Tour invitation

Tour invitation

From Bisnis Indonesia

Earlier this month, my wife and I went to the Royal Bali Vacation Club office on the seventh floor of the Wisma Bank Dharmala, on Jl. Sudirman, in answer to an invitation by telephone from Ms Iin to follow a tour program. The caller promised to give us a voucher permitting us to stay at Kuta Palace Hotel (a five-star hotel), Legian, Bali, for three days, free of charge.

We were briefed by Mr. Cecep for 90 minutes about the tour program in foreign countries, and told that to become a member of the International Royal Club we were required to pay an annual fee of US$78 and a maintenance fee of $145. In regards to the amount of membership fee, we would be informed by his boss as Mr. Cecep did not know anything about it.

Going on to the next stage, we were welcomed by a Mr. Hidayat in a friendly manner. He told us that the membership fee for Royal Bali Vacation Club was $7,500, with a down payment of $2,500 to be paid instantly.

We were greatly shocked with this requirement because Ms Iin assured us that there would be no payment of any kind needed. In a state of confusion and shock, we were forced to make a quick decision. We then asked whether there was a discount available because we were unable to pay as demanded. At this Mr. Hidayat, who earlier was very nice and friendly, changed his tune and became arrogant and unprofessional and left us saying: "This is not a traditional market where bargaining is common, Sir. So there is no need to make further dealings, you can take the gift outside."

But, the staff in the outer office did not give us anything. Irritated, we asked for the voucher as promised. Even the voucher did not clearly mention the name and location of the hotel. Nor did the staff give us any information, but let us read about it and make our own interpretation. They told us that bookings had to be done through Royal Bali Vacation Club office against payment of Rp 75,000, which would be reimbursed after we returned from Bali.

For the Royal Bali Vacation Club's information, we have returned the voucher through Kompas' editor.

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