Print the value of index0
Easy Grant Finder.com - GrantMembersSite.com - FedGrantUSA.com - Network Agenda 2.95 for a Federal & Private Grant disc has additional charges that are not readily apparent New York New York
I actually was linked to this site while applying for unemployment. The site stated that they would send me a CD that will help me to apply for Private and Federal Grants for the low price of 2.95.
Obviously, being recently laid off, I didn't have much money to spend - but I figured that three buck wasn't a bad investment, especially if I could actually cash in on a grant that could assist my daughter and I (I am a single parent as well).
The $2.95 charge showed up on my account quickly and was listed as "WWW FEDGRANTUSA.COM" - which was fine, that is what I ordered.
Well, exactly 8 days later, I receive a charge of $39.95 listed as "FINDER8004666459". The charge was made a little after midnight. I called my bank and asked them if they could tell me what the charge was for - and they stated that they could only tell me the time it took place and that it was an online order. I stated that I didn't make any such order, but they wouldn't be able to help me until their system updated that night and they received more information.
So I decided to do a little digging around on my own. First I typed in the entire charge into Google, no luck. Then I typed in just the number - which connected me to a page based in China with a list of 1-800 numbers - once again, no help. I finally typed in "Finder charge on my statement" into Google and ran across multiple complaints about the site I am now reporting. One of the complaints was here on RipOffReport and it provided a number to call. I called the number, on a hunch, and told them my problem and name. They typed in my name, had me verify my address and proceeded to tell me that the $39.95 charge was there because I hadn't cancelled my "free 7 day trial membership" to their website in time, and that it was a monthly charge.
At this point, I began to get irate. I'm already in dire straights and 40 dollars would do some serious damage to my financial stability / ability to pay real bills. So I told the CSR that I had never authorized any such charge. He proceeded to tell me that it was disclosed right before I clicked the "OK" button to order the $2.95 CD. I told him I never saw any such statement and that if it was there, it was microscopic or purposefully placed in such a way as to not catch the eye unless you ran over the entire page with a magnifying glass. I told him that I would NOT pay the charge and that I would dispute the charge with my bank and call the authorities if I had to, but I would not pay for something I didn't agree to or authorize. He rambled on a few more times about how it was disclosed to me properly, but after I cut him off and became increasingly agitated, he finally gave in and agreed to refund the $39.95.
After about 5 minutes of typing, he finally gave me a cancellation / confirmation number. He then proceeded to tell me how there were still two other charges that would be appearing on my account unless I cancelled them. One was $7.95, which would pay for a tutorial on how to make money with Google.com. The other was for a program called "Network Agenda", which is basically just an online planner. I'm not sure how much that cost because I cut him off before he could continue his rebuttal / sales pitch. I told him that I appreciated the offer, but that I would like to cancel any and all pending charges and / or memberships. So he cancelled the Google.com tutorial, gave me another cancellation / confirmation # and then told me that I had to call 1-800-418-9329 to cancel the Network Agenda subscription. I told him thank you and good day. I called Network Agenda and it was relatively painless to cancel - although no confirmation numbers were available.
To summarize, this is the most expensive 2.95 I've ever spent and it wasted a lot of time and caused quite a lot of grief and aggravation. I haven't seen the refund show up on my account yet, but I am typing this after I got off of the phone with these people - so we shall see.
Consumers beware!!
Grimm
Daytona Beach, Florida
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Customer Service Administrator
St. George,Utah,
U.S.A.
Resolution offer
#2
Fri, September 11, 2009
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE
I apologize for any misunderstanding regarding the services you've
been receiving from our company. There are no commitments with the free
product however there is a bonus free trial period to membership websites that
accompanies the free CD and we do our best to disclose this as it is stated
several times throughout the ordering process - on the sales page, the order
page, the confirmation page and the thank you email, it is then also explained
in the first paragraph of the Terms and Conditions of the offer. We offer
the trial periods to give our clients a chance to use the services and see the
value of them for themselves before they are billed for them. The trial
periods are free for 7-30 days from the order date depending on which bonuses apply
and we would not have charged you had you called customer service and canceled
during the trial period as it is not our desire to bill clients who do not want
the membership after the free trial offer ends.
The following is the first paragraph of the Terms and Conditions
of the offer (the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy links can be found on
every page of the sales ad):
Bonus Material Terms and Termination.
By purchasing this product, you agree to adhere to the termination agreement as
outlined on the order page, confirmation of order page, and confirmation email,
which is that you, the buyer, are not entitled to a refund of the upfront cost
of any shipping and handling that may or may not have been charged to you for
delivery of said product. Furthermore, any free trials that may or may not be
offered with this product are only free during the said allotted time of the
free trial period as outlined within the product sales page, confirmation of
order page, and confirmation email. If you have not cancelled the free bonus
within the free trial period (if offered on product purchasing), you are
agreeing to purchase the bonus material and/or service at a monthly reoccurring
cost. This can be cancelled by calling the customer service number provided in
the confirmation email between the hours of 9AM and 9PM EST M-F and stating
your desire to cancel said bonus material. However, in order to not be charged
any future reoccurring cost, please give ample time (2 business days) to be
cancelled out of any reoccurring billing system before the next scheduled
charge to your account (this does not apply during any trial period). Not
canceling trial programs constitutes authorization, by you, the buyer, for any
charges (as outlined) for the associated bonus service until your request to
cancel has been received by our customer service staff. By not canceling
the bonus program during the trial period or prior to two days before a
scheduled billing cycle, you agree that any reoccurring charges billed to you
will be non-refundable. As you
can see the Terms direct the customer to the sales page, confirmation of order
page and the confirmation email. The following
disclosure is directly from the sales page - it is located directly above or
below the submit button depending on which sales site you are ordering from:
By
clicking "Click Here", I am ordering the Grant Program CD and trial
membership for $2.29 S&H, after the seven day trial I will be charged
$39.95 a month thereafter if I do not cancel. I also agree to the fourteen day
and twenty-one day bonus trials to Search Market and Network Agenda for $7.95
a month and $9.95 a month thereafter, should I choose not to cancel. I have
read and agree to the Privacy Policy / Terms and Conditions. Charges will
appear on credit/debit statements as "www.center4grants.com". For
questions, call 1-800-546-2919 M-F, 9am-9pm, EST.
The
Information on our Grant CD is general information that you can find for free
on the internet. We have gathered the information and put it on an easy to access
and navigate CD for your PC. This saves our clients the time and, lets
face it, frustration of having to search out this information on their
own. That is why with our Grant Program you receive a 7 day free trial to
our Grant Members Site. This is our member's website were you will be
able to learn the entire process on how to write and submit a grant
proposal. It is easy to start utilizing the Grant members site by simply
watching the tutorial videos that explain how to access all of the features on
the site. Our team of writers headed by acclaimed Grant expert Dr. John
Porter provides a monthly cover story that provides the newest information on
grants and grant related topics. We also provide a quarterly newsletter
that provides in-depth information on current trends in government and private
funding, as well as the latest financial advice on how to find and manage grant
money. You will be able to search grants through multiple grant sources.
You can search for Federal, State, and Private Grants, as well as for
Scholarships. The Grant Member Site gives you access to the Grant-A-Day
program; which guarantees at least one member will be awarded a personal needs
grant every single day! Click here
to read testimonials from recent grant recipients. In three easy steps
you can apply for the Grant a Day program and you will be eligible for it as
long as you are a member of the Grant Member Site program. Another
feature we offer is our live one on one chat representatives; they are
available to answer any questions you have along the way. All these
features and more are designed to help you be successful in locating, applying
for, and receiving a Grant. The information that is offered through the Grant
Member Site is more extensive than what other companies sell in coaching
programs that cost a thousand dollars or more, so we feel that we are offering
our clients the best value in the industry at a reasonable monthly rate of
$39.95. Ordering our Grants CD also includes two fast action bonuses. The
first fast action bonus is for Search Market Members site which has a 14 day
free trial. This members website where we offer one
on one live chat assistance and it teaches users how to make money using
Googles AdWords and AdSense Programs. Customers can use these programs
to create Google AdWord-based Advertisements and place ads on Google searches
using Google AdWords. They can do this either for their own sites or they
can use Google AdSense to funnel traffic through their sites to other sites and
get paid for the traffic they generate . After the trial period, it is a
reduced monthly membership fee of $7.95 because you are already a member of
another of our programs. The second fast action bonus is a 21 day free
trial for Network Agenda an affiliate company. That offers an online date book
service that will allow you to keep track of your daily schedule and will even
send you reminders to your email and or cell phone. After the 21 day free trial
the service is $9.95 a month membership fee. We offer these trial periods to
give our clients a chance to use our service and see the value of them for
themselves, before they are billed for them.
Please contact customer service at the number listed in the above
disclosure. There you will find a helpful agent waiting to assist you
with your concerns.
If you are another customer that is reading this and you have
already tried customer service, but feel that we have failed you in some way or
you feel you weren't treated fairly please call me directly at 435-773-1795 or
email me at customerservice@cshelp.org I will be happy to address your concerns
ASAP.
Sincerely,
Online Customer Support