As of writing this, I am positively livid and seething as to how this supposedly "deal" site is scamming all of its members. Why? Let me count the ways. If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you might be familiar with my post regarding their travel scam. No? Let me refresh you by clicking on this link. Well, if you think they stopped there, think again. After writing that post, I've had some people comment on how CashCashPinoy has scammed them, and a friend even told me that his officemate bought a "supposedly" authentic Lacoste bag, except that when it arrived, it wasn't. Pure fake. Today, I've had the pleasure of experiencing another one of their schemes. Thank goodness I can proudly say that I haven't fallen victim yet. I called and asked about the deal first before going ahead and purchasing it. Guys, ALWAYS call the merchant before buying any deals. Ask all the questions that you have, so that you won't have any regrets afterwards.
Going back, today CashCashPinoy sent me an email regarding their Sofitel Manila Dining Experience deal. Usually, whatever email that comes from CashCashPinoy immediately goes to the trash. But today what struck me was that they were offering 40% off at any of Sofitel's Restaurants, including Spiral. My birthday is coming up next month and I was thinking of treating the entire family to Spiral for my birthday dinner. But I had a few questions like "do they limit the number of people who are availing the deal?" "is the day I want already fully booked?" and "do I need to pay any other charges other than the deal amount?". So I called up Sofitel for clarifications. Well the answer to my questions 1 and 2 were no, which was a good thing. But question #3 came up and I was told that since I want to use the voucher for dinner, then I am to pay an additional Php215 per head. HUH?! Before going any further, I would like to show you the deal in question. Please read thoroughly and tell me what you think:
So... what do you think? Did you see, in ANY part of the deal wherein it states that you'd have to pay an additional Php215 per head? Because I surely DID NOT. Look at the part encircled in red. It says that the deal is valid for Spiral for lunch during Monday to Friday, then dinner Monday to Thursday. If you were me, what would be your understanding of this? It means that as long as you buy the voucher, then you can use it M-F lunch, and M-T dinner. Right? Well, according to Sofitel, since there is a difference of Php215 from lunch to dinner, the deal holders will have to settle the difference with the hotel if they want to dine during dinner. That particular part was NOT mentioned in the deal. And when I told them that it wasn't mentioned, the reservations officer then pointed out to the clause that I highlighted in the blue box. For me, when you say "any amount in excess of the voucher price", it means that when you incur any additional expenses like drinks which is not part of the buffet, THAT is the one that you'd have to settle directly with the hotel. Actually, Sofitel is not the one to blame on this. This is purely CashCashPinoy's sheer genius (if you can call it that). The only fault Sofitel has is choosing CashCashPinoy to advertise their deal. You see guys, it's not about the money. I mean, if you are paying for Php1590, what is another Php215 right? My point is, instead of just stating the additional charges clearly in their ad, CashCashPinoy chose the twisted route of scamming their buyers into thinking that Php1590 is all you have to pay for a great lunch or dinner. This is beyond low. Somebody please share this post so that it goes a long way and people will not be duped into buying from CashCashPinoy. I personally will start boycotting this company from now on. You should too.
hi. actually, this is my 2nd time i've availed the cashcashpinoy offer for sofitel. last year there's also some hidden charges that wasn't mentioned in the deal. this time when i called reservations the officer mentioned about the P215.00 additional charge and i said that it wasn't in the voucher itself. how are we going to contest this? i don't know. you are correct, that in any excess (if i order something like wine, that would be the description of 'excess').
ReplyDeleteThey are unclear about it, but you're clearly wrong here. It isn't said in the coupon that it is a buffet coupon, so that doesn't mean that your whole buffet is paid under it. It just says that you have 2665 php worth of food in Sofitel, which you can use under their buffet. That's why you can also use the coupon under the other restaurants in Sofitel.
ReplyDeleteWhile no one likes to pay more for anything, I don't think it's right of you to call cashcashpinoy scammers. Scamming implies that they took your money and ran away. They didn't do that, the coupon is valid (and recognized by Sofitel) so clearly it's legit so I think scamming is the wrong word to use.
ReplyDeleteIt's not Cashcashpinoys fault that Sofitel charges extra for using the coupon at Spiral. I bet if you used the coupon at other F&B spots in the hotel, you might not even have to pay additional, depending on what you order.
Dear FCsean and iamjulienne, it does say that those who will avail of the coupon will have Php 2665 worth of food which includes the Spiral buffet. I have no problems with that. What I want is that CCP include a little phrase that says "those who will avail of the Spiral dinner buffet will have to pay an additional Php 215, which they can settle directly with the merchant." I don't think that's too much to ask. As a coupon merchant, I think CCP owed it to their customers to mention everything in their deal. Failure to hide little details such as these therefore make them scammers. Just saying :)
ReplyDeleteI was checking if the items CashCashPinoy offers like Kipling bags or Lacoste bags were indeed authentic and I found this post.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned the Lacoste bag your friend's officemate availed was a total fake. Can you clarify how you came to the conclusion that it was indeed fake? Solely accusing someone of something without CONCRETE proof is a heavy allegation and if you want to prove your point, evidence is always essential. After all, since we don't personally know each other, how can you show that we can confidently trust you? I definitely have no problem sharing this to anyone I know if proof was available for everyone to see.
Next is, I agree with iamjulienne. A scammer is someone who swindles money from another person. I would use the term "misleading" here because a little common sense applies here, if they were really scamming people, do you think they'd still be in business? While I don't agree with them withholding information such as additional expenses, it is as you said. Do your research. Ask the necessary questions. Make sure you know what you're buying. Because for businesses to work, they unfortunately utilize all possible loopholes of any law or policy that may come their way. Even if it looks illegal to us, because of their exploitation, the law might still deem it as legal.
Basically my point is: no problem with sharing. Just make sure you have something to actually backup what you say and be careful with what you accuse people or big corporations of. While it's easy to rant or throw out a few complaints, you'll never know if a day will come when they're going to actually fight back and find you. And yeah, just saying.