Grant Funding Search review: Fraud 334

I ordered a cd from this company for 1.98. I had the option to sign up for a free trial of their website but I did not do the free trial because I wanted to wait and see what the cd was about. Well they took the 69.95 out of my account saying that I signed up for the free trial and did not cancel before the trial was over. Now when I call them they said they will put the 69.95 back in my account but what about the 128.00 in oiver draft charges they have caused me to get when 4 things so far have not went through because of them taking the 69.95 out in the first place. When I ask to talk to a supervisor they say she will have to call me back and in the background I can hear other workers telling other people the same thing over and over again.
I have more stuff that could come through my account so the overdraft charges could get much worse before this is over.

I along with the rest of you all, recieved my bank statement today 3/04/09 and noticed a deduction of 69.95 taken out of my account spoke with representative Brenda id #1301 she told me no one in this office can or will refund my money back to me...i still have not recieved my CD so how can my trial period begin...i'm now waiting an hour for a supervisor to call me back...this is so so so sad that they are scam artist out here like these people, we are in need and seeking help, but instead people are stealing from us and our families...HORRIBLE...IF ANYONE GET SATISFACTION & A REFUND FROM THESE PEOPLE PLEASE CONTACT ME AT eeluvgrier@yahoo.com...it would greatly be appreciated..thanks

I am writing in regards to $94.00 being took ou of my account. It was not a authorized charge and I want a refund.

Thanks Christy Brown
Contact me at christybrown45@aol.com

You think that you are ordering a cd with information on grant research and end up paying 69.95 in hidden monthly fees. When I called to find out what the additional charge was--I was told that this was for a monthly fee to the wesite, which by the way is non re-fundable.

I am visiting my sister in PA and having discussion about Care One SCAM ... she gave me CD she bought for $1.98 and ask me to check it out. $1.98 on 2/9 and $69.95 charged without her authorization on 2/17
Thank you for posting ... However, she is on the phone with girl from Grant Funding Search the $69.95 is a monthly fee CALL and cancel immediately... $839.40 a year!

OK< my bak gave me a letter saying. They are reversing the credit because I gave them insufficient evidence. WAMU sucks people they will not help you. I emailed and cenceled the first day. They did not accept it until 3 weeks later. SO they totally scamed me.
I will email yuiko_n_covy@hotmail.com and try to get a lawsuit going. screw my 69 bux I want real money for this headache.

I have the exact complaint as the ones above. I also got charged $69.95 which I did not authorize and have received no response from them.

EVERYONE GO TO THE FTC< LETS GET THE GOV ON THEM>>>DO IT NOW..
Thank you for contacting the FTC. Your complaint has been entered into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database available to thousands of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies worldwide. Your reference number is:
219XXXXXXXXXXX

I can't believe that this company can get away with this. I requested the CD on January 4, 2009 and on January 7, 2009 they charged my credit card for $69.95. I called the company and was told that I requested this "Membership". I was very diligent in reading over the information before I gave then my credit card # for the $1.98 shipping cost. They said that I would not be receiving my money back and I asked to speak to her supervisor about 25 times. Then she hung up on me. They then charged my card again in February for another $69.95.

Today, March 9, 2009 I called the 800 # and requested the name of the President/CEO of the Company and they told me that they could not give out that information. How can they get away with this? I am disputing the charges with my Credit Card Company, but obviously it takes so long.

Since reading all of these comments, I am now on a mission to make sure they do not do this to anyone else.

I've also been scamed, but mine I saddly found it while doing a search for autism, which my son has been diagnosed with, but the web page that I was sebd to said Grant Finder Solutions, I paid the same amount for s&h, I still haven't recieved the cd, and on friday March 6, 2009, I recieved a call that they had lost what recording they did while talking to me on the phone, that they had to record everything again for my protection and their's I said no because I already knew they were scamming people and this sunday they charged me $69.95.And they don't want to give me my money back.I already reported them BBB and hope they get charged or something cause I thought I had found a way to get my son speech therapy wich is expensive.I got scamed trying to find a way to help my son to talk.

i too have been scammed i was told there was more to the service and the free trial was going to end in 30 days, i wasn't as lucky as some of you i didn't get notice of these charges until i received my bank statement today i was also told i wouldn't receive my free trial items for 2 weeks and i didn't actually receive them till 3 and a half weeks later about a week after this conversation someone else called to offer more free incentive's and gave me another free 30 day trial supposedly, i put a reminder in my cell phone for 1 week b4 the free trial time was up in-case i wanted to cancel membership well 3 and a half weeks later when i finally receive some kinda "voucher's" and realized that a lot of the stuff wasn't available in my area i called to cancel and explained i had another free trial offered after that one and NEVER  received anything on that offer he asked if i had ever received anything from that offer i stated no i didn't so could they cancel that membership also he said at first he had no record of another free trial on record i said yes there is too and that i think he was the one who called, after a few seconds he found it in the records and assured me it it was canceled, i wish i had seen this site b4 i ever filled out anything, ii also did try to view the Cd that i supposedly got for just shipping and handling charge of $1.99 which by the way isn't any where on my statement, there's nothing on it except what i understand to be gibberish and very very disappointing,

total charges on one line is 68.13
on the second line is 69.95
these charges are on the day i had ordered the $199 cd
and 6 days after that i was charged $1
and thats not all
theres a my club rewards charge also that is for 35.75
charge on the day i canceled memberships

IMPORTANT!
I posted my case on this web site on March 1st and just found out today that this fraud sold my credit card information to IWBCLUB and they charged me $29.95 on March 4th. I disputed the charge and the credit card company's going to reverse the credit for now but they said IWBCLUB can fight back. I hope that doesn't happen because they have no legal claim to that $29.95. This is totally an illegal act. Now I'm afraid that I have to worry about Identity Theft and close my credit card account.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NEWS!
I found out from another like me on this board a way to get refund from this fraud. I don't know if it applies to IWBCLUB as well but I just called [protected] and the lady was very nice and refunded $69.95. Well, if Grant Funding Search doesn't contact me within 2-3 business days, I have to call that number again. After GFS sends me an email about the refund, it takes about 5-6 business days to get the actual refund.
Good luck everyone.

this is the biggest rip off ever, i not only was charged the 69.95, i was also charged another 29.95 by another company through this grant funding search company, i got my money back but I still had to pay my bank overdraft fees, Iam not a very happy person!

Yes, I agree, it happened to me as well and I am pissed off. First of all, how does a company sleep at night who steals from people and secondly, how can this be happening to all of us and nothing comes about as a result? I had it with people screwing me over. I contacted an attorney this morning, luckily I have access to one, but who knows what will happen. I will let everyone know what results, however I did already get the 29.00 taken off. That company seems smart enough to refund, lets see what Grant Fund Research does.
Sorry everyone!

I am offended by the comment greedy and lazy. What makes you think people are greedy and lazy for looking for government support. I happen to be looking for grants for my high paying job. We are trying to do something for innercity kids, which would require land to get started. We are researching our options. You are small minded and people do not need to be taunted after getting screwed, have a heart.
Peace

They charged me, too. Luckly, I wrote down everything they told me, and the $69.95 is for a program called UMG Buyers Edge. I called within 30 days and cancelled my membership. You can do the same buy calling [protected]. I hope this helps!

Emediate Grants is also another name they use after assuring me they would not take anything but shipping charges for the CD they removed $69.95 from my account the very next day I cancelled the service three days later and saw my bank statement online was charged the $69.95 which I immediately called the bank and they refunded it saying this company will have 45 days to dispute this I hope they do cause I will insist on a hearing. This scam company was very helpful when I called asking about different options before they robbed me. I asked questions like names addresses how to fill out these grant requests and wrote it all down. Then when I called to tell them I wanted to opt out they said ok andnow If I call the same numbers I reached them on before they are either busy or I get a recording like they won't accept calls from my number. I used a cell phone and got right thru and told them They robbed me of $69.95 and i wanted it back immediately. They said they would look into it and call me back I am still waiting on THAT CALL. But it is OK my bank refunded my account and they are aware of this company and will be glad to come to court with all THEIR records on this company illegally taking money. Just remember when you approve the shipping fees you are NOT approving any other charges. I am praying the dispute my bank for taking my money back out of their account I love going to court when I am 100% right and my bank has THEIR account numbers it will be easy to collect any settlement they award. PLEASE GRANT FUNDING FIGHT ME OVER THIS It will be almost as good as winning the lottery.

I too have just became a victim of this scam. I ordered a free government cd and payed the shipping of 1.98. I received the cd but I haven't touched it yet. I go online today to check my account balance and 29.95 is pending dated today. When I called my bank they said that the transation was for the IWB club. A club I had never heard of. I have to wait 3 days to c if it posts and then if it does I'll have to dispute it. I am pissed off because nobody authorized them to do this and I hope they get caught real soon.

I also ordered the 1.98 disc but then to my dismay they deducted another 69.98 from my account without my permission. My bank provided a phone number that actually allowed me to talk to an agent named Angel who told me "too bad, you should have read the fine print" and hung up. I called back and someone named Toni told me that my money would NOT be refunded even though the printout I have said refunds only within 10 days of any transaction.(this was the same day of the transaction) When I requested to be transferred to a supervisor, she said that none was available; I asked for her supervisor's voicemail & she said they did not have a voicemail system! I am disputing the charge with my bank as well as notifying my congressman. These people must be stopped from scamming vulnerable people in bleak economic hardship.

I have also been robbed!

I have a phone number that I have called every day and will continue to call until I-I-I-I-I get tired of calling them.

Number#[protected]

I have asked for a supervisor- told that they are all on the phone with other customers (wonder what about). I ask to hold- told they can not put you on hold for long periods of time.

I have ask a friend, that is an attoryney, to call and help with problem. He has agreed to do so. Maybe with him, I will get somewhere.

*** READ ENTIRE TEXT TO FIND SOME HOPE IN REFUNDS!***

Wow. I thought I was the only one. That I had made some silly mistake or didn't read everything properly. Turns out this is a full blown scam in the works, and MANY innocent people are being taken for a ride to scam-ville every single day, without even being asked! I too, was fooled into thinking "Oh, it is just $1.98, I can do that." Then, later that week, saw the charge on my account for $69.95. I was in shock! And MAD! Luckily I had enough money to cover the charges. I had to rearrange paying some bills though, and buy less food for my family. We are laid off right now and things are so tight! I was furious and enraged at this company! I have been financially RAPED! I called them on 2-18-09, the day the charge came through. I was informed, very rudely, that I was NOT able to receive a refund because it was past the seven day trial period. I asked to speak with a supervisor- what a joke that was. They passed me someone else, but I insisted on speaking with a supervisor. All she said was I am who you need to be talking to. They canceled my membership so that I would not incur and further charges. So far, I have not gotten any other charges from them. But then on 3-6-09, IWB Club, a financial company, charged me $29.95 for a membership with them. I called [protected] and they were more than HAPPY to refund my money! They said that is not a problem, sorry for the inconvenience, we have a %100 money back guarantee. The man was so very nice. I was delighted! He then said that I was still eligible to receive a free financial consultation from a professional financial adviser. He then proceeded to ask me many personal financial questions that I was not comfortable answering. I should have just said no thank you. I answered a few and he said that he would forward my info onto the fin. adviser and that they would be contacting me soon. When they did call a day or two later, I just didn't pick up the phone.

Well, I think we may just have found HOPE!

I hope all of you who have been scammed read this:

Thanks to JeeA (above), I called [protected]. The company is REGNET. They are a point of sale vendor for many things. They deal with many platforms. The only one I cared about was the one that was going to get my money back. : ) I spoke with Gabriel. He said that he would send GFS a 'request for refund form' and that if I did not hear anything from GFS within 2-3 business days, to call this number back and they will have their accounting process the refund. I am holding my breath! I pray that this happens before the end of next week!

u should read the terms and condition
all of you americans are stupid!

How can these people get away with this?! I ordered the "free" CD as others have, which I have yet to receive, and find out they have charged my credit card $69.95. For what? Nothing. I can't even locate the website. I called customer service from the phone number attached to the credit card charge. What a joke. I had to get the web address from them. After typing in the long address that was not even close to their company name, I was looking at a website I had, quite literally, never seen before. After trying to get them to repeal the charge, to no avail, I was told that they have "many very statisfied customers." I am going to try to dispute the charge with my credit card company. I hope that goes better.

Has anyone had luck with getting refund thru REGNET [protected].

I just got of the phone with regnet, and my refund request is shown on their computer from yesterday and would show on my card in 3-5 days.

I too have fallen in the same scam trap! I too thought I must have let my 'scam guard' down - but you can't see what they don 't show you. So on 2/11 I purchased the Grant Funding CD for 2.10 - S&H only- -right? Well then on 2/21 $74.15 appears on my card - HOLY COW Batman! Then on 3/4 the IWBClub charged the $29.95. So on 3/7 (a Saturday) when I noticed all this I called DRI (REGNET) to complain about the charge and get a refund. 'Kevin' said he needed to contact the company. He was nice and polite and said that they should contact me within 2-3 business days. I also called IWBCLUB the same day. With a little go-round they processed the refund. I had to be specific; they were clear about canceling the membership but I made then clarify that that included a refund - "Oh, well that's a different request". But the same person processed the request and LO and Behold - my card was credited $29.95 2 days later.
So the hunt goes on for the 74.15. I never heard from anybody on Monday or Tuesday. I give [protected] a call a get such a SUPREME run-around with the same - "well our Terms and Conditions are on the site, you can't get you money back". - Chris was good a what she did with an odd accent that I couldn't place - poor english. I pressed for the supervison -she gave me a name (Jennifer Brown) if that's real I'll be surprised. Getting no-where I called my card company -my bank- and blocked the card. Turns out they just recently heard of this scam and they are starting to work on it. - So I called back to DRI to see if I could get the refund via them. [protected] - spoke with Jason ext 5716 who was as polite as Kevin. He stated he would process the refund and I should see it in 5-7 business days - I'm not holding my breath. We'll see.

There was an ad on my browser about applying for a grant for several

purposes. Order info about "how to" by filling in a form. After doing

so, I received 10 - 15 emails and 5 - 10 soliciting phone calls per

day. I supposedly ordered a brochure package with a CD for $2.95. I

made the mistake of giving a credit card number and immediately all

communication stopped. A few days later I saw a story on the TV news

about a scam showing pictures of emails like mine. By replying to the

phone numbers in my phone, I found almost all of them were disconnected

except for 2 with only answering machines, no matter what time or day I

called. Replying to emails has also been a waste of time. The email

addresses are also a hoax. Haven't received any package at all. Now I

find a charge for $49.50 added on the bill and the "Bank of America"

claims this is "not" a scam and can not be canceled.(?) The bank claims

I need to read my contract I have never seen. The ONLY thing I have

seen is emails and phone calls begging for me to give the credit card

info.

THIS IS FIXABLE! I ordered this CD for free with "only" a $1.98 charge for shipping. I ordered it to find out where to apply for grants and what the rules were. 1) The CD itself is useless, not even worth the $1.98. It tells you to go to their website to get actual information; the CD is only to give you "helpful hints and tips" in how to prepare your application - things like sign your name, proofread it before sending it, such obvious "tips" as to be laughable. They even tell you to make it "look like" your grant will actually accomplish something. In other words, they are advising you to scam the grant people! I might trust their advice if the CD wasn't so sloppily prepared. Misspelled, badly punctuated, unorganized, heck they couldn't even line up their bullet points vertically or get even space between the lines of text! My cat could have done a more professional job. 2) When you order, you get a "free" 7-day membership to the website, which is supposedly where the real info you need is. Of course, on the 8th day, be prepared to get charged for the membership which is no longer free. I see that in many cases people aren't even getting the CD until after the 7 "free" days are up. 3) Not only do you get a "free" membership with Grant Funding Search, you also get a "free" 21-day membership to a company called Ideal Wealth Builders. On the 22nd day, these clowns will also charge you for your monthly membership dues. IT IS ILLEGAL FOR A COMPANY TO GIVE YOUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION TO ANOTHER COMPANY WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION, MUCH LESS GIVE ANOTHER COMPANY AUTHORIZATION TO BILL YOU! Their excuse, of course, is that you didn't read their Terms of Service, i.e. the Fine Print. They know that 99.99% of the population does not read TOS, so they can claim anything they like and say you gave permission for it. While is it a pain in the butt, do take the time to read TOS: Key words to look for are Authorization, Responsibility, Financial, Credit Card, Membership, Permission, Requirements. These look like obvious things to do, but they make those TOS' so long that people give up and just click "Agree." If the product is worth buying, it's worth the reading.

One reason this company is a pain in the butt is that they don't tell you about the free memberships until AFTER they have your credit card number. To fix these guys specifically,

1) Contact them immediately at Support@membershipcare.net or call at [protected]. Tell them flatly that you do NOT give permission for any other credit card transactions other than the original $1.98. Tell them that you do not WANT the free memberships and demand that they delete the membership. Do not be distracted by their sales pitch, where they just want a moment of your time before they cancel it to let you know what you'll be missing. Don't cuss and yell, but do be firm and stand your ground. Interrupt them and say flatly "I DON'T WANT IT." Keep repeating that until they agree to cancel the memberships.
2) Tell them you want your money back. Be informed, and tell them you are informed, that debit card transactions from your bank account can be disputed up to 60 days after the transaction and credit card transactions can be disputed up to 6 months after the transaction date. Tell them you are calling/have called your bank or credit card company and are disputing the transaction as well as putting a stop to any future transactions.
3) If they still fuss, tell them that you will contact any of the following: FTC, BBB, Consumer Affairs, FBI, DA, the media, and your lawyer.
4) Get the name of who you talked to. Most will only want to be known by their first name, understandable if this is their occupation (angry customers have been known to stalk employees). So insist instead that you need a last name initial and/or a phone extension. If they will not/cannot give even this, ask for a supervisor who will be willing to give some form of verification. These companies LOVE to say "Who did you talk to last time?" and "We have no record of a phone call/email on your account." Of course they don't - it's not in their best interest to admit you've contacted them before. My reply to this was "I'm sure you don't have any record of it. So I will be happy to contact my phone company and get a copy of their record of my call." Response to that statement was 10 seconds of silence.
5) One of the "free" memberships I was given was to Ideal Wealth Builders. Grant Funding Search told me that they could not cancel my membership to IWB, that I would have to contact them myself. IWB's phone number is [protected]. These people are also well-trained in the profession of Runaround. Just stick to your plan - "Cancel my membership and refund my money." They will repeat the same delay and intimidation tactics. When I told them that GFS had no right to give my personal and credit card information to another company, she changed the subject. I asked her point blank if IWB and GFS were separate companies or not - if they are not, they committed fraud and identity theft; if they are then it's still a scam of bait-and-switch. She admitted that they are "different departments." So where's their argument that GFS can't cancel and refund anything with IWB?
6) Document, document, document. Keep all emails, keep a written record of your phone calls (as soon as you hang up, write down the date, time, person you talked to and the gist of the conversation), and keep an eye on your credit card statement. Companies are consistently shocked and surprised when a customer is smart enough to make notes. The essence of their scam is to get you to believe something that is not true. With documentation, you have truth on your side from the beginning. It doesn't matter whether or not it would really hold up in court, which most companies will not even bother to claim. Basically, they are bullies and like bullies they fold when confronted by someone with a little determination.

We spent 24 minutes on the phone today, but in the end they finally had to give in and say out loud, 'Ok, I can cancel your memberships and refund your money." I said, "Thank you, that's all I need." I didn't have to yell, didn't even call her an idiot, just kept repeating that what they did was illegal and I was not going to go away until they fixed it. These scammers play on the fact that the public is unsure of their rights and nobody wants to rock the boat. Teach them otherwise. In the end, you have to be your own financial advocate because nobody else cares as much as you do. Good luck to all of you!

Thanks so much, FraudInvest! I agree some people are out to get something for nothing, but blanket stereotyping is not useful, and regardless of why people ordered a $2 CD it does not excuse a company that is committing fraud and getting unauthorized payments! Two wrongs don't make a right. Do you happen to work for GFS or IWB? Or did you just come here in an attempt to feel superior?

Personally, I'm disabled and my husband is retired. We budget carefully, pay our bills, and we were just trying to find information to apply for grants for my daughter to go to college. This was before all the ads hopped on the "I got a $12, 000 stimulus check from Obama" bandwagon. The CD was worthless and I threw away $2. I was willing to throw the $2 away on the chance that the information might be useful. That is far different from what's going on here.

If someone who doesn't have a job lays out $100 for a get rich quick scheme, they deserve to lose their $100. They do not deserve to lose money they never agreed to lay out in the first place.

Chrarry, this is a complaint board for the public to talk to each other and inform each other of bad companies and bad business practice. Grant Funding Search does not sign on and will not see your post. Check the other postings on this company and there are ways to try to combat this fraud.

To file a complaint that will reach GFS, go to the FTC, Consumer Affairs, or the Better Business Bureau. These companies will take your complaint and contact GFS in an attempt to work it out. The FTC is currently asking everyone who's been screwed by this company to contact them at ftc.gov.

Best of luck.

Hello. I got this information too late. They got me too. I am on my way to my bank to discuss any actions within my power and cancel my account. I will contact any authorities that I can to seek action. My Governor/Sentator/Congressman/Mayor/Whomever should be absolutely livid pissed that these ###s are stealing money from their state. My $69.95 was earned by me through unemployment compensation and will not be spent within the state of origin, but line the pockets of these ### in Nevada. Everyone raped by these cons should revolt and take action. After 30 years in my field of choice, I try to do the right thing and I get it in the ### from some lowlife. In the meantime may I suggest overloading their 800 numbers and e-mail with numerous communications? Is it any wonder I trust no one?

Ok, to update: I called IWB at [protected] again today to verify that my membership had been cancelled and my refund was on its way. I talked to John (no last name and no extension - insists that he is the only John, even though I swear one man put me on hold and another picked up my call, both claiming to be "John"). First he insisted that he could not look up my account by my name, he claimed he needed my phone number. I told him twice that I never gave IWB my phone number, in fact I never gave them any information on me at all, nor did I give my phone number to GFS, so how the heck could he look me up by my phone number? If I never gave it, it can't be in their datebase. QED. It wasn't until I told him that his colleague Catherine had been able to pull me up in her computer with only my first and last name that he suddenly discovered that this was indeed possible.

Then he said I was not in their computer AT ALL. I told him I had cancelled my account (for the second time!) on Saturday. He said he would have to put me on hold to check "cancelled accounts." I told him I would hold 5 minutes and no more. In precisely 5 minutes, he had pulled up my account. He verified that Catherine had cancelled it and they were processing my refund for $29.95. He kept talking and I had to interrupt him 3 times to tell him that my refund was for $59.90. He said they were refunding the $29.95 they had charged me on 2/19. I told him his facts were wrong: it was charged on 2/18 and I was also charged in January. He said his department could only issue a refund for the last payment and I would receive an email with a form to fill out to get the refund for January. I told him that my first call to cancel and refund had been IN January and nothing was done, so I was not impressed with his promises since if the account had been cancelled and refunded in January I wouldn't need a second refund. He said (just like Catherine did) that there was no record of my call in January. I repeated that I had the phone record that proved I called them. He said it wasn't documented. Then he put me on hold again to talk to Catherine. She would not get on the phone, of course. He came back to say Catherine had said she had explained all of this fully and had sent me the form for the second refund. She even documented this. I said she told me no such thing, that I would get an email just to confirm my cancellation and I told her explicitly that the refund was for both January and February and the amount was $59.90. She never said anything about only refunding one payment or filling out a form, nor have I received an email in the last 48 hours since I had called. I further said that their documentation was untrustworthy considering that my January called was never documented and Catherine's documentation was an outright lie. I defied them to produce a recording of the call proving Catherine's story. John reiterated that one refund was in the works and I would have to fill out the form to get the second refund, which would take 3-5 days after I sent in the filled out form.

I told him that I did not trust their promises, that I was aware of what trouble they are in with the FTC, and that my bank had assured me they would be happy to pursue the identity theft and fraud perpetuated here. I told him I would be calling him back (by name) every day this week to confirm again that my account has been cancelled and my refunds were in the works. He implied that I should receive the email with the refund form immediately, even asking me to check my email while I was on the phone (needless to say I have yet to receive said email and form). I told him I would keep contacting them and stay on them all week. I told him that if my credit card had not been credited as of Friday (the 5th business day), I would have my bank and the FTC pursue it, and would further contact Consumer Affairs and my lawyer. I am stubborn enough to spend $600 getting $60 back because they piss me off.

For my credit card, my bank has advised me to close the number and have a new number issued for the credit card account. This will stop further transactions and become a part of my dispute form. I didn't want to be waiting "3-5 business days" and then be charged my next month's "membership" on 3/20. They are sending me dispute forms now and have promised to pursue it to the fullest extent. Because I am disputing it, they will give me a good faith refund within the week. I love my bank!

Keep it up guys, stay on it, hang in there together, and we will get results. Some of the tactics I was able to shoot down today with IWB were because of the stories I have read here. I was able to tell them that I had investigated them and talked to other customers. They had to keep switching tactics. I loved it when the guys voice got stressed. Especially when I informed him that my husband had listened in on the last phone call and was listening in on this one too, and that I was documenting everything they told me so they couldn't change their story anymore. John began to stutter at that point.

Keep fighting, united we stand.

I have been reading everyone's posts on this scam. I've been through this about a month ago except I was lucky and only lost $30... (1.95 shipping, some international bank fee & a membership fee for an identity fraud protection i never actually signed up for)... My advise to everyone is, immediately call your bank or credit card company and put your accounts on hold. If the bank card or credit card no longer exists, they can't steal any more of your money. This is probably how I was luckier than others to only get out of this with a loss of $30 and waiting time to get my new bank card...

I filed a complaint with the BBB.

I got taken by the same thing. Now I'm not sure whether I got my money back or not because I couldn't understand the woman I was talking to. The phone number on my account was [protected]. It took me to a real person. Like I said, though, good luck trying to understand what's going on.

Ok, new update, new trick. IF NOTHING ELSE, PLEASE READ THE "REFUND REQUEST" FORM AND MY NOTES ABOUT IT IN THIS POST.

Called again at 5:55 p.m. CST. Basically I am calling back to see if my last phone call was documented and they have done what they said they would do. Again had to insist that they pull me up in the computer by my first and last name. Kept asking for my phone number even after I told said they never had it so how could they use it to find me in their database? Finally she confirmed my account was cancelled and that my refund of $29.95 was being processed and gave me a confirmation number. She “re-sent” the email twice, which never arrived. Thinking perhaps my email server was auto-filtering it, I gave her my alternate email address, and her email arrived. It was addressed to someone else, so she apologized and sent it again. But she still did not send the form for the second refund. Tried to call back immediately but got placed on “neglect” (excessive hold) by their phone system automatically. Waited 10 minutes. The automated message said to press 1, but when I did nothing happened. Their automated message offered me employment with IWB, offered to open a checking account with IWB, and offered a signature loan for “1/2 of your total debt” through IWB, among many other offers. I didn't even laugh.

Agent: Julie Garbanzos

Finally on the 3rd try, I pressed 1 and was put through to Raymund. He argued with me for ½ an hour. Told me he must have my phone number even after I told him I never gave them my phone number. Finally he pulled up my account (even though later in the call he denied 3 times that he was able to pull it up at all) and told me the name on it was Susan, which is not my first name. I verified the address, but he again wanted my first four and last four digits of my credit card to do anything on the account because I was “not Susan.” I told him 5 other colleagues, including two today, had been able to pull up my correct name with only my first and last name and me verifying my address. He maintained loudly that I had indeed asked for this “free 21 day membership” and had received either a phone call or an email (he wasn’t sure which but insisted that IWB did do one or the other, and I defied him to prove either), which would have been a good trick since they still don’t have my phone number. He said my phone number was on the account, and when I said, ok, what is it? He said he couldn’t give out that information (NOW they are concerned about giving out information without authorization?) until I proved I was who I said I was by providing the phone number and the first four and last four digits of my credit card. I told him to get a pen and write this down, that I would spell it for him: R-U-N-A-R-O-U-N-D. He didn’t much like that. I asked him that to prove that his company had sent me a confirmation email (since they obviously couldn’t call and I defied him to prove they had called my unknown number with their phone records), and that he insists I was not charged any fees whatsoever until I had been sent the email confirmation. I asked him if this email confirmation’s purpose was to get my reply to them confirming that I wanted the membership. He said yes. I said, well, since I never got it, you didn't get a written confirmation from me, and I defy you to prove it. We went through 30 more minutes of similar runaround before I finally gave up. I told him I would be calling back tomorrow and every single day until I had received both refunds..

Agent: Raymund Ferasol

Finally received Raymund's email (I made him stay on the line until I had received it and verified that I could fill it out, scan it, and email it back and/or snail mail it). Here is the form with my remarks in brackets { }. READ THIS CAREFULLY:

IDEAL WEALTH BUILDERS CLUB www.iwbclub.com REFUND REQUEST AGREEMENT

Ideal Wealth Builders Club
Membership Care
5526 West 13400 South #325
Herriman, UT 84096

Please print clearly to ensure accuracy.

Club Member's First Name:
MI:
Last Name and Suffix (Jr., Sr., II, etc.):
Home Phone Number:
Cell Phone Number:
E-mail Address:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
First/Last Four Digits of Credit/Debit Card:
Billing Date (mm/dd/yy):

"The Refund Request Agreement must be signed and dated. (Electronic signatures are not acceptable.) {Yet they said I could sign it, scan it, and email it back - that in itself is techinically an electronic signature}

This Refund Request Agreement (this "Agreement") is by and between the Ideal Wealth Builder Club or its affiliates (the "IWB CLUB") and the undersigned below ("You or Your") {"its affiliates" means this agreement applies to whoever gave IWB your information in the first place, such as Grant Funding Search}

According to the IWB CLUB Terms and Conditions each club member is offered a 30-day money back guarantee. Our records indicate that You requested a refund beyond the IWB CLUB 30-day money back guarantee. Based upon your acceptance of the Terms and Conditions of this Agreement, the IWB CLUB agrees to give You the additional refund subject to You accepting the Terms and Conditions of this Agreement. {Since I never asked for this to begin with, I never agreed to any Terms and Conditions, so this is asking me to agree to the Terms of Conditions of membership that has been forced on me and which I have still not seen.}

Upon signing and returning this Agreement the IWB CLUB will issue You a refund which will be credited to the credit/debit card that You used. You promise and agree that You will not dispute any of the charges that have been charged to the credit/debit card by the IWB CLUB with the bank or credit card company You used to purchase your membership. {Again, I never purchased anything from IWB. Now they want me to promise not to dispute this with my bank, which is legally necessary for me to get their refund credited to my account. It's a catch-22. If I agree not to dispute, then my bank cannot apply the refund; if I dispute it with the bank, IWB won't issue the refund. This is meant to tie my hands and give me no options.}

This Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement between You and the IWB CLUB with respect to the mutual release of claims, and any prior understanding or representation of any kind concerning such release that precedes the date of this Agreement. {This says that nothing I have said or done before signing this stands and that I agree that IWB had the right to apply the charges to my credit card in the first place! So then why do they have to give me a refund? Again, this is double talk to tie my hands.}

You agree that this Agreement shall be governed by, construed, and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Nevada. You agree that any and all disputes between them based upon or in relation to this Agreement shall be resolved by arbitration conducted in accordance with the Commercial Rules then in effect of the American Arbitration Association. Such arbitration shall be held in the City of St. Geroge, State of Utah. Judgment upon the award rendered shall be final and non-appealable and may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. You and the IWB CLUB shall be permitted to enforce any judgment or writ or attachment in any court having jurisdiction. The prevailing party shall be entitled to recover its costs, and other costs incurred in connection with such proceeding. {Ok, this company with a Utah address is going to argue in a Utah court according to the laws of the State of Nevada? They demand that you agree to the rules of the American Arbitration Association, but do not provide either the rules or any access to said rules. And if you sue, you will have to pay IWB's attorney fees and court costs.}

For an additional refund above and beyond the 30-day IWB CLUB Guarantee, please sign below and return this form it to the address at the top of this agreement or scan and email it to support@membershipcare.net. {There's a grammar error in there that makes this sentence nonsensical. And again, they state you CANNOT receive a refund unless you give them blanket agreement to all of the above.}

Authorized Signature:
Date:

Of course, if I question any of this form, cross out what I will not agree to, or do not file it immediately I will not get a refund and as of 3/20 will have no right to request one.

I will send this to my bank in the morning to ask their advice. According to what they told me today, I have to cooperate with the disputing process to get my funds credited back to my credit card. This agreement says I cannot get the funds refunded unless I agree not to dispute it.

I didn't intend for this to become a crusade, but they have now hit my pissy switch. We're going to the wall on this one.

I requested the "free" CD and only paid the 1.95 shipping fee. That was all I signed up for. I received the cd and it was not worth what I paid for the shipping. I have not thought anymore about this company until I found they charged my card $29.95 for as a membership fee. I called the 1-800 number and was told that it was my membership fee. I told them that I wanted my money back, I was told that they would refund my money in 3 to 5 business days. That is not good enough, they charged me in one day and it is going to take them 3 to 5 days to refund the money. I guess that is going to have to do. This company is useless and I would not recommend them to anyone. STAY SWAY.

I also was scammed by this company. It took over the 7 days to get my CD and I called and called and called, and only got a recording. No one would ever call me back. So when I finally got it canceled, it was too late. I realized they already charged my card and I Never could get on the website. They refuse to give my money back. Who is willing to help me find out what we can do to put this company down? Us Americans, who actually get fooled by this type of idiots when we are in such a bad state right now, need to take a stand for our rights and our pride! What can we do? I filed a complaint with BBB every else needs to.
Sheri Doubleday sldouble@olemiss.edu

Same story here. $1.98 for the 'free' cd (which was terrible). Then a couple more $1 charges for other companies they signed me up for. Then the big $69.95 charge. I called them nicely the first time, they said a supervisor would call me back, they didn't call back. So the second time I took up some guys time telling him the same thing over and over and refusing to get off the line. He wouldn't budge though. Finally I told him that I want to hear back from a supervisor. I highly doubt that I am going to get a call back. So now I called my credit card company which is going to reverse the charges hopefully.

I, too, was taken by this scam. I called [protected] and spoke with a live person. She didn't give her name when she answered. I explained that I didn't receive a confirmation email and wasn't able to acces the website. I also told her I wanted the charge reversed. She said she couldn't reverse the charge because it clearly stated in the email (that I never received) that after 7 days my card would be charged the $69.95. I told her I never received the email and I didn't receive the disk until after the 7 day trial ended. I said it is unacceptable to charge me for a service I couldn't even take advantage of. I asked to speak to a supervisor. She put me on hold for a minute or two then came back and said that her supervisor was busy on another call. I told her I would hold. She said they aren't allowed to keep people on hold. I told her I was giving her permission to put me on hold. After two or three times of telling her this and letting her know I wasn't hanging up until I spoke to a supervisor, she put me on hold again. When she returned, she claimed her supervisor was still on another call. She said I would be getting a follow-up call tomorrow. I asked her if she had the phone number to reach me and she gave it to me without hesitation. She assured me that my account was cancelled and even offered two free months of service. I told her I didn't want two months of service...I wanted my money back. We went around again about the supervisor calling me back. I told her I would call back myself and I needed the supervisors name, so I could ask for her directly. She said she wasn't authorized to give out that information. What a crock! After reading these posts, I don't expect a call back. I intend to call my bank in the morning to dispute the charge and have a new card, with a different number, issued. I fully intend to follow-up with the FTC to file a formal complaint against this company.