[Resolved]  Shine.com — Unethical practices

Dear sir/madam.

This is to bring to your notice the fraudulent practices in the Shine.com. I have been scammed by offering unwarranted services and duped of my hard-earned money.

My name is Kundan Kaushav. I received a call on 10 February 2024 from Shine.com representative. He explained to me about the paid services of Shine.com. For this service, he told me that I would have to pay a nominal price of Rs.3292. After much deliberation, and on his insistence that a dedicated relationship manager will be assigned to me who will work closely with me, I paid the money. He categorically said that this is a one-time fee to shine. Once I pay for this, my services will start. He never mentioned that there would be further charges. So, I paid Rs.3292. He asked me to share my updated resume which I did. After this, he assigned me a relationship manager named Mr. Suraj. This was just the beginning of my ordeal and mental harassment.

On the same day (10 February 2024), I received a call from Mr. Suraj, my relationship manager. He initially asked me about my experience and then started showing me rosy pictures. He said that his track record is superb and that my CV has the potential to get great jobs with a salary range of 70 to 80 lakhs per annum. After the initial conversation, he told me that my CV and highest marksheet would be verified. Once I said okay, he sent me an email asking me to pay Rs 5192. I reluctantly paid. The moment I was doing the payment, I received another payment link asking me to pay Rs 9556. I was taken aback. I started questioning this method. He said this was for verification purposes. After much resistance, I paid both these amounts. I again asked him if this is the final payment. He insisted that this is the final payment. However, he again started talking about receiving job links on my WhatsApp number. He asked me to write a mail in this regard and also to give my WhatsApp number. I did so. Once I did that I again received a payment link of Rs.16, 518. At this point, I became suspicious and said to Mr. Suraj that this was wrong. This is a trap being led for me to pay more. This is some sort of extraction. All these made no difference to Mr. Suraj and he kept on harping that all these services were great.

However, I insisted on canceling my service. Immediately, Mr. Shiva intervened and introduced himself as the manager of Mr. Suraj. He said that he had been listening to all the conversations. He said if I have trouble paying the money, then I can opt for EMI options. He kept on saying that without this service, my other services were meaningless. He assigned me a new relationship manager Mr. Rohit. Mr. Rohit was even more insistent on paying the money. After having paid so much money, I had no option but to pay three more payments in EMI: Rs. 16518, Rs.24, 779, and Rs. 33863. But this didn't end there. I again got another payment link of Rs 43068. I was completely devastated. I knew I had been trapped and scammed. I asked to stop my services. I wrote a mail to them in this regard. However, Mr. Rohit refused to listen to me. He transferred the call to Mr. Bansal. Mr. Bansal sounded like Suraj. I pointed this but he changed his voice and continued to argue with me. I asked him to stop my services. I told him I had already written the mail for my refund. Mr. Bansal categorically told me that the money won't be refunded.

I received an email from [protected]@shine.com informing me that my services have been initiated. However, all the screenshots of the services were of Mr. Ritesh. All these indicate that an elaborate scam is being run by Shine.com. I replied to the mail that my services have to be stopped. I received a reply that Shine doesn't refund. I replied that if my services are not stopped and that I don't get my refund, I will have no option but to take legal recourse.

I will bring to your notice the following categories of scams committed against me.

1. False promises: Shine lures job seekers by making false promises. Everyone needs a good job with a better salary and better prospects. Shine plays on that emotion.

2. Financial fraud: Shine doesn't say upfront the total cost of their services. They keep on sending one payment link after another. Once I have paid a certain amount, I am forced to pay a bigger payment. Each subsequent payment is of higher money. For example, the first payment is of approximately of Rs 3000, which subsequently increases to 5K, 9K, 16K, 24K, 33K, 43K...

3. Fake bills: Once I asked them to stop my services, they sent me fake bills.

4. Mental harassment: I was subjected to extreme mental harassment for almost 3 hours.

I will request you to stop my services and kindly refund my money.

I have attached all the emails for your reference.

Looking for a positive reply.

Regards

Kundan Kaushav