Philippine Prudential Life Plans Inc. is currently taking a severe beating online from several bloggers and major forums. According to the various entries that I’ve read, the agents either send you a dubious SMS message saying you won something and all you have to do is to go to their office to claim it and to listen to their presentation. They also have sales agents scouring SM malls offering freebies for 45 minutes of their time to hear their pitch. For identification they will ask for your credit card, check book, or debit card. The reason why they are emphasizing so much on your plastics is because they want to close a sale with you right there and then.
Here’s a screen shot of the Google search results:
The nightmare comes after buying their product because the buyer isn’t totally informed or he/she was just caught up in the moment when they decided to buy. The unfortunate thing is Philippine Prudential Life Plans Inc. has horrible after sales service so it will be a huge hassle for you to try to cancel your plans. For example, check the excerpt below that I found from the Phawville Blog. Basically they were lured in via Datamex scholarship coupons and raffle tickets, hard sold a product, billed, and “forgotten” after.
First, he explained how the free stuff worked. He showed us the Datamex coupons that we would need to present to Datamex to avail of the free scholarship for any 2 year course. He also explained how we were to avail of the free insurance and then asked us to sign a form to formalize our ties with Prudential Life and avail the free insurance. Then he also gave us some raffle tickets. He said for every credit card that I have then and there with me, I would get 5 extra raffle tickets! I only had one so I only got 5 extra raffle tickets.
And then the ‘ugly’ part of the story came. After making us happy with all those free stuff and making us feel like the most fortunate couple in the world, he started pre-selling to us. He introduced us to their health plans. I am not going to go into detail but what I want to point here is this, we were somewhat tricked into buying their health plan. I had no intention of buying or availing of one but in the end we did and cost us 36,008 pesos. I believe this is what they call sales talk.
However, his sales talk wasn’t clean. He did not tell the complete truth which cost me another 6,000 pesos. You see he said that I can use my credit card to pay for the health plan. I brought a Citibank credit card that day. He said Citibank is one of their affiliates therefore I can use it to pay for the plan. I asked if the 36008 pesos can be paid monthly (divided into 12 months) without interest. He said yes. He also said that Citibank would call me after a few days to do arrange this. We signed the contract and then left.
A few days has passed and Citibank never called. We called Prudential Life and asked for the person who entertained us. He answered the phone. We asked why Citibank never called us. He said he never said anything like that. He is a liar. He even said that he cannot remember who we are. Certainly one of the worst customer service I have ever encountered (worst is Smart but that is another story…). He also said we cannot cancel the plan as it is already signed. Just great.
I tried to look for the raffle mechanics online and I found this page on the company’s website. If I understand the mechanics correctly all you have to do is present your ATM, Credit, or Debit Cards to get the raffle stubs, listen to the presentation, and that’s it. I know there’s no purchase requirement in this promo but I seriously believe that the Department of Trade and Industry should still look into this.
I’ve been victim to something like this in the past. We were offered a free buffet and hotel stay in exchange for listening to their presentation. After eating we were given the presentation and we were being sold some sort of hotel/travel membership. What I find irritating (in hindsight) is that they will really make an effort to attack your EQ by saying that this is a limited offer, you’d be “stupid” not to get it, and worst they will give the presentation in a room filled with other agents and “clients” so it will be very humiliating for you to turn them down because everyone can hear you. When we initially said no, the agent even called in her supervisor for another round of negotiations.
Personally I feel that this is an abusive and exploitative marketing strategy. It probably works to some extent because companies that employ this do close sales. However I don’t think they will last too long because people will start to complain that they were scammed. This is even more true today because of social media and the Internet. Arpee Lazaro’s blog entry has over 1,400 comments with hundreds of people sharing their own experiences with the “scam”.
My best advice? Don’t let yourself be abused. If you really feel that the product isn’t for you, decline firmly, get up, and then leave. There’s no point in hearing their appeals because at the end of the day they are not pushing you the product! The the agents just want the commission from the sale. Understand that they are not looking after your well being. In fact I would be surprised if the agents don’t even believe in the value of the product that they’re selling.
These are the moments where we all have to be thankful for the power of the Internet and Social Media. Technology gives us so much more information and we have to use it properly before we make big time decisions like purchasing products that will force us to pay over an extended period of time (like insurance). If people had the habit of “googling” first before buying, then I’m sure this company wouldn’t have as much business as it has now.
I heard that ABS-CBN’s investigative show did a feature on this already and that the tip about this case came from the Internet. Here’s to hoping that the concerned government agencies will act on the complaints now that it’s gotten national media coverage.
UPDATE: Here’s the video of the ABS-CBN episode from Youtube:
yeah heard of this and exp it you can never say no.Because they will never let you go if you said no.
Actually you can. Just be polite and tell them you already have enough plans to cover your great-great-great grandchildren. They wouldn’t know anyway.
Like there was this other group (almost same tactic) who promised us Free Movie Tickets (and yes, I’m a sucker for freebies…and movies lolz) just by listening to them. They promised it will be fast 30 minutes tops, but it took us an hour and 30 minutes of negotiations. I was literally staring at my watch.
Having known these scams, I basically told them what they were going to offer during their introduction. I was like “okay so this is a Forced-Savings plan, huh?” and it’s pretty insane that your money starts making interest after 5 years of payment.
Told them a BS story that I have money in stocks and that gives me more money in the end and that was that.
I got a bag from them after that with them not getting anything from me…well except my time. :p
yeah..actually i just availed their endowment plan last week when i thought of searching for the company’s reputation and i found these… i was thinking how do i get my atm account safe from them.
“..When you we initially said no, the agent even called in her supervisor for another round of negotiations…”
This has happened to me before, really irritating.
And I have to agree on the part where you just have to learn to say no. I fell for this a couple of times here in the US (mostly magazine offers), but the fortunate thing is they have good customer service here that it is easy to cancel whatever mistake you made.
Saying no doesn’t mean you’re being a jerk or what, it just means you’re not interested in whatever they are trying to sell.
Manloloko kasi ang pplic
tama…..isa ako s na hipnotized nla grbe ang galing mambola ng mga ahente ng PPLIC mga manloloko.
i agreed u bro…
Yeah! we went to boracay & experienced it as well.. we were treated to free buffet dinner in one of this NICE beach front hotel and requires us to listen for 1hr.. you know what! it’s just SOO easy to say that we have better plans and your offer is simply not a priority for us.. Sorry! but the food is really nice..THANKS! BYE!!
Sigh. Yeah they got 7000 off from me too. And for some reason I went to meet with the guy cause I wanted to see how they’ll sell the product to me. And it was just so bizarre I swear, I came there without wanting to purchase anything and the next thing I knew they swiped my card cause that’s how I’ll get whatever from them at that day.
Usually they throw a spiel about having a ONE-DAY promo only. Folks, if they start saying that, particularly if they say you’ve been pre-chosen as a winner, there is NO SUCH THING as a ONE-DAY effectivity.
Also ALL PROMOS should have a DTI-NCR permit number. If they don’t, then it’s a scam. You can always demand them to DTI if they do this.
Also if they keep pressuring you to purchase, even if they say “we’re not pressuring you”, but your gut is telling you otherwise, then run away. Don’t walk, run. Cause these guys will pester you till you make they make that sale.
Philippine Prudential did not even issue a statement condoning these deceptive marketing strategies. sheesh
YES WALA NGA, CONDOLENCE AHH, MASYADO KANG AFFECTED?
HINDI KA NAMAN INFECTED,
If you want everything solved in an instance, go straight to their Area Manager, that way you would be able to end a contract with them easier.
Plus be careful about this,
if someone introduces himself or herself to you as BANK REPRESENTATIVE of whatever credit card you will be using, they are fake… literally fake and obviously he/she is liar.
they are just a policy agent of Philippine Prudential and also make sure that they are wearing a recording gadget of some sort, according to a friend of mine, “nasa likod ng ID nila yung gadget”
so when you proceed to a complain directly to their manager or supervisor, you could use that as proof that they lied to you, used you or did anything to you, plus giving you the right to have that staff fired.
Hi Carlo. Thank you for sharing this. I’m in the financial industry and it really pisses me so much to see their kind ruining the reputation of the whole industry.
I once tried their sales talk just to see what their products are. It suck! The sales rep knew that he cannot in her wildest dream sell me their plans because the company I’m affiliated with is much better and more professional than they are.
I see them often in St. Francis and rarely do they approach me. Their tactic is to approach those who think can easily be fooled and duped. I wear smartly everyday, sometimes even with a tie so even though I may look like a guy who can afford their plans, they won’t approach me. Unahan lang yan sa sindak.
Oh and the thing I about the time sharing/club sharing thing you wrote, I’ve been to several times. I’d like to invite you to drop by my blog for an entry I wrote about epic fail in sales presentation courtesy by Crown Regency.
Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks for the comment Ken! Maybe you can do a guest entry here on financial services for Pinoys?
Hi Carlo! I would love to guest post for your blog. Any particular topic you’d like me to write for your readers?
Since we have a lot of young professionals, maybe an article on what they should do with their 13th month and Christmas bonus? A lot will probably blow it on gadgets and useless stuff so this will be timely advice. Share some possible investment opportunities
tnx carlo for sharing dis…Godbless! may no one be fooled of diz people & company..
Astoria and Family First = same tactics
My brother I think bought from them, hehe.
Ten years ago when i was still a starry eyed new grad, i was victimized as well of a similar strat. Ngayon, mahirap na ako biktimahin……..
been there even when they were still Family First…They were unlucky to hit a wall in me… only Ken brought down that wall…. hehehe
3 times they’ve tried to do this. First was over the phone when they said i won free insurance and i should pick it up.
Second was in SM north, where they offered Datamex scholarships. That was fun, i was Mike Reyes for a day, and my family moved to Australia. Lol.
Third was in St Francis.
Same MO each time, when one approaches you, another says, “Sir sige na, kailangan na niya mag quota today, isa na lang kailangan niya, tulungan mo naman siya.”
I hope the company cleans this mess up.
I hope the responsible government agencies will clean up these companies. Hahahaha!
this PPLIC never apologized in any way for their dirty tricks. Whoever is behind this will certainly get what’s coming to them.
Did you see their official statement? Sucks.
not even a statement saying we do not condone such deceptive marketing practices.
I learned to say no to things like this after the 2nd auto-billing thing got enrolled on my BDO card. (The first time around, I asked BDO if it were legit. They said yes.) What I don’t know how to do is cancel those things, though.
Oh and my friend and I got “attacked” by a hotel agent while we were in Boracay, too. We were given a free meal but was asked to sit through a very very long presentation that we kept declining. We were there for three hours. By the time we left, we were hungry again…I think it would’ve been better if we just ate in our hotel in complete peace.
this is just the same hard sale, try the link below for more
http://www.google.com/search?q=club+astoria+scam&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
muntik na kaming madali nito.
Napabili pa kami diyan nung 11k GC set, lol.
To All Concerned and the General Public:
Please refer to and access the Official Statement of our Company as posted in our official Website with regard to the XXX episode on December 07, 2010 by clicking the link below:
http://www.philprudentiallife.com/pplic-open-public-letter-on-xxx-06-december-2010/
Thank you,
Customer Service Department
Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company Inc.
What about the other issues stated by all the bloggers? Any statement on that?
Leader??? Although Philippine Prudential isn’t lagging in the ranking of premium income (17th), assets (29th) and networth (29th), it certainly is no leader in any category.
And while the company may have been awarded “Superbrands”, it certainly does not fit the description of market domination and acceptance.
Why post anonymously when clearly you’re representing the company? O.o
Probably a template reply that management came up with and it’s being posted everywhere by their customer support agents. I doubt it if they will even bother replying again.
Sir Carlo, Thanks for sharing this story. But let me clarify, “Philippine Prudential Life Plans Inc” is different from Prudential Life Inc.” right?
Yup it’s different
I’m just curious if all of their sales representatives are indeed licensed life underwriters. The company is regulated by the Insurance Commission. The government should look into the (mal)practice of their sales reps.
matagal n po atta n scam na yan,ofw po ako tga province,punta kmi sa manila to process my papers again, tapos pasyal us sa sm megamall dated back 2008, sbi nla may raffe free umbrella, bag. only takes 15min. win a car etc.,sa madaling sbi na123 kmi ng 6500pesos at kakaltasan yung atm montly 1600pesos. Davis insurance pa atta ang pangalan IKA TATLO N ATTA PALIT YAN NG PANGALAN. NAGPAPALITPALIT NG PANGALAN.
MGA MANLOLOKO. SAYANG LNG PERA PINAG-IPUNAN SA PAMILYA.
Hay, naku. I remember this happening to me as well, but not with Prudential.
Anyone else a victim of this marketing tactic in the hands of Family First?
The sad thing: I gave in, not because of the sales talk but because of, yes, the pressure of being in the middle of a large room filled with so many other agents and their would-be
victimsclients.Pathetic.
My older bro got victimized by that company, lol. Ako sa Astoria. ~_~
Did an article on a similar thing last year – http://cheftonio.blogspot.com/2010/01/scam-or-not-cocoplans-prudential-life.html
It’s more about the so-called freebies they offer.
-cheftonio
DTI has ordered Philippine Prudential Life already to stop their deceptive marketing style and yet they are still on it!
i just want to cancelled that insurance can you help me kasi indi biro yung pera na yun sabi ko ayaw ko kaso iswape na daw yung credit card ko so pls.help me na maibalik sa akin yung kinuha nila sa hirap ng buhay ngayon at katulad ko na single mom at maliit ang sweldo indi ko na kayang magbayad pa ng insurance,sana po matulungan ninyo ako kung oanu ang dapat gawin thank.
Hi,
I’m also in this situation that they did want me to sign the documents and deduct all the money that they want.I was so confused that time and they don’t let you to think or give you time to think something,their manager and most of staff was there trying to convince me and my sis so i did sign it even though i have doubts but now i have extra time to research the insurance company that i was sign for a year and all the result is so negative i want to cancel it. PLS. IS THERES SOMEONE CAN GIVE ME A SUGGESTION ON HOW TO CANCEL THIS SCAM WITH PRUDENTIAL LIFE THAT I HAVE.
THANKS…!!!
RC
Ganito rin yung nangyari sa akin last Nov 25, 2010. Wala man lang sa plano ko ito pero nagoyo pa rin nila ako. Please refer to my story here:
Until now hindi pa rin narerefund yung money ko. 22 days after na mag cancel ako. Please hep me kung panong follow up ba gagawin ko para ma expedite nila yung full refund…
The same thing happened to me. Philippine Prudential called me up and told me that i am one ofthe recepient of the Pamaskong Handog. A girl name trixie tan told me that I will receive a datamex 3 yr scholarship any computer course, an insurance policy which I can use up to 65 yrs old and 5 raffle tickets which I can win 50,000 pesos. She also asked me if i have an atm, credit card or any visa card. Each card has a corresponding points. I even told her that I never joined anything. Why would I win? She said my name was referred by their affiliated bank including my bank, BPI. She kept on explaining that this is not a scam and you don’t have to buy anything, I gave her my number so that she can text me the recepient code that I will present to her when I claim my certificate in their office (Robinsons Sta. Rosa Laguna). Now to make sure that this is not a scam, my husband and I surf the internet and look for the said ompany. I found out the comment of different people. The same thing happened to them.
My advise to those people who would encounter persons who will say that you win something or you are one of the recepient of a particular prize, don’t be amused. Research firt about the company or else you will be a victim of this scam
To those people who victimized different individuals, mahiya namn kayo. Don’t use people to make money. Be fair. A good marketing strategy never lies.Telling the truth is a good strategy in selling. When one win the trust of the people by telling the truth, until the end you will be trusted. But when you win the trust of the people by telling a lie, forever you will be having a hard time in winning it back.
Please help me out. My Money still not charged back to me until now. Please read my full story below and updates:
http://electricalengineeringforbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/12/is-philippine-prudential-life-insurance.html
nako parehas lang tau.. tulungan tau panu maibalik ung pera ko sayang din un 12835 nakuha nila sakin. huhuhu
alam nio, first and foremost, hindi naman nila kayo makakaltasan ng pera without authorizing them ryt?for sure meron kayo fifill up na form para iauthorize cila na mgbawas sa card ninyo db?like me, im one of thier plan holders.i think ok nmn cla..nkpagreimburse ako ng hospitalization…and isa pa,thier customer service will make sure nmn n kung mag aavail kayo eh happy kayo db..thanks
To All Concerned and the General Public:
Please refer to and access the Official Statement of our Company as posted in our official Website with regard to the XXX episode on December 07, 2010 by clicking the link below:
http://www.philprudentiallife.com/pplic-open-public-letter-on-xxx-06-december-2010/
Thank you
Customer Service Department
Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company Inc.
Hi Carlo,
I’m glad that the media has helped in exposing them because if they don’t, we the netizens, we will never cease to do so. For those who are unsure how to have their policy cancelled and would settle for downgrade, c’mon, you deserve a full refund like I did.
Hope my post will assist you in any way.
http://jonhappiness.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-to-cancel-your-pplic-philippine.html
help me jonha kung panu.. ganto kasi tumawag ako sa PPLIC sabe ko ndi na ko tutuloy maghulog ng premium ng member ako november 7, 2010 sabe nila no-refund daw eh dapat 1 year daw para ibalik ung cash value.. eh lugi parin din db? help me nmn..
my sinasabe silang 15 day free look period eh. pag lumagpas daw un pag ng pacancel ka daw dapat 1 year tpos kung ano ung cash value un lang ang maibabalik
im one of them before as in ako ang nag invite the client for the promos, dinaman totoo ang mga promos namin!! pang aki lang yan ng client pero yung nasa mall may matatanggap ka lang freebies yun lang., kung di mo makuha ang money mo with in 15 days wla na yan! u cant never get ur money back.
Can I possibly get my money back. I already had a bad feeling about this from the very beginning of our talk. But I just didn’t know how to stop her. I thought I was kind of hypnotized or something. Every time I attempted to excuse myself to go out, I just couldn’t do it. At the end, they were able to get my credit card to pay Php6,500 for down payment had my card enrolled in what they call CBE. The next monthly payments were taken through my credit card. After 3 months, I decided to report my card as lost so they could stop crediting me with Php1,600 monthly. My card was clean and nevery been used until that Prudential thing.
The certificate they gave was even crap. I doesn’t look like a certificate for policy holder. Can I get my money back. I was able to pay around Php12,000.
for now my dear wala ka nang magagawa u cant get ur money back in full but mabuti pa magfile kana for cancelling ur insurance there. i will suggest magdala ka ng abogado coz matatakot sila non, baka mabalik pa full amount na binabayad mo. their cancellation is jst within 15 days makuha mo ang full amount from ur card.
Sir it’s not hypnotism or anything similar. They’re just employing some really good persuasion tactics. No offense but, I think your just to polite to turn them down “harshly” which they took advantage of.
bwisit ang phil prudential life,,sna makarma ang company na yan,mga higher ups na pumapayag sa gnyang gawain at most of all ung mga agents na nanglo2ko ng mga tao..muntik na kong mascam…my katapusan din ang lahat ng gnagawa and i’m sure if that end comes to them lahat cla pu2lutin sa hell…
yes i agree on that! they will be going to hell soon lalao na mga managers nla. di ba pweding makunan ng license and companyang manloloko?
may nabasa din akong article about pplic now diko talaga alam anu gagawin ko.
scam ba talaga or hindi?
http://freepressindex.com/news-philippine-prudential-life-scam-or-not-221894.html
wag na kayong magpabiktima dyan!! kahit ano pang office nla ang papuntahan nila pag wla naman kayong any transaction from them. wag kayong kakagat sa pa promo2 nla!!
hay naku! manloloko talaga yan! ako nga nabiktima din nla. tinatawagan ako ng releasing office daw nla from davao, nagkataon na nasa manila ako that day pinapinta ako sa may ortigas center pinaclaim ako ng reward daw isang educational scholarship na lebring tuition fee for 2 yrs in college. tapos di naman pala totoo. wla na dw seminar coz releasing ofc lang sila pero hayyyy 3 oras ako doon. pipilitin ka talagang kumuha ng insurance nla. kaya doon sa mga di pa nabiktima wag na kayong magpadala sa kanila.
naka avail na ng plan ang misis ko sa Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company, pero pina cancelled din nya for the following day. sabi ng customer service incharge na 30 – 45 days daw ang processing and bank to bank transaction and tawag nalang kayo sa customer service nila, kaso laging busy ang customer service nila. mababalik pa kaya ang pera na binayad ko na 6,650
pls help kung ano ang tamang gawin…
Gud day to u! My advise is pls go to the office where u buy the insurance, then be sure na within 15 days i pa cancell mo yan coz after 15 days di na yan pwd i cancel… trust me ill be sure thats the best way to do. kaya spread the news na wag kakagat sa mga promos nla kasi di naman totoo yan!! papuntahin mo agad ang misis mo sa PPLIC office kung saan syanakakuha ng plan mga 4-5 days mabalik na yan sa credit card nya. tawagan nyo din po ang bank nyo to hold the account.
i need some1 to help me..
12,835 binayad ko nung nov.7, 2010
nabasa ko ung mga blogs tungkol sa prudential life.
now i decided to cancelling my account..,
sabe ng sales representative ndi na daw mairerefund ung money ko kasi daw my 15 days free look daw silang tinatawag after 15 days di na pde irefund ung pera.
pls help me nmn how to cancel my account in prudential life.. i want my money back para sa baby ko huhuhu
im sad para sayo miss di na talaga pwd maibalik ang pera mo. kung ako sa inyo try nyo puntahan ang office kung saan kayo nakabili then isama mo taga abs-cbn baka matakot cla kasi i know takot sila sa media, baka maibalik pa yan pero talagang with in 15 days lang yan pwede mapacancel and u can get ur full money back
Hey guys,
Same here, I was informed trough text message by someone named Mr. Louie Sungalon from Philippine Prudential. Stating that i happened to have 3 exclusive rewards and privileges for FREE?!!!! I did not bother replying even for quite consecutive messages. However just yesterday i mind to confirm and wired them out of curiosity. A lady answered and told me that the Mr. Louie was on busy on the other line and expound the scope of the privileges. To my doubt, I check some blogs and comments relevant to this subject and luckily found that it is just a hoax of some group of people who are expert on deceptions.
Hope you guys be more vigilant on this easy fortune people might offer.
Remember: It’s best to have a taste of pleasure on fruit of our hardship!
Nashville
haay.. ako din victim.. nasa sm megamall kasi ako kahapon with my bf may humarang samin offering free raffles ticket para sa honda city daw.. tpos with freebies na pillow, mug, wall clock etc. ung bf ko nmn di nya dala ung atm nya so di sya pinapasok.. ako lang yung pinapasok namind set tpos naoffer na yung plan.. they ask for my credit card verifying kung pwede ako sa 90,000.00 tpos bumalik sya stating na di daw pwede pero may sinabi ulit sya sakin may stater insurance sila for only 9650.. 6650 intial deposit plus 3000 labb plus daw.. hay magulo talaga.. parang sa bawat ifefeed nila sayo mapapa yes ka na lng.. khit nun iaaprove ung 9650 sa credut card icheck lang daw nila.. them boom! nagprint ang transaction slip pinapirma ko tpos may pinasign sakin auto debit charge para dun sa 9650 and authorithy to debit every 15th of the amount of 1650 payable within 7yrs and maturity after 8yrs total of 15yrs. tpos may nag announce sa mike congratulate ako dhil member na ko ng insurance..tpos may lumapit na nman sakin my pina fill up agreement sa endowment.. di muna nga nabasa ung document kasi they will instruct you to write this blah, blah,blah… mabilisang selling.. tapos 45mins lang daw inabot ako ng ilang oras sa loob and nagagalit ung bf ko sa labas kasi ayaw sya papasukin matatapos na daw ung pinapafillup sakin mag antay nlng daw sa lbas. mamya punta kmi ng bf ko sa main nila sa aic burgundy tower sa ortigas para ipacancell and irefund ung plan.. ung bf ko nagagalit dirty marketing strategy daw tumawag sya kgbi dun isang agent asking kung pwede pa irefund sabi my 15days nmn daw.. sabi ng bf ko “dapat lng ibalik nyo dahil kung hindi mamemedia kayo.. marami ako kilala pwede lapitan sa ginawa nyo, free raffle walang bayad kea pala nging panambla lang ako at di nyo ako pinapasok nung di ko dala mga cards ko.. force selling na ung ginawa nyo nagswipe to verify tpos may auto debit papipirmahan”
ano ba yan!! na XXX na ang Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company pero tuloy parin cla!! ganun parin ang ginagawa!! last March 18 nabiktima kmi ng strategies na yan!! try lng namin sana ung raffle nila kc nga db sabi wala naman daw bayad pero parang pinipilit na kmi na mabentahan!! umaayaw na kmi pero kung ano2 mga cnasabi… akala ko ba babantayan nila ang PPLIC? nakaka dismaya naman!!!
Same here.. to make it short:
1. I was called and offered a one time offer with no obligations to buy. I was to get a life insurance, datamex scholarship and 5 raffle coupons.
2. Asked me to go to their place after work and that I need to go there today since the raffle will be tomorrow.
3. I need to bring 2 valid IDs and a credit card for verification purposes stating that I was really the person.
I told them I need to call hubby first to confirm if we can go there and they just call me up again.
Next thing i did was to open the internet and search… in 2 minutes they called back again asking for details..since the first thing that caught my eyes during the search was “SCAM”… i told the agent to call me back in 20 mins cause my boss needs to talk to me. I used the 20minutes to read blogs…and instructed my technician that if ever he called again, tell him that I am still in a meeting and you dont know where I am and dont ever give my cellphone number. True enough… he asked for my number
.. good thing i learned from past experiences..
Previously, I was scammed to buy discount cards. FOrtunately, I was in the right mind to inform DTI and they helped me return my money…or rather, they helped me prevent from fully charging the “floating” amount from my card.
ADVISE on credit card users:
> Floating charge means they may have transacted/swiped your card but it will never be completed unless you signed the slip. So if you feel you can no longer do anything because it was swiped… DONT SIGN ANYTHING.. and call the right authorities.. “bank and dti”.. right away.
I hope mapacancel ko pa ang plan ko. I enrolled last saturday, March 19, 2011. When the agent told me that Citibank will call me 2-3 days after, but to make sure, I called the bank, instead to make sure that the same plan will be payed monthly. Unfortunately or Fortunately the bank informed me that Im not qualified because my card is still new. I called the insurance, the agent forwarded me to the manager. The manager told me to wait for her call the next day. WHen she did not call, I called her the following day and there is no one answering the phone.
From here, my journey will start……
Are they really scammers? I’ve joined yesterday too, and I tried to research about it on the internet, and I read on so many sites, saying they’re scammers. But how do they become scammers? Because they were able to “manipulate” people into buying endowment policies, wherein actually people have the right to say no, anyway? I read that some got scared about reading blogs saying that they’re scammers and demanded a refund… and they got the refund anyway… so why are they scammers?
I’m hoping that people are just saying they’re scammers because of their marketing strategy, and not because the insurance company can’t deliver their promise.
I’m not even sure if maybe people are mistaking PPLIC with Prudential Life, which was the one under SEC and the one people should be waried about. Anyway, I checked the insurance commission website, and PPLIC was in the list: http://www.insurance.gov.ph/htm/_statistics.asp… so that’s good, right?
Also, so far, what I’ve seen saying they are scammers are all blogs, and subjective opinion of people. I tried looking it up sa newspapers (para medyo objective), and wala akong makita. So far, in the newspapers, it’s just stating that PPLIC is stable.
Am I a fool in having faith in this company? I do want to save, and thought about applying sa BPI Save-Up where they get 1k auto-debit from your other account, but earns only a a meager 1% interest. Then if ever na mag close iyong banko, I couldn’t get my money back 100% diba? Pero according to the agent, PPLIC offers 6% interest, pero same thing din, I have to “pay” (or “forcefully save” and discipline myself) para in 15 years time, I get more money! Am I too naive to believe in such a thing? When I believe in time deposits and Save-Ups in other banks?
I think that what is being termed as a scam is their deceptive and fraudulent so-called “marketing strategy” which offers free items or promos to get prospective clients to meet with them and in exchange for being given the free items, you have to listen to their “sales talk”.
On my part, I was actually contacted today by an employee from the pplic who said that my mother, who was not around at the time he called, was “”referred” to them and from some sort of raffle, her name was picked to receive three freebies: a) a certificate which offers free insurance until the age of 65; b) vouchers; and c) raffle tickets. All i have to do is go to their office and listen to some 30 minute presentation. Although on the outset, it seems like a pretty straight-forward deal, but after reading some of the comments from various blogs as well as watching the xxx video on this matter, this deal becomes fraudulent and deceptive because you are bombarded not only by their representative but also other agents and officers. An insurance contract is like any contract, so it must have the basic requisites of consent, object and cause to be valid. In this “marketing strategy”, the person’s consent is vitiated because he is pressured into having an account or policy with them. Although one may argue that the person can always say “no” to any policy that they try to haggle you into, and it is probably true if the sales talk is 15-30 minutes long, but these agents drag the presentation to as much as 3 HOURS. You are stuck in the middle of these agents who may or may not be looking after your best interest and continually bombarding you with information. After awhile, listening to them gets tiring and if you’re stuck listening to them for an hour or so, the only thing you’ll be thinking is how to get the fuck out of there and eventually, you either cave in or find some effective excuse to leave or they realize that you’re not going to budge. Furthermore, it could also be argued that there is a lack of good faith on the part of the representative because he dupes the prospective client into giving him his credit card to “check” it when in fact it was already a transaction. Plus, by needlessly dragging on the presentation despite the repeated refusal of a prospective client shows another example of lack of good faith because if the agent or representative is earnestly offering the company’s services with the welfare of the prospective client in mind, then he would have accepted the first refusal and should have left it at that.
Let’s face it, their strategy targets people they think are weak-willed enough that they’ll easily cave in after an hour or two of sales talk. Add the fact that most people don’t really understand half of the terms that the representative uses, the fact that they’ll supposedly only check if your credit card would be honored or not and suddenly finding out that a transaction took place, the fact that nuances such as the “15 day peek period” which allows the policyholder to cancel their policy with a full refund are not explained, then the whole thing is indeed a scam. It is unscrupulous and pplic is duty-bound to prevent such situations.
I am thankful that I researched about this strategy of pplic, otherwise I may have been another exploited victim.
Hi, I am posting this to inform you guys how we handled the situation and hopefully this helps you if you want to cancel the plan that was fed to you.. I am not claiming that they are crooks or anything under the same context… I still want to believe that they are legit.. only problem is their sales reps’ way of marketing… also, I’m not that proficient in writing (I’d rather compute financial figures than write) so forgive my lapses in grammar, spelling, sentence construction, etc.. (just here to help)..so here goes our story..
My gf just experienced yesterday what “concerned citizen” just told… only that the presentation that they did took 4 hrs before they finally got her to “agree” to the policy’s terms…
Me and my gf are both young CPAs, she is working in a prominent bank near SM bldg. A and I in one of the big 4 accounting firms… yes she should have known better… the truth is, I think its her personality that led to the incident.. she is too polite and naive to walk away from their “presentation” right away so she obliged their invitation (I don’t want to use “weak-willed”, as she wouldn’t pass the board exams if she is)… anyway, the way they “sell” their policies is the same as what others are describing in the comments above..
So we went to the office of pplic during our lunch break to cancel her policy… we both dressed “extra”(; p) smart and acted like we are actually in control of the entire situation.. the customer service representative was eyeing us the whole time as she asked my gf the reason why she wants out of the policy and saying some other stuff (she was clearly trying to salvage the situation, trying hard to make my gf retain the plan)… I stared back at her making sure that she feel that I mean business.. I also tried to butt in to the conversation whenever I feel like the CSR was going in circles… after hearing enough of the useless blubbering for about an hour, I finally told the CSR to just get on with the cancellation and stop interviewing my gf as we both are already late for work… it took the CSR about 30 mins. “processing” my gf’s request all the while a guy (a manager I guess) went close to us but did not said a thing… i just stared at him as he walked aimlessly near us, as if hesitating to engage us in a conversation… after everything’s been said and done… the CSR showed us my gf’s statement of accounts showing that the plan has been cancelled… she notified us that the amount charge to my gf’s credit card would be returned within 30-45 working days… good.. but I told her that we would be calling the issuer of my gf’s CC to cancel the payment anyway and we just wanted to ensure that the contract would be cancelled…
O yeah… they might give you the “we filmed you agreeing to the terms of the contract” crap. Don’t be fazed, it doesn’t matter if they were filming you the whole day (it doesn’t really matter). The contract you signed itself gives you the option to back out within 15 days if for any reason you want to withdraw. So don’t pay any attention to that crap. And instead throw their own contract back at them.
Bottom line, here’s what we did:
>Research. Read the contents of the contract. Read blogs like this one and learn how other people got through the situation. These is an original by the way. ^_^
(I admit their personnel have the capacity to persuade a whole lot of unsuspecting people and being informed is the best defense against anything that they might throw your way)
>Have a final decision before going to their office and stick to it no matter what.
(If you want to cancel the plan you bought, dwell on it. Try not to be a push over the second time around)
>Try bringing somebody with balls of steel along with you.
(Just so you have somebody who is firm if ever you start to get swayed again by their retorics)
>Maintain your composure.
(Don’t show any signs of weakness, act as though you know everything your doing even if you don’t)
>When they look you in the eyes, look back. Don’t be afraid of an eye contact.
(Avoiding eye contact is a sign of weakness)
These are what I did when we had my gf’s plan cancelled.
Feel free to comment and ask questions I haven’t addressed.
One last thing, be professional. Control your self and act accordingly. No need to make a scene. ^_^
One last clarification… in case some pplic peepz are monitoring these blog… I KNOW what I’m doing… It’s my job… so don’t get the silly idea that all the people who want to back out doesn’t know what they’re doing and are just following some other dude’s advice… haha ^_^ V
pardon me first for the grammar and spelling i`m really not good in English but i think it was the most convenient way rely my story.., I really bothered after i read these blogs because my sister told me in the phone a week ago that she was just persuaded by this kind of tactics to signed a plan in prudential life,she was just returned from abroad and not even a month here in the Philippines, when she was in Sm Fairview to buy something she was offered a raffle ticket in persuaded to go in their office and in just a few minutes they got 53,000 from her BDO account,I don`t know exactly what she`s in to but i had this strange feelings that it was the same as what the victims said in these blogs.and based on what i just read and to what my sister`s story in the phone,she was video recorded and can`t say no to their offer, the plan was 5 years to pay 2300monthly.And because of the initial payment of 53,000 i think it includes the dental for1 year,she have to pay her first monthly contribution next year same date of the amount of 2300 monthly plus 6000 yearly for dental for 4 years,and it will matured after 15years.It is reasonable?how can we know if it is legitimate insurance or what?I really worried for my sister she work hard to earned that money hope it not just go to a scam and i really don`t know how to help her cause i know nothing about this kind of thing.And i`m sure she`ll be freakin` out if i told her about what i just read.
The insurance company is legitimate, as it is registered with the Insurance Commission, you can check the commission’s website at http://www.insurance.gov.ph/.
the problem lies with their sales teams’ “very aggressive marketing strategy” as some might put it.
the way they somewhat force into you their policies and not accepting no for an answer, well feeling like a scam.
I mean, this kinds of stuff needs careful thinking as the sum their asking for is significant for most people, especially during this tough times.
So here it is, if you don’t feel right with the investment, have your sister cancel it! Tomorrow if you can! just don’t let it last for 15 days as the amount she paid would no longer be refundable. READ my post above your comment!
P.S.
-wag kayo matakot. pera niya yung pinaguusapan… wala silang laban sa inyo kahit anong mangyari (given the 15 day period has not yet expired).. puntahan niyo kaagad!
-HUWAG niyo intindihin yung “VIDEO” kagaguhan lang po yun!
-MAGBASA po sana kayo. Maraming tips diyan sa taas at sa ibang website…
-Kung may tanong pa, post lang po ulit.
-PINAKAIMPORTANTE… ACT IMMEDIATELY!
gee…. im glad i checked it out in the net before i go see them…. i was supposed to meet this certain minda today at 22nd flr raffles bldg emerald ave ortigas center pasig. they have been bugging me for a wk already! they have been scheduling me to claim my “reward” which is a scholarship grant at DATAMEX.. this gencris had been calling me everyday… and they were very interested with what active atm and credit cards i have… now i know why…. well thanks to arpee and carlo ople’s blogs, and to all here… atleast i wont be victimized by these inconsiderate creatures!!!
Thanks God ako din…buti na lang nacheck ko sa net..kung hindi nadugasan nko mga Damunyos na un… mga bakulkol kasi magsalita kaya nagsuspetsa ako sa knila..sana ung iba huwag agad agad maniwala sa mga nagaalok…
SCANNED DOCUMENTS REGARDING THIS TRANSACTION WILL BE POSTED IN THE COMING DAYS HERE.
Hi, I’m from Davao and last week a woman named MELDRID called and told that I have free certificates that can be used to pay for laboratories, medicines etc. and said I would need to go to Phil Prudential Life Office located at PRYCE TOWER 6TH FLOOR and 3 Id’s to get it.
So I went there and they assessed my requirement which i gave them, 2 IDs and a credit card (I carried it that time). Then they said that I can avail of the ANNIVERSARY PROMO that they had & I was given around 15 coupons for a chance to win P50, 000 that I would fill-up & drop in the promo box.
I was really interested and an agent offered me to proceed to the room where she would explain the “mechanics”
Before the conversation began, she asked me to fill up a form that asks what are my goals. After filling it up we talked.(summarized transaction)
agent1: so your goals involve looking for a job and having a family
me: yes
agent1: but those things are uncertain, death is uncertain, you must be secured so that the family you hope will be secured
me: but I have no family yet, I need money to feed myself first
agent1: the money you will save is small and won’t affect your current budget for expenses. What do you like it to be: P50 a day or P1000 a day.
me: ok, lets try P50, how will the computation go.
agent1: goes to computer and submits a schedule of payments, premiums etc.
me: P5,000 per 3 months is way too much for me since I have barely enough money to sustain myself. I will have to allocate some of my budget for my food, water, utilities etc. to pay this policy.
agent: there is another way for you to avail this buy not using cash but instead your credit card.
me: I will really have to think about this because I primarily use my card for online purchases for my little business and I wanted to cancel this card due to BDO & Mastercard problems.
agent1: goes to the computer
agent2: (out of nowhere), sir please sign.
me: (now here is where I thought where I would get my “free certificates” and DID NOT READ the paper he gave to me. So I signed the paper and later did I know that it was a WAIVER. A waiver that allows them to deduct from my credit card to pay for the policy.)
agent1: (back on scene); May I borrow your credit card sir?
I was already helpless here because I signed the waiver and this agent quickly went to charge my credit card. She came back quickly giving me my receipt and I signed it.
Feeling helpless since they already deducted from my credit card went on to complete the forms. I was a bit low from this time because I was scammed but I knew I can ask them FORMALLY to cancel my policy with a little research.
I searched the net for days and followed one instruction on how to cancel the policy and get them to refund.
After a couple of days, I went to the office, gave them my cancellation letter and asked for a full refund.
At the office, Agent1 was a little surprised that I came back to the office. I gave them the cancellation letter and asked them to fulfill it. She was a little teary eyed here by then, went to the manager’s office and asked for advice.
As a way to blanket the conversation of the manager and agent1, the front desk played a commercial of the firm and set the volume to high. I however, moved closer to the door where the conversation took placed and distracted the front desk by asking for DTI business plates, names etc.
After 3 mins. Agent1 asked me for an “evaluation of my reason” for a bout 30 mins inside the same room which took place before. I quickly said to her that the conversation can took place here and asked for what kind of evaluation. She gallantly explained that the explanation for why to cancel would need to be clarified.
*A clear delaying tactic here and the manager gave this order to the agent. And probably gave her 30 mins to make me undo my decision*
Me: Ok let’s go, your 30 mins starts now.
After an HOUR at the room, all her explanation succumbed to my explanation that I cannot pay for the policy and I would not have enough money to pay for my credit card,food,water, shelter due to this.
She then asked me to proceed to the Manager’s office where the FORMAL request of cancellation will be accepted. (This is probably their last choice of convincing me to retract my decision.)
(SUMMARIZED TRANSACTION)
Manager: So your reason is that you cannot pay for this policy.
Me: Yes, that is my reason.
Manager: Let us compute your budget for food etc.
Me: *shaking head* No, I dont want that anymore. I had computed it a couple days a go. I don’t have enough resources to pay that policy. And I wish to TERMINATE the policy.
Manager: We cannot terminate your policy, only after a year of payment.
Me: *shows printed copy of Pre-need Act of the Philippines* But it says here that I can cancel my insurance whenever I want. And I have not read in the policy any mention of TERMINATION nor CANCELLATION. If there is so, please underline it for me sir.
Manager: Oh, so you mean CANCELLATION. We have a different meaning here in the firm regarding TERMINATION and CANCELLATION.
Me: Yes, What I would like to ask of you is the cancellation of my policy and the full refund of my initial deposit.
Had a long discussion here regarding mismatch of savings and expenditures and lengthy explanation of my reasons. But they gave up here at the moment.
Manager: I understand sir. Please give us 30-45 days to submit this to the head office and cancel you policy and refund the amount.
Manager left the office, and the agent, a little teary eyed left too. After 5 mins. An employee gave me the cancellation letter copy that was signed by the Manager.
So here I am, waiting for for STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT with printed CANCELLED. And will call them every week to follow-up on the request. They assured me of 30 to 45 days and I am satisfied with that. If however they still did not cancel my policy and refunded the payment, I will surely take legal actions against them and I will give our mayor; MAYOR INDAY SARA DUTERTE a letter regarding the situation.
Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company is a scam. sila yung mga agents sa mga mall na haharang nalang bigla sayo mangungulit at sasabihin na nanalo ka ng raffle or kung ano ano. mapagsamantala yang mga yan mga manloloko. advise ko lang kung naloko kayo ng pplic nayan. ipacancel nyo agad pwede nyo po sila tawagan then write a cancellation letter. ipaxerox nyo ang cancellation letter nyo kasama na ng mga documents then balik kayo sa branch ng pinagkuhanan nyo ng policy. ipacancel nyo po sabihin nyo sa kanila dapat stick to your decision na ipacancel kasi lahat ng paraan gagawin nila kesyo tatakutin kayo para lang di macancel yung policy nyo. ibabalik nyo sa kanila yung mga original na documents nyo. note sa lahat dapat may copy kayo lalo na resibo or anything na mangagaling sa kanila hindi pwedeng sila lang ang may copy.
pag na cancel na bibigyan nila kayo ng SOA nakalagay cancelled from inception.pwede nyong sabihin sa kanila na i rush ang pag release ng money nyo kasi yung sakin 2 weeks lang and marame po ang nakapag refund ng 2 weeks lang. basta ang importante sakop pa ng 15 day free look period yung policy nyo kasi pag lumagpas na mahirap na lalo na pag nakapagbayad na kayo tapos gusto nyo ipacancel sa lawyer or sa insurance commission na kayo hihingi ng tulong which is mahirap kasi hindi naman maasikaso agad ng IC and mas hassle pa so ipacancel nyo na po agad
read nyo po yung blog ni arpee lazaro regarding pplic marame po kayong mababasa dun at matutulungan kayo. like nyo rin po sa facebook yung anti pplic. thanks
NO, THEY ARE NOT SCAMMERS, That is a part of marketing strategy.
Ang Pilipino nga naman, binigyan na nang LIBRE, May Libreng KUTYA pa at LAIT,
maybe the client is not aware of the importance of a life insurance, kung ang non life insurance ay para sa mga bagay or things like fire extinguisher.
ang Life insurance ay natural lang na ialok sa tao,dahil para ito sa tao. it is not just protection or security in case of accidental or sudden death, it is also a form of investment din naman po.
Ang tunay na problema ay ang pagiging NEGATIVE THINKING ng mga Pilipino kaya hindi umuunlad ang bansa, Higit sa lahat CRAB MENTALITY !!! alam nang maliit ang issue,palalakihin para SILA ANG MAUNA, !!!
SANA NAMAN MR. CARLO OPLE AT TAGAHANGA NYA NA SI CHUA, WAG KAYONG MAGMARUNONG KASI HINDI KAYO PINANGANAK NA PERPEKTO, Minsan kahit mataas ang pinag aralan mo, wala rin kwenta, kung mas pinagtutuunan mo ng pasin ay ang kamalian keysa sa magagandang naidulot nito.
IBIG SABIHIN, ISA KA RING SALOT NANG LIPUNAN.
yan talaga ang natututunan nang pagiging Colonial Mentality, dahil ba yan sa pag aaral sa ibang bansa,wow!!! ang galing……cge ikaw na ang bida, anyway, kahit naman anung gawin mo eh kukunin ka rin ni God, malay mo….ATAKIHIN SA SA PUSO O SA HYBLOOD…………….
IF THERE IS NO SALES, THERE IS NO ECONOMY
ANUNG GUSTO NYONG PARAAN NG PABEBENTA NG INSURANCE??? SA KALYE BA? O SA MGA PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, GAYA NG TRAIN, JEEP,BUS,TAXI,TRICYCLE,PEDICAB ETC…..
EH ANU NAMAN ANG GUSTO NYONG FREEBIES,,,??? CANDY, SIGARILYO? MANI? BALOT? PENOY? ANU PA???
ANY SUGGESTION???
I am surprised…that people do not do a class action against this company to get there Monies back.
That would really hurt Philippine Prudential life…if every one sued them that was taken by this scam….
me too last 2 wks ago i was in southmall someone approach me and they just say it will took a minute akala ko nmn kng ano i will just fill out the raffle thing nxt thing i know they take me to their office and will play daw the car raffle thing d nga sana aq magaattend ng seminar kc it was un planned strolling at gabi na i was carrying a lot of kids pa,ayun sbi nila 45 minutes nxt thing i know 2 hours na mahigit i refuse to buy anything grabe d tlga nila aq pnapaalis grabe sila sa salestalk tska tanong ng tanong about sa credit card ko dun lang nagisip nko para nlng makaalis aq i buy this three hundred peso something merci insurance grabe kc i was so tired na ang ingay sa room sakit sa ulo it was a nightmare a lesson and im so thankful d ako nag padala kht na i feel so awkward sa agent kc feeling nya kurifot ako good thing tlga grabe definitely they are a scammer liar bad marketing !
I am one of their victims at SM Megamall. I regret getting involved with them. They are a bunch of scammers.
Do not trust them with your money.
They will hold your money hostage. If you are in a dire need of money and you are forced to cancel the policy, EXPECT MUCH LESS than of what you gave them.
You are better off keeping the money at a jar. At least you can use the whole amount during an emergency.
When you see them it will be immediately obvious that they are desperate for your money. Ignore them and do not listen to them.