ABS-CBN Probe’s Investigation on Danvil Plans

(A sincere thank you to Miss Noemi of AboutMyRecovery.com for plugging the show beforehand and staying up late at night to catch ’s segment on .)

Last Wednesday, 16 July 2008, I appeared on ’s segment on .

Part 1

Part 2

Personal Notes

On The Interview With Cheche Lazaro

I was pretty much nervous on the interview. I mean, that’s THE Cheche Lazaro, the one my siblings and I have been admiring since we were much younger. She is a very straightforward person before, during, and after the interview, which is very commendable.

I was very much distracted because of those people laughing at the table nearby. I even cried after the interview since I was so overwhelmed by everything. I was thinking, oh great, this is THE culminary of everything I did to get my money back - by getting interviewed on TV. I never expected that traditional media would pick up my story - it’s just an icing on the cake. It’s overwhelming, I must say. Yes, I am weird like that.

I wanted to speak in pure but found myself speaking in Taglish. I had a hard time speaking in straight because a lot of ideas wanted to burst out of my lips, but only a few was said, and in the process, I was not able to think quickly the word for each English word I said.

I was hoping I made sense.

On The Second Interview Where I Showed The Documents

I believe I did better this time, since I have pieces of evidence to back up my claims. I felt that I have sounded more credible that time. Also, the PA mentioned that they already have gone through visiting the branches, and felt that they were convinced that what I said was true.

Other Clarifications and Important Points

I will present these in bullet points, for clarity:

  • I decided to cancel my plan primarily because of the business’ changes of names. I believe that any reputable company would not want to change their company name, especially when they have invested a lot of time and money building up their name and reputation.
  • The reason why I bought the plan was because their interest rate is conservative. I was taught to be careful in “double your money” schemes, that is why I thought my “decision” was sound enough.
  • My main mistake is I did not take into consideration the company’s reputation. I did not have the presence of mind to check it out myself first.
  • Another mistake was I did not mind the sales agent’s insults on my capacity to pay. As I have said, I did not mind her insults, as she does not know me well. What I failed to realize that time was that I should have walked out of the door the instant she was already berating me. I segregated the “insults” from the “product” she was explaining. Looking back, I should not have let it go. In my dictionary, silence does not mean yes, but in her definition, it appears that silence means you’re actually munching everything she says like it’s a good thing. Letting it go means that I am taking her insults as something true; I should not have given her the power to berate me continuously until I swiped my card.
  • I did not, do not, and will not question their pre-need plans, since, as I have said, their plans are conservative, and I have put my trust that they will be able to pay it back. What I am against is their high-pressure sales tactics. There is a fine line between convincing and coercing a consumer to purchase the product. Sales representatives should be careful crossing that line towards coercing.


After The Episode Got Aired in the Philippines

Some people sent me an email, asking me how I was able to get my refund. I sent them back the URL regarding the steps I took to ask for a refund. [How I Canceled My / Transaction] I did not know how much impact the show made until the next day.

I am not saying that I thought the show would not make an impact. I knew very well that it will be shown not only in the Philippines but on The Channel in other countries as well. I am not new to TV appearances since I was on a children’s show in GMA 7 when I was 4 until 6 years old. What I am new to is the seriousness of the impact has made in exposing ’ high-pressure sales tactics.

Mother reported to me that the morning after the interview, her former officemates in Social Security System called her and told her their own stories about . She also reported that some of our family friend’s neighbors in Batangas also purchased products, but stopped paying after some time.

Moreover, acquaintances approached me and told me about their own stories. The 30-45 minutes that turned to 2-3 hours of hard selling, raffles, and hardcore sales tactics were the common denominator of these stories. One exception would be someone I know who has been a planholder of for years already. His plan is about to mature next year, and is hoping to get his share of money. Contrary to other stories, although he was stuck in the office for 2 hours, the salespeople did not ever berate him.


Reflection

This experience exhibited that information is indeed power. People who felt they were duped are not “stupid”. They only seem “stupid” because they do not have access to proper information. If I were not vigilant enough to search the company’s name on the internet after I purchased the policy, I would not reach this point. If I did not realize the mistake of not knowing the company’s history, I would not been able to convince myself to seek for a refund. If Father did not direct me to read more about the Consumer Rights of the Philippines, I would not have made a sound judgement about pushing through the cancellation.

Buy me a coffee!

Share/Save/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , , ,

Related posts

About this entry

You’re currently reading “ABS-CBN Probe’s Investigation on Danvil Plans,” an entry on Simplicity is Beauty

Published:
07.18.08 / 5pm
Category:
Life