I'm so mad I can hardly see straight!!!!

M

mtejen

New member
First, I've had an issue with Swami Sportswear (their sweep is listed in the weeklies)
I placed an order on December 28th (I was delighted to find that I could order custom made sweatpants, since I'm short). I still have not received these, I've sent emails, called the only phone number on their website, and the voicemail box was not available or full, and there wasn't an option to leave a message. I just checked with the better business bureau and here is what their report said: http://www.la.bbb.org/BusinessReport.aspx?CompanyID=100072903 So I doubt I'll ever get my order. I've got to go see if the charge is on my credit card. I did check the site for the gold padlock and https before I placed an order, but from now on, I'm checking with the BBB first! DO NOT ORDER FROM THEM.

THEN - today I'm looking over our credit card charges (my hubby pays bills, and I hardly ever look at them) and I see a charge of $14.99 that I don't recognize (but it recurs every month). So I call the number and it's freecreditreport.com. They claim I signed up for a 9 day trial period and that I was supposed to cancel if I didn't want it. I NEVER SIGNED UP FOR THIS. The only free credit report I wanted was the one from the government, which is supposedly www.annualcreditreport.com. I don't know how they got my info, but I never would've signed up for this. They've been charging me $14.99 per month since March 2008!!

So I did some screaming and yelling :cussing: They said I've been utilizing their service...I said, "NO, I didn't even know about your service!"....at any rate, their going to refun me $59.00...big deal.

So, just a word of advice, www.freecreditreport.com IS NOT THE FREE ONE. Don't even go there...

I am so, so mad right now. Now I need to go call my credit card company and see if Swami Sportswear has charged me for something I doubt I'll get.
 
I knew "Freecreditreport.com" wasn't free. What's free is a 7-day trial period after which you get billed $14.95 per month until you cancel.

On your order, they are not supposed to bill your credit card until the order is put together and ready to ship.
 
Thanks for the info on decent exposure...I'll check it out!

I know they are charging me $14.95 a month, but I don't even remember doing this. I doubt I would've given them a credit card # for a free trial for just a few days, to switch over to paying for it. I don't typically do that kind of thing
 
http://www.ftc.gov/freereports

The FTC Has a complaint form for this sort of thing
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

The Federal Trade Commission, the nation's consumer protection agency, collects complaints about companies, business practices, identity theft, and episodes of violence in the media.

Why: Your complaints can help us detect patterns of wrong-doing, and lead to investigations and prosecutions. The FTC enters all complaints it receives into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database that is used by thousands of civil and criminal law enforcement authorities worldwide. The FTC does not resolve individual consumer complaints.


Your Privacy: How much personal information you provide is up to you. To learn how we safeguard your personal information, please read our Privacy Policy. If you don't provide your name and certain other information, it may be impossible for us to refer, respond to, or investigate your complaint.
Click to expand...
 
Wow - that's good info...thanks for sharing. That's EXACTLY what happened to me...here is some of what that link said (paragraphs 2 and 3 are what happend to me...I'll report them):

According to the FTC’s complaint, Consumerinfo’s advertising and Web sites failed to explain adequately that after the free trial period for the credit monitoring service expired, consumers automatically would be charged a $79.95 annual membership, unless they notified the defendant within 30 days to cancel the service. Consumerinfo billed the credit cards that it had told consumers were “required only to establish your account,” and, in some cases, automatically renewed memberships by re-billing consumers without notice. The FTC charged that the defendant’s failure to adequately disclose the automatic billing and to get consumers’ consent to bill their accounts violated federal law.

The complaint also alleges that Consumerinfo misled consumers about their association with the annual free credit report program for which U.S. consumers are eligible by federal law. A federal law enacted in December 2003, gives consumers the right to get one free credit report every 12 months from each of the three national consumer reporting companies. This program began in western states on December 1, 2004, and will cover all U.S. consumers by September 1, 2005. Consumers can get their free reports by phone, mail, or at one authorized Web site, www.annualcreditreport.com. The FTC complaint alleges that Consumerinfo deceptively advertised and promoted its “free reports” at its “freecreditreport.com” Web site, without disclosing that it was not associated with the official annual free credit report program.

“Consumers paid the price for ordering free credit reports from freecreditreport.com,” said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “It’s unfair and deceptive to promise consumers something for free and then trick them into paying for products they didn’t want in the first place.”

“Consumers also need to be alert about impostor sites – sites that misspell annualcreditreport.com or use sound alike names, but don’t link to the authorized site. We are sending letters to operators of more than 130 impostor sites to inform them that we know they are out there and that attempts to mislead consumers are illegal,” she said.

The settlement is designed to assure that the defendant’s negative-option or “free” offers do not contain misrepresentations, and that they disclose all terms and conditions of the offers. The settlement establishes specific disclosure requirements in promotions for the defendant’s “free credit report” offer. Among other things, the defendant must clearly tell consumers that they will be charged unless they cancel within the trial period, and that the offer is not related to the free credit report program mandated by Congress.

The settlement requires redress for consumers who enrolled in Consumerinfo’s credit monitoring program between 2000 and 2003, canceled the monitoring service and received a partial refund or filed a complaint about the charges for the service. Consumers who qualify for a refund should receive a notice from Consumerinfo by email or first class mail within the next few months. The FTC staff has released answers to frequently asked questions available at www.ftc.gov/freereports to help Consumerinfo customers determine if they’re eligible for a refund. It also has established an information hotline for consumers to call for information on refunds. The phone number is (202) 326-3457.

In addition to the redress program, the settlement requires the defendant to pay $950,000 in ill-gotten gains to the Commission. The money may be used to provide consumer education.

The settlement also contains record-keeping and bookkeeping provisions to allow the FTC to monitor compliance with the order.

The FTC has published two consumer brochures: “Want a Free Annual Credit Report? The Only Official Website is annualcreditreport.com” warns consumers about imposter sites; “Your Access to Free Credit Reports,” educates consumers about their right to a free copy of their credit reports, and discusses other consumer rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the FACT Act. Both publications are available in English and Spanish at www.ftc.gov/freereports.
 
:sunny: Not too long ago there was a report on tv of their so called free credit reports. On this one they actually were charging a dollar it was not free. Yes, they did get in trouble and had to refund alot of money. Theya re being watched closely now, so don't hesitate to complain.
 
Sorry to hear you are having such a hard time, but hopefully you can report them and maybe get something done that way. Good luck in the future. And I almost did the free credit report myself, but when they asked for a credit card, mine was out in the car in my purse and I was to lazy to go get it at the time. for once my being lazy paid off. :laughing:
 
I used to dabble in signing up for those offers of paying only $1 for the first month (or free even)....then cancelling the service before the 30-day trial period was over. Why was I doing this? If you belong to MyPoints, you can accumulate points for doing these things. The primary thing is to BE SURE YOU CANCEL before the 30-day trial period is over. I would mark on my calendar when I signed up for each service, then mark the date I needed to cancel this service to avoid credit card charges.

This was a hassle however. The risk was too great that I would eventually get into trouble like you did and end up being charged some big fee for something I never really wanted.
 
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