Gina of Camano Island, WA, writes:
I signed up for their trial offer in which I had one month to look at their material and decide if I wanted to join their "shopping club". If I didn't want to I could supposedly call or email and cancel but if I wanted to join I would be charged $96 for a year of membership. They said the information would be sent out right away and my month would start when I recieved it.

My information packet was ordered on July 14, 2000. I recieved it sometime in August. When it came I looked it over and decided to not join. But I couldn't get through on their phone number and when I went back on their web site, there was always an upgrade going on. On Sept 29 my credit card, (which I stupidly supplied at the start) was charged $96 and now I get a message on their phone number that it has been disconnected.

Teresa of Phelan, CA, writes:
On June 26th I purchased an electrical socket Pest Control device over the phone. The representative asked if I'd be interested in receiving discounts on various other items thru the above mentioned service. I told her to send some paperwork so I can see.

Approximately five days ago I received a packet from National Value Services indicating I had 30 days to review the material. If I cancelled prior to that time, no charge would be made to my credit card. I called on July 29th to cancel.

Today I tried to make a purchase with the credit card I had used with the Pest Control device and was declined. When I called the credit card company, they advised of a $96 charge from National Value, which overextended my card by $11, resulting in a penalty of $25. The credit card company employee graciously waived that charge.

However, when I called National Value I was told by "Valerie" in Customer Service that since they don't know when someone will respond, they just automatically charge the credit cards and issue a credit back to the card if their services are declined, utilizing the 30 days given to them by law to do so!

This was a very embarrassing experience when I tried to use my card to make a purchase, only to be declined. I only have the person at the card company SAYING he would credit the overcharge fee from my account. I've worked very hard re-establishing my credit and, even if he credits my card back, this incident will show on my records with that company, shading future credit increase considerations.

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Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.