Country Club Vacations Scam

With this review of mine I would like to inform you about a company (Country Club Vacations) in UAE that fools people with fake offers and harasses them at a later stage.

First I would like to thank the DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DUBAI for their help to get my money back.

Whoever who got cheated by them Please contact DED, They are very helpful.

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DUBAI
http://www.dubaided.gov.ae/English/OurServices/Pages/ServicesDetails.aspx?ServiceID=18
Phone: +971 600 545555 / +971 4 4455555
email: [email protected]

On 21st of July 2016, I got a call from Country club (Miss. Sheela) saying that I have been nominated for 6 nights & 7days free stay at country clubs anywhere in India and I have won a Lulu gift voucher. For collecting these free vouchers I was asked to arrive at Country Club Hotel, Dubai, U.A.E. along with my family.

So I went there with my family on the same day to enquire about the same and to collect the voucher. After reaching there Mss. Merin (0527387936) staff of Country Club attended us & explained about Country Club Global Ownership. Mr. Syed Majid Hussain (Line Manager, 0568696900) assisted her to brief me.

The Country Club Global Ownership (CCGO) offers the following benefits.
1. one will be eligible to get 25 weeks of vacation anywhere in the world, anytime, within the 25 years.

2. Each holiday can accommodate maximum 8 adults.

3. If the person is using other than the country club owned property, there is a transfer fee per vacation, which inside India, is 90$ & outside India 160$ to 250$ depending on the hotel.

4. Ownership can be canceled l(Transfer) any time and the money refunded if we are not happy with the service or because any financial problem. (Refund will be vacation usage charge(1400Dhs per 1 week) minus total amount paid)

5. There is a fitness club membership as a complimentary service which can be used for swimming, indoor games, gym and other activities for free of cost. (I told them clearly I'm not interested in it and I'm never going to use it.)

6 At Kids' weekly club, which is an every weekend event, there will be Music, Dance, Drawing, Painting, Aerobics and etc.. classes and they will arrange summer camps as well for children. Currently it is happening in Madina mall qusaiss, and within 3 months time it will start in Al Barsha as well.

7. Women weekly club, there will be Fashion, Cooking & etc. classes.

8. Both club transportation is provided by country club anywhere in Dubai with the additional cost of 30Dhs per month.

9. We can use country club party hall for any special occasion related to any our family members, anywhere in India & UAE county club owned properties.

10. They arrange birthday celebrations of the member or his/her children and the marriage anniversary party free of cost.

11.He told us that the decision has to be made then and there since this offer was valid only for that day & it was given in connection with the completion of 25years of country club.

12.There will be annual maintain charges of maximum 1200AED- which is applicable for all the club activities, it will be variable, depending on usage.

And many more benefits were explained to us. Then Mr. Majid explained about Ownership Charges.
Mr. Majid offered 25yrs of vacation in .31, 500/AED- & after offering discount of AED.3500/-.
He also offered:
1) LED TV of 40 inches(Samsung) or you have a choice to select 800 Aed worth gold voucher.
2) 5 extra year for 2 nights and 3 days(each year) local holidays.
3) Complimentary Saturday brunch with your family.
4) Discount book let
5) 4 nights and 5 days extra holiday to Malaysia.

He told me about an EMI option in which I can pay 970Dhs per month for 36 month. They have some agreement with some bank here and I will get a free card from one of the banks here in Dubai, which is a special card exclusively for the Country club and I cannot use it for any other purpose. Presently, they will block 5000Dhs from my card and as soon as my ownership gets approved I will start my 970dhs EMI and 5000Dhs will be released.

I , again, clearly asked them about this and they told me that all these will happen in 7 days of time and everything will be arranged by them and I don’t need to bother about anything. Based on these discussion I gave them my credit card and they blocked 5000Dhs. And they asked me to sigh some papers telling it was the club membership. I asked them why I should sign this ? The answer was that it was the complimentary membership. The Ownership card & document will be returned in 12 days.

After 2.5 hours of discussion they gave me a voucher of 6 nights & 7days free stay from country club anywhere in India & the 50Dhs. Lulu voucher.

When I reached back home and I checked about country club on internet and I found a lot of bad reviews.
Next day(23rd of July) we got an invite for a lunch. After the lunch I went to Mr. Majid to make sure all that they had promised were correct. The bad reviews on the internet prompted me to do this. He promised me again that whatever they told me is correct information. I asked Mr Majid & Miss. Merin to send me a mail of what they had told me in our discussion and they told me they will do it as soon as possible.

2days later I realized I'm not getting the card because of a DBR issue. I called Mr. Majid and told him about this.
He asked me for 1 day's time for a solution. There was no response for next 1 week. They didn’t send the mail that they had promised.

On 2nd of August I contacted with their Karama office and they ask me to sand an email to Mr. Afzal (Manager Owner Relationship Dept). I sent a mail to Mr. Afzal ([email protected]) & Mr. Majid ([email protected]) explaining the situation.

On 4th of August I received a call from Mr. Afzal, He talked to me very rudely. He told me that I needed to pay full amount to get the Ownership card, He said It was not possible to cancel the Ownership. I asked him about some of the features that Mr. Majid & Miss. Merin had told me and he said it was not possible. He spoiled the rest of my day & I couldn’t sleep at that night.

On 5th of August I recieved a mail from Mr.Majid, there was a receipt of 5000Dhs. as an advance payment & complimentary club membership application form which I signed. I wrote him asking for an explanation.

On 6th of August I contacted Mr. Majid and he said they cannot release my money back & he cannot sand a mail as well because whatever they had said was false information and they were fooling us. There is no such a Country Club Global Ownership. I joined the Country club Fitness membership which we never discussed. I searched on the internet about them & I find out a lot of same cases. from one of the victim I heard about DED.

On 7th of August I made a call to DED and to raise a complaint against them. Next day I got a call from Mr. Santhosh Mathew (General Manager), he asked me to send the complaint to him and he would check the matter with their team.

On 9th of August I got a call from DED and they told me that i will get my money back within 15 Days. Country club gave me the cheque with the collection date on 25th of August

On 25th of August when i reached there Karama Office first they said they would put the cheque date as Dec 3rd and I didn't agree with them then they changed the date to 25th of Sep.

Finally I got my money Back yesterday.

Once again Thank you DED.

Akhilesh Chakkroth
0554225540