| Address: | G-14, 2nd Floor, Sector 3, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301 |
I filled out one coupon at Connaught Place Mall, Greater Noida, where the person told me that 'Future Group' are providing complimentary dinner, and they will provide you 2 nights/3 days stay at their new hotels if your names come in the lucky draw.
On the next day, I received a call (Mobile number - [protected]) from a person informing me that I won the lucky draw for a free vacation along with dinner in the Railicious Restaurant, Noida Sector 137. I was not willing to go as I don't trust these offers, so I denied them. But she convinced me that I have to visit the place with my wife to collect the freebies. I finally said okay, I would come. They sent me a text message and called me and my spouse several times from the mobile number – [protected], dated 30 November 2022. All WhatsApp communication and call records are kept safe.
*INVITATION FROM FUTURE CHOICE CLUB* Congratulations,
*Dear Sir/Mam
It was a pleasure
connecting with you over the phone. Kindly find the details as per our discussion-
Venue:-( Railicious Restaurant )
Add- Metro Station, Right Under, Sector 137, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201305
1.Free accommodation voucher of 3N/4days ( valid only in certain locations in India.)
2. Saloon Voucher
3.Food voucher worth Rs 1500 of The Railicious Restaurant.
Kindly note - We will require 45 minutes of your valuable time including the husband and wife for the redemption of the voucher.
Regards:-Lalit Chauhan*
They have sent one more WhatsApp text. Stated below as received.
*Dear Sir/Mam, as per discussion your Entry time is- 7:00-7:30pm
Table No.- 03
Kindly Note Your Entry Code-FCCY8886*
Since the venue was nearby only, I agreed, I counter-questioned whether there are any terms and conditions to accept the offer they denied it and mentioned that we don't even have to carry our wallet or any cash.
I finally reached the venue (Me, my wife, and my 6-year daughter, around 7:50 pm, I was then asked to attend a discussion about the company's promotion to get the free vouchers. Few more couples were sitting there; thus, I also agreed to the presentation out of curiosity. A well-dressed lady came to me and started introducing herself as "Himani" and a group of others, her manager was Sadiq Khan. She then asked that you please introduce yourself to be comfortable with each other for the next half an hour. Some questionnaire was also shared with me to fill in on what Credit card I hold, what places I have visited in the last couple of years etc. He then asked you to have some questions in your mind about why any company is providing any free vouchers, which was right. She then said it's for your time for the promotion of our company's future choice club. She then asked me about my last vacation and said that he would offer some plan only if it is relevant to me, or else I will be provided the voucher without spending further time. She then said that the offer would be valid for today only and introduced her senior manager Mr. Sadiq Khan. Now Mr. Sadiq is handling the case. All were carrying and flaunting Iphones latest version for the complete eyewash. He then said this is unlike other membership plans where they sell lifetime plans for 5-10 lakhs rupees.
I started losing interest and said that I am not interested in buying any plan. He then convinced me that he is selling any plan to me and started showing some five-star properties (hotels). He then said, what if this hotel will be available to you at a 2-star hotel price etc. I said yes, it would be a great deal. He then said we have a 10 year membership plan for INR 1, 80 000. I straight away denied the offer since I cannot afford to pay it. Now both Himani and Sadiq are in the picture. They started bargaining with the price. They asked me if they will provide some cashback if a few digits are appearing on my credit card. (I think they wanted to check whether I am carrying a credit card or not) They brought it down to INR 1, 35, 000 for 10 years and talked about various EMIs with many further freebies including 2 weeks of extended nights. They said no company will provide such kind of offer costing less than Rs 2, 000 per night for such kind of hotel stay. I completely denied their offer and started leaving the venue as it was around 10:40 pm. My daughter and wife were impatient, they were starving. I was confused they invited me for dinner and here I am hungry and full of the future choice club property literature. They then very politely said, please collect your free voucher before leaving the office. It will take only 5 minutes.
Then sadiq casually started talking that what resists you to take the offer so that he can provide feedback to the company. I said it might be useful, but it takes time to decide before spending such a huge amount for a middle class like me, and I may opt for it if you will provide me one day's time after exploring about the hotels. He then said it was already informed that any offer would be valid for today only, and he is not feeling great that we have wasted an hour. He then offered me another plan for 5 years, stating that though it is for senior citizens only, he will somehow manage it. INR 75, 000. I then also denied that I can't pay such an amount at once. I told that I can confirm it not today but will discuss with family and come back to you guys, but they forced us into this by saying that this is an exclusive offer only for females and advice that your wife can take this membership; he then said he would arrange EMI plan exclusively for me, and I can take back entire amount refund in 30 days if I do not enjoy my stay at their property. He showed some of the membership bought recently and said people who bought the membership plan thank them for making an asset. He then said I only have to pay Rs 6250 per month for such a stay for 5 years. He then showed on the calculator that per night stay is costing less than Rs 2, 000. My wife and I also seem convincing as the offer was lucrative, then finally inquired about the cancellation part again, where they told us that we could cancel our membership at any point in time. I finally fell into their trap and said them okay. Sadiq and Himani immediately swiped my card for INR 70, 000 (2 transaction of 50K and 20K), stating that we have offered you a discount of interest to be shared by credit card. I immediately got an email with a tax invoice for the amount. The mistake that I have made was, since my family was hungry, we immediately went to the dining area for dinner, and as we were having our dinner, she came back with some papers saying I am late for my home and it is far from here; we quickly need your signature for the paperwork and showed us the dotted lines were we need to sign. My wife and I signed without looking at what the papers are because we were feeding our daughter.
I was not feeling happy as the whole episode went on, wasting our time in some. They told me to share the photo ID proof to get my membership start. I came home, immediately log in to my laptop, researched the company, and it seems that it is a scam as the company was registered in 2020 only. There were many such scams mentioned on the internet. I was shocked to realize that fraud has happened to me and that I have lost my hard-earned money.
I utilized my 3N/4D voucher at Bhimtal where I paid 5000 INR. Nothing was free. They also treated us with low standards and provide the lowest category room in the hotel. This is the reputation and image of Future choice club in the market. I thought that this is just the beginning If I continue the membership with an annual payment of 10K every year additionally as AMC, I have to go through with the same treatment every time, so I decided not to continue.
Also, the most heinous thing they have done was removed some papers which they have shown initially (offered flight tickets and 3N/4D for the family additional as an additional offer from the membership program). Pure cheating.
I requested a refund of the fee paid to Himani, which she denied and Sadiq never responded to my calls and messages after that.
This is a void agreement that can't be enforceable as it is a one-sided agreement that doesn't give me any right to cancel. The impugned contract is the one-sided standard form of contract (where the parties are not equal in the bargaining power)
Please help me get my money back since this is purely a fraud that has happened to me.
My hand-folded request to the senior authority of the organization to advise refund of my hard-earned money at the earliest
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