[Resolved]  Country Vacations — Cheating and misleading about membership

Address:	500016
Website:	www.countryvacationsindia.com

We Partha Chakraborty and Dr Sheerja Bali are writing to you after your Country Club staff at Bangalore have dealt with us irresponsibly even committed forgery. Kindly note the events as stated below. We were approached by Country Club Koramangala offering us membership (club and vacations) on March 30th, 2016. When we had the presentation with Mr Fayum (Country Club Executive), we were offered- 1) India plus Asia package (for 30 years) along with the Gold membership cards for Rs 2, 59, 000. 2) We were told that we could book our vacation any time of the year, up to 1 week in advance. 3) We were told that this is a sale- able membership and that we had to contact the Country Cub office for that which had agents to do the mentioned. We would get back the original amount which was paid by us. This would be done after taking one vacation or after two years (whichever was earlier). Further Mr Fayum said, that we should contact the Country Club office who would arrange for the agents. 4) We had to pay an AMC of Rs 8500 for one year. In case we did not pay for some particular year, then the 7 days /6 night’s vacation for that particular year would not be carried forward. However, the other year’s vacations would be intact. 3) We were also told that cab facility will be provided from our home to the clubs for life- time if we paid an extra Rs 2, 500 (in cash). We were told that we would be getting the invoice for these payments in our registered mail ID. At this juncture we paid Rs 78, 000 (through debit card) plus Rs 2, 500 (in cash to Mr Fayum) and signed on the agreement. The rest of the amount was to be paid through EMI using credit card. After we returned home, the next day we got a call from Mr Fayum that he had not filled in certain payment details in the membership agreement asking us to visit him at the office again. This time when we met him, he offered us- 1) India plus World package (for 30 years) along with the Gold membership for RS 1, 60, 000. This was if we agreed to pay the entire amount on the spot thereby closing the deal. Thereby claiming to give us a discount of Rs 1 Lakh. 2) We were also offered 30 spa passes, and were told that this facility is available at the Country Club Bannerghatta Road. Also we were told that we would have to pay Rs 150 extra for the oil/ cream each time. On April 7th, 2016 we paid another Rs 82, 000 (through debit card) and closed the deal. After payment, while we were waiting for the final papers, Mr Fayum said " so final package is India plus Asia at Rs 1, 60, 000. " We were taken aback, because all this while Mr Fayum was talking of 'India plus World' package and after taking the money he switched his words and changed the deal! When we told him that was not what he had promised, he started to say that he can't take these decisions, but because we are saying he will talk to his manager if we pay another Rs 3000. He then came back after 10 minutes and told us that if we pay another Rs 3000 he will make it India plus World. We were upset by this sort of a game played with us, but we kept quiet and paid another 3000. So now the final closure was at Rs 1, 63 000 India plus world for 30 years. We were also told that the membership details would be updated in the app/ system within 1 week. On April 8th we called up Country Club at Bannerghattta Road which is near our home, to book the spa appointment. We were surprised to know that they do not have any spa facility, further enquiry revealed that the aforementioned spa facility existed only in Sarjapura road. When we called up Country Club at Sarjapur road we were told that we have to pay a sum of 350 rs (oil and cream) and not Rs 150 told to us by Mr Fayum. We asked for pick up and drop cab facility for which we have already paid Rs 2500 initially. The receptionist in Sarjapura Country club told us that they provided no such cab facility and that we should call back the person (Mr Fayum) who has promised us the same. When we called back Mr. Fayum he showed his ignorance and told us he was too busy to talk to us. We were again surprised by his tone because when he wanted us to close the deal he would call us repeatedly. We then called up customer care at Koramangala office and were put through to Mr Manoj who informed us that he will refer this matter to Mr Rueben who is the senior in charge and further he will get back to us in half an hour. We waited for his call which never came. We called up Mr Manoj again and we were told that he has gone out for lunch and he would call us back once he returns. We waited for another 2 hours and we were disappointed that no calls came. We cancelled the spa appointment and straight away went to the Koramangala office (SV Towers) and tried to seek an explanation from Mr Fayum and Mr Manoj. While waiting for Mr Fayum, a person asked us, whom we were waiting for and informed us that Mr Fayum will take another five minutes to come. We were made to wait for more than 30 mins before we could meet Mr Manoj or Mr Fayum, when we met them, we again had to explain our situation to them. Mr Manoj told us that he has already reported the matter to Mr Reubeen. When we further asked to meet with Mr Ruebeen Mr Manoj told us that Mr Reubeen is not available. When we asked why we were not told about non availability of the spa facility in Bannerghatta Road, Mr Fayum said he himself is not aware of that. We said, we are not satisfied with this kind of response and we would like to meet with their higher up. Mr Manoj and Mr Fayum told us that no one is available. We also questioned why we were misled about the cab facility and we had not yet received a bill for a sum of 2500 Rs, which Mr Fayum had taken from us via cash. We demanded a refund of the money. Instead of refunding Mr Manoj told us, “instead of the 2500 we will offer you another holiday for 3 nights and 2 days for anywhere in India”. We said we are not interested in such kind of a bargain and we want our money back. After hearing all this Mr Manoj said, we have signed a document for the cab facility, we said that there was no such document shown to us and insisted on meeting with a higher up. By this time nearly an hour and half had passed, and we were asked to wait again. Then Mr Manoj came and told he has the copy of the signed document with him which showed that we have agreed to pay 2500 for cab facility and club events. When we demanded the copy, he came up with a document which we were seeing for the first time. The document had forged signature of mine, along with wrong phone numbers and date of birth. We were stunned and refused to leave the office without meeting with Mr Reubeen. At this juncture a person entered at Mr Manoj’s office and introduced himself as Mr Reubeen. Please note that we met the same person earlier when we entered the Koramangala office while waiting for Mr Fayum. We were surprised to see him and told him that Mr. Manoj and Mr Fayum told us that he (Mr Reubeen) is not available in the office. He said he was very much available. We asked him why Mr Manoj and Mr Fayum were not letting us meet him. None of them had any answer for that. At this juncture another person (whom we later learnt was Mr Imran) entered the room and asked what the problem was all about. When we explained to them our situation and we also showed them the forged document, Mr Reubeen told them to give us the sum of 2500 back. However, Mr Imran said he doesn’t have the money. We also told Mr Manoj and Mr Fayum that forgery was a criminal offence and this matter could be taken to the court. After hearing this Mr Imran spoke in Telegu (unaware that we understand Telegu) to Mr Manoj ‘’Let them go to court, we shall also see what they can do’’. We were in utter disbelief that this is how the senior officials of Country Club were approaching our situation. When we told Mr Imran that we understood what he said, he immediately softened and changed his tone and said that he only said that because everyone were getting worked up. At this stage Mr Reubeen pacified us and gave us his personal number stating that he would ensure that he would send us Rs 2500 in cash to my wife’s office in four days. Despite feeling cheated we accepted Mr Reubeen’s requested and returned. After 4 days i.e., 11th April we waited for Mr Reubeen’s call which never came. I called back Mr Reubeen and he asked for another day’s time to sort this out. On Tuesday i.e., 12th April when we still did not get any response we wrote to central customer care and we got a call from them. We again explained to them the entire situation and we were promised that the issue would be sorted out within 1 week and someone from Koramangala office will call us up. Meanwhile we called up Mr Reubeen atleast 4 times over the next week and we were always promised that action is being taken. The same week we got a call from Mr Zahed Pasha introducing himself that he was calling us from the central customer care and he wanted to know the following 1) Who was writing the mail to the central customer care? Whether it was myself or my wife? 2) If I was not in India how could I even sign the agreement (As I work in Denmark) We took serious offence to this line of questioning and my wife asked them if they were questioning our integrity and did they need proof that I was in India when I signed the agreement. What was the meaning of such questions? Instead of solving our problem, why were they questioning us in this manner? Then Mr Zahed said that he is working with the Koramangala team and the problem will be solved soon. During this week on 18th April we received the BLUE country club membership cards by courier. This is the first time we came to know about the concept of different BLUE/RED/WHITE colored membership cards (BLUE/RED/WHITE card concept had never been told to us). At the time of signing the contract we were told that we can book our holiday as late as 1 week in advance. We also received a letter which informed us that our package is of 2, 59, 000 with 96, 000 as due. The next day we mailed customer care again reiterating the facts that our package is of 1, 63, 000 and we have no dues and that the BLUE colored card was never explained or informed to us. After repeated calls to Koramangala country club office and repeated messages to central customer care we finally got a call from Mr Manoj on 21st April asking us to visit the office and collect the money. On 22nd April at 12 noon I called up Mr Manoj and told him that my wife would come to collect the money and she would like to meet Mr Imran/Mr Reubeen. Mr Manoj told me that Mr Imran is not available and Mr Reubeen has moved to Adugudi office. Despite losing trust on Mr Manoj, my wife still went to the koramangala office to collect the money. Finally, my wife met Mr Manoj on 22nd April at 1.30 pm. She was returned the Rs 2500 in cash which had been falsely taken from us earlier. When she asked about why the package on the app is still incorrect showing total of Rs 2, 59, 000 with Rs 96, 000 due, she was told that it’s because we have not signed on the affidavit. When she asked to be shown the affidavit, the contents in it were different from the actual happenings. It stated that we had approached country club due to inability to pay the current package due to personal reasons, and as a gesture of goodwill, country club agreed to downgrade the package to Rs1, 63, 000.And thereby, we also forfeit the right to raise any complaint or grievance in the future. Now to begin with, I did not approach country club for anything. Mr Fayum called us and told us that if we pay Rs 1, 63, 000 at a time, there and then, he will close the deal. The membership promised was Rs1, 63, 000 for INDIA PLUS WORLD PACKAGE FOR A PERIOD OF 30 YEARS. I refuse to sign on any such affidavit which is incorrect, especially after the treatment given to us by country club. Had we been told about all this at the outset, we would never have taken the membership. She also asked as to why we were given the blue membership cards, when while signing up the membership we were never told about the concept of red/blue/white cards. We were never told that we would be given the blue cards. When we had earlier spoken to Mr Ruebeen about this, he said that we can book even 1 week in advance. Mr Manoj replied to this stating that we can do booking at a notice of even 10 days. Then when my wife asked, in that case why give a blue card? Is it not contrary to what the blue card stands for? However, Mr Manoj was unable to give a clear explanation and replied stating that country club only provides BLUE card for all members in Bangalore! This sort of information was completely new to us and was never been told by Mr Fayum initially. While my wife was talking to Mr Manoj, she happened to see Mr Imran in the office and she immediately called out to him and she told him that Mr Manoj was constantly telling her that he (Imran) was unavailable. Then she explained the situation again to Mr Imran, he said that this affidavit has been framed by the company and we have to sign it. When she refused citing that this is a legal document and it should represent facts accurately, he asked her to send her an email stating that we had initially signed up for RS 2, 59, 000 package which was later changed and closed at Rs1, 63, 000 package which included India plus world locations, for a period of 30 years. This is inclusive of the gold card club membership, which was offered to us from the beginning. This he said would be adequate to make the necessary corrections online and in the records and that he would get back to us on the 25th of April. We sent the required email the same night. When we did not get any calls or response for our email we sent a follow up email to Mr Imran. We never got any response to that. After waiting for Mr Imran’s email which never came, I called up Mr Reubeen to follow up and also inform him of the current situation. Mr Reubeen told me that he is on sick leave and once he is back to office he will get back to me with the status. He never called back nor did he ever pick my call after that day. I tried to reach out to Mr Imran and as always he was not available in the office, instead I had to speak with Mr Manoj. He told me that there are certain signatures required which are missing from the agreement, and he will send a scanned copy of the same to me immediately. Another 4 days passed and we never got any email from Mr Manoj. While waiting for response from Koramangala office (Mr. Imran/ Mr Reubeen) my wife wrote an email to Mr Zahed and 45 mins after writing that email she got a mail from Mr Manoj which consisted of agreement papers where the signature was missing. Then she got a call from Mr Zahed asking her as to why she was repeatedly writing to customer care when the Koramanagala office was responding to all our queries. She pointed out the obvious fact that the mail from Mr Manoj came only after she wrote to customer care. She also stated that it is not our fault that the signatures were missing since it was Mr Fayum who had asked us to sign on the required places and also updating of the package should not wait for this. Please note that numerous calls has been exchanged between us and, Mr Reubeen, Mr Manoj, Koramangala office, Mr Zahed and now this is amounting to extreme mental harassment. The tone and the attitude of the Country Club staff has upset us to the point that we no longer want to associate ourselves with Country Club which has outrightly cheated us. After this we wrote to Mr Zahed that this amounts to mental harassment for the past one and half month and we demand cancellation of our membership andFULL REFUND of our money. We have not used a single service and you could also take back the dinner set. Mr Zahed got back to us and told us that Mr Imran has told him that refund is not an option and instead to pacify us they are offering us 7 days & 6 nights of vacation anywhere in India. We informed him that we do not want any more dealings with Country Club instead refund of our hard earned money and cancellation of membership. We also requested him to put us through with senior officials who could take this decision. He told us that he cannot do that and instead we have to write to central customer care. We have already written to Central Customer Care numerous times and till now they have not done anything to solve our issue or refund our money. Hence we are writing to you as a last resort after having made to run from pillar to post by Country Club Staff. Please note that the employees in the Koramangala branch are very irresponsible to say the least. They always make false promises, even stooping down to a level where they have forged my signature, they out rightly lie to us all the time. Kindly do the needful. I can send an email with the attachment of the forged signature if you can kindly provide me with an email address.

Best regards
Dr Sheerja Bali
Partha Chakraborty