Mary M.

I was conned into signing up for a 14 day trial membership for 4.95. After that it is 24.95 a month. Downloaded rebate redemption form which did not specify the merchant and excluded many things of interest such as food. Their website did not interest me. I called 13 days after I signed up to cancel. The woman put me on hold for a long time and then I was disconnected. I called back the next day. I was told my membership was cancelled the previous day, given a confirmation number and told I would not be charged again. The next day a charge of 24.95 appeared on my credit card summary. I tried unsuccessfully twice to reach them by telephone. I had to call my credit card company to dispute the charge. I also requested that my credit card be cancelled and reissued with a new number to prevent additional illicit charges. The woman at my credit card company said she sees similar situations ten times a day. She recommended that I contact the Better Business Bureau. Does anyone know if there is a government agency that investigates companies like this? They seem to be related to several other companies who engage in similar practices.

When I tried to reach Apple at 1-800-MYAPPLE, I reached some type of a shady fast talking salesman who signed me up for 4 services with low cost trial periods. The best offer was the first one. I was offered a $100 Wal-Mart gift card for trying Valu-Pass for 14 days for 4.95. Then I was billed 24.95 for the next month. When I called about my Wal-Mart gift card, I was told it would be mailed the next business day and I would receive it in 7-10 business days. I never received it. When I called back the woman was rude and said it was not a Wal-Mart gift card, it was a Wal-Mart certificate and I was all mixed up. A Wal-Mart certificate was not received either. The other services I was signed up for claimed they knew nothing about a free offer, although I was offered something of value for trying nearly all of them. I called 1-800-MYAPPLE back about the free offers and they said to supply that information I needed to call a different number and I would need my confirmation number which they would give me at the end of the call. To get to that point I had to sign up for 5 more services. Then the man gave me the number for directory assistance. I have spent hours trying to straighten out this mess. Often these services do not answer their phone, do not return voice mails, and disconnect calls. I just got off the phone with my credit card company. I disputed a charge from Go Shop and Save, which charged me 24.95 two days after I cancelled my membership. They had told me I would not be charged again. I tried unsuccessfully to reach them by telephone twice. My credit card company opened a dispute and also cancelled my card. They will be sending me a new one with a different number to prevent additional charges from these outfits. They also recommended I contact the Better Business Bureau, which I intend to do. Does anyone know if there is a government agency that will investigate these companies? It's against the law to make fraudulent claims.