Mahmoud Ahmad
I would like to start with a simple poser: How many of my fellow citizens or residents have fallen victims to sales pitches of representatives only to find later that they have become enmeshed in a program that takes rather than makes them money? I am sure there are many who would be answering this query with an affirmative.
The reason for this unusual predicament is due to the singular approach of the representatives to gain custom for the firm they work by enticing people to manifold programs by painting a rosy picture. Their main objective is to use whatever means necessary, even to tell half-truths or in some instances lie to sell what they are offering. It is thanks to such people that they tempt customers and consumers to participate in a program through deceit and eventually leave them as victims.
Sometimes back, a representative from a program, which he described would surely help people to save money, came to my office to market this program. This person started by saying that this is a social solidarity program, known as Takaful, that would help me to save money for my children in the future. He explained the way it works. He said they deduct SR1,000 each month and lock it in for a period from 15 to 30 years. In this way a large amount of money is saved for my children. In case if I died, there would be a big sum of money that would go to my children from this program. The representative, who said that they are part of a bank, said that many customers have joined this program and found it useful and urged me to quickly accept and sign the papers.
Now, on the face of it, this program sounded good but there were stories of victims of such programs that came to my mind as the representative concluded his narrative. I remembered that a woman that I know who called such programs frauds. An agent had come to her office and described a similar ‘saving’ plan to her. She thought of saving money through this program since she was not able to save money on her own for two of her daughters. The agent urged her to visit the office and sign the contract quickly, without actually reading the contract, and she did. She deposited money from her account for nearly 10 years. When she wanted to take her savings back many years later, she was shocked to find that that most of the money she had saved was gone.
She discovered that what was told to her earlier was not the complete truth at all. First of all, she was not told at all, that the program would be deducting administration fees every year from the money she was saving. What was even more shocking was that the remaining amount was invested in an investment portfolio in the stock market. She was not told about that either. She ended up getting only about 30 percent of the total amount she saved over 10 years. When she complained to them, she was told that everything was written in the contract she signed. It all ended up with what she was told by the agent vs. what she signed in the contract.
I asked the agent who was trying to market a similar product to me whether my money would be invested in stock market and what is the catch in all this. He sidestepped the question and kept repeating that I should think of my children's future and how this program is positive. After my repeated questions, he finally confessed to the charging of an SR4,000 administration fee from my saved money in the first year. I then asked him a direct question of how much money that I would be entitled to if I decided to end the program and take out my money before the contract is over. After a short hesitation he told me that the best I could take out would be 40 percent of what I was supposed to save. He even admitted that my money would be invested in the stock market, which is a high-risk venture and subject to losses.
With these admissions, I wondered, why he insisted on calling it a 'saving' when it is not? The women’s sad story, in addition to five other stories, which I don't have time to talk about here, is a sad reflection of people being victimized with the lure of the lucre. A promise of a nest egg, which they would be able to use at a later date.
Sadly, it is also a fact that there are many who believe what the sales representatives say and sign on into various such schemes and programs without reading the contract. There are clauses in the contract, which is enforceable at law as a binding legal agreement, which would make the consumer sit up and take notice. If a consumer comes to know about these clauses he/she would think twice before accepting. As a consumer, I have every right to ask for the full disclosure of the program and how it would be run, while also insisting on a copy of the contract to read it. As a consumer you have the right to take your sweet time and read and understand the contractual obligations and never rush into signing any document, even if the sales representative pressures you to do it. I call this a trap and such agents prey on victims who believe without questioning what they say and are gullible enough to sign on without reading the contract in order to lure them into the trap.
As for the agent, I was thankful to God that I had heard from the victims their sob stories and trapped the agent with my questions. I even had enough information to blame him for not fully explaining what really the program is all about and that he should stop marketing it as 'savings' but instead he should call it 'investments' to give a clear picture. He made out as if he did not care for my insight. He left my office quickly in search for another victim elsewhere.
— The writer can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @anajeddawi_eng
