EMusic
Theft of 200 and no goods received New York And Elsewhere

EMusic took nearly 200 from my Credit Card after I apparently signed up for a free trial way back in 2007 some time. At no point did they ever confirm by eMail that I was paying them a monthly fee. They never once contacted me over a 21 month period to make any offers, to remind me of my membership or to point out that I had not downloaded any songs and was not taking advantage of their service.

When they increased the monthly fee from 8.99 to 10.99 a month they did not notify me. When I contacted them about all this they agreed to a 1 month refund. They would not refund the rest of the money despite the fact that I received no goods. They would not allow me to download the 600 songs for which I had unwittingly paid as that was supposed to happen on a monthly basis, not in one go when I realised what had happened.

I contacted the Better Business Bureau who are currently pursuing them but it seems to no avail. The only contact eMusic provided me with was a monthly charge on my Credit Card statement. I know i should have picked it up ages ago but it passed me by - I order lots of CDs online and whenever I scanned my Credit Card statement I assumed eMusic was just a CD company. I did not notice the monthly repetition.

Basically the free trial is a devious scam. Be very careful and keep a close eye on them. They clearly have the law on their side and are using it to trick people out of money by getting them to sign up and then by keeping absolutely quiet about their membership. This company is practicting the worst form of business in which the unwitting consumer is robbed within lawful boundaries.

Other companies like LoveFilm in the UK keep me constantly reminded of my subscription by sending me regular emails stating that I should add films to my selection, that a new film has been sent. They never keep quiet about my direct debits. EMusic is not to be trusted with its free trial. The company is duplicitous and disingenuous, pretending that it is all perfectly acceptable and that it is the consumer's fault if they get charged via the free trial offer but don't realise it. This is the sort of business practice that has largely been eradicated within the UK and on the high street. Shameful and immoral really. I shall continue to attempt to get my money back. If I manage it I'll post another comment.

Johnd
Pembroke
United Kingdom

Company: EMusic
Country: USA
Site: www.emusic.com

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