The subscriber cannot be rich

Apparently, the people at the Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) are not at all amused by this "text" scam implicating the name of Pagcor.

Dear Consumerline:

In behalf of our chairman, Efraim C. Genuino, we would like to thank you for enlightening your countless readers on the fraudulent nature of rampant text messages involving the good name of Pagcor in this column in the Dec. 4 issue of The Philippine STAR.

We have said it before and we shall say it again: Pagcor has nothing to do with the fake and dubious text messages currently circulating, informing individuals that they have won a prize from a so-called "Pagcor-sponsored raffle."

Pagcor does not hold such raffles and has not solicited processing fees from winning patrons at any time. It denounces the unscrupulous activities of those persons who misrepresent themselves as Pagcor officials for their own selfish gains.

As the sole government entity mandated to regulate all games of chance, Pagcor only conducts its operations in the 13 Casino Filipino branches, in the Ronquillo slot machine arcade and in authorized bingo outlets throughout the country. We do not inform our patrons that they have won through text messages. Neither do we ask them to deposit money in a bank account nor tell them to purchase prepaid cellphone cards in exchange for claiming a prize.

Needless to say, Pagcor – particularly the Public Relations, Information and Media Services (PRIME) Department – has been bombarded with inquiries from people who have been texted or worse, duped, by this scam. Our problem is we do not have the police powers to pin down the culprits. While Pagcor has coordinated with authorities on this problem, we were helpless to learn that the "pseudo Pagcor officials" changed their identities as fast as they changed their cellphone numbers.

In the meantime, we are thankful to journalists like you for bringing this modus operandi to the attention of your readers, especially those from the provinces. I agree that the best weapon against ignorance is timely and accurate information dissemination and The Philippine STAR is doing just that.

Thank you and more power!

Yours truly,
Gryk Ortaleza
Managing head, Prime Dept.

So beware of such text messages (and please pass). Like they say, "The subscriber cannot be rich."

* * * A byte too much

An irate consumer sends this byting letter, which we’re printing in part:

Dear Consumerline:

It was almost closing time when we rushed to Perfect Byte, a computer store located at the 3rd level of Glorietta 2, Ayala Center, Makati City. I peeped and made a sign indicating that I needed just one item (printer ink for an HP DeskJet 640C) and if they could let me in. They did – and showed me the item and said it cost P1,350. My husband walked in and gave his credit card to pay for it. The sales ladies unamimously cried, "Ay, credit card?!" So I quickly replied, "Why? Is there a problem?"

To make a long story short, they told me that the price is different if payment is by credit card – there’s a 6.5 percent charge. After much reservation, I said, "Okay. But what you’re doing is wrong. And you shouldn’t be doing it."

The sales lady then prepared the sales slip and I borrowed a calculator to check if her computation was right. Our computations did not tally. The store manager (Andrea Lee) stepped out of her booth to intervene. Looking so smug, she haughtily remarked, "Look, you came here as we were closing and we accommodated you." She was looking at me as if she wanted to eat me alive.

So I told her, "What’s your problem? I just would like to be clear as to your computation/math that seemed to have no basis at all."

We had planned to catch the last screening of "Harry Potter" but having lost my enthusiasm, I had the movie tickets refunded and did not get to enjoy the night with the family. Now, I want to be clarified on whether it’s legal for stores to arbitrarily jack up their prices. I called up some banks to find out what the rules are on credit card purchases and some say the surcharge is okay while others say it’s definitely not. Confusing, isn’t it?

I did agree to the surcharge, so that’s no problem. But is asking for a proper computation asking too much? Is it asking too much to be accorded a little courtesy?

As a consumer who’s aware of her rights, it frustrates me to think that I’d never get answers to my questions.

Sincerely,
Olen Juarez-Lim
Image training consultant
Merville Park, Parañaque