Programs: Piggly Wiggly "Shop the Pig!" Preferred Shopper
Posts: 8,180
Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I'm not an attorney, but I suspect that if you knowgingly engage in business with someone perpetrating fraud, you could be held accountable for it.
In the article, this guy uses a Chicago example where "the good news is priceline.com will accept a bid of $56 for a four-star in the Loop". As we all know, priceline does not display rates, so the only way he would know that $56 would be accepted without knowing which hotel it is, is by engaging in some sort of fraud... more than likely, credit card fraud. So buyer beware.
[This message has been edited by Arrzee (edited 06-23-2003).][/b]</font>
Well, Arrzee, I just happen to be an attorney (full disclosure: I'm also banned from BFT for my comments on FT). If I were Mr. Rogol, I'd look into whether he has a libel case against you and/or BFT.
You're accusing this guy of fraud, since he claims "priceline.com will accept a bid of $56 for a four-star in the Loop", and he could only acquire that knowledge through fraudulent means. Here are two ways he could know that (with reasonable certainty):
1) BFT users have recently reported successful bids for Loop hotels for $56. He could simply be reading your info.!
2) He might have recently succeeded in getting such a rate in that zone for another client.
Man, BFT management is amazing. Criticize BFT on FT -- you're banned. Provide a travel service BFT doesn't approve of -- you're a fraud. Sheesh.
So, the next time a friend gives me his CC number to bid for him and than buys me a steak dinner as a reward for his great deal ... lock me up and throw away the key. Their are countless travel agents using PL for their customers and to keep it honest, they use their clients CC and charge then a fee .... as high as a $75 premium I have heard. Similar to what was mentioned here by a previous poster ... Has anyone even bothered to call up this guy to find out how he handles a transaction??? I highly doubt he is bidding with his own CC and re-selling ...
Here is an example of a post that slipped between the cracks of BFT's ever-watchful eyes ...
In case the post disappears before our very eyes, it is a poster who booked a room by accident .. another offering to buy it and Sheryl telling ('aiding') that person to post his email address so that he can be contacted (for the sale).
[This message has been edited by thesqueegeekid (edited 07-03-2003).]
Programs: Piggly Wiggly "Shop the Pig!" Preferred Shopper
Posts: 8,180
Great point, squeegee. This guy is really just being a travel agent. Indeed, he's probably justifying his fee far better than most agents.
There are few if any FTers or users of BFT/BB that would hire this guy -- we already know the game. Some folks don't want to learn the game (heck, those folks may be saner than we are). This guy is just selling his expertise. Nothing in that article suggests to me that he's being deceptive about anything.
deceptive: having power to mislead, or impress with false opinions
From the article:
"The lowest price for the Palmer House on travelaxe.com was $155.69, but the good news is priceline.com will accept a bid of $56 for a four-star in the Loop, so that's either the Palmer House, Chicago Hilton, Fairmount or Burnham."
Also:
"Travelaxe.com has it for $89, but priceline.com has it for $49. You know that you're bidding on the Westin because there's no other four-star hotel in the Crown Center area."
To say "will accept" or "has it"(?) for a given future bid is deceptive. The last line about the Westin is also factually incorrect.
Programs: Piggly Wiggly "Shop the Pig!" Preferred Shopper
Posts: 8,180
Trader, you're right that this guy is in error about the Crown Center hotels, and it might be better for him to mention the possibility that $56 might not cut it in the Loop. However, several BFT users have reported success at $56 in the last couple of months. A few others have succeeded in the low $60s. In other words, if he's off at all, it's not by much.
So, one factual error and excessive confidence that he'll get that $56 rate make this guy a scam? A bit of an overstatement, don't you think?
Not really. The words on the page have him definitively quoting prices. Sounds like we're in agreement he's at a minimum being deceptive.
And although I'm no BFT fan, it seems like in addition to the problems he'll have when a new hotel pops up or he's otherwise unable to deliver on his 'excessive confidence', if he's getting newspapers to quote copyrighted BFT quotes without attribution he'll eventually have a problem there too.
Programs: Piggly Wiggly "Shop the Pig!" Preferred Shopper
Posts: 8,180
Any claim to supposedly copyrighted BFT bid info. would be the least of this guy's problems. BFT doesn't own any legitimate copyright to its users' information on successful bids. If he were to start copying the writings of BFT owners/employees, that would be different. However, basic factual complilations are not eligible for copyright.
There have been bills in Congress to create a new form of intellectual property for such database information, but thus far none has become law.
