Last September 2014, I availed of Wowtripper’s Mt. Kota Kinabalu Tour Package. I exchanged messages with Ms. Janine “J9” Manaig of Wowtrippers about the tour details, how much the tour package is, etc. She did not give me much information about the trip during our online conversation, and most of her replies were delayed. However, she was stern about the amount that has to be deposited for P14,000 (excluding the roundtrip flight ticket). So, I deposited half of the amount: P7,000. I received messages from her, assuring me that the trip will be awesome and that she was excited too. She also reminded me to deposit the remaining balance. After a while, I did.
By the time the trip was getting nearer and nearer, I had an unsettling feeling in my gut. I was not receiving any messages from her about any additional information about the plan, the itinerary, or even the name of the contact person. She did not even tell me that my passport has to be valid 6 months before the expiry date… which, by the way, was information which I expected would come to her, as I assumed she knows what she was doing, and she was concerned for her clients! I mean, that the reason I was transacting with them to begin with: To make my traveling easier! But instead, things took a turn for the worst.
Any effort to contact her was met with no response. She would turn off her phone, not respond to text messages, and any invitation to meet with her was shrugged off. In other words she and Wowtrippers were completely RUDE, UNPROFESSIONAL, SCAMMING LIARS!
My first attempt to go to Mt. Kota Kinabalu did not push through. My passport was not valid 6 months before the expiry date, as she did not inform me 4 MONTHS AGO, because SHE COULD NOT BE REACHED. But she assured me, yet again, that it will push through on May 2015 and she even urged me to bring my ex-fiancé with me. I did, because she made it sound so promising. I renewed my passport, and my ex-fiancé and I booked new round trip flight tickets and were setting aside money for his tour package of P14,000. But we broke up soon after, when I was assigned to Cebu and we had to endure a LDR. He did not pay the P14,000 tour package, but his ticket was still with me, but since we got it on a sale, it was non-refundable and non-transferable.
In other words, I am going to the tour alone, with other foreign tourists in Malaysia whom I have never met before. A day before my flight, I was feeling so nervous. It was as if something bad is going to happen. I still could not reach Ms. Janine “J9” Manaig. I did not know who is going to meet me at the airport, where I am going to stay, what the travel itinerary. I still don’t even know the contact details of the place I’m going to stay in, or the guide I am supposed to meet, and even the name of the guide! I have been constantly trying to text and call Ms. Janine “J9” Manaig. I even tried to set up a meeting with her before my flight to Kota Kinabalu, which she stood me up on! I filed for a leave in my job in Cebu took a flight going to Manila FOR NOTHING!!!
Since there was no assurance or proof that they did their job, I canceled the entire thing, and demanded that a full refund must be paid back! I gave them a breakdown of the total amount, and negotiated that they pay me. They still wouldn’t reply to me online, or on text/call. They only replied to rudely haggle with me. But still up until this day, they have not paid me. They promised to give me a promissory note, but nothing was given, no service was exchanged. In other words, I was SCAMMED by WOWTRIPPERS and MS. JANINE “J9” MANAIG.
SO, DO NOT EVER TRANSACT WITH WOWTRIPPERS! THEY ARE UNPROFESSIONAL, LIARS, AND SCAMMERS. They are disorganized, and THEY ARE ONLY AFTER YOUR MONEY. They will NOT RESPOND to your calls or texts, or messages, after receiving your money. When you’ll transact with them, they seem very uneducated, rude, brash, rowdy, and unrefined. When you try to set a meeting with them, they will not show up or text you that they can’t make it. They will just make you wait there, because they do not have respect of other people’s time. When you try to get a refund, THEY WILL NOT FUCKING PAY YOU!!! This is a cautionary note.
DO NOT EVER TAKE YOUR CHANCES TO TRANSACT WITH THESE UNPROFESSIONAL SCUMS!!! JUST PLAN YOUR ENTIRE TRIP BY YOURSELF!
For reference, here is a link to the following:
A fellow victim of Wowtrippers: http://culinaryengr.blogspot.com/2014/02/beware-of-wowtrippers.html
Website of Wowtrippers: http://www.wowtrippers.com
The Facebook of Wowtrippers: https://www.facebook.com/wowtrippers
ATTACHED ARE THE PICTURES OF SCAMMER, MS. JANINE "J9" MANAIG, AND THE LOGOS OF WOWTRIPPERS.
