BOSTON -- TLC Marketing, located in Boston, is one of the most complained about companies in the state.

NewsCenter 5's Sean Kelly reported Monday that the business is accused of cheating hundreds of unsuspecting consumers all over the country.

TLC Marketing offers vacation freebies to people who buy from big retailers.

Linda Guiliano, of Winthrop, bought Dockers pants and Eleni Papadopoulos, of Randolph, purchased cell phones from T-Mobile because of promotions run by TLC.

Guiliano told Team 5 Investigatesthat she was promised two free hotel nights if she bought over $100 worth of Dockers pants.

Eleni Papadopoulos said she and her husband were promised two free airplane tickets when she purchased new cell phones.

Both of them said TLC Marketing let them down when they tried to redeem their rewards.

"I started calling and that's when I started getting the run around," said Papadopoulos.

"And when did you finally give up?" asked Kelly. "After I called TLC probably at least 50 times," answered Guiliano.

The Papadopouloses took their Orlando vacation but the last-minute $1,200 plane tickets came out of their own pocket.

The Guilianos had to pay for the two nights at the hotel that they had been told were free. Months later, the Guilianos finally got a credit for the pants.

"They're ripping people off," said Papadopoulos.

"It's a scam," said Guiliano.

Team 5 Investigates has learned both consumers are not alone.

"TLC Marketing is one of the most complained about businesses here at the Better Business Bureau," said Paula Fleming of the BBB.

The Better Business Bureau has received more than 1,000 complaints against TLC Marketing from consumers all over the country.

Collectively, they're out an estimated $275,000 worth of free travel.

"The majority of the customers have not been satisfied," said Fleming.

A nationwide class action lawsuit has been filed against TLC Marketing and two other merchants accusing them of perpetrating "an unlawful scheme" and forcing consumers to pay "undisclosed and excessive fees" in order to get what they were promised.

Walter Osterman, the founder of TLC Americas, was the man in charge of both promotions. He left the company back in April amid controversy.

"Why did the promotional programs in the end fail so many people?" asked Kelly.

"I'm sorry, I'm not being funny, are you talking about Dockers? T-Mobile?" asked Osterman.

"I'm talking about both," said Kelly.

"Ok, out of hundreds of clients every year, there's a few that didn't work out" said Osterman.

"Why didn't TLC deliver on its promise?" asked Kelly.

"We miscalculated the campaign. There were far more people redeeming their reward than we had ever assumed," said Osterman.

"Do you take responsibility for that?" asked Kelly.

"Yes, unfortunately, yes," answered Osterman.

"So you weren't running a scam?" asked Kelly.

"No, I wasn't running a scam at all" responded Osterman.

"Currently we're reaching out to the attorney general's office to work with TLC Marketing," said Fleming.

A spokesman for TLC's new management said the company deeply regrets any problems experienced by promotion participants in the past. The company said it is now considering ways in which it may be able to rectify the complaints.

For more information on the class action lawsuit, click this link.