Getaway Escapes

Dodgy company stay away – Stay away from this company . I purchased vouchers and was lied to on phone about location then was unable to secure any accomodation each time I tried to book. I was approved for a refund on the 12th December 2024 and now 9th January 2025 was told it will was with accounts and be processed. Then called again the person who does refunds is sick and she is the only one that can do it. BEWARE Show details

$2000 holiday rewards voucher – I was given worth of $2000 holiday rewards voucher which I couldn’t use for single day. I tried to book many times and many places but I had received an email that couldn’t get it as already booked or not available .when I talked to them they clearly said that they can’t extend my voucher or do anything . It is worthless and waste of time ,don’t… Read more

feel great and start making a plan when you receive this kind of voucher.

I would suggest you all not to waste your valuable time for nothing

Thank you

Expected little; got less – I was "given" a 'whopping' $5000 worth of travel vouchers by that great loan broker Australian Fleet Sales (you get a decent car with the loans they sell). I was sceptical about the 'value' of this system and then I had the opportunity to try it out. The system met my low expectations. Worthless. Totally worthless. The first hotel didn't respond.… Read more

AusGetaway's automated system says don't contact hotel in the first instance. Then they handled the re-request. Then they contacted me and said it was all on me, good luck. Shonky. Oh, I'll 'fix' my OzCar/Aust Fleet Sales review too.

I got my accommodation and flights – I am one of the lucky ones, all went well with a booking and accommodation over New Year in Sydney, 2015, arranged by Getaway Escapes. I also had an earlier booking to Melbourne that was a bit of a worry trying to get the confirmation letter, but it ended up all okay, and the accommodation and flights were fine, so that's why I booked again with… Read more

them.

I too have decided, don't buy from cold callers, it's too risky and nerve wrecking....but the salespeople are good at what they do, so beware. The place must've been awful to work at, and I think the salespeople were genuine. It's terrible that these businesses are set up and take advantage of their workers.

Outrageous booking fee & accommodation not supplied as requested – Last February I requested & paid for 7 days accommodation for a 70 year old friends birthday in a 4 star Queensland resort with a water view up to $2K. I was charged $1999. 2 days before flying to Qld last September I found that I had a studio on the 3rd floor with no lift!! I had to pay a further $531 for a suitable room. The "resort" turned… Read more

out to be a serviced apartment. On discussion with the hotel owners they were outraged as they do not follow the Michelin system & they only charged $471.00 for the week's accommodation. Get away did not respond to any correspondence & I intended to sue them for false & misleading conduct.

THIEVES – I feel for the others who are in the same position as us. We were sucked in to the scam as well. When we were not happy with the condition of booking accommodation from the selected list, they asked us to send the vouchers back for a refund. Now we have no money or the vouchers. They knew exactly what they were doing. Such a shame that the authorities let this continue for so long.

Getaway Escapes -This may help fellow "burnees" – I too applied for the "attractive" flight voucher packages in February 2015 and was somewhat concerned that I had not received any details (almost 3 weeks later). I made further enquiries and discovered that Getaway Escapes had gone into liquidation a couple of days after the big push to sell these vouchers. I would be very surprised if the… Read more

Director(s) did not have prior knowledge as to the state of affairs of the Company?

Additional enquiries were made which resulted in the following response(summarised) from the liquidators.

Please be advised the Company was placed into liquidation on 27 February 2015.

We have been advised you may have made pre-payments in relation to travel bookings organised through the Company.

In the first instance, pre-paid customers are advised to review their credit card or insurance policies for chargeback or refund purposes, if applicable. Furthermore, pre-paid customers may consider contacting the travel service provider directly (eg hotel or airline) to verify whether payments collected by Getaway Escapes Pty Ltd have been remitted in relation to your specific booking.

In addition any customers who may have paid for travel packages, airfare tickets or accommodation prior to 30 June 2014 may be able to claim a refund from the Travel Compensation Fund. Please visit www.tcf.org.au or contact 1300 658 165 for further information.

Ultimately, if you are unable to successfully claw back pre-payments via your banking facilities or obtain some form of insurance refund you will need to submit a proof of debt in the liquidation and participate as an unsecured creditor.

Regards,

[name removed]

Exchange House, Suite 2, Level 8, 10 Bridge Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia

Telephone +61 2 9220 7100 | Fax +61 2 9220 7199

[email address removed]

Website www.mackaygoodwin.com.au

Legitimate Gold Coast operators across a range of industries should be increasingly concerned of the reputation the region is rapidly developing as "Scam Centre", and; the relative ease with which Director's and Principals can set up, rip off and walk away while knowingly trading insolvent.

A few solid prosecutions may help.

Trust this helps anyone else who has failed to "getaway"or "escape". It is a sad indictment that the only one's who appear to do so are those who develop & run these schemes with the express purpose of pocketing your hard earned dollar!

Getaway scam – I must've been one of the lucky ones because my flights & hotel eventually got booked but I can understand what you guys are getting at about this travel agent. I too, bought a $99 voucher back in Sep 2013 and was told I could travel anywhere in Australia but had to spend at least 4 nights in a 4 - 5 star hotel of their choice & had to use it… Read more

within 2yrs. This was no problem for me since I've experienced low rate hotels & you do get what you pay for. However when I got round to booking with this travel agent in Oct 2014, boy did I get the runaround. I was to pay the full hotel cost in full for 6 nts in Melbourne for $1350 but when I had to make some changes in the dates to adding 1 extra night and moving the dates to a week later due to work commitments, it was like a cat & mouse game. I was told I wouldn't be charged an amendment fee, but they made it really difficult to catch anyone to make the changes. Apparently my booking form travelled 3 or 4 flights of stairs. I kept asking for a lady named [name removed] to make the changes, but she was either not there, too busy or was to call me back (which she rarely did). Different days had different receptionists. Being abit suspicious, I checked with the hotel to see if my travel agent had booked my accommodation. Apparently they had been booked but had no recollection that it had been changed. I called the agent if they had changed it. They kept giving me the runaround that they had but hadn't. The hotel told me they can change the dates for me but couldn't change the flights & obviously, you want to make sure your accommodation will match your flights. Finally after 2 months had passed by, they made the changes & gave me confirmation. It took a while even to get the confirmation as well. I kept getting tossed off to another lady called [name removed] who kept saying she was going to send it. Unbeknowst to me they had made the changes for the extra day but took the extra money out of my account without my permission. I permitted it anyway later, but I just thought it was dishonest taking it out of my account without officially letting them do it. Just to be on the sure side, I checked the hotel to see if they had made the changes. They had. Suspecting something could go wrong, I checked if they had changed the flights as well. Surprisingly, they hadn't even made the booking in the first place. Anxious, I rang back Getaways about booking the flights. Again, I got the runaround. I did get a phone call from [name removed] telling me they were trying to get on top of the Xmas rush & will book them after the new years. My flight was for the 1st week of Feb 2015, so I was getting concerned. January came round and still no booking. I was getting concerned that I'd have all my accommodation arranged & paid for but no flights to get me down there! By then, I was sending warning emails that if this didn't get sorted by mid January, I was going to go to the office of Fair trading. I even asked to get in touch with their complaints department or their so -called quality department. I was told I couldn't get a refund unless I had to get a medical certificate. I just wanted my flight booked. I was at the end of my tether when I read people's reviews on this website suggesting applying for a chargebook. I did go to my bank, and I don't know if it was this that made them book my flights or what, but it worked. Very soon after I had both applied for a chargeback & lodged a complaint with the OFT, I got a confirmation email for my flights. Just to be safe, I checked with the flight company if they had been booked. All was ok. I have just come back from my holidays at the end of Feb 2015 and all went ok. I just got put with jetstar which wasn't my flight of my choice but I'm not complaining for $99 return. The 4 star hotel at the Oakes, was great and comfortable. Now, I hear from the OFT that Getaway escapes is under liquidation. I thought I must've been really lucky to get this holiday. I hear they work under a quota system where they are reserved only a certain number of flights per airline but only if the flight company reaches its quota as well, so you may not always get a seat or the carrier of your choice. What gets to me is that these people are still around scamming people. 2 weeks before my holiday, I got a cold call from them again trying to sell me a holiday. I quickly hung up on them. I feel sorry for all of those who lost money from these ruthless people. It's taught me a lesson not to buy from cold callers selling holidays again.

Scam- do not buy- – ####SCAM#### Be aware Do not buy from these guys anything!!! They are a scam, The sales team are good at what they do , I got a call from a lady names [name removed] sounded nice so I bought from them. No deal , no cheap flights , just a scam. They make you but the flights and than ask you to buy the accommodation to be able to use the flights., The manage [name removed] is just as bad, I have sent over 15 emails, 20 calls and nothing

Liquidator and Company contacts – Hi Everyone on this page. Sorry to hear about what this company has done to you all. I was tricked into purchasing cheap flights but through the Bartercard system. Not at any stage was I informed of the conditions that I would have to purchase accommodation to get these cheap flights. Anyway Bartercard head office has taken up the fight and will… Read more

be passing on all creditor information to the liquidators. Any information I receive in regards to this matter, I will post on here for you all so you can try and get some of your money back.

The only information I have so far:

Bartercard Account Holder

[name removed]

[contact details removed]

I am not sure on what position [name removed] holds within the company.

The Company Director is [name removed]

You can contact me direct if you choose at mick@customplasticfabrication.com.au

Good luck

Mick

Terrible.... Wish I could rate lower than a 1!!!! – Does anyone know who the company handling the liquidation are? Just hours after accepting the deal we discovered the accomadation side of things which was NEVER discussed, all information was misleading and we cancelled on the same day as agreeing and have repeatedly been told a refund cheque is in the mail but surprise surprise it doesn't turn up and now we can't speak to anyone! Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks

The biggest SCAMS! – Very disappointed with the company. It's been Four weeks I have cancelled the flight tickets. I still haven't received a refund. When I called yesterday I heard the company is in liquidation. I have lost $400.

company in liquidation – Anyone who has booked contact your bank immediately this company is in liquidation and my family holiday that we have paid for leaving on march 20th does not exist and i have paid them 6000 dollars. I contacted a current affair

Same here – I’m usually more cautious but want to travel soon so was taken in by the cheap flights and misleading info. Those details were left out for me too. I was also told I could call them anytime between 9 -4pm M - F. * I called in the morning and waited online to be answered and learned the phones are cut off from incoming calls at 2.30pm ea day so… Read more

the qualty team has time to call out as they are constantly busy with callers(wonder why?).

I found out:

*When I want to book a flight I cant just ring, I have to fill out a form and sign it and send it to them and wait for them to receive it.

* I can use the accomodation within 2yrs but I have to book it and pay for it in full when I use a flight ticket. 4 nights for every ticket I use.

*There is a 10 day cooling off but it takes 9 - 10 days to receive the package.

*I asked for a refund but she has to tell the quality team and I have to wait for them to call me, she said within 48hrs. I couldn't speak to them because they don't start till 2.30 and I can't call them myself after 2.30 cos all incoming calls are stopped at 2.30pm.

Also, when I looked up their website, the following message was on there and seems to be a permanent msg as it has been on there for the last 3 days that I have newly opened it.

***********

Getaway Escapes have had a major system failure with the sending of flight itinerary’s and we are endeavoring to have this fixed by 9pm tonight. We understand that some of our customers are flying in the next two days and we assure you that you will receive your itinerarys by email tomorrow. Please bear with us during this time.

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

On the site, when you click on flight vouchers it goes to ausflights.com.au and the same message is on there in red writing.

My other concern about that is, that I know tomorrow never comes!!!! and since it's seems to stay on there maybe itinerarys don't come either.

Hopefully I'll get a refund without a hassle.

Please do the right thing Getaway escapes!

Absolutely disgraceful how this company operate – I would have to definately say getaway escapes is all a scam, what they say and what they do are 2 very different things - terrible people with no ethics and definitely no morals or empathy

Scam Artists – Do not be taken by these people. They say the flights you purchase come with no strings attached but fail to mention you MUST purchase accommodation in order to use the flights. When asked about this during the initial conversation I was told a bald faced LIE! About to report my experience to Office Of Fair Trading.

This mob is just a scam – Don't go near them. They don't tell you that the cheap airfares are only available if you book accommodation. Then when you put in a complaint to get your money back it never comes. They need to be deregistered.

Scam! – I got a phone call today on my house phone which is a private number these people ring and don't give you the details after reading all these reviews something needs to be done about it as it's costing people more money and not what they are stating over the phone do not book with these people its a scam!!

Do not use getawayescape - travel company – This company is very very poor! They will rip you off and never get back to you! Always full of excuses and good luck if you ever get your flights and itinaries! Do not use!

Scam – I have tried several times to book the airfare and accommodation. The salesman never listens when I mention over an over about the free flights an accommodation. Visiting my sister in Perth in January and he has charged normal price for airfares an rack rate for accommodation. My credit card had been charged over $2100 an nothing yet to show for it. Stay away

I just need my Itinerary! – I am due to leave soon and I don't have my travel details, I have called and sent an E-mail and awaiting their response.

Misrepresentation and misleading scam – Misrepresented tickets nothing about accommodation . It will be four months from time of purchasing four $99.00 return tickets to when I get my refund . They are saying it took one month for an envelope to get from Brisbane to the Gold Coast .

Warning! Do not book with this company..They are a joke!! – I heard about this special offer as I was planning a short trip with my family of 5. I was duped into purchasing 5 $99 oneway tickets on any domestic airline to discover that I had to purchase a minimum of 4 nights accommodation. They failed to disclose that in order to get your $99 tickets validated you have to pay in full for the accommodation… Read more

and its 4 nights accommodation PER ticket!!...so I would have had to pay for 20 nights accommodation!! What a joke! The sales process is really flash..they are so nice and cheerful. Once they have your money..you wont hear from them again. Apparently they send out a voucher pack which I have yet to receive...AVOID THESE GUYS! I've also read there is a list a mile long of complaints....and this company has been investigated....they've changed their name numerous times! They are a disgrace! I have reported them to the ACCC

misleading, bad service, cannot get through to anyone promptly...they take your money and dont care!

Not sure how Getaway Escapes sleep at night!!! – My friend was called by these people offering 4 return flights for $249, sounded too good to be true I enquired for my friend! Lady was on to me & made out I was stupid that I couldn't understand promo...since then seen the catch is purchasing accommodation approx $2k to use flights...something they don't disclose even when asked! Checked out &… Read more

recently tipped up a number of innocent people excited about cheap flights in Australia to visit lived ones & not in a position to pay accommodation...thus losing their money! Not sure how Getaway Escapes sleep at night!!!

Bad customer service & not honest business!