[Resolved]  Swatch Watch + Free Gift Of Benetton Watch — Non-receipt of the ordered items even after making the full payment

India Today Book Club — Non-receipt of the ordered item of Swatch watch (with free gift of Benetton watch) even after making the full payment

Re-producing my earlier complaint as I missed mentioning the Company name as India Today Book Club in the title..
[protected][protected][protected][protected][protected][protected][protected][pr...⇄
I have produced the full transcript of the mail exchanges with India Today Bookclub group over the past month or so. I hope this should explain the full background and help me get some justice.

I had responded to the email from India Today Bookclub for the offer of Swatch watch alongwith a free gift of Benetton watch for a total amount of Rs. 3, 199/- against phone voucher number F73883 against my name.

My ICICI credit card # [protected] has been charged Rs. 3, 199 on Jan 3rd, 2009 vide ICICI ref # 74477489004007400978891 by India Today Book Club (Living Media) towards the above offer of gift of Swatch + Benetton watch against phone voucher # F73883.

Subsequently I heard nothing at all - no communciation whatsoever - from India Today Bookclub. I didn't receive any reference #, order # or even an acknowledgement of the credit card transaction / receipt of payment or any other details. Then, I called up the Customer care phone # on Jan 29th, 2009 and spoke to their executives who had no clue about the transaction and no further action was forthcoming as well. I sent a mail to [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com explaining the circumstances and giving all the necessary details that I had with me.

On Feb 4th, I received an email from Mr. Zishan Ahmed (of ITBC) asking for a copy of my ICICI credit card statement to verif their records/details. I had explained very clearly to their executives during my telecon (on Jan 29th) that sharing my credit card statement is not possible as it is my personal and confidential document and in my mail, I very clearly provided them all the transaction details - the date beneficiary and reference number of the said ICICI card transaction which clearly showed that an amount of Rs. 3.199.00 was credited to their account on Jan 3rd itself - they wouldn't got any more extra information, pertaining to this transaction, from my credit card statement. I explained this to Mr. Zishan as well on Feb 7th, in reply to his nmail of 4th Feb to me.

After that date, I have not heard anything from ITBC till date, inspite of sending four more reminder emails from Feb 13th till yesterday. Am at a loss to understand the objectives of such a reputed organisation and am forced to doubt the intentions, integrity and commitment to its customers. A very sorry state of affairs indeed.

I hope I'll get some concrete reply / action plan to mitigate / solve this issue. Further, am repeatedly getting such mails of fresh offers and irritating calls to accept these offer, and most irritating aspect is to call me as one of their most privileged customer - how privilege I am to undergo this torture, I only would know about the same. To add more fuel to the existing fire, I see some offer for the very same combination of items at Rs. 1, 950 ( as against Rs. 3, 100 paid by me). I am really unable to undertsand how price can vary so much in a matter of few days.

Hope to receive your earliest and most positive response ASAP.

Regards,

Vidyasagar
[protected]
[protected]@hotmail.com
[protected][protected][protected][protected][protected][protected][protected][pr...⇄
RE: ‏
From: Vidya Sagar ([protected]@hotmail.com)
Sent: 23 February 2009 10:19AM
To: [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com

????????????????????????????? - Do u guys have any courtesy to respond, even after so many reminders???

S. Vidya Sagar
[protected][protected][protected][protected]
From: [protected]@hotmail.com
To: [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com
Subject: RE:
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:14:54 +0000

One more reminder!!! I am not sure whether I'll get any concrete response at all...

Please let me know what you plan to do, instead of ignoring my mails or keeping quiet on the same...

S. Vidya Sagar
[protected][protected][protected][protected]
From: [protected]@hotmail.com
To: [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com
Subject: RE:
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:09:24 +0000

Reminder!!!

S. Vidya Sagar
[protected][protected][protected][protected]
From: [protected]@hotmail.com
To: [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com
Subject: RE:
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:18:56 +0000

Dear Mr. Zishan,

Nearly a week has passed and am yet to receive any response to my mail below. Please lemme know if you have any intentions of solving the problem and executing the order immediately (for which you have received the full payment more than a month back), or your (organisation's) intention is to just to swallow the money and not care about anything else. This, I hope, will be highly unlikely from such a reputed organisation like yours, though the response and your actions do not indicate your sincerity in any way.

I hope some immediate and positive action / response will be forthcoming from you ASAP.

Regards,

S. Vidya Sagar
[protected][protected][protected][protected]

From: [protected]@hotmail.com
To: [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com
Subject: RE:
Date: Sat, 7 Feb 2009 14:38:32 +0000

Dear Mr. Zishan,

Thanks for your mail.

I have very clearly indicated in my telecon with your rep as well as in my first mail below that my credit card statement is my personal property and need not / cannot be shared with you or anyone for that matter.

I have given all the transaction details -my ICICI credit card #, the ICICI reference #, date of the transaction, the beneficiary/recipient of the amount, the exact amount, etc. in my mail below which is more than sufficient for you to check about the payment (of Rs. 3, 199/-) being charged from my account towards this transaction and received by you. These details have not been cooked or created by me, it is straight from my ICICI credit card statement.

Inspite of these details being provided to you, if you still keep on asking for the same info again and again in some pretext or the other after more than a month of receiving the payment and after more than ten days of bringing to your organisation's notice, I am left with no choice but to doubt your intentions/objectives after receiving the full payment from me.

It can no way happen that the payment has not been received into your account. If there is a problem in your system, it is your responsibility to rectify the same without

- depending on your customers to provide you proofs of payment (even after all details are provided)
- adopting delaying tactics

and arrange to fulfill the order immediately or return the money without any further delay by doing the needful at your end.

I hope I have made this clear and hope to have your most positive response without any further delay.

Await your earliest and most positive response.

Regards,

S. Vidya Sagar
[protected][protected][protected][protected]
From: [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com
To: [protected]@hotmail.com
Subject: RE:
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2009 12:16:45 +0530

Dear Member,

We apologize for the inconvenience cause to you.

With reference to your mail, we would like to have a scan copy of your credit card statement, so that we can check the details and help you in the same.

We assure to provide you with best service always.

For further queries and assistance please feel free to get back to us on same or call us on our helpline number(s) _

[protected] or[protected]Toll Free**)

Thanks & Regards

Zishan Ahmed

India Today Book Club
**[protected] is toll free number but only from MTNL/ BSNL.
[protected][protected][protected][protected]

From: Vidya Sagar [mailto:[protected]@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2009 12:08 PM
To: [protected]@offers.indiatodaybookclub.com; response (ITBC)
Subject:



Hi,

This is to bring to your attention that my ICICI credit card # [protected] has been charged Rs. 3, 199 on Jan 3rd, 2009 vide ICICI ref # 74477489004007400978891 by India Today Book Club (Living Media) towards my gift of Swatch + Benetton watch against phone voucher # F73883. My cell # is [protected]. My postal code of my residential address is 560061. My residence address provided for delivery of the gift items is

S. Vidya Sagar
A-418, Brigade Komarla Residency
Uttarahalli Main Road, Subramanyapura, Chikkalasandra,
Bangalore - 560061

Ph #[protected]Resi)

Am extremely disappointed to note that neither have I heard anything till date on the despatch of the gift nor has any communication indicating any ref # or order # has been issued. I have no clue as to what is happening on this. Am not sure whether my money has gone down the drain. On calling up today, I hear from your executives (Jitendar and Priya) that they have no records in their system of such a transaction. This is even more disappointing and highly unexpected from a reputed organisation like yours. I was asked to provide the copy of my card statement showing this transaction. I politely decline to do so as this is my personal document and I consider it too confidential to be shared.

I hope the concerned people in your esteemed organisation take note of this and take some immediate action to restore confidence back in your organisation and ensure that the gift (two watches) are sent immediately to me, as ordered. I hope some concrete information on the same will be forthcoming immediately as a reply to this mail.

Please let me know if any further details are required from my end to execute the order immediately.

Awaiting your earliest reply/confirmation.

Regards,

S. Vidya Sagar

--- On Sun, 1/3/09, [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com <[protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com> wrote:


From: [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com <[protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com>
Subject: Order Confirmation from India Today Book Club
To: [protected]@yahoo.co.in
Date: Sunday, 1 March, 2009, 10:05 AM


Dear Mukund Tatke

Thank you for your order. We wish to inform you that your order has been put under
process with order no INTERNET/0GA[protected]. The order value is Rs. 999. You will receive an email and a sms with your despatch details soon.


Thank you once again for ordering with India Today Book Club
with reference to abovementioned letter, i have ordered for not only CDs but also the flight tickets and 3days and 2 nights stay at any destination, i have never received the coupons, then I tried to claim my free gift on your site www.bookstoday.inpromos.html but still this effort is also failure, i tried to call on no. given by you as under[protected] but still i could not get satisfactory relief. pl. satisfy me to the effect of my query Thanks Mukund Tatke

reminder of yesterday's complaint, i am repeatedly trying your phone no. but it is always busy or no network. pl. attend my complaint immediately

Hi vidya sagar

i do agree to your complaint, since i have been cheated by these buggers...i signed up for reader digest offer with india today they gave false promise and money went of from my abn card...these fellows are really a cheat...just file a case in consumer court and ask for compensation from india today dont leave them...even im going to do that soon...

dear friends plz dont ever believe these kind of offers...better you can pay and take it from shops, doing any transcation online that tooo with tese kind of magasine company is risk...

just think nothing is free in this world...

thanks
lawrence

Vidyasagar/ Lawrence,

You are absolutely right. These big companies are nothing but big time thugs. I had also ordered for a swatch. I found that my account had been debited for an amount higher than what they had mentioned. After several enquiries, I was told that I had ordered some Agatha Christie CD's for which I have been charged and will be charged in the future as well. I immediately told them to cancel my order and refund me the amount.

I corresponded with the company about refund of the amount, but every time a new person answered and I had to give him all the details right from scratch. On two occasions I sent them the scanned copy of my Credit Card statement (which is very risky, esp. with companies like these). One fine day they tell me that the watch has already been despatched! When I told them I had requested for cancellation of the order, they told me to refuse to accept the parcel (of swatch) when it was delivered to me. And then the amount would be refunded to me.

After all that had happened, I knew there was no way I would get my money back. So when the watch came, I unwillingly accepted it, despite them having cheated my by charging more. As they say in Hindi... "Bhagte bhoot ki langoti bhali". I thought if I refused the watch, I would lose the watch as well as my money. And seeing your experience, I think that is exactly what would have happened.

Besides, the above tactics, these companies also make profits my mentioning in small letters "Handling charges of Rs... extra".

It is high time someone takes these cheats to the consumer's forum. It is surprising how such a well-known and (until now) respected group can stoop so low.

Mr Vidyasagar,

I very much appreciate your attempt to bring to light the invalidity of such mails. I was about to click on an offer when I thought I will check the real price of the products if it's available somewhere in the Internet. That brought me to this link and I am glad I came to the right place. Would like to know if you ever get to see those products?

That's very sad you have not received your order till date. However the market price of their product is much more cheaper than what they claim in their offers. Also their products what they sent are not in good condition.

It's very disappointing incident. I also got this offer and paid Rs.3, 199 but i got the product deliver in 15 days. i have two watches with me right now.. but after reading your incidents.. i m getting feared the swatch watch wat i m having is a real one or not..?? i think its all due to the improper regulations on the online transactions.. govt shd take necessary steps towards Regulating this market which is growing very much in India.. i donno whether our politicians even aware of wats this means???

Dear Mr. Narayan Murty Your complaint has been resolved on 18/04/2009.
Please refer to the email sent to you on your id. If you have any further queries, please mail back to us on the given id:

[protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com

Would request you to kindly mention this subject: ONLINE COMPLAINTS
Whenever you mail us for quicker response,

or call us on our customer care No.

[protected]

Thanks Mr. Vidyasagar for posting your experience. I too got a similar offer and was just checking out the actual prices for Benetton stuff, when I came across this. You have helped me make my decision. Thanks again and Goodluck.

Order for Swatch and Benetton Watch — Product not delivered even after 4 months

below is the detail of mail i have sent to INDIA TODAY BOOK CLUB but i have not received any satisfactory reply from this organisation. i think this organisation is cheating the customers. i am also in process of filing FIR with Delhi police for this act of cheating and fraud.





Dear Dominic

I am very much surprised and ashamed to see the attitude and response you people are giving to the customer. i have never seen before this type of customer support of any company in India.

I am continuously writing as well as making phone calls to India today book club. sometime I am told that i will receive the products/goods in 10 working days and sometimes i have been told that there is no record of ref ID No. [protected] as well as my Mobile No.[protected]

I am receiving 4 to 5 message from your organization regarding various offers and your customer support executive is telling me that there is no record of my Mobile. how it could be possible?

now I am to understood that i have been cheated by India Today Book Club and if I will not receive any communication from your side then i will be forced to file an FIR for this act of cheat.

thanking you.


Anirudh Singh
Inspector, Service Tax


----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Aniruddh Singh <[protected]@yahoo.co.in>
To: [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com; india today <[protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com>
Cc: [protected]@offers.indiatodaybookclub.com
Sent: Thursday, 9 April, 2009 4:45:27 PM
Subject: Fw: Order for Swatch and Benettan Watch


Dear Dominic

I am very much surprised and ashamed to see the attitude and response you people are giving to the customer. i have never seen before this type of customer support of any company in India.

I am continuously writing as well as making phone calls to India today book club. sometime I am told that i will receive the products/goods in 10 working days and sometimes i have been told that there is no record of ref ID No. [protected] as well as my Mobile No.

I am receiving 4 to 5 message from your organization regarding various offers and your customer support executive is telling me that there is no record of my Mobile. how it could be possible?

now I am to understood that i have been cheated by India Today Book Club and if I will not receive any communication from your side then i will be forced to file an FIR for this act of cheat.

thanking you.


Anirudh Singh
Inspector, Service Tax


----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Aniruddh Singh <[protected]@yahoo.co.in>
To: india today book club <[protected]@offers.indiatodaybookclub.com>
Cc: [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com
Sent: Thursday, 19 March, 2009 3:01:25 PM
Subject: Fw: Order for Swatch and Benettan Watch


Dear Dominic

I have sent my complete postal address to you on 10.03.2009 but i have yet not received any response from your side.

in the absence of any communication or assurance from your side i am harassed and exploited by your organisation. i again request you to kindly dispatch the goods immediately as the matter has already too much delayed.

if i don't have any positive response from your side i will be forced to seek any other legal remedial action.


thanking you.


Anirudh Singh


----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Aniruddh Singh <[protected]@yahoo.co.in>
To: Order <[protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 10 March, 2009 1:49:04 PM
Subject: Re: Order for Swatch and Benettan Watch


Dear DOMINIC

thanks for your reply.


My complete postal address is

Anirudh Singh
A-131, IInd Floor, Parsvnath Paradise
Mohan Nagar, Sahibabad, (near Mohan nagar Crossing)
Ghaziabad
Mobile No. [protected]


kindly do the needful at the earliest

thanking you.


Anirudh Singh


[protected][protected][protected][protected]
From: Order <[protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com>
To: Aniruddh Singh <[protected]@yahoo.co.in>
Sent: Monday, 9 March, 2009 4:02:26 PM
Subject: RE: Order for Swatch and Benettan Watch


Dear Member,



We apologies for the inconvenience caused to you in this regard.

We request you to provide us your complete mailing address so that we can forward your order details to our concerned department and arrange to updated your order details in our record soon and dispatch the same.

Assure you of our best possible services always.


We shall be happy to render any further assistance or clarification that you may require.



For further queries, please feel free to get back to us or Call us on our Helpline Number[protected] 1024242 toll free, 9:30 AM TO 6:30 PM, all 7 days) or write to us at:



INDIA TODAY BOOK CLUB

B-47 INDIRA ENCLAVE

NEB SARAI

NEW DELHI-110068



Thanks & Regards

Dominic Savio,

India Today Book Club


[protected][protected][protected][protected]

From: Aniruddh Singh [mailto:[protected]@yahoo.co.in]
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 11:25 AM
To: [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com
Subject: Re: Order for Swatch and Benettan Watch



DEAR DOMINIC

As you carefully read my message then you will find that i have already attached scanned copy of my credit card statement showing the debit particulars of Rs. 3199/-

for your convenience i am attaching the copy of credit card once again. i hope you will find the same in order and do the needful at the earliest as the matter has already been delayed.

Anirudh Singh

[protected][protected][protected][protected]

From: Order <[protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com>
To: Aniruddh Singh <[protected]@yahoo.co.in>
Sent: Saturday, 7 March, 2009 3:53:11 PM
Subject: RE: Order for Swatch and Benettan Watch

Dear Member,



Thanks for your mail to us,



With reference to your mail, we request you to provide us the scanned copy of your credit card statement, so that we can do the needful soon.



Assure you of our best possible services always.



We shall be happy to render any further assistance or clarification that you may require.



For further queries, please feel free to get back to us or Call us on our Helpline Number[protected] 1024242 toll free, 9:30 AM TO 6:30 PM, all 7 days) or write to us at:



INDIA TODAY BOOK CLUB

B-47 INDIRA ENCLAVE

NEB SARAI

NEW DELHI-110068



Thanks & Regards

Dominic Savio,

India Today Book Club

[protected][protected][protected][protected]

From: Aniruddh Singh [mailto:[protected]@yahoo.co.in]
Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 2:42 PM
To: [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com
Subject: Fw: Order for Swatch and Benettan Watch




----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Aniruddh Singh <[protected]@yahoo.co.in>
To: [protected]@indiatodaybookclub.com
Sent: Monday, 2 March, 2009 4:37:06 PM
Subject: Fw: Order for Swatch and Benettan Watch


this is with reference to the discussion i had with the executive Sh ravindra in respect of ref No. [protected], who told me that there is no detail of payment of Rs. 3199/- in their records. i have also received a message from TA-Bookclub on 27.02.2009 in which it is stated that "Ur order with bookclub for swatch & benetton watch for Rs.3199 failed on credit card. you can pay by cash on delivery".

in this regard i wish to inform you that an amount of Rs. 3199/- has been charged from my credit card on 14.01.2009 and as discussed with your executive, a scaned copy of credit card statement showing the details is attached with the mail for necessary action at your end. kindly expedite the same and dispatch the goods immediately or credit the money in my account.



thanking you

anirudh singh

plz send me these kinds of offers...

India Today Book Club/Benetton watch — Non-receipt of Benetton watch

Based on an e-mail offer from India Today Book Club on my above-metioned id, I purchased 1 no. Benetton watch on 27.04.09 for Rs. 499/- thru credit card.

I recd confirmation in my mail as well as mobile that the payment for the above watch has been recd and the order no. 0GA[protected] has been processed at their end and it will take 3-4 weeks delivery time.

I called up India Today Book Club's office several times and they replied that the watch has been despatched on 01.05.09 thru Dartmail Courier service vide Document No. [protected] but i haven't yet recd the same.

Plese look into the matter and help me out.

Thanks & Regards
Jitesh Kr. Singhi
[protected]

Benetton Watch — not got the free gift

Hello,
india today seems to be a big fraud.
I purchased one beneton watch of 2598 Rs. form indiatoday bvook club & I got one free holiday voucher of 5000 Rs. & air ticket of 7000 Rs. But the weblink which they provide does not work & can not activete my free holiday voucher number. I rang to customer care at least 15 times form last 2 months. holiday voucher activation timwe is 60days. and they are wasting times in making the customer fool. really a big fraud.

can somebody tell me where I can lodge a complaint aginst indiatodaybookclub & can take a stirct legal action aginst them

I am still waiting for my problem to be solved.

Again I today called the customer care at [protected], & they told me the holiday voucher no. is wrong & they told me that I will receive correct no. within 24 hours.

Every time when I called customer care, I get confusing & conflicting answers. I bought the product from India today book club, because of indiatodayname, but it seems you are reluctant to give any good services & are not bothered about customer satisfaction and it is very very frustrating.



So I am begging them, please provide me the correct & valid holiday voucher number.


Once again I am giving my details & attaching the copy of my free gift claim in hope that at least with all these details theysolve my problem.

I am waiting for feedback from indiatoday, if theyare really bothered about customer convenience satisfaction.

Hey vidya,
i bet you would have ordered throuch their IVR calling so din't they give you any order number for further reference?
i ordered the same swatch watch but no free benetton watch but that reached me in around 8 days but before that i received a mail stating the order number.
anyways dude you can scan and send the credit card statement because there is nothing in the statenent that they already do not know, i understand your situation coz i have been facing the same for another order that i placed, and you can take a xerox of statement and strike off other payment details that you dont want to share and send.

Dear Indai today,
tnkz for gining me reebok sheo and benetton wath but wath is not working plz give me add in my locallity
for excheng this wath

thkz and regat
fasahatullah khan

my addres is aurangabad maha rashtra india and cell no .is [protected]

thnkz

fasahatullah khan

can someone please tell me whether you get the same product shown in the pictures or do you get some other model...
I have ordered a pair of shoes and a benetton watch for 2198/-...
I have ordered by cash on delivery...
regards,
amar.

benetton watches two no — non receipt of product

I have booked the benetton watches set as per e mail given by [protected]@ intoday.in on date 12/02/2009 You will get two watches set at Rs 2150/ The screen was click by credit card no, and cvv no i was trying to book the same as offer given by them . due to certain technical fault my credit card no is not accepting, i was tried the same 2 to 3 times the credit card, but i could not sucess. <br />
Very Next day at around evening at around 8 PM, I got the call from times group no [protected], they talked politly asked for are you trying to booked the benetton watches set offer given in the email . I informed that i was tried but not suceeded, They told you can book through your mobile phone. Please stay on line after few seconds they after beep sound you can entered credit card no on moblie phone and your card will accepted amount will be credited in our account, same thing done. I got the message from ICICI bank you made a transaction of Rs Rs 2150 on 13 feb 2009 on your card no ----- at living media availble credit limit Rs -----, They informed me that your gift will reach within 15 days, Till date no parcel has received by me, I Have given my full detail address. but till date i have not received any watches from Living Media India LTd ( Times Group) . They chaeted me badly . I called them after 20 day, they told and asked for deatil address, I am still waiting their parcel. The bank has debited amount from my credit card statement Ref No 75176379046009002321961 Dated 13/02/2009 to Living media (india today). I called them so many times but could not suceeded for getting the parcel from them. spending money on the phone is not worth. <br />
<br />
<br />
This company is fraud and cheating to so many people sending e mail <br />
<br />
S.G.Dhakate <br />
Mobile No [protected]. Bangalore

Dear Mr. Somesh,

Kindly write to us at [protected]@icicibank.com, with the subject line as ‘Customer Service'. Request you to provide the relevant details along with your full name and contact details.

We will be glad to assist you.

Regards,

Nazia Sayeed
Office of the Nodal Officer
ICICI Bank