The SM Advantage rip-off

Whatever happened to freedom of choice? And in cases like this, who shall defend the unknowing consumers? Calling on any concerned government or pro-consumer agencies...

I wonder what the Dept of Trade and Industry will do about this. Onli in da Pilipins it happens that a person is suddenly insured without his knowledge then given a deadline and he even actually pays for it with his accumulated points without his prior consent. Hay ewan!

That is called "negative billing"-- something that caused a big consumer backlash against many companies practising it in Canada. I suppose many Filipinos will accept this with a shrug of the shoulder and say "bahala na".

I think it's another wily scheme cooked up by the so-called geniueses of financial
market to fatten their already bulging pockets with the premiums collected out of the deal. Magkano at sino na naman ba kumita sa komisyon? Should not the Insurance Commission look into this?

i have that one at SM. 20 points but as you said, no instructions on opting out. I now shop at Walter Mart (the new one, i know you know where)..saves me gas and parking since it's walking distance from my place. you get free parking 2 hours for P500 minimum grocery purchase even for validated receipts if you eat there during lunch. My PLUS points are accumulating.

Whew! Talk about saving those points for December! It's a quick buck for SM and Philam. After paying P150 for an Advantage card they get to do whatever they want for a card that should be given to loyal customers for free!

Yap! Onli n da Pilipins can establishmens trip us off twice!

That sucks!! It really make sense to me now, having the advantage card ..... is to take "ADVANTAGE" of the consumers? Ibawas na lang kaya nila sa parking fee as option, mas maganda pa just like paetechie enjoying every grocery days.

This "points shaving" scheme is unacceptable. Now I think I know why my SM Advantage Card still only has very few points even after using it for a while. This is bad business practice and should be filed as a consumer complaint with the DTI or whatever agency is in charge of these matters. We should not let these kinds of "ripping off" the costumer practices pass.

Thanks for posting these kinds of articles! It helps keep us money smart.

SM Advantage card is a DISADVANTAGE card. Why pay P150 for a card which SM will benefit? Before one recovers the P150 he paid for in obtaining the card, he should have had bought P60,000 worth from SM? Then whose advantage is that? Tama na ang panloloko sa public Mr Sy! Oks alng sana kung yung P150 will go to the casual employees (all of them are given 5-month contract so SM avoids paying the benefits). Thats exploiting the poor!

shouldn't the process be the other way around? shouldn't the interested parties be the one who should have the october 31 deadline? i mean, if you are interested, you should go through all the hassles that comes with it, and that should be ok since you really wanted to have such coverage. this method that they are employing is outright wrong. it just makes me think if they are doing this because of the financial crisis that Philam is currently immersed into because of the AIG financial breakdown???

just asking.

Talk about timing. SM advantage offers personal accident insurance under Philam Insurance. Isn't the company for sale? Again to whose advantage is the card and the insurance...

Thanks for writing this kind of column.
You guys are right about what you said.
This is really crap, decent scam!

Those who formulate this an implement this should really give them self a tap on the back.... very "EVIL"... for the sake of money.

Pahabol:

Hmmmmm..... so where do we get our policy????

In the front, SM looks like it is practicing corporate social responsibility-by providing facilities for the disabled, breastfeeding mothers ,etc.

But at the back, it robs people of descent rewards by its SM advantage cards and treating its employees like commodities.

I still call SM unethical and socially irresponsible!!

yeah about time...

It's depressing what the ordinary consumer is up against nowadays. I just recently renewed my Prestige Card (it's the same as the SM Advantage Card, but given free to those with purchases of P300,000 a year) as in, yesterday, October 3, and no one at the Customer Service Department informed me, or anyone else, about this P100,000 Personal Accident Insurance for one year, for only 20 points. It's just now that I learn about it, through your column.

this also happened to my citibank credit card before... automatically insured and pay monthly fee UNLESS you give them a call, to ask them to cancel which, its not easy to call them up (if i remember right, we have to fax them a letter) .

may nakakabasa kayang government insitution nitong nakasulat dito? magawan kaya ng paraan ito? hmm... sana nga makarating ito sa kinauukulan...

http://fjordz-hiraya.blogspot.com

that's downright highway robbery!

it smells fishy from the start

i actually received an email around july 2008 about this. but the period cover was oct 2007 up to sept 2008. so when i received the email, ilang months lang and tapos na yung coverage.

i emailed SM to opt out of the promo and some marketing guy replied that they will return my 20 points. i never checked my points so i don't know kung nabalik nga.

SM actually received a lot of internet backlash from this promo so i wonder bakit binalik na naman nila.

People r morons, can't you read?
SM Advantage Card!
That means this card is for idiots for the advantage of SM.
If this was a 'SM Customers Advantage card', then you have the right to complain.
They use what you call 'pricing for moron'!
Top selling consumer items are sold cheaper than other stores but sell other items more expensive; since the tendency is, you will buy it because you are already held by the neck when you enter SM and paid your parking fee, they are sure you will not go to another mall just to buy that items that they sell higher. Real Example: They charge Storyland rides for Php40 each and adults that will accompany them will be charged Php40(a total of Php80), THAT SUCKS!! In trinoma they just charge Php25 with accompaying adult for free. SM Sucks! Turning parents to milking cows, seduce kids to rides and charge extreme fees, Php80 in SM compared to Php25 at trinoma. Do you know why this happens? Because a lot of people here are MORONS!!

Can't blame Henry Sy (SM Chairman) for hiring 5 months contractual, its the only way to deal with most if not all scrupulous labor union. And thats the only way to preserve peace between employer and employee, if there is anyone to be blame its the employees who leaves a bad impression amongst us legitimate businessman who will always worry about scrupulous union leaders and members. Look at Thailand (No stirke zone) they grew and the Philippines with all its democratic means and ways, where are we now???????? Democracy in the hand of savage dress in human cloths is worst than Sadam Hussein with all the balistic missiles in his hand.

Can't blame Henry Sy (SM Chairman) for hiring 5 months contractual, its the only way to deal with most if not all scrupulous labor union. And thats the only way to preserve peace between employer and employee, if there is anyone to be blame its the employees who leaves a bad impression amongst us legitimate businessman who will always worry about scrupulous union leaders and members. Look at Thailand (No strike zone) they grew and the Philippines with all its democratic means and ways, where are we now???????? Democracy in the hand of savage dress in human cloths is worst than Sadam Hussein with all the balistic missiles in his hand.

kaya nga "SM Advantage" ang tawag eh. kasi sa SM napupunta ang advantages. haha. kung sa consumer napupunta ang advantages, eh di sana tinawag nalang nilang "Consumer Advantage Card" yun. but we rarely shop at SM, kahit may advantage card ang misis ko. mahal kasi presyo lalo na sa grocery nila. we shop at Gaisano Mall here in Davao. proven lowest prices on grocery items. minsan even P5.00 lower on some canned foods compared to SM. ang mura lang ata sa SM na binibili namin eh yung Pringles potato chip nila na box of 6. yun lang pinupunta namin sa SM para bumili ng pringles hehe.

Thank you Digg for enlightening us all. Maybe the geniuses at SM formerly worked at Wall St and they've been ripping us all without us knowing. Tsk..tsk... Can the DTI save us from this kind of people looking for a quick peso? Please help us naman so that we can regain our trust to the agency even in our lifetime. I salute the Sy's for hiring these kind of people and making their pockets increase tenfold while people like us agonizes for working long hours and getting nothing in return.

What a nation of whiners.. I think SM advantage is a fantastic deal. Not only do you get points by spending at the departments stores and supermarkets but even through transacting with BDO! I've bought tens of thousands of pesos worth of goods using points. It's easy to earn and spend because of SM's wide range of stores.

Hmmm... i do not know why you guys did not received the email about this. And if you go to an SM Department Store and pay attention to your surroundings you'll see that they posted banners/stand about this.

The way i see this points earning programs of different malls or organization is to encourage you to buy more from their store/organization. Even your credit cards has frequent user points. The more you charge the higher your points. And what's the harm of having sm-advantage card if you're going to buy some stuff from SM. why is it a rip-off? And what's the harm in using your credit card wisely (pay in full all the time) and earn points at the same?

and i think this programs are accredited or checked by some government organization. i think this programs needs dti certification or something right?

you can check their website... http://www.sm-advantage.com often. if you really are serious about using and earning points in your sm-advantage card. the same way i check the hsbc and bpi website often to see what's new in their list of redeemable items.

the rip-off is if you are not given a chance to opt-out and just be informed that you are enrolled. at least they give you time. but since not everybody reads newspapers or has internet access it's kinda hard for them to inform ALL of the members. But what i know is Filipinos loves mall. and the banner is there. most of the time places in the cashiers, escalators, and customer service. That's where i saw it the second time. the first time is via e-mail. the inquirer is the third time.

I know the ruthlessness of SM, but consider din some perks you get sa SM advantage. Baka kasi you don't read the booklet, mga tipong less 10% sa Burger King, free coins when you play sa quantum in which you would save din if you go to those establishments para mabawi P150.

If you feel that this program is not for you, and that you would rather not be covered, you may opt-out through either of the following:

* Call the Philam Insurance Hotline at (02) 528-5202.
* Fill out an opt-out form at the Customer Service Counter of any SM Department Store, SM Hypermarket and SM Supermarket.
* Register first by sending SMAC REG to 2213. Text: SMAC INSURANCE OUT to 2213 [P2.50/text].
* Cut out opt-out form from the ad, fill out and fax to 833-8888.
* Send an opt-out notice thru e-mail addressed to help@sm-advantage.com.

Your points will be promptly credited back to your account should you choose to opt-out from this program.

it was so disappointed! so thats the reason why even if you use your advantage card for so many times you will only gain few points.. worst is wala man lang notice kung san napupunta yung mga points na nawawala sayo! so that's your secret mr. sy.at dapat talagang i-report to!

tnx for posting this.. dami talagang manggagamit sa mundo!

Similar to the big mobile companies. Enrolling you to certain text alerts, where you had to pay for the text charge to un-enroll.

finally, somebody noticed what sm is doing. you are charged 150 for getting this card. kumita na si sm, before the cardholder recovers the cost...isn't this supposed to be marketing scheme to encourage loyalty.dapat free or may purchase requirement lang..why can mercury drug store, pal, etc can give this for free...

wala pong bayad ang renewal... we just got our PRESTIGE (premium advantage) renewal card... you can check other value added services of PRESTIGE as against those so called "complaints" and you may opt to think otherwise. Kami OK lang...my wife has already take advantage of the SM advantage card. The only problem is the PARKING FEE...
Check also your groceries receipt of Walter Mart as against the groceries receipt of SM. You will find that SM is cheaper...

@ Laarni

i only just now digested the whole of your post and you are right! loyalty cards should be given for free even if you're not a loyal customer. giving those cards WOULD ENCOURAGE LOYALTY for the points or discounts a card-holder will be able to accumulate/enjoy.

i remember when i was in vacation in the US and i bought a book for the first time in Borders, and they offered me a loyalty card right there and then (also asked for my email and have been receiving sort of spam-my newsletters, heheheh). But still the point is they give those cards away for free....

gosh... onli in da pilipins nga....

ah, and btw, looking at the ad again, i guess i am not eligible as i just used my points to buy some toys a few months ago and i don't think i have 70 pts in my card as of yet... whew!

in fairness to SM, last March they had a promo where if you had a non-expired card, you can get a coupon worth Php 50 which you can use to pay for your purchases (without deducting points from your card). I guess i'm now at a Php 100 loss only (basing on the card price, hehehehe)

Hi Ms. Salve, thank you for expressing your opinion on this. A lot of SMAC members have been complaining about this months ago but no concrete actions have been taken by the DTI. We filed an email complaint but was given so many excuses and requirements for filing something more "formal" that we felt it wasn't worth pursuing anymore.

Too, Rey Maclang of SM has simply given too many vague replies to our queries that we got tired of communicating with him.

Please read on about all the actions we have taken at this blog http://pinoyadvocacy.blogspot.com.

Posted there as well are updates from Ms. Marou Sarne of DWIZ who also took this issue up in her radio program last June.

Unfortunately, nothing seems to be effective in stopping SM (and Philam) from ripping off their customers :(

i'm buying more SMPH shares.. hehe dyok lang.

Hindi ba against consumer law ito? Or may consumer law/protection ba sa pinas? ala ata.

Yeah! It is a rip-off! I only shop when there is a sale going on. I have extra 10 per cent off if I purchase items during the 1st 2 hours on the first day of the 3-day-Sale event. It's close to 20 per cent discount for planned big ticket items. Talk about cunning! LOL!

I don't care so much about the earned points though. The discounts I received in itself is good enough for me! Peace!

I just called up Philam to opt out -- after I called the SM Advantage hotline and no CSR was available, after my email to SM bounced, and after the SMS Reg didn't seem to work. Anyway, it turns out that Philam hired contractual employees to take the cardholders' calls. They will not give you any transaction number -- hence, you have no proof that you called. The process takes three weeks -- by the time I follow-up, its October 31, their deadline to opt out. If I namedrop this Philam CSR to prove I indeed opted out, he will no longer be connected with Philam. The public assistance office of the Insurance Commission says they have received a number of complaints and will be meeting about this soon. The IC rep I spoke to said they do not recall approving this program and are looking into it because of all the complaints they have received. For those who want to file a complaint to IC re this matter, I was informed that the person on top of this is Ms. Tess De Lima. Their email address is pubassist_ic@yahoo.com.ph.

That is why SM and Philamlife are the biggest players in their respective industries. :) They know how to wring the last peso out of every customer.

That's why I shop at Landmark now. Most if not all the items are cheaper than in SM. No need for an Advantage type of card. Also I transact w/ other insurance companies.

Hope more people learn of this so they can make SM and Philam suffer. Pero I doubt since a lot of people won't get to know about this. Baka .001% lang ang impact. :) Hehehe

advantage? advantage kanino? SYEMPRE sa SM. Imagine to become a member you had to pay php100.00. Eh kung 100,000.00 ang agad naloko nila. Eh di instant php10,000,000.00 kaagad ang SM. Oh sige na sabi ni SM "oh eh bakit may mga freebies naman yan kasama" tanongin nga kita "ano ba freebies ang nagamit mo dun?" wala diba! Oh ngayon sino ang Advantage.... Syempre si SM ang Advantage!

NOT only this insurance scam..... ALL Banco de Oro transactions such as deposits, loans etc are supposed to earn you points in your SM advantage cards .

I used to receive points for two years BUT for heaven's sake... BDO STOPS all these points SINCE MAY, 2008 even though your money are still deposited with them.

UNTIL NOW it still advertises on newspapers and TV ads that you earn points for making transactions at BDO
.....are they FOOLING its depositors???

I didn't know about this 'til I read this blog. I am not sure it this is still an advantage or sm is taking advantage of the members. :)

The SM Advantage card can be very useful if you shop at SM a lot as each point is worth 1 peso. Its just sad that big companies like SM and Philam are taking advantage of unwitting customers.....

I wonder, why do they let you pay for an "advantage" card in the first place? When I got here in Japan, I noticed, point cards were given for free.

Good thing I was warned of this SM advantage marketing ploy by my roommate (then taking up marketing) back in college.

Now you know why he's rich and we're poor !

di ko pa na encounter yung philam insurance.... but let me see kung ano nakuha ko sa sm advantage card na free..... 4 na doritos large..... 2 case ng pepsi max 2liter..... meron pa roast chicken.... me points pa ata natira

regarding bdo credit card..... meron silang bdo reward card.... minsan bundled with sm advantage card..... have not check it yet.... but i am sure meron na rin points yun.... kasi yung wife ko upgrade na yung green to red.... to something else na bdo reward card.... sabi ng wife ko, pag bibili using bdo credit card, dapat sm advantage card ang gagamitin esp. sa sm & petron, wag yung bdo rewad card.... kasi 1.5 point ma earn daw...... yung points sa bdo rewards card, pabayaan na lang mag ipon mag isa thru bank transaction, kasi 1 point lang ma earn for the same amount of transaction....

made any sense? nag yes na lang ako....

naman.
una kung ayaw nung card wag bumili. bayad ka lang ng P150.0 (ako nun P100.0 lang) kung sa tingin mo mabablik sa iyo yung binayad mo.

pangalawa. anu ba naman ang 20 points na hindi rin naman minomonitor. meron ka pang P100,000 insurance.

i paid 100.00 and I have had the card for 3 years now. i may say nabawi ko na yung binayad ko at higit pa dahil nga sa points plus other coupons/free items etc.

yun lang.

teka lang...... me bayad ba yung sm advantage card?.... di ba parang pinadala lang yun kasama ng bdo reward card.... i dont recall my wife freaking out.... so it must be free