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WooGo / Illegal Scam Hotels Update
Just a couple of quick notes on major developments:
1) Crain's New York Business Journal ran a front page story last week about Tourists getting taken in fake-hotel scams. WooGone.com is referenced and they used photos from the site. I'll have the article on the site today. 2) I just finished an interview with the Associated Press. Look for a story to go national within a few days. 3) We continue to work with government officials in NY on these matters. I believe heavy fines and jail time has been levied against WooGo Lincoln Center property managers/owners now. NYC officials continue to focus hard on solving the problem. Even still, as progress is being made, the crimes continue. Please, do NOT trust Expedia.com, Orbitz.com or Hotels.com -- they knowingly list these illegal & unsafe hotels. WooGone.com has more details. |
Thanks for the update! Its good to know that something is being done about this. Thanks again for all your effort.
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Good for you, ibdkb. You really got the ball rolling.
Judging by what I've read here and on other forums like TripAdvisor.com, you've already saved countless travelers from getting fleeced by WooGo, just by getting the word out. I'm hoping everybody concerned has taken your cue and contacted the New York Attorney General's office and the Federal Trade Commission to report their experiences with WooGo. The quick links that you've provided at the bottom of your site, WooGone.com, provide an easy way of doing this. Thanks again ... |
kelly, are you going to join us at the Atlanta GTG this Saturday? Hope so to see you and DW.
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Congrats to you Kelly for not just blowing off a bad experience and getting in there and making a difference.
I admire you! |
Thanks for the update Kelly, let us know where and when we can read the article!
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Update - It's official! The WooGo Lincoln Center has vacated the West 63rd Street side of our apartment complex where all the rent controlled / stabilized tenants live as of July 2006. They faced hefty city fines after months of battles. They are starting to move tenants back in.
The WooGo Lincoln Center has officially moved it's illegal hotel operations to the West 64th St side where they are not in violation of rent control laws as those units are not covered. It is important to know that the WooGo Lincoln Center remains in violation of it's Certificate of Occupancy from the Dept of Buildings as it is still illegal to have a commercial hotel within this residential zone. It also is still in violation of fire safety laws. Tourists - despite this half victory you should be aware that service is still very poor and the switch and bait scam does continue - Thanks for all the support of Fodors forum members. |
Ibdkb,
As a New Yorker, I am disgusted at this illegal activity which gives my city a bad name. Please, if you have not already done so, take a look at www.nyc.gov, the City's official website which has links and e-mail for every city agency plus the mayor and city council. |
AP article was in our Lansing, Mich. paper a few days ago. You are HOT! What a courageous and hard-working person you are. Many thanks.
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The AP interview hit the Central NY papers last week - nice job!!
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Does anyone have a link?
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And the other side of the story is that the NYC Tenants Assoc is getting involved.
Since this is really aplou by the owners of the buildings to drive out legal tenants so they can flip the buildings from inexpensive rental units into tremendously more profitable condos. (They're hoping - along with lack of other services - to frighten many of the elderly tenants by bringing in rotating hordes of strangers while not providing the security/services you get in hotels.) |
From John Raskin:
Dear Neighbor: Thank you for helping make our June 15th Town Hall Meeting on Illegal Hotels such a success! Our campaign against illegal hotels in residential buildings is picking up steam, and we want to take this moment to report a couple of updates: 1) Town Hall Meeting Focuses Media, Government on Illegal Hotels 2) Councilmember Brewer, Mayor Bloomberg Score New Funding to Fight Problem 3) News Coverage of the Illegal Hotels Issue 1) Town Hall Meeting Focuses Media, Government on Illegal Hotels More than 250 people from all over Manhattan attended our June 15th Town Hall meeting on illegal hotels! Tenants related their stories of landlord harassment, fearing for their safety and losing their neighbors to illegal hotel rooms. Elected officials turned out in droves to hear the tenants’ concerns and discuss their plans for addressing the issue, including State Senators Tom Duane and Liz Krueger, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal and Councilmembers Gale Brewer, Dan Garodnick and Rosie Mendez. Please see below for press coverage of the event and of the issue. 2) Councilmember Brewer, Mayor Bloomberg Score New Funding to Fight Problem In a tight budget year, Councilmember Gale Brewer and Mayor Bloomberg worked together to find funding for a new inspector who can focus exclusively on illegal tourist hotels in residential buildings. Thanks to Councilmember Brewer and Mayor Bloomberg, our community will now have a point person who can coordinate investigations and tackle some of these buildings head-on. It’s just one step of many necessary to resolve the problem, but it’s a significant move and it shows that the City is taking our concerns seriously. Thanks also go to Speaker Quinn and to the many elected officials who have joined the Illegal Hotels Working Group and signed on their support for the budget request: Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Borough President Scott Stringer, State Senators Tom Duane, Liz Krueger and Eric Schneiderman, Assembly Members Deborah Glick, Richard Gottfried, Pete Grannis, Sylvia Friedman, Daniel O’Donnell, and Linda Rosenthal, and Councilmembers Inez Dickens, Dan Garodnick, Alan Gerson, Robert Jackson, Jessica Lappin, Melissa Mark Viverito and Rosie Mendez. Find out who represents you at: http://www.cmap.nypirg.org/netmaps/M....asp?cmd=start and send them a note of thanks! 3) News Coverage of the Illegal Hotels Issue Our campaign against illegal hotels has garnered a great deal of press in recent weeks. Please see below for articles from: -Crain’s New York Business -The Associated Press, printed in newspapers across the country And see http://woogone.com/#news for a clip of television news coverage. Thanks for all your work on the illegal hotels issue. If we keep up the pressure like this, we can turn back the tide and reclaim residential buildings for real New York tenants! Best, John Raskin Community Organizer Housing Conservation Coordinators |
((Y)) ((Y)) ((Y)) ((Y)) ((Y)) ((Y))
=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> ((*)) ((*)) ((*)) ((*)) (that's 4 gold stars!!) |
Wow!
Good for you Kelly and thanks! |
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I am one of the many people who have been cheated by Woogo. I booked an apartment for a week in Lincoln Centre NY i late june 2006 via Hotel.com
Having seen the terrible references on Trip Advisor I cancelled my reservation three days before arrival. I got a return mail from Whoogo Sales that I would have my money refunded within 21 days.(2280 US-dollars). Almost two month later I stil havent got my money. Woogo cant tell mee when i´ll get them. They say they have problems with installing new software. I would like to know if anybody have similar experiences and if anybody is about to proceed against woogo. |
Get an attorney to write a letter stating if money is not returned within 14 days you will sue. Then - if necessary, do so.
These people are in so much trouble that at this point only lawyers will make them read somethiing. |
Hello all yep I to have been jibbed by WOOGO.. I booked accomadation with Woogo.com for NYC on the 11th of May 2006, but cancelled several weeks later on the 21st of June. The companies policy stated that I would receive a refund, minus a cancellation fee within 21 days. However it has now been over 2 months, Firstly they apologied for the delay and stated it was an oversight and my refund would occur in the next week that was on the 20th of July. no refund arrived. Then on the 13th of August they said it was a software problem.... (Yep you guys have heard that one before)still no refund. The problem was fixed And I was assured a refund within the next 2 weeks that was an email dated 5th Sept, still 2 weeks later no refund. Rather an email apologiesing for having made an error and possibly double charging my account!!! Taking further money out without permission!!! An error they will rectify in a few days, but still no refund.... This I beleive amounts to out right theft , and illegal business practices. Clearly I am not alone in being robbed by this so called reputable company . I trully hope you can put a stop to their illegal business practices. This is one of the last emails sent.Thank you for your call in relation to your stay with WooGo.
I regret for such a delay in your getting your refund and the inconveniences that you encountered. I fully appreciate your concerns. It is customary that our clients are refunded in time but unfortunately we had got some technical problems with the procedure of refunding our clients. The problem has been already solved and our finance department started the process of refunding. You will be refunded within two weeks. Your refund amount is 1299.66USD Victor no refund just the following Due to accounting errors we might have double charged your credit card. This amount will be refunded to your card in the next few days.Please feel free to use this email as a confirmation from us to your credit card company, i.e. Visa, Mastercard, etc that we agree for this amount to be refunded to your card by a way of a charge back from your Credit Card company. |
sandra, please tell us that you've disputed the charge with your credit card company.
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Sandra,
You really should send your complaint to the office of New York's Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer. Based on what I know from media coverage of the WooGo saga, I believe Spitzer's office is looking into WooGo's business practices. I'm sure they would want to know about your experience. Contacting the AG's office is easy. Here's a link to their online complaint form: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/online_forms/email_ag.jsp You should also consider getting in touch with the office of Liz Krueger, a New York legislator who is gathering information on WooGo and other illegal hotel operations in the NYC area. They've been trying to gather information from tourists who've had run-ins with WooGo. The point person for Krueger on this issue is a woman named Edline Jacquet. You can probably get contact info via Krueger's Web site: www.lizkrueger.com. For even more information on WooGo, and for more ideas about ways to take action, go to WooGoSucks.com. Good luck! |
Thank you for the feed back. I have taken all your advice and lodged various complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection I have also sent a copy of my complaint to the office of New York's Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer.
And a copy to the office of Liz Krueger, and let Woogo know of my actions but still no refund. I was wondering if Peter-bay or LF Chessington have received their refunds. if not I hold no hope for myself. All I am currently receiving when I email the company is an automatically generated reply, telling me I am inportant and they will get back to me as soon as possible. But still no word. It is almost 3 months. Instigating legal action against an internet site seems difficult, any advice ?? Sandra |
Thank you so much for all your hard work in keeping this open for all to read to be aware of what they are doing. I could not believe when I was scrolling through Expedia that they post there places. It almost made me stop looking at expedia for help. But thanks again for all your help and good evening!!
Lizzy |
I remember your post a while ago (and some people who didn't understand your plight) and I was shocked when I saw a hotel on hotels.com (or expedia, I think) and when I did a cross reference for a review on tripadvisor, the review listed that the hotel was "booked", but put them up in an apartment building nearby. I immediately thought of your posting, and though the price was cheap, I declined.
Way to go on your plight and your helping both travelers and apartment tenants alike! :) |
Raz Ofer just continue with his Woogo.com illegal activity in New York, can someone stop him please?
Did you hear that Raz just liquidated Woogo NY LP a couple of months ago and opened a new company called Global Hotels Inc. which now operates Woogo.com? It's because he had problems both with the company's account in HSBC and also with the merchant account because he made double charges equals more than 1 Million USD, hundred of clients waiting more than 4 months for their money! The address of Mr. Raz Ofer's office is: 301 W. 53rd Street, 10019, Suite 2B, Phone number: 212 956 2275, Fax: 212 956 3008 . Mr. Ofer's residence is: 120 Riverside Blvd. 9A New York, NY 10069 Phone: 2123624631, Mobile: 646-431-7934, email: [email protected] Please stop him and Woogo.com . Thousands of people were scammed by them. |
Why on earth doesn't TripAdvisor, at least, acknowledge the problem and warn tourists? Are they seriously worried about being sued by Woogo? Don't they know that truth is an absolute defense.
If you use TripAdvisor, suggest you write them. |
Thanks for taking this on and helping to eliminate such a scam as this. You saved me from considering WooGo, when we were looking for a NYC hotel last October. I was searching Expedia, and, sure enough. a WooGo property popped up with availability. Because I'd read your other post, I knew about them and to avoid them. Thanks for saving my family from a big problem!
:)>- |
Some of the actions of these "hoteliers" have been so egregious that the New York City Council is now considering legislation that will much more clearl define what is a hotel and what is an apartment. Apparently they intend to require anyone renting rooms for less than several months to have their premises inspected for a different type of Certificate of Occupancy - with different laws relating to fire and other safety issues.
(Legitimate corporate short-term rentals generally already meet these requirements - it's the scammers like WooGoo and similar that will be affected.) No news on exactly when the law will be voted on - or go into effect. |
Well this isn't MY first post, but I've posted before on this issue, originally joining in the slams against this company that simply sounds outrageous.
But good friends who have great taste and are major travelers informed me they rented apartments twice from Woogo in the past year. The building was just south of Central Park -- sorry I forget the exact location. One time they had a one bedroom and one time they had a two bedroom (they have two children). They couldn't say enough good about the place. Formerly they usually stayed at the Waldorf towers, but actually claimed these apartments were beautifully furnished, brand new, and in far better upkeep than their usual digs at the Waldorf Towers at a fraction of the price. They plan to return often. So I'm not sure what the deal is -- if the company is doing some turn-a-round or just what gives. |
To be fair, Neo-Patrick has been posting for quite a while, on many topics. It's not out of the question that a few people may have had a reasonable experience with WooGo -- if 100% of their guests had been scammed or inconvenienced, I don't know that they'd still be there.
However, given their general track record, it's not nuts to be suspicious of their defenders, either. |
Never mind: I did that search for you. I see now, they told me they've actually stayed there three times, not just two.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34895010 |
You can certainly tell that borkngr is new to Fodors; anyone who has been around here for any length of time knows NeoPatrick (and probably knew Patrick, too ;-) ). As to the disparity in experiences, I think HKP has it right.
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The end of Woogo.com is coming soon, after that today Centrock Corporation filled a demand against Raz Ofer (President of Woogo.com) in the District Court of Israel, to pay 1.15 Million USD. Centrock Corporation used to be a partner in Woogo.com more than a year ago, but left the company after being defrauded by Mr. Ofer .
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Interesting recent article -
http://www.thevillager.com/villager_...llillegal.html |
An interesting article indeed Starrs.
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ATTENTION: XGLOB.COM is another website by Woogo
It seems that Raziel (Raz) Ofer is trying everything as he realized that he's reaching his end, after all authorities in the USA and Israel are after him. The new website: xglob.com, is a new website by Woogo.com, which offers you a 10% discount and even lower prices than Expedia,Hotels.com prices. Of course It's illegal for Mr. Ofer to do so, because he must give the lowest prices to Expedia, but here he tries to tempt potential expedia clients illegaly. Now what's the reason behind that? A couple of months ago, the Call Center manager of Woogo resigned, it was followed also by the resigning of the Revenue Management manager, and all the shift managers and the customrecare team, so Woogo now relies 99% on Agent bookings, and since Woogo pays an average of 30% commission for each booking, it loses money. Since there are no people to operate the call center and it's about to be closed, Woogo opened this website in order to tempt potential Expedia and Hotels.com clients. I wonder what Expedia and Hotels.com would do when they hear about it. here is the WHOIS information: Registrant: world acomodation LLC 1 central park W new york new york, New York 10023 United States Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com) Domain Name: XGLOB.COM Created on: 14-Mar-07 Expires on: 14-Mar-08 Last Updated on: Administrative Contact: sysadmin, sysadmin [email protected] world acomodation LLC 1 centarl park w new york new york, New York 10023 United States 8668656489 Technical Contact: sysadmin, sysadmin [email protected] world acomodation LLC 1 centarl park w new york new york, New York 10023 United States 8668656489 Domain servers in listed order: NS2.RACKSPACE.COM NS.RACKSPACE.COM Rackspace also host Woogo.com website, and you can notice the same orange color like in the woogo website. In addition the registered address is for the Trump Intl. where Woogo owns one apartment , which it sells on its website. Avoid xglob.com, and of course woogo.com Please spread the word. |
I was just trying to reserve the Blakely Hotel for mid-July on Expedia. They wre fully booked but expeida gave me 5 alternative that are available....and 2 of them are WooGo properties!
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Raziel Ofer was finally caught by authorities:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07182008...biz_120454.htm |
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