Click to play videoBangalore: It is a coveted Platinum Card that Arun Dutta claims is the root cause for all his misery. Arun says he's been duped by one of the leading family club chains in the country -- Country Club.
According to Arun, Country Club had promised him that on becoming a Platinum Card member, he would be gifted a plot of land near Bangalore. While he did get the land, to his dismay, he found that it was more than 100 km outside the city, in the wilderness.
"They said that they will give this plot 60-70 km from bangalore and they took some money from us to hold the plot for us. We went there next day and this was 120-130 km from Bangalore. There was nothing there and we said we won't take it and after that they have not returned our money."
Like Arun, Amar Gautam and PS Rao also claim that they have been cheated and duped by Country Club. They have even filed a case in the consumer forum.
Says IT professional, Amar Gautam, "It's a lot of mental agony I have gone through. For three months I have been calling these people daily and they are not responding."
Adds another IT professional, P S Rao, "I have spent so much money on this -- Rs 10,000 means a lot to me and if I don't get the value for money, I feel pained."
Meanwhile, Country Club rubbishes these allegations and says that at the time of taking membership, most people don't go through the conditions and details laid out.
They make unfair demands on the Club and when the Club is not able to fulfil these, the members then resort to such complaints.
Says Corporate Head, Sales and Marketing, Country Club, L Gajendran, "We have a huge member base. The people who are not happy with us are a small percentage - maybe 0.1 per cent or so. We always try to become better day by day, but there are bound to be people who are unhappy. Whoever is unhappy, we have a customer care centre and they are free to call and sort out their issues."
However, that's small consolation for the hundreds of people who feel they have been cheated.
(With inputs from Arvind Yadav in Bangalore)
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