The radio advertisement stated call today to see if you can qualify for $2,000 in gift certificates for groceries so we can track your spending for reporting purposes and market research. I know! If it sounds too good to be true it is! I called anyway. The girl who answered the phone asked for my age, sex, zip code, # of ppl in the household, and $ spent on groceries monthly. She then put me on hold to see if I could be prequalified.
She came back and said based on my zip code I would get $2000 in certificates to be used at any store so that my spending could be tracked for market research. I specifically asked what the catch was to which she replied with, there isnt one. I asked if these were coupons or if it was membership and said no it was neither. She said I would get a welcome package mailed to me within 2 weeks explaining how I could spend the $2000 in certificates.
I would have 1 year to do so and I could buy anything but tobacco and alcohol. All I would need to do is give the certificates to the cashier and my groceries are covered. These certificates would be in my welcome package. Sounded good enough so I told her to send me the package. She said there would be a $19.95 S & H fee but it would be my only out of pocket expense to get the $2K in grocery certificates.
I was a bit leery so she said the $19.95 would be refunded by freepostage.com. All of that info would be in the welcome package for me. She asked for my credit card info for the $19.95 and I gave her my visa. She stated she would charge the $19.95 but that I would get that back via check from free postage.com. While on the line I knew I was getting scammed so I said. I just got scammed, huh? And she said if I felt that way I could call my bank in the morning.
I asked her again if this was a membership and if these were coupons and she kept saying no you will receive certificates for $2K that you can spend at any grocery store for our MARKET RESEARCH! I went home and did further the research online which I should have done PRIOR to my call. I found numerous complaints all over the web from people scammed by this company. They were charged anywhere from $4 to $60 for the same package I got.
To be charged for 3 pieces of paper that they probably printed in their garage is a scam all on its own. I would have never called if I had done my due diligence and researched it prior to calling. I immediately called my credit card company that night and cancelled my card. I notified them of the potential for fraud and negligent misrepresentation. They cancelled my card but said the $19.95 was already pre-authorized and that I would have to do a dispute.
Long story short, I got my package in the mail yesterday. It was 3 pieces of poorly printed paper. Hardly worth $20 in printing let alone shipping and handling. One was an access card to access online COUPONS. Bottom line: There is a membership fee which they stated there wasnt! These are online coupons to which they stated they werent! There is also nothing in the package regarding the $20 refund that would come back from free postage.com nor was there a single certificate.
In fact the letters dont even mention the word CERTIFICATE. There is a letter that states if you want to cancel you have to fill out a form and mail it in but there is NO address. The other piece of paper is a cheesy advertisement for the online coupons and it doesnt mention the $2K advertised or market research ANYWHERE. Not mention the letter says to call customer support at 800-xxx-xxxx. There is a 1-800 number but the remaining digits are Xs!!! This is clearly false advertisement at best and possibly even fraud.
Charging people different costs for the same 3 page generic package is wrong. It is not what they stated it was. I take responsibility for being an idiot and falling for this scam but my hope is that these people get shut down before they waste anyone elses time or money regardless of the amount. The fact that the intake people can sleep every night knowing they are liars is unbelievable. I appreciate your time and looking into this scam. Hopefully saving others will make it all worth it!
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