Strait Times, 17 Mar 04
Charged with cheating 38 in $150,000 timeshare con
A MAN has been accused of cheating 38 people out of more than $150,000 by tricking them into believing he could help them sell their timeshare investments. Tan Miah Soong, 43, the former director of International Timeshare Resale Consultant, was charged in a district court yesterday with 73 counts of cheating. He also faces one charge of using the abbreviated form of 'limited' in the name of his business without incorporating it under the Companies Act. Tan, now unemployed, is accused of committing the cheating offences between April 2000 and September last year. He is alleged to have first collected registration fees of between $388 and $776 from the victims, after claiming he could help them sell their timeshares. He purportedly collected larger sums of money from them later, ranging from $1,125 to $13,750, as fees to effect the sale. Tan's case is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on April 1.
Timeshare firm makes peace with Case: It writes to watchdog, expressing its readiness to resolve 52 complaints, even before Fair Trading Act kicks in
EVEN before the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act came into effect today, it was already having the desired effect.Timeshare company Emperor Resorts International (ERI), which has been in the Consumers Association of Singapore's (Case) black book for a decade, wrote to the watchdog last week to resolve 52 outstanding complaints. The new law empowers Case and consumers to take companies to court over unfair trading practices, which include pressure
selling, making false claims and unfair contracts. ERI's customer service manager, Mr Gabriel Tan, told The Straits Times last week that it would now let customers back out if they have filed a complaint with Case within five days of buying a timeshare from ERI. Such purchases cost $16,000 to $22,000. 'As long as customers can produce documents from Case
highlighting their intention to withdraw, we'll let them go,' he said. Alternative instalment plans can be arranged for buyers with financial problems, Mr Tan said. But those who want to back out simply because they have changed their minds can't do so.He said company staff who had used high-pressure sales tactics had been counselled.
Case received 16,854 complaints of unfair trading practices last year. The most common complaints concerned highpressure sales tactics - there were 1,468 cases. Not surprisingly, timeshare sellers are the biggest culprits.
The new law will require timeshare firms to make a full refund if a customer changes his mind within three days of
purchasing a holiday package.Case said it plans to write to six timeshare companies this month: ERI, Leisure Group Marketing, Interval Resorts Network(IRN), Universal Privilege, World Resorts International and travel agency Oriental Travel. After that, it will write to 389 renovation firms, 121 furniture stores, 118 electronic goods shops, 24 car dealers and 20 beauty salons. Said Case executive director Seah Seng Choon: 'We would like to meet them and mediate unresolved cases. Eventually, we want them all to clean up their acts. 'If they refuse to avoid unfair trading practices, we'll apply for court orders,' he said. Three timeshare firms contacted said they welcomed any meeting proposal. IRN managing director Simon Cook said: 'If there are misgivings on Case's part on any matter that may relate to us, we intend to answer them in detail. In matters where Case's concerns are justified, we shall act to rectify them. Where they are not, we hope by our explanations to set the record straight.' ERI's Mr Tan said: 'We are doing whatever we can to resolve issues amicably.'
All this is good news to people like Mr E.L. Lau, 34, an IT programmer, and Mr Clarence Sin, 26, a civil servant, who both
sought to withdraw after agreeing to buy one-week-a-year accommodation packages in Australia from ERI. Mr Lau said he was coerced into giving a $6,400 deposit for a $18,800 plan in 2001 and had complained to Case within a week. He said: 'I can't get my $6,400 back, but at least I know I can withdraw. It's a consolation to know the story has ended. It's an expensive mistake still, but at least the Act has helped consumers in some way.' For more information on the Act, you can visit Case's open house from 10am to 9pm today at Ulu Pandan Community Club in Ghim Moh Road.
Straits
Times, 10 Sept 03
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Business Times Singapore, 27 Jan
03
By ELGIN TOH
Complaint-ridden timeshare firm in the red: Emperor Resorts is in negative equity with accumulated losses of $6.9m
Cited by the Consumers
Association of Singapore (Case) as having the highest number of
timeshare-related customer complaints, is in negative equity and has been
in the red for years. Emperor, which started in 1997, reported
losses totalling $3.26 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2001.
For that year, its total liabilities stood at $37.5 million, of which
$37.3 million was current liabilities. The company, which has a paid-up
capital of $100,000, moved into negative equity of $6.8 million with
accumulated losses of $6.9 million. Emperor, which said it has 9,000
customers, declined to give financial figures for 2002.
Emperor director Danny Liew Heap Hwa, one
of the four shareholders who founded the company, said, however, that the
company was financially sound. Said Mr Liew: 'The nature of accounting in
timeshare firms usually makes it difficult for them to register profits
for the first few years of operation.' Mr
Liew explained that many of their customers paid their membership fees in
instalments for up to 10 years. According to him, accounting rules allow
the firm to book the fees only when they are fully paid. Mr
Liew said that less than 1,000 members have fully paid up their fees, out
of more than 6,000 members. He predicted Emperor will make money by next
year. Emperor has been selling timeshare packages on behalf of Holiday
Concept Asia Pacific Group (HCAP), an Australian firm that owns
resorts in Thailand and Australia. It is owned equally by Mr Liew, Cheang
Kam Hon, Lee Lik Hon and Chng Guay Yan. The company said it has about
9,000 customers and employs nearly 100 workers.
Emperor was named by Case last Saturday as
the timeshare company with the most number of complaints against it. Of the
139 timeshare-related complaints Case received, 72 were against Emperor
and, to date, 67 remain unresolved.
Foreign Press Archives
From BBC News:
2001
Timeshare king guilty of fraud (18 May 01)
Timeshare industry "cleaned-up" (23 May 01)
Complex web of timeshare conmen (23 May 01)
Holiday Rip-offs on the rise (20 Jul 01)
Timeshare fraudster's companies probed (10 Aug 01)
2002
Timeshare tricksters still rampant (8 Jan 02)
Timeshare conman's appeal fails (10 Apr 02)
Timeshare conman ordered to pay 35m pounds (23 Apr 02)
Timeshare victims wait for cash (23 Apr 02)
The fraud king of Tenerife (23 Apr 02)
Holiday club scams under investigation (1 May 02)
Timeshare in tatters (8 Jul 02)
Timeshare conman in court victory (1 Aug 02)
Victims sue timeshare conman
(3 Nov 02)
2003
Timeshare
fraud victims in consumer flight
(22 Apr 03)
Complaints
over timeshare payments
(25 Jul 03)
From Irish Times:
Irish victims fall victim to holiday clubs
(21 May 02)
From The Observer:
You've won a free luxury holiday (Apr 7, 02)
Holiday isle scam and the money trail to terror gangs
(Jul 13 03)
From The Guardian:
(30 Nov 02)Timeshare fraudster faces £35m bill (24 April 02)
Richest prisoner plans to appeal (24 April 02)
