[rkg]

Originally Posted by mobike008

During a weak moment, got carried away and took this offer which is for HDFC Bank Credit Card members (selected, I suppose)

I paid Rs.6999 via. my HDFC Credit Card through an IVR system to Discover India ( a Lifestyle company who brings brands and offers together)

Benefits :-

1. Giordiono Watch worth Rs.5850 with 1 year warranty card

2. Discount Card that if you flash at any of the 2000 outlets in India will provide a benefit of discounts ranging from 5%-30%. Valid for 1 year

3. 2 Nights/3 Days Holiday twice in a year at 74 Destinations in India. You can club it into one holiday of 4 Nights/5 Days as well. During the stay everything is complimentary and has hotels like Country Club, Mahindra Resorts and similar to choose from. Valid for 1 year

Besides above, this is what cinched the deal :-

Submit one food bill as a proof that you spent a holiday as per #3 and they send you two cheques of Rs.2000 each back.

In principal, this offer will cost Rs.3000 in total but, has benefits of more than Rs.50,000 ( as per the sales pitch)

This is NOT an offer from HDFC Bank but, from a lifestyle company called Discover India.

I have already received SMS, email confirmations that my voucher/s and other stuff will be shortly dispatched.

Having said the above, I dont why? But, still get a feeling is the above worth it or was I taken for a ride?

Can anyone/firm give a return of Rs 50000/ on an investment of Rs 6999/ or 7K any where in the world?

If it so all will take and the guy offering it will be bankrupt in no time.

There will be a catch. I too was offered this on my SCB and i straight away said no?

Or it may be a scam in the initial stages, where some people will be offered what all is promised and by word of mouth it spreads and they make moolah and disappear, just like many high interest deposit schemes in vogue

I personally feels Banks should not encourage such schemes at all on their cards.

Anyway lets us all know your experiences in this regard

[k2max6]

Originally Posted by mobike008

During a weak moment, got carried away and took this offer which is for HDFC Bank Credit Card members (selected, I suppose)

I paid Rs.6999 via. my HDFC Credit Card through an IVR system to Discover India ( a Lifestyle company who brings brands and offers together)

I paid Rs.6999 via. my HDFC Credit Card through an IVR system to Discover India ( a Lifestyle company who brings brands and offers together)

Benefits :-

1. Giordiono Watch worth Rs.5850 with 1 year warranty card -

> Possible ( Are Basically outdated models, now a days free with a lot of things )
You will receive it for sure.

2. Discount Card that if you flash at any of the 2000 outlets in India will provide a benefit of discounts ranging from 5%-30%. Valid for 1 year

> Possible, subject to terms and conditions
Outlets that are not much famous.

3. 2 Nights/3 Days Holiday twice in a year at 74 Destinations in India. You can club it into one holiday of 4 Nights/5 Days as well. During the stay everything is complimentary and has hotels like Country Club, Mahindra Resorts and similar to choose from. Valid for 1 year

> Possible but must have a catch.
1. It would be very hard to book, Atleast 45 days pior booking, subject to availability.
2.it won't be valid in peak seasons.
3.By everything you mean food? I don't think so. On the other hand All meals would be chargeable and might be compulsory to take altleast one meal in a day.

> Besides above, this is what cinched the deal :-

Submit one food bill as a proof that you spent a holiday as per #3 and they send you two cheques of Rs.2000 each back.

> Can be gift vouchers but not cash in any case.

In principal, this offer will cost Rs.3000 in total but, has benefits of more than Rs.50,000 ( as per the sales pitch)

This is NOT an offer from HDFC Bank but, from a lifestyle company called Discover India.

> Since you have already paid lets hope luckily something good comes out.

Originally Posted by rkg

I personally feels Banks should not encourage such schemes at all on their cards.

Anyway lets us all know your experiences in this regard

Its not associated with the bank in anyway, the card was used as you use it with any merchant.

[k2max6]

^^ my bad, i read offer is not from HDFC and not the earlier quote that is is for selected hdfc card holders.

[binand]

Originally Posted by rkg

Can anyone/firm give a return of Rs 50000/ on an investment of Rs 6999/ or 7K any where in the world?

The marketing folks think differently. Here, the thought process of the marketing manager could be along these lines:

- I need to target SEC A people. A good proxy for identifying such people is to see who all are willing to spend 7K on a nothing. So I will offer such a product.
- My tolerance for acquisition cost of such a customer is Rs. 5 lakhs. The lifetime value such a customer holds for me is Rs. 20 lakhs. This is a good deal for me.
- Past experience/research/gut-feel says that 1-in-10 of the campaign target group will become a customer of mine.
- Ergo, I should spend 50K on each such person and my overall equations works out fine.

So, the 50K of goodies is really acquisition cost, and the 7K that you are required to spend is a filtering mechanism. The whole thing is paid for by somebody's marketing budget (like a lot of things these days - movies, cricket matches...)

[sa_kiran]

RBI seems to have woken up to the recent torrent of fraudulent transactions. A baby step to start with.

RBI may tighten credit card norms - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/b...w/18436985.cms

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to come out with new norms to ensure card safety. Bankers say that this is likely after a meeting RBI had with banks on Friday to discuss recent frauds in electronic payments. Bankers told RBI that two forensic investigators have been appointed to identify the source of fraud. The investigation is being done by banks that install card acceptance machines in merchant establishments.

[sgiitk]

Looks like the taxman wants to make cashless transactions inconvenient. Recently they asked for information from Banks about all spends of Rs.15000 or more over the weekend. This afaik was a one off. Now I wonder whether they will hassle the card holders.

[sa_kiran]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Looks like the taxman wants to make cashless transactions inconvenient. Recently they asked for information from Banks about all spends of Rs.15000 or more over the weekend. This afaik was a one off. Now I wonder whether they will hassle the card holders.

The govt and banks have been oxymorons. They want to promote electronic payments and on the ground, they do everything possible to discourage them! This is one example. Another one is charging for NEFT by banks. We should protest by making payments using cheques.

[amitk26]

Guys got an SMS from ICICI bank on sunday evening that my payment is received after full 96 hours of online payment.

Seems the servers at ICICI bank credit card portal are down for last 4-5 days no information is available since thursday after logging in to the system.

I really have no words for tardiness and illequiped infrastructure for the 2nd largest bank in India.

In the process I got to know from Citibank officials that there are two unique identifiers trace number and PV number for every transaction and using these ICICI should be able to trace the transaction. Prior to this ICICI flatly refused that they have any possibility of finding out.

Originally Posted by sa_kiran

The govt and banks have been oxymorons. They want to promote electronic payments and on the ground, they do everything possible to discourage them! This is one example. Another one is charging for NEFT by banks. We should protest by making payments using cheques.

Do banks charge for NEFT ? Till now I thought it is free.

[sa_kiran]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Guys got an SMS from ICICI bank on sunday evening that my payment is received after full 96 hours of online payment.

Do banks charge for NEFT ? Till now I thought it is free.

ICICI Bank was updating (or changing, I don't know) their credit card system over the weekend. They had sent out e-mails about this and had also mentioned delays. My payment due date was 10th and made payment on the morning of 9th, through my saving account. Ideally, this payment should be completed immediately. But, this being ICICI Bank takes 2 days, which is same as paying from any other bank's account. At the time of writing this, credit cards are not accessible from Internet banking, so typical of ICICI Bank. But, I've the proof debit in my savings account and I know how to deal with this bank :-)

Many banks still charge for NEFT (not credit card payment). My salary account was with HDFC Bank in my earlier organization, still they were charging for NEFT!

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by sa_kiran

The govt and banks have been oxymorons. They want to promote electronic payments and on the ground, they do everything possible to discourage them! This is one example. Another one is charging for NEFT by banks. We should protest by making payments using cheques.

I agree that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. As for cheque payments you may be asked to pay for anything over 25 cheques a year (SBI and I guess some others)

Originally Posted by amitk26

.....

Seems the servers at ICICI bank credit card portal are down for last 4-5 days no information is available since Thursday after logging in to the system.


Do banks charge for NEFT ? Till now I thought it is free.

If it is a one off then maybe we can let it go. They must refund any money they are charging you for the 'so called' late payment. Once I also had problem with ICICI, I was transferring 1.5+L to my daughter-in-law. Took them over two days to credit her account.

NEFT charges of Rs.5/- per 50k or something like that are there in most banks. I get this free from StanC but then I am Priority! SBI does charge me, even though mine is a Platinum Salary Account!

[amitk26]

Last date is 13th so late fee should not be there.
I was more worried about transaction not being shown and getting payment reminder SMSs.

About NEFT till now Citi, icici and sbi dont charge for NEFT and RTGS.
Citibank offers free DD as well if ordered using online access.

[yosbert]

Originally Posted by mobike008

During a weak moment, got carried away and took this offer which is for HDFC Bank Credit Card members (selected, I suppose)

I paid Rs.6999 via. my HDFC Credit Card through an IVR system to Discover India ( a Lifestyle company who brings brands and offers together)

Benefits :-

1. Giordiono Watch worth Rs.5850 with 1 year warranty card

2. Discount Card that if you flash at any of the 2000 outlets in India will provide a benefit of discounts ranging from 5%-30%. Valid for 1 year

3. 2 Nights/3 Days Holiday twice in a year at 74 Destinations in India. You can club it into one holiday of 4 Nights/5 Days as well. During the stay everything is complimentary and has hotels like Country Club, Mahindra Resorts and similar to choose from. Valid for 1 year

Besides above, this is what cinched the deal :-

Submit one food bill as a proof that you spent a holiday as per #3 and they send you two cheques of Rs.2000 each back.

In principal, this offer will cost Rs.3000 in total but, has benefits of more than Rs.50,000 ( as per the sales pitch)

This is NOT an offer from HDFC Bank but, from a lifestyle company called Discover India.

I have already received SMS, email confirmations that my voucher/s and other stuff will be shortly dispatched.

Having said the above, I dont why? But, still get a feeling is the above worth it or was I taken for a ride?

Welcome to the club! I still feel like kicking myself for falling for this. I normally say 'no' even before they can make their pitch for such offers, but perhaps my common sense was on a break on the day, I fell for this.
Let me point out the catches.
- You will have to pay Rs. 795/- (or some such amount) as handling charges each time you book a holiday.
- For each booking request, you will have to give 3 alternative Destination+Dates combo. But here is the fun part, you can mention only the Destination and not the hotel you want to book. They will book based on availability in any of the hotels at your destination for your chosen dates. If you look carefully at the list of hotels for any destination, it will contain a range of hotels from low to high end.
So now you get the drift. Club Mahindra and other premium resorts will be booked on your chosen dates and they will book you in the alternate hotels available.
- Other than that, the discount card and the watch are for real, though I doubt if the watch is really worth what they claim it to be.

You can google for more details on Discover India/Chutti pe Chutti scam.
I was so pissed off with HDFC for selling my details to such fraud companies that I have decided to change my card now.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by yosbert

Let me point out the catches.
- You will have to pay Rs. 795/- (or some such amount) as handling charges each time you book a holiday.
- For each booking request, you will have to give 3 alternative Destination+Dates combo. But here is the fun part, you can mention only the Destination and not the hotel you want to book. They will book based on availability in any of the hotels at your destination for your chosen dates. If you look carefully at the list of hotels for any destination, it will contain a range of hotels from low to high end.
So now you get the drift. Club Mahindra and other premium resorts will be booked on your chosen dates and they will book you in the alternate hotels available.
- Other than that, the discount card and the watch are for real, though I doubt if the watch is really worth what they claim it to be.

Thanks for the heads-up. I got an email from them yesterday which mentions this Rs.799 for each holiday boking. It was not mentioned during the sales pitch

At the back of my mind, i knew something of this was coming but, atleast its not an righaway scam ( in that case can file a fraud case and get my money credited back to my HDFC CC)

When did you take this offer? Can you post a picture of the watch they gave you? Did you avail any holiday till now? If yes, where?

Having said that, now i'll have to see how best to recover the 7K that I spent from this offer ( via. their holiday or discount card)

[yosbert]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Thanks for the heads-up. I got an email from them yesterday which mentions this Rs.799 for each holiday boking. It was not mentioned during the sales pitch

Same for me. This should have raised a red flag in my mind, but as I said, my common sense was on vacation at that time and my hands were too full with some work at that time to think it through .

Originally Posted by mobike008

When did you take this offer?

This was sometime around first or second week of December.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Can you post a picture of the watch they gave you?

Will try to do that once I get home.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Did you avail any holiday till now? If yes, where?

Nope. I tried booking one and came to know of all the details that I mentioned. Did some googling and unearthed more facts. Decided not to lose another 800 rupees.
Having said that, its not an out and out fraud, you may still get a hotel booking I suppose. But do I want to spoil my vacation in some lousy hotel just to recover a bad investment. My answer is no. I am not sure about the Rs. 2000/- check thing though, it may still turn out to be genuine.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Having said that, now i'll have to see how best to recover the 7K that I spent from this offer ( via. their holiday or discount card)

Keep me posted if you make some progress there. The discount card will be your best bet, I guess.

[srikanthns]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Last date is 13th so late fee should not be there.
I was more worried about transaction not being shown and getting payment reminder SMSs.

About NEFT till now Citi, icici and sbi dont charge for NEFT and RTGS.
Citibank offers free DD as well if ordered using online access.

SBI Charges for NEFT! I am sure because I am a very frequent user!