided us on the GDV website, where we could find cruise specials. We were not able to find the Mexican 8 day for $379. There were some for $543 - $921 per person, and they are not dates that we needed. Omitted from the presentation is that these specials are limited to certain times of the year, & not available anytime. We were told during the presentation that the cruises could be booked up to 12 months in advance, BUT NOT AT THE $379 price.
  We opted out of a cruise and decided to try getting a 7 night Condo for $399.00 with our Stars.
  This was another big selling point. The cities we had thought of going to were San Francisco, Nashville, and Washington, DC. After the fact, we found out that Condos ARE NOT available in major cities. This crucial information was also omitted.
  We decided to try the hotel option. When booking a hotel in Las Vegas, NV, the GDV website gives a "Total you Pay" price which says it includes taxes and fees. A room at Treasure Island for $506 ends up being $733 after fees.
  We are asking to be reimbursed $7,845.00 and released from our contract.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/06/2025

  Dear BBB Representative

   

  Please find the attached response to complaint 22******.  Please let me know if you need any additional information.

   

  Sincerely

  E*** *****
  
  ******** ** ********** **************
  
  ************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/04/2025

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Global Discovery Vacations mislead us to believe as more resorts became available they would be added to our vacation destination options. This was not true and devalued our membership. These practices and not ethical and is apparently accepted by GDV. I have also seen where Global Connections claims they are not Global Discovery Vacations, yet they are in the same location and same suite. This company's sales practices misleads consumers in what they are selling without any regard to who they hurt or defraud.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/08/2025

  Dear BBB Representative

   

  Please find attached Global Connections' response to complaint 22****85.

  at this time we disagree

   

  Sincerely

  **** *****
  
  ******** ** ********** **********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/30/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was presented a lifetime vacation travel membership on 7/23/2023 and it was presented with large discounts on vacation stays. I paid an Enrollment Fee of $8,727.00 with an Activity Fee, Admin Fee and taxes for a total of $9,711.43.
  
  The travel membership does not offer any substantial savings with vacation stays and is even more expensive than booking with the hotels directly. Along with no benefits with vacation stays, an Annual Activity fee of $200 is charged to maintain the membership.
  
  I believe they are not accurately presenting their services and products to consumers in an transparent manner and misleading consumers on the benefits that may be available with the travel membership.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2025

  BBB Representative

   

  Please find Global Connections' response to complaint *********

   

  Thank you

  **** *****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/28/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I entered a sweepstakes for a trip in December 2023. Global promises if you sit in an online brief, you will be awarded your trip. All you’ll have to do is pay taxes.
  I sat through the brief, and they would not let me off the phone. I said I was a single mom with one income from the military. They just kept dropping the membership price and using words to manipulate me into signing up. Before I knew it, they had me signed up. I was promised full access to websites, vacation packages, etc. I never received a contract. I just started receiving bills and harassing phone calls. I made the first couple of payments because I've never missed a payment for anything if it didn't have to do with conflicting training. I called for help within the first month to see exactly what I had to pay for. No one helped me. I said I would like to cancel. Then, I was told that was not an option, and I owed them 4 thousand dollars. I'm unsure what I owe them 4 thousand plus dollars for, considering I never received anything. Not even help to navigate their sites. In July 2024, I received a call from their call center explaining that they would like to sign me up for a class to navigate their site. I wrote to Global stating I wanted my membership revoked again. This week, I received a collections notice from a random collector. It doesn't show on my credit report. I've done more digging and quickly realized this is a pyramid scheme and needs to be shut down for good! I refuse to blindly give my hard earned money to someone without receiving any products or services back.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/28/2024

  This complaint is not regarding our company.  Our company is an asset recovery firm, and the complaint is regarding a travel/timeshare company.  

   

  Here is a link to our website.  We do not provide any travel or timeshare services: ****************

   

  Please have this complaint removed from our profile.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/19/2024

  BBB Representative

   

  Please find the attached response to complaint ******** from Global Connections.  Please let me know if you need any additional information.

   

  **** *****

  Director of Membership Administration

  ###-###-####

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/02/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been trying to access my Global Connections travel account for weeks unsuccessfully. The message I receive States "Our websites are currently down. Login credentials will not work, there is no need to reset your password. This notice will be removed when the issue is resolved." I am paying for a service that I cannot use. When I contact them they say they are working on the problem but have no idea when it will be resolved. Ultimately I would like to be able to book travel through my plan but at tge least I would expect an extension of my annual benefits or financial compensation for the time I haven't been able to use my plan.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/11/2024

  BBB Representative

   

  Please find Global Connections' response to complaint ********.  Please let me know if you need any additional information.

   

  **** *****

  Director of Membership Administration

  ************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/19/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We were lead to believe that we had to attend a meeting to get new membership ID's. We did what we was told to do. Come to find out it was a sales pitch that we did not want to do in the first place. After wasting our day we was told we can cancel if within a few days. And to call if we change our minds. We were the last people to leave. I called ************ to cancel, No one answer so I left a message to cancel with our names and member number and to please call us back. Plus I Called, left a message and also text ************. Plus I email. Plus I found form in our package that we did not know about and I spent most of my day in the lobby at the sands to print out the form, sign and ***** at the sands dated and put in their mail to be mailed out. plus a lady from ks sent me an email and ask for me to reply back to that email so can be sent to headquarters. As of 9/19/2024 have not heard anything on being cancel or have not seen the $570 charge on our credit card. We hoping that this got cancel is the reason have not seen the charge on our card but need to know for sure. Thank you

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/24/2024

  the company sent us a letter stating that they received our info and the contract was cancel. I love this company and had a great experience with the company most of the time that we have been with them. We plan to upgrade some time in the future. Is not possible at this time. Thank you

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/20/2024

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My wife and I signed up with this vacation package back in March for a total of 23K with $5K down payment and a remaining balance of $18K. Throughout the entire presentation the representative continued to state this vacation could be cancelled at anytime. We received our VIP number and logon information about two weeks after signing up. Once we signed up using our VIP number we were finally able to check the prices of these so-called cheap vacation packages and at that point realized we were not saving anything at all. The VAO representative told us to contact them if we needed assistance booking trips, prices, etc. Since that time we received two quotes from VAO which were the same prices as trips we had already booked prior to signing u with Global. We called two weeks ago to have prices sent to us on an upcoming trip and have not received any calls nor emails back. We called the concierge multiple times since March trying to cancel this membership and have gotten the runaround and nasty attitudes. On May 20, 2024 we contacted **** Stout "Director of Membership Administration, first off he was very condescending and profoundly stated that he would not cancel the membership and he was the only one who could do so. **** was sarcastic and facetious during the call and portrayed the same behavior as the customer service representative while inquiring about cancelling and continued to talk over us. Global is asking 60% to cancel the membership, when in fact we have paid $5K and have not used the service and don't intend to use the service because it serves no benefit to us. Global and its staff are friendly when they are trying to get you to sign up but are the nastiest individuals when you try to cancel.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/31/2024

  BBB Representative

  Please find the attached response to complaint ********

   

  Thank you

  ****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/01/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I called in to discuss my account and was informed they combine my account. They said this was done within the last year, and did not reach out to me to discuss. THis was done without my permissions. The representative was rude and when i stated i was considering getting rid of my account she stated "good luck" I asked for a manager and she refused.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/03/2024

  BBB Representative

   

  Please find the attached response to complaint number *********

  
  Thank you

  ****