Holiday scam

While shopping recently at Melawai Plaza, PT Vakansi Megah offered my wife the chance to a draw from which we could win a free four-day/three-night stay at their resort (airfares at our expense) in Candi Dasa, Bali. Several days later she received a phone call saying she had won, and inviting us to come and pick up the voucher at 4 p.m. Saturday.

When we arrived, we were ushered into a room and required to listen to a presentation regarding an international holiday club scheme whereby you purchase a time-share in a resort condominium in Goa or Queensland and are thereby entitled to a holiday at any of over 3,000 resorts in 89 countries. The presentation took an hour and a half, and would have taken even longer had I been more patient. They consistently refused to tell us the price until they had given us all their information.

Well, to save others the inconvenience of losing two hours out of your life, I would like to reveal the big secret. The lifetime membership fee is a mere US$100,000. This is in addition to monthly maintenance charges and a weekly fee when you actually take your holiday (once again airfares are not included).

We told them we could not afford this and went to collect the voucher. Upon opening the sealed envelope, we found that the booking dates were not only subject to availability (we expected this) but that there is also a $100 "administration" fee once your selected dates are approved. Now, I'm not so naive as to expect something for free; I might have been able to tolerate them robbing my time in return for a genuinely free stay at their resort, but this "administration fee" makes the whole scam tantamount to deception.

TED THORNTON

Jakarta