You have to buy now then decide later to use the vouchers within the allowable time period.
Some may wonder if the deals are so real for the prices are 40-70% off the market price. While most of the deals are good and valid, there had been fraud stories as well.
Among the top group buying sites in the Philippines is Cash Cash Pinoy. I came across this forwarded message in Facebook sharing their fraud experience with Landsair Travel and Tours' Journey to Banaue Rice Terraces Promo:
Let me tell you all about what happened. I saw this Banaue 3d/2n tour package. It was claiming an amazing 60% off for the tour, originally priced 21k, you get it for only 9k per pax. Sounds good right? The promo includes private van transfers, daily breakfast, accommodation at the 3 star Banaue hotel, and tour. So before I purchased the vouchers, I called up Landsair and was able to speak to Malou de Los Santos, she said that in order for the van to be exclusive for the group we got to have 6 pax in the group. And departure time from Manila would be early morning which would be safer unlike buses which depart at night. Departure time from Banaue would depend on passengers according to Malou. However, only my mother and aunt wanted to go. So I clarified with them and they said that it was okay since other tourists will be joining the group as well. So I got the vouchers and reserved for November 30. That was about 2 weeks earlier.
It was nearing November 30, and the cash cash Pinoy deal had only 2 vouchers sold, which were the ones I purchased. So I called up Landsair again and they informed me that if there weren't enough people to join the tour the money would be refunded. That was okay for me then. On November 26, I called up the same agent (she was always the one I spoke to since I had her cellphone number), she said that the tour will push through for November 30. However, since my mom and aunt were already senior citizens, it was "safer" if they travel via "private" bus, complete with reclinable seats and restrooms. I even clarified if it was private, and she reassured me, mentioning that they have rearranged pick up in Espana to provide convenience for my relatives. Upon sending me the itinerary it was noted that the bus will be Florida bus, and meet up will be at the bus terminal on November 29, 9 PM, departure at 1030 PM. Departure from banaue on the last day would be 6 PM (which were contrary to what she first mentioned but I didn't press much on this topic). So then I called her up and politely inquired regarding the so called "private" bus, she said that it's technically private because only tourists going straight to Banaue will be getting on the bus. And a guide will be going with my relatives from manila all the way until the trip ends, and if they were to go via private van there wouldn't be any guide. Anyway, I didn't argue further because I knew that even though the buses for sure will be cheaper in terms of transportation cost, it would be better for my mom and aunt since the bus has restrooms inside. So I agreed and just asked if she could throw in free lunch and dinner instead. She informed me that it was not possible cause they have already thrown in the Sagada tour for free (which upon research was really included in all Banaue local tours). Upon several negotiations,she agreed for 1 "single plated dinner" which I settled for.
On the day of departure, Malou sent me a new itinerary indicating Ohayami bus instead of Florida. I clarified again and she said that both have restrooms inside. It's basically the same, just different bus companies. That wasn't a big deal for me then. But then, when my mom arrived at the bus terminal, they found out that Ohayami buses (costing 450/ pax) do not have restrooms inside!!! And Florida buses (600/ pax) aren't licensed to travel to Banaue anymore. This freaked my mom and aunt, so I again called up Malou and complained how come she reassured me that the buses were the same, and even told me not to worry because they will check on my relatives from time to time. And you know what? She said she was just informed by another travel agency who really manages the Banaue tour, and all information she told me were second hand information from Mr. Albert Gonzaga, whom I should direct my complaints to!!! Then I informed her that the promo involved her travel agency, therefore me speaking to the other travel agent was out of the question since we were the ones negotiating the whole time. She shouldn't have given me information she was not sure about. I even mentioned that how come I paid 18k for public transpo which costs only 1800 2 way for 2pax!!! Well, as usual she said there was nothing she can do since she just forwarded everything to another travel agency and the tour could not be cancelled anymore since everything has been set. So I didn't argue further since I knew she wouldn't really do anything about it anymore. But then that night, I received two text messages from Malou intentionally mis- sending the message " ma'am paki bura cellphone number ko sa lahat ng ads natin thanks", I didn't probe deeper into this anymore. It just made me say to myself, she had the nerve to get mad after what her travel agency and so called service did to me.
So when my mom met the supposed guide at the bus terminal, they were informed that they were just instructed to meet my mom and give them directions and vouchers for the trip. I was able to speak to the guide and she informed me that the tour would cost about 9k for 2 pax. Knowing that, I knew that the promo was not really a promo after all! But then there was nothing I can do since i've already paid for it. I thought, I'll just wait for the outcome of the tour itself, and if it didn't work out okay, I would then forward a complaint.
And you know what??? Contrary to their Banaue hotel accommodation (costing about 43 usd per room in agoda) promo, my mom was asked to stay in People's lodge which costs 6h per room for 2 pax!!! Imagine that. So you guys tell me, was it unreasonable for me to get fuming mad for what happened?
So the next time this discount site offers another promo, pls. Make sure you're really getting a good deal out of it. And if You happen to want to purchase another Landsair agency promo, pls make sure that all their informations are correct... I don't expect any compensations or refunds. What's done is done. This is just to inform everyone of what happened so it hopefully doesn't happen again.
I wasn't able to get a screenshot of the deal, but here are traces of the deal left in Google.
This reminded me of another deal that went wrong from Metro Deal's Ugly Birds Cake that circulated last month: (Story by Jeff Ngo)
Dear Fashion PULIS,
My mother got this deal a few weeks ago on line in time for my brother's birthday.
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From the ordering to the reserving of the cake, it turned out to be a major disappointment. The cake company was so hard to contact and the staff won't even reply to our texts messages. It was even worse when we picked up the cake. It was so ugly and it looked so different from the photo that was advertised online.
Photo of the actual cake
My 11-year-old brother, who is a big crybaby , was really upset when he saw his cake. We also ordered the cake pops which were sticking to the plastic. The sticks came off and we had to place them on top of another cake. I tried one and it tasted like uncooked cake dough. I hope this serves as a warning to the people who also got this deal. Please be more cautious in availing promos because pictures can really be deceiving.
Thank you very much FP! God bless.
Yours truly, Jen Ngo
Have you had any bad experiences with daily deals? What's your story?
