Vent re. finance charges...

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Vent re. finance charges...
12
Tue, 03-28-2006 - 1:26pm

I signed up for one of those online DVD rental plans back in January (not Netflix), and after that one month, I cancelled due to poor service. I cancelled five days before my next billing period, and they still have my account open. They billed me again in February, and now again in March. They refuse to respond to my pleas to have my account closed and my money refunded, so I'm getting hit with finance charges on all of these fraudulent charges they keep doing. I've reversed the charges with my bank, and they are investigating. I've filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the FTC, and the Florida State Attorney General's office, and so far, nothing. The FTC just sent me a letter saying they're still investigating, and the BBB said they'd try to contact the company on my behalf, but my account sits open, and I'm due to be charged again in April....more finance charges. The thing that sickens me, on top of all these finance charges being tacked onto these fraudulent charges, is that I have email proof that the company received my request to cancel my account, as well as an email from one of their customer service guys saying that they had, indeed, made a mistake and I would receive an "immediate" refund! I've got proof that they messed up, but yet I still can't get this account closed and my stolen funds returned! I don't understand why all these "investigations" are neccessary when I'm sitting here with proof that they admitted making a mistake.

I'm willing to give it a tiny bit more time (tiny tiny tiny), but then I think it's going to come down to a lawsuit, and that'll just be more of my money spent on this mess. Just so frustrating.

Thanks for reading. I just needed to get it off my chest. :-)

Pat :-D

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-10-2003
Tue, 03-28-2006 - 1:41pm

Hey Pat!

Is there a number you can call? I would be ALL OVER their butt about that until it got fixed and charges reversed. I wouldn't pay for something that you aren't using!!

I would be the squeaky wheel on this one. I would be relentless in my callings and emails until I got someone to do something.

That kind of thing really gets me mad. Businesses not taking responsiblity for their mistakes.

Let us know how it works out! Good Luck!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 03-28-2006 - 2:01pm

Those kinds of companies--all the subscription service companies, in fact--are notorious for this type of behavior. In the end, you'll get your apology and they'll send a nice long letter to the better business bureau and everyone else explaining how bad they feel about your bad experience. But you're the one in ten who actually bothers to keep records and for the other nine, they're collecting several month's subscription before they even notice, and then they're collecting a few month's more subscription before they start keeping records to prove their case. So in the end, they make a lot of money being obnoxious and wrong-headed.

I no longer sign up for any subscription services with any company I don't know and trust. I've had this happen one too many times.

When you get your letter from BBB and other organizations, make sure you reply that you are *not* satisfied with the resolution unless they go several extra miles to make you happy (which they won't). The reason I say this is, the BBB keeps stats on disputes and whether they are satisfactorily settled. If they refund your money (even grudgingly) and write a letter of apology, if you say you are satisfied, it won't count against them very much. But if you insist they really bend over backwards to make you happy (like paying interest charges for the months that they have borrowed your money, for instance), and refuse to say that you are satisfied in the mean time, your complaint will count more against them.

Good luck. I'm sorry you're having to hassle with this. It's a real pain in the bum.

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Wed, 03-29-2006 - 5:56pm

There is no support number on their website. In fact, their website says they don't take phonecalls in order to keep their costs low. However, my bank just supplied me with their number, as part of their investigation into the matter. I called them this morning and when I asked for someone in billing, the receptionist quickly said, "Oh, we handle all billing issues through our website", to which I responded, "Then what are your customers supposed to do when you when you stop responding to the website messages and continue to steal our money??". She said she'd pass my message on to the "Supervisor of Billing", and I'd hear a call sometime today. I didn't get a call. So I called and left a message on their after-hours answering service demanding a phonecall from someone who can explain why I am having my money stolen each month. I'll call again in the morning. In fact, I plan to keep on calling and calling and calling until I eventually get my stolen money back. Between all the complaints I've filed and the constant phonecalls, I'm hoping to drive them nuts. LOL! Or perhaps they'll let it go on until I finally have to waste more money to drag them into court to explain to a judge why they're stealing my money. It's only about a 7 hour drive to West Palm Beach (where they're located) from where I live, so I'll have no problem going down there to fight them in court if I have to. I'm just hoping it doesn't come to that due to the court costs involved. I just hate when companies rip customers off.

The Better Business Bureau wrote me a letter saying that they'll do what they can, but apparently, the company has an unsatisfactory rating for not responding to customer complaints, so they don't feel very strongly that the company will respond to me. I just have to keep fighting. :-D

Thanks for the support and listening to my vent! :-D I really appreciate it :-D

Pat :-D

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Thu, 03-30-2006 - 10:41am

Pat, good luck!

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Fri, 03-31-2006 - 8:59am

Honestly, I feel bad for the receptionist at the company because she keeps saying, "They didn't call back yet? They really should have. They can't be that behind in their work that they can't return a phonecall in two days!", and she keeps submitting my messages to the customer service department. It's not her fault that they won't call me back, so I feel bad to have to keep bothering her with my calls....but at least it seems she understands my frustration. :-D

This afternoon I'm mailing a certified letter to the CEO of the company. It's just a very respectful letter letting him know that what has happened, dates and details, as well as informing him of the fact that the Better Business Bureau has little faith in his company doing the right thing because they already have an unsatisfactory rating (hoping that he will do the right thing in an effort to change that rating around), and letting him know that the Florida State Attorney General's office and the FTC are both investigating the matter. Hopefully he will read it and do something to get my account closed and my money refunded before I get wrongly billed again in three weeks.

Normally, I'm not a very negative person, but something tells me that I'm going to end up paying money for a lawyer before this is all resolved.

Pat

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-07-2005
Fri, 03-31-2006 - 9:27am
Have you called your CC/Bank co. to tell them to not accept charges from this company anymore? I'd see how that goes--I don't know all the rules on that kind of thing but to me it'd be like stopping payment on a check. But of course, you don't want to have to pay for that. GL what a PITA!
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Fri, 03-31-2006 - 11:11am

I've reversed both the February and March charges with my bank, and they are also doing their own investigation. They say it could take a few weeks to hear back from them because they need to contact the company first. Seeing as they are no longer responding to me, I'm intersted in seeing if they respond to my bank, the FTC, or their state Attorney General. I mailed a certified letter to the CEO of the company this morning, and it should reach his office by Monday since it's just in the next state. I'm hoping this will help speed things along. Someone in his office will have to sign for it, so I'll have proof that it was received if this ends up in a lawsuit.

I know credit cards provide some convenience, but honestly, at times they are much more trouble than they're worth. LOL!!

On the upside, I notice that I'm spending much less money by dealing with only cash. I was going to stop by the store to get some paper plates (which I use for busy days), but I decided not to and just went home. I can wash a few dishes rather than spend $2.00 on paper plates, plus any other impulse items I would have seen when I went into the store. :-D

Pat :-D

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Fri, 03-31-2006 - 11:18am

Pat,
I've been watching this and I guess I didn't understand it was a credit card number they had. I thought they had a checking account number. Why haven't you just had the credit card reissued? I had a snafu with my debit card a month or so ago and they just canceled and reissued my card. I know it can be sort of a pain when you've used it to set up other stuff but now that company can't use that number again. Actually, even if it was the checking account number, I would think you could have that changed. I know that won't fix what's going on with the previous months stuff but at least it would stop in the ongoing charges.

Peg

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Fri, 03-31-2006 - 11:35am

Hi Peg,

Ultimately, we will probably have to do this (reissue our card). I just want to try and get them to work this out with me without having to do that because we have other automated payments set up with that card and it would be a big pain to switch everything to a new card. There's also a policy within the company that if your account is still listed as "open", and your monthly charge does not go through, they can turn it over to collections. So really, I need them to close my account. It's like a catch-22. I'd love to just get in my car and drive down to their offices in Florida to make my request in person, but I'm afraid that might be viewed as harrassment and I'd get in trouble for that. So I'll just wait and see what happens with my letter to the CEO.

Thanks for responding! :-D

Pat :-D

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Fri, 03-31-2006 - 11:37am

I see. That makes more sense. What a mess!

Peg

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