Singapore consumer group warns against Worldex timeshare firm
Worldex Pte Ltd has been red-flagged by the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), as the organization received 137 complaints against the timeshare company’s doubtful service.
According to the list of complaints, Worldex’s questionable practices include purchasing timeshare contracts from clients, who have to wait 30 to 60 years to receive their payout plus profit. Customers also allegedly have to pay hundreds of dollars in “consultation fees” when they attend presentation’s at the Worldex office, which are completely separate from the membership fee.
Others have complained of the company’s supposedly inexpensive holiday offers.
Customers are asked to invest S$10,000 (over $7,000) to avail of Worldex’s steeply discounted rates for luxury holidays and 5-star accommodations. However, the rates were not as cheap as promised, and there were still many lower-priced alternatives.
The company that offers to buy timeshare membership while advertising its own cheap holiday programs for a fee also provided passwords for an “exclusive booking website”. However, members found that the rates were at least $70 higher compared with the rates on the hotels’ official websites.
The discrepancies have prompted CASE to release a consumer advisory against Worldex. Mr. Seng Choon, executive director of CASE, as already warned that they will pursue legal action should the organization receive more complaints.
The consumer watchdog also noted that multiple parties are named in the company’s membership contracts. This might lead to confusion among members as to whom they could make a claim against, should there be a default.
Choon warned timeshare investors to be wary of businesses offering to buy their timeshare memberships. Such companies have consistently been the main source of complaints received by the organization, with more than 2,500 received in the past year alone.
Apart from CASE, the Straits Times published an investigative report on Worldex. According to company documents obtained by The Journal, telemarketers are instructed to tell potential customers that the company does “foreign real estate sales and leasing.” However, reporters discovered that the company is actually registered only as a business and management consultancy.
Journalists also visited the Worldex’s registered business address at Orchard Road, but instead found a company called River Marketing. A check with regulatory authorities revealed that no such business exists with that name.
The Straits Times tried to get the side of Mr. Peter Mitch Mabbort, listed as Worldex’s executive shareholder, but he refused to comment.
The Journal reported last year that more timeshare companies in Singapore are luring customers with offers of buying their timeshare contracts for a substantial fee. Such cases have gone up tenfold since they began surfacing in 2003, and now make up more than 25% of timeshare complaints.
EDIT: Please see our latest coverage of the newest scam to hit Singapore timeshares here.
Short URL: http://www.timesharepages.com/?p=204
Just wasted 4 hours at OCBC. Was called by C******* M**** a few days ago to attend a talk which had nothing to do with timeshare or land banking and there will not be be any pressure selling. I was hesitant but the offer of a free Tablet was too good to pass up.
So I went there with my wife, sat through a presentation on a capital protected plan that can theoretically net you 500% gain after 25 years, with cheap stays at thousands of five star hotels worldwide and blah, blah, blah. And throughout the presentation, they kept saying that you can say no to the offer if you think the product isn’t suitable. Frankly, the product wasn’t suitable because my wife and I don’t bother with 5 star hotels and the returns were just an estimate. So we said no and ended up facing an angry, red faced angmo! And from what I have read about the quality of the tablet, I am not bothered to send in my $89 cheque. Complete waste of time! I should have known better.
I’ve also sent out cheque of $89. Received an SMS confirmation that delivery of tablet pc will be 6-8 weeks after clearance of cheque. My cheque cleared on 28 Mar and today is exactly the 8th week but no sight of the promised free gift.
OH my gosh! just attended the above last sat, after hours of table talk i signed up and pd upfront a small amt, (was surprised that i was able to bargain with them for the final payment) though suspicious i signed up , if i back up brokerage fee of ero1250 would be payable . $89 was paid for by them as i signed up! IS this company for REAL?????? if not how do i get back my deposit!????? someone professional help me!!!
Hi guys,
Thanks for sharing the info. We received call from Aftag today and suppose to meet them on this coming Wednesday but we guess we know what to do now.
Very appreciate you guys truly “speak out” the truth, else we will be the next victim again. Thank you!
Why do i have to read this post tdy and not before sat!!!! its painful… i’m one of their another victim. i should have been suspicious enough when the guy called john bargained with me to agree with the final price like u do in a pasar malam! now i know its all a scam! Can TNP run an article on this.
Hi all
I justed received a called from this company HEROLD INTERNATIONAL on tuesday,is a malay Lady. She is arrogant the way she spoke. Saying that she is from investigation Department, whoever wanna to terminate the membership go through by 3rd party must go through them. Talk a lot of rubbish, as usual told you that if you not gg to something about it , dis membership will fall on yr nxt generation something like tt, than saying are the one that can contact directly to delvepoler..etc..So just ignore them, i think we have enough of that..so fake. I think i now know more than they do…
Oh no, just attended at ocbc on 27 May and paid $3K for deposit. The talk lasted more than 4 hours and we were so tired when we sign the documents (just before midnight) and needless to say not in the right mind to read and think properly. Went back to read the documents, seems that there are misrepresentations…. They said it is an investment with huge discount on accommodation and holiday package and said it is capital return guranteed + profit after 25 years. They have also throw in gifts amounting to 7K. However, when I went back to read the documents, the 3K we paid actually go to pay for the supposedly ‘gift’ (membership to 2 clubs) and the net investment value stated is actually 5K lower than what we paid (less the 3K for above and 2K brokerage fees). If we back out, we got to pay euro 1250. There are also other things that they said doesn’t match with what I read on the documents given to me…… Can someone please advise what shall I do?
Citycorp Media, Realty Access, Boston Ventures, Concord Developments, ARTAG, Worldex, etc. David G Grimes (who identifies himself as “George”), another who identifies himself as “Mitch” and a bunch of other UK and local people are all one and the same. Currently operating in OCBC Centre #25-05.
They use all kinds of pressure tactics to get you to sign documents that are not what you agreed to. But because they know where your vulnerable point is they will keep pressing it and delaying you until you either give in or get pissed off and push your way out of all the “bouncers” they station at the door to stop you from leaving. Ethical? No. Professional? Definitely.
I checked up on them online and found surprisingly little information. All the listed websites required logins and passwords, which is nonsensical for a company trying so hard to sell itself and claiming to have hundreds of thousands of subscribers. I only found them when I Googled “Singapore holiday scam”.
I noticed on the web:
1. They change company names many times to avoid detection – all legally set up companies in Singapore (usually utilising their local employees signing up as Directors so that they can’t be traced).
2. Google searches on them lead to deadends, unless you know specifically that it is a scam or target search the names of the UK men.
3. Blogsites and third party sites suddenly suspend user accounts when the user reports them as scams (but sometimes you get to see the cached version if it was done recently). Probably someone threatening a defamation suit.
4. Some personal sites reporting their scams get mysteriously vandalised and taken down.
I consulted a very senior legal professional, and who took the trouble of reading through their documents in detail for me and here are some interesting points:
1. A lot of what they say during the presentation is not reflected in the documents.
2. The amount that you agree to pay as one sum for the purchase of one product is chopped up to be paid to several unrelated companies, making it harder for you to trace your money.
3. They set up agents to be agents of agents, who are agents of agents, etc. Essentially making it impossible for you to hold one person responsible, especially when they are overseas.
4. They word their terms very carefully, making sure they sound like what they promise you but actually meaning something else. Definitely the work of a lawyer, and not an honest one. E.g. they will verbally tell you that the agreement is governed by Singapore law. But what it actually says in the document is that they “respect” Singapore law but are under no obligation to submit to it.
5. They know they are legally obligated to explicitly inform you of the 5-day cooling off period but they hide it in a small paragraph stuck between a thick stack of useless information and make you sign a document that says you have read through the whole thing and understand and agree to it.
6. They know they have to refund your money within the 5-day cooling off period so they make you sign the deposit away as a “purchase” for some non-refundable deal that you didn’t want but they will tell you it’s the same thing but it isn’t at all.
After you ink the documents, all attempts to talk to them to get your money back will be useless. They will try to stall you until after the 5-day period is over. If you refer to anything that they claimed during the presentation, they will tell you that the only things that are binding are what you signed with them. In other words, “You are screwed”.
There are several ways you can try to get your money back:
1. File a police report
2. File a complaint at CASE
3. File a complaint to ACRA
4. File a complaint to their building landlord.
5. File a complaint to Singapore Immigration and Registration. These foreign talent give others a bad name.
6. Lodge your claim via Small Claims Tribunal
7. Engage a law firm and back it up with a lawsuit if you have to.
8. Go to their office during their presentations and let the people going in know what happened to you.
Options 1 to 5 are straightforward and add weight to your case but won’t get your money back. Option 6 seems attractive for most people and I hear of several people succeeding in getting their money back. Option 7 can be costly unless you have connections but if you show them that you are willing to cause them pain and let them become public knowledge, they will probably back down. Option 8 takes a special breed of personality but I also hear of people who manage to get their cash back on the spot. If they threaten to call the police, take out your police report and challenge them to call so that all the people there at the presentation can hear of what happened to you.
I recently heard of “AX Holdings” at Burlington Square. They always claim to be different but I doubt it when the telemarketer gets aggressive when you question their credentials.
It’s surprising that so many people in Singapore lose so much hard-earned cash and yet there is still so little information available on the web about these “professionals”.
If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
FYI may, nothing can be done once a victim of the above.I’m on the same boat as u.Went to case to file complaint, and went to police to lodge a complain. Guess what the police replied: When no crime has been done we can’t take action, nor accept your complain!! Went back to them and aggressively asked for a refund , that BAs@#*! agreed to terminate my contract but deducted my deposit from the 1250euro which he claims he has to bore! MY FOOT!! His hands were shaking and he didn’t look at me face to face during the conversation. LIKE the police said we can’t do anything now ! Wait til many ppl combine and complain , then they’ll do something! There’s a 5 working day cooling off period, u can cancel the contract within then according to CASE. Good luck . Keep posted!
Hi May & Don,
I suggest you try to get all your money back instead of accepting their 1250 Euro deduction. I know someone personally who was so incensed by these same people that he engaged lawyers to send a letter of demand and every single cent was returned without any mention of any deductions. In fact, they replied with a very politely-worded letter agreeing to it. Simply because they know it is rubbish and they will get themselves into more trouble if you decide to press your case and make it public.
If you read the “Deduction” document carefully, it is completely open-ended, to your detriment. It doesn’t say that after the said “deduction”, you are absolved of any liability. This is nonsensical and challenging them in Small Claims Tribunal should help.
These are the same people pulling the same con, just using different company names. Someone who needs to change company names several times a year obviously doesn’t like being in the spotlight. Give them the “fame” that they deserve.
Btw, I just saw this new article on Timesharepages related to these same bunch of jokers: http://www.timesharepages.com/world-news/asia/timeshare-pages-exclusive-singapore-timeshare-scams-lure-customers-with-free-ipad/#comment-18863
Don’t let them cheat you of your money. You are not alone.
Thanks AllYourBaseAReBelongToUs and Don,
Yes, that fellow is trying to delay until the 5 days cooling period is over…didn’t call….sent them notice of cancellation and went down too. David G Grimes challenge me to make a report on them. Have already make a police report.
Btw Don, I was told you actually can lodge a police report online….
Read somewhere that these same group of people are involved in other timeshare scam. Guess thats why they change co names and tatics so that with the new co names, TP will need to have sufficient no. of complaints before acting?
Hi Don,
Lodging a police report is not a problem if you are able put it across in a manner that they can understand clearly.
It helps if you list down, in chronological order, the events that transpired on the day they scammed you. You need to let the police know that you believe you have been cheated and why. While fraud may not be the case as the company is still legally incorporated, misrepresentation is definitely the case.
You have to accept responsibility for signing the documents but you also have to make clear that they did not advise you of your legal rights (which they are legally bound to do) and circumvented it by making you sign for something you did not want while telling you that it was the same thing, that’s cheating. And, be sure to bring up how they refused to meet up with you until after the 5-day cooling off period expired and how you tried in different ways to get the contract cancelled.
False claims that they made during the “presentation” should also be brought up. A common one is that they received your contact from their airline partners (Star Alliance, etc.). Call up the alleged partners or demand proof of partnership from these scammers. They won’t be able to back it up and it is another case of misrepresentation.
Print out articles related to these scammers, eg. CASE blacklisting Worldex and AFTAG/CityCorp Media being the latest Singapore-based scams. The user comments mention several of them by name and they are the same clowns running the show.
Once the police file the report, ask if they will forward it to the Commercial Affairs Department. These guys probably have a file already opened on them there. Make sure that you name the individuals involved and not just the companies as they set up new ones and switch companies every few months.
The bad news is that they won’t get your money back, they will only seek to prosecute these guys if found guilty. However, the police report adds to your case when you take it up at Small Claims Tribunal and more importantly, if it helps to nail these crooks you should do it anyway.
Yes, the police that take down my report is very nice and patient, he spent 4hrs doing it. He said it will be forwarded to the CAD but no idea whether they will follow-up this case.
Thank for the advise and info AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs and may.
Its good that the police took all your details ,at least now it adds up . HOpe some further investigation is done and its put to a stop. our valuable money going just like that makes heart pain and a good experience to us. Hope ppl get cautioned by reading this article. A friend suggested to call TNP to their office at ocbc #25-05 and publish some photos. I’ve provided some to them. HOpe it helps .
Thanks. Am going to go down to OCBC Centre this weekend with my wife. I thought it should be a reputable company if it has its office in oc centre or cbd area, the rental there being so expensive. The telemarketer is phoning me so many times asking me to go down. So persistant that they I got at least 5 miss calls from her yesterday. Now I know is a scam. Wonder how they got my number. Next time when they phoned, I will just tell them don’t waste my time and immediately put down the phone.
Thanks, was nearly conned to go and attend such talk.
Nearly go down this weekend with my wife. The telemarketer was so anxious to get me down that she called me so many times. She told me is the opening day event and the company has existed for many years. I did not go last week and she phoned me again this week, asking me to go down. I asked her, I thought “opening day” is only one week, so why is there another opening day. She told me they extended for another week due to very good response. Luckily hear what you chaps here said about this company, else I will be be stuck for many hours. Next time she called, I will say:”Don’t waste my time”. Wonder how they got my number.
Thanks guys. I almost attend it this evening with my wife.
I saw the advertisement in Strait Times and called this 1800 xxx number. The person said they are from a legal firm, doing a law suit again timeshares company. I was interested to see what they are trying to do, so I went down to 65 Chulia Street #25-05, OCBC Centre, Singapore 049513. They did recorded my statement in a so called claim form for that law suit but after that they asked me to open an escrow account $3000 as an excuse to say in order to convert that timeshare liability to an asset, I have to transfer the timeshare to the company in return for their company shares. The pressurized method they used are highly despicable, saying if I hold on to the timeshare, the company will still demand for the maintenance fee or sue me for non-payment. What a joke! I disbelieve and welcome any law suit against me. In the first place, we are all victims, why would the court entertain such law suit. Any way, I walk out, wasting 3 hours of my sunday today. I am quite sure the company is a scam, and the law suit they claimed to do against timeshare company are all bull shit! Just hope that they closed down before more people get conned.
I saw the advertisement in Strait Times and called this 1800 xxx number. The person said they are from a legal firm, doing a law suit again timeshares company. I was interested to see what they are trying to do, so I went down to 65 Chulia Street #25-05, OCBC Centre, Singapore 049513. I was entertained by a lady called Miko who recorded my statement in a so called claim form for that law suit but after that she asked me to open an escrow account $3000 as an excuse to say in order to convert that timeshare liability to an asset, I have to transfer the timeshare to the company in return for their company shares. Then another ang moh called Shawn came in to try to convince me. When he fails, another so called lawyer came in. The pressurized method they used are highly despicable, saying if I hold on to the timeshare, the company will still demand for the maintenance fee or sue me for non-payment. They can say until very convincing, using analogy like if you buy a condo or country club membership, you have to pay maintenance fees, and if I default, the company has the right to sue me for all the months of unpaid maintenance fees. What a joke! Timeshare is not even a condo nor worth anything in the first place. I disbelieved and more than welcome any law suit against me. Anyway, we are all victims, why would such timeshare contract be valid in a court? Even if it is, the contract is definitely skewed and misrepresented. Another thing commonly found in this kind of high pressure marketing company is they ask you to sign immediately and the offer will be gone the minute you walk out. Bull shit, not as if I am interested at all. Anyway, I walk out, wasting 3 hours of my sunday today. Saying that I need to consult my lawyer. I am quite sure the company is a scam, and the law suit they claimed to do against timeshare company are all bull shit! Just hope that they closed down before more people get conned. But the thing is, they keep changing company name, just like the fake mlm companies. Just a tip to share, when a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. I offer to give them my timeshare for free in return for any claim they can get out of the law suit. Why make me sign another contract and pay more money?
Hi All, just got a call frm a company named Titans something. The caller says she’s calling on behalf of Concepts Vacation Club base in Spain. Trying to help terminate our memberships & get back our money invested in this Timeshare membership. Told the lady not interested & hung up the call. Did any of U guys recd such call? And the caller also says tht her company is not One of those scam companies!
Dear All, esp Timeshare owners wanting to offload due to exorbitant increasing annual maintenance fees,
Sunday 12Jun2011 3.15pm, my wife and I went to Concord Developments. OCBC Ctr #25-05/06, fooled by an ad in ST5jun, with ARTAG saying NO-WIN, NO-FEE, taking up Class action suit against Timeshare Resorts. A tough guy Frank, acting like a lawyer, and then another Angmo Shaun Bateman claiming to representing ITRA, used frightening and persuasive techniques to brainwash us for over 4 hours until we were exhausted and getting hungry, saying things like our GOAN timeshare is a liability, which i kept on saying not so ‘cos we had paid up all maint fees including USD735 for 2011 – compared with US$180 for 1996 when we bought it for S$13600; that even after we die, our children will have to keep on paying, for the entire lease of 80yrs or more. They offered a solution – let them take over our Timeshare for free, and pay them S$!0,000 to buy 1 share of Realty Access Reimbursement Fund valued at S$100,000, now soft launch at S$70,000, and showed documents that some Singaporeans have bought and sold after 6 months, for S$54,000. So foolish me signed a POSB cheque for S$10,000, and gave them our Timeshare ownership documents, TCI docs, etc.. But i became suspicious ‘cos of 1) Frank did not give me his namecard but kept saying later then said no more name card and wrote his name Frank on Bateman’s namecard., 2) Frank annoyed me by kept saying he was HELPING us !, though we NEVER asked for help in any way. I said i can sell the Timeshare on my own. Next day 13jun, 1) i phoned POSB to stop payment on my cheque. 2) emailed compliance@cdevelopments.com NOTICE TO CANCEL CONTRACT Subscription Proposal, 3) faxed a copy of email to Concord Developments, 4) phoned CASE, and CASE adived to send a Registered Letter. 5) sent a Registered Letter giving Notification To Cancel Contract and copy CASE.. Next today 14jun and on, my intended continuing actions :- 6) make police report (can someone pls advise how to make on-line report ? thanks), 7) go to Concord Dev office take back my Timeshare ownership docs and RCI docs and give them back their docs and brochures.
Thank you All for sharing; i will let you know my outcome.
Cheers from david
.
David,
hows the result after you went to there to get back your money?
I wished there were as much information about Concord Developments back then when I went to down to their office in Mar. Then I probably would not have invested my $$$ into their Reimbursement Fund product (with the hope of selling the product in a few months’ time to recover the cost of my previous ATC timeshare).
Would anyone be able to advise whether it is legally possible for Concord Developments to take over our Timeshare liabilities? Coz it was what they promised me. They even issued an official document to me which states that they are taking over all liabilities related to my ATC timeshare. And I have already passed them all my ATC timeshare certificates and documents.
I hope this is not the beginning of another nightmare!
Ya, I sent in the chq of $89.00 for that tablet PC. A SMS sent to me on 13 Apr confirmed my chq had received and cleared, delivery of tablet PC will take 6 – 8 weeks from that date, till date, I receive NOTHING, called them they play Tai-ji, pushing each another. Can anyone advise me how I can get back my money? I will go and buy the tablet PC myself after that. Thanks.
I urge all who suffer to please go and make a police report. I send in the cheque of $89 and received a sms on 25 march 2011 saying i will receive my tablet in 8 weeks time. Now its already 14weeks. Police only classified such case as BOA( breach of aggreement) until more people step forward to make a report that they will start to investigate. I dont mind losing the $89, i just wanted to have hard facts before going to the press to make it public so they cant continue to cheat people. I am particularly upset with the FAT manager who is a “Ah Beng” at concord development pte ltd, and because of him i am willing to lose my $89 of delivery charges to nail them.
hi all,
having read all of your posts. i can totally relate.
my husband and i just attended the Realty Access 3 hr long briefing at OCBC.
the first funny/odd thing we noticed was that during the prez, we were the only clients with a roomful of actors/actresses who kept agreeing and echoing what the presenter was saying. too interactive to be a normal audience.
they also tried to get a min 3k from us just for today. good thing we didn’t sign up coz we’re not the trusty sort. we had told them we’ve never heard of them and want to google them first.
they gave us a laptop but when we keyed in realty access, no matches came up. it was sooo weird.
they kept repeating about singapore law and whether we trust sg law or not.
now, i know we should just book this to experience. spread the word around so that we can minimize possible future victims. and also not even attempt to claim the gifts.
Hi David,
Any updates from your end? Lots of us are in the same shoe.
Anyone with suggestions please advise.
Thanks!
Hi David, any updates? Please share.
We need to be united. These expats are too much. Singapore welcomes them but yet they did these… We should not let them continue to cheat on more of our fellow people. I believe more people will be cheated by them.
I also wasted my time with these Bastards.
A few legal advice. This is clearly a case of FRAUD: They don’t own most of the properties, they have no alliance with major hotels like Marriott and the independent Trustee that holds their properties does not exist.
Many companies sell timeshare including reputable ones like Marriott Hotels but they do not push you to sign and lie to your face like these English thieves (they all look like they escaped from a UK jail).
The only thing you must do is to cancel your contract by sending a Notice of Cancellation by registered mail within 5 days of signing the contract. Ask the form from CASE. That is what I did.
Police report or filing a complaint with CASE are quite useless because none have the power to impose sanctions. They will just ask for a Court Injunction, meaning “please don’t do it again” without any sanction!!
You can sue yourself them but it is expensive for you and Singapore law does not impose punitive damages or jail sentences for this kind of fraud!! CASE told me it is because Singapore Government is pro-business!!. I even called the police, the Criminal Justice Court, they said can’t do anything against these identified fraud cases and thieves. unbelieveable!
One solution to really hurt them is to call up all the hotels like Marriott, Ritz Carlton …that you remember in the presentation and report the fraud to the General manager in Singapore. These thieves claim thay have an Alliance with Marriott, Ritz…in fact it’s a lie and they are violating these US companies’ Intellectual Property, Trademark…which is punishabe as a criminal offense in Singapore law. Your best hope is that by having a lot of victims reporting these violations, the US companies will sue Concord and shut them down.
First get your money back, then report fraud and violation to Ritz, Marriott (Rachel, sec to GM at 6831 4501). The more complaints, the more they will take legal action to send these thieves where they belong: in court, jail or kicked out of Singapore.
Next thing you can do is post your warnings on social media, Yahoo, Today newspaper.. give them such bad publicity that they will have to shut down.
Let’s unite and take them out of business
Hi
I would like to share with you a few legal solutions: like all of you, I wasted my time and money with these English thieves and I would like to ask your collaboration to take them out of business or having them sued as they deserve: as Criminals (most of them already look like thieves from a UK jail)
Under Singapore law, what they commit an evident Fraud: they lied to sell you a crappy investment
-they don’t own the properties they show (they showed me a French castle which is a National Museum!! thieves and stupid.…),
-the independent Trustee supposed to hold and protect your share of the properties does not exist
-and they have no alliance with big names like Marriott.
The only legal action to protect yourself is to send by registered mail a Notice of Cancellation (ask CASE) within 5 days. After that, it is a bit more difficult, ask CASE. You can file a complaint to the Police and CASE but it is useless as none of them has the power to impose sanctions. You can sue them yourself but expensive and will cost you another 10K$.
Let’s post warnings in Today newspapers, yahoo, etc., let’s name the companies, AFTAG, CityCorp Media, Realty Access, Boston Ventures, Concord, Worldex, Beaufort park, Global securities, Colonial strategies …let’s name personally Mr MITCH MABBORT, DAVID George GRIMES…etc to cause them such bad publicity they will have to shut down, avoid their friends…
One way to really hit them hard is to report the Fraud to the big Hotels names they use in their presentation: Ritz, Marriott…etc. They have no alliance and no rights to use their names, under Singapore law, it is a violation of Intellectual Property and punishable as a Criminal Offense. These US companies jealously defend and protect their brands and will sue anybody misusing them, especially for this kind of fraud. The more victims call Ritz, Marriott… to report fraud, complain or even threaten legal action against Marriott… saying they have been misled by the alliance, the more these big hotels chains will take action to shut them down.
Let’s unite to kick their ass and show them we won’t let them get away with their crimes.
PS: To report fraud and push big hotels to take action, report fraud by calling Rachel, Secr. to Marriott GM tel 6831 4501. If you remember other hotels, call their GM in Singapore
how to stop these guys. just got a call from them inviting me for a prez this friday. the scam is still going on. they are calling from 65369114
got suspicious of what they are offering yo good to be true. decided to check the web and found this site
peter is never a nice people as you have claimed as he did not get money from you but paying you to be part of the scam group. if he did not get money out from us, we are being treated like street dogs! They have set up the companies with merely a start up capital of $1, how can a well established company as they claimed to be to have such a poor capital?? boston ventures and concord developments?? they are all from the UK and same director!. As for the direct marketing media, they are not even a registered company! this is a hit and run business!
I read a comment page from their ex-staff (local) which i disagreed with him / her that if we don’t get into their trap, they are not the scam, afterall, they have come to our country with an ill intention. Knowing that our country do not have any regulatory bodies to hold the justice for us, neither there is any legal channel for people who falls into the trap. Timeshares is a plot. Even the staff worked with them disagreed with the business that they are doing as you have mentioned, how pure can then be of these companies?
Dont get cheated is only what we can raise to create awareness, but these people have come to our homeland to tarnish us, disrespect the law and order of Singapore, thinking that Singaporean are an easy target…
To the law and order, it is time for us to review on the loop holes that these scams are preying, they are hurting our people, demolishing our economy, turning our country to be their “homebase” for cheating.
for the matter of fact, when comes to legal claim, they are pushing to the marketin media who does not even exist! so fellow countryman, how can we put them behind bars when they paid up capital is only $1!!!!!
by the way, for all your info, they are now using overseas property investment as their carrot to lure our people.
To the protector, law and justice of Singapore, please make these scams stop with the proper regulatory bodies, we are a country with law and order, don’t let these people laugh on our regulation!
Guys its time for action, forget the small talk… having been to hell (25-05 ocbc centre) and back I know you guys should 1st make a report to CAD then CASE and The Police. remember the story about the bunch of sticks? together we can make these people sit up and listen. With the spike in cases,I’m sure the authorities will stop sitting on their laurels. these goons are getting ready to change their modus operandi soon. according to reliable sources they have a new name and a new scheme(much like the Nigerian phone scam) and limited Diamond watches hahahahah….remember all the staff are ficticious and the lawyers are actually hobos they hand picked off the streets.The angmohs have supposedly lived amongst us for years and have cheated thousands of Singaporeans. wats the govt doing abt it? Want a strong mandate? do something, or should I be bold enough to suggest going to the alternative camp workers party for some real answers abt the importantance of “foreign talent” I pity the poor unsuspecting chinese educated elderly Timeshare owners who live on pensions. The fellow singaporean who arranged my appt,how do you sleep at night+ yes they advertised in Chinese Lianhe Zaobao and very soon Indian and malay Papers? Nobody is exempt so b careful and remember if its too good to b true it usually is. In life Nothing is free not even so called Class Action suits.
I’m also one of the victims that has been scammed by these [word removed by site admin]. Had reported to CASE and at police post but of not much help. We can collectively report this case to Commercial Affairs Dept (CAD) written or online at the following website link:
http://www.cad.gov.sg/cad/template/subpage_t.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRORIGINALURL=%2fserv%2frep%2fLodging%2ba%2bCommercial%2bCrime%2bReport%2ehtm&NRNODEGUID=%7bB77BDDAF-2A55-45EF-83E9-E0CF2D7693F1%7d&NRCACHEHINT=Guest#electronic
Hopefully the relevant authorities can do something about it for the benefits of all…..
Hi everyone,
Thank you all for your posts. I feel terrible so many have been scammed. If not for your posts I would have gone down tomorrow evening. Truth be told, nothing is for free. The Indian lady who has called me for 3days assured me that no purchasing will be required on my end but I became suspicious when told I had topay a delivery charge between $30 – $50 if I “won” 1 of their lucky draw electrical prizes. If you win something are you expected to pay for anything? At that point I knew this whole thing was wrong.
AX Holding is the company and telephone number is 65930473.
Very persistent lady. It’s not her fault, she’s just a telemarketeer trying to close a
commission but it’s all wrong, wander if she is aware she’s part of a scam org.
Anyways, thanks again for your posts.
Attention all,
Citycorp Media is recruiting more staff… check the links below;
http://siva-sg.jobstreet.com/_profile/previewProfile.asp?advertiser_id=56193&dept_id=0&src=a
http://job-search.jobstreet.com.sg/singapore/company/citycorp-media-pte-ltd-jobs/
R they planning to scam more ppl????
Herold International is another company trying to fraud. They call up very late at night and give you a deadline to go to their company to solve your timeshare problems reasonably. All these people in the time share scams are related somehow i think. I had a call from some Malay woman who spoke very well, telling me that both my husband and I needed to go down to Robinson Road to see them by this week. However on their website is listed as People’s Park….very fishy! Get your phone number unlisted if you have been a timeshare victim.
Going back to those who say the Citicorp media head is ‘nice’. OF COURSE the main gangster and swindler has to be the ‘nicest’ guy around. The more money they can steal from others, the nicer they are. Can you imagine if he has tattoos all over, alcholic, swearing profanities, has a dark smelly office in a basement of some deserted building, will you still be working there as telemarketer? or people will still stay there and listen. Nobody will be around to help him do the job of robbing victims.
The devil, the evil one is really very ‘nice’, with best manners, best smile, dressed well, v courteous gentleman (or lady), so people will be FOOLED. They are nicer than normal people, cos he has hidden agenda. Nice does not mean GOOD. He is not a good person. He is evil. Thanks to this forum, we know his agenda.
If you are telemarketer hoping to feel less guilty and Singaporeans don’t get scammed even tho you worked as their mouthpiece, don’t you know people’s time is money??? For a working person, 2 hours is worth few 100 to few 1000 dollars. For a homemaker, it’s also money, time and energy wasted. So it’s still the same scamming and swindling people for their money – in kind, cash or time! The customers could be genuinely looking for reliable and cost-saving holidays. But only to be conned by citicorp media.
We went there wanting to check out good real estate programme as stated by 2 malay guys on the phone, who INSISTED it’s not about timeshare when I queried them on phone. I thought after ALL the bad reports, there won’t be anymore such timeshare scams in Singapore. So decided to find out about the properties. I have bought investment property before and value increased.
At the OCBC office, there were some Indian guys sitting at the back, like wolves waiting to pounce. and also some white guy – maybe brought up in eastern european background who are very corrupted. The chinese staff who sat with us will keep calling the white guys to explain further whenever we have questions. Actually already v suspicious and i wanted to leave straight away.
Then my wife said wanted to go toilet and i decided to go too. Then the guy servicing us even followed me to the man’s toilet to ensure both of us don’t escape. I’m sure if we stay the 2 hours, he will then get his commission. Is that how they pay, you telemarketer forum participants?
After the 2 hours, we went out and were given some vouchers for ipad and travel. We have to pay “courier fees $89 for ipad to have smooth safe delivery to ensure ipad not spoilt” and promised to receive ipad in 6-8weeks time. It’s already now 16 weeks since we went there. No ipad in sight. When i called many times, i talked to a guy called Noor who said they’re looking into it. I am not intending to use the travel voucher, becos we have to again go as a couple to the agent and listen to some presentation, PLUS pay various ‘fees’, it comes up to more than normal travel agent.
Since CAD, CASE and police didn’t storm their office and shut them down, I have also informed them. Appreciate if everyone can hightlight CAD, CASE, police about Citicorp Media and other such scams to help our fellow singaporeans. Arrest these hooligans who pose as ‘nice’ people – wolf in sheep’s clothing!
I received a call from Citycorp Media a couple days back. I had always been wiery of such calls esp when they provide free gifts. I did a google and found this website and thanks to all for your advice to confirm my suspicions.
The Malay woman started by asking if I was married, age 35-65, household income and spent $3500 on holidays before. If the answer is yes, she will persuade you to attend their talk and a free travel for the entire family will be provided (only airfare without tax and surcharges and limited to a few budget airlines to places like Phuket, Bali, etc). She also insisted that I need to attend with my husband, and kids not allowed. This is very different from previous marketers like Jardin where they invite the entire family to attend for food and vouchers provided (I did not go but reviews seemed genuine since vouchers are provided on the spot and you need not hold them to anything except possible hard sell). Thanks for confirming my earlier decision was right not to attend at all.
Anyone thinking of taking them up on thier offer of a free vacation and/or tablet pc – don’t even think about it!
After attending a meeting this past weekend, I can confirm most all comments above are spot on. These English thugs need to be run out of Singapore ASAP and I am ashamed that a small group of expat criminals are tarnishing the majority of hard working and honest PR’s that call Singapore home.
Let me apologize now for these low lifes and assure you that they DO NOT represent the thinking or actions of 99% of foreigners here who only want to make a better life for thier famlies and gain overseas experience in a safe and welcoming country.
I am going to CASE tomorrow to do my part.
An angry Angmoh
Thanks, Hammer! I just got a call from 65369114!!! I will not return any call then.
I’m also a victim of this fraud case with Worldex. I joined in 2009 but was unable to utilise anything. I would seek fellow victims to contact me at this email sgroslee@gmail.com, so that we can form a group to present our case to the government. Hopefully we can get back all our money, if not at least a portion of it, from these culprits who are still setting up other companies to mislead and scam our fellow citizens. This is all our hard-earned money and it is so painful when you know you’re mislead and deceived by empty promises. If we come together and everyone can present their scenario of being deceived by these culprits, I’m sure the government would not allow such cases of misleading claims and fraud to exist in our financial environment.
Hi all,
Need a help from you guys, i received a call from Asian Fairtrade Advisory Group, located at Mckenzie road. Anyone heard about this company, saying that they are gather all the victim to legal sue the timeshare company. All lawyers from ITRA which dealing wz timeshares. But they are going charge 25% if they win the case, this 25% is base on the amount we get back!!! Please assist if anyone know about this company, still hesitating whether to waste my time to “chat” with them. Cos they mentiion no fee incur!! Don’t know true or not!!!
AFTAG is a scam. No need to go. Their registered office is at McKenzie Road but they operate with a big bunch of other scam companies at OCBC Centre #25-05. Amazing how OCBC closes one eye to whatever their tenants do as long as they get paid rent.
Hi Anonymous,
thanks for your info, i also comfirm it yesterday, cos the staff is so aggressive keep on calling us, wanted us to go dwn to meet for a chat. But after we confirm with him who is his boss, than finally he told us than save your trip don’t need to come down anymore so is confirm that is a scam. But i pity this staff, cos he really don’t know what kind of company he is working with. I just wonder how long all this can make a stop.
Hi Anonymous,
thanks for your info, i also comfirm it yesterday, cos the staff is so aggressive keep on calling us, wanted us to go dwn to meet for a chat. But after we confirm with him who is his boss, than finally he told us than save your trip don’t need to come down anymore so is confirm that is a scam. But i pity this staff, cos he really don’t know what kind of company he is working with. I just wonder how long all this can make a stop.
I actually received the gift as promised today! It is a 7 inch MID tablet 2.2, made in China one. Now charging it and will see whether it works or not.
Actually the tablet PC is not an original MID.
Can surf net, but difficult to control cos the screen not very responsive to touch