3OYS helps Mesa woman in recouping $3,700 for cruise

3 ON YOUR SIDE (3TV) – Shelby Keen and her family are cruise enthusiasts.

[WATCH: Mesa woman nearly loses $3,700 while booking cruise]

“This is the day we took an excursion and we were returning to the ship,” Shelly told 3 On Your Side as she showed us pictures from a past cruise. “It’s so much fun. My family loves it. We’ve been on four cruises.”

And, they were looking forward to taking their fifth cruise this coming summer on Royal Caribbean. Shelby says she booked the Alaska cruise after coming across an ad from a company called Hopkins Travel Services based out of Baltimore. It was a “buy one, get one free” offer at a bargain price of only $1,850.

“So, that included two flights, roundtrip, hotel room for when we got there in Seattle and the entire cruise,” Shelby said.

“All for only $1,850?” 3 On Your Side’s Gary Harper asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

The price was so cheap that Shelby booked two cabins for a total of $3,700 and she gave Hopkins Travel Services her Capital One credit card number to pay for it all.

That was way back in March. However, not long ago, Shelby started reading negative internet reviews regarding Hopkins Travel Services and those reviews concerned her.

“I just started doing my homework and doing some research and started Googling and I did not have to look far,” she said.

Shelby discovered some startling news reports indicating the FBI was investigating Hopkins Travel Services.

According to the news reports, numerous consumers complained they were fraud victims because the trips they paid Hopkins Travel Services were never actually booked. Instead, they claim the travel agency simply kept their money.

“It was hundreds of different customers that were affected by this on several different cruises that were booked,” Shelby said the news reports indicated.

And Shelby says she too discovered she turned out to be a victim because Royal Caribbean informed her Hopkins Travel Services never actually booked her Alaskan cruise totaling $3,700.

And to make matters worse, when Shelby filed a dispute to get her money back from Capital One, she says the credit card company told her “no” and denied her claim.

“So, you’re on the hook for $3,700?” Harper asked.

“Correct,” Shelby said.

So, 3 On Your Side got involved and after sending Capital One those alarming news reports regarding the FBI’s investigation in Hopkins Travel Services, they reversed Shelby’s denial.

In fact, Capital One immediately credited her account more than $1,850 twice for a total of $3,700.

Shelby says it only happened with the help of 3 On Your Side.

“Absolutely. It’s been so amazing. I’m so grateful for 3 On Your Side and for Gary Harper,” Shelby said.

3 On Your Side tried to get a hold of Hopkins Travel Services but they never called us back.

Regardless, the family says they’re looking forward to using the money to book another cruise and this time, they say they’ll do it without a travel agent.

Capital One sent 3 On Your Side the following statement.

“Discovering that you’ve been a victim of fraud can be alarming and frustrating. We urge our customers to be careful about offers that appear to be too good to be true, and to research the company offering the suspicious promotion to see what other customers have to say. In cases where a customer feels they have been defrauded by a merchant or that the goods they received were not as promised, we always encourage customers to reach out to us directly so we can initiate a dispute on their behalf.”