Latest Updates About Cleverbuy / CleverTravel

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Just to recap the events since May:

1. J2 Discount Travel and Tours closed down. Cleverbuy said they would take care of the refunds. Some complainants were able to get post-dated checks.
2. May 29 - Cleverbuy stopped issuing post-dated checks and only issued promissory notes. A meeting with Cleverbuy was scheduled at NBI on June 1, 2012.
3. May 30 - Cleverbuy suddenly closed their office as well due to threats, verbal abuse, and a few cases of vandalism and theft received from their angry clients. The closure would be temporary according to them. Communication with them was soon cut off however (no response on their Facebook page, invalid contact numbers, etc).
4. Anonymous tips and various information from former Cleverbuy employees began surfacing.
5. June 1 - The meeting at NBI's Anti-Fraud Division was reset to June 8, 2012.
6. June 5 - The bank account used by Cleverbuy to issue their checks was closed. DTI encouraged complainants to go direct to NBI since this matter had become a criminal case.

A few days ago, I heard from an ex-Cleverbuy employee that the company's CEO Christian Bayer denied being the owner of Cleverbuy. That was certainly odd -- Cleverbuy's SEC registration could disprove his denial. Even in the official statement Cleverbuy issued last May 3, 2012, Bayer was named as the CEO. This denial sent my mind whirring and I began to consider the possibility that Cleverbuy was a scam from the beginning (unknown to their Filipino staff) and Garcia was being used as a fall guy by Bayer (just in case someone needs to go to jail to pacify the angry mob) while Bayer runs away.

What happened during the NBI meeting on June 8, 2012...

Several dozen complainants (including at least two merchants) came to the meeting. News crew from ABS-CBN and TV5 also covered the event. The NBI attorney addressed the complainants first, stating that filing a case with NBI would not guarantee getting a refund since the NBI was not a collections agency and would only handle criminal investigations. If the complainants' goal was to get their money back, they would have to take their case directly to court instead of through the NBI. The attorney emphasized that they were looking for complainants who were determined to see the criminal prosecution to the end -- appearing in court to testify against the accused when needed -- because they did not want to see cases dismissed halfway through, given that the NBI has limited resources and handles a lot of other cases.

Some of the complainants got disheartened with what the attorney said, but it was good that she laid it all out in the open from the start. No false hopes.

Tension built up when the attorney gave us one complaint sheet and asked us to just go out and photocopy it for ourselves. Several people got annoyed that a government agency did not have the resources or the inclination to provide everyone with a form. The attorney was upset that people were making an issue out of it (I actually thought she would walk out). Frankly, I can't blame the complainants for getting annoyed. As one complainant eloquently put it, "It's not about the money but the principle!" If you can't expect a single piece of paper from your government agency, what else can you expect, right? Anyway, that minor conflict was eventually worked out when the complainants shelled out some coins and an NBI custodian had the sheet photocopied.

Later on, I learned from the NBI attorney that she was not happy that her full name and email address got posted online without the "informant" asking her permission first. This surprised me, considering that she works for NBI and looks experienced. I would have expected her to know the risks of working for NBI especially on a case that involves possible online fraud with several dozens of victims. The victims are bound to share info with one another online unless perhaps she specifically asked the people she gave her name and email address to to not share the info with others. Anyway, I deleted her name and email from the previous post. According to her, if you want to get in touch with her, you can call up NBI and just ask for the attorney handling the Cleverbuy case; her colleagues already know who to pass the call to.

Mr. Edgardo Garcia was also present in the meeting along with his lawyer Atty. Jorrey Sampior. Atty. Sampior is a personal lawyer of Mr. Garcia; he does not represent Cleverbuy, but only Mr. Garcia.

Atty. Jorrey Sampior representing Edgardo Garcia

The biggest twist in this issue is that Edgardo Garcia himself is now pursuing a case against Christian Bayer. According to him, the reason they kept quiet before was because they still believed that Bayer would fix the financial mess and that Cleverbuy would thus settle all the refunds and the accusations thrown against the company and the employees. When Bayer disowned Cleverbuy and fled the country just a few days ago, that was when Garcia and the other remaining employees knew for sure that Bayer was running away from all his responsibilities.

They are now working with NBI to study their options on how to pursue Christian Bayer.

Edgardo Garcia, Cleverbuy's treasurer. Beside him is Rolly Junto, the marketing manager

You can view part of the interview with Mr. Edgardo Garcia in this video:

According to him, if his lawyer would not be able to defend him, he was willing to go to jail since he was already old and had had his days. But he would turn state witness if given the chance. Regarding refunds, he said that they were talking with Mozcom to get the money still with Mozcom and that Cleverbuy was considering filing for bankcruptcy so that they could liquidate the remaining assets and use the money to pay back their clients.

Also according to Garcia, they had to close their bank account as per the advice of their financial advisors. Otherwise, the account would incur more penalties. When asked about why the company collapsed, he claimed that it was due to mismanagement of funds -- very aggressive spending for events, expansion, etc. Garcia and Atty. Sampior accepted demand letters addressed to Garcia but did not sign them. He would review the letters, Atty. Sampior said.

Later on, Rolly Junto also spoke with some of us and said that the (ex) employees were also filing complaints at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Garcia's group also said they were thinking of a way to provide a centralized way to disseminate information.

As far as I know, former Country Manager Chris Aranez and any representative from Trip Toe Travels were not in the meeting. In case I'm mistaken and any of you got to talk to them, please let us know. It would have been interesting to hear their sides of the story.

This post gives some more insight on what happened to Cleverbuy behind the scenes. The post is supposedly written by Rolly Junto.

One of our partner merchant is J2 Discount Travel and Tours, owned by Christian Gorg Bayer. They provide us package deals like Coron tour package, Boracay tour package, Puerto princesa tour package and Bohol tour package in a very low price, no, in a negative price. The costing of 1 package will reach up to 15,000 pesos including the airfare and accommodation but CleverBuy is selling it for only 9,900 pesos. You may ask me why CleverBuy is selling this kind of service in a negative price. According to Mr. Bayer this is only to generate more income, to have an enticing look and to have instant cash.

If everything in the post is accurate, then it seems that the Cleverbuy travel deals were set up as a pyramid scheme. The travel deals generated negative income; the money from new transactions was the one that made the earlier travelers able to redeem their vouchers. The cheap (negatively-earning) travel deals, coupled with very aggressive and very expensive expansion and marketing efforts here and abroad widened the customer base fast and earned the owners some fast cash. The high expenses and some of the money being siphoned off to Bayer's other companies soon caught up with the company and, along with the P5 million paid to TripToe, depleted the funds.

So what happens now?

I suggest call up your banks, explain what happened -- making sure that they understand that the transaction was fraudulent and a criminal investigation is underway -- and request them to return your money. The more recent you bought your voucher, the higher chance that the charges can be reversed.

I don't expect the funds still with Mozcom to be substantial and liquidating Cleverbuy's assets will take time (if it happens at all) since that will involve the cooperation of the company's missing owners and incorporators and their lawyers.

You can still file your notarized affidavits and other documents at NBI's Anti-Fraud Division (Room 503) or Computer Crime Unit (Room 508).

For those with claims below P100K, small claims procedure is an option. I can't provide more guidance about it though since I haven't really reviewed it.

Both Mr. Garcia and Atty. Sampior left their contact info. According to Garcia, he would entertain polite questions but not threats. He also said that he had instructed the guard at Marvin Plaza to accept letters on his behalf, so you can also address your letters there.

Atty. Jorrey Sampior
Suite 906 Richmonde Plaza, San Miguel Ave. cor Lourdes Drive
Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Cel # 0926-7296014 / 0999-9993706
Landline # 775-4139 / 633-6832
Email add: jury_1972@yahoo.com

Mr. Edgardo Garcia
Marvin Plaza Bldg. 2153 Don Chino Roces Ave.,
Brgy. Pio Del Pilar, Makati City 1230
0916-5177659


Updates: June 14, 2012 5am

Part of the interview with Atty. Sampior:

Some info about bouncing checks
Bouncing Checks Law in the Philippines
FAQ about bouncing checks

For those interested in small claims (below P100K), you can learn about the procedure through these documents:

Rule of procedure for small claims cases
Rule of procedure for small claims cases as amended

Feeling overwhelmed, confused, and intimidated by those documents? Welcome to the club. Here is a simplified explanation of small claims cases and how to file them:

Another complainant also emailed me the following suggestions. I'm posting the complainant's suggestions verbatim:

The ones with the bigger claims could go to the House of Congress Committee on Trade and Industry. The lawyer of the complainants handling this case should submit a position letter to the congress. The representative of the complainants (or the one who has a high claim, or whoever is pursuing this case legally already) could request a meeting with a congressman who is part of that committee, better if the complainant is under the jurisdiction of that congressman. Please note that it is almost elections and it will do that congressman good to be seen in public. Since this has already been as subject of the media, the congressmen in charge of that committee would want to take a look at this issue. Cleverbuy representatives might be given subpoena to appear in the meeting, and the congressman could also summon the DTI secretary or representative regarding our complaint. My friend said that the congress cannot really tell Cleverbuy to pay up, but they will put a lot of pressure on this case so that it will be resolved.

http://congress.gov.ph/committees/search.php?congress=15&s=roster&id=0539

Whoever also is pursuing this case could go to the Consumer Protection Party List. They have government officials who might be willing to look into this case. I am not sure as to the party list name, but my friend assured me there is one.

Updates: June 20, 2012 11am

1.  According to NBI:

• When you accomplish the complaint sheet, you need not put names on the "Persons Complained Against/Suspect(s)" field. The investigation will determine the personalities behind this scam. Just put "unknown persons operating Cleverbuy".
• You can submit your affidavit via courier. A cover letter should be attached to it stating that you are seeking/requesting investigative assistance on the fraudulent activities of Cleverbuy for you were victimized by the same and indicate your name, address, tel no., email if any and affix your thumbmark (in lieu of the complaint sheet which should be sworn before the administering officer of NBI) and a photocopy of a valid  ID (with  picture). You may address your letter to 

Chief - Anti-Fraud and Action Division
Anti-Fraud and Action Division
Rm 503 NBI Main Bldg.
Taft Avenue, Manila

2.  According to several commenters, Yoshinoya is now honoring Cleverbuy vouchers (out of good will perhaps). Better call Yoshinoya first before going, just to be sure.

3.  Different banks handle refund requests differently, whether the transactions are below or exceeding 60 days. One commenter reported getting his charge reversed by Metrobank even if his purchase date was March 2. Another commenter was told by Metrobank that the bank was willing to return his money but a cancellation letter from Cleverbuy was needed. Another one who paid via Metrobank Dragonpay was advised to visit or call the mother branch of Dragonpay which is in Rockwell Metrobank. Another victim was told by BDO to fill-up their dispute form and attach the proof of purchase and a photocopy of ID. If approved, the credit will be returned after 60-65 banking days. Other commenters were told by their banks to forward their complaints to Mozcom instead.

4. Something I found curious: During the meeting last June 8, Edgardo Garcia said that Christian Bayer had left the country, yet in Facebook, aside from denying that he is the owner of Cleverbuy, Bayer claimed that he was still in the Philippines as of June 10. Hmm.