I found the Grant Research Guide by an ad on Facebook. They offered access to their informational site for $2.95. This sounded like a good chance to get the tutorial and contact information they were offering. So I signed up and paid the $3 and got my login for the Grant Research Guide website.
Once I logged into the site I found the information to be very slim and mostly freely available list of grants. I logged off for the night and was going to check explore the site further the next day.
I checked my online banking the next day and found multiple charges from Grant Research Guide titled "YourUSAGrant" one for the $2.95 which I expected and one for $12.95 that was not. I contacted my bank and disputed the $12.95 charge.
I called the service number listed above and was placed on infinite hold for about 30 minutes before I gave up.
I checked my online banking a few days later and found another change from Grant Research Guide for $60.13. I again disputed this charge with my bank. This time the bank gave me a phone number other than the customer service number listed with this company where I was able to get a hold of a human. That number is 877-247-3935 I spoke with a representative who was able to cancel my membership (the $60.13 monthly charge) but would not refund the first charge. After sharing a few choice and exited words with him I asked to speak to his supervisor, he told me that neither he nor his supervisor can refund charges. He then put me on hold for a few seconds and came back to say his supervisor is "in a meeting so there is no one managing the floor right now". He then told me that he was "authorized to help me in any way I needed" I then told him to refund my charges. He again told me that he could not do it. We exchanged a few more niceties where he finally told me that you don't need to speak to me like that and we ended our conversation.
Before I called them up I revisited the site and found BURIED at the bottom of their page a "Terms and Conditions" link. I gave that a click and read what I had apparently agreed to by clicking "Buy Now" for $2.95 was really a monthly membership for $60.13 a month. Meanwhile NOWHERE on the actual order page was this information shared.
This company is both a scam and lousy source of information.
It also appears that MANY sites are using this buried "Terms and Conditions" link method to hook people into paying for things that are not clearly explained on purchase pages.
Please beware and don't git ripped off by Grant Research Guide or YourUSAGrant or GrantAccessClub or what ever name they are using this week.
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