Went to Borders with my partner yesterday. After a while, I felt hungry, and was on my way to have lunch with my partner, when I was approached by a kid (he's 20 years old), who's working for Oriental Travel Pte Ltd or Orient Travel Pte Ltd.
In short, we opened two lucky draws, and won 2 movie tickets and a digital camera (turns out to be a mini digital camera, actually worth between US$2 to US$50, when I searched on the Internet much later), but we have to attend a presentation lasting at least 75 minutes. Qualifying candidates must earn above a certain figure, have VISA and must be a couple.
So, the presentation went on for more than 75 minutes. A young girl talked to us, and asked what our favourite destinations are, how much we spent on our holidays, etc. The packages are fantastic! By being a member, you can save up to a few thousand per tour. When we asked for the price, the young girl refuses to say, and the manager came over. Even then, the manager didn't disclose the price, but wrote down on a piece of paper the cost of the membership. TO BE A MEMBER, YOU HAVE TO PAY ABOUT $20,000 to $30,000. 50% on that day, and 50% in under 2 weeks. And note, the price is tailored to the answers given in your survey.
And if you don't sign up on the day itself, you must pay much more later! Being a smart person, I said no, we've seen enough and left, with our 2 movie tickets and that small digital camera, which is about the same size as the current Mini VISA!
When I got back to my place, I checked up on the Internet, and came across this link. Basically, it warned people about joining Oriental Travel, because they're cheats! Here's another link. And general blacklisting of companies, here. In this list, the following companies are in Singapore:
So, I thought, I better blog about this, so that even if other links are dead for some reason, here's another post. Be forewarned! Do not sign up with Oriental Travel Pte Ltd located at Wheelock Place.