Told ya it's a scam!

Please read the forwarded email i've received from a friend below:

"Dear Colleagues and friends,

Lately there has been alot of reports on Scratch & Win scams on the rampant. The "salesmen" are usually youngster in their teens or early 20s from outstation (as they seem to only be able to speak Mandarin), going around handing out envelopes and coupons. They are very persistent and speak very fast in order to confuse you. Their usual spots are banks (to pounce on victims who have just withdrawn money), hypermarkets, and even petrol kiosks.

Recently they have been spotted in the open car park in front of Menara Milenium, so please beware when approach by suspicious individuals handing envelopes and coupons to you.

Below is an account of what happened:

In January 2006, I have been approached by a female and a male (both Chinese) in front of Southern Bank Bandar Puchong Jaya, at around 5pm. I was told that in conjunction to the opening of their company, Zunishu Group, in IOI Mall, they are giving away scratch and win coupons, and I was urged to accept one. Upon opening of the envelope, I was told that I have won the grand prize (only 50 out of 100,000 coupons distributed) and stand a chance to win a Perdana V6, a Kancil, a 29" Plasma TV, a Massage Chair or a Jaguh Motorcycle.

In order for me to collect my prize, I must go to their office at Techligent Sdn Bhd at 9-1, Jalan 1/114, Kuchai Business Centre, Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur . At their office, I was approached by 7-8 people congratulating me on winning this grand prize and started explaining to me that I have to first agree to be featured in the congratulatory ad in the newspapers. Then, they proceed to explain that there is a need for me to “share” the advertising cost with other winners. I was showed all the ads of the previous winners, and articles about their contests which seem very authentic, there was even one ad with Pensonic and Sen Heng mentioned as co-sponsor in the ad).

The condition is, I have to pay RM3,899 before I get to scratch my coupon in order to know what is my prize. At first I was very uncomfortable about having to make a huge payment, and hesitated profusely. The supervisor then produces a letter that states that they are guaranteeing the prize will definitely be one of the five claimed. I negotiated that amount and they finally agree upon RM1,000 first, and the balance can be paid later. In return for my doubt, I was given a handheld massager as warranty which I can return later (unused) when I pay up the balance of RM2,899. I swiped my credit card for this transaction (amount RM1,000) and upon scratching my coupon, discovered that I have won a Diverse Massage Chair, which they claimed worth more than RM7,999.

When I left the place, I called a friend to check on the company name, and sure enough, there were lots of stories on the Internet about this scam. I went back to confront the staff, and I was told that it is not their company's policy to refund customers.

As there was no point in arguing with those guys, I immediately called my credit card company to cancel the transaction, but unfortunately the customer service officer told me that there is nothing the bank can do, and I can only cancel the transaction only if the vendor agrees. Alternatively I can file a dispute form only seven days later, from date of transaction, in order to kick off an investigation.

I lodged a police report that same evening and another report at Consumer Tribunal the next day. When they received the notice from Tribunal court they called me up to "negotiate" my refunds. They very arrogantly told me that they have a panel of legal advisers on this matter, and they are confident that I will not get a full refund and inf act the court might not even take my case seriously. I insisted on the full refund and proceeded with the legal procedures. After two weeks, I was granted a hearing at the consumer court, and as the defending party did not turn up for the hearing, the judge awarded me with a full refund. Unfortunately these guys still refused to pay up, and I have to file a case with the Magistrate Court , which takes more than a month for processing. By the time another hearing is made, etc, etc, they would have closed down the company and open a new one to continue their "services".

It is very sad that eventhough there had been more than 11,000 cases reported, no action can be taken against these guys as they have covered themselves in all legal loopholes. It is even sadder that they are recruiting youngsters from all over to do this inmoral business.

Below are some of the companies names they have used and addresses:

HOME SONIC MARKETING / TECHLIGENT SDN BHD:9-1 jalan 1/114 kuchai business centre, jalan kuchai lama, 582000 kuala lumpur tel/fax 7987832055-01 1st floor jalan molek 3/1 taman molek 81100 johor baru tel/fax 358332011a jalan medan ipoh 6 bandar baru medan 31400 ipoh perak tel/fax 5487608

AIRLUX MARKETING :9-1 1st floor jalan prima 7 metro prima 52100 kepong kuala lumpur tel/fax 62509969

CHAMPION SUPREME :15 jln 3/62a bandarmenjalara 52200 kepong kuala lumpur tel/fax 627762279-1 lrg batu nilam 3b bandar bukit tinggi 41200 klang selangor

OTTO SONIC MARKETING :136-1 jalan besar batu 8 52100 kepong tel/fax 6275685485-2 jalan metro perdana darat satu taman usahawan kepong utara 52000 kuala lumpur tel/fax 6257716424a jalan prai jaya bandar prai jaya 13700 seberang tengah butterworth tel/fax 3970228

MASTER SONIC MARKETING :59a jalan prai jaya 3 bandar prai jaya 13700 seberang prai tengah tel/fax 3998733
126-2 jln persiaran sultan abdul hamid kompleks sultan abdul hamid 05050 alor setar kedah (i didn't know a.s got kompleks sultan abdul hamid. kolej sultan abdul hamid, i know lar. kompleks MPKS, i know lar. kompleks Darul Aman, i also know lar. kompleks sultan abdul abdul hamid doesn't ring a bell wor. can alock stuck ppl enlighten me on that part? hehe) tel/fax 7711268
23-1 jalan dm2 millenium business centre 70200 seremban n.s.d.k tel/fax 76770795-1 & 5-2 jln puteri 2/5 bandar puteri puchong 47100 puchong selangor tel/fax 80617228

SUPER SONIC MARKETING :87a 1st floor jalan kenari 20 bandar puchong jaya 47100 puchong tel/fax 80766026168a jln raja uda pusat perniagaan raja ss uda 12300 butterworth penang tel/fax 3329010

Please pass this warning on to as many people as you can to warn them from falling prey to this scam."

Wow-weeeee! It was really a SCAM! Wake up, people. Celik mata! There's no free lunch in this world. Never be greedy. Stick to reality, ok? I know i am ;) And thank god, i outsmarted that ABDD instead of ended up being another mindless victim. Phew~

On the other hand, nobody wanted to admit who actually had dropped my freaking bill on the Uni bus. Not even that person who was in charged of issuing a new bill (dunno what Siong la his name) to me. Bizarre horrr? I really didn't want to give any trouble to Dr.K and Ms.B so i ended up being a good girl and not cari pasal with the person who was supposed to be responsible for the whole situation. Is it that hard to apologise when you actually realised it was your mistake in the first place? And why must there be a denial? The bill has a pair of feet arr? Can walk by itself? But then again, i only appreciate sincere apology. Good day, people ;)