Membership Scam

ComplaintsFurnitureDirect Buy

Complaint

0
MGN
Country: United States
I feel stupid that I did not check this site before I went in for the open house and signed up for membership.  I signed for Silver Membership and the Sales agent told me that I have access to 700 suppliers (Vendors).  Two days later when we went to buy some items and filled out the order form they told us that for Silver membership we have access only to about 150 vendors.  Since that time I am trying to cancel my membership.

I signed up for same as cash - three installments to be paid in three months.  I paid my first installment with a credit card.  I have tried both the local store and Corporate office to cancel the membership with no luck.  Few questions that I have are -

1. What happens if I talk to my Credit card company and dispute the charge, will they recover the first installment from DB?

2. Even if they dont cancel the memebership, can I just not pay the last two installments?

Any help in this matter would be helpful.

Thanks!

Comments

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  • 0
    not a blonde but...
    | 1 reply
    No, I am not a blonde, but my husband is and he was so excited that we went ahead and signed and I have been nagging the ... out of him ever since. Haven't purchased anything yet, still recovering from the dumb blonde 5000.00 plus hst membership purchase. What a crock no cooling period, that makes me heat up even more. I say, DB owners will have major health concerns from their stress trying to push their memberships on people. I feel sorry for them but at the same time regret having watched that dumb tv ad and falling for the key that would unlock the dummy door. Hopefully we'll be able to get that great kitchen that sparked our attention at the presentation. For now we are gaining inches around our middle from stress and regret. I am too embarassed to tell anyone we fell for it. I feel so stupid and uneducated. That kitchen and those snakeskin shoes lured me in. what, am I .......?????
    • 0
      Not Stupid replies to not a blonde but...
      The club is actually a wise investment if you use it.  If you remodel your kitchen, you should easily recover your membership cost. Do some comparison shopping on cabinets and I think that you will feel much better about your investment.
  • 0
    Nick
    Im sorry about your experience,it seems a lot of people feel scamed.
    I have been researching this company and there seems to be some small advantages (but not $5000 worth).
    Are you interested in selling your memebrship (if it is transferable?)
    I could be interested if it is really discounted.

    I dont want to make your sittution worse (by offering you a really low price), but if you want to get rid of it, I may be interested.

    Thanks and all the best.

    Nick
  • 0
    r scott
    I know several people who got hoodwinked by the deceptive scam of D.B. They seem to promise you the world  and everything you want to hear , then you sign up. I'm sorry your 5500$ membership wont allow you to buy that item because you didn't pay enough for the pompous membership you settled for the  cheap skell.
             If you shop around a little tiny bit you can get what you want for the price D.B. sells it to you for  D.B. cuts out the leg work and that is not worth the cost of membership unless your a fool and everybody knows a fool and his money soon will part.
  • 0
    Echo6Whiskey
    | 1 reply
    If your not renovating or building a new house DO NOT JOIN. However, if you are, it is an absolutely fantastic club to be part of! I saved $7000 off the lowest sales prices of $30,000 (I could find on-line or trough big box stores) for kitchen cabinets alone. Total house carpeting was $2k less at DB than the big box seasonal manufactures sale w/ military discount on top. Moral of the story, if your not planning on spending thousands of dollars your wasting your money.

    My total expenses for my first three year term membership was approx $60k. I ran a itemized spreadsheet w/ per line item cost with online compatible price points. Integrated membership delta. DB came on top with the best savings... by far.

    I see a lot of complaints by people whom didn't do their homework and in today's society it's always someone else fault. Don't join if your looking at a blender... DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!! I do agree their salespeople are on par with used car salesmen.
    • 0
      sorry replies to Echo6Whiskey
      We did a major renovation on our home and if we decided to settle for the items that DB has on hand we would have saved quite a bit of money.  However, they did not sell half of the things we wanted or liked.  Their selection on many items was dismal. They claim to have a huge variety, but it is quite limiting, not very inspiring and quite ordinary.  On some things we saved some money, but not enough for the membership to be worth it.
  • 0
    Direct Bite Me
    I just saw a commercial for a DirectBuy $50,000 home makeover contest. Just so you know, the winner of the contest is getting a home makeover paid for with $5,000 of my family's hard earned money. I hope you enjoy your home make over while my family goes hungry because DirectBuy ripped me off!!!

    DO *NOT* JOIN ANY DIRECTBUY IN COLUMBUS!!!! This place is such a total scam!

    We went to their location in Worthington and didn't join because of their HIGH PRESSURE TACTICS!!! They said we could only join then or NEVER. We didn't join and decided to test their "one time only" tactics and went to their other location in Hilliard and joined a year later only to have them shut down without any notice in 2009 and run off with our $5,000 membership! We then shopped at their other location by the airport only to have it shut down in 2010 without any notice. This place is just ripping you off of your $5,000 membership. It's a pyramid scheme at its finest!!!! They lied about the join "now or never policy" and then they ran off with my money. RUN!!!!! DO NOT JOIN DIRECT BUY IN COLUMBUS!!!! I have no doubt they will try to open again in Columbus sometime soon. It's all about the greed of getting other people to join and then running off with their money. I did some research. Just Google what happend to DirectBuy in California to see that what I'm saying is true. They don't do what they promise and if you become a member then you are throwing your money away!!
  • 0
    dbisbs
    Direct Buy Jacksonville is as close to a PURE scam/ripoff as exists.  The entire organization is no more than a merchandise Ponzi scheme.  With all due respect, anyone who plunks down 5K+ for this crap is a fool.  Once RC, the rotund, self-absorbed owner, cashes your check or processes your credit card payment, you are a FORGOTTEN NOBODY.  You can get virtually EVERYTHING they 'offer' at DB at Lowe's or Home Depot for a better price, with much better customer service, for less, without pissing away their BS $5,000 'membership fee'.  Eventually, regulatory agencies will shut down this scam enterprise.  Don't let your hard-earned money go with it.
  • 0
    Bill
    My wife dragged me to a Direct  Buy "Party" the coffee was lousy. After the intensive sales pitch, the hook was set to reel in the unsuspecting  fish. At this point I said to my wife lets get out of here in my most declaritive manner, as she was still dreaming of saving money on a new kitchen she would not leave and I left and went down to my car. Later she returned and said she had signed up for a one year membership for over $2000. At this point my remarks became highly expletive, regarding her gullibility and lack of rational behavior. I informed her unless we were going to spend $20,000 or more she had made a stupid move.  We had no such plans.Only a minor remodeling. I felt Best Buy's approach was the same as  vacation condo sales pitches.  The key approach apparently sold my wife on something for nothing. Remember , IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE, ITS A SCAM. Run not walk to the EXIT.
  • 0
    just been there
    Dispute the charge with your credit card and direct buy must proove they have abided by the law, and according to the agreement or contract.  The credit should be immedicate to you with a 90 day investigation period.  This is the great thing about credit cards.  Any suspicious place of business, I use a credit card for this purose.  As for me, I did not pay the $6,000 requested for a two year business arrangement with them.  I've not been given an appointment either to research the item for $1,000.  If I do not receive the appointment, I will reply to the BBB and remand my personal information I gave them be shredded.
  • 0
    KC
    I have took a phone call from Direct Buy this morning because "I am a winner" of a vacation to Hawaii for 4 and a $100 gift certificate for local restaurants. She went through the whole script and then said that she would need to call me back in 10 minutes.  I have not answered any of her calls since and they have called 10 times in the last 20 minutes.  I have been researching Direct Buy, and after what I have seen on this site and BBB - I will not take the bait.
  • 0
    surprised
    with all the hype on their showroom, you can only enter by invitation. but before that you have to qualify. after a few questions you are asked about your annual income, if you are in the lower bracket you dont qualify. i have recevied 3 separate calls and each time i put myself in a different bracket and i was surprised to hear the difference each time.. i will not become a member... why advertise if you have to be a mmber and have to make an X amount of money to get in the door!!!!
  • 0
    BBB is totally useless they won't help
    i paid $6,000 for Direct Buy membership 2 months ago, I can't seem to get any service, you cannot call them for prices, you must enquire about product by email or in person, I live over an hour away so emails are best for me. I have been waiting 5 weeks for one price, I have emailed many times,no one replies. I wil now be seaking legal advise, there is no way they are cashing my next 3 payments on this diret buy scam.
    Be careful. After doing my homework there are lots of wholesalers and direct buying manufactures out there with very comparable prices. Don't get sucked in.
  • 0
    DBsucker
    I paid $6,000 for Direct Buy membership 2 months ago, I can't seem to get any service, you cannot call them for prices, you must enquire about product by email or in person, I live over an hour away so emails are best for me. I have been waiting 5 weeks for one price, I have emailed many times,no one replies. I wil now be seaking legal advise, there is no way they are cashing my next 3 payments on this diret buy scam.
    Be careful. After doing my homework there are lots of wholesalers and direct buying manufactures out there with very comparable prices. Don't get sucked in. I did not do my homework
  • 0
    william
    hi I have the same problem with directbut of brooklyn & queens...any advise....thank you
  • 0
    william
    hi I have the same problem with directbut of brooklyn & queens...any advise....thank you
  • 0
    Direftbuy Info
    Bill Rochelle, 2011 Bloomberg News
    Tuesday, November 8, 2011

    DirectBuy May be Working on Distressed Swap, S&P Says

    DirectBuy Holdings Inc., an operator of membership-based direct-buying centers, has a business model that is "unsustainable," according to a report Standard & Poor's issued yesterday while reducing the corporate rating two more notches to CC.

    S&P previously downgraded in early September. A delay in issuing financial statements led S&P to conclude that the company "may be contemplating a business or financial restructuring to the detriment of creditors."

    The loss of members has "worsened meaningfully," S&P said.

    The rating on the $335 million in senior secured notes was also lowered to CC. The notes traded on Sept. 22 at 35.625 cents on the dollar, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. S&P predicts that the holders won't recover more than 30 percent following payment default.

    S&P said that the decline in membership began in early 2010, in part because of lawsuits alleging that the company misrepresented the cost of merchandise.

    The Merrillville, Indiana-based company was acquired in 2007 by management and Trivest Partners LP.

    Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/ ... l#ixzz1dMqMr19f
  • 0
    Gail
    You should be able to go online with Directbuy and look at items and prices.....I do in Texas.
  • 0
    justiceseeker
    Bully for directbuyinfo and his above post.  I have been trying for 5 years to alert consumers to what a complete and utter scam this enterprise is.  Regrettably, many seem to pay attention only AFTER they have been scammed.  I must say, however, that 'misrepresenting the cost of merchandise' is just the tip of the iceberg.  Hopefully, litigation will uncover the unseemly and sordid nature of every aspect of the companys 'business'.
  • 0
    Member
    Yes, I am a member and yes DirectBuy does have that Manufacture. I researched the price for you and the the entire collection it is delivered to the club for $1,700. Now you will still need to either pick it up, or have it delivered which will cost a fee plus set up which will cost another fee. However if you best price is $6,000 I am sure DirectBuy will not charge you $4,300 for delivery and set like the retail stores.
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