I remember our first trip to Jamaica more than 13 years ago. It was our first cruise and Ocho Rios was one of the ports of call.

Ronda and I climbed Dunn’s River Falls and after the falls a local took a Polaroid of us and handed it to me.

Not knowing the local “landscape” at the time, I took possession of the Polaroid from the man’s hands – and before I knew it – he was asking for $5.00. For a stinkin’ Polaroid picture! When I told him “no” and tried to hand it back, he pushed my hand away only to stick his other hand out for his $5.00 “picture fee”. The more I told him I wasn’t interested – the more he insisted.

I finally ended up dropping his picture on the ground and walking away.

When we got back on board that afternoon I saw a number of souvenir shirts that read what’s pictured here.

I swore at that moment that our next trip to Jamaica would include this shirt.

We’ve been back several times since then, and I can’t remember which cruise I found it on, but it’s one of my favorite shirts I keep in my drawer.

Yesterday afternoon I got a Google Alert that made me think of this shirt. So I pulled it out, ironed it (it was really wrinkled) and took a snapshot of it just for this article.

Why? Because there are really stupid people in this world who can’t take “NO” for an answer.

Remember the the $100 million Class Action filed two years ago that’s been pulverized, beaten, and obliterated by the Courts turning the entire lawsuit into a very amusing joke? Well it just took a turn for the worse from “joke” to total “embarrassment” because they’re at it – AGAIN!

I wasn’t kidding when I said these idiots think Class Action lawsuits are like cats who have nine lives. It’s simply refilled for another shot. There have been six rulings over the last two years which the Court has denied or dismissed on separate occasions – and instead changing their stance – coming at it from another angle, or better yet – just admitting defeat – these pin heads just keep spouting the same tired argument over and over again.

After six ruling against them, I’m sorry, but it’s time to consider a Mental Health evaluation, not a Lawyer.

What’s even more mind blowing is their claims and position hasn’t changed a single bit. The latest filing is almost verbatim of the first suit file two years ago. It’s the same bogus myths and pyramid scheme mantra with the same cast of characters. What happened to words like “failed”, “corrected”, “deficiency”, “amending”, “incorrectly”, and “realized after 100 hours of arguing”?

Apparently, it was nothing more than lip service. Nothing’s changed and they haven’t learned a blessed thing.

True to form – they’re myths and illusions are spot on – and your knowledge and experience is wrong. The Courts have called this ordeal an “ungainly monster” and used specific words like “redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter” in one ruling, and “the very definition of a fishing expedition” in another ruling.

A Zealots response? Damn the torpedoes – we’re going full speed ahead.

I’m sorry guys…but I have zero tolerance for this kind of stupidity and arrogance. Zealots like this, and the “professional” gang like Frenaye and Stilphen who continue to pitch this pyramid scheme mantra are just dumber than dirt. Anyone who wants to hitch their wagon to this dead horse is only hurting themselves and their reputation. There’s no gray area after all this time and all these rulings.

The answer is still going to be “NO”.

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A four year old class action lawsuit looks as if it will finally close pending court approval in December to the tune of $123.4 million to be paid by Expedia, and another $5.5 million to be paid by Hotwire. The suit filed back in 2005 came to a head back in June when a Superior Court ruled that Expedia collected a total of $184.4 million in service fees which the company pocketed as “pure profit” from consumers who purchased hotel stays and other travel packages between 2003 and 2006. The judgment is currently the largest award in Washington state history for a consumer class action.

When the ruling was handed down back in June, Expedia was quoted that it would “vigorously pursue our rights on appeal“, but changed it’s mind due to the high cost of the litigation and the additional time it would take to appeal. Instead, Expedia was able to deny any wrongdoing in the settlement, and has set aside $19 million for the class action settlement, a low end estimate of the cost associated with the settlement.

The class action case was based on unfair business practices and breach of contract in the way the online travel company paid taxes. Not only did Expedia bundled the service-fee charges with taxes into a single line item, but collected taxes based a higher retail price, when they paid wholesale, thus pocketing the difference.

Expedia’s second quarter profit fell to $41 million, down from $96 million a year ago – a 57% drop.

Although we don’t see much about the hotel tax issue at all on message boards and blogs due to over aggressive concerns concerning Travel MLM’s being “flawed”, the battle over traditional online travel companies has been a heated debate in courts all across the continent.

In June, a Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that Expedia and Hotwire had to pay $35.6 million to the city of San Francisco. A Georgia Supreme Court has also required Expedia to pay the city of Columbus, Ga. a 7% tax on the retail rate of hotel rooms, which forced Expedia and other online agencies to cease doing business completely in the city. New York adopted a new hotel-occupancy tax ordinance requiring that OTA’s remit taxes to hotels based on the net rate, then pay the city an additional taxes for service fees or margins. Also in Canada, an Ontario Superior Court is seeking $47.5 million in damages for violating Canada’s Competition Act and Consumer Protection Act for disguising taxes and service fees.

In all, some 46 city and county taxing districts have filed lawsuits due to this issue.

But what will critics in the travel industry be talking about today? An overly aggressive and unfounded theory about how YTB will run out of people to recruit in some “pay to play” pyramid scheme suit up in Illinois. (An issue that has already been thrown out in a District Court there for being redundant, immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous.)

For those that desire to reside in reality, or have been “taken” by the concealment of service fees by Expedia over the years now have several options according to the Expedia Litigation Settlement Website.

1. Tell them you want a cash settlement (Send me a check)
2. Tell them you would like a credit (To be used on a future Expedia purchase)
3. Object to the settlement (It was all some big “misunderstanding” and it’s YTB’s fault.)
4. Opt out (You don’t care to receive cash or credit now due.)

Here’s what you need to be considered and qualify as part of the settlement:

You need to have “made a “standalone” hotel reservation through Expedia between January 10, 2001 and June 11, 2008 and paid a bundled “Tax Recovery Charge” and “Service Fee” in connection with that booking…

and/or

…you made any hotel reservation (either “standalone,” or as part of a “package” including airfare and/or car rental) through Expedia between February 18, 2003 and December 11, 2006 and paid a “Tax Recovery Charge” and “Service Fee” charge in connection with that booking”

A Final Approval hearing will be held on December 1, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. to determine if the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate – whether the Named Plaintiffs will receive incentive awards in an amount not to exceed $7,500 each – decide if counsel should receive an award of attorneys’ fees and costs – or Order of Final Judgment and Dismissal should be entered.

While the final chapter certainly hasn’t closed on the subject of unfair and deceptive trade practices, it is however apparent at this point that many have taken issue and given notice over the Expedia issue. We’ll see what comes in the future for YTB concerning the claims surrounding YTB and this nonsense about misleading and deceiving people. While it has returned $125K to consumers in California, it’s a small pittance compared to the $129 MILLION settlement with Expedia.

But as we’ve seen for the past few years, YTB is apparently a bigger threat and far more dominant in the minds of a select few who want to wallow in thier own illusions that YTB is the real problem in the travel industry.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Do You ZamZuu?