I am yet another victim of MWI (MemberWorks, Inc.) scams. Over the course of the last 30 days, I have already received 3 charges on my bank statement from them (they have all appeared as "MWI").
The first two charges (on 4/15/04 and 4/16/04) were in the amount of 1.95 each. I didn't really notice these charges, as they were made for insignificant amounts. But the real surprise came on 5/14/04 when I received a charge 129.95! This third charge caused an overdraft in my checking account, which created a huge nightmare. Two other bills that I have set up on autopay got authorized on my account a day later, resulting in over $300 in overdraft fees my bank refuses to refund.
I first contacted the bank and they were unable to provide with a phone number to this company. So as a final resort, I entered "MWI" in Google and numerous links to consumer complaints about this company appeared. That is how I found this site. After a bit searching around, I finally found a customer service phone number and dialed it.
After speaking to two levels of people, I was finally transferred to Edina, who informed me that I voluntarily enrolled in their "Simple Escapes" membership package, which provides discounts on shopping, dining, and entertainment. I never signed up for such services nor do I know how they even obtained my debit card number! Edina told me that I should have received a package in the mail explaining my enrollment and that the first two charges made to my account were enrollment fees. I never received such documentation, and I check my mail every day.
So I politely asked her to cancel my membership, refund all of my money, and take me out of their system completely. Totally avoiding my request, she proceeded to explain to me the benefits of the membership and why I should keep it. After saying no three times, I finally got angry and told her "I don't think you are listening to me or even understand - I want this membership canceled and I demand a full refund for this service. I repeat, I do not want it!" Finally, she gave in and told me that I would receive a refund on my account within 2-3 business days. Well, it's already been three days and I still haven't seen any evidence of a refund.
What's worse is that nobody at MWI can seem to tell me how and when they got my information. That is ludacrous. It seems like the next step would be to write a letter of dispute to the bank and contact the state Attorney General and FTC. It's a scary thing to see that businesses like this can actually get away with operating this way legally (or is it?)!
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