Row over transfer of benefits

Thailand Privilege Card (TPC), issuer of the Thailand Elite Card, will finalise today whether to allow six South Korean couples to transfer their supplementary cards to others as the company's rules prohibit such transfers.

The couples launched a complaint recently, saying that they should be allowed to make the transfer in line with the contract. A representative of TPC said this was due to an inaccurate translation of the conditions from English into Korean, as the company's rules allow the transfer of benefits only for main cards.

"The board members of TPC will discuss the issue and seek a solution today," the representative said.

Another source at TPC said the company had asked the Thai ambassador in Seoul to negotiate with members to solve the problem, as most executive board members do not want to break the company's rules just to settle this dispute.

The source quoted a director of TPC as saying that it was impossible to transfer the rights.

This is the first time that TPC has encountered a problem arising from misinterpretation, even though it has approached potential clients in several countries.

South Korea has been a key market for TPC. It now sells the principal cards at Bt1 million each and supplementary cards at Bt300,000. Coming with the cards are discounts for high-end goods and services in Thailand.

TPC has sold more than 2,500 cards and about 1,800 to 2,000 more members are targeted this year. However, sales this year have been slow for many reasons, including the poor image of the card, which for many has failed to deliver up to expectations. TPC is now revising its third-quarter plan to launch new strategies. One of them is inviting local wealthy people to join the club in the hope of creating business-networking opportunities.