Florida "Sellers of Travel Act" Statute Application
My question: Does a Florida-based travel company have to observe the Florida state statute "Sellers of Travel Act" regardless of the purchaser's state of residency?
Back story: My fiancé just registered for a cruise in Florida for June of 2010. She had responded to a promotional mailing and called the Florida-based travel agency, Caribbean Cruise Line, to get more details. The sales rep (and his manager) were very smooth-talking, pushy types and were not really giving her time to think things over, pressing for immediate registration and payment. Normally my fiancé is very leery of these types of offers, but this time she let her guard down because it was for our honeymoon and she wanted to get a good deal. After registering, she went online and did some digging on this company. It turns out that this company has countless complaints against them for false and/or misleading advertising, failure to perform contractual obligations, and extremely poor customer service, among other things. Upon discovering this, she immediately called the company back and requested a refund. They flat-out denied her request, stating the company has a 'no refunds' policy. She recited the Florida state law "Sellers of Travel Act" section 559.933 which covers vacation certificate cancellation and refund provisions. This reads: "--It shall be unlawful for any seller of travel or assignee: (1) To fail or refuse to honor a purchaser's vacation certificate request to cancel if such request is made: (a) Within 30 days from the date of purchase or receipt of the vacation certificate, whichever occurs later." It goes on but this is the part that applies to our situation. The rep then told my fiancé that they do not have to observe this statute since she does not live in Florida (she lives in Ohio). My question is this: does a Florida-based company have to observe the Florida state statute "Sellers of Travel Act" regardless of the purchaser's state of residency? Thank you for any assistance you can offer.
Re: Florida "Sellers of Travel Act" Statute Application
Read the definitions. It appears to me like their location in Florida is sufficient.
Quote:
Quoting Florida Statutes, Sec. 559.927 - Definitions.
(6) "Offer for sale" means direct or indirect representation, claim, or statement or making an offer or undertaking, by any means or method, to arrange for, provide, or acquire travel reservations or accommodations, tickets for domestic or foreign travel by air, rail, ship, or other medium of transportation, or hotel and motel accommodations or sightseeing tours by a seller of travel who maintains a business location in Florida or who offers to sell to persons in Florida/
But there are a lot of exceptions to the Act, one or more of which may apply.
Re: Florida "Sellers of Travel Act" Statute Application
They are located in Florida and are subject to the act. It makes no difference where the customer is located at the time of purchase. As if the legislature writes laws that say they don't apply if the customer is from out of state! That is beyond totally absurd.
They just don't think she can do much from out of state.