[Resolved]  Country Vacations — Mis selling of membership worth Rs 2L in Bangalore

Address:

Bangalore, Karnataka

One fine day my wife received a call from a number mentioning that we have won 30, 000 worth of free gift and we can collect the same from their office in Adugodi Bangalore provided we come as couple (please note: the calling person didn’t mention any reference to country club). When we reached the place (country vacations) we were asked to sit through a 45 min presentation post which the gifts shall be given. ** As the call was made for promotional and marketing offers using a mobile number, and not a 140 series hence there was a clear breach of TRAI regulations. In the presentation we were promised multiple benefits and lifetime privileged for the family (upto 8 members) we were tempted to buy the membership paying 2, 05, 000 by Citibank credit card. We left happily from their office, came back home, did few simple searches on google and realised that we were duped. SL No. Promised Reality 1. 14D of vacation every Year for an AMC of 8500 A. 6N 7D every year for AMC of 8500 B. 6N 7D (Taxes Chargeable) 2. 14 days’ vacation can be taken in one stretch Not possible 3. 14 days of vacation is non seasonal and can be taken any time of the year Second set of 6N 7D is only possible from Feb to Sep 4 Sightseeing, Pick-up and Drop are free Sigh seeing, Pick up and Drop are not free and are chargeable 5 Renting/selling of country vacation are done by an agency for a service charge No such agency is there at present (Confirmed by Customer Service Bangalore). Selling of membership can only be done on a personal front. 6 Membership type is Platinum (higher than gold), where I am even eligible to stay in upcoming properties Membership type is Gold 7 Complimentary insurance of 9L given Not true 8 As we are platinum member hence, eligible for any type of room Only Studio type of room 9 8 people can stay in the room (2BHK would be given) at no extra cost Only 2 people can stay, all other members would be charged separately 10 6N/7D of free Mauritius trip on taking Platinum membership with free Air tickets. Not True 11 The EMI would be borne by Country Club and would be added on my behalf every month. Not True. The total interest amount of 18, 000 to be borne by the customer* 12 For Platinum members the Annual Maintenance fee is waived off for 5 years Every year there is an annual maintenance fee 13 Annual Maintenance fee of 8500 is not compulsory and depends upon the usage. Depending upon the number of holidays availed, the proportionate amount is paid. Annual Maintenance Fee of 8500 is compulsory irrespective of the usage 14 Annual Maintenance Fee is fixed to Rs. 8500 for 30 years and for a maximum of 8 members Annual Maintenance fee is subject to change, and completely depends upon the company discretion. Additional Rs 2000 is required if parents are included in the vacation. *We were asked by the sales person to confirm on the welcome call that we paid 105000 by cash and 100000 by cheque (there is CV call recording), while in reality we paid the entire amount using Citibank Credit Card under the assurance that Country Club would take care of the interest part. It is a clear case of fraud from the sales team to make me swipe the credit card and bear the interest myself, and also to confirm on the call that I have not used the credit card. The sales team led by Mr Manoj Kumar (employee ID: VCVKOR2454) did this to trick me and probably meet their sales target. Other lies in the name of Marketing - We have won a gift voucher worth Rs. 30, 000 on the basis of a lucky draw - We are among 116 families chosen for this offer in this country - This is an one time offer (celebrating 25 years) - Offer valid only for today - Actual cost of package id 4.16L and we are getting 50%+ discount on the special offer - We were told that the company has announced the offer only for that day as it was 25 years anniversary, hence pressurised us to buy the product on the spot. However to my delight when we went the next day we found that this was a regular selling activity. Meticulous Fraud execution process - We were never allowed to read the agreement, and he ONLY explained the non-contradictory parts of the same - He took my credit card + pin number and swiped the card himself (as he explained that the POS machine was not wireless) - He smartly kept back all the hand written documents on which he explained the fraudulent part of the product features - They told us that we are getting special corporate discount as my wife is a Citibanker - The sales people were referring each other as their boses and giving approval for discounts Next day effort from us The next day we went back to Country Club office asking for the refund, and not to my surprise, we were badly treated by the staff. The customer care executive from Bangalore visited us, and we had a prolonged conversation. While in the conversation he agreed that there was a mis selling on the part of Mr Manoj and the product sold to us was different from the product promised. Mr Manoj who joined the conversation also agreed that he told us to confirm over the welcome call about the mode of payment was cheque + cash but not credit card. Cooling Off Period WE ONLY TOOK THE MEMBERSHIP as it was specifically assured by the sales person that we have 10 working days in our hand to read/analyse the agreement and cancel it if we don’t like. He mentioned that Country Club is a part of AIRDA, hence has to abide by its code of conduct (http://www.airda.org/airda-code-of-ethics.html). He also confirmed that multiple customers from Bangalore have received full refund of the money when they cancelled their membership in the ‘Cooling Off Period’. We have also raised a cancellation request with the Country Club and request for raising a dispute with the bank. We have also raised a police complain against the fraudulent selling . We want our money back.