Absolute Holiday Club

[janicepatricia]

my husband and I were in Koh Samui and a European guy on a motorbike did the scratchie and we had won a major prize . We went with him to a building called Absolute, where we spent the next 3 hours and being our very first time travelling and out 1st day it looked like a good deal and we signed a contract for $3000.00 Australian dollars, we have paid $1500.00 already and have read now reviews that it is a scam, we have cancelled our credit card, has anyone ever been to one of their resorts? We don't know whether to just forget about it and $1500.00 lost or pay the rest and get what they promised. Please help, we also one a holiday with their scatchie.

[bifftastic]

I sat through the 3 hour thing too, well, more like 90 minutes to be honest. I didn't sign up, they wanted £10,000 which a ) I don't have and b ) if I did I wouldn't be giving it to people who got me in off the street with a scratch card.

I too won a 'holiday' which turns out, if you read the small print, to be 7 days in one of their resorts in Phuket, there's no travel included and you have to sit through another presentation. If you don't, you have to pay for the room. Seeing as rooms are cheap in Phuket, I didn't bother.

I have no idea if the scheme is genuine or not. It's just not something I'm interested in.

[steppenwolf108]

1,500 AU$ it's not too much to pay for a painful experience!

My suggestion, just walk away let's say...smarter!

Or you could pay the police to back you up and go knock on their door to get a refund...but I got the feeling that's not your cup of tea...

[janicepatricia]

yer , I think that is the go, just walk away have the gut feeling now, why didn't I then...holiday mode

[petercallen]

I do not know if they have a cooling of period here like they no in Australia with these type of schemes,

If they don't and you have cancelled your credit card payment i don't think they can do much about it.

[surangw]

check out bangkokscams.com

next time you see the scratch card guy, scratch it, sniff it and say it smells like bullshit

[H2oDunc]

Absolute is inside in Airport's International terminal (where unauthenticated people are not allowed to enter).

It's not likely that you could claim your money back. Just don't give them anything anymore, even if they would promise you yet another great deal.

This is the dark side of Phuket / Thailand. Money.

I think if you read the post the people are in Samui not Phuket ? Posted in the Phuket forum though. Maybe a mod would like to move it ?

I am sure an identical post was made several months ago with a very similar story. Also Australian Forgive me for being cynical. Maybe Roo can track it down ?

It is also not a club or fractional ownership it is TIMESHARE!!!!!!

I find it hard to believe that people still fall for this scam ? If you paid by credit card then you will be covered if not then you will have a battle on your hands.

[LivinLOS]

check out bangkokscams.com

next time you see the scratch card guy, scratch it, sniff it and say it smells like bullshit

Another fun one is to scratch it, and look all dissapointed and go "no.. Nothing.. I never win anything me.." Etc.. All while keeping the card out of the touts obvious sight line.. Of course he wants to tell you you have won, but cant without making the whole scam apparent.. So he starts hopping about for a look, you keep palming the card... Make em work for it..

[LivinLOS]

If you paid by credit card then you will be covered if not then you will have a battle on your hands.

Actually I think the standard MO is to book any payment as a cash advance, hence clawbacks are nigh on impossible.

[LivinginKata]

I think if you read the post the people are in Samui not Phuket ? Posted in the Phuket forum though. Maybe a mod would like to move it ?

Moved ...

[screamingeagle]

I'm sorry but I don't have any sympathy for you. The word "gullible" comes to mind. This Timeshare scam has been going for more than 40 years now and you should know better. What do they say: a fool and his money are soon parted!!!!!!!!!

[carmine]

I'm sorry but I don't have any sympathy for you. The word "gullible" comes to mind. This Timeshare scam has been going for more than 40 years now and you should know better. What do they say: a fool and his money are soon parted!!!!!!!!!

I'm still finding it hard to believe that there are still people out there gullible enough to fall for the scratch card/timeshare deal.

They must be people of the most astonishing stupidity.

[crusty]

I'm sorry but I don't have any sympathy for you. The word "gullible" comes to mind. This Timeshare scam has been going for more than 40 years now and you should know better. What do they say: a fool and his money are soon parted!!!!!!!!!

Now, I wonder why these farang are permitted to do this Mr. Mayor ?

[PoorSucker]

I'm sorry but I don't have any sympathy for you. The word "gullible" comes to mind. This Timeshare scam has been going for more than 40 years now and you should know better. What do they say: a fool and his money are soon parted!!!!!!!!!

Now, I wonder why these farang are permitted to do this Mr. Mayor ?

Crusty for governor.

[mattcodes]

scratch card/timeshare deal.

When I was back home was in the local pub talking to long time friend who I thought was quite an on-the-ball guy. He told he got an apartment in Spain just recently, further digging he got a timeshare, thinking better of him I said "well it must of been worthwhile, at least it wasnt one of scratch card jobbies for free theme park tickets", at which he replied "how did you know it was a scratch card" and yeah we got tickets to the water park.

3hrs of taking the piss began. The next day he cancelled his direct debit for the bit they financed, I think he was lucky lost les than £1000

Sounds like you had a similar escape..

For reference, it was £7000 to join, £1000 deposit, they financed (thankfully not through a bank - so not negative credit report impact) the next £6000 over 5 years. Then you were allocated 1 week a year at what I considered a service apartment. It sounded alright at this point, until he said it was £500 service/facility charge each and every year. So basically he committed to going to same resort every year costing £500 just for the basic accomodation, no food, no flights, no trips. 4* All inclusive including flights were around £3-400 to this same area. And £7000 just to rub it in. It didnt take too long for him to see the bigger picture (although we are still not sure if cancelled out of peer pressure or the lights went on)

Edited August 12, 2010 by mattcodes

[Rooo]

I'm sorry but I don't have any sympathy for you. The word "gullible" comes to mind. This Timeshare scam has been going for more than 40 years now and you should know better. What do they say: a fool and his money are soon parted!!!!!!!!!

I'm still finding it hard to believe that there are still people out there gullible enough to fall for the scratch card/timeshare deal.

They must be people of the most astonishing stupidity.

Carmine, wouldn't call them stupid. Maybe unaware of such practices in their home countries, due to different laws & regulations.Just because we live here , we are more aware of it.

[carmine]

I'm sorry but I don't have any sympathy for you. The word "gullible" comes to mind. This Timeshare scam has been going for more than 40 years now and you should know better. What do they say: a fool and his money are soon parted!!!!!!!!!

I'm still finding it hard to believe that there are still people out there gullible enough to fall for the scratch card/timeshare deal.

They must be people of the most astonishing stupidity.

Carmine, wouldn't call them stupid. Maybe unaware of such practices in their home countries, due to different laws & regulations.Just because we live here , we are more aware of it.

I know what you mean but the phrase "there's no such thing as a free lunch" springs to mind.

[baco]

If something sounds too good to be true it is

[smokie36]

I'm sorry but I don't have any sympathy for you. The word "gullible" comes to mind. This Timeshare scam has been going for more than 40 years now and you should know better. What do they say: a fool and his money are soon parted!!!!!!!!!

I'm still finding it hard to believe that there are still people out there gullible enough to fall for the scratch card/timeshare deal.

They must be people of the most astonishing stupidity.

Carmine, wouldn't call them stupid. Maybe unaware of such practices in their home countries, due to different laws & regulations.Just because we live here , we are more aware of it.

I know what you mean but the phrase "there's no such thing as a free lunch" springs to mind.

Everything being said is true however I feel the holiday companies bringing people to Samui are doing their customers a disservice by not warning them of this scam before they arrive. Yeah the authorities in Thailand should do something about it as its damaging for the tourist industry but that would require some degree of foresight so don't hold your breath.

[H2oDunc]

Roo as I mentioned it sound awfully familiar to another post a few months ago. VERY SIMILAR. maybe with your skills you can track it down ?

[Rooo]

Roo as I mentioned it sound awfully familiar to another post a few months ago. VERY SIMILAR. maybe with your skills you can track it down ?

I know the one you are talking about, but these are the only 2 I can get my hands on at the moment.

[mufcsamui]

Its a scam, cancel the transaction on your credit card and then forget about it, everyone they give these scratch cards to is a winner come loser.

[ESB7]

At $3,000 AUS it sounds like you purchased what is called a 'pack'.....its the basic entry and gives you 3 years membership. How much did you pay for your current holiady in Samui? If you holiday at least once a year you can book some fantastic hotels/villas around the world through their affiliation with R.C.I. which you probably would never be able to afford otherwise. Timeshare dosnt suit everyone but for some, especially families it can be a cheap way of staying in places worldwide that they would not normally even dream of staying. OK, there is an element of hard sell but that is as far as it goes, scam it isnt as you do get what you pay for. The bad old days of Tenerife and Spain still unjustly blight the industry. Just remember, for every customer that recieves bad service, they will tell on average 12 people, however if a customer recieves good service, on average they only tell 3 people. If Absolute and other timeshare companies were so bad, why would so many of their existing members upgrade or buy further weeks accomodation?

[smokie36]

At $3,000 AUS it sounds like you purchased what is called a 'pack'.....its the basic entry and gives you 3 years membership. How much did you pay for your current holiady in Samui? If you holiday at least once a year you can book some fantastic hotels/villas around the world through their affiliation with R.C.I. which you probably would never be able to afford otherwise. Timeshare dosnt suit everyone but for some, especially families it can be a cheap way of staying in places worldwide that they would not normally even dream of staying. OK, there is an element of hard sell but that is as far as it goes, scam it isnt as you do get what you pay for. The bad old days of Tenerife and Spain still unjustly blight the industry. Just remember, for every customer that recieves bad service, they will tell on average 12 people, however if a customer recieves good service, on average they only tell 3 people. If Absolute and other timeshare companies were so bad, why would so many of their existing members upgrade or buy further weeks accomodation?

Why the need for the buy now hard sell crap? Non returnable deposits eh? Hardly the mark of a reputable company. You're talking nonsense I'm afraid.

[ESB7]

At $3,000 AUS it sounds like you purchased what is called a 'pack'.....its the basic entry and gives you 3 years membership. How much did you pay for your current holiady in Samui? If you holiday at least once a year you can book some fantastic hotels/villas around the world through their affiliation with R.C.I. which you probably would never be able to afford otherwise. Timeshare dosnt suit everyone but for some, especially families it can be a cheap way of staying in places worldwide that they would not normally even dream of staying. OK, there is an element of hard sell but that is as far as it goes, scam it isnt as you do get what you pay for. The bad old days of Tenerife and Spain still unjustly blight the industry. Just remember, for every customer that recieves bad service, they will tell on average 12 people, however if a customer recieves good service, on average they only tell 3 people. If Absolute and other timeshare companies were so bad, why would so many of their existing members upgrade or buy further weeks accomodation?

Why the need for the buy now hard sell crap? Non returnable deposits eh? Hardly the mark of a reputable company. You're talking nonsense I'm afraid.

Hard sell goes on in every industry, electonics shops, car sales, real estate, travel agents etc etc, discount on the day no matter what you buy. I thought I explained very well what the OP had purchased and what they could expect for their money, please enlighten me as to what part of my post is nonsense?

[smokie36]

At $3,000 AUS it sounds like you purchased what is called a 'pack'.....its the basic entry and gives you 3 years membership. How much did you pay for your current holiady in Samui? If you holiday at least once a year you can book some fantastic hotels/villas around the world through their affiliation with R.C.I. which you probably would never be able to afford otherwise. Timeshare dosnt suit everyone but for some, especially families it can be a cheap way of staying in places worldwide that they would not normally even dream of staying. OK, there is an element of hard sell but that is as far as it goes, scam it isnt as you do get what you pay for. The bad old days of Tenerife and Spain still unjustly blight the industry. Just remember, for every customer that recieves bad service, they will tell on average 12 people, however if a customer recieves good service, on average they only tell 3 people. If Absolute and other timeshare companies were so bad, why would so many of their existing members upgrade or buy further weeks accomodation?

Why the need for the buy now hard sell crap? Non returnable deposits eh? Hardly the mark of a reputable company. You're talking nonsense I'm afraid.

Hard sell goes on in every industry, electonics shops, car sales, real estate, travel agents etc etc, discount on the day no matter what you buy. I thought I explained very well what the OP had purchased and what they could expect for their money, please enlighten me as to what part of my post is nonsense?

When was the last time someone chased you down the street trying to sell you a car TV house etc? and then subjected you to a 3 hour hard sell followed by a non returnable deposit with no cool off period? And furthermore maybe you can fully explain the reasons for this behavior rather than say offering people a simple leaflet.... taking 20 mins to explain their product offering those still interested a look around explaining the details then asking them to come back a few days later to discuss it. NO? I didn't think so!!

Preying on naive tourists with their guard down is the specialty of these companies as we all know.... I'm sure you can make it sound like a great opportunity...but not to anyone here.

[TrevorBaxter]

Club Absolute run a very clear scam where they make all sorts of false promises to encourage you to sign the contract and then afterwards they claim that none of the promises need to be honoured since they were not in writing (a claim which is false and illegal). You will be offered cheap flights, accommodation in places where they have no options, even told that under Thai law you must sign on the day and are not able to think about it overnight or have the contract viewed by a lawyer. Its a scam that is being investigated by several companies and even a class action is building to bring them to justice. Check it out at ...http://www.absolutescam.com/.................... There's also more information about the scam at ,,http://www.wix.com/lisasimpson10/absolutescam

[ESB7]

At $3,000 AUS it sounds like you purchased what is called a 'pack'.....its the basic entry and gives you 3 years membership. How much did you pay for your current holiady in Samui? If you holiday at least once a year you can book some fantastic hotels/villas around the world through their affiliation with R.C.I. which you probably would never be able to afford otherwise. Timeshare dosnt suit everyone but for some, especially families it can be a cheap way of staying in places worldwide that they would not normally even dream of staying. OK, there is an element of hard sell but that is as far as it goes, scam it isnt as you do get what you pay for. The bad old days of Tenerife and Spain still unjustly blight the industry. Just remember, for every customer that recieves bad service, they will tell on average 12 people, however if a customer recieves good service, on average they only tell 3 people. If Absolute and other timeshare companies were so bad, why would so many of their existing members upgrade or buy further weeks accomodation?

Why the need for the buy now hard sell crap? Non returnable deposits eh? Hardly the mark of a reputable company. You're talking nonsense I'm afraid.

Hard sell goes on in every industry, electonics shops, car sales, real estate, travel agents etc etc, discount on the day no matter what you buy. I thought I explained very well what the OP had purchased and what they could expect for their money, please enlighten me as to what part of my post is nonsense?

When was the last time someone chased you down the street trying to sell you a car TV house etc? and then subjected you to a 3 hour hard sell followed by a non returnable deposit with no cool off period? And furthermore maybe you can fully explain the reasons for this behavior rather than say offering people a simple leaflet.... taking 20 mins to explain their product offering those still interested a look around explaining the details then asking them to come back a few days later to discuss it. NO? I didn't think so!!

Preying on naive tourists with their guard down is the specialty of these companies as we all know.... I'm sure you can make it sound like a great opportunity...but not to anyone here.

Any of the tailors or other business in Chaweng and other destinations in Thailand stop you in the street and try their best to sell you their wares. If I went into one of the tailors and had a fitting and paid a deposit, then the following day decided I didnt want the clothing, could I expect my deposit to be returned? If I paid a deposit on some land in Lamai and then changed my mind, could I expect my deposit returned? In order to sell anything anywhere in the world you need to prey on peoples emotions, Absolute prey on peoples greed to get something for free ( which they actually do get a free weeks holiday). its a way of getting their attention, after that the customer is under no obligation to purchase. Timeshare really can be a fantastic way to have holidays that you could not otherwise afford and there are millions of members worldwide that are very happy with their purchase. Unless a person has purchased or has a close friend/family that has, they really cant make a believable comment on a area that they know nothing about. Absolute customers return to Samui spending money in local business, with the drastic decline in tourists to Samui, Absolute should be embraced rather than frowned upon.

[maccaroni man]

In order to sell anything anywhere in the world you need to prey on peoples emotions, Absolute prey on peoples greed to get something for free ( which they actually do get a free weeks holiday). its a way of getting their attention, after that the customer is under no obligation to purchase. Timeshare really can be a fantastic way to have holidays that you could not otherwise afford and there are millions of members worldwide that are very happy with their purchase. Unless a person has purchased or has a close friend/family that has, they really cant make a believable comment on a area that they know nothing about. Absolute customers return to Samui spending money in local business, with the drastic decline in tourists to Samui, Absolute should be embraced rather than frowned upon.

where i agree with most of what you have written the one thing that i have an issue with is the way the touts drive; speed and weaving in and out of traffic is a real hazard,not to mention that the majority look a bit doggy unlike the marriot touts who look very clean, drug free and sober.

[H2oDunc]

Tout on the motorbike " scuse me mate you speak English ? "

ME " Sorry old chap not a fuc^&ng word, Now F^%K OFF!!!!! "

Works every time for me