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Timeshare Rants and Raves Tell us a good story about your last trip, or something that just chaps your hide. Did you get ripped off? Do you have advice for others to learn from? Post it here.

 
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  #1  
Old 02-07-2009, 07:33 PM
marie simoy marie simoy is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1
Club Astoria RCI Resort

Beware all members of Club Astoria at Astoria Plaza Hotel in the Philippines.
I have been a paying member since 2006 when just about I have already paid almost 50% of my membership shares, they will default you and steal all your savings (all the 120,000 pesos) without the benefit of a notice or a settlement or anything to save your membership. They will block you membership with RCI the fact that you are the one paying for the membership at RCI. Is that right or legally right??? What a scam!
Oh they will be nice to you the first time and lure you to keep on paying. They will sales talk to you that you will be getting a lot of discount to their hotel in boracay! But when you book for it everything was just a steal for your money!!! If you will check they only have one hotel in Ortigas registered with RCI. So, when you book for their boracay hotel you dont get the package RCI has but they will give you their customized package which is even very expensive!!! What a scam! They presented that the are on going projects to open more hotel around the Philippines ... there is no other hotel they own. They have a resort in Sta. Rosa laguna and you are not even alllowed to use them the fact that you have a membership!
Some members were asked to sign contracts and they were introduce to (supposedly) a lawyer who happens to be a doctor by profession!!! Another scam! Hahaha ... they think you are stupid not to know that??? One member paid 20,000pesos upfront after the presentation but after a 3 days, after reading the reviews about the Club Astoria anomalies, the couple decided to withdraw their reservation ... and guess what? Club Astoria refuse to refund the money!
What a scam haha .... please Mrs. Ang (the owner of the hotel) and Mr. Rey Ilagan the Project Manager of Club Astoria stop stealing money from your members. You know what karma is ... we save a hard earned money for our old age vacation so we can enjoy what is left with our life. STOP STEALING OUR MONEY AND BE HONEST!!!!
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  #2  
Old 09-01-2009, 10:31 PM
club astoria club astoria is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Ortigas Center
Posts: 1
Club Astoria's Reply

Regarding the comment posted by a“Marie Simoy” in the Timeshare Gateway Thread, Club Astoria strongly refutes this person’s statement and deny all these accusations.

As a matter of Company Policy and Procedure that is strictly observed, we initially notify each member about payment deadlines. Thereafter, the Credit and Collection officer makes a second call prior to the payment due date. Should a member fail to meet his payment obligation; Management then implements the next phase; which is to notify the member through the dispatch of 3 reminder letters, all sent via registered mail over a monthly interval. Should these procedures still result to a negative response, the Management then takes action by recording the membership as having been defaulted. This part of the contract is made very clear to the member and forms a vital part of the contract that each member voluntarily signs. Due to the violation of the contract, our company informs RCI to suspend the membership as the RCI Membership Privilege is one that is enjoyed by members of good standing. We can equate this to a person who buys a car on a loan payment scheme. Even if 80% payment has been done but the buyer has ceased payment, all the money paid will be forfeited and the car will still be repossessed. In such case, is it considered a scam that the banks or the loaning agent repossesses the car?

Ms. Simoy also claims that Club Astoria has only one hotel in Ortigas registered with RCI. Definitely, Astoria Plaza is the only registered hotel with RCI which is referred to as the home resort in Manila. Club Astoria NEVER claimed that Astoria Boracay is registered with RCI. Astoria Boracay is an added place of interest which is an alternative and exclusive option offered only to our members to enjoy and patronize. It is an added perk, a generous amenity offered to members due to the fact it is in keeping with Club Astoria’s objectives to provide its membership with a variety of destinations to enjoy.

Other resorts such as Astoria Bohol are on a project development phase and further expansions to Subic, South Forbes, etc. are being evaluated in relation to the Global Economic Crisis as any prudent company exercises caution during times of turbulence and uncertainty in the world economy.

In her comment, Ms. Simoy also claims that the company has a resort in Sta. Rosa Laguna where members are not allowed to use its facilities. To clarify this misleading information, the Sta. Rosa property is NOT a resort but rather a real estate development. As such, their recreational facilities are for the exclusive use of the homeowners.

Another clarificatory issue we would like to point out is Ms. Simoy’s claim that some members were asked to sign contracts and were introduced supposedly as a lawyer who happens to be a doctor by profession. Ms. Simoy is referring to the “Owner’s Representative” who explains the contract to the potential buyer before the latter affixes her signature. Club Astoria has never claimed nor introduced the Owner’s Representative as a lawyer. As in other respected institutions such as banks, it has been the norm that the company’s legal counsel need not be present during contract signing since their thorough study of such contracts and their advise have already been sought out and reflected in all the contracts to the mutual benefit of both the company and the potential buyer. These contracts are further scrutinized and approved by the very stringest guidelines of the Security and Exchange Commission. As for the doctor working as the Owner’s Representative, Club Astoria seeks out such professionals and other highly educated and well achieved members of the society in the hopes that they best uphold the virtues of integrity and can therefore protect the interest and welfare of the client.

Management has checked and verified all our records and no such Marie Simoy is a registered member of Club Astoria. It is truly unfortunate that a person with a fictitious persona, finds pleasure in harming the professional reputation of a legal, established business operation. If indeed this person’s allegations are well founded, we invite her to come to our office so we could discuss and confront the issues up front.

Club Astoria is open to answering all queries in regards to membership issues and company policies. We remain transparent and professional, and we are committed to uphold and improve our services for the benefit of our valued members. Please feel free to call us at our hotline 9100550 or via email at customerservice@clubastoriaplaza.com as these are the best methods to bring any concerns to our attention.

Thank You Very Much
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  #3  
Old 07-01-2010, 11:41 AM
Eve Eve is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 1
I hope you'll prove it wrong. I am still giving them the benefit of the doubt. I hope you can make things right in dealing your members. I am still struggling getting hold with your office to entertain my concern. I didn't hear any reply from your customerservice@clubastoriaplaza.com, sales@astoriaplaza.com and all the address I found on the documents I got form your agents…

__________________________________________________ ________

I was in Boracay with my nieces and nephew and a guy name Sonny approach us and invited us for a free buffet dinner. Eh, b-day pa naman nang isa kung niece (June 28, 2010), so pumunta naman kami. When we get there before the dinner, we filled-out a form and then one of their Managers “Dhel Aguilar –nickname nya natandaan ko” told us na may 90 mins na discussion or presentation for their new hotel sa Boracay.
After our dinner one of the agents Lizabelle Patrociano approached us in our table asking if we’re done coz the presentation will start. We started around 9pm and finish at almost 12. We’ll they got me in for the trial package of 5 years with the amount of P136,000 to be paid in 3 years. I was required to pay the 10%. I paid using my credit card with the amount of P13,600.
The next day June 29, 2010 I spoke with my bf and he didn’t agree on joining he timesharing since he has beard a lot of bad stuff about this. Plus, the service offered were not favorable for the members since they tend to control your travelling time based on the availability of the hotel room. Secondly, we checked in the net and we found out some unlikely comments about Club Astoria and RCI. On the same day I went back to the hotel where we had the presentation and I spoke with Mr. Dexie Dato-on (maintenance manager who also signed the contract). I was wondering nga bakit sya yong management representative at hindi si Dhel na sya naman yata ang mas knowledgeable. Anyway, he told me na sa gabi pa daw dadating ang ma staff. It seems all the agent and managers work at night since they operate at night for the so-called buffet invitation. Unfortunately, we also need to to fly back to Cebu at 1pm. When I got home in Cebu I send a text message to Dhel and Liza but I didn’t get a reply. Then I started calling them and only Dhel answered my call. She told me just to send a letter of cancellation on the email posted on the documents they gave me. Marami naman yatang email add at iba-iba bawat form. I send an email to all the email add just to be sure. However, until now I didn’t get any reply from them. It’s been 3 days since I sent them an email. NOW I’m having a HARD time chasing tem while THEY have been very accommodating during the presentation and registration. If this is not REALLY a SCAM, they should follow the right business protocol or least those provisions written on their so-called contract “ unotarized contract”
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  #4  
Old 07-06-2010, 01:58 AM
Erika Erika is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 1
wants a Refund

Hi Eve, We're you able to refund whatever you paid for? I paid the same amount as well. I opted to cancel my application and they want me to pay the PhP10,000.00 cancellation fee. I got the chance to talk to Ms. Dhel as well during our stay in Bora. Please give me a feedback on what happened to you. I want to refund my payment completely. I'm consulting a lawyer right now.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eve View Post
I hope you'll prove it wrong. I am still giving them the benefit of the doubt. I hope you can make things right in dealing your members. I am still struggling getting hold with your office to entertain my concern. I didn't hear any reply from your customerservice@clubastoriaplaza.com, sales@astoriaplaza.com and all the address I found on the documents I got form your agents…

__________________________________________________ ________

I was in Boracay with my nieces and nephew and a guy name Sonny approach us and invited us for a free buffet dinner. Eh, b-day pa naman nang isa kung niece (June 28, 2010), so pumunta naman kami. When we get there before the dinner, we filled-out a form and then one of their Managers “Dhel Aguilar –nickname nya natandaan ko” told us na may 90 mins na discussion or presentation for their new hotel sa Boracay.
After our dinner one of the agents Lizabelle Patrociano approached us in our table asking if we’re done coz the presentation will start. We started around 9pm and finish at almost 12. We’ll they got me in for the trial package of 5 years with the amount of P136,000 to be paid in 3 years. I was required to pay the 10%. I paid using my credit card with the amount of P13,600.
The next day June 29, 2010 I spoke with my bf and he didn’t agree on joining he timesharing since he has beard a lot of bad stuff about this. Plus, the service offered were not favorable for the members since they tend to control your travelling time based on the availability of the hotel room. Secondly, we checked in the net and we found out some unlikely comments about Club Astoria and RCI. On the same day I went back to the hotel where we had the presentation and I spoke with Mr. Dexie Dato-on (maintenance manager who also signed the contract). I was wondering nga bakit sya yong management representative at hindi si Dhel na sya naman yata ang mas knowledgeable. Anyway, he told me na sa gabi pa daw dadating ang ma staff. It seems all the agent and managers work at night since they operate at night for the so-called buffet invitation. Unfortunately, we also need to to fly back to Cebu at 1pm. When I got home in Cebu I send a text message to Dhel and Liza but I didn’t get a reply. Then I started calling them and only Dhel answered my call. She told me just to send a letter of cancellation on the email posted on the documents they gave me. Marami naman yatang email add at iba-iba bawat form. I send an email to all the email add just to be sure. However, until now I didn’t get any reply from them. It’s been 3 days since I sent them an email. NOW I’m having a HARD time chasing tem while THEY have been very accommodating during the presentation and registration. If this is not REALLY a SCAM, they should follow the right business protocol or least those provisions written on their so-called contract “ unotarized contract”
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  #5  
Old 08-07-2010, 10:11 AM
mahbaby12 mahbaby12 is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 1
Angry Indeed Astoria Are Real Scammers

Same thing happened to us, we refunded the money after 3 days of joining, and guess what..no refund! easy money highway robbery! they use the strategy of time pressure,, they'll say that the offer is only good for today, so that you'll have no time of researching and knowing if their company has good reputation, and when you get home you'll ask your friends about it, search the internet about the company and BOOM you've been SCAMMED!!! bye bye hard earned money! I hope someone from press or media will help us out victims and reveal this scam to everyone, we are all Filipinos living in the same country, shouldn't we help out each other instead of trying to get some money from your fellows who are hardly working for their family? HOPE YOU PEOPLE FROM ASTORIA STILL HAVE YOUR CONSCIENCE, its just money,the root of all evil!
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  #6  
Old 09-30-2010, 10:25 PM
girlie girlie is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 1
I guess all I can say is that, whatever is the marketing strategy of Club Astoria in Boracay is great because it makes people to pay right there and there. I am also one of those lured in Boracay to pay my initial installment and up to now paying my monthly payments. Hey people wake up, this is what's wrong with us Filipinos, if you think it is your hard earned money and you don't have extra for it, why the heck are you going to pay your initial installment then after a few days you would be backing out. Why did you let yourself be swooned into signing and going into something that you are not sure about. I give my high regards to those people who attended their invitation and had the courage to say no and say that they dont have the funds for that. The representative that I talked to, reiterated that it is okay if I say NO, and they are just presenting what Club Astoria can offer and it is up to us to accept it. In my circle of friends, I was also surprised that some of my friends are members of Club Astoria and it is not Boracay that they were offered but here in Manila. And I have not heard any qualms from them. We were not able to use their free accomodations because of our busy schedules and there was no problem with that. If you can't contact Astoria via e-mail then call them through their landline. I think everything was written on the contract that we signed and before signing it was explained to us, right. It is very wrong to say that Astoria Club is scam, I have friends who are enjoying their membership with Astoria and also with their membership with RCI. Sometimes, I would have delay in my payments, Club Astoria will call me as reminder. They would also send my receipts to my home, if I pay through bank transfer. It is as simple as, if you dont have the money for it then dont push yourself to having a time-sharing membership. Dont be swooned too easily by any marketing strategy. If you are unsure, dont sign anything and dont give your installment. And if you are really interested after a few days, for sure the offer will always be there.
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  #7  
Old 11-29-2010, 11:22 PM
pinoysoul pinoysoul is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 1
Quote:
Originally Posted by Erika View Post
Hi Eve, We're you able to refund whatever you paid for? I paid the same amount as well. I opted to cancel my application and they want me to pay the PhP10,000.00 cancellation fee. I got the chance to talk to Ms. Dhel as well during our stay in Bora. Please give me a feedback on what happened to you. I want to refund my payment completely. I'm consulting a lawyer right now.
So , what's the update on this? we're on the same boat. we opted to cancel our application too.
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  #8  
Old 03-21-2011, 07:39 PM
scam checker scam checker is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 1
Talking POssible advise on what to do ...

I hope this helps...

I was almost scammed before and I really did research. I was offered a membership card via phone which offers discounts on hotels and restaurants...after an hour, i called back to say i am no longer interested and guess what, they are already asking me for a cancellation fee of 2K... considering that the card transaction is still floating since they will require me to sign it.

One thing that I sure know that we can really ask DTI for help on this.

I also know that :No Return, No Exchange Policy is not encouraged by the government.
In case you dont know..sa dept store sa SM, you are allowed up to 7 days to return something and replace it as long as you don't ruin tags. In fact, my husband returned a replaced a skechers sandals after a week of use because it was already damaged after using it for three days. We were after the money spent for the sandals quality (1700+)...and happily, they agreed in replacing it... just dont throw away receipts.

Going back... putting this in mind... i did the following:
1. Searched DTI's website
2. Looked for the section on customer welfare or anything that deals with customer or consumer services.
3. Got the name and started emailing the contacts.

After a few days, Bangko Sentral contacted me if the problem was the credit card provider... i said no...and the next day, DTI called me informing me that I was already the 4rth person who had the guts and wits to call them and that they already contacted the company involved. The next day, the agent's supervisor called me stating that I no longer need to worry about the cancellation fee and it was already settled with the bank (to my relief..

Apparently... these providers will tell you that you are not allowed to cancel...but believe me... you could. just ensure that you have not lost all papers and you can save all related calls, transactions, informations, emails pertaining to your efforts on communicating with them...and of course...you should do it immediately after full knowledge that what you got was worthless.

Since then, to prevent from this happening again:
> I allow myself at least 5-10minutes right after the conversation to search or verify via internet.
> Refrain from entertaining because I tell you...if you are not strong enough... you will be persuaded.
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  #9  
Old 04-27-2011, 12:49 AM
maria graciella maria graciella is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 1
Question Contract

i am wondering why astoria v&lc,inc demands for legal processing fee in case a member wishes to cancel the contract. the contract is not notarized.
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  #10  
Old 06-15-2011, 01:55 AM
scout scout is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 1
It is very unfortunate that me and my wife actually signed the contract to avail the Holiday Ownership. There are several red flags to me when the agent was doing the presentations like "the offer is only good for this day". This strategy does not give you enough time to weigh whether the offer was really beneficial or if the benefits outweight the additional expenses.

Well, we've signed it and now after arriving home and considering the monthly obligation for 42 months, the offer does not look as good as it was during the presentation. It struck as something that should be on the least priority of my monthly expenses.

Now we're stuck with it. Is there any legal implacation if we cancel the contract? The catch here is instead of paying the 10% downpayment we were given the option to just pay half or 5% which is PHP 9,100 on the spot and the remaining 5% is to be paid on the 15th of July also specified on the contract.

My wife and I, after careful discussion and consideration, decided that we can not afford the additional burden of paying the Timeshare monthly installment as we have other more pressing obligation at the moment.

I really need some advise in this matter before I start calling them for cancellation. I am not interested about refunding the P9,100 dp. I will just consider it as lost money (albeit hard earned money). What i don't want is some collection agent or phone calls from them will have to bother me. They know a lot of my personal information including my wife
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  #11  
Old 06-29-2011, 10:30 AM
drickiez drickiez is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 1
Quote:
Originally Posted by scout View Post
It is very unfortunate that me and my wife actually signed the contract to avail the Holiday Ownership. There are several red flags to me when the agent was doing the presentations like "the offer is only good for this day". This strategy does not give you enough time to weigh whether the offer was really beneficial or if the benefits outweight the additional expenses.

Well, we've signed it and now after arriving home and considering the monthly obligation for 42 months, the offer does not look as good as it was during the presentation. It struck as something that should be on the least priority of my monthly expenses.

Now we're stuck with it. Is there any legal implacation if we cancel the contract? The catch here is instead of paying the 10% downpayment we were given the option to just pay half or 5% which is PHP 9,100 on the spot and the remaining 5% is to be paid on the 15th of July also specified on the contract.

My wife and I, after careful discussion and consideration, decided that we can not afford the additional burden of paying the Timeshare monthly installment as we have other more pressing obligation at the moment.

I really need some advise in this matter before I start calling them for cancellation. I am not interested about refunding the P9,100 dp. I will just consider it as lost money (albeit hard earned money). What i don't want is some collection agent or phone calls from them will have to bother me. They know a lot of my personal information including my wife
hi, I think we're scammed too... we paid half the amount of the deposit and after reading the comments about club astoria we also want to cancel our application.... what happened in your case?? please let me know asap thanks!
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  #12  
Old 07-16-2011, 04:01 AM
johnmateosong johnmateosong is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Manila
Posts: 1
Just wondering, why do people want to get their refund after only a few days... this means you haven't tested out the service right? Also, i became a member just recently so i would not know... but they were transparent about the 20k non-refundable legal documentation fee. Since i didn't have plans on quitting, then i just didn't mind it.
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  #13  
Old 08-05-2011, 01:38 AM
genesis200309 genesis200309 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 1
management, can you consider this???

GOOD afternoon everybody. My wife and I availed of this ASTORIA package
several years ago and was able to finish paying the monthly dues for years
without cancellation nor refund entering our mind. Maybe this is because
my wife loves to travel a lot and what more could better this than
having discounts and savings. In short, we are now enjoying the benefits,
reaping what we sowed for several years.

But just like you guys, I have questions that yearns to be answered.
First, we are given 7 days a year FREE STAY in any ASTORIA hotels the
problem is most of us employees don't have that luxury of being away from
our work for that very long period so why can't we SPLIT it?, which means
can we stay for four days on our first trip then use the remaining days
on the next visit(same year)? Make sense correct?

Next, Why does the management has to limit us or give a specific day that we will be allowed to check in? For example, management will tell us that we can only check in from SUNDAY to SUNDAY, this is so uncalled-for and very inconsiderate of the management. Why not just allow us to check in any day of the week? This is a scenario for a better picture, a certain company tells that his employees can have one week vacation from WEDNESDAY to WEDNESDAY since the company will be doing an inventory or whatever. See? this one is a pain in the ass if you are a member of ASTORIA timeshare and you want to have a vacation using your ASTORIA privelege since you will only be allowed to check in on a SUNDAY.

Lastly for today (because believe me I have more questions), If we want our friends to enjoy and see what beautiful ASTORIA is all about not to mention ASTORIA'S CLASS A service why not allow us to invite our friends and get two rooms instead of just one. My family will stay there for four days and my friends for three or vice versa. In this way, aside from us believing you to be very considerate you are also able to market MAGNIFICENT ASTORIA to more people.

THIS IS WHAT TRUE SERVICE IS ALL ABOUT!!! I'M SURE IF YOU ARE ABLE TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUES IT WILL BE VERY EASY TO SPREAD GOOD WORDS ABOUT ASTORIA. AND I KID YOU NOT!

r/an astoria club member
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  #14  
Old 08-10-2011, 07:38 PM
myng myng is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 1
Club Astoria A Scam!!!!!!!!

We bought our club astoria 2 years ago and we are almost complete with all the payment this year.. NOW I LOG IN TO THE RCI AND TO MY SURPRISE IT SAYS MY RCI MEMBERSHIP WILL EXPIRE OCTOBER 2011. how the HELL can this happen when the salesperson told us that we can get 1 week free hotel each year for 30years.. and now if i want to renew my RCI i will have to pay again..

HERE IS THE JUICY PART.....

i called the club astoria in ortigas office, and to my surprise she said to me that the 2years RCI MEMBERSHIP IS FREE, AFTER 2YEARS IF I WANT TO RENEW I CAN PAY AGAIN.
so i said " if i dont want to renew, what are the club astoria hotels we can stay in????
she said: "only ortigas and boracay are the astoria hotels they have"
WHAT THE F#^%$&@#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! why would i want to have 1week of 30years to stay on the same hotel again and again????????? it wasn't like they are shangri-la hotel or the like....

SO NOW I AM CALLING AND WRITTING TO CLUB ASTORIA TO COMPLAIN AND IF THEY DIDN'T GIVE ME GOOD REASON FOR THEIR CONFUSING AND SCAM SELLING TACTICS I WILL MAKE SURE THAT THIS NEWS WILL BE HEARD ALL OVER THE PHILIPPINES!!!!!!!!! TRY ME...
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  #15  
Old 10-07-2011, 02:38 PM
VincentKahn VincentKahn is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 1
Timeshare Rental Scam - Ortigas Based Call center

A timeshare scam company that calls themselves 'Global Travel Services' operates out of Ortigas Center, Metro Manila - Philippines. The real name of the registered company with the Philippine SEC is called "Uni Asia." It is owned in part by 3 ladies, one of which is Kay Ann Santos, another is Janice Alcala, and the 3rd is Eileen C. Salita.

The address is 3104 Tektite Tower East Building. The hours of operation are local time Philippines: 9pm-12 noon the next day. They call USA East-West coast throughout all the business hours.

The company is REALLY owned by an American from Colorado who calls himself Vincent Kahn. (pronounced Con - Scam owner #1) and George A Krizan (Scam owner #2).

Vincent Kahn lived in Mexico and the Dominican Republic and ran his call center scheme there while doing other "real" timeshare sales activities while being arrested for having 10,000 illegal leads (phone #'s with names/addresses used to illegally call people). Vincent Kahn apparently escaped from Dominican Republic via boat and got to Haiti, then flew back to USA before running away to Asia in the Philippines. He now lives in General Trias, Cavite and is an avid golfer, spending most of his time smoking marijuana and having unprotected sex with hundreds of underaged girls.

He is the one that brings in the cash twice a week and illegally pays everyone off the books so that he can always keep himself separate and keep the 3 unknowing ladies in full responsibility if anything were to go wrong, which it will eventually, as with all scams.

This so called Global Travel Services (made up name that can change any time) claims that they have a group that is interested in renting your timeshare for up to $3600 per week for any weeks that you have available. They claim to work with a partner company called Universal Exchange who is a wholesaler so you've never heard of them and they cant be contacted on the web or on the phone (give me a break). People believe this stuff so be careful. The company itself is simply a boiler room with no real services except people talking.

They say that you can either use YOUR exchange company like RCI/II and do the exchange that way, but in the end they will force you to use their exchange company Universal Exchange (which is how they make their money) because the hotel that they claim to be renting for "The Hyatt/Regency or Mariott" are not even timeshare companies, so OF COURSE RCI CANNOT EXCHANGE. So they will have either tricked you into using "Universal Exchange" which doesnt exist, or some of them will straight up tell you that you need to use Universal anyway.

Then, after you do your checking or if they can just scam you right away on the first call, you will give your credit card information to them so they can do what they call "pass it on the to exchange company so they can exchange your timeshare to the location which is in Cancun Mexico."

THERE IS NO CONVENTION IN CANCUN MEXICO FOR ANY DOCTORS, LAWYERS, OR ANY GROUP.

The $199 is charged by a random credit card processor who is based in the USA (the company goes through 10 processors a week if not more) because everyone is always cancelling and even the processors know they are doing illegitimate processes, thats why if you rent more than 1 week from this group, your billing statement will show random companies around the USA charging you. (this is not typical of decent rental companies).

Plus, there is no contract. And on top of all that, they will tell you that a 3rd party verification company will confirm things with you and record it. THATS FOR THEIR BENEFIT NOT YOURS. All they ask you is that you authorize to charge the card for some multiple of $199. THATS IT. They NEVER mention TIMESHARE during the verification because if they did, then the charge is obviously not valid since they are not even a timeshare company in any sort of a way. So the verification is done just to verify that you screw yourself.

Please be careful of this scam guys, the phone #'s for this company that claims to be in Las Vegas NV are as follows:
702 514 3430 or 702 514 3431

Here is the breakdown of the scheme:

Owner of the account: Vincent Kahn
Owner of 2nd branch office/employees: George A. Krizan
Owner of the company as per the documentation: Kay ann Santos, Janice Alcala, Eileen Salita

Employees (real names):
Shirley Comia (scam sales)
Jenny Borja (scam sales)
Maureen Marino (scam sales Team Leader)
Aejay Sto. Domingo (scam sales)
Michelle Bernardo (customer service)
Edward Artita (Tanya Edwards) (customer service)


Again, this operation (along with many others) are being done out of the notoriously unregulated telephone lines of the Philippines. Most of these people are poor and could care less that they are ripping off poor widowed, retired American people who worked hard all their life to earn their money.

Please let this scam and all the timeshare scams be known. THE MARKET IS NOT GOOD. PEOPLE ARE NOT BUYING/RENT ANY TIMESHARE!!!!!!!!!!! The typical person who gets scammed and tricked are usually widowed, retired, older people who own timeshares and cant afford to pay their maintenance fees or for some reason dont use the timeshare like they used to and would love to turn a profit on a losing asset.

Heres the kicker (MOST PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SCAMMED BY SOMEONE ELSE WILL EASILY GET SCAMMED AGAIN)

Here is the last bit of evidence I have that will also make you laugh. Its the scam website, poorly designed by George Krizan himself. It has the word Carribean spelled incorrectly [carrabean] (any company really operating out of that region would obviously know the real spelling for that). And the website is just a bunch of 'rebuttals' that the scam callers use, and now theyre just printed on the website. I call this, evidence. The website (for your entertainment purposes is located at):
http://www.globaltravelservices.info/

and also another website which they claim but is not actually theirs (click around, no real content):
http://www.globaltravelservices.net

Extra information proving this is all a scam:
1.) The date of the convention they are renting for changes every month to the next 3 months in advance. They always say they are renting for a convention 3 months in advance so that by the time you expect your check, its too late to cancel the credit card charge.

2.) They claim to be from Las Vegas, or Houston TX, but they are located in the Philippines. (every single employee has a heavy Filipino accent) so why would they lie about their location if its legit?

3.) The Hyatt Regency and the Mariott Inn in Cancun Mexico charge between 90-150$ per night, so how could someone pay you $3600/ week? Thats ridiculous. Enough said there

4.) Some 3rd party company cant just call your exchange company (RCI/II) and move around your property. YOU MUST BE THE ONE TO DO THAT. Call RCI and II and ask them yourselves. Its obvious.

5.) Half the time, they dont even know what timeshare they are renting. If you make it really confusing for them, they will still push the sale because they can actually get your money regardless of what timeshare you own. You dont even need to really own one. If someone that didnt even own one called them, they would put you through the whole script and even get your CC and charge you and they think they can keep hiding that obvious gap in logic!

6.) They change their phone # very often. Here are a few of the phone #'s theyve used this year:

310 734 0187
702 514 3430
702 514 3431
830 632 2231
858 346 2222
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  #16  
Old 10-19-2011, 12:04 AM
mt88 mt88 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 1
Club Astoria

I attended their presentation last night after a simple dinner in CitiSports Club (Ayala owned) in Cebu. To be fair to Club Astoria promoters, I have to say it does not sound a scam. But their marketing technique is lousy, they should not entice the public with "winning raffle" for dinners (which they did not do so in my case) and with free holiday (which they gave me a certificate to enjoy free 3days/2nights accommodation in their resort in Palawan or free 5days/4nights accommodation in Orlando, USA).

Invitation to free dinners is OK but they should have publicize their product (selling time sharing holiday ownership) in advance, so those who will attend will know beforehand what to expect. Their concept appears good, provided they and their partners (Resorts Condominiums International) will stay in business for the next thirty years (which is the validity of the timesharing ownership Club Astoria is selling).

I did not purchase what they are selling for the following reasons -

1) Despite their hard-selling and good presentation after the dinner, I was unprepared and not ready to buy as I was not aware beforehand they are selling time sharing holiday ownership (meaning: 7nights/8days within each year X 30 years), which needs a cash layout (before a 40% cash discount) of P182,000.00 (for a studio apartment), or P552,500.00 for a 1-bedroom apartment or P772,500.00 for a 2-bedrooms apartment. They also offered installment plan payments. But it is not a decision I can and will make instantly. I need a little more time to do some research and to think.

2) Lack of written information on the promotors - who are the directors / shareholders of the company (Club Astoria)?. During the meeting, they said the directors / owners / promotors are also the same as the Cathay Group in Manila (Cathay Hardware, etc, etc). But there is no leaflets / brochures available about their setup / structure / products / extent of their program benefits. This means I have nothing in hand to determine who they really are and what they are offering.

Therefore as of this moment, I am undecided.
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  #17  
Old 11-29-2011, 04:08 AM
rzf69 rzf69 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 3
After walking around downtown Astoria we chose the Supper Club for dinner in part because the prices were more realistic than some of their competitors and there were menu items that sounded good. The drink menu left more to be desired with literally six ideas for a fully stocked bar. I am not a business woman and I even know that creative drink ideas create alcohol sales that equal big profit! I do have to say the drink I ordered (not on the menu)was decent. The waitress was a bit on the snippy side or something and would gain from some renewed people skills. The food and the atmosphere on the other hand were very good. We ordered a mixed seafood pasta dish and a marsala pasta dish. The seafood was fresh and not overcooked, and both dishes were plenty flavorful.
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