Central Support And Savings Ripoff Tricked into paying $299 for Credit Card that is NOT A CREDIT CARD Champlain New York
I received numerous calls on my cell phone from telemarketers soliciting a Credit Card with a limit "up to" $2500. I asked what is the usual minimum limit offered - the telemarketer responded, "Most people who have a bad credit history should receive as least $250". She also explained if I kept a good payment history, I would receive increases on my credit limit. Also, not to worry about the $299 because I could simply get a cash advance on the card once I received my card from their company in the mail. This sounded reasonable, pay $299 today for a $250 - $2500 credit card with 6 month limit increases in three weeks. So I signed up in order to help build my credit again.
I was told I would have the card in three weeks. After three weeks, I called the 800 number and then discovered they routinely do not mail out the cards until three weeks after they collect the $299.
By the fourth week, I received an extremely generic package filled with advertisements. It included slicks for grocery coupons online, a 16 page Credit Repair Guide, a trip to Cancun for $129, $1000 gift certificate for online purchases which requires approx. a $50 processing fee, computer and internet service for $19.95 but subject to additional charges, free satellite TV system if you order Dish Network at $29.99 a month, free wireless phone and accessories after rebates and when you sign up for a one year contract, long distance savings, a medical and prescription program offered at $29.95 and finally, a "Stored Value Card" offer with the MasterCard logo for $24.95 which stated on the application "The Card is not a credit card." But no credit card.
I called the "800" number again and asked for a refund because I was expecting a credit card with at least a $250 limit - not a pre-paid card. I was told to call back in a week. I called back one week later and was told I was denied a refund. When I asked why, their responses where not clear and seemed to become more and more vague. I asked to speak to a supervisor and his exact words where, "I will not explain anything to you unless you call with an attorney. This is company policy." He continued to say cruel things to me and provoked a very disturbing conversation. He called me "stupid" and said I should take an English class before calling them again.
My concerns are:
1. They do not mail the materials until three weeks to prolong refund request requirements.
2. They only recorded the payment approval process and not the telemarketer solicitation because the product verbiage is camouflaged during payment process.
3. The MasterCard name is on the pre-paid/Stored value card application to make is appear as a credit card offer. Although, the application indicates "The Card is not a credit card."
4. How come they couldn't answer any of my questions unless I had an attorney on the phone with me?
All in all, to charge vulnerable consumers $299 for offers which can be found anywhere from store counters to newspaper clippings to the internet, by saying you will receive a credit card with a $2500 limit and not providing it, is dishonest and immoral. If companies like Central Support and Savings continue to false advertise and deny refunds when requested, this will only continue to ruin our economy and Fair Practice Acts in the United States.
Tj
Sacramento, California
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Tj
Sacramento,California,
U.S.A.
Federal Trade Commission Press Release
#2Consumer Comment
Sun, November 28, 2004
The following is taken from a Press Release from the Federal Trade Commission:
FTC, States and Canadian Provinces Launch Crackdown on Outfits Falsely Promising Credit Cards and Loans for an Advance Fee
In another aggressive sweep targeting corporations and individuals that promise loans and credit cards for an advance fee, but never deliver them, the Federal Trade Commission, state Attorneys General and other state agencies today announced the results of the latest crackdown on telemarketing companies and individuals allegedly engaging in advance fee loan scams. Since September 1999, over 4200 consumer complaints against these scams were entered into Consumer Sentinel, a multi-agency law enforcement investigative cyber tool. During this period, advance fee loan scams ranked fourth based on the total number of Sentinel complaints, and caused over $1 million in consumer injury.
"Operation Advance Fee Loan 2000" -- a multi-agency law enforcement sweep against fraudulent advance fee credit schemes -- is a follow-up to three previous sweeps announced in 1996, 1997 and 1999. "Operation AFL 2000" involves five cases filed by the Commission, thirteen actions taken by state Attorneys General and/or other state officials, and three cases filed by Canadian law enforcement authorities who have taken criminal actions against Canadian advance fee loan scam operators that prey on Canadian and American citizens.
"Advance fee credit scams are especially outrageous because they prey on the most vulnerable consumers who are in need of credit or a loan," said Jodie Bernstein, Director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Working with the states and our Canadian partners, we are stopping lenders who illegally charge consumers a fee for the promise of a loan or credit card. Our warning to these disreputable lenders is, we will track you down and stop your illegal practices. Our message to consumers is, don't pay for a promise -- it's illegal for lenders to ask you to pay for credit before you get it."
According to the FTC, fraudulent advance fee loan schemes prey on particularly susceptible consumers -- students, the elderly, the unemployed, the working poor, those who have bad credit ratings, or those in immediate need of money for emergencies. Most advance fee loan scam artists snare consumers through cold calls, or in response to advertisements in various local newspapers, on cable television, on the Internet and through direct mail. Ads promising "money to loan ... regardless of credit history" lure consumers into paying fees that range from $45 to $149 or more, in advance of receiving "guaranteed" loans or credit cards. In many instances, consumers never receive the promised credit, and either never hear from the lenders again or are merely sent credit card or loan applications.
Under the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), a telemarketer who guarantees consumers a loan or other form of credit, or who claims he or she can arrange such credit for a consumer, is prohibited from asking consumers to pay any money before they receive the loan or credit. The Rule empowers each of the state Attorneys General to file actions in federal court and seek an order that applies nationwide against Rule violators. Some of the cases announced today (see list below) allege Rule violations; others allege violations of the FTC Act or state laws that prohibit unfair or deceptive practices. These latest actions show a continuing, coordinated effort among domestic and international law enforcement agencies to combat such fraud.
---Click on the link to view the Press Release in it's entirety.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/06/afl2000.htm