I answered an ad to buy a CD (about ebay merchandising) for a few dollars in shipping fees. I received the CD and another piece of paper in the envelop. The piece of paper suggested making lots of money using ebay, but did not have any other product offers, charges or requests to debit my bank account written on it anywhere. I didn't look at the CD yet.
A couple weeks later I see a debit for $39.90 by Ivy Capital. I had no idea what this is so I called the number next to the debit entry. After a lot of back and forth and dogged, determined Sherlock Holmes technique applied to the women answering the phones, I finally was told the truth: I was debited this money because I was sent an email telling me about all the training videos available for me now and it is only $39.90 per month, I had a 10-day trial period and am now a member, being debited monthly. (Whoa!)
I asked how they could sell me something and debit me for it without my OK, and it was "OK" to them because I didn't answer that email! What email? I never received/saw/read this ghost email.
Now this email could very well have been sent but it could have gone into my junk mail instead, and like many other people, I just delete those emails, because they are... Junk. They certainly cannot prove that I ever opened it or OK'd this transaction, because I didn't.
I am going around in circles right now with them concerning getting my $39.90 back. The woman apologized and said they could cancel my membership but could not refund this money. (Now this is where it reached Rip-Off Status, obviously.)
I pushed and pushed and pushed, refused to hang up, and insisted to talk to a manager or anyone who was in fact authorized to handle this recredit of my money, and the woman told me over and over again all she could do was file a report, this would be fully invetigated, and I would hear from them. But she kept repeating that it is not part of their program to refund this money.
My main point in filing this right now is that this business is doing very covert business dealings, by having a debit card number to use for a tiny sale and then "offering" more services and charging for them even if they do not hear that the customer wants it! Imagine how many CD requests they get and how many of these "ghost emails" they send and how many $39.90's they debit and refuse to refund. They are cashing in big time by throwing usual, decent customary business practices (like a contract or SOME sort of communication of customer agreement) out the window and justifying their taking of your money by saying "Well, you didn't say NOT to do it, so we did it, and as a service to you we will keep doing it every month without telling you, until you figure it out by looking at your bank statement and tell us to stop."
Their practice is totally dishonest, the "inventor" of this program within this company is a criminal, and by the way the women answering the phones talked to me I could see that this is a scam. You would think for $39.90 they would just give up and give me my money back for all the fuss I was creating, but No!
Therefore I am posting this information for all to see. Either be prepared to dig through all your junk mail to find that fateful email and tell them "No, " or don't buy the CD advertising making money on ebay thinking that shipping fees is all that it's going to cost you. It IS going to cost you!
EvcLancaster, California
U.S.A.
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