Shopping Essentials makes unauthorized charges

ComplaintsScamsShopping Essentials

Complaint

0
Inga M.
Country: United States
Shopping Essentials has been debiting my checking account for $19.95 without my permission or knowledge. I don't know how they got my bank information. I searched the web and found many complaints about them. It's a scam! I called the company to have the charges reversed. The girl said she got a confirmation from my email address, for the membership, I then told her that her company has reports all over ripoffreport and they reversed the charges right away. Get them on the phone and be persistent! Talk to your bank as well about the charges.


Here is address of Shopping Essentials if anyone needs to write to them:

Shopping Essentials
SM P.O. Box 5152 Des Plaines, IL 60017-5152
Attention: Customer Relations                
Phone: 888-243-6180

Comments

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  • 0
    got.it.back.mofos
    I just saw a charge on my credit card for $19.95 from "AP9*SHOPPINGESSENTIAL 888-999-0564CT"
         744############6
    I called the 800 number and gave them the first 9 digits(which is your membership number) and they immediately reversed the charges and canceled the account.  Lesson learned, do not order from Vitacost.com, they will sell your information to this 3rd party and get you hooked in this membership program that is completely bogus.  Easy enough to get the charge reversed, on the phone for 5 minutes.
  • 0
    Beth Sonntag
    Well my situation was different he told me that since I made a purchase at walmart recently that he had all my information on file and that they wanted to send me a walmart card for free, I told him I wasn't intrested but they took the 19.95 anyway?  How did they have my credit card number?  This is scary to know it wa that easy and by the looks of it its happened to ALOT of others?  Can they be stopped??
  • 0
    Beth Sonntag
    I didn't MISREAD anything or not read the fine print I was CALLED by some man that spoke HORRIBLE english and all I could understand him saying was something about a walmart card I said I wasn't interested and they billed me the 19.95 ANYWAY.. so its not ignorance its stealing!!!
  • 0
    Bad Bob
    I can't figure out whether you are a moron or a company shill for Shopping Essintials. First of all, we never order on line, only on the phone plus if you had half a brain you would know that just because I offer you something, you are not required to decline it in order to invalidate the offer. If it is not accepted, there is no agreement.
    On second thought, you MUST be a company shill,you can't be that stupid.
    Bad Bob
  • 0
    kibbles
    I was also charged monthly for a total of 3 years! I called, canceled, and called a second time. THANK GOD I called the second time to complain and question the company, I was in shock and shaking with rage. I was 16 when I got my first card and I had NO IDEA this was being charged less than 3 months after I got the damn card. I called the second time, talked to the same exact lady (which is interesting... small company?) then was transferred to a manager who immediately said, like, a million apologies and is refunding my credit card all 38ish charges that ranged from 9.99 a month to 25.95 a month, rising as the years went by. I asked the lady what the hell the company was and she didn't answer- only said I "accepted" the subscription along with a free gift card to a store that does not exist where I live- Linens and Things? Never even heard of it. Could not get a straight answer from the two customer people I spoke to. This is insane, I will never trust the internet again. I am cutting up my credit card as soon as I pay off some bills with my refunded money- and as soon as I get the money, hopefully. It may not be a scam in the legal sense but it sure as hell is SNEAKY.
  • 0
    MAW
    I called my bank (Wachovia) to dispute charges from Shopping Essentials. (I was being charged for a membership that I never agreed to and I can read and see "click on messages". I NEVER click on them. Anyway, when I spoke to the dispute department they told me that the deal with Shopping Essentials on a DAILY basis. In fact, they called them for me while I held on. The first person at SE refunded today's charge w/out blinking an eye. I said I wanted ALL of the charges credited. They then transferred me to a "supervisor" who agreed to refund all of the charges - again without a hassle. I'm thinking they play the game, hoping people never call to complain and then when someone does, they refund the charges to avoid further problems. I think it's pretty telling when a large bank's dispute department tells you they that deal with a company on a daily basis. You better believe that I'll be checking my statement for the credits.
  • 0
    Ron
    I was or am being scammed too.  Why not let everyone know which credit card company so we can all be on the lookout and/or stay away from them. My charges were on my Bank of America account.

    Lets get these scum suckers.
  • 0
    dick
    [***] you, you prob work for a [***] company like them
  • 0
    BIGTIME 1515
    MAN JUST FOUND OUT I GOT SCAMMED , AND I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT. I NEVER THOUGHT THIS WOULD HAPPEN TO ME. I DONT KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENED BUT THIS SHOPPINGESSENTIAL. I DONT KNOW THEM FROM ANYWHERE.  NOW IAM TRYING TO GET MY MONEY BACK AS I WRITE.. THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO.
  • 0
    J-bird
    Here's the current website for Shopping Essentials:

    http://www.shoppingessentials-program.com/

    I did call their customer service to get the membership stopped.  I also asked that the 1st membership 'fee' be credited, and they said they would do that in the next 2-3 days. My credit info was 'lifted' from restaurants.com as well, and there was no information about charges until AFTER I'd clicked on the offer option. As far as I'm concerned, it's fraud when charges and terms are not agreed to PRIOR to the transaction.  What devils. If credit doesn't appear, I'll be calling my bank next.
  • 0
    Nurse
    Just discovered it today! I've been paying monthly since 06/07.
  • 0
    scammed
    I'm extremely careful about the "fine print" and somehow charges from these guys showed up.  I wonder if they stole or bought stolen info about my credit card  - in any case I finally got a real person on the line and cancelled.   Here's how:
    call 1-888-243-6180     when they ask for your membership number hit  the asterisk * key 2-3 times and the  pound # key once.  Someone will come on the line.  They kept wanting more info but I stuck to only my name and the first 9 digits of the reference number on the credit card bill.  They found my account and cancelled.

    Hope this helps.
  • 0
    ann garner
    you take me off of any thing you have. i agreed for nothing from you are any one else.i dont wont your mail are any on ny computer, all so if you put one thing on any thing you preaten to have, you will pay for it one way or another.you have been reported. you have better creit me for all you have put me through.
  • 0
    ann
    get off my back.i have not agreed to any thing.
  • 0
    Splitseamer
    I just got billed this morning on my debit by this Shopping Essentials for $19.95.  I couldn't find the info in Restaurant.com's fine print, after a representative the first time told me that it was part the deal with Restaurant.com.  Then, their website address they gave isn't functional.  So I called the number on my card statement again, 888-238-1798 and got a different rep and proceeded to tell her that I wasn't happy and this needed cancelled.  She informed me that she would cancel the 'membership' effective immediately and that the charges would be reversed for the $19.95, so we'll see.  Still waiting on a personal response from Restaurant.com.
  • 0
    Mike D
    There is a class action suit against the Parent company, Vertrue at the below link. Please join the law suite, these people need to be put out of business.
    http://classactionblog.mdpcelaw.com/2008/08/a ... vistaprint-ltd/
  • 0
    barbara beck
    19.95 was just charged to my account without my authorization  i called and it is shopping essentials-com what a rip off and a big hassle to call my bank get the card stopped and rebuy another card have to call any companies that i had direct withdrawal for bills and pay for another card  please investigate for me thank you
  • 0
    RP
    Guess what being charged since Sep 08....just found out. This is BS!
    I didnt even know..
  • 0
    Rach
    I just found the $19.95 charge as a pending charge on my bank account.  I called my bank (Chase) and they said to contact Shopping Essentials directly since it was a pending charge.  I called them at 1-888-238-1798, but for some reason my home phone was not pulling up my info and I obviously didn't have my membership number since I didn't even know I was a member!  I tried doing what "scammed" (above) said to do, but it kept telling me that it was an invalid member ID, so what I did was entered 1-2-3-4-5-6 and the rep came on the line.  When I told her that I hadn't authorized this charge, she didn't skip a beat and immediately apologized and said that she'd issue the credit and it would be reversed within 3-5 days.  Like many have said before me, obviously they know what they're doing is wrong or else they wouldn't be so quick to issue the credit.  I will NEVER purchase anything from restaurants.com (thank you for telling me that is how Shopping Essentials got my info).  I haven't decided what recourse I am going to take against restaurants.com.
  • 0
    Patti
    You must work for the company.
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