Don't make our mistake

ComplaintsFurnitureDirect Buy

Complaint

-1
Polly Globe
Country: United States
We attended their presentation and after some calculation decided to pay for the membership which was $4990. We wanted to update our kitchen and bathroom cabinets, as well as bedroom furniture. We put down about $1000, and the rest was financed through their lender Beta Finance.

A month later we started planning our purchases and realized we were about to pay more by buying through them than we would otherwise. What the don't tell you on their presentation is that while you save about 10% on furniture they add 8 % handling charge in addition to 7% tax, and that doesn't include shipping.

I am now trying to get our membership money back. Do not become a member! Buy from other stores.

Comments

123...113114115...213214215Next
  • 0
    shayne
    message to Trudy, i am getting my money back, Thank you, i had to return the Direct buy stuff i got and i agreed to let them keep $50.00 for adm. fees but i am getting back my $5035, the franchise owner ackowledged the 3 day cool period, although she asked me to reconsider, she was fair and understanding, i expect a cheque in a week or so, i will let you know but i was promised the refund, the membership was cancelled and i look forward to moving on, if you state your case, get in quickly and send a registered letter as well as be prepared to file a complaint with the ministry of consumers services and be firm, it should work out.

    i was psyching myself for the worst but so far i am pleased, won't be done until the money is in the bank.

    keep the faith, be prepared and listen to Trudy
  • 0
    gloria
    We are very very unhappy with Direct Buy. I'm not certain yet whether there could be a significant savings, but their service is horrible. We joined about one and a half months ago, and now they pretty much refuse to talk to us. They are angry when we call to ask for info on status of orders, and other times that they have made mistakes in orders.  They say they'll call us back when we leave a message, and never have.  We have to continuously be calling them and they seem to be dodging us.  It's horrible!  We spent $5000 on the membership, and have already spent another $7000 in orders, and they treat us as if we're bothering them.
  • 0
    duped2
    don't know if I can help any.  YOur case with db is horrible.  yes, i believe trudy means that we write to the owners.  
    they really can't do what they did to you legally.  if they can than this isn't the USA.   i'd look into legal aid or a lawyer.  
     i'm still working on getting my refund.  i can't blow over five grand down the toilet.  most db people victims must be giving up, moving on and write it off.  
     we don't have money to waste.  hope you get your resolution soon.  and we will get ours and DB will get theirs.  They rip off the people trying to save money who need to save the most. Not to put into their stingy hands.  It makes me furious.
  • 0
    mikey
    I notice  a lot of  the  db smarmy ads for  fit the key, win a makeover  ads on  satellite  tv lately ( dish network)


    no doubt dish net  places ad  money above  honesty also.

    (I have dish net, and sent them and email to shame them and a a link to this site,, so far no reply)
  • 0
    Skip
    I notice the date on this post of 2008. Unfortunately, I did not read any of your posts until after I parted with $4000.  Contrary to their promises, I also found that I would have to pay 26% EXTRA if I bought my kitchen from DirectBuy. I want to know if your suit is still in progress and/or if I can help you with, or benefit from, any of your work.

    I am so sorry I didn't think to search for you before I was pressured into joining.

    Skip
  • 0
    Skip
    Aren't you the clever one.  Congratulations on you perspicacity.  Thank you for stating the obvious: that I am a chump.  I agree, of course, and I felt pretty bad about it even before I read your post.  

    By the way, do you have any friends?

    Love,
    Skip
  • 0
    duped2
    i concur...
  • 0
    Toyang
    I am amazed with so many complaints when I started looking into to Direct Buy website. I had a very UNPLEASANT encounter with the phone clerk here in Burbank,California.  Ms. Hernandez is very judgemental through out our conversation per phone calls. she made comments like " you seem.......... " " You sound like ........."  She is so unprofessional in the way she communicates which makes me wonder why she is still in this job. She hanged up on me when I asked for the manager. I had multiple dealings with American Express, other banks, insurances and companies but never like the way she talks and handle the situation. Instead of acknowledging her faults, she sugar coat it with "I am just digging deeper" . I think she needs training and more if she hasn't. she is the first initial dealings people has to go through on the phone before entering the store. My impression on her was sooooo bad that I would not want anything to do with Dircet Buy.  My blood pressure went sky high after talking with her. She needs to GO.
  • 0
    TRUDY
    HILANIE
      very glad that we could help you, don't give up!!
    YOU are very right to be as cautious as possible,
    DB IS ALWAYS WATCHING---ask for private reonses & giving e-mail addresses
    trying to get us to give up our e-mails addresses,
    always trying to insult us, intimidate & show their character by
    'BEING "NAME CALLING BULLIES"...very transparently stupid

    DON'T BE TEMPTED TO BE VERBAL!!
    EVERYTHING IN WRITING, NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!
  • 0
    duped2
    Hope you didn't join!  Sure wish we didn't.... We're not saving anything and all the verbal suggestions and conversations with them were red flags and yet we took the bait anyway, signed up, paid up and were ripped .  DON'T JOIN unless you're a millionaire already and own property and houses to redo.  

    After getting the wool pulled over our eyes, I'd never hook up with db.  You can get whatever you need to buy locally or order straight from companies online.   DON'T Join...... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • 0
    duped2
    It is the law that you have a 3 day cancellation period.  Get your money back, withdraw the membership which the asst mgr told you that you could do.  Don't let them do that to you and loose your house because of bad credit.  They cannot do that legally!   You have 3 days to cancel the and you were within that timeframe.  They're just jerking you around if they said you can' cancel. ( B S ) Hope all works out in your favor.  Get rid of the Agreement.  Also on the back of it, it should say 3 day cancel...
  • 0
    Contact the Media
    I noticed that Better Homes and Gardens carries ads for DirectBuy.  In my opinion, this tarnishes the reputation of their magazine.  I would never subscribe to it just for this reason.
  • 0
    Roger
    Contact the Media-
    Sad that everyone is selling out to purchase advertising space. I noticed DB also advertises (or had advertised) in the Rachael Ray magazine as well. Booooooooo to those who don't do their research and continue to help DB scam the public!
  • 0
    Contact the Media
    Roger-
    Would it help to send a link to this website to the publishers of these magazines?  They probably don't know how bad it makes them look.
  • 0
    duped2
    As far as the Tampa store goes, I believe the members with big bucks will enjoy their db purchases because money's no object and apparently this store is run rather professionally.  
     We are lower income and definitely do not fall in to the bracket of benefitting from db.  So remember, their are a lot of folks who have the money and get along fine with their store and owner.  Must be why they do so well in Tampa.
  • 0
    Dirt Bags at DB
    Today's date: September 09, 2010

    To: Direct Buy owner(s)
    ________________________________                    
                    
                    Direct Buy of Dallas North #587
                    611 E State Hwy 121
                    Bldg 3 Suite 220
                    Coppell TX 75019-7942

    Our names are -------- and --------------,

    On Wednesday, August 25th, 2010, we signed a 3-year membership agreement
    contract with you to be financed over a period of 36 months at $186.33 a month after a $290.00 down payment.

    We are requesting a rescission of the 3 year agreement contract, a full refund of the $290 down payment and confirmation in writing that we do not owe any money to you and/or Versa Finance.

    At the time that we signed, we were put under intense pressure by your salesperson and Asst Manager. We were not offered any trial membership at all. You presented us with what seemed to have been a great opportunity to save on home furnishings and appliances etc. Although, you did not give us the opportunity to make a rational decision on our own. We'd asked you if we could go home to evaluate and to compare prices before deciding, but you told us that we did not have that option. You specifically told us that we had to make a decision to join your club or we would be barred from returning to your facility forever. You failed to generate critical price and performance data of what you said you had to offer, and you left us with insufficient information and no opportunity to make any informed comparison and decision on our own. You basically told us that we had to join NOW or don't come back. You treated us with undue pressure and stress by forcing us to make an immediate, irrational decision. It is unfair practice to put a consumer under undue pressure to sign. You did this by telling us that we could never come back if we did not join that day. Without taking down our SS#’s we were told we could cancel. Before we left that night your Asst Manager gave us his card and said to call him if we felt it wasn’t working out. When we tried to cancel we were told there was no 3 day cooling off period nor were we able to cancel by the same Asst. Manager. This does not show the Direct Buy pledge of  Customer Satisfaction, and pledge to resolve complaints and inquires. The undue pressure and stress we were put under on August 25th, 2010 denotes a clear violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. For this reason, we are requesting a rescission of the the 3 year agreement contract and a full refund of the $290 down payment. We also request confirmation in writing that we do not owe any money to you and/or Versa Finance. We have written to the Better Business Bureau, and will be following up with the Office of the Attorney General as well as our Attorney. For this is a violation of our rights as consumers and we only see it  to notify them. We will only accept your response by mail and will not accept any phone calls or e-mails to discuss this matter. Answer by mail only, within 10 business days.

    Mr and Mrs. ----------------



    is that a good letter to send off????
  • 0
    Jennie
    I live in MO (USA) and I am trying to find a class action lawsuit that is still accepting additional plaintiffs.  My husband and I signed up a couple of months ago.  We just moved to MO with our 3 kids and bought a house that needed A LOT of work.  So we figured we'd be buying enough to make it pay.  Well, it doesn't work.  The whole thing is sham and a shame.  I joined the Springfield, MO Direct Buy and my contact person was Brent Fesperman.  We did buy some things from them.  But here is the problem: There is a 3-Day cooling off period in MO but it doesn't do any good because you don't receive any information until it's too late.  I was told that I would probably have my log-in information on Monday (I think it was Thursday when we went to the 'open house') but I did not receive it until well after that and that was only after I called repeatedly to get it.  Then, we ordered appliances for our kitchen.  And never got them.  We knew we would have to wait so I waited patiently for the estimated shipping date.  And it finally came.  It was changed 4 times.  And 2 of those changes were made a day before the order was supposed to ship!  I did get my money back on the order, fairly quickly, but how are you supposed to save (which you usually don't anyway) when you can't actually receive the merchandise?  So I sat here for weeks in my remodeling project with literally no kitchen and 3 kids to try to feed somewhat healthily.  (There were no appliances in the house we bought, so it wasn't like we were just replacing old ones.)  In any case, I called Brent Fesperman ten minutes after I received the log-in information to that secret, members only site and told him I wanted out.  He flatly refused and kept saying that he had "delivered" on his end.  (This was before the appliances - which were never delivered.)  I want to get in on one of these class action law suits.  One mentioned earlier is already pending, therefore not taking any new plaintiffs.  Please someone, help me.  Also, I have Beta Finance to deal with as well.  I can afford to pay them (barely) but don't want to do that not knowing if I will get that money back.  I am posting my contact info so if anyone anywhere knows of a class action that I can join, please let me know!

    Jennie Waschenbecker
    114 North Street
    Houston, MO 65483
    417-967-5092
    jennie@mndreamhome.com
  • 0
    Laurie
    Trudy can you help us too please?  We joinned about a year ago and have been paying Beta Finance monthly $130. We too joinned after being pressured that we couldn't come back later.  We should have known better but got caught up in the whole deal.  We were looking at finishing a new house and thought they could save us to much money.  But the fact is all of the estimates were so much higher than going somewhere else and by then we were stuck.  We have kids in college and are financially strapped right now - we really need out.  Do you have a sample letter for Arkansas laws?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
  • 0
    TRUDY
    HI TO; "dirtbags of db"

      I suggest printing a copy of your letter double spaced & make your changes on that copy, you need to proof read it very carefully,
    be much more specific, also

    1st---cross out the repetitive sentences & you
       must use paragraphs to seperate each issue
      -refer to "UNDUE PRESSURE" (only 1ce) & refer the Texas...act

    ADD:  "I have not recieved my "password/ACCESS to your prices..."...no chance to price compare..."

    you repeated    ...decision... & undue pressure...at least 7 times before you mentioned the law...

    erase the repeat at the end..."...RESCISION...
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------
    WHAT DOES YOUR CONTRACT ACTUALLY SAY?
      ...NO CANCEL, NO REFUNDS...???
    IF SO, YOU need to start with the fact that you have just become aware that NO CANCEL... IS AGAINST THEIR OWN CORPORATE COMPANY POLICY!!!!!!
    ****db has taken adantage of your lack of knowledge to a grossly unfair degree.
    This is an unconscionable act, acc. to the Texas...deceptive....act

    LIST MY REFERENCES ON P. 93, from my letter to James on August 11, 2010
    on p. 91- Egnar sent a direct link to proof of 3 days...(print a copy to send with your REG€ISTERED LETTER--highlight the reference near the end)

    ---then inc. the video reference...


    ===========================================================================When we tried to cancel... What date & How did you try? REGISTERED letter?
    What proof do you have? if by phone, very weak...who did you talk to?

    I DO NOT SUGGEST ANY REFERENCE TO THE BBB (They will laugh hysterically!)

    SAVE the A.G. til later, if no response...they law states that
    YOU MUST CONTACT THE CO. BY REGISTERED LETTER & WAIT for a response,
    without this step, you have nothing to report...
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

      Please respond in writing only, we will not accept phone calls or e-mails.   Please answer within 10 business days, of recieving this REGISTERED LETTER.    
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    GOOD LUCK TO YOU, DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!
  • 0
    Susan M.
    This is a great site!  Thanks for everything!  We signed up in November 2009.  My issues are very similar to everyone's!  Our local DB is in Fort Mill, SC.  Been doing research online about DB in general and that particular store.  They have a "F" with the BBB (no shock there!).  I sent a letter Sept. 1 to the owner outlining our issues with a request for full refund of the membership fee.  Sent the letter with a delivery confirmation - from that I know he received it the next day.  Stated that we expected a response by today - Sept. 10.  Have not gotten one.  What do you suggest my next step be?  I've been reading the SC Dept of Consumer Affairs page about filing a complaint with them, and plan to file one with BBB.  But based on the fact that they already have an "F" with BBB due to non-response to all the previous complaints, I don't suppose that'll do any good.  What about contacting our credit card company?  We charged the entire membership fee - can we get a refund based on not getting what we paid for?
123...113114115...213214215Next

Post a new comment