is there a catch to this???

[spongee]

just now around 1015hr...somebody called me from Astoria Plaza informing me that we had been chosen for a complimentary dinner buffet on thurs...(me and my husband that is)...i immediately tried to recall what was it that i signed for a promo??? ah yes, the one in sm north..

so i asked? what's instore for us? she told me aside from the dinner, we will be toured around the hotel to see their rooms and other amenities...owkeii...
then...we will be given 8days and 7nights stay for free at any astoria international (to good to be true ey)...huh? are u sure? tanong ko agad loc ng mga hotels nila being bali, indonesia the nearest..er..kaso.....i told her, wala ang husband ko dito..she was taken aback and keeps on repeating na dapat daw kasama si husband..i mentioned my kids pero she kept on insisting my husband kesyo kailan umalis...kailan babalik for vacation...so, nagduda na ako and become mildly hostile...i told her..miss(name)..if it doesnt qualify me bec my husband is not here...then so be it..its fine by me..and dont push it..

she's polite naman and told me na..itatanong nya sa management and if ever naman daw nasa record na nila my address and phone number..(this made me worry some more).

after the conversation, i immediately called their hotel for verification and if the person do really exist...the hotel number nga pala i took from the internet.. the customer service personnel told me that thing is for real and i am one of the lucky pick... nahimasmasan ako and i explained my side why i need to call them and they understood naman...

so there..if ever this is really true..and i'll make sure its true before i avail...do you think there will be a catch to this???

[need4speed]

there most probably is.. ;)

[BlueBimmer]

just make sure wala kang ilalabas na pera...

[boybi]

Tawagan mo ulit yung Astoria ang ask them directly what's the catch.

[uls]

u have to pay membership fee.

Dami telemarketers tumatawag dito sa office. Kung hindi credit card, hotel membership... or insurance. Lagi sinasabi chosen ka daw or prequalified..

Years ago there was this YOU-WON-FREE-TRIP thing. Yun pala u have to attend a seminar. Bebentahan ka ng shares ng resort or property sa Florida. So may free trip ka nga... pag bumili ka... para ma-inspect mo ung nabili mo.

[zero]

alam ko, lahat ng promo dapat may per DTI something-something.

kung pupunta ka, huwag mo ibibigay ang credit card mo.

[spongee]

Tawagan mo ulit yung Astoria ang ask them directly what's the catch.

alam mo sir boybi..kanina i told her..."sige tell me what to do....what's the bottom line?"...medyo naging pronounced na nga yung explanations nya..na just those things she mentioned...kaya lang i know that there must be a catch kaso i dont have an idea..

[Galactus]

Baka at the end of your stay, you'll be asked to pay some sort of tax...which may well be the peso equivalent of your stay.

But how come they called you at night? (1015H or 8:15pm). Normally kasi, bawal tumawag ng customers after 8pm.

[pobreparin]

usually, sa ganitong mga promos, may aattend-an kang seminar and it will be done before you can get any of your rewards...in this case, ung free dinner....one possible na iaalok in this case is to become a member...or aalukin kayong kumuha ng share,unit,etc....

[yourock]

may female caller din na ang-offer sa amin nyan one year ago.astoria hotel din. free stay din... so on and so forth.. mukhang nakuha nila name sa isang database.... tapos as part of their telemarketing stategy is to offer freebies tapos, ask for referrals....

we never accommodate such calls. i politely declined the offer even if its for free...

[Bogeyman]

Years ago there was this YOU-WON-FREE-TRIP thing. Yun pala u have to attend a seminar.

A variation of this was, free hotel stay in exchange for attending a three-hour seminar. Nakatanggap ako niyan dati, hindi ko kinagat.

Any so-called 'prize' that doesn't include proper and official correspondence, and requires a hitherto unspecified purchase of any sort, isn't worth claiming, IMO.

[uls]

A hotel would not contract a telemarketing company to market the hotel and give away stuff for free.

The FREE thing is used to get ur attention. Now that they got ur attention, they will explain things to u.

[spongee]

Baka at the end of your stay, you'll be asked to pay some sort of tax...which may well be the peso equivalent of your stay.

But how come they called you at night? (1015H or 8:15pm). Normally kasi, bawal tumawag ng customers after 8pm.

1015 sir..umaga..an hour ago...

after reading some of the quick replies..which i thank you guys...i'll call them ulit and ask point blank..ang hirap kasi minsan baka pag nandun na malagay sa alanganin...these people sometimes have a knack of putting you on the spot di ka na makapalag..its like robbery..

[uls]

Meron pa nga ung sa insurance...

may free policy daw ako... i-pick up ko daw sa kanila.

basta may FREE, mag duda ka.

Mahilig kasi ang tao sa FREE. So they just tell u what u wana hear... to get ur attention

[spongee]

may female caller din na ang-offer sa amin nyan one year ago.astoria hotel din. free stay din... so on and so forth.. mukhang nakuha nila name sa isang database.... tapos as part of their telemarketing stategy is to offer freebies tapos, ask for referrals....

we never accommodate such calls. i politely declined the offer even if its for free...

most probably the best thing to do...but even so, i'll still call them and ask info and give me the entire big picture just so i can be aware then decline it after that.

[1D4LV]

u have to pay membership fee.

Dami telemarketers tumatawag dito sa office. Kung hindi credit card, hotel membership... or insurance. Lagi sinasabi chosen ka daw or prequalified..

Years ago there was this YOU-WON-FREE-TRIP thing. Yun pala u have to attend a seminar. Bebentahan ka ng shares ng resort or property sa Florida. So may free trip ka nga... pag bumili ka... para ma-inspect mo ung nabili mo.

actually, u have to pay for a membership fee as like uls said.
tinawagan ako netong mga ito last week.

the membership fee, includes the cost of the dinner for two... hehehehe.

costs 6.5k.

[BlueBimmer]

e yung 7 nights stay?

[redorange]

*Spongee you have a PM.

[mazdamazda]

Actually, I already received the same offer from them.

The free dinner/lunch is true - we were able to avail one for free.

Then they'll tour you around their facilities to offer you a membership in Astoria. You can decline or avail of their membership services (that's where the free stay comes in).

It's not really a scam per se.

[architect]

One thing you need to watch for is that a lot of these unscrupulous companies use high-pressure tactics to force you to purchase whatever it is they are pushing.

It does not help much if you actually availed of the offer (free trip, free one night stay, etc.) since at that point presumably you are in their location and are pretty much a captive audience, or rather, prey.

The fact that they require both spouses to attend is a give-away that such purchases typically are significant enough to require spousal consent. But then again, as mazdamazda pointed out, there are legit offers, too. You just have to be smart and alert enough to distinguish them.