The first person who wrote about Pinzoo was correct when he/she stated:
"Only AFTER they had pre-authorized my card, tying my money up with them, did a page come up saying that the first time a customer makes an order, it must be confimed by a personal phone conversation and that could only take place during their business hours of 9:00am - 6:00pm PST."
This just happened to me. But I waited for someone to call me but they couldn't call me because I have no minutes on my cellphone. So I added an additional phone number which is my Mother's house because I am 1500 miles away from home because Dad has a brain tumor removed last week. My cellphone is my lifeline to my children 1500 miles away as Mom does not have long distance on her landline. I am also disabled and live on a fixed income.
My account status changed to... Unable to reach me by telephone. So I hit the CHAT button and gave them my Mother's telephone number. They called and wanted to know if this was my home number. "No". Then they wanted to know the nearest cross street to my home address. Ok, that was easy. Now they tell me that they'll call me back because they have to call my bank to verify my information. Hmmmm... Now I'm scratching my head. This doesn't sound right. I ask "So you have to call my bank in order to charge my credit card?" Yes. Ummm, that sounds kind of weird. Why don't I just cancel the order and I'll log onto AT&T directly. Ok... End of conversation.
Then I log into my bank account and find a purchase authorization from Pinzoo. Hmmm... So they DID charge my credit card and the person on the phone lied to me. Now I get back onto chat and ask them to release my fund because now I don't have enough money in my bank account to buy minutes from AT&T. They tell me that they didn't charge my card and round n round we go.
So I ask for the PIN to be given to me because they've already charged my credit/debit card. Nope, can't give me the PIN and I have to wait 24 hours or whenever my bank decides to get rid of the purchase authorization.
So now I'm sitting here with no minutes on my AT&T cellphone, no money, SSDI arrives tomorrow and at some point I might get back the money that Pinzoo charged my credit/debit card.
This service is not for everyone due to their limited hours of service and their service is NOT instant.
The homepage is deceptive and kind of close to Bait and Switch as it states the following: "All Wireless Refill Minutes are currently ON SALE and are delivered instantly via E-Mail." Instantly still means instantly, doesn't it?
Also, not listed on the homepage is some information I found by browsing their website. It appears that this may be a service that tracks all of your calls OR the call tracking may be an ADD ON service. I don't know... Website is difficult to understand.
I told the person I was chatting with that I was going to report this as a scam unless they give me my PIN or give me my money back right now as I am disabled with NO MONEY. The person I chatted with did not care and told me to go ahead and report it. I hit the close button on the chat window before thinking of cutting and pasting the entire conversation. My account still states PENDING:
"Account Pending Approval: We're trying to contact you!
To insure security, your first purchase must be confirmed by phone. Order confirmations are conducted during our customer service operating hours of 9:00 A.M. To 6:00 P.M. PST, 7 days a week. Our attempts to contact you at the following phone number/s have been unsuccessful:
Phone 1:207xxxxxxx
Phone 2:772xxxxxxx
This process is required only on your first purchase. All future purchases will be instantly posted. If you are not physically at the these numbers above, please call us toll-free at 1-888-697-4696."
Reporting 'bait and switch' to attorney general and internet scam to FBI next.
0 comments