Value Card Alliance V-Trade, Christie Acevedo Disreputable business practices Phoenix Arizona
I am a member of this trade organization only by aquisition. The original terms that I agreed to when I joined a company called Trade USA were assumed by Value Card. A short time after the aquisition I started being charged a monthly fee to my credit card. I never authorized this charge but was told it is mandatory to be a member. Since I had about a thousand dollars in my trade account I was forced to pay this fee or forfeit my trade ballance. This trade ballance is money for services I supplied to other members. It is difficult at best to spend these trade dollars since I am located in Texas and Value Card is in Phoenix.
Recently my credit card number changed and they were not able to charge my card for the monthly fee. I received a statement from them stating there was a late charge penalty of twice the normal monthly fee, in addition to the original fee and my trading privleges would be suspended until the account was brought current.
Since the trade dollars in member accounts are for all practical purposes worthless, the management will only accept real money for transactions. In addition to the monthly fees members pay, there is of course a transaction fee to each member involved in a trade. The management receives real money on both sides of a transaction as well as the monthly fees. The cost of producst or services within the trade group are on average, a minimum of 20 to 50 percent higher than would normally be paid in real money due to the fees involved in the trade. This is not disclosed to the members.
Bottom line is, I never agreed to any of the terms of Value Card Alliance. Even the membership agreement, which I never agreed to to begin with, that I printed from their website says nothing about a late fee. All I want is OUT of this worthless organization, but seem to be trapped because I have a positive trade balance that I seem to be unable to spend. This barter system is frought with pitfalls and inconsistencies. I would never recommend anyone join such a service. Especially this one.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
ValueCardAlliance
Phoenix,Arizona,
USA
VCA Guidelines
#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Tue, May 19, 2015
As always we are disappointed to hear when a client is upset with our services. That being said, communication is always the key in making things work and we are extremely proficient in doing just that. The aquisition of you Texas exchange was done in roughly 2007. At the time we notified everyone that we would eventually be bring them up to the VCA pricing plan but in the meantime we would maintain current plans. That lasted 3 years. When we finally decided to change the pricing we notified each member for three months in a row prior to that change on the top of their statements. The change was $8 per month bringing the total monthly admin fee to $8 per month. While I do not want to diminish your concern, anyone can see that the figure is not outrageous and if you compare us to any other successful exchange in the country you will find we are either among or are the absolute lowest in pricing structures. To briefly touch on your late fee experience. Late fees are not assessed until an account is 60 or more days past due. Meaning you would have to not pay your bill for at least two statements (each one sent electronically on the first of the month) to receive a $10 late fee (or 1.5% of the total outstanding bill. Whichever is greater). Again this is not outrageously high. Each of these and all of our rules our located on our site for anyone to review at anytime. While I wish each client has nothing but the best experience we too must eventually draw a line in the sand and state when enough is enough. We have thousands of clients that would be happy to tell you about their positive experiences with us. Ours is not a one time or even a short lived relationship with a client but typically last the life of their business.