Complaint Review: Clever Island - New York New York

Geeze, WHERE to begin? Ok, over THREE YEARS AGO, I tried to sign up my god daughter for a Clever Island account. They were offering a "free" 15 day trial and a $50 savings bond in the name of your child. I though well that's a hell of a deal! Yeah, RIGHT! They ended up double billing my credit card the very first day I signed up and to make a long story a litle shorter, I wound up cancelling the account within the first 15 days. Did I ever get the $50 savings bond? NO, I NEVER DID!

Here's the email that was sent to me (on Fri, 11 Apr 2003 19:05:07 (GMT))when I signed up for the account:

Dear Misty:

Thank you for your interest in Clever Island! To claim your $50 Savings Bond and to activate your Clever Island trial membership, just click on the link below. (Or you can copy and paste it into your browser.)

http://www.cleverisland.com/start.asp?c=7068484123097456

(Yada, yada, yada.....)

To receive your free $50 Savings Bond, you must activate your Clever Island membership at the link above. Then log into the Parent Control Center and visit the Redemption Center. All you have to do is fill out

our online request form, print the form and mail it to the address provided. It's that simple, and in 6-8 weeks you'll receive your bond! If you are 100% satisfied with Clever Island during your free trial, do

nothing. We'll continue your membership and bill your credit card the low $69.99 annual fee, renewed automatically at the then current rate.

If you feel that Clever Island's more than 90 educational activities don't give your child a head start in learning and wish to cancel your membership, call 1 (866) 425-3837 or go to www.cleverisland.com/cancel for a full refund of unused portion of your membership. If you cancel

during the free trial, your credit card will not be charged. Terms and conditions apply. Go to www.cleverisland.com/terms and

www.cleverisland.com/privacy for further details.

If at any time you have questions about your Clever Island account, you can contact us via email at [email protected]. Or call Customer

Service toll free (US and Canada only) at 1-866-4CLEVER anytime from 9 AM to 9 PM, Monday through Friday, or Saturday 10 AM to 3 PM, EST.

Remember, click on the link above to activate your Clever Island free trial membership.

Sincerely,

Jose Varas

Manager, Customer Service

There's nothing in there that indicates you had to be signed up for any specific amount of time to be eligible for the $50 savings bond. So I waited and finally I sent another email; I got a response back on Mon, 23 Jun 2003 15:22:16 -0400 (GMT) from Tiffany W. Here's her response:

Dear Misty,

Thank you for contacting Clever Island Customer Care.

We apologize for any inconvenience that you may have experienced.

Our records indicate that you never completed the savings bond request form and submitted the information.

We will mail you this form so that you may complete it mail it back to us for processing.

Please allow 10 to 12 weeks for the savings bond to arrive from the Treasury Department after processing.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to call us toll free at 1-866-4-CLEVER (1-866-425-3837) or 212-364-1080, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST time.

Sincerely,

Tiffany W.

Clever Island Customer Care

Here's the thing though, I was never able to print the form and this Tiffany person kept claiming that she had mailed me the form; oddly though I never once received it! I contacted them by telephone back in 2005, and again in 2005 and STILL..NOTHING! What in the hell do I have to do to get what they promised me? Should I fly all the way out to New York and go busting through the doors of their office?

This is just beyond the point of ridiculous now.

Misty

Phoenix, Arizona
U.S.A.

EDitor's Suggestions on how to get your money back!

HERE IS WHAT RIP-OFF REPORT SUGGESTS YOU DO:

Go to your bank within 60 days of the charge, or as soon as you know about the charge, don't delay, and tell them that there has been fraudulent activity within your account. Explain that you wish to file a dispute, and demand that they assist you in accordance with Federal Regulation E.

According to the majority of victims interviewed by Rip-off Report, those who immediately called their banks to dispute the charges did not get very far. Many victims got the following responses from their banks: we could not do anything for you or you waited too long; it has been more than 60 days.

If the bank is says that you have waited too long, explain to them how you called their 800 number as soon as the charges were found, and were told by the bank that nothing could be done. Remind the bank that they failed to assist you properly at the 800 #, and instead, provided you with an inadequate explanation of your right to dispute. Tell the bank that it's their fault time has expired, and since they gave you the wrong info to begin with, they will just have to deal with it, take the loss and reverse the charges.

Tell them the truth; this was unauthorized and your account was NOT to be charged! Keep emphasizing how you never authorized anything! Direct them to the hundreds of victims reports that were filed on Rip-off Report.com. And if you're at the bank, walk them over to their computer and make them go to this site! If you are on the phone with them, tell them you will wait while they access this site! Either way, be persistent!

DO NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!

Let them know nicely, that you were advised to Report them (the Bank) and this situation to the Banking Commission in your state. Since each state has a different name for the agency/controller over banks, find that name before you call or get to the bank so you can throw it in their face. The more knowledgeable you appear to be, the further you will get.

And just continue to demand the Federal Regulation E form! The bank CAN, MUST and WILL reverse the charge! But, you must be persistent; ask to speak to the supervisor or the area manager for all the branches in the state.

Let the bank personnel know you are meeting with the media later in the day, that you would much rather they do the right thing (as most other banks have) by looking at the complaints and immediately reversing the charge(s) to your account; no matter how long ago it was. Be sure to call the Media if necessary so you are telling the truth.

If you have to, be loud (but nice) in front of other customers. If you are just calling by phone, the above tactics should still work. The bank can easily fax or mail to you the Federal Regulation E dispute form.

CHARGES TO YOUR CREDIT CARD

If the charge was to your credit card (not debit card, check card, or checking account), contact the credit card company as soon as possible to request a dispute form. Consumers usually have a little longer to dispute fraudulent credit card charges (up to 6 months), but it is better to act right away. In this type of situation, credit card disputes are usually successful since fraudulent companies often won't contest the disputed charge. In rare cases, credit card companies will review disputes, but refuse to reverse the charges. If this occurs, complain to a manager and let them know you will be filing a report here.

Remember Don't let them get away with it! Make sure they make the Rip-off Report .. The more Reports filed on a Company or individual, the more likely it is that the authorities, media and attorneys will want to take action.

And good luck Let us know how you do!

ED Magedson Founder, Rip-off Report.com & Author of www.ripoffrevenge.com

[email protected]

badbusinessbureau.com

www.ripoffreport.com

Don't let them get away with it.

Make sure they make the Rip-off Report!

We are not lawyers.

We are not a collection agency.

We are Consumer Advocates.

...the victims' advocate

WE are Civil and Human Rights Activists

We are a Worldwide Consumer Reporting News Agency

...by consumers, for consumers

CLICK HERE to read about Credit Card Scams... find out how to get your money back. *Rip-off Report Investigation provides valuable information.