Takaful's Dirty Tactics

On Monday morning I received a phone call from a Takaful staff. My mobile showed the number as WITHHELD. He spoke in Malay, did not introduce himself, just mentioned that he was calling from Takaful. He went on to say that he has received an application for a policy from me. I told him that he has called the wrong person because I did not apply for policy. He then mentioned my name and address. Again I told him that I did not apply but he insisted that I did. I denied again and again he insisted.


Now comes the joke. He told me that every credit card holder must take up this policy. I countered him, saying that if that was the case then why was not I informed by the bank and also I did not remember reading such news in the papers. He did not answer my question but went on to read the terms of the policy. I asked him to stop and instead to send me a copy of the terms to read myself since he already know my address. He said he could only send provided I make a payment of RM299 first. I told him to call me back the next day because I wanted to check it out with my son first and to call up the card centre to inquire. I ended the call without waiting for his reply. Almost immediately, I received an sms from this number, 0166264315. The following is the original text :

" Pn kami nak buat penggantaran polisi. Pemotongan rm299.00 kami suda di jalankan tq pn "

My mobile started ringing again. I let it rang for a while before taking the call. It was him again. I raised my voice a little and immediately told him that when a person say "no", respect the person's decision and with his sms I was going to the police station to lodge a report. He did not call again after that.

The next day, I called HSBC card centre to inquire whether there was any payment from Takaful for the amount of rm299.00. There was no such payment. I told her that I have not consented to the payment and also I have not signed any papers. I asked her to note down that should they receive such payment from Takaful, then it is definitely a forgery. She was most helpful and gave me Takaful's number, 18800889659, in case I wanted to call them.

Such cheap and dirty tactics to do sales!!!

So guys, please do alert everybody.

Melaka

Visited Melaka last weekend. Cannot remember when the last time I was there. My memory of Melaka was a large open field, Mahkota Parade, the Stadthuys, taking chicken rice at one of a row of stalls facing the sea and a very crowded Jonker Walk.

I was indeed pleasantly surprised to see many changes in Melaka. The city is more lively with heavier traffic; many new buildings have sprouted in and around the city; apart from the famous historical places, there is a number of new tourist attractions and trishaw rides have been popularised.

Believe me, you can actually see the whole city all in one day!! I just did..........

Took the Duck for the first time. Rather a bumpy ride as the duck waddled slowly round part of the city before entering the Straits of Malacca. It went a bit further out to sea then made a U turn and headed back up to where we splashed in and ended the tour at where we started.

Next, went up Menara Taming Sari for a panoramic view of the city. The observatory cabin revolved 360 degrees as it elevated to the top of the 110 meter high tower and submerged down to the ground again in just 7 minutes.

After a quick lunch at the nearby Pahlawan Mahkota, headed straight for the Sadthuys. What attracted me most here was the bunch of flamboyantly decorated trishaws and taking a ride seem to be the in thing with tourists. Hahaha... had a go at it too. It was sort of a guided tour with the trishaw rider sharing the history of Melaka as he peddled along.

In the evening, enjoyed a leisure cruise down the Malacca River. The 45 minutes cruise was accompanied by an entertaining and informative commentary.

Of course nobody leaves Melaka without tasting its signature food.......Chicken Rice Ball. Dropped in at Hoe Kee Restaurant in Jonker Street to taste this Hainanese dish. Personally, I find the chicken and the rice a little bit too salty.

A stroll down Jonker Walk after the meal ended my day tour of Melaka.

See, I have seen the city from the air, from the sea and on land.