Canyon Woods Free Accomodation Promo - Scam?

[ian_kuLots]

We went to a wedding fair in Megamall last November or December I think and we signed-up for some promos. Last week I was called by a Canyon Woods telemarketer saying we won a gift certificate which can be used in either Boracay-Malaysia-Thailand-etc and we have to get it in their resort at Tagaytay.

So we went there, had a free buffet lunch and attended a presentation which lasted for almost 4 hours (they tried to convince us to buy this so called vacation package which cost around 400k) but we were only there to get the free GC.

Anyways, binigay din nila yung GC kahit di kami nag-avail ng vacation package. The gift entitles you to stay with their affiliated hotels domestic and abroad (SouthEast Asia only) but the catch is, you have to pay a 5k booking fee. The leaflet says it is refundable once the travel has been completed.

Has if anyone tried this promo so far? I've been checking for forums or blog about this but there's no review yet. I'm curious if they would really refund your 5k booking fee. Any feedback? Thanks. ^_^

[geeknet]

I listen to their presentation last nite, but I dont have a budget to pay for the membership.

I received a Complimentary Accommodation and able to fax the form,

I just wonder what kind of Free Hotel is included in the destination.

I understand the P5,000 is refundable if the the travel is completed. thats reasonable..

Roy

[bondgirl]

may ganito din kami ni husband ko. A. Venue Resorts naman ang nag o offer ng vacation ownership. ganito yan,we went to a bookstore in Mega Mall kasi pa raffle daw ng trip to Macau. try lang kami ni hub and besides, we don't have any delusions of grandeur if we win that (dahil di naman kami mahilig sa mga ganyan). so after a week may tumawag kay husband telling him na he won a GC for a 2d/3n accommodation in Boracay and 6d/7n in southeast asia (indonesia, thailand, singapore, etc) but the catch is, we have to attend their presentation ek ek. pumunta naman kami and bored ourselves to hell in that fvcking 4 hour presentation. mejo maeengganyo ka din lalo na kung mahilig ka mag travel. it costs almost half million pesos if you are going to avail it on that night and these fcking sales people and managers will really urge you to sign that fvcking contract as if it will be a mortal sin if you let this one helluva opportunity pass.

ako, ayoko talaga pero si hub, mejo dalawang isip tapos ayun napapayag at nakapag down ng mga 15k that night just to lock the price. tapos after that, saka lang nag isip kami na hello? we are going to pay 5k monthly to fulfill the payment of that vacation ownership? eh wala pa nga kaming bahay na sarili tapos unahin pa namin yun? kaya ayun, we withdrew the contract kahit pa sabihing minus 10k na yung refund (dahil sa processing and legal fee daw. pwe!) di ko kasi nagustuhan yung customer service nila. magaling lang sila mag lure ng mga customers pero pagdating sa queries at mga further inquiries, wala. kahit sa email, di sila nagrereply. parang anong klase ba naman yan di ba? half million pesos yung ibabayad sa kanila tapos ano lang ba na i accommodate nila yung mga queries namin?

anyway, good thing di kayo kumagat sa ganung mga vacation ownerships. i mean, owning a time share is really good kasi it will save you a lot of money sa accommodations. ang ayaw ko lang is yung sales talk nila and customer service. hindi pa kasi masyadong known ang time share ownership dito sa Pinas kaya ganun.

and about the 5k bond that you're going to pay, naku... asa-ness pa kayo dyan. pahirapan sa pag refund ng bond nyo. sa amin nga yung pag refund ng deposit namin, inabot ng mga 3 months (yun, ay kung hindi nyo pa kukulitin ng todo yung mga taong hindi marunong ng customer service)

about the kind of hotel... yung mga pang 3 to 5 star hotels ang accommodation nyan. which is really good if you have it for free
may ganyang GC kami ni hub pero di na rin namin nagamit dahil sa que horror na refund system nung kumpanya. baka nga hindi na 5k and ibalik sa amin pagka ganun.

[littleboy888]

The horror story continues.

A few months ago, I wrote about Timeshares and Vacation Exchanges in The Good Life Category of Pinoygolfer.com.

It went with this response to a post made by parteeboy:


I agree with that statement that buying a timeshare for vacation purposes only is generally not worth it. It is for that reason that we finally decided to get a timeshare in 2005, specifically Canyonwoods Vacation Club, because they said in the presentation that as a Canyonwoods Vacation Club member, you are entitled to free golf at Canyonwoods. All you had to pay was the caddy fee. So for a few years my kids and I played golf without any charges on green fees.

Now here's the clincher...in the latter part of 2008, we were surprised that one Saturday when we had brought down our bags and about to register, we were told that were to be charged green fees. I said, "What?!!! we never paid this before and I can even show you guys the Tariff Sheet you gave us originally in 2005 that stated under the many activities one can do at Canyonwoods

GOLF............Non-Members PhP 900.00........Vacation Club Members PhP FREE "

Their reply, "Oh sir, FREE po yun if naka-check in kayo pero if you are only visiting for the day, we have to charge you the PhP900 green fee"

I told the fellow, "Look, the main reason why I bought this timeshare and became a member of Canyonwoods Vacation Club is because of the golf. That was the main factor to our saying "yes". Now you're telling us that we cannot use the facility because we're not checked in?".

Returning to Manila the week after the incident, I tried to bark up to the Marketing Manager but she would not even give me a quick appointment to explain this.

My assumption is that long before when they had not yet gotten a substantial number of members for their timeshare, they were very open to this FREE golf arrangement. However, later on, seeing that they had the required member base, a 180 degree turn on FREE golf.

I still like Canyonwoods. I guess that's why it irks - because we like the place and the idea that there are so many activities for everyone in the family. Unfortunately, this total change of mind from management without any notice to the early members of their Vacation Club leaves a bitter taste.

As to the Interval International part, now that's a different story...positive reviews soon.

Just hoping that PGers be aware of this lest they sell you a membership with this FREE golf scheme

----

The horror story continues this way. This afternoon my family went to Canyonwoods just for the kids to swim. In the past, swimming was free to every Vacation Club member and their dependents regardless of whether they were checked-in or not. Since I knew that Canyonwoods had gone back on its word and now charged a fee for swimming (@ PhP 200/pax), I was ready to pay the 400 pesos for the two kids. What really irked me was that now, even the use of the locker comes with a charge. For every locker used, one should pay PhP 150.00 . This is totally unheard of.

If anyone is interested to buy my lot in Canyonwoods, please PM me. The sooner I get out, the better.

[ruthy105]

hi, today someone called me by phone to say that i won the gc in the raffle draw of canyon woods.. so i was very excited.. so my hubby and i think we should go to Malaysia, and i went to the computer to search about canyon woods, and i found this blog... After reading this.. i called canyon woods, and told them what i've found here and they keep on repeating about this 5k reservation fee.. wow.. that's it.. free is supposed to be free.. Not supposed to pay anything.. My husband and I go to other countries for holiday, and never encountered, reservation fee wew.. what a free thing.. they said. But then as my hubby said before this, there's no free meal anymore in this world.. So again, I learned my lesson, at least earlier than tomorrow when we are supposed to listen to a presentation we can't afford and don't like our time wasted! thanks for saving us. Well, it's kinda of a scam.. when they say it's free and then it's not! lesson learned.. My husband said to the guy on the phone that he should try a new job and stop scamming people.. He can only say..... "sorry sir".. Well we saved ourselves gasoline and our time.. thanks to your post...
We didn't waste anything...

[karrencruz]

oh no! but oh yes! thanks for these info. same story with @ruthy, i received a call earlier telling me that i won a vacation for free, nakuha naman namin ito when i filled-out a raffle coupun kuno in one resto in tagaytay last friday, nagulat nga ako na ang bilis ko **** nanalo, good thing out of my excitement, i searched for some reviews about this so called free vacation... i'm actually is about to check only if the place is okay, good thing i found this forum, tsk! if not, we would come up wasting time & gasoline lang pala!! hayzz scammers!

[bluefish1115]

I just received a call and text today from telemarketers from Canyon Woods in Makati telling the same thing about the free GC we won on the raffle and claiming it on Tuesday with a complimentary dinner buffet. Thank you for this thread I actually asked them about the refundable 5,000 but there is no reply yet. This is their text message:

"Greetings! From CANYONWOODS RESORT. Thank you very much for your commitment with us for Tuesday afternoon between 3PM-6PM. We will expect you and your spouse for the complimentary buffet merienda followed by a 90 minutes video presentation reg the destination as to where you can choose your accomodation from afterwhich the GC will be given to with NO COST/ NO OBLIGATIONs on your part..

You have no financial obligations to buy or purchase anything from us. Its a guaranteed gift of a hotel stay. You have a free buffet dinner with us just our way of saying thank you for participating in our exhibit in Trinoma, and the reason you have a gift is because you are among those who participated in our exhibit you are one of the selected!"

[dcase19]

Thanks guys!! Just got the same text and call from Canyon Woods about this GC today. I might go if I'm starving tonight for the buffet.

[sheryl0916]

thank you for this... haist... sobrang excited pa naman kami... pinapakuha na sa min yung GC bukas.. kaya pala they insist and not caring for their load kasi they called my hubby twice... buti na lang nagcheck ako sa net para malaman kung talagang me promo na ganun... haist... mga pasaway na tao ang ganyan... thanks dito ulit.. you save us from this trouble....

[kentdgr8]

just got a call today and same ang text and explanation nila regarding sa promo.. thank goodness i've stumbled in this site...

[redraincoat]

just got a call today and same ang text and explanation nila regarding sa promo.. thank goodness i've stumbled in this site...

I got a call today too. Lahat ata ng sumali sa "raffle" nila panalo

Lahat sakto. Canyon Woods, free buffet, "90-presentation," "no payment"

Haynako. Na excite din ako, buti nalang nabasa ko to. Bakit ang daming manloloko sa mundo no? Di na nahiya sa mga sarili, nanloloko pa ng kapwa.

[shafferychiko]

I also got message from them.. buti nlng nagbasa muna ako bago masayang oras nmn ng asawa ko.. eto po mga sinabi skin..

"Greetings & Congratulations! frm CANYON WOODS RESORT.Thank You Very Much for CONFIRMING w/us your ATTENDANCE w/ your SPOUSE TOMORROW NIGHT. YOUR VIP SEATS have been RESERVED for the COMPLIMENTARY BUFFET DINNER upon your CONFIRMATION w/us TODAY & We thank you for your COMMITMENT w/us TOMORROW bet 5pm-8pm. After the DINNER, PLS. stay and finish a 90mins VIDEO PRESENTATION reg the DESTINATIONS as to where you can choose your accmdations frm. AFTERWHICH the GC wil be given to YOU

with NO COST/OBLIGATIONS on ur part CANYONWOODS RESORT ADDRESS: 2ND FLOOR ACT TOWER 135 H.V. DELA COSTA ST. SALCEDO VILLAGE MAKATI CITY (infront of SECURITY BANK Alpha Salcedo Bldg. PARKING IS AT THE BASEMENT (hv dela costa side) If YOU ARE along BUENDIA SIDE we are infront YAMAHA OR GA YUPANGCO BLDG. IT WIL BE A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU & YOUR SPOUSE TOMORROW NIGHT
BET 5PM-8PM PLS LOOK FOR MS. ZEN SANTOS (rain or shine traffic or no traffic everything wil push thru)

You have NO FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS TO BUY OR PURCHASE ANYTHING frm US. ITS A GUARANTEED GIFT of a FREE HOTEL STAY. You have a FREE BUFFET DINNER w/ us just our way of saying THANK YOU for participating in our exhibit at TRINOMA. And the reason why u have a GIFT is bec. among those who participated in our exhibit your are ONE OF THE SELECTED! PURELY ADVERTISEMEMT on our part WE WIL EXPECT YOU HERE!

You have MADE A COMMITMENT W/ US for TOMORROW & WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT! THERE WIL BE NO CHANGES W/ THE VENUE NOR W/ THE SCHEDULE. If other COMPANIES wil CALL U changing the VENUE /SCHED reg the CLAIMING & the RELEASE of the GC, Please VERIFY w/us or ADVISE US first TO AVOID an OVERLAP of INVITATION. Thank You for your COMMITMENT on this matter. GOD BLESS!"

nakakaLoka lang talaga kasi nangungulit sila.. *** nagiisip din talaga ako kung totoo o hindi.. salamat sa thread na to..

[ifizzlesizzle]

My friends and i went to dine in this restaurant just this weekend, and while finishing up, a middle aged woman went to our table and talked to my friend about a raffle and that we can win free vacation trips. when my friend asked her (we were at both end of the table so i couldn't really hear everything clearly) but i swear she said it was a promo affiliated with the restaurant we were dining at. and then she had her filled up the promo sheet. one of my friends asked her, how many will win, and she just said, "MARAMI." i started to get really suspicious, when she started to give each one of us the stub and had them filled up. coz usually, restaurant promos only give you stubs depending on how much you spent dining, right? and then i heard her, aside from the usual info's she was also asking the name of our parents and their jobs and stuff. when she came up to me, i gave the wrong name of my mom. LOLS, and at 1st, i wrote a wrong CP no. but then i corrected it. wth. lmao.

when i was finally handed out the claiming stub, it said CANYON WOODS, and there wasn't a sign that it has an affiliation to the restaurant. as soon as i saw it, i told my friends, that this is a marketing ploy, could've been a scam, and they agreed. so we brushed it off out of courtesy to the middle aged woman.

and just this afternoon, i saw a tweet of my friend telling us that she received a call. we asked her what she told the caller, and she said she told thm that "they called the wrong number" lmao.

a few minutes after, i got one. had i not been waiting for a call, i wouldn't have answered, but i did, and as soon as i heard it's about the canyon woods, i hung up. my friend has better manners than me. lmao.

and then another one of my friend got called up but she cancelled even before she answered. LOL.

my friends and i are all working and are all in our 20's, desperately needing some vacation. i was just thinking, that while i believed that this is a 'scam', i was in the midst of thinking "what couldve been? had this been real". , so i googled and found this. thank you. now i am at peace. lol

[lordcho]

I attended the presentation last night. I was curious on what they will offer. So i invited my friend to join me since we both have free time anyways. So we had the buffet, and afterwards, MARK introduced himself and we started to chat. He's the typical salesperson na mambobola muna before anything else.

So he went on to his presentation, and actually, I like what they are offering about Canyon Woods and the Interval International. Kaya lang, here are the things i didn't like:

1. You HAVE to buy to them on that day ONLY! DUH!!!!! They're selling P500,000 worth of membership and gusto nila I will buy that on impulse?!?! Wala man lang ako chance na pag-aralan or consult someone else regarding dun sa bibilhin ko na worth half a million? To think, hinde ko man lang pwede bisitahin muna yung Canyon woods kung maganda nga ba talaga yung lugar... or kung totoo man meron ganun. Ang pangit ng marketing strategy. Kung bibili ka nga ng cellphone, ang daming canvassing and comparing and research pa ang gagawin mo about the phone. To think P20,000 lang yun, *** sa kanila its P500k, tapos impulse buying ang gusto nila?

2. When the "manger" kuno talks to you about the prices, and she felt na hinde ka bibili, she'll make you feel na "wala ka naman pala pera", to the point na mahihiya ka sa kanya and maybe mapapabili ka... Sisindakin ka talaga na parang mahihiya ka sa sarili mo at hinde ka makabili. Pero Im sure, sila din naman hinde nila afford yun... kaya nga sila nandun sa work na yun e (hehehe, bitter lang...

3. They were given by the SEC 1,560 (or 1,580) membership slots. They started marketing on 2006. Until now, hinde pa nila napupuno yung slots? Parang ang konti yata nung bumibili??

4. MARK, the sales agent, insulted me before we left. Tingin ko kasi dahil hinde kami bumili. So I said to him, na hinde sya dapat mambastos ng client. If he is wise enough, maiisip nya na I could be a potential client sa condo or other properties nila. Maybe not in Canyon Woods.... Ang bait pa naman namin sa kanya... You will know it's him: around 5'6 height, moreno, and pinagmamalaki nyang 1 year sya na-assign sa boracay. hahahaha

So now, my friend and I decided NOT TO USE the free hotel accommodation. Feeling lang namin meron pa itong hidden-charges and sakit ng ulo sa pag-refund nung P5,000. Sa mga pag-uugali nila and their marketing style... and from the posts here na pangit ang customer service.... huwag na lang.. magbabayad na lang kami sa hotel. hehehehe mas ok na siguro gumastos ng konti kaysa sa sakit ng ulo hehehe

[orgenisblack]

feeling ko scam yan.
for alternatives:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKxnc...er_profilepage

[UsArmyWifeReigns]

My friend asked me to go with him to their office in Makati, going there is such a hassle, parking,etc. it is an old building. from the beginning i am skeptic about this free buffet, and i have warned my friend that it is a scam, but he is persistent and wanted to see for him self, so we went there. from the moment i stepped in the elevator omg it is so bad that the elevator floor and the 2nd floor floor were not in the proper alighnement and i knwe it was not for us, but still we went in. When i saw the buffet table, i was like OMG this is their version of a LUXURY BUFFEt????!!! it looks like a cafeteria table and the buffet looks dirty. Presentation is ZERO. We did not eat. We were ask if we wanted a drink so to be on the safe side we asked for a soda, they said, they dont have it, so we moved on. and the presentation started, everything that was said here is true. it sucks. i dont need to elaborate but it really sucks. so we spent 4 hours sitting, starving and tired of listeing to them. They are all scam artist, while the manager was talking i was browsing the net for feedback about their company and found out this is a sham. so we left and got our GC but i doubt it if theGC is even legit. So yeah, dont let them make u feel they are better than u, becasue they themselves cant afford these.

[rcesmayor]

Hello po. We are here Bora and signed the contract. With this thread medyo off to pursue paying the amount in 0% apart from our cash dp of 30K plus. Hundreds of thousands ang bbayaran nmin... kaya im afraid I need to pay the legal fee if we terminate it within 10 days. we dont have enough time to think coz they told us it's only TODAY, 1 day. I love travelling that's why I was caught and hooked. any idea of this 20k legal fee? we weren't given ample time to check the site and i dont know why i opened the thread after signing the contract. what im guessing right now is that they will file law suit against us if we changed our mind and refused to continue paying 9k/Plus for the share/month to be completed in YEARS........ the only thing to get out from this contract is to pay 20k again for legal fee of terminating the contract. Now I'm thinking of just terminating the contact and pay 20k .. NO CHOICE EH... i need ur thoughts, pls help. thank u.

Honestly, I am worried. :'(

PS: If anyone here is a lawyer, your input is very well appreciated.

[michaelL]

good day evryone.. i was invited to attend a 90minutes presentation sa canyon woods at their makati opis sabi pa nga theres a simple dinner last august 28, 2012.. the food looks like its not good but since medyo gutom na din kami we try to eat and we found out ok naman pala masarap naman pala however.. then after that one guy approach us and introduce him self cannot recall his name.. i told to my wife na what ever happens we are not going buy anything. but after we heard all about the company and the benefits of the system since we love vacations, we decided to get the membership on the day.. and they gave us a complimentary gift cert. free accomodation which we can use in asian country. so far ok naman nagamit namin gc nila sa australia for 1week free. then last week we visit canyon woods medyo looks old pero maayus naman at classy yung place and well maintained. the camp site malaki maganda naman pool nila at malinis naman. sobra tahimik siguro because exclusivity.. the security sobrang higpit but its ok.. hope this will start our good happy vacation,, more power canyon woods,,

[GodsmackiCafe]

S H I T happens! katatawag lang samin ng canyon woods tae yan scam pala . excited pa naman kami ni misis. mamatay sana yung tumawag kanina. kasabwat yang nag comment sa taas t a n g ina mo !!!! wala na ba kayo ibang mapasukan na trabaho? kawawa naman kayo. kalawangin sana **** nyo sa panloloko sa mga tao. libre tapos may bayad, anu yan? lokohin mo si satanas...

[GodsmackiCafe]

Nag tour anak ko sa manila ocean park last Nov. 25, 2012. may babae lumapit kay misis then nag interview sya while listing some info samin then she ask about our source of income and contact number. after 2 days tinawagan si misis and sa sobrang tuwa ko at excited naka 3 sticks ako ng yosi sunod sunod. magaling magsalita at magconvince yung tumawag na babae samin. pinapapunta kami sa makati for GC and free dinner. around 5pm nag search sa internet si misis then nakita nya itong link. F U C K I N SCAM!!!!! buti nalang, di na kami magsasayang ng effort at gasolina papunta sa bulok nyong offer.