Beijing Tour Scams

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: This is a repost from the old blog I have... took down the post from that blog already.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My husband and I went to Beijing for a tour on May 7-11, 2013. We booked our trip through a licensed tour operator in the Philippines, Aboex Travel & Tours. It was stated in our travel voucher that we need to follow the whole scheduled itinerary and should we decide not to follow, all hotel rooms, tours and meals will automatically be forfeited, so we adhered.

On May 9, 2013 our tour guide, “Aimee” from Century Holiday (tour operator in China that partnered with Aboex) brought us to a Chinese Medicine Shop for a “foot massage” after our Jade Shop, Juyongguan Pass (Great Wall) & Lunch stops.

"Dr. Dong"

In the “Hospital” we met a "Dr. Dong" who's supposedly from Tibet and is the 4th Generation doctor from their family. (Not sure if that’s her real name??) She asked us to open our mind to natural medicine and not just modern medicine because the latter uses chemicals to cure only the symptoms - side effects will still be present, while the former is used to cure the root cause of symptoms. To add credibility, she mentioned that the late president Marcos went to their hospital for his Lupus and that other prominent people visited them to be cured. In fact, the very first president of their institution is already 107 years old because he uses Chinese Natural Medicine for long life. After convincing our group, Dr. Dong said that Chinese Natural Medicine "doctors" and their English interpreters will enter the room to diagnose us of any illness by looking at the palm of our hands. My husband went first and the doctor said he has problems with his liver. Then the doctor looked at my palms, he said I had hormonal imbalance causing irregularity in my menstruation cycle. When they saw that I was interested to know more (who wouldn’t be concerned with their health??), they accompanied us from the foot massage room to the “doctor’s office” to discuss more on how to cure the said “illnesses”. They offered us Chinese medicines that can only be found in Tibet (according to them) and the prices are fixed because they’re very rare. They offered us a treatment package for my husband worth CNY 2,700 per month and that he should take it for 3 months amounting to a whopping total of CNY 8,100. I declined because I didn’t have that much budget but the interpreter said the doctor will perform “Chi-gong” (transfer of energy) on my husband to make the medicine more effective so he can just avail of 1 month treatment instead of 3 months. Unsuspecting, I subscribed to the idea and handed them my credit card to charge CNY 2,700 for the medicine. After that the doctor prescribed some Chinese medicine for my hormonal imbalance amounting to CNY 3,400 for a month’s worth of medicines. The interpreter said I had to buy 3 months’ worth of medicines so I can get rid of my hormonal imbalance forever. Thank God I’ve set a budget for this trip rendering me to decline, (otherwise I ended up buying some medicine for myself..) To cut the Chinese Medicine Scam Story short, I was charged using my Visa Credit Card CNY 2,700 for this trip. I even paid CNY 500 in cash for some foot soak and topical oil for detoxification, arthritis and high blood… but I already paid for that in cash. I’m just after the credit card charge reversal. See this site for more info on this scam:

http://eatpackgo.com/travel/go-china-tour-scams/

After the Chinese Medicine trip, we went to the Olympic Stadium and Water Cube then went to a pearl shop (in the basement of the old Olympic stadium). This is where scam #2 happened. A Chinese lady discussed how they grew cultured fresh water pearls.

She said that the most expensive type of pearl was the golden pearl and that in China, ladies ask for a golden pearl ring instead of diamond ring for an engagement ring because golden pearls  are that valuable and rare. She even declared that an expert will shortly follow and discuss more about pearls after her presentation but due to a very busy day with the experts tending to other tourists, their boss will entertain us instead. The “boss” introduced himself to us as Yan Tao. He said that his parents asked him to manage their pearl shop business instead of playing around. He even apologized for appearing nervous because it was his first time to present to a group of tourists. Since it was his first time to present, he said that we will be very memorable to him. I asked to take a picture with him, he was weary at first but he allowed us to take one on the latter part. He said didn’t know much about pearls but he did know a lot about Jade so he will discuss Jade instead. After teaching us how to detect a fake from a genuine jade, he offered to show some of their golden pearl collections. He said he will just show these collections because we are his friends.

The Con Artist, "Yan Tao"

Then we bumped in to some sales ladies inside their VIP rooms when finally he made an irresistible offer. We stopped by a glass case full of various pearl necklaces and we saw they were labelled CNY 400 each, but since we are his “friends” he will just charge CNY 100 per necklace so we can buy souvenirs for our friends and family. His salesladies looked surprised when he announced the crazy sale and in chorus with matching jaw drop they said, “100 yuan??!?!?@#”

When I gave the CNY 100 worth necklace to my mom last night (right), she said it resembled the pearl necklace she bought in Bataan for Php 100 (left). I was dumbfounded that they looked similar, even the chains!!! If this is not sheer deception, then tell me what is..

While we were busy choosing for our moms, he disappeared for a moment and came back with an even more irresistible offer.. He showed us a golden pearl set and said that market price was at CNY 12,800. Since he is the son of the owner and since we are his friends, he will sell it for just CNY 3,000 (and I can return it to him should we find a cheaper offer – now that is a statement useful for our side because I want to return the item). Who won’t be tempted by such offer?? They even had a saying “One life, one set” encouraging us to invest and treat the set as a family heirloom to be passed on from generation to generation.

I have a daughter and such thought made me decide to buy the set. Even my husband pushed me to buy it because it was a good investment. We are not experts on pearls and as gullible as it may seem, we took the offer. They hurriedly accompanied us to the cashier to swipe my card for a total of CNY 3,000. After that, Yan Tao asked if we are interested in Jade. I said no but they insisted to show us some bangles worth CNY 4,800 and if we will buy on that day, he will charge us CNY 800 instead. He also presented a CNY 65000 worth of pearl necklace and that he will just charge CNY 10,000 for me because I am his friend. I declined but he insisted on another pearl set of earrings, necklace and ring. The market price of the 2nd bigger set of golden pearls was CNY 85,000 but he will just charge us CNY 5,000 more if we will buy it and throw the already purchased CNY 3000 set for free (for a total of CNY 8,000)! Luckily, I didn’t buy more. Just the CNY 3,000 set.

My husband and I were thrilled to find such bargains in Beijing. I was even excited to give my friend who will travel to Beijing on December Yan Tao’s card so she can avail of the same discounts as we did. Only this morning (May 14, 2013) did I get the chance to “Google” the pearl shop in the old Olympic stadium and the Chinese Medicine Shop. My knees trembled when I learned about the scams – that the diagnoses on other couples in the Chinese Medicine Shop were just the same as ours (liver for guys and hormonal imbalance for girls) and that our good friend, Yan Tao, did not give us his real name (Mike for others, etc), it was not his first time to present when he attended to us, and that he is a very effective con artist making us buy cheap pearls and Jade for outrageous prices than their real value believing he was the owner’s son, being a friend to us. See these threads on how inconsistent their tactics are:

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/China/Beijing_Shi/Beijing-1024960/Tourist_Traps-Beijing-Tour_Scams-BR-1.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294212-d3205113-r145623870-Derun_Jewelry_At_National_Olympic_Sports_Center-Beijing.html

I wrote this story hoping some kind soul will help us get back what we lost. I am filing a formal complaint in behalf of the former travelers who’ve been scammed just like us, and for those who will be going in the future. I hope that in my own little way of blogging, I'll be able to warn others about these scams to avoid becoming victims to these tourist traps. I also hope that these scammers be investigated and be required in the future to present themselves using their real identities.

___________________________

Comments from the previous post:

Anonymous said...

We just came back from Beijing yesterday and got scammed at Derun Jewelry too. We should have done our research first!

Anyway, did you manage to get your money back and return the golden pearl set? 

We are making a formal complaint and have requested our tour agent in Beijing to assist us to cancel the credit card payment and refund the money. Am now waiting for the outcome.

May 30, 2013 at 1:13 AM

wanderingiska said...

Hi, sorry for the late reply. It was a long, arduous claim but all worth it. I got everything back :) How about you?

August 23, 2013 at 5:52 AM

Anonymous said...

i'm just fall to the trap as well... may i know how u get back ur money? u post the thing back to them? u from which country?

September 18, 2013 at 11:05 PM

Anonymous said...

I also fell into the trap. When I got back to the hotel and read the scam, I contacted the tour company and guide to take us back to the shop. We returned the jade, saying that we regretted buying it and not to our taste, and got a full refund in cash.

September 26, 2013 at 3:19 AM

Anonymous said...

Please tell me how you go through the process of getting back the money?

November 26, 2013 at 7:04 AM

wanderingiska said...

I contacted the agency that brought us to the shop, sent them this article and asked them to help me return the item and get a full refund.

I also contacted my credit card company. Sent them a dispute and ticked the "cancelled transaction" option. I had to send the card company proof of return and acknowledgment of merchant to cancel the transaction.

Once done, everything just fell into place. I had so much difficulty in shipping out the pearls but I was able to get past the problem.

Goodluck to everyone wishing for a refund.. I hope you get yours too..

January 21, 2014 at 7:06 AM

Anonymous said...

Hi,

the similar thing happened to us in our recent trip in the shop (just this January 25, 2014). one lady introduced herself as Rose, claiming that she is the youngest daughter of the owner. She said she is the one going to give the talk as the "teacher" was not around. She shared to us her story of how she resent her dad and does not want to pursue business but instead want to pursue tourism. She gained our trust. She showed us what she claimed as her father's collection then brought us to the VIP room. She said to never mind the price and she'll give us a good price. We got jewellry for a total of CNY 10,113. At first we were reluctant to bite the offer thinking we might be taking advantage of her generosity and it might cause huge loss in their business. Imagine a set for CNY 68,000 sold to us for just CNY 2,500. It was a very attractive offer so we accepted the discounted price.

Could you help us in getting the refund? We really don't know who to turn to. We don't know if we should complain our local Philippine travel agent, Aerial Travel and Tours, or the Beijing agency, Century Holiday Internation Travel Services. Or should we file a complain in the Chinese Embassy based in Manila.

January 27, 2014 at 6:43 AM

Azar said...

^ Hi, I already communicated with both travel agencies, Aerial Travel and Tours,and Century Holiday International Travel Services. I apologize should any organization's name had been dragged in a bad light. Fortunately, Aerial Travel and Tours owner, Rowena Maglinao, was kind enough to assist us in getting a refund.

January 29, 2014 at 6:36 AM

wanderingiska said...

i'm glad you found a way to get back your money. to everyone serious enough to get a refund, just contact your local travel agency and i believe they will surely help. for those planning to visit, PLEASE.... think about buying anything you're not sure about ü

February 1, 2014 at 7:58 PM

Royce said...

Good evening , I'd like to ask po what address you used to send back the 'medicines' you bought as the same exact thing happened to us! I saw the pic of the foot massage people and exactly the same color towel and same track suits wet worn by the people massaging us! We cut our trip short as we got very disgusted and unsafe in that country. How did you send back the medicines?

March 11, 2014 at 6:46 AM

Vince said...

Hi, 

I just got back from this shop from Beijing too. Seems like we're on the same boat. Is there anyone who got their refund back yet? I just visited there last week. How to get proof of refund? please get back to me soon. Thanks.

April 19, 2014 at 2:57 AM

Anonymous said...

We asked the local travel agent's assistance in sending the jewelries. But sadly, shipping companies such as DHL and FedEx would not accept fake jewelries. So no, we were not able to get our refund. For some reason, China is allowing these kinds of activities under their nose. Where did you get your tour package? I guess this is the price we pay for getting cheap tour packages because decent ones don't go cheap nowadays.

April 19, 2014 at 6:31 AM

Anonymous said...

Same problem here. It is not easy to ship them back.

May 6, 2014 at 11:34 PM