| Address: New Delhi, Delhi |
Dear Sir/Madam,
This Company (Sands Info-systems Pvt. Ltd.), also known as "Sands Shopping Hub" has cheated me to the tune of Rs.43,000/- by making false claims and giving false assurances.
During the month of March 2011, I received a phone call from one of the sales executives of this company who claimed that my name is selected from a list of eligible potential winners of a prize amount ranging from Rs.30,000/- up to Rs.3,00,000/- and if I make online purchase of some products for Rs.21,000/-, I will be winning one of the prize amount which is not less than Rs.30,000/-. So, I made a cash deposit of Rs.10,000/- into the above company's bank account at ICICI Bank and made a Credit Card payment of Rs.11,000/-.
After 4 days, I received another call from the same executive, who congratulated me and claimed that my name has won one of the above mentioned prizes and to claim the same, I had to make another purchase for Rs.22,000/- as there is another customer who is leading the contest from my region by making a purchase for Rs.42,000/- and if I make a purchase for Rs.22,000/-, my total purchase amount will be Rs.43,000/- and I will be the topper in the contest. When I inquired him about the description of the products, he insisted me to first make the payment as the time is very short and the product details will be disclosed later on as there is nothing to lose as I would be winning a minimum amount of Rs.30,000/-. So, I made another purchase for Rs.22,000/-. Later on, the executive congratulated me, stating that I have won a prize amount of Rs.30,000/- and connected me to another person, who claimed to be the Senior Manager of the Company, also congratulated me and collected my personal details like my Age, Permanent Account Number (PAN), Nominee details, etc. and insisted me to provide the proof of my address and photo identification at the time of claiming the winning prize, which would be paid within next 3 months. But, for my surprise, I did not receive any prize and received only some unwanted products from the company. So, I contacted the Senior Manager and informed him about my dissatisfaction of the products and asked him to take back the products and refund me the amount paid for which he told me that he will discuss the matter with his senior officials and assured me that my problem will be resolved within few days.
During the month of July, another Senior Manager of the company contacted me over phone and told the same story as happened in March. So, I informed him about the past incidences and upon asking for the reason for not paying me my prize, he told me that my name has been selected for a bigger contest with a bigger prize amount and insisted me to make another purchase so that I can win a bigger amount. But, I declined to make any further purchase and instead asked him to take the products back and refund the amount paid by me towards the same for which he told me that he is not authorized to do so and he would forward the matter to the Accounts Dept. of the company. So, I started following up the matter over phone with the company representatives continuously between frequent intervals and after several attempts, I was able to speak to a person who claimed to be from the Accounts Dept. of the company. I told him all the details for which he rejected my plea saying that I have made the purchases upon my willingness for the products and there is no question of taking back of the products. He also claimed that he is having the recordings of all the telephone conversations held with me by the company representatives and his company has its own team of auditors and lawyers who will handle my case on behalf of the company if any legal dispute arises from my end.
Therefore, I am deeply disappointed and disgusted about the kind of attitude of these companies who cheat gullible customers like me by making false claims and snatch money from us. I have transacted with several other companies like Bag It Today, Ebay, Big Bazaar etc. who all have the "Guaranteed Satisfaction Policy" where, if a customer did not like any product, he can return the same to the company and get the refund for the same.
Ramesh M S
Mysore, Karnataka
Aug 13, 2020
Complaint marked as Resolved 
