Is SMC cheating Kurnool citizens in the name of gifts?

Kurnool: People are being duped with lucrative gifts by several bogus companies. The recent example that comes to mind is Agri Gold where innocents have paid with their lives and several others are still running up and down to claim their shares. Business may vary from one company to other but the grounds of cheating are identical. One such company that is involved in insurance broking is also following the same track.

Highlights:

• This company, in the business of selling insurance products is running it on the basis of an expired validity
• Random calls to prospective customers are made with a bait of free gifts

SMC Insurance Brokers Private Limited (Money wise – Be wise) has registered a company to carry out its business to sell insurance products, its head office based at Delhi that was shifted from Punjab. To carry out the business the company had applied for permission with Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and had availed validity up to 31st January, 2014. Since its expiry in 2014 the company has not renewed and carrying out the business illegally.

The company to spread its business has set up an office at Kurnool without any valid registration certificates. By engaging four to five women employees besides two to three males is engaged in selling insurance products as a third party by having a tie up with other companies. It is said that the women employees used to call an anonymous number and say that their number was selected for a gift and ask them to collect it from their office.

Only when the person reaches, he is forced to opt a plan of insurance without giving him the assured gift. One Hari Krishna, an employee of a private company sharing his bitter experience with The Hans India said, he has received a call from SMC Company stating that his number was randomly selected for a gift and said to collect from their office. After reaching the office he was asked to come with his wife or else the gift would not be given to him.

“I accompanied with my wife went to the office to collect the gift, instead of giving the gift, they immediately placed some papers and asked us to select a plan of life insurance”. On ignoring, the company employees denied to give the gift. It is not only we, several others who came from nook and corner are also called on the same grounds and rejected, he stated. He said that he had taken a new number just an hour before he received the call from the company. The number was not known to even his wife and family members except him, so how come the company people came to know his number.

When the company staff was asked to clarify how his number was obtained, the company staff threatened him with dire consequences through one retired Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Hyderabad.When The Hans India tried to seek clarification with the company’s manager Ganesh about the company and its activities, he blindly refused to respond to the call. SMC is a non- existing company but still it is carrying its business on expired certificates. Hari Krishna demanded the labour department officials to initiate action before the people are thugged for nothing.