A Nova Scotia woman is hoping her bad experience with a travel agency will serve as a warning to others.

Anne Laugher learned a costly lesson when she signed up with Sundream Holidays, a Canadian travel club that boasts deep discounts to destinations around the world. Laugher dealt with salesman John Veinot at the Dartmouth office.

"He was quite the sales person," she said. "It was looking really good, I like to travel. My husband likes to travel. The membership, he was explaining, also would be extended to your family - my daughter and her husband travel a lot."

Laugher and her husband signed up for a program that offered great deals if they paid for a membership fee. She agreed, and gave the company nearly $2,900 up front, and $25 a month after that.

"He was telling us that these deals are phenomenal. He had posters on the wall that say you can take an Alaskan cruise, for instance, I think it was $499."

But Veinot is known to police. He was convicted of fraud for running a similar travel scheme in Saskatchewan. Club members lost more than $130,000 as the business collapsed. Veinot received a three-year sentence for that charge.

Last year, when Halifax Regional police learned he was operating in Dartmouth, they issued a warning to the public.

Buyer Beware

Laugher didn't know Veinot's history, and spent months trying to line up her vacations to no avail.

Jill Atkinson says there are still several unresolved complaints against Sundream Holidays. (CBC)

"I want to spread the word. I want it known that SunDream in Nova Scotia at least, possibly in Ontario because I certainly haven't been satisfied with the response from Windsor, that it's known buyer beware."

She eventually took Sundream to small claims court and this week, she won.

Laugher also reported the incident to the Better Business Bureau. She wasn't the only one.

"We've had 28 complaints with the company, 25 just in 2012," said Jill Atkinson of the BBB. She said the company has not responded to 15 of those complaints, and another six have not been resolved.

The BBB gave Sundream an F rating. The company's Dartmouth office is now closed.