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Boeing787

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Hi guys, I need help.

I have signed up for a plan at Discovery VIII International a couple of years ago. After I discovered that this was not what I wanted. I stopped paying (My fault) should have gotten back and chase them for a refund). I have now received a lawyer demending me to pay the sum of $18500. What should I do ?
 

PeacefulNemesis

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hmmm nobody hear of WorldVenture?

I just went for one of their talks. They strike me as a scam too but tbh, they are quite different from the old scams. They do not offer free gifts, they do not force u to sign agreement on that same day, they have celebrities (mine was gurmit singh & lin ming lun) and their membership fees is much much lower than others ($400+). However, they have annual subscription fees and some very strange and confusing payment/reward structure. Seems like using some "if you can't convince them, confuse them" method. I have yet signed up and doubt i will because the overall pitch is similar to the other scams. The sales pitch sounds more like he is interested to get downlines so that he can earn commission than the actual travel goods. And last thing the salesperson (my fren's director) said was "we are not making u sign anything today BUT if u r late, u'll miss the SUPERSTAR in the upline". In writing essay, we know the conclusion paragraph is the most impt one lor...and he chose to conclude it this way instead of talking abt his product. Obviously shows where his priority lies.

And their hierachical structure (becoming director) also freaks me out. If you are in the upline, then yes, u can earn alot from downline. They keep stressing that it is a "new" biz here and we are pioneers (trying to tell u if u join now, u'll earn alot). Sooner or later, you'll run out of pple to sell in this small sg lor. Furthermore, ur Director or Superior might not even be more competent than u, he is a Director just because he was there first.

I remember he also said it's onlly $400 subscription and u can opt out anytime. If it's really a scam, so be it since only $400. I did not see the contract so I cannot confirm if it is really that easy to opt out. I had read many stories on MLMs/Timeshare/Pyramid/Ponzi/etc and i have a feeling the contract will not be as easy as he seem to suggest. And i'd read about other scams where the annual fees can be increased as and when they like and you can't do anything abt it.

As for the travel package they are "selling", not very certain how good it is but they promise refund++ if u are not satisfied. I seriously doubt it is that easy to get a refund having seen other similar schemes. I'm thinking it might not be easy to book the travels too esp if more n more pple are in this later. Furthermore the packages might be in some ulu places or during some ulu timing and end up you can not utilise it. If they suddenly decrease their offerings, there's also ntg u can do.

Last but not least....the person who called me to go was a childhood fren/cousin. We din contact for mths suddenly he called to catchup. He was v dodgy initially until the time was near then he suddenly said, "actually i called u up coz...blah blah blah". Later i told him if he wants to try to sell this to his friends, i'm sure they'll appreciate if u tell them upfront about it rather then use the old way scammers love to use, ie, to catchup. Somehow he seem to be brainwashed to do it this way apparently it shows that there is stg to hide.


This WorldVenture actually strikes me as a Timeshare+Ponzi+MLM altogether in one.

Most important thing is to look at the contract you'll be signing.....
 
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WeiHan

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Hi guys, I need help.

I have signed up for a plan at Discovery VIII International a couple of years ago. After I discovered that this was not what I wanted. I stopped paying (My fault) should have gotten back and chase them for a refund). I have now received a lawyer demending me to pay the sum of $18500. What should I do ?

Hi boeing787,

Do not pay them. Ignore them first. Try contact the facebook group for help. Discovery III is the predecessor of Cours Montreux. The facebook group is "NO to Courz Montreuxx"
 

agicaniac

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Hi guys, I need help.

I have signed up for a plan at Discovery VIII International a couple of years ago. After I discovered that this was not what I wanted. I stopped paying (My fault) should have gotten back and chase them for a refund). I have now received a lawyer demending me to pay the sum of $18500. What should I do ?

Same as Boeing787

I paid a small amount for a timeshare scheme 5 years ago to Discovery 8 VIII. My bad for not calling it off during the cooling period. 22 Aug I received a letter from Gurdip & Gill, telling me to pay the balance which is $10k+. Anyone received something similar?

I am given 14 days to make full payment.
What step should I do next? I am not gonna pay money for this kinda crap.
 

Boeing787

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Hi boeing787,

Do not pay them. Ignore them first. Try contact the facebook group for help. Discovery III is the predecessor of Cours Montreux. The facebook group is "NO to Courz Montreuxx"

Thanks! After reading a number of posts, I am not going to respond to them.

Agicaniac: Same , pm you. I think its just a scare tactic, that's all.
 

ShanieOng23

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Discovery VIII issues

I received their letter to ask for payment last saturday.. Now I am confuse.. I never use their services and now they ask for payment.

What should i do? Can any one help?
 
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There is a similar company, not sure if its Discovery 8 but their salespeople hang out every Fri, Sat at the Coffee Bean Tealeaf outlet opposite Orchard towers. They'll sit there for hours showing 'prospects' their presentations, and how people should sign up as a member to get exclusive travel rates blah blah. Even spot few celebs, like Darren Ng, Gurmit Singh etc. Sounds dubious. Like MLM scheme :eek:
 

PeacefulNemesis

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There is a similar company, not sure if its Discovery 8 but their salespeople hang out every Fri, Sat at the Coffee Bean Tealeaf outlet opposite Orchard towers. They'll sit there for hours showing 'prospects' their presentations, and how people should sign up as a member to get exclusive travel rates blah blah. Even spot few celebs, like Darren Ng, Gurmit Singh etc. Sounds dubious. Like MLM scheme :eek:

WorldVenture definitely.

I was reading about sunshine empire and i think they are very similar. Sunshine Empire got killed off mainly coz if you dun buy their products, you can still profit from getting downlines, ie, a financial product. This worldventure seems the same too. can anyone confirm?

i got close fren in this and if it's really illegal, we shld report to cad/mas/case to stop more goondus fr becoming victims!
 

PeacefulNemesis

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Seems like WorldVenture is illegal???
*****************************

4. Why is there a need to have an Exclusion Order?

Not all multi-level marketing techniques are undesirable. There are legitimate businesses using innovative sales tactics, and should not be lumped together with pyramid schemes.

Hence, the Government enacted the Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Selling (Excluded Schemes and Arrangements) Order (hereafter, referred to as the 'Exclusion Order') in June 2000, to exempt legitimate businesses from the Act. The following categories of businesses were exempted:

(1) Insurance businesses that are registered, approved or licensed under the Insurance Act, the Insurance Intermediaries Act 1999 and the regulations made thereunder;

(2) Master franchise schemes and direct selling schemes which satisfy the following conditions:


the benefit received by any promoter or participant is as a result of the sale, lease, license or other distribution of a commodity and not as a result of the recruitment of additional participants;

the promoter of the scheme shall not knowingly make false or misleading representation or omission relating to the scheme or the commodity;

the promoter shall not make any representation on the benefits other than those allowed;

there should be a clearly stated policy on refund or buy-back guarantee.

After the Exclusion Order was enacted in 2000, the Government received feedback that the provisions in the Exclusion Order were not sufficiently clear. Some members of the public were also confused by claims of legitimacy by companies and often requested for the Government to clarify if particular schemes were legitimate.

In response to the feedback, the Government reviewed the Exclusion Order, and subsequently amended the Order in 2001.
Ministry of Trade and Industry : Multi-level Marketing and Pyramid Selling
 

PeacefulNemesis

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10. What would happen to "innocent victims" who participated in pyramid schemes unknowingly, and who did not benefit in any way before the scheme closed down?

Under the Act, all persons who participate in multi-level marketing or pyramid selling would commit an offence. This is because the participants would have played an active but destructive role of attracting others into the scheme. We believe that this is the best way to deter the potential promoters of such schemes.

Hence, we would urge the public to be extra careful and to exercise due diligence when deciding whether to participate in business schemes. They should be doubly suspicious of get-rich-quick promises. If they believe empty promises and hand over their money to the promoter, chances are they will be cheated of the money. At the same time, they might be guilty of committing an offence as they are participating in an illegal scheme.

Ministry of Trade and Industry : Multi-level Marketing and Pyramid Selling
 

chips1900

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I got a call from Herold International offering to help me recover my money from Asian Free Trade Advisory Services.

I had foolishly signed with Concord Ventures (OCBC Centre) which was connected to a host of other companies Realty Access, Boston Ventures and Asian Free Trade Advisory Services etc. I terminated under the 5 day free-look but lost $1000 for the initial fee. Now Herold Int wants to help me claim it.

Concord was supposed to help me recover my money from GCR which I signed about 6 years ago. In the end, I almost paid another $18000 if I had not terminated my contract with them.

I have decided not to go ahead with the Herold Int talk. Just treat the $1000 loss as another bad move. No more. Someone mentioned in this forum about 2 years ago wondering why the government is not doing anything about this. I wonder why too. This has nothing to do with free trade practices etc. This thread has been going on for so long and people continue to get conned.

Govt is regulating the financial advisors industry, the real estate insdustry and today, even the law profession in that they the advisors, agents and lawyers have to go for continuing education every year. Under certain conditions, even advisors may be subjected to jail terms if advice given wrongly or something like that. What about these people in this timeshare industry or their variations? Perhaps the same laws should be applied to them. That they can be jailed. Not just the convenience of closing down the office. The main bosses who are foreigners may flee when that happens leaving the local sales people to bear the brunt. Is this the kind of foreign talent we want?

This is one industry that Singapore can do without. Singaporeans will not end up poorer. It is not as if we will be crying if there is no timeshare and their like in Singapore. Is anyone from the government listening?
 

maverick5595

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Scam at OCBC Centre #25 floor

I am writing this because the scam company Concord Developments had changed name to Pan asia invest. They are still at the same location at OCBC centre #25 floor but name changed. CASE had applied court injunction againest them. But the scum changed name easily due to our pro-business govt. You can search for CASE injunction at
using google as this damn site does not allow me to insert link.


It seems that many had fallen prey but the PAP govt is doing nothing. Their tactic is to sell you time share but they will said that it is not time share. Then they will introduce another product under another company. The date of the receipt will be missing and the contract of that product date will be earlier. Becareful of names like realty access, boston ventures , pan asia invest. But the scums will change name again. Just be careful when you attend the presentation and they do not let you go alone and also talk to your spouse. Anyone who had scum experience can write to me at maverick5595 at yahoo dot com
 

AutumnWind

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I am writing this because the scam company Concord Developments had changed name to Pan asia invest. They are still at the same location at OCBC centre #25 floor but name changed. CASE had applied court injunction againest them. But the scum changed name easily due to our pro-business govt. You can search for CASE injunction at
using google as this damn site does not allow me to insert link.


It seems that many had fallen prey but the PAP govt is doing nothing. Their tactic is to sell you time share but they will said that it is not time share. Then they will introduce another product under another company. The date of the receipt will be missing and the contract of that product date will be earlier. Becareful of names like realty access, boston ventures , pan asia invest. But the scums will change name again. Just be careful when you attend the presentation and they do not let you go alone and also talk to your spouse. Anyone who had scum experience can write to me at maverick5595 at yahoo dot com

Yeapp this has been up for quite a couple of years. A lot of people asked why would anyone still "fall" for timeshare. The truth is, if you're not "trained", majority of the time you fall to sales tactics.

What this company has, is a call center of about 15 - 20 strong, dialing up numbers to tell selected individuals that they qualify to take home a tablet pc and a set of travel vouchers for their family - the moment they come down and listen for the 2 hours talk. Sounds a good deal right? Just by appearing there, and being qualified, you are promised a tablet pc and travel vouchers so your family can travel for free. Once you're inside the room, you're subjected to another series of sales techniques.

This company on average in a week, earns about half a million. Who's money? Yours. If you want to know how they got your number - pm me. This world ain't bad, its just you need to know how to differentiate the truth and the false, then learn to be smart. If you're under 35 years old, don't worry you won't be called up - so its ironic people above 35, thinks they know everything yet they still fall for it.
 

A Good Samaritan

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I am writing this because the scam company Concord Developments had changed name to Pan asia invest. They are still at the same location at OCBC centre #25 floor but name changed. CASE had applied court injunction againest them. But the scum changed name easily due to our pro-business govt. You can search for CASE injunction at
using google as this damn site does not allow me to insert link.


It seems that many had fallen prey but the PAP govt is doing nothing. Their tactic is to sell you time share but they will said that it is not time share. Then they will introduce another product under another company. The date of the receipt will be missing and the contract of that product date will be earlier. Becareful of names like realty access, boston ventures , pan asia invest. But the scums will change name again. Just be careful when you attend the presentation and they do not let you go alone and also talk to your spouse. Anyone who had scum experience can write to me at maverick5595 at yahoo dot com

LINK: CASE TAKES CONCORD DEVELOPMENTS TO COURT
 

Nurasakura

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Hi there... Have u managed to settle through Case?
Dear cutepig,

Wenting and Wendy is the same person. I've signed up with them and ever since I tried to get my first quotation with them, I was disappointed and now wish to cancel.

Basically, I'm also confused with their so called hotel/air advantage. When I wanted to go to HK last december, they offered me budget airline price at no discount and a hotel for $100 per night. When I checked out Zuji online, the price difference is really not that great. I would say u would probably save about $20 to $30 on the whole............that's really peanuts for the sum of money you have paid them for the membership. In the end, I made my own reservations through Zuji.

I go for holiday at most once a year and I can only manage to save that 'peanuts' sum of money per year....yet have to pay $1000++ for the membership??? After that first experience, all their promises dun make any sense to me at all.

But too bad for me....it's too late to legally cancel the contract. Now, i'm still trying with CASE.
 
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