Fraudulent commitment of India Today. Review on Indiatodaybookclub

I was a customer of India Today, purchasing books and CDs from them.

On First week of April  2010, I had received a call from India Today Book Club. The caller told me that I have won an assured cash prize of  Rs.10000 based on my previous transactions with India Today Book Club.  In order to get the cheque for this Rs. 10000, I need to buy one product  from them. The caller made a fantastic conversation it seemed to be  genuine to me. Then I have bought a Rs.7498 Philips Portable DVD player from them. Immediately after one week some other guy  called from ITBC telling me that my name was entered into a contest  because of the purchase of DVD player and I have won an assured Rs. 50000 cash  prize which will be sent to you as a Demand Draft. To receive this  amount I have to pay the TDS in advance. Then he says that when I pay  the taxes in advance they will give a product also. I have bought the  product- Samsung Omnia 3G phone, Price Rs. 14998.

Later on 08 May 2010, another gentleman called and excitedly  congratulates me for winning an assured cash prize of Rs. 6.37 lac. Then he tells  me that to become eligible for this assured cash prize my expense needs  to meet certain criteria.

To meet this criterion, he offered me three  products and I need to buy one of them. In turn I asked him to give the  first two assured cash prize then I will think of buying a product. He  said when I was selected as the winner of Rs. 6.37 assured cash prize, the earlier two assured gifts are forfeited. If I do not buy a product  now, I am only eligible to get a cash prize of Rs. 2000 and gift voucher  for Rs. 5000 only. Then he lured me to buy the product and get the  assured cash prize. He guaranteed to me that Senior Board of Director Mr. Janardhan  Kapardia and Sr. Manager Accts & Finance Mr. Aditya Kumar Garodia will deliver the cheque on 28 July 2010. Further he assured  me that this is the last and final purchase I need to make and he will  give a closing number. Then I have bought a Longines watch of Rs. 21750.  He gave me a closing number.  (All these conversations are recorded in my phone)

Few days later Mr. Aditya Kumar Garodia called me and introduced as Sr.  Manager Accts & Finance. He is calling in behalf of Mr. Janardhan  Kapardia – Sr. Board of Director. He informed me that the official  declaration will be made on 15 July and the cash prize in the form of  cheque will be delivered on 28 July. He gave me the IDBI Cheque No.  007594 and noted down my email id. Then he gave me a Confidential No, a  Prize Blocking No. and the above mentioned Closing No. He warned me not  to disclose these numbers to anyone. Further he stated that there will  not be any more call on this subject and the invitation will come to  you.

Again on 27 May 2010 Mr. Prince Srivastav called and verified the prize  amount and took PAN card details like name written in PAN card, email  ID, credit card used, two Nominees name and age. Then he told there will  be a Seminar on 30 June for which you will be invited through email and  telephone. I will have to submit copies of PAN Card, Residential proof,  and a Passport size Photo with red background. If I am not able to  attend the seminar, then these documents can be sent by courier. But  till now I have not received a single email or telephone call to attend  the seminar or asking the bank account details from ITBC. (All these  conversations are recorded in my mobile phone)

I have waited till 16 July and made a call to the customer care on the  same day. Ms. Hina picked up the call. I have explained the whole story  to her. She said some of the sales executives are making false  statement and assurances to attract customers to buy products. Then I  told her this is cheating and asked her what actions your company is taking against  these employees. She said she has to consult with her senior to give a  reply for this and noted my complaint and gave me a complaint No.  561203. She assured that some senior person will contact me within 2  days. Nobody called me. Again on 20th I made a reminder call. The  executive told me that system malfunctioning, please call tomorrow.   Again on 21st when I called customer care, Ms. Hina came on line.  When I  enquired about my complaint she consulted with her senior and confirmed  that a senior person will contact me tomorrow (i.e. 22/7/2010). No one  called me on 22nd. I again made a call to the customer care on 23rd. Mr.  Pawan picked up my call. He said that a feedback call from a senior  person will be given within few days.

On 02 Aug Mr. Narender, Sr. Sales Officer called me and asked to email the recordings of teletalk to him. The same thing was emailed to him on 03 Aug 2010. But no feed back call till today.

I am waiting for the guaranteed and  confirmed cash prize to be credited into my account. I made the decision to buy these products only because  of the assured cash prize. Otherwise these are not at all a  need for me at present.

Please do not attend to any call from India today or Bag it today offering to you an assured gift or cash. These people are simply cheaters using the Brand name of India Today.

Is there somebody who had a good experience with India Today, please comment.

K Mohanan

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