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
Where does your greatgrandmom live?
I hope that I might be able to find some info to help you.
****SHE WAS COERCED... NO MATTER WHERE SHE LIVES
PUT UNDER UNDUE PRESSURE
(possibly) unable to understand the intention of the contract
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I will send the letter this morning. Wish me luck.
Thanks for all your advise
I just found this on Complaintsboard.com:
22 hrs 42 mins ago by NWAConsumerReview 0 Votes
A scam can be defined as an attempt to intentionally mislead another person with the goal of financial gain.
This company changes its name frequently because of a poor consumer record. It was formerly known as UCCTotalHome & UCC and is now Direct Buy to hide the previous poor consumer record.
There are many online reports on both companies regarding their poor consumer record. Look up 'direct buy scam' on any search engine.
Since you are reading this you probably don't know much about how a company like this does business.
A company with a dubious product or service for sale (like this one) will attempt to use coercive persuasion to make you buy. This may be a 'fear of loss' technique (you will not be able to tour the showroom and check prices again for 7 years if you don't sign-up today) or 'power close' techniques to 'intimidate' you into buying. Remember, they have nothing to lose ... they will not see you again if you don't buy 'today' so they are liable to try anything that might 'close the sale' with your personality type.
Time share is sold this way and some health club memberships because so many people drop out and don't use their memberships. They are really just selling 'time' to use their facility ... they have virtually no additional expenses when you join.
The contract, which no attorney would ever let you sign, is so one sided that it is patently fraudulent, in my opinion. But since you cannot take it home to review it ... most people who do join based on hype and inaccurate claims, find themselves holding a document that gives them virtually nothing for their money.
They are selling the equivalent of a SAMS CLUB or Costco membership for thousands!
Personally, I can find better deals than SAMS or Costco normally on the internet (that deliver to my home, not a warehouse) so DirectBuy selling for thousands is a total RipOff!
You are paying for a 'buying club' that gives almost no service, has prices that can be beat by almost any discount retailer. They hide behind a clever contract that gives you no rights to contest anything.
They are only in business because of gullible people that they can intimidate.
Beware, they employ a large in house complaint response team to counter 'real' actual consumer complaints published in various blogs.
AVOID! If it were a good, decent company they would be happy to let you try it for a month for free and then pay monthly.
But if they did that no one would pay their price.
Consumer Review
That's it in a nutshell, isn't it? Let's continue to work together to get our money and sanity back from DB.
It is always worth a try to let them know ,By REGISTERED MAIL ONLY, that you are dissatisfied with some aspect of your contract/membership.
Although, you have 2 sets of problems.
First, BETA finance -refer to my longer letter to John V- 24 July 2009
The 1st half guides you with suggestions for dealing with Beta.
You cannot ignore them under any circumstances or they will send you to a collection agency.
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Where do you live and when did you join?
Did you have a 3 day cooling-off period & did you buy anything?
It also helps your complaint when you have proof, make/model of cheaper retail prices. Let me know & I will try to help you.
AZIZA - You must include every defence that Trudy stated.
You can keep lying but their are laws & we will fight you every step of the way.
I just responded to you on p.1. Any questions after you read my response, let me know.
You can also gain an excellent perspective of the SCAM methods of DB in Roger's letter above just written today Aug.4th.
As you read it, you will probably begin to remember some of the VERBAL PROMISES/LIES made to you on the date you joined. You will notice that every spoken word is not in the contract, best part of their scam.
It seems as though you either own a DirectBuy, work for an internet marketing company or are the spouse, parent, sibling, child of a franchise owner. Perhaps you're sooooooo busy responding to the all of the other complaints online that you have not even had the time to go back to see how other people responded to your post. You are way outnumbered my friend...... There are literally hundreds of complaints on this site alone and they won't go away and disappear into thin air like INFOMERCIALSCAMS.COM!
You can try what has been suggested by Trudy and others here - writing to the center. That does not always work. You may want to consider joining the national class action which is being prepared and which will ask that members be allowed to rescind their contract and get their money back. If interested in that, you should contact the class action attorney, Craig Matthews, cmatthews@ctmlaw.com or 937-434-9393.
Good luck!
Didn't you say only those who have purchased from db can join the suit?
Can you find out what kind of obligation that member's have if they join a class action suit, are they allowed to still try to get their money back, while they are waiting for results of the suit.
Don't you think that it would help the lawyers when members bring more complaints and negative responses from db in writing?
Is it possible for you to ask the lawyer what kind of advice he has for the people who have not purchased? So far, we have not heard any advice from any lawyers...
How will a national class-action take place, when the laws are so different everywhere?
DB is already holding up one of the suits by trying to argue the case to a lower court, AND has already dismissed the people who did not purchase anything. This encourages them to boldly and blatently steal from people, because they know that
THEY WON THE RIGHT TO RECRUIT AND LIE,
THEN DON'T HAVE TO GIVE A DAMN WHEN YOU FIND CHEAPER RETAIL PRICES,
BECAUSE THEY GIVE YOU A CHOICE TO
1) Buy their over priced merch. and services or
2) Buy cheaper retail products.
Then you still have the privilege of paying them for nothing
AND you get robbed by the finance company, for all the extra interest charges,
If you don't pay the finance co., then you have the privilege of
BEING HARRASSED BY THE COLLECTION AGENCY......
We haven't heard from you, since I responded to you on page 1.
Where do you live and did you buy anything from db?
I can refer you to the laws, you just have to apply them to your situation and send registered mail to the owner/director, signed by all on contract.
In my opinion giving spending over $3000 for a 1-year membership is not a compromise because DirectBuy wins. I don't think you'll ever recoup your membership $$. I believe that you do have choices and "giving" DirectBuy your hard earned money in any large amount would be a waste of your resources. I would suggest you keep up the fight and try to get your money back. As Trudy advises, don't do anything over the phone or in person......keep copies of all of your paperwork, receipts, etc. These people cannot be trusted! Also, try to contact one of the class action attorneys listed on this site. Good luck to you in whatever you decide to do. Thanks for sharing your story. I do believe that by spreading the word, we can help others avoid the pain and suffering we have endured.
Is anyone going after BETA Finance? They are just as crooked as DirectBuy. I feel sorry for all of the people who have to deal with BETA.....they sound like they are horrible human beings.
I believe the class action is also interested in members who have not purchased, although members who have also purchased are of particular interest. Legal questions about the class action should be addressed directly to the lawyer:
Craig Matthews - cmatthews@ctmlaw.com or tel 937-434-0303.
Tom
I understand the national class action will include Beta Finance as a defendant.
Tom
***AS I just finished writing this below, I thought of 2 things:
If I am Not TOO LATE, You can still change your mind & ask for all your $$$ back & refuse to sign, because you agreed to a comprimise over the phone without having time to think (Undue Pressure tactic, again)...
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If you had said that you would think about their offer...they would still have been vulnerable..
***DB appears to be so co-operative all of a sudden, so you MAY CHOOSE TO:
ASK them to ADD and REMOVE CLAUSES FROM THE CONTRACT OR YOU WILL STILL PURSUE ASKING FOR YOUR MONEY BACK.
ASK THEM TO :
WRITE IN THE CONTRACT THAT IF YOU FIND CHEAPER PRICES IN RETAIL, AND SHOW PROOF, THAT YOU MAY HAVE YOUR CONTRACT RESCINDED & YOUR $ BACK.
TELL them that if they do not put the "verbal promise" in the contract,
THAT they will be breaching the contract with false verbal promises.
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Thanks for sharing your up-date. I have mixed feelings about it, but my opinion is most similar to Roger's, because we have stayed on this site the longest & we both have worked really hard to encourage people to fight back.
My point is that, I honestly think that you had them in a very vulnerable position, & I think that you would have got your money back.
They made an offer to comprimise immediately. Please put yourself in their position, & ask yourself why they would offer you a "deal" if they thought that they didn't do anything wrong
I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE THINK THAT THEY:
******************INDIRECTLY ADMITTED GUILT BY OFFERING A COMPRIMISE******
Especially since, Your Call Was Made In the 1st 3 BUSINESS DAYS of JOINING
(the imaginary cooling-off period, that they try to pretend does not apply.
AZIZA, Whatever you decide, I hope that you will continue discussing details of anything dishonest you might come across, if you stay with the 1 year.
I suggest that you log in anonymously at any time, to help us keep up-to-date on their dirty tricks...
IF YOU DO SIGN THE COMPRIMISE, I HOPE THAT YOU WILL BE OUR INSIDER, BUT PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY AT THE SAME TIME....