Don't make our mistake
Complaint
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.
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
DB solicitors must present the UPDATED contracts with option to cancel. They are accountable for that one window of opportunity for their customers to change their minds. They should offer Quality Customer Service satisfaction; instead of sticking us with Buyers' remorse to pad their pockets.
There's not much time to initiate action needed to finalize/ upon deciding to UNjoin, very QUICKLY or you lose the chance to cancel and get refunded. With the offer of one day only to join or never it's too much pressure to join up without given a chance to think it over, do some research, price comparisons, etc. ! Another scheme of theirs.
It's so soon after the high-pressure sales presentation (1 day only to come aboard) then after signing the newly bought 'EXCLUSIVE Club membership' (3 days to cancel)for HUGE discounts NOT ! to obtain the refund. (3 days)!! If DB is such a successful, lucrative business they can surely afford a 30 day option for customers to decide if it's worth the rates they charge or not..
This they know.. It's part of the scheme. You have to write them a letter of cancellation and send it registered by mail. (Hassle) all Franchise owners will handle it differently. They send the membership fees (or a percentage) right up to Corporate. They will balk, stall and try to dissuade you from cancelling. They might tell you it's gone already or too late. Or try and talk you into several free years of membership in order to 'recoup' the exorbitant joining fee. where you will have to buy MORE from them...
we've ordered a few things, NO GREAT SAVINGS whatsoever, basically we are down $5,500 which we don't have to waste.
Save your money, Buyers Beware, Don't Make our Mistake.
Shoot, if it cost anywhere near sixteen to twenty thousand for cabinets for our small kitchen we would have kept the old ones. They show mark ups of what they call the competitors prices then they bring their estimate way down to prove their big discount. They sure know how to pull strings and make their designers seem so professional. How I wish we never heard of DirectBuy and fell for their pitch.
Bought some fairly decent cabinets, nothing High-end but cut back on full design plan to save money. So, they didn't get us a big discount at all. Would be nice to have more cabinets but that would have been thousands more. Had to buy less because of the huge membership fee. For their joining fee we could have bought plenty of decent cabinets. What's done is done and we'll never use them again. Buyers Beware---
I recently signed a contact with DB and I'm in the state of Virginia and also in the military. At the time of signing, my husband and I were told that we weren't able to come back if we didn't sign that today. I felt under a lot of pressure because it sound so good and I was pregnant with our first child, we need a lot of help. They use my pregnancy as a target. I thought that I would be investing in our future but its been an expense that I can't afford. At the time I didn't have anything to put as a down payment because I was the only one in our household working. I was told by the DB rep to go to my bank and get a voided check, and post date it for the first payment. I now pay $164.00 to Beta Finance for a service that I don't use and don't want and can't afford. What can I start to do?
Wondered about the call/mailer/follow up calls to the prospects. Many were on the Federal Do Not Call list. So DB would call folks up at their workplace instead. Not sure how they get those numbers.
My ex manager slipped up and said only 1/10 of 1% of mailers will sign up as customers. Yet he was telling us for every 70 mailers we should get a new membership. A huge disconnect.
Could not figure out how they could pay us without losing money, AH HA MOMENT. That is why they add 8% or so for shipping and handling on everything. So the call centers do not pay for themselves.
Thought it was odd the owners were also making calls with us, as well as some of their family members.
So technically they are being dishonest, that there are no markups in manufacturing price. With shipping and handling costs, you can take any amount and how do you break down those costs. Neat little trick.
But if you are doing tens of thousands in renovations and remodeling, this could be for you. Otherwise if DB shows up on your caller id, keep a whistle handy and blow it in their ear when they start TALKING.
And if they won't allow you to have your lawyer look at it, walk away.
Sure Legal Zoom or some other like outfit would be glad to review for you and give advice as to what your break even point would be.
at the end when they told us of the amount of the membership we got shock and then, at first instant we wanted leave but the guy that did the tour convinced us to stay and brought some ads just to show us about how much money we could save, at the end we thought that it was going to pay by itself because in other place would be more expensive, so we singed up!
Since we started our membership we noticed the hidden fees when we put our first order since then we've been having issues with them waiting for answers about items that it was suppose to get it in 4 to 6 weeks and ended it up waiting for 7 months, we tried to speak with manager but he was unwilling to answer our phone calls or either answers our concern of the item. and another issues which are the same.
We tried to find out as well thru them if i can contact the manufacturer company to see if it was true we were getting the manufacturer price, they told us that we can not do that or otherwise they will cancel our membership and still pay for it.
At this time we do not want to be any longer part of their membership and dont know how to cancel it and get our money back.
PLEASEEEE if there is anyone out there that could help us how to do it contact us at : mzjesus82@hotmail.com
Thank you!
can you email me to Kollage3@gmail.com
Thank you.
K.Z.G.
We just signed in tonight and I had a bad feeling about this but husband and I went ahead and signed and used our debit card for $290 out of our checking. We did not have our checks on us, and they needed our routing # and all to automaticly draft $97 out monthly. We are suppose to call them tomorrow and give it to him, but I really don't want to. After coming home and reading about them, we want to cancel. What should we do. WE need all the help we can get.
We just signed in tonight and I had a bad feeling about this but husband and I went ahead and signed and used our debit card for $290 out of our checking. We did not have our checks on us, and they needed our routing # and all to automaticly draft $97 out monthly. We are suppose to call them tomorrow and give it to him, but I really don't want to. After coming home and reading about them, we want to cancel. What should we do. WE need all the help we can get.
I need your help, I am trying to get my membership fee, and money back for damaged merchandise. Membership was purchased in April 2011. What Law do I need to follow in Arizona? WOuld it be consumer protection law or something else?
not really customers, just shills to fill in.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/direct-buy-san-diego-california-c437608.html