Consumers are subject to misinformation in “Time Sher” shows

The Emirates Consumer Protection Association revealed that it has received complaints from residents and visitors of several nationalities, related to their exposure to what they called “misleading” by companies promoting specific tourism offers and services, and contracting the “time sharing system”, or what is known as “Time Sher”, but they fell victim to financial fraud in exchange for fake services they did not obtain.

Consates complaints

The Secretary General of the Emirates Consumer Protection Association, Mohammed Abdullah Al -Naour, said in exclusive statements to «Emirates Today»: “The offers that were submitted to consumers included paying a cut amount of about 50 thousand dirhams, with an introduction payment of up to 5,000 dirhams in exchange for residence residence for free in luxury hotels outside the country, with a deduction on the flights of a number of airlines for an unlimited number of flights, as well as reserving a permanent hotel room in one of the Arab countries, Provided that the beneficiary has the right to rent it and obtain a monthly income from it, ”noting that consumers with complaints confirm the smooth procedures on the part of those companies at the beginning, and the insistence of their representatives to sign contracts by consumers to preserve rights.

Al -Naour added: “The complaints department in the association received complaints from consumers, some of whom paid the full amount, and did not get the desired services, as some of them traveled to a country that were told about the presence of a reserved hotel room for them, after their delusion that they are leased to others according to the system of (Time Sher), and that they will get profits in exchange for that, to find themselves in front of old hotels, not luxury, Normal housing, as they are not (tourist villages) with special features, as they were told. ”

Al -Naour continued: “These consumers also discovered that sales officials in those companies presented them with pictures of luxury hotels worldwide, who said they are dealing with them, unlike the truth.”

He added: «When the consumer reads the contract signed with the company well, he will find that he signed the reservation of a hotel room only, and that the contract does not include any specifications or conditions for this reserved room, in addition to that there are no pictures of these hotels indicating the hotel level and the quality of the service that it will receive.

Al -Naour said: “According to complaints, those companies have informed the consumers after discovering that the offers are fake and their demand to return the money they paid, that they are not entitled to recover the amounts, or any part of them.

Al -Naour pointed to the delay of companies until the end of that period, so that it does not pay any amount, as the sales official apologizes, and the consumer prepares a tourist trip that does not exceed 100 dirhams, such as the satisfaction, with a promise to return the financial amount to his bank account within a specific period, and after the deadline ends, the right to retrieve the amount according to the text of the contract they signed.

Al -Naour warned that some consumers do not document mutual messages with companies via the WhatsApp application or email, and he is satisfied with phone calls, oral apology, and a deadline that is not implemented, which is a mistake, appealing to any consumer who is subjected to deception or doubts that, not sign any papers and inform the concerned authorities.

Strict laws

Al -Naour emphasized that the UAE always seeks to preserve the rights of visitors and residents, as well as strict laws for those who violate the law or beg for him to expose those who reside on its lands for any injustice or misleading, while the legislator is always keen to increase the punishment and violations of the groups that circumvent the law.

He added that the concerned authorities stressed the protection of the consumer from any practices that may harm him, indicating that stopping the license and closing is one of the strongest violations that occur on the violating companies, or that adopt fraudulent methods in obtaining consumer funds, in addition to that there are financial violations according to the type of violation.

Al -Naour stressed the need to differentiate between companies that offer fake offers, and those that offer real offers, and said: “It is natural for there to be a few companies that use twisted methods to deceive consumers, but the vast majority of companies in the country are of great professionalism and professionalism, and they offer real offers.”

Resorting to the judiciary

Al -Naour advised the consumers not to sign any contract, unless everything that was said orally in the contract, such as the name of the hotel or resort, is attached to the hotel photos, and not to sign any contract with unfair criminal conditions that constitute a burden in the event of the completion of the contract, while writing any objection by the consumer and sending it via email to the company to prove its right.

He added: «If it becomes clear to the competent authorities there is manipulation from a company, there will be violations and penalties that fall on the company, to ensure that such actions are not repeated, but if it becomes clear that the consumer is exposed to a fraud, and no guarantees are followed to prove his rights, or to submit to blackmail, threat or sign a contract in which fraud, meaning that the existing data is not identical to what was done in the agreement, he must resort to the judiciary, the competent authority in cases Fraud ».

Dealing with contracts or papers

The Secretary General of the Emirates Consumer Protection Association, Mohammed Abdullah Al -Naour, advised consumers to be cautious in dealing with contracts or papers before signing them, stressing that all the concerned authorities in the country are working to provide protection for all, whether it is a resident or a visitor, and that they must resort to legal channels in the event of any problem, and submit complaints, as they must before signing any papers with any company, investigate them, and take the opinion of the official authorities or the opinion To verify the validity of the contract legally.

He continued: “In the event of signing, the consumer is responsible for his signature, unless he is exposed to fraud and deception. In this case, he resorted to the judicial authorities to cancel the contract.” He said: “It is easy for any resident or visitor to entering the sites of the competent authorities, offering inquiries about companies, and ensuring that their contracts are sound.”

He added: «In the event that the violation is proven, the consumer has the right to recover his money, but if he signs a contract, and he decides that he does not want to complete the contract, for an unjustified reason, in this case he is not entitled to recover his money, and he must apply the terms of the contract and contracting concluded, and in the event that the contract is canceled, he must bear the consequences of his approval of the terms of the contract.

“Time Share”

“Time Sher” is a tourist program that means “participation in the time of vacation”, or the rights of joint use at the time of leave, which is a global system based on the idea of ​​buying the beneficiary from the program a specific period of time in hotels and resorts around the world, benefiting from it to stay annually according to the terms of a contract between the tourism company and the beneficiary of the program, but some of them have been subjected to deception from fake companies that are not licensed to this type of program.