Feel obligated to share this to serve as a warning reminder:
Beware of Timeshare (or alike) scam in Singapore (and all over the world)!
Last Saturday, garren and I went shopping around orchard road aimlessly (except to get a replacement for my lost heels) as we have nothing better to do. Just as we stepped out of Takashimaya after I finally found and bought another identical pair of heels, and planned to just chill out at coffee bean or starbucks at Paragon (because the one in Ngee Ann city was over-crowded), we were approached by this young, innocent looking college girl.
Tired of the never-ending survey on the road, we simply wanted to walk away. But she was almost pleading us and promised it was just a short survey (didn't they always promise this)? Anyway she started to explain that she was doing a short holiday survey for this company called Asian Travel Club (ATC). Before we agreed she had already started the questions:
Are you guys Singaporean, PR, or EP holders working in Singapore? How old are you? What are your occupations? yadaa yadaa standard questions to gather our demographical information. When it comes to street surveys, I would usually continue walking away saying I was in a hurry or if I couldn't escape in time, I would try to finish the survey as fast as I could. However that day, we had no particular plan for the day and I just had that sudden mischivious urge to give all sort of false info to this survey. We told some lies and some truth, just for fun such as we are tourist from Malaysia, staying over the weekend, and that I'm self-employed doing online business, etc...
At the end of the survey, she presented us 1 scratch card each and upon scratching, we won something (unsurprisingly). I won a $30 Takashimaya voucher while garren's *gasp* a 7-night free accommodation in one of the 6 country choices. Immediately she called her 'supervisor' to inform of the prizes we won. And a more senior guy came within...10 seconds. And excitedly they told us that we just need to attend a 80-min presentation at the building opposite the road and no obligation to purchase anything at the end of the presentation, after which we can collect the prize.
It all sound familiar so I asked the name of the company again and even asking him if they are affiliate of Timeshare. He assured me it wasn't.
'Oh no..we are not timeshare, we are Asian Travel Club, and it's just a promotion we are having to invite people to go over and take a look..blaa blaa...'
so were thinking, ok, since we have nothing to do and the prizes are quite attractive, and we are very skeptical and know that we won't fall for any timeshare-alike scam as we had heard too much about it. I was also curious and keen to find out what is the whole thing look like. So we went along.
The presentation was indeed well-organised and the people were firendly and pretty convincing. There were about 20 other couples or individuals at the vast meeting room with loud pop music blasting over head. Each group attended by a well-grommed, smartly dressed concultant. Our consultant was a young malay guy called Mizam, and over the course of presentation, his manager, a British guy called Regee would join and took over briefly...
In short the whole concept sounded great and you would really think it's a great way to travel in style and luxury at affordable price. Every once in a while, the lound music would be tuned down, and a bell rang and announcement made and applause given to welcome the new member on board. Throughout our session (about 2hr+, way beyong the promised 80-min), the announcement were made at least 6-7 times. I felt sorry for those who had fallen for it.
Anyway, as attractive as it sounded, we were not buying as we were still very skeptical (honestly we couldn't be sure at that time if that was a scam either as we had not been to similar presentation before), but we played along well and asked a few genuiene concern and questions. Some were answered better than other but all along we did not show our suspicion.
In the end we insisted we were not ready to sign up even they offer from the standard price of a whopping S$25,000 for 30 years to $12,000 if we sign up on the same day. And later went down to a 3-year tiral period of S$2990. And they promised at any point of time if we decided to withdraw they would help us resell the remaining membership free of charge. We insisted still.
In the end, we collect the gift vouchers and walked away. I'd double/tripple confirmed with the staff that the accommodation is absolutely free and we would not have to pay any tax or booking surcharge etc and was assured that it was all paid for and we need to make at least 28-day advance booking and that there will be $100 cancellation fee for no-show.
As for the takashimaya voucher, I had not used it but I'm pretty sure it's good. Those were just a small cost for them and the gimmick must have pretty high conversion rate to bring people to the presentation.
I did some online research the night and confirm our suspect, many victims had fallen for the companies (there were a few with different name but most probbaly affiliated to one another).
Check out some of the related forums/links:
http://www.ppcsg.com/index.php?showtopic=81946&st=10
http://www.singaporebrides.com/forumboard/messages/4/72245.html?1149486908
I'm glad we did not fall for the scam and felt sorry for those who already had. Garren and I are actually thinking if we should really claim the so called free accommodation to find out more about it. But we haven't figured out a plan and we do have some concerns about the risks and time and money involved.
Anyone who has similar experience to tell? Wonder what we can do about it to prevent more victims falling for it and a way to take action against scammer who con innocent victims out of their hard earn money!
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Scams like these are everywhere. If you live by the philosophy that nothing is free in life and avoid the tempation of greed, then generally you can avoid getting scammed. It is unfortunate, but that is the way life seems to be these days.
ReplyDeleteI guess some people are just plain stupid or greedy, nothing in life is for free and those who succumb to these scams deserve everything they lose !
ReplyDeleteSo you gave false information in order to get the prizes?
ReplyDeleteLook out for ATC in Phuket, Thailand! We had a similar experience with ATC the other day and didnt fall for the scam. We also got a voucher for a 7 day free accommadation.
ReplyDeleteThey approche you on the street and tell you it will only be 90min. We spend over 2 hours with them.
Dont do it!!
People who call these schemes 'scams' are generally people who know nothing about the industry. I have been an Asian Travel Club member for 6 years now and my savings have been enourmous. I've had holidays I could only dream of before in superb resorts around the world. Know what you're talking about before you criticise it!
ReplyDeleteI also am an ATC member and have saved what it cost us already and we have years of savings to come. We used our free accomodation to take the whole family to a luxury resort in Bali for 10 days. It was fantastic. I agree with the comment above investigate it before you critcise!!!
ReplyDeleteI had been thinking about timeshare for a while, and when approached on the street in Phuket, I was happy to listen to the speil, and I liked that you are not buying a set week or group of weeks which you are locked into each year, you can take as many holidays for as long as you like at any time, for a small weekly price compared to paying hotel rates. I guess they must have different plans, because mine is for 10 years, my membership fee was $3000USD with the chance to renew for USD$250 for another 10 years. The annual service fee is $50, no matter how many weeks you use. They have many beautiful properties, and I am eager to try them out. The presentation for us was in a Patong restaurant having breakfast, paid for by ATC, with no hard sell or high pressure at all, just a friendly chat. I know a lot of people who think timeshares in general are a waste of money, while I have friends who have saved tens of thousands of dollars travelling the world using them. I guess yo just have to make sure the product is right for YOU!
ReplyDeleteI was a victim of this scam in Phuket earlier this year. As mentioned earlier - it all sounds great and there are nice brochures and the promise of 4/5 star hoidays for US$200-$300 per week.
ReplyDeleteBased on this, the Resorts in their portfolio on the Website should be 4-5 star. They are nothing like that. I live near the Gold Coast in Australia and know many of the 4/5 star resorts. None are in the portfolio - I check a few from the portfolio and they do exist, but are very around 3 star. Check the website yourself and check your area - are any of these Resorts 4/5 star - I doubt it. Even the Website is about 1 star. Link is below.
http://www.asian-travel-club.com/portfolio.html
They sell you a Rolls Royce, but find you can only book a Hyundai. Not saying you can't use the service to book resorts - but it ain't what it seems.
I also won a 7 day Holiday, but it requires sitting through another timeshare presentation and the list of constraints etc and booking fee etc - I won't go, I'd probably thump the guy presenting.
I'd also won a 7 day holiday back in Phuket but when I opened my pack after returning to Aust - the paperwork was not inside.
If you can prove me wrong, please do so - but you need to supply REAL Evidence - (eg names of 4/5 star resorts on their website).
I guess any time when someone is trying to pressure you to sign something ON THE SPOT should ring warning bells.
Geoff.
my new husband and I fell victim to pacific blue marketing or ATC in Phuket. We paid about $150 deposit and were going to pay the rest fortnightly. when we got back to Australia we cancelled our card and wrote to them and cancelled the membership... we didn't get our money back but we feel very lucky it wasn't more and that we looked them up as soon as we could get online
ReplyDeleteyes you can get the accommodation you won but like someone else said...you have to sit through another 90 minute or so spiel. we didn't even bother trying after reading that
as for those that said it's greed and wanting something for nothing get your facts straight. We signed up thinking that we would get cheaper accommodation so we would be able to afford to take our family on family holidays. There is nothing free about it,you pay up front costs to get cheaper accommodation which we believed you could get because of the large amount of people in the club. Like any discount club.
ReplyDeletefor those who say they are members and received their accommodation do you have proof? or are you employees by any chance?
I signed up in Bali and only put a $200 deposit on, do I legally, after the papers I signed, have to pay the rest? None of the Hilton resorts in America seems to be on their portfolio...
ReplyDeleteHas anyone rang the department of fair trading or overseas equivalent to see if they know anything?
what an idiot I am - Phuket yes and paid the full dollar US - no cooling off period in
ReplyDeleteThailand as I visited a lawyer while there -no comeback whatsoever. If anyone else was part of the scam for ATC - ASIAN TRAVEL CLUB please advise as I am planning to take action from my country through legal and media exposure.......
mobile 0404 870 788
hi has anyone ever got there money back from ATC .if so please post a comment ,CHEERS
ReplyDeleteMy partner and I went to Phuket on a cheap room rate [similar scheme]. I was prepared after having read the complaints on the internet.
ReplyDeleteWe went to 2 different scheme presentations but did not sign up. The contract documents are very simple and do not mention details of what is presented. Difficult nigh impossible to enforce later as you have no documentation for support. Beware of the idea that you can cancel within 90 days if you pay electronically.
Any scheme which requires contract and deposit commitment before you leave is one I will never agree to sign/pay. Presenters simply waste your time trying to profile you to gain an advantage to sell these schemes.
Good luck and hope this is helpful.
On 7/6/11 whilst holidaying in Phuket I fell victim to the on strett scratchie. I was given a portfolio (Very nice) of the places in the world that I could holiday. On returning to Australia I was a bit bubious about what I had signed up for and began to investigate a few things. I rang 4 Resorts mentioned in the portfolio in Qld and they had never heard of ATC. I outlayed $1400 part payment of 15 yr membership. Federal Police have been informed and are aware of the incident. Aust Embassy in Phuket also informed. Be careful and dont fall for it. It sounds good but beware. Scam watch also informed.
ReplyDeleteI fell for theor scam too. I haven't finished paying their membership fees yet. Did scamwatch recommend writing to cancel membership, or did they recommend how to deal with it? They've just emailed after 4mths to ask for payment.
DeleteWe also fell for it :( Wondering how stuck we are? Only paid couple thousand as deposit. Do we HAVE to pay rest?
DeleteFor those of you that say you "fell victim" to these presentations, did you buy something or simply sit thru a presentation? For those of you saying it is too good to be true have you actually purchased the product and tried to use it? If your information is based solely on assumption then please limit your information to actual experience so the rest of us can make informed decisions. Just because you "THINK" it is a scam does not mean it is.
ReplyDeleteMy new wife and I just returned from Phuket too, where we were bundled into a taxi and sped off to a drab little office where we spent two and a half hours going through the presentation. It all led to a US$4000 one off fee, and US$35 per year admin fee, to get what seemed to be fairly sizeable discounts on accommodation around the world. Once they discovered we had maxed out our Credit card, and renting our home (as opposed to owners), they turned pretty dark, and we left quickly afterwards. We did a scratch card too, and my wife got the big one... The prizes were meant to be either an IPad as first prize, Holiday as 2nd, and $1000 cash as third. The choice was to be revealed by scratching a final panel, which we weren't allowed to do until AFTER the presentation. You can guarantee it will ALWAYS reveal B, Holiday, as indeed, it offers a 7 day holiday, no airfares included, and subject to another hour of spiel. Incidentally, the prize cabinet at the office did NOT have the 3 main prizes in it as referred to by the kidnapper. It had a cheap, generic netbook, the holiday brochure, and a Kodak Camera. We didn't fall for it, but enjoyed the free cold drinks, and the great local information the salesman, Tom gave us. He was actually really good about it, no pressure, and not judgemental. HIS boss however was an arrogant prick. We left with a bitter taste in our mouth, but it disappeared quickly once we started walking around all the places Tom told us about. So thanks Tom, you should get a better job elsewhere, that position is too low for you mate. All the best!
ReplyDeleteWe too were in Phuket bullied into a taxi and taken to the same dingy office. Unfortunately we did sign up putting a deposit of $2500nz down and paying off monthly to the value of $8000. We are uncertain of what to do now wheather we just cut our losses or to continue with the plan.
ReplyDeleteHave been desperately trying to find other people with similar stories and those who have had a pleasant experience with lovely accomodations round the world.
Afraid you have been had. Was it some pommies with the boss giving you a breakdown and discounted options? This their office above the 7-11? https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@7.9001282,98.2975541,3a,81.6y,184.31h,84.39t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1snUWmEn5-aEwCAaOb43R6fg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1
DeleteJust had the whole scratch card scenario in Phuket too, I can not say it is or isn't a scam but I was uncomfortable with the whole situation it seemed like an excellent deal. Just being married and on our honeymoon could not commit to anything, I too found the man doing the presentation to be very informative, with regards to what attractions and restuarants to go to. I wouldn't want to taint anyones decisions here but I say be very weary of anyone that needs to drum up business in this manner of street advertising instead of the usual platforms such as magazines, newspapers, radio or television. when it came to the end of the Presentation the boss (Brian)had the final bottom line for us and kept coming up with lower terms and financing, if its really so great it should be one set rate bottom lined not tailored to get you to sign, it felt like a hard sell at the end and no one should feel pressured into buying anything they can't research first. Good luck guys.
ReplyDeleteSame experience here. The 'free 1 week holiday voucher was a farce as well, domain part of the email address does not exist.
DeleteWe signed up in Phuket also and were promised the amazing Europe trip. We were told that if you book about 6months in advance that is plenty. We have been trying to get on the Europe package trying 1yr, 2yrs even 3yrs in advance but it is always conveniently booked out. We also called a couple of Australian hotels they had on their profile and they also had never heard from them. Absolute sham! DO NOT FALL FOR THEIR LIES!! If someone approaches you on the street with a scratchy asking you to tell them that you are single when you are in fact married, tell them to bugger off and get a real job!
ReplyDeleteI was a scam. I actually went to the presentation and was told I didn't have to buy anything. Ended up getting yelled at in my face. Yelling and demanding me to buy a timeshare I wasn't even interested in. I realize it was a scam. The condos they showed me were horrific. Just book a vacation on your own. Don't ever get yourself stuck in these.
ReplyDelete