Huge scam, just popped up on myspace and other high traffic sites recently. I paid $1.90 for Grant information and was immediately pointed to a Government publications website that the Federal Government maintains FOR FREE.
No biggie, I think— realistically, you have to qualify and apply for grants to get them— no one just blindly writes you a $13,000 "stimulus check', but I was considering SBA funding for a small business in the future, and the convenience of being pointed to that resource without too much searching was easily worth $1.90 (or however much).
More than a month later, I receive a $94.89 charge to my debit card from IDS Grants. I call the number (I'm righteously pissed, of course) and was told that I could "cancel my membership", but that I had "Agreed" to pay $94.84 per month for "access" after expiration of a trial period.
Ok—bullsh*t, thinks I. I'm too darn careful with the terms of "trial memberships" that end in charges for something I don't want or need— the "Credit monitoring Services" come to mind, but also free offers for mp3 downloads, etc— I cancel as soon as I've gotten whatever it is I want, and I would DISTINCTLY remember a prospective $94.84 "access fee"— the myficoscore.com thing comes to mind— I promptly cancelled well before the 30 day notice, because I don't trust any company that promises to notify me without making the methods of cancelling early readily known and available.
The customer service rep, after talking to me like an errant child and an ignoramous, informs me that I need to request a refund by email. I get an email from [email protected], and the email DEMANDS that I print, sign and fax a statement that I will not pursue relief through my bank or VISA, and that I agree that I will only negotiate a refund through grantsforyounow.com.in the statement, which effectively signs away all rights to pursue a refund through normal, proper channels, like VISA, there is no promise or guarantee of a refund IF I SIGN.
Nope, thinks I. Not signing it. The customer service rep basically laughed in my face (over the phone) and bragged that "we win 99% of our disputes". I'm sure they do, if everyone signs their statement and throws their rights of dispute away. I make repeated demands for a refund with no response, including threatening to go to the Attorney General of Washington State's office— this is no idle threat, I live in Olympia, the capitol city of WA, and it's no more than a 15 minute drive with traffic. No response.
Screw it. I save the emails and go to my bank. I fill out the dispute paperwork, and get a call in about a week from one of my account managers (helps to bank with the same small member-owned credit union for years and years, btw). She asks me to forward the emails from grantstoyounow.com, which I do— she comments that the language is rather suspicious and unusual, and notes, like I did, tha I would have effectively signed away my rights to dispute if in anger, I had signed the statement— lesson here: DON'T SIGN— DON'T ACCEPT AN 88 DAY WAITING PERIOD— they are waiting for the deadline for you to dispute to pass. CONTACT YOUR BANK or VISA or your credit card company. The customer service rep tries to explain that if they issue refunds without the paperwork, VISA often comes behind them and issues ANOTHER refund, doubling the refund amount— THIS IS A LIE— credit card issuers aren't stupid either, and they are in the business of making money via the interest charged against your balance— they don't make blind, stupid mistakes either. Needless to say, I got refunded before my account manager was even off the phone with me.
Figure this company has the big bucks to buy display ad on Myspace, which has HUGE traffic stats. Let's say they get just a few hits— 1,000, 000— which is a tiny fraction of daily myspace users. Multiply that by $1.90, that's nearly $2,000, 000 just in sign up fees. Say they keep 1/2 of the subsequent charges of $94.89 for those 1m hits— that's nearly $50,000, 000. BIG BUCKS!!!
Someone needs to class action these creeps.
Vindicated!
Lacey, Washington
U.S.A.
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