| Fri, Sep 20 2024, 23:46:17 | [ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, [9], 10 ] |
| Subject: ATC Scammers | |
Author: Richard | [ Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
] Date Posted: Sun, Oct 17 2004, 1:13:20 In reply to: jacob 's message, "ATC'S NEW SERVICE CENTRE IN SINGAPORE" on Sat, Oct 16 2004, 22:08:32 Hi Jacob What coincidence! I went down today. They are probably trying to con you again. Go down only if you wish to vent your anger at them, like I did. But NEVER believe anything they tell you or pay them any more money! Here's the complaint I sent to CASE after the meeting with ATC and IRN today. Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to you regarding my problems with Asia Travel Club and Interval Resorts Network, their marketing partner, both located at Faber House. After looking through your site about CPFTA, I realise that consumers now have much better recourse to the unfair trading practices carried out by the above companies, even though we still cannot bring out a criminal case against them. However, after letting them operate for so many years and so many complaints from consumers, I thought CASE or the government would have shut them down by now, or at least blacklisted them. I discovered to my great dismay today that that is not the case. Consumers continue to be subjected to the dishonest trading methods employed by the above companies and misled into signing contracts and documents that they should not have. I shall begin with my first encounter with them 2.5 years ago. Back then, I was pretty naive and ignorant. On 31 May 2002, I was lured up to a presentation by a representative of IRN about ATC. Due to the hard-sell tactics and I not having done my sums properly, I signed up for a membership worth $10000 on the same day. I made an initial payment of $2500 with my credit card. When I got home, I regretted my decision immediately. I went back the very next day, on 1 June 2002, and saw the manager of IRN, Martin Seah, about the cancellation of my membership. Martin Seah agreed to let me cancel the membership but says that I will have to forfeit the $2500 deposit made. I signed a letter which states that I have forfeited my deposit and that "there shall be no obligations between Interval Resorts Network Pte Ltd and myself". I have thought for 2.5 years that the membership was cancelled and the case closed. Two days ago, a representative of ATC, Cynthia, called me to go down to ATC to "process the cancellation" of my membership. Imagine my astonishment since for these 2.5 years, there was no communication whatsoever from ATC that my membership is still active. I went down at 2.45pm this afternoon to discuss the problem. I had a 'hot' discussion with Cynthia and her manager about why my membership has not been cancelled. Apparently, their records show that they have received a cancellation request from IRN but it was not processed. The gist of the argument they gave was that IRN 'had no authourity to cancel the membership'. Besides, I also had no documentary prove from IRN that the membership has been cancelled. They then try to say that the original contract is still binding somehow and that ATC reserves the right to sue me for the remaining $7500 I 'owe' them. What gall! I demanded that we go down to IRN to resolve the problem, but ATC repeatedly refused to do so. So I went down to IRN alone, which is conveniently located a few floors below them, to see Martin Seah. He's still around! I don't know whether to be happy or dismayed. Anyway, I confronted Martin about why my membership is still active. Martin assures me that the membership had been cancelled as promised, and gave me a computer printout of my account status with IRN, which shows that the membership has been cancelled, at least on the IRN side. I took the printout up to ATC but Cynthia still refuses to acknowledge the cancellation. So I went back to Martin, who took me to see his boss (forgot his name). The boss tried to get the printout back from me, saying that it should not be given to clients, but I snatched it back. I believe it is new documenatary evidence from IRN to indicate that my membership is cancelled. Anyway, by then, I was completely disgusted with both ATC and IRN, who are obviously in cahoots to try to cheat me again. I told IRN to resolve the matter with ATC or else. ATC promised to 'help me process my cancellation' and give me an answer by the coming Tuesday. Sir, I write this email to you to inquire about the following points, which I need clarified: 1. Does ATC really have a case against me to recover the money that they allege I 'owe' them? 2. I believe ATC and IRN are in cahoots to try to cheat me again after reading some of the recent cases on your website. Do I have a case to bring criminal charges against them? The continued existence of such traders in Singapore makes a travesty of consumer rights. On my part, I am fully prepared to testify in criminal court and put them out of business, if possible. I just do not know the avenues to do so. Maybe CASE can liase me with the other victims of timeshare so that we can band together to make a police report. I believe acts of dishonesty amounting to fraud should be trialed in a criminal court, not a civil court. Please also put my case on your website to warn other consumers about the above companies. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| [> [> Subject: ATC Scammers | |
|
Author: George [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: Mon, Dec 06 2004, 16:13:48 Don't be conned Richard. ATC and IRN are similar entity. They don't operate independently. Interval Resorts Network is an 'amoh' marketing company run by a britisher called Simon Paul Christopher Cook. They are marketing a club called Asian Travel Club. Previously this company was marketing Multiple Travel Club. My advice is the next time u go there sneak in with a digital voice recorder so that you can have additional evidence to expose their scam. [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |