Bengaluru: Holiday dream turns into trip to nowhere

BENGALURU: Won an irresistible holiday deal in a lucky draw? Beware! You could be falling into a perfectly laid trap. Milan Dey, a resident of HSR Layout, didn’t know about it until he found out that he was cheated of Rs 20,500 by True Seasons Holidays – a Viveknagar based company. When he tried to avail the service and approached, the firm had downed shutters.

When repeated attempts to get in touch with the firm failed, Dey approached the Viveknagar police station and lodged a complaint on June 18, only to find that he was not alone. There were over 350 members who got allegedly cheated by True Seasons Holidays, located near NGV Club, on the pretext of providing various membership cards to them. The victims in their complaint have accused four representatives of the company of cheating them. They have been identified as Shivanna B.K., working as Manager (Member Relationship), Daniel Jairaj, head (corporate sales), Ankit Sehgal, corporate sales manager and Sridhar V.C.

The scam first came to light when Pankaj Kumar, another victim, approached the Viveknagar police station on May 24. Soon, many more similar complaints were filed against the company. The Viveknagar police took details from all the members and registered cases of cheating and forgery. Narrating his experience, Dey told Deccan Chronicle, “I received call in May 2014, from one of the associates of True Seasons saying that my SIM number had won a complimentary holiday voucher. They asked me to visit their office in Viveknagar to collect the gift voucher. When I visited their office, they convinced me to become a member by telling me about the benefits I would enjoy if I planned any future holidays with them. They had different membership types from which I opted for the ‘Classic’ membership that cost a total of Rs 20,500. I paid on the spot using my credit card. To my horror, however, the company cheated me of my money and closed their office. All the executives are absconding.”

He added, “Shockingly, the company has cheated over 400 people by approaching them in the same manner that they approached me. They dupe people by offering them holiday packages valid for three to five years depending upon the membership card one chooses.”

For 35-year-old Sandeep Rajkumar, a resident of HSR Layout, becoming a member of True Seasons brought much embarrassment. Mr Rajkumar, who took the Premium membership, referred four new members to the firm who also fell into the trap. “The True Seasons people are big cheats. I had taken a Premium membership and unfortunately, referred four other people to them,” he said.

Modus operandi

In three years, True Seasons had scammed over 350 people. All it took was a survey conducted by their representatives in malls across the city, in which they collected mobile numbers and offered free gift vouchers.

The company allegedly trapped innocent people by calling them on their mobile phones and providing them with free holiday packages. Once the person showed interest, the company representatives would ask them to come to the Viveknagar office. There, they offered them membership cards of three kinds – Classic, Gold or Platinum – following which a payment depending upon the card chosen would be made through credit card into company’s account.

After a series of frauds were reported, the police conducted checks and found that the numbers provided by the company were false. However, the police are still investigating the matter. When contacted, DCP (Central) Sandeep Patil said, “I will look into the matter. The fraudsters will be nabbed soon.”

Shop rent not paid

The company had rented out a small space on 8th Main Road in  Viveknagar. The police found that the company had downed shutters. It came to light that the accused had not only duped many people but also cheated the landlady of the shop, and not paid the rent for five months.