Momentum Direct review: unauthorized payments! 375

I just had the same thing happen to me! I am so upset. I can't afford this! Plus, Amazon Diet is the SAME COMPANY! SAME PHONE NUMBER! Oh my goodness! I had 49.95 taken out of my account twice. So far. They have to be stopped! And soon!
Michelle

Media Contact:
Brenda Mack,
Office of Public Affairs
[protected]
Staff Contact:

Heather Hippsley or Janet Evans
Bureau of Consumer Protection
[protected] or [protected]

CALL THEM ABOUT THIS. THIS IS THE FTC.

I figured this was a legit company because they have "As Seen on NBC" . That is what made me fall for this scam. How can they get away with this? And what would NBC think knowing there name is being used to promote products from a company that is out there scamming people?!

The company has you use an electronic check to cover your shipment on your "free" product and within a short period of time they keep withdrawing money from your checking account. Within a few weeks a little over $1oo was taken out of my account. Plus no other shipment of products were received. I had to close my account and hopefully this will end the madness! It has my finances in a wreck! They should be in JAIL! How can this go on this long. I think that it should be put on one of those news programs about how they scam people and then that will get the ball rolling to close this company down!

Momentum Direct is a company to beware of! They have charged my bank account for $49.95 and $58.93 for products that I have never ordered. When you try to call their customer service number they put you on hold then disconnect you. My bank has said there is nothing that I can do to stop these charges as it comes through looking like the charges are authorized. If you leave a message, they do not get back to you. Please be wary of using this company. You will never receive a product, and will just keep getting charged every few days for nothing.

I have the same problem. They charged my account and used the same number of check. Can we , all who have problem with them take all receipts to Consumer Department? It 's never end.

i am also one of momentum directs victims. i think we should all band together and take this company down all at once. I bet we could get a lawyer to do this pro bono. This company needs to be burned to the ground. After their unauthorized withdrawls from my account i ended up with three OD charges, i am a single mother who lives pay check to pay check and this has messed me all up. Not to mention that i also had to change my accounts and have to change my direct deposit to my new account.

I placed an order with them. They took money from my account twice and sent me a confirmation of order email. I called them about taking money from my account twice and gave them the corder confirmation number from there email and they cant find me anywhere on there computer. Now I don't know what to do. I am afraid they will take more money from me.

THIS IS FOR MOMENTUM DIRECT. DON'T GO IN MY ACCOUNT ANYMORE FOR YOUR SO CALLED AMAZON DIET. I DON'T WANT IT BECAUSE YOU ALL CAN'T SEEM TO ANSWER QUESTIONS FOR DIABETICS. I'VE ALERTED THE BBB AND I HAVE AN ATTORNEY READY TO START DISPUTES AGAINST YOU. YOU ALL WILL NOT RIP ME OFF THE WAY YOU ALL DID OTHERS. AND I WILL BACK UP THE OTHERS AGAINST YOU IF YOU ALL DON'T SEND A COMPLETE REFUND TO ALL THAT YOU ALL HAVE DECIEVED AND STOLE THEIR MONEY. GOD DON'T LIKE UGLY AND VERY LITTLE PRETTY. THINK ABOUT IT; GOD DOES SEE ALL OF YOU. YOU ALL PROBABLY DON'T CARE OR DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD,YOU ALL JUST WANT MONEY YOU ALL DON'T DESERVE.

I ordered the product for a free 14 day trial. They charged my account immediately. When I tried to call the numbers didn't work. I tried to email and found this complaint line. They keep charging my account. My Bank has an active stop payment against them but each time the try for more money. I encourage everyone to beware of this scam!

I'VE ACTUALLY TALKED WITH A REAL LIFE PERSON BUT MOMENTUM DIRECT NEED TO TEACH THEIR PHONE MARKETERS HOW TO TALK WITH CUSTOMERS. IF MOMENTUM DIRECT GOES INTO MY ACCOUNT AGAIN, I WILL HAVE THEM SHUT DOWN AND A LAW SUIT WILL BE ENFORCED. MOMENTUM DIRECT, YOUR PRODUCT DOES NOT WORK AND DON'T TOUCH MY ACCOUNT. YOU ALL DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH ME. I HAVE THE LAW ON MY SIDE AND I KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH PEOPLE THAT RIP OTHER PEOPLE OFF. TAKE MONEY FROM MY ACCOUNT AND YOU ALL ARE ASKING FOR TROUBLE. YOUR PRODUCT DOESN'T WORK AND I DON'T WANT ANY FURTHER SHIPMENTS FROM PEOPLE LIKE YOU ALL.

Good luck to all

I ordered the trail period and before Before I even got the product which was done 9/7/07 I was charged 49.95. I got product 10/5/07 . I am not even trying product I want to send it back and I want my money back...I should have known better.
I never authorized a check payment for this just the trail period of 2.74. Now to get my money back is going to be hard.
Beware of this scam.

I also have been duped by this company and just found out today by my husband. As with all the others I never autorized Momentum Direct to charge our account and the did three times. I just received the trail pills i ordered yesterday and the billing slip was dated on the 5th of september, but the product wasn't sent until october 4th. We will be closing our bank account tomorrow because we are also overdrawn $200+ . I will be sending e-mails and writing letters of complaints to the bureaus listed and hoping and praying that these people will get what is coming to them for taking advantage of our good nature and trust. I hope we all can get a lawsuit against them because the are causing more pain a nd heartache than they will ever know!

I am a struggling single mom who watches her bank account very closely. I went to withdrawal 20.00 for the co-pay to take my daughter to the doctor. She has recently been diagnosed with a mixed germ cell blastoma of the brain. I couldn't get the money and went into the bank to see why. the said there were two checks one for 49.95 and another for 59.95 to Momentum Direct. I never heard of these people and immediately called them to say I want my money back. they said I must have ordered something- by the way. I am 5'6 121lbs- no need for any kind of diet pill for Pete's sake! I have filed a report with the local Sherrif's Department and I am grateful for the FBI lik but if there is anyone out there that can help me- please help me. They took the only money I had for her medicine and food. I need my money back- I don't know what I am going to do. I have the address in Magnolia Texas and if there is anyone on this side of the country that wants to road trip to Teas with an angry middle aged Red head- I will personally kick some ###!

How can they do this and get away with it! I am going to call the Magnolia TX TV stations and see if I can rattle some chains there-

I can's believe this is happening!

As I am starting to write this and read the other messages on the board it is surprising that so many people are being defrauded by fraudulent checks from Momentum Direct and nothing has been done.

I did not buy any products from these guys and yet I have started to see checks being cashed out from my account (checks I haven't written). I took all my money out of the account but have lost about 200 dollars and a lot of time speaking to the fraud department at my bank.

The other thing that is different is that the charges on the fraud checks on my account seem to be sourced from Virginia and not Texas even though it seems to be a Texas number.

This is ugly and someone needs to do something about it.

I was scammed also by Momentum Direct. I have emailed several people and given them a link that will help us with turning this company into someone who will prosecute them. I am listing the link here also. I hope that many people see this so that we can get these people put in jail and off of the internet so they can not steal one more cent from anyone. The link is as follows:



Let's band together and get these scammers put into their rightful place.

They got me too. Only difference I did get through to someone at the #[protected]. I was told I would receive my money back in a check through the mail a total of 108.88. Two of my daughters work at banks and have seen this kind of thing before. Do not believe a word these people tell you. Go straight to your bank to change your acct. #'s and whatever other action we can take, we must take. Companies like this need to be stopped.

I did the Free trial deal on 9/14/07. They charged my acct 5.48 as agreed. Then today I got the shipment and I read what it said "Free Trial Program Terms and Conditions: We're so sure you are going to love our product that we'll send you the full program for a FREE TRIAL! Our only request is that you help us defray the cost of shipping and handling. We also know that you are like our many other customers once you try this product you are going to love it. If that is the case, do nothing and 14 days later we will charge you the members price of just $49.95 for the bottle. If you feel the product isn't for you, simply send back the bottle within the 2 week trial period and you will not be charged. You have nothing to lose and no risk!

This allows you to take advantage of a great discount and convenient program that will automatically ship you one bottle each month. You may cancel anytime. We will not make you jump through hoops to do so. A simple Phone call or email will do."

The Address given was
Momentum Direct
1010 S. Magnolia Blvd.
Magnolia, TX 77355

Phone Number
[protected]

Fax Number
[protected]

Email
home@momentumdirect.net

Now When I called to Cancel and complain cause I checked my bank account it showed 2 checks right in a row 3009 and 3010 one for 99.90 and the other for 117.86. They gave me another number to call [protected] that number got me to a voice mail stating they are closed at 2 central time. But they gave an email address of momentumhelp.com.

It has cost me a total $50 to put a stop payment on the checks, so now I will try getting some one tomorrow and I will be coping this page and sending it to the BBB.

This company says that they are sending you a free trial of the Amazon Diet pill, and that all you have to pay is $4.74 in shipping and handling. I waiting 4 weeks for the product, which came regular mail and was post dated 3 days before I received it. Then I notice on my bank account that I am charged $58.93 for this. I have called their number [protected], and spoke with a representative that stated that I would receive a refund in 14 days. I am very upset that I have to wait 14 days to get a refund when I did not authorize the charge to my account in the first place. I am hoping that I do not have to close my account like the others, because I have auto bill pay set up for most of my bills and it is a pain to have to set that up all over again. This company should really be shut down. With 35 complaints before mine, you would think that someone would make this stop!

I'VE CALLED YOU ALL ON THE PHONE TO CANCEL YOUR PRODUCTS ON AUTOMATIC SHIPPING AND YOU ALL SAID YOU WOULD! THANKS TO YOU ALL, I HAVE A BANK OVERDRAFT ON MY ACCOUNT! YOU ALL WILL PUT THAT BACK BECAUSE I'M GETTING IN TOUCH WITH A LAWYER THAT WILL HANDLE YOU ALL FOR FALSE ADVERTISING! I TOLD YOU ALL DON'T MESS WITH ME AND MY MONEY AND YOU DID ANYWAYS! NOW, YOU'RE GOING TO PAY DEARLY FOR YOUR ACTIONS!

I ordered a free trial of "The Amazon Diet" (which if you go to their website www.momentumdirect.net they don't even have listed) and paid the rapid shipping charge of $7.74. The electronic check (which is the only form of payment they accept) that I submitted never displayed a confirmation page but the same page I has just entered my check information on said Pass in red on top of it. So I called their customer service and spoke to a rep (who would not disclose his name) and he told me that my information was not in their database yet but it normally updates every hour or so. The following day I was checking my account balance online and saw that the check went through and though ok I should receive my product within the next couple of days. A week has passed and I still have never received a confirmation email or my product, so I called the customer service line again. Again the rep would not disclose his name and proceeded to tell me yet again that they have no information on me in their database. When I inquired as to how could they not have any information on me but yet they still sent the check through my account he said that he would forward a complaint to the customer service dept. When I asked to speak to someone in accounting he told me that they would contact me. I was highly pissed at this point and told him that I expected a call within the next 24 hours, to which he replied that he would note on my complaint. I told him to also note on my complaint that if I was not contacted within the next 24 hours I would contact JAG. He again said thathe note this on my complaint, then proceeded to go through his standard closing statements.

A day or two after the check went through I googled the diet pill that I thought I was going to be receiving along with the company name and the only hits I got for the amazon diet itself had nothing to do with the company, and the ones that did were all complaints on several message boards. I also took the advice of someone else with complaints and called not only my bank to see what action I could take to prevent them from taking anymore money and of course there are a couple but all the company has to do is change the check number or merchant id number and it'll still go through, I also filed complaints with several agencies that I found on a complaint about the company.

If interested it's the one with "Action We Can Take" in the title. It is rather time consuming but worth it if it'll help stop them from scamming people.

I have turned these people into the BBB in Texas. I had to call my banks check fraud department, close my account and open a new one. My bank refunded my money plus the overdraft fees. My advice is tell all your friends to stay away from these people!

I agree as I am one of their victims as well. I noticed the second withdrawal yesterday. Same as everyone else. Not authorized. Lost more money the second time. Haven't closed my account yet. Filed a complaint with BBB, and will go to bank on Monday, Oct. 15, 07 to file fraud complaint. They got a total of $167.00 out of me. I did get a bottle of pills, they were not what I ordered and were called Amazon diet. I'm unemployed and going to school. It must be a bogus companied. Have cashed the copied checks at two different banks in TX. Good luck on getting these guys.

I called momentum Direct as soon as they opened at 9:00 this morning. To my surprise a very nice lady answered on the first ring. I told her I wanted to cancel and that I had just sent an electronic check through on 10-11-07. She found my account, She said my package had not been shipped out yet and canceled it out immediately and said I would not be charged the $7.97 S&H fee or any other fees and no shipments would be sent. At this point I don't care about going red as long as my bank account is safe and I do not have to deal with this company any further.

The scam results is a mile long on this company, see here:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=momentum+direct+&btnG=Search

The phone number I used with success is: [protected].

Sorry, the correct number to call from my above comment would be:
[protected] they are open Mon-Fri 9am-3pm CST ONLY regardless of that 24/7 support help line they have on their website.

I already wrote my complain on here, but I had to come back and say that Momentum Direct gave me my money back. I couldn't reach them through their number, so I joined their help site and sent a ticket telling them about the fraudulent charges. Someone wrote me back and said my money would be returned and locked the ticket. I thought it would be a lost cause.

I received a check in the full amount that was taken out of my card a few days ago and I couldn't be happier! Try their support site, it worked for me.

www.momentumhelp.com

I enrolled in this company on line for a sample product costing $2.79 for weight loss. I never received the product sample although the check was cashed. On 10/15/07 the company then processed a check for $49.95 that was unauthorized. I found a report on this company from someone else that had the same thing happen. I do not see much sense in trying to get in touch with them since the other folks have not had any luck getting anything resolved. I will report this to all agencies and write them a letter.

I have not even heard of this company or product and just saw a $49.95 electronic check paid through my bank account to them. I am fortunate enough to have WaMu, a Respectable Bank and they WILL follow through on this FRAUD.

I just became aware that your company cashed a FRAUDULENT electronic check from my checking account. I have never heard of your company and NEVER ordered any product from you and most definitely DID NOT authorize you to cash a electronic check in the amounts of $49.95. My WaMu bank will be taking care of this FRAUDULENT activity done on my account and I will write and call whoever needed to STOP YOUR COMPANY from doing this in the future!

No need to repeat my tale of woe. You all know the story.

I see two possibilities: a) they are as stupid as a box of rocks, or b) they are morally challenged s*** for brains little punks who should be tied butt naked to a tree and horse whipped.

I'll opt for "b." They have too many complaints on file with the Better Business Bureau in Magnolia, Texas for them to be "accidentally" screwing up.

If you have the patience to carefully and HONESTLY state your complaint you could do so at:

http://www.ic3.gov/

This is a scam. They only took 1 payment of $ 49.95 out of my account. I had to open a new account.

Hello, I really do not have a complaint I just wanted to cancel my free trail period. I didn't see on the website what it is that you go to to do that procedure. Thank you so much.

Yashika Lawrence
120 Elaine Drive
Warner Robins, GA 31088

I was charged to my checking account 48.95 plus a charge of 58.93. of stuff that they so say i received. I also had 3 nsf charges to the account that caused me to overdraw on the account.

Company offered a trial program for weight loss and asked for an authorized direct withdrawal from my bank of $2.74 which I did. I never did receive any trial package. A few weeks later I was also charged 49.95 by the same company using the same preauthorized check number!

When I finally called them I reached a person who promised that I would be reimbursed the full amount of $52.69 directly to my bank account. Instead I have now been charged an additional $58.93 using the same check number again! It is now obvious to me that I have been defrauded and this company has no intention of returning my money. I see where they have several complaints filed against them (many for the same type of thing). I think we should proceed with action against this company to cease and desist and to return all monies collected from people fraudulently.

These scammers are repeatedly taking more and more each time they hit my account plus I have incurred bounce fee's, being a single mom on disability I cant afford this and my SSI checks are direct deposited which means to close my account I couldn't get my monthly checks on time. I am going to the POLICE DEPARTMENT first thing in the morning to FILE CHARGES on the no-good jerks. I am ALL for a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, where do I sign up?

Here is an update of my posting 5 days before this one which begins, "No need to repeat my tale of woe..."

is a legitimate Website that has been established in partnership with the FBI specifically to receive official complaints of fraudulent internet activity.

The site is easy enough to use, but the text box is not very sophisticated. Do not brother trying to space between paragraphs: they will disappear in the final version. Also, do not use quotes: they will appear in the final version as an unprocessed html tag.

I did comment on these issues (they solicit your comments on the way out) and received a prompt and courteous reply.

Here is the complaint I filed after following their directions. This should give you an idea of what they are looking for. (Mainly: specifics, specifics, specifics):

"On 09-23-2007, while working with a Website unrelated to this complaint, I clicked on an offer from Momentum Direct that offered a free trial of a dietary supplement. I gave them EFT information to pay the shipping and handling charges. The dietary supplement arrived on 10/15/07, 22 days after the invoice date. That night, while checking my accounts online, I discovered a charge from Momentum Direct to my checking account was processed for $49.95. I was able to back out that charge via my bank's telephone banking service. I emailed Momentum Direct that night, (10/16/07 - is was after midnight), complained of the late arrival, told them that the charge had been reversed, told them not to charge me again, and suggested they send a prepaid envelope so that I could return the unopened product. Their reply gave me a ticket number and instructed me to use the ticket number on their Website to check on a resolution. When I go to their Website, for which I had never registered, I could find no way to track the alleged resolution. Last night I discovered they had again charged my checking account, this time for a greater amount, $58.93. Again, on the phone, back out the charges. By that time I had research Momentum Direct online and discover their pattern and habit of abuse. Like many of the others I discovered online, I am in the process of opening a new account and closing my old one. Apparently my bank can not block a merchant entirely. They can only block a specific amount/transaction. Now I am older and wiser. My new account will have a bill pay feature and I will never again give EFT information to merchant. Documentation available: Invoice for order #[protected] that came with the product, showing the original order date of 09-23-07. I can print a copy of the emails. I can print a copy of my online bank information tracking the dates and amounts of the charges: 10-01-07, $2.74 shipping and handling; 10-15-07, $49.95 (reversed); 10-19-07, $58.93 (reversed)."

Guys I have no clue on how these jerks got my info or how my bank even let the electronic check go through. These fools used the same check number that I wrote for my truck payment and now I am having trouble with that. We all need to come together and figure out how to fix them for good has anybody taken these fools to court yet? Cause' I'm telling you if have to drive down there and knock on these hoes door I will I need my money. And I plan to even with this company here's the number my bank gave me [protected] give this number a try I am going to try and contact the BBB and see what I can do if all else fails pre-paid legal will be handling my case...

I just received returned item information from my bank this weekend, items I have no record of. When I called my bank they looked up the charges and found they were phone checks from Momentum Direct, a company I have never even heard of much less ordered from.

How can this happen! I now have to close my accounts that I have had for over 10 years! I know that since my bank is local and knows me that I will not be out any money, just time and frustration. But please, get the word out that this is happening so that other innocent people don't lose money from these scammers and thieves!

There are 41 other complaints on this board about this company BUT I wanted to post a complaint where my solution stays at the top of the post so that more people can take action.

Momentum Direct never cashed my online check for the sample, never sent the sample and then took $49.95 out via an online check. Then they hit me again for $58.93 one week later. Hours on the phone with the Bank, etc., etc. After reading all the complaints on this board (and others, just google the company and you'll find them) I decided to go after their websites.

As a webmaster, I was easily able to track down who hosts their sites...it's a simple solution...no website, no scam! Any website domain name registrar (the ones who sold them the names like momentumdirect.net, 20minutefacelift.com, etc. have policies that they won't use the domain for fraudulent activity, racism, hate speech, etc.) Same with the companies who actually HOST their websites (the place where their files and pictures and graphics are actually stored online to be viewed by unsuspecting people like all of us...those who end up on the site to get set up for ripoffs.) Again, do the math...no website, no innocent people to attack.

Bank of America (my bank) has received MANY, MANY complaints against them but they CANNOT block a company and they can hit you over and over again by simply changing the amount of the check...the creeps at Momentum Direct are sophisticated and savvy and think they can keep getting away with their scam because they have been doing so for YEARS.

Fact is folks, the FBI doesn't have the money or manpower to track and arrest baby rapers and online stalkers of children which means they don't have the resources to stop the thousands upon thousands of little ripoff scam artists like Momentum Direct.

If you really care about stopping them, join me in sending an email to Cedant, the company who HOSTS their site:
abuse@cedant.com and detail in your email what they did to you.

THEN, if you're really motivated by being ripped off and having these little trolls cause so much havoc in your life and your bank account, send a letter to the registrar of momentumdirect.net (the people who sold them that domain name) detailing what was done to you:
TierraNet
P.O. BOX 502010
San Diego, CA [protected]

If enough complaints are received, they WILL have their websites shut down and it's a heck of a lot quicker than slogging through overworked, underfunded and understaffed agencies like the FBI, the Texas Attorney General and the BBB! DO file complaints with them as well though because squeaky wheels do eventually get greased and the sheer number of complaints will most likely lead to arrest and conviction...do your part to stop these predators and help keep other people from being defrauded as well!

I have the same problem! And it looks like I'm going to have to cancel my account now. This s*cks big time. They are a total scam! Do NOT USE MOMENTUM DIRECT!