A Ms Gloria said that the company would prepare a valuation report for the remaining years of the timeshare plan as soon as I went to their office with my timeshare agreement. The company would pay between $3,000 and $30,000 on a case-by-case basis. When I postponed the date of appointment arranged by her on Sunday, Dec 16, Ms Gloria insisted I re-arranged another date and she fixed it for Monday, Dec 17, at 7.30pm.

On Dec 17, I rang Great Eastern. The management denied any timeshare buy-back scheme. I SMSed Ms Gloria, asking her to confirm that her company was authorised by Great Eastern in the buy-back scheme. She did not respond.

Another similar incident happened to my girlfriend recently. Another company rang her, citing a similar buy-back scheme. This time the company claimed to be an agent of Zurich International.

My girlfriend kept the appointment, and was asked to pay an upfront fee before the company could release the proceeds of the valuation in 18 months. My girlfriend was appalled by this arrangement and refused to proceed with the scheme. Subsequently, Zurich International denied any involvement.

I hope both incidents would serve to remind Singaporeans to be cautious when receiving calls from companies offering buy-back schemes. They should seek confirmation from the established institutions which such companies allege to be agents to.

Agnes Tan Suan Ping