Avoid Vaction Scams By Vacation Travel Club
Monday, July 27th, 2009 Avoiding Vacation and Travel Scams has become a very popular topic this travel season. The team at Vacation Travel Club has compiled a list of common and avoidable travel and vacation related scams that you may encounter while traveling this Vacation season.
Vacation Travel Club is a leader in the online discount vacation industry. Vacation Travel Club offers their members some of the greatest savings and benefits in the industry. The tips to avoid vacation related scams below are provided for information purposes only.
1. Fake car park attendants. Previously prevalent in Italy, this travel scam now pops up in many big European cities, where parking can be notoriously difficult.
The trick can take many forms. You may just drive onto a piece of wasteland where other cars are parked or you may enter a big, official parking lot.
Either way, a “parking attendant” approaches you and hands you an official looking ticket, usually demanding a fairly exorbitant fee. You’re tired, frustrated and there’s a language problem, so you just hand over the cash.
Later, you discover you’re either parked illegally or there’s another fee to pay — this time, the real one.
Action: You put yourself at risk if you don’t know who owns the place where you’re parking or what the real arrangements are for payment. Check them out the best you can. You can ask the attendant to show credentials — but avoid confrontation.
2. Phony travel guides. You may have seen this trick in the movie Slumdog Millionaire.
At a famous venue, a local offers to show you around for a fee. This may be a fairly obvious and transparent ruse, where he’s just trying to make a quick buck.
But some scammers pose as agents for official guides, taking your money and telling you to wait at a particular spot. Of course, they never return and there’s no official guide.
Action: Guidebooks and online sites will tell you the arrangements for official, paid tours.
3. Bad cola, bad karma. In the Indian subcontinent, be wary of drinking unknown beverages when you opt for a familiar Pepsi or Coca-Cola labeled bottle at a roadside cafe, known as a “dhaba.”
What you might get is a carbonated drink that looks (and even tastes) quite like the genuine item. But the only genuine things are the bottle and the cap.
The drinks are made by gangs of street-wise youngsters, who collect thousands of used bottles and caps.
The drinks are usually mixed and bottled in unsanitary conditions in derelict buildings. Drinking them is definitely unsafe.
Action: Even though many dhabas sell genuine colas, you may want to play safe by not purchasing from them and buy drinks at your hotel.
4. Rental car repair rip-off. In this world travel scam, most common in Eastern Europe, you return your rental car, but when the attendant tries to move it, it won’t restart.
They make up a story about what’s wrong with it (usually, they’ve just flooded the carburetor) and blame you. The “cost” of putting things right is often the same as any security deposit you might have paid in advance.
If you didn’t pay a deposit, they demand money now and may even try to confiscate your luggage until you hand over the money. They’re banking on you being in a hurry, and become aggressive if you refuse to pay.
Action: Return your car with plenty of time to spare and ask to see the manager or owner if there’s a problem. Ideally, though, rent your car from a reputable-name agency with whom you can dispute the issue when you get back home.
5. Downgrading your hotel. This is an old travel scam that’s suddenly reappeared in the past year.
You check in at your hotel and are dismayed to learn that your room is in another nearby establishment that’s usually nowhere near as nice. The practice is called “walking.”
Most likely, the hotel has overbooked but it’s also possible someone at the hotel is on the take.
Action: Try refusing the sw
itch — hotels nearly always have empty rooms in reserve. Ask to see the manager or contact whoever made your travel arrangements. If you are prepared to accept the alternative, ask for compensation.
6. Free holiday awards. Although a well known travel scam, we can’t miss out mentioning the “you’ve-won-a-free-vacation” scratch card trick because it’s probably the number one scam on many European and Caribbean beaches this year.
There are numerous angles but the scam boils down to two things — you’ll either have to pay a “processing fee” to get your otherwise free vacation, which is really non-existent, or you’ll be asked to attend a tedious presentation where they try to sell you timeshares or expensive vacation add-ons with high pressure sales tactics.
Action: Every one of these cards is a winner — that ought to be enough to tell you what to do, but we’ll say it anyway: Treat these the same way you would an email that says you’ve won a lottery — trash them.
7. Credit card problems. This is our catch-all for numerous tricks you need to be on the lookout for this year. These are the key ones:
- Try not to let your credit card out of your sight when you’re using it in an unfamiliar place. Out of sight, the number and the crucial security code printed on the reverse could be written down.
- Don’t be taken in by a trader in a foreign country who offers to bill your card in dollars, thereby saving you a foreign exchange fee from your card issuer. The trader will almost certainly use an extortionate exchange rate and you’ll end up out of pocket.
- Check how much your credit card issuer charges for foreign transactions. Some charge nothing, others as much as 3% of the value of the transaction.
8. Don’t hit that Cash Send button. This is a new one that’s cropped up in South Africa and may appear in other parts of the African continent.
ATMs are equipped with a button labeled “CashSend” which enables users to transfer money to other people, even those who don’t have a bank account. They can withdraw it from another ATM.
This is a legitimate banking convenience but tricksters apparently can set up a transfer on an ATM before you use it. They then stand behind you and urge you to hit the CashSend button to speed up your withdrawal.
Action: Just don’t hit that button!
9. Paying for paper tickets. When you book a flight online, you usually have the option of just using an “e-ticket” (basically a printout of your booking confirmation that you take to the check-in desk) or having an old-fashioned paper ticket mailed to you for an additional fee.
Usually, this is $10, which is what the International Air Transport Association says it costs.
But some unscrupulous travel agents and organizers are charging up to $40 or $50 for this questionable privilege.
Vacation Travel Club offers a discount vacation and travel membership that saves travelers up to 65% on select Vacation and Travel products and services. You can learn more about Vacation Travel Club online by Visiting: http://www.VacationTravelClub.org
Low cost Webhosting Services Review
Monday, July 27th, 2009Getting affordable hosting is a vital pace in getting your site on the web. There are numerous choices for web hosting companies available on current market. Even So, the various options can sometime make the inexperienced web owners confuse which one to choose. One thing I want to advice for everyone who are searching for a hosting account, don’t set your decision just from the costs. While many of us are sensitive about price, I must tell you that there are more factors you need to consider when taking a good webhosting service for your web site.
In this post I will talk about three cheap webhosting companies you may use as a thought when you need a webhosting service. I select those three since the prices are truly inexpensive without lowering their service quality.
Hostgator
This is likely one of the most famous hosting company around. Presently they host more then a million websites in all of their servers. Their hosting packages costs are cheap and the hosting reliability is excellent. This company has a top notch client support staffs that will help you anytime you have any problems with your webhosting account. You can find more details about the company on this post, Hostgator Review. http://getahosting.com/hostgator-review/
Hostmonster
This is the other webhosting company you have to look for if you need a hosting account for your web site. Hostmonster has been in this industry for many years with so many happy customers. They offer a great webhosting deal at a really cheap price. Find more about their service at this Hostmonster Review. http://getahosting.com/hostmonster-review/
Bluehost
This webhosting company offers similar webhosting package with hostmonster before. The webhosting features are identical, and the price is also really cheap. Bluehost is one of the best web hosting companies with almost a million web sites hosted on their servers. Sure this is a sign that customers are happy buying their service. For more detailed information regarding their web hosting plan, I advise you to see this Bluehost Review. http://getahosting.com/bluehost-review/
Presently, I personally have more then one web hosting account on each of these companies. All I can tell you is, they are great and I recommend my readers to take a look at them.
ActivegameZ.com Hits the Spot
Sunday, July 26th, 2009You may be a straight up game head or the occasional player, it doesn’t matter. There are so many choices on this website that it’s safe to say there’s something for everyone, young and old alike. ActivegameZ.com hits the spot because there’s quality, variety, excitement and more in the games selection they have.
It’s true, there are a lot of different websites that say they have games. I’ve been to a few and frankly, they just don’t cut it for me. But this spot is different. Take online RPG games for example. Getting involved in one of these games is satisfying on so many different levels. You don’t just start playing a game, you get an opportunity to feel like you are the character.
You can move around in fantasy games where you interact with other players from around the world. Gone are the days when a monochrome screen bleeps a symbol back and forth. These games actually come to life on your screen and take you on and adventure that gets your adrenaline pumping.
You’ll start to look forward to these exiting games more and more when you discover that you don’t have to play the same game twice in a row if you don’t want. For those realistic-looking characters that you can customize, ActivegameZ.com is the perfect website.
Holiday-themed games, warriors, fantasies and even daily life type games are all available. When you’ve got the urge to get into a good game or two, you’ll find more selection and variety in high quality games than the majority of those other sites.
Whether it’s mazes or castles, war and tactics or being an apprentice, you can find a wide selection of :online strategy games at ActivegameZ.com. Many of these games feature low bandwidth with minimal kb usage but offer full features, brilliant colors, excellent sound and more.
If you’re like me, you’ve got a few of the best toys around when it comes to online games, so why not choose a site that’s fitting of your gaming experience? To me, very little compares to the enjoyment that comes from a great adventure with dozens of levels to strategize my way through.
Younger players can play strategies on various levels that help to increase memory and lets them enjoy hours of good fun all at the same time. Battles, bubbles, bombs, stealth, dealing, dice, defense and so much more.
It’s your computer and you’re entitled to enjoy some of the best online games out there. When you’re ready to satisfy your urge to merge with fantasy and action, there’s no question that you have to give this website a try. You’re certain to find something that keeps you coming back again and again for more.
If you’ve had a long day at work or even just a particularly stressful moment during the day, you can get into one of your favorite online games and unwind with some fire power or action-packed chasing that hits your spot and helps you relax into your evening.
Contour belts to keep you fit!!
Friday, July 24th, 2009Health is money as we always says, maintaining a slim and sleek body is the ambition of many. contour abs is one boon to people who would like to maintain their body under perfect shape. The ab contour belt are made with gel pads that can be fixed over your abdomen muscles. The gel pads enable the contour belts to send charges across the abdominal muscles. These charges enable the muscles to increase in size and lessen giving movements to the muscles.
contour belt also offer trial period free of cost, you can decide based on the usage and then buy if you really see any variation. The major advantage of contour belts is we don’t have to do any strain after wearing the belts, the belt will do its job. The initial offers posted by the contour belt were really good and there were big discounts. The contour belt not only maintains the muscles but also gives strength to the muscles. The contour abs doesn’t differ in size and mostly fits everyone who uses it after minor adjustment. The comment of most of the users says that the belt is worth buying and really does the job.
Avail the best Laparoscopic Training
Friday, July 24th, 2009There is large amount of scope that is being provided in the field of the laparoscopy. The Laparoscopic Fellowship offers best chance to acquire the fellowship in the minimal access surgery for range of people such as the gynaecologists, paediatrics, urologists and the general surgeon. The time period that is essential to avail this fellowship is fourteen days. This fellowship program will be of great use to upgrade the skills involved in the minimal access surgery. The Laparoscopic Diploma is another program that provides post graduate course for all the gynaecologists and also the general surgeons to undertake a four week long study process. This diploma training program will provide efficient training to enhance the skills. The important feature of this training is that it enables the participants to develop their own capabilities in the research and the theoretical part. The Laparoscopic Training is aimed at providing people with quality laboratory environment to learn many new things. Also this training will offer them with the vital experience in the operation theatre. The certificates will be provided by the world association of the laparoscopic association for all the training courses that are mentioned above. These programs will definitely benefit the people to upgrade their abilities.
VESA Brackets For New Generation TV’s
Friday, July 24th, 2009The picture quality the lcd and plasma tv’s offer make it virtually impossible for most of us to orientate towards old standard tv’s. Apart from the matter of the price, which is a little bit higher than prices for regular tv’s, lcd, plasma and the new led technology television sets represent the future and it will not be long until old television sets will disappear. Another advantage is the design and of course the size of these new generation television sets. They can either be installed on a small piece of furniture like regular tv’s or be mounted on the wall, by using VESA Wall Brackets, with the greatest of ease.
When mounted on the wall with a VESA Mount, a new generation lcd or plasma tv has the look and size of a regular painting. If you are planning to mount install the VESA Brackets yourself, you should first assess the quality of the wall you are planning to install the tv on. While installing vesa brackets on dry walls is possible professionals highly advise untrained individuals to try and perform such installations because they could lead to irreparable damages to the walls.
Once you have decided that the wall is suitable and able to sustain a vesa mount along with the tv, you can move on to the next step, which is to find out the exact measurements of your tv so that you can precisely determine the optimum position for it. The best idea is to pick up the owner’s manual and get the exact measurements for the mounting holes also. With this information you can now start searching for a suitable vesa mount. The number of vesa brackets manufacturers is quite large, so you need to make sure you purchase a vesa mount especially made for your specific tv. Also, vesa wall brackets need to be constructed out of sturdy materials in order to ensure a safe usage. For those of you that do not know, VESA stands for Video Electronics Standards Association, and all vesa wall brackets manufacturers need to abide to the strict regulations imposed by VESA.
Another aspect that is very important when purchasing a vesa mount is the actual functions are needed and expected from the vesa mount. If you have multiple pieces of furniture in a room and think you might need to reposition your tv to face the area you stand in, then you should take a look at tilting vesa brackets or maybe at cantilever tv vesa wall brackets. It all depends on what your needs are. If you, however, only need the tv to be positioned at viewing level, and do not need it to rotate, swivel, tilt and so on, then the best choice for you is the fixed vesa mount.
Ultra Slim TV Brackets For The TV’s Of Today
Friday, July 24th, 2009Until the end of the last decade television sets haven’t had a drastic change in design since the mid ?80s. When plasma tv’s hit the market they were seen as a large technologic boom. However, the prices for this technology were highly restrictive and not many people were able to afford purchasing such tv’s. In fact, most of these products were purchased by corporations and wealthy families.
Nowadays, the prices for plasma tv’s have plummeted so drastically that prices for these products pretty much match the ones for new generation lcd tv’s. The technology that goes into building LCD tv’s allows for a quality that is comparable to that of plasma tv’s. One of the biggest advantages that both these technologies offer over the regular old television sets is the saving of living space. You no longer need to set up a small table or another piece of furniture to accommodate the television set.
Now it is as easy as purchasing a VESA Bracket or TV Wall Mounting Brackets and installing the tv on the wall, or even on the ceiling if you so desire. Mounting your tv using a vesa bracket or tv wall mounting wall brackets is not the hardest task for anyone that has done a little handy work around the house and knows how to work his way around a drill and some screws. Other than that, mounting a tv using tv wall mounting brackets or Ultra Slim TV Brackets only requires some measuring to determine the exact distance between the mounting holes. Another thing you need to do is browse through the instructions manual for your tv and find out exactly how much it weighs and also the exact dimensions of the product to find a good vesa bracket. With this information you can now go online and do a little browsing to find a good product, from the large variety of tv wall mounting brackets, to fit your tv exactly.
Apart from having to fit the size of your tv, tv wall mounting brackets also have to be able to sustain the weight of your tv. With the large number of manufacturers from all over the world making tv wall mounting brackets and ultra slim tv brackets, you have to make sure to choose a product that will stand the test of time and will not fail and lead to a small catastrophe, because as you probably know lcd tv’s are not exactly cheap. Another useful advice is to stay away from universal or all-in-one products because they will most likely not fit your product perfectly and might need some adjustments that usually lead to spoiling the appearance of the vesa bracket.
Purchasing The Correct Television Brackets For Our Television Sets
Friday, July 24th, 2009With the large number of lcd tv and plasma tv manufacturers offering a wide array of products, we are now also flooded with a large number of companies that offer Television Brackets and Plasma Brackets, so purchasing the wrong bracket for a specific television set is a pretty common mistake among lcd tv and plasma tv owners. With so many products now available pretty much everywhere, the most common question that pops in the mind of consumers is ‘Which out of all these products is right for my tv?’ To avoid having to replace television brackets or even the not so cheap tv if you are unfortunate enough, here are some useful tips and advice to help you decide on the right product from the large variety of television brackets and plasma brackets out there. Firstly, you must know or find out the exact type of television you have, or at least find out. You should know the manufacturer and the exact series of your particular product.
Also you could take the time to find out the measurements of your tv’s mounting holes, or even measure yourself. The next step is to go online and take a look at all the available products that have different functions and options. You can browse the internet by using one of the many search engines. Simply enter keywords such as ‘Tilting Television Brackets‘, ?all television brackets’, ‘plasma brackets’, or ‘types of television brackets’. You will get plenty of results so take a few minutes to sift through them and find one that is suitable for your needs. You do not need to purchase tilting television brackets if you are planning to watch tv from the comfort of your couch or arm chair. If you, however, have more than one couch, purchasing tilting television brackets might be a good idea, as you will probably want to change the angle of your tv to optimize the viewing experience.
For use in the kitchen, ceiling mounted tilting television brackets are great, as you have the option of adjusting the television to face the area where you spend more time in at a particular moment. Swivel television brackets usually come in the form of cantilever tv brackets that allow you to pull out the tv and move it from side to side to face virtually any area you desire. The one thing you must know is that the more options plasma brackets or television brackets have, the larger and bulkier they are, so if you are looking for a smaller and discreet look for your tv, forget about swiveling and tilting television brackets and go for the generic and simple television brackets.
Is Purchasing The Cheapest TV Brackets A Good Idea?
Friday, July 24th, 2009At first glance, this question can only have one answer only, and the answer is heck no! I mean who in their right mind would be willing to risk damaging their brand new LCD TV. Many feel that purchasing the Cheapest TV Brackets or the cheap Desk brackets is normally an unnecessary risk, but the truth is the materials that go into building Ceiling TV Brackets, desk brackets, wall brackets, and the rest of brackets out there, is the same with both cheap and more expensive products.
There is no reason why you should not purchase cheap ceiling tv brackets; you just have to be extra careful to make sure that the manufacturer has not made any cuts in quality, well too many cuts for that matter. The same rule that applies to marketing in general also applies to desk brackets and tv brackets in general. This rule is, the more famous the brand, the more expensive the products that specific brand offers its clients. So, if you have purchased a few things before you know that if a product is pricier than another it does not necessarily mean that it is better also.
Buying the cheapest tv brackets or any cheapest products for that matter usually means you will have to be a bit more attentive than usual, simply because you tend to suspect something is wrong, but the truth is if you check the product out and maybe even conduct some superficial research on the internet to see what other people have to say about that product then you are probably as safe to purchase desk brackets or ceiling tv brackets that are significantly cheaper than their more famous counterparts.
The variety of tv brackets is quite large, so you should learn a bit more about your specific type of product you would like to purchase, or better said the product that fits your needs best. Here are a few examples of tv brackets that you can purchase virtually anywhere nowadays. There are ceiling tv brackets, desk brackets, wall brackets, tilt wall brackets, swivel wall brackets, and many, many more. All the above can be used and come in different forms for lcd tv’s, regular tv’s, plasma tv’s and are now even constructed for the new generation led tv’s. Normal tv fixed brackets are the most widely used brackets.
Most people seek these products because they offer a good functionality without taking up much space. Choosing the right product can be quite disorientating with all the different types of mounts available, so if you are looking for a simple bracket that will firmly hold your tv on the wall, and you do not need it to rotate, tilt, or anything similar than you can safely turn towards the cheapest tv brackets. Just make sure you do your research.
It’s easy to paint a fridge or freezer
Friday, July 24th, 2009 We usually talk about fridges only in terms of their functionality. They are there to politely cool and / or freeze our food and anything else some people put in them. The place I live in at the moment is equipped with two tiny fridges. Sometimes (rarely) they’re both so full I wish we had a bigger one but most of the time their size is more then sufficient. They have greater functionality than a lot of a lot bigger larder fridges. I can hardly imagine why people use fridges without an ice box. Probably most of them own a small freezer beside their larder fridges. But a separate small freezer means you need a BIG place.
Anyway, recently I got an idea about how to spend my time doing something really useful for the decoration of pur apartment. I’ll try to copy this: A bunch of guys took a couple of Gorenje fridges, carried (that’s why they HAD to be guys, although I don’t know for sure) them to a field and sprayed them all over. The result can be seen below, my opinion is they did a great job. I’m sure a friend of mine who owns a small freezer I talked about before and another friend with two larder fridges will join in. We all have Gorenje fridges so maybe we’ll be able to sell our ‘product’ to Gorenje for a commercial or something.
