Cancellation of membership

I have been trying to cancel my membership with Dream Vacation Club in vain after informing them that I could no longer afford the monthly subscription and the monthly service fees. Initially I was given a 3 month payment holiday and after the 3 months I am back to square one. When I contacted them again I was told that I could not cancel my membership, then I was told I could cancel my membership if I pay addition costs of R7 120 and forfeit all the money that I have paid to them so far, which amounts to approximately R18 500. When I enquired about the nature of the additional costs I was threatened with being blacklisted on ITC should I fail to pay the subscription.

They were not bothered about my financial situation as long as I pay them that is it. I was the one who contacted them first when my financial position changed and not waited until a debit order bounced. How can I prioritise a holiday club over feeding my family and sending my children to school.

What puzzles me most is that I have never used their services and or points even the bonus points I was given upon singing up with them ever since I joined the club. Dream Vacation Club has been the only party that is benefiting in this agreement and I am expected to just pay more and more to them. What pains me is that the sales agent said that should I decide to cancel the membership, Dream Vacation would simply sell my shares to someone else. How is that for misleading advertising.

I cannot for the life of me understand why are the industry regulators allowing this organization to continue to exploit consumers in this manner and get away with it.

I wish I had read all the reviews about Dream Vacation Club before I singed on the dotted line, I would have saved myself and my family a major heartache.

Membership number 93948.