My husband took a phone call last week from a company called Dream Tours inviting us to a day out in Cartagena, with lunch on a boat, in return for taking an inspection tour of a new spa at a hotel in San Javier. It was made to sound a like a pleasant day out and we were assured it was not a time share sales pitch.
So, last Friday we were picked up at the Arches in Quesada and whisked off - not to a hotel, but a rather chilly office belonging to Owners International in San Javier where we were taken to a table by 'Steve' who spent the best part of an hour trying to find out our background and attempting to become a buddy and soften us up. (NO chance!) Apart from assuring us he was not selling time share, he declined to say exactly what he was trying to flog! Finally, when we were losing the will to live and I was wondering how much a taxi back to Quesada might be, we were taken to the Polaris World complex. (Polaris went into adminstration last year) Now this is a truly stunning place and we were told that Owners International had bought 200 apartments there at give away prices and sold them for a huge profit, and that the business 'Steve' was trying to get us to invest in was mopping up a lot of cheap property. With the new airport in San Javier and the proposed Paramount theme park he assured us it was going to be a boom area. Owners International offered 5% return a year on capital plus a profit share in four years. We were all taken back to the office each with our 'minder' and they attempted to persuade the victims to part with as much cash as they thought each might go for. Naturally with my husband an ex-banker he asked a lot of awkward questions and we soon found ourselves shepherded out and across the road to a coffee shop while the others remained in the office!
It's pretty clear this is not what it seems. They have a dire website full of spelling mistakes which we have since discovered was only set up a few weeks ago, although 'Steve' told us he had worked for the company for five months. They claim Price Waterhouse Coopers (or Coppers if you read the website) are their auditors - they gave no-one in our party a brochure and the business card we extracted from 'Steve' was on a scrap of paper clearly run off on the the office printer. The day out was ONLY offered to pensioners - who are less likely to have the financial knowledge to research this company and therefore more vulnerable - and had to be residents in Spain. They were also only allowed to come if they brought a partner with whom an instant decision could be made. There were so many anomalies in the information we were given we are sure this scheme is at best suspect and at worst fraudulent and we are passing our thoughts to the Guardia Civil in the hope they can check them out, and today I had confirmation from Price Waterhouse Cooper that they have no connection with Owners International in spite of being mentioned as auditors on their website. They will be demanding to have the reference removed.
We were eventually taken into Cartagena and we did get lunch on a boat, but we are very suspicious of this company, not least because they totally misrepresented what the day was about - and they were clearly out of their depth when someone with a financial background asked awkward questions.
The coach company is clearly the one which organises the Blanket Trip as that was where they got all their contact phone numbers.
We both feel a bit foolish for having gone at all - but hey ho - we all do something daft sometimes! And if you doubted it - there really is no such thing as a free lunch.
So, last Friday we were picked up at the Arches in Quesada and whisked off - not to a hotel, but a rather chilly office belonging to Owners International in San Javier where we were taken to a table by 'Steve' who spent the best part of an hour trying to find out our background and attempting to become a buddy and soften us up. (NO chance!) Apart from assuring us he was not selling time share, he declined to say exactly what he was trying to flog! Finally, when we were losing the will to live and I was wondering how much a taxi back to Quesada might be, we were taken to the Polaris World complex. (Polaris went into adminstration last year) Now this is a truly stunning place and we were told that Owners International had bought 200 apartments there at give away prices and sold them for a huge profit, and that the business 'Steve' was trying to get us to invest in was mopping up a lot of cheap property. With the new airport in San Javier and the proposed Paramount theme park he assured us it was going to be a boom area. Owners International offered 5% return a year on capital plus a profit share in four years. We were all taken back to the office each with our 'minder' and they attempted to persuade the victims to part with as much cash as they thought each might go for. Naturally with my husband an ex-banker he asked a lot of awkward questions and we soon found ourselves shepherded out and across the road to a coffee shop while the others remained in the office!
It's pretty clear this is not what it seems. They have a dire website full of spelling mistakes which we have since discovered was only set up a few weeks ago, although 'Steve' told us he had worked for the company for five months. They claim Price Waterhouse Coopers (or Coppers if you read the website) are their auditors - they gave no-one in our party a brochure and the business card we extracted from 'Steve' was on a scrap of paper clearly run off on the the office printer. The day out was ONLY offered to pensioners - who are less likely to have the financial knowledge to research this company and therefore more vulnerable - and had to be residents in Spain. They were also only allowed to come if they brought a partner with whom an instant decision could be made. There were so many anomalies in the information we were given we are sure this scheme is at best suspect and at worst fraudulent and we are passing our thoughts to the Guardia Civil in the hope they can check them out, and today I had confirmation from Price Waterhouse Cooper that they have no connection with Owners International in spite of being mentioned as auditors on their website. They will be demanding to have the reference removed.
We were eventually taken into Cartagena and we did get lunch on a boat, but we are very suspicious of this company, not least because they totally misrepresented what the day was about - and they were clearly out of their depth when someone with a financial background asked awkward questions.
The coach company is clearly the one which organises the Blanket Trip as that was where they got all their contact phone numbers.
We both feel a bit foolish for having gone at all - but hey ho - we all do something daft sometimes! And if you doubted it - there really is no such thing as a free lunch.
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