Mumbai Crime: Con travel scheme takes top city surgeon for a 'trip'

Dr Bryan Sodder and Rocelyn with their prize coupons PicSayyed Sameer AbediGastrointestinal surgeon with Holy Family Hospital Bandra Dr Bryan Sodder curses the day in 2015 when he visited an Andheri mall with wife Rocelyn and signed up for an exhausting con by a travel club Two smartly dressed executives from Priority International Holidays Club Pvt Ltd approached us with a card saying we could win exciting prizes if we filled in our details recalled the doctor The couple went home and got a congratulatory callThe couple filled the card and returned home to get a congratulatory call An ecstatic voice on the other end told him he had won exciting prizesThe Sodders were called for a meeting at Dhanashree building in Azad Nagar Andheri West cited as the companys office over a weekendWe were told of free gym memberships holidays within India for as little as R6000 and trip abroad for R9000 if we joined Priority International explained Dr SodderSwipe the card right nowEven as the slightly dazed Sodders mulled over joining there was a sense of great urgency and a real push from the executives to joinSuccumbing to the pressure the doctor paid R165 lakh with his credit card to enrol in the scheme The minute a card was swiped there was resounding applause from the staff he saidThe Sodders were handed gifts mdash six glass ice cream bowls and a 1gm gold coinEventually Dr Sodder started following up on the free gym membership but numerous calls elicited little I was to get a free membership to a gym for 15 years according to the scheme but I got a onemonth free trial voucher from Powerhouse Gym in Juhu I realised I received them only seven days prior to the expiry I called Powerhouse but the gym chain told me that these were free trial vouchers and not valid for a 15year membership Since then Dr Sodder has been chasing the gym membership offerNo holiday tooThe Sodders said the con didnt end at the oversold gym membership promises When we called a number of resorts which were promised to us in the holiday scheme they all had a stock answer we do not have anything available as of now said the doctorToday the couple is angry and shamefaced Rocelyn who works as senior nurse at the radiology department of Holy Family Hospital said in the initial days after signing up they told colleagues at the hospital about the good dealDr Sodder said he has called on Priority Internationals customer care number There is a woman called Zara whom we spoken to and then there are others who mouth the same line Call back laterThe medical professionals are now going to file a complaint with the police We are convinced they Priority International are cheats Our message to the public is never get swayed by slick packaging and do anything on an impulse Always take your time think things through A red flag must go up if you feel you are being rushed into swiping your card warned Dr SodderWhat midday foundmidday visited Priority Internationals office where this reporter and her photojournalist colleague posed as potential clients We were ushered into a small cabin where a wellbuilt man looking like a bouncer spoke to us Later a young woman addressed us If you join Priority International youll be entitled to several schemes You will get benefits like holidays in India and abroad at discounted rates You will also get a onemonth free membership at Powerhouse Gym and will be able to book banquet rooms in top hotels at discounted rates she said but did not specify which hotelsThen a man identifying himself as Deepak Verma took over to explain the holiday schemes He said By becoming a member you can holiday in several destinations abroad and here too for a week or more for as little as R6000 for two On seeing our incredulous faces he reeled off names of several European cities and added Some charges will be added but not muchVerma then said You can also put up your guests visiting Mumbai at the Taj and Ramada for as little as R6000 a weekAsked to show the list of hotels they were affiliated to Verma furnished a list that had GoldFinch Hotel in Mumbai on it Asked about Taj and Ramada he brushed the query aside and hurried onWe were made to move to another cabin where we met a representative Sohail Mulla who worked out the equation of R13 lakh overall for the enrolment and was ready to take payment for a fiveyear membershipWhen told that we needed to think about the scheme since the amount was substantial he seemed to lose interest A Goggle search by this reporter threw up a complaint board with several grievances related to Priority InternationalCHECK OUT THIS VIDEO THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO A DIFFERENT TIME