Three friends from Omaha, all single women, thought they’d arranged the perfect vacation, only to discover they may have been burned long before ever getting to the beach.

Their kids are grown so Linda Chandler, April Winans and Nancy Zagozda planned a January trip to Cancun. “Getting together with us girls and just going out on the beach,” says April.

Nancy received a fax at work for a great deal, a dream vacation to Cancun for $299 each. The friends have to get to Florida on their own, but from there the vacation offer promised hotel rooms and round-trip airline tickets to Cancun.

"Two hundred ninety-nine dollars and he promised there would be no more fees," says Nancy. "Well, we’ve gotten fees and fees.”

Each woman paid $733, only to wait months for confirmation of flights from Florida to Cancun. The women said they sent the travel agency 63 e-mails and called dozens of times without getting flight confirmation. They had only a few days before a deadline to cancel hotel reservations without losing a deposit.

“I probably should have those tomorrow? You said this four months ago.”

The Better Business Bureau reports that the travel agency has an "F" rating. “In the last 12 months, 40 complaints, all seeming to be similar to complaints of these women," says BBB president Jim Hegarty.

The travel agency has several names, including Cancun Mexican Bureau of Travel and is located in Florida. After calls from the BBB and Six On Your Side, the company provided the women with flight confirmation so the vacation is on for sure.

“These are happy tears," says Nancy. "Instead of a snow shovel, I can go out and buy a swimsuit.”

If you receive an unsolicited vacation offer, dig deep before paying any money down. Research the hotel, the airline and most important, the travel agency doing the bookings.