Secure Gas Redemption review: A scam, can't get any response 157

What makes it a scam? You get $500 of free gas at $25/month once you spend $100/month. Who doesnt spend $100/month in gas? Even a Toyota Prius has estimated gas usage of more then $100/month. Stop whining...

Actually, this guy isn't whining as I'm in the same boat...NOT EVERYONE SPENDS $100 A MONTH IN GAS, so maybe you should think a little more about other people's situations other than your own! I take public transportation to work 5 days a week, and for me to spend $100 per month in gas, I'd have to fill up my tank COMPLETELY twice a month... I don't use 2 full tanks of gas per month, so YES, this is a scam! And yes, they should explain it more at the dealerships as we were informed at the time we purchased our vehicle at Hyundai, that you get a $500 gas card... end of story! You can use it going forward at your own convenience... not be forced to spend $100 per month to only get $25 back every 3-4 weeks! That means it would take 20 months before I see that $500 that I was promised upfront! Horrible deal!

To be clear, the dealership scammed you. The gas program is solid. It is a rebate program, that has the requirement of $100 gas purchase at the station you choose at the beginning. I purchased a Ford, and initially went in for a test drive where they were giving away $500 free gas redemption certificates for a test drive. The dealer was upfront and informed me that it was a rebate program just to take a test drive, and was paid out over 20 months. All I had to do was take a test drive (I ended up buying the car). I thought it was a good deal. but i would have felt the same way if the dealer told me i was getting $500 in free gas when I purchase, and then found out that wasn't the case.

As for your island situation, can you just drive around the island for an entire day to reach the $100? Just a thought. Har har.

My experience has been that it is a scam. I have sent my receipts in for months. Received at least 3 sets of vouchers with 2 different addresses. They have responded to my e-mails but haven't answered the core question, "Where are my rebates?" I have followed the process to the letter. (By the way I don't expect reimbursement for my certified mail that's just my way of verifying it was sent-my ace in the hole when I file).

My e-mail in May was answered with the following:

"You are not losing anything, and it is not instructed by our company to use certified mail, therefore you are not being reinbursed for this expense. Your cards are being processed and I apologize for any misunderstanding with this.

Due to the huge increase in demand for gas gift cards and the burning need of the country's people to save money on gas.
Our gas card suppliers have fallen behind in producing the actual gift cards.
As we cannot send out that which we have not received, this has made us fall behind in getting you your gas cards. We apologize greatly for this inconvenience. We, like you, were being told that we would be receiving them on several occasions in the past 3 months and then we would end up with less than 10% at times of some of the gas brands we needed. When that happened, they did not fulfill on their promise of providing us all the cards we needed and that made us unable to fulfill our promise to you.
All Gas Cards will be delivered by June 15th I would rather give you a date that we can be sure of at this point than to tell you something sooner and not be able to deliver. Shortly before June 15th we will be receiving an influx of Visa and Discover cards in order to have back-up should the gas cards run in short supply anytime in the future.
You are not losing anything by the delay, however in order to help apologize for the inconvenience of having to wait we have purchased the right to offer you a free cruise to the Bahamas.
You have to pay to get to the cruise ship and the Taxes and port charges of $59 per person. But a $600 value cruise for two to the Bahamas is just our way of saying sorry for the delay.
Fair enough? "

In case your wondering I didn't take them p on the trip and it's 15 days past the "influx of cards". I just want what's due to me. In the meantime, my case against this company as well as the gas companies named gets stronger.

I myself just signed up for the gas redemption as I was one of those people who test drove a car at a participating dealer. As far I can see, this program doesn't seem to be a scam. I am not sure how all dealerships work, but my dealership person, explained the program to me before I even test drove a car. He explained that I needed to spend $100 a month to get my gas coupon. I was not at all shocked by that number, as I live in the NYC metro area, and $100 is just one fill up for my wife's Suburban, which by the way I have to fill up twice a month. That doesn't include my other car which I fill up about three times a month at $80 a pop. I test drove a car (I wanted a Prius, but there were none in stock and I would be on a waiting list, so I didn't buy a vehicle). Before I left, the dealer even gave me $5.00 out of his pocket to pay the initiation fee, which I understand I will get back at the end of the program. Not taking any chances, when I got home I signed up immediately. As I see it, the program was created using an estimate of what the average American driver drives in the course of a year. This is no different than any lease, which estimate the number of miles you can drive in a year. Most are set at 12, 000 per year. As we know, no matter the threshold for any program that involves an average, there will always be exceptions. You will have some people drive over and some under. Knowing that, why is this program a scam? Just because you need to hit a certain average threshold, and your driving habits mean you drive less than the average, doesn't make the program a scam. I am always a bit of a cynic when I see programs like this one and honestly, I was waiting for the dealership to deliver the usual curve ball, but that just didn't happen. I am not surprised to hear that the company offering the program is behind with printing, mailing etc. With the recent rise in gas prices, I am sure a lot of dealerships across the country have signed up. This means more paper work, more coupons to be printed, more applications and collateral materials, bascially more of everything, even personnel. They may even mean bigger office spaces, which may be why there have been two different addresses. I not sure about anyone else, but I am excited that for the next 20 months, I won't have to pay for all of my gas!

SCAM for sure! I bought tires at BIG O tires with the deal of mailing in $100 in receipts each month and then sending me a $25 gas card within 10-14 days. I started this process in november(almost 8 months ago) and have only received $50 after calling and threatening to file a complaint with attourney general etc. .. not they are blaming it on speedway..of course its not free gas redemption's fault..i refuse to give up. it has been a pain in the rear but i dont like losing. they made it sound like a snap. WRONG!

Totally agree it is a scam. I will be happy to change my comment if I ever receive the gas cards. I have submitted for April, May, and June and have only received emails stating that they were received and was told that 2 would be sent out by June 15. Well it is July 21 and nothing yet. Some more info would have been nice on the delays.

By the way Chrysler did not explain the complex process for getting the gas cards or that it would be more than one.

Hassles continue for me. After threatening them with attorney general I received 1 card for $50. I went to use it and was told I needed a pin. Soon after I receive another one. When I call for my pin, I was told the most recent card sent had a $0 balance because of a security breach and a new one would be sent ASAP. It's been a week and haven't seen anything yet. As far as the first card, I haven't tried it again yet, but will let you know the outcome. A woman in Fairfield had the same problem and ended up on TV. All the sudden she's now receiving cards. How about that. We need to consider contacting the better business bureau in FL so they know what's going on.

I also sent in gas receipts and vouchers and received nothing and it now 90 days past due! The lady named "Nick" laughs when you call her at the toll free 888 number. Very unprofessional company. I checked the BBB recently and 20 complaints are unresolved! It is a scam and I stopped sending in the receipts after I checked with Largo Florida's BBB site. It is too bad we can't get a class action lawsuit aginst them. Anyone out there a lawyer and can do this? Too many good people are being rip-off by this. Hardworking decent American's.

I leased a new car in May. The Chrysler sales person in Michigan, also did not mention the monthly coupons for free gas. I sent in Junes and Julys with receipts and was told yesterday, they had mine also and they were just waiting for more cards. I asked could he tell me when they would get them and was told by Ed, no. I asked if it was going to be a month or two and he said "oh it won't be two months" It sounds like it maybe more after reading this. I went and filed a complaint to the BBB in Florida. They gave them an unsatisfactory rating. If you are having problems I suggest you file. Also, if I don't get something soon, I will contact the Attorney General in Florida.
Now, I spoke with the actually gas company I chose today and they, get this, are NOT affiliated with this program! They aren't even using the correct logo from what I was told. He has no idea how they are giving this gas away, unless it is from the $5 we paid to register. Who knows, but the gas company is now checking into it, as are he said several other companies are also involved with this very same kind of thing. And while he couldn't say for sure, he said it is a scam and I would probably never see all of, if any, of my $500. I will not let this go and I hope others do the same. I'm mad and I am not going to take it any more! As for the dealerships and companies handing out these coupons shame on them. As I told the Chrysler manager, you may have gotten me in there, but I wont be coming back.

Scam or not, it is a very poor redemption program. I too was promised $500 in free gas by the dealer, a reputable company from whom I have bought several cars over the years. It is easier to tell the customer he is going to receive $500 free gas than to explain all the trouble he is going to have collecting it.

I expected a card worth $500 I could use at any gas station. I recevied a complicated process that has taken too much time and effort to use. You keep trying because you don't want to feel you have been cheated out of your 'free gas'.

I have sent in four vouchers for $25 each since I was promised $500 in free gas five months ago. I have received one $25 gift card. They have not sent the next set of vouchers so I am stuck with my gas receipts and no way to get any more gift cards unless I put more time and effort into this program.

We all have better things to do with our time.

I hope dealerships that are tempted to use this program to increase sales read these complaints first because they are not going to be pleasing their customers.

I also agree that this is a scam.  A five dollar registration fee x several thousand people, gives them a nice bundle of cash from this scam.  There are two different addresses on the mail in instructions.  I could not get a call back from them as which address is correct.  If I were to send in my redemption coupons to the wrong address they will just tell me that they didn't receive them on time.  I am filing a complaint with the Florida Attorney General and also the Florida Better Business Bureau.  The sad thing is that the dealership from which I bought the car is now suspect because I don't know if they were in on the scam. What a world we live in!

Hello,
I wrote eight days ago and after contacting the gas company I had chosen. The gas company contacted Free Gas Redemption for me. I got a call from Crystal Clark wanting to look into things.
I later saw our local news doing a story on gas gimmicks and participated in that. The reporter doing the story also contacted her. I then again spoke with Ms. Clark and she told me she would Fed Ex all of the Free Gas money I had been promised in the first place! Today, I just received ALL of the money promised me in Visa gift cards. Please note for those who said nothing was on those cards, she said it is do to people going over the $25 limit. If you are going to buy something more, you have to pay the over amount first. So, if $30, pay $5, then use the card. I checked my card balances and all are good! TYou can call and check your balances.
Ms. Clark also felt I had been led on by the Car Company, however, note she also said that they are recalling All Unused cards that have not been distributed and they are reprinting new ones that take away words such as Free, Gift, Win, which also can mislead people, when the companies hand them out. Anyway, keep trying. My result has been good.
I certainly will ask a lot more questions when seeing these type of offers. What a hassle.
I still did not receive further reason as to why my cards were late & I hadn't gotten them in the first place?

you can see report and video at

http://www.wxyz.com/content/news/dwym/story.aspx?content_id=6f73e0b1-cdc5-407b-94c4-d53d53d57ab1

We were scammed at the Dealership level. They even had referrals that said it was a great program. Free gas for a test drive. We went into this program in good faith. Our customers are still fighting with Free Gas Redemption/Freebee gas out of Largo Florida. I contacted the FBI but got no response. We all should ban together and form a class action Law suit to put these people where they belong, in jail. It is sad to see how many good american are being scammed left and right on this program. Maybe we should contact all news agencies. We need to put them out of business.
Jim Wade
Marketing Director
Lewis Automotive

About the card sent with $0. I'm head of my dept., own a company and understand basic math. I hadn't used either card sent when I checked on them. I rechecked again and it's still at $0. The first card actually worked! Second card is still at ZERO. I haven't received anything since, except an e-mail confirming they received my July receipts (it's August 25).
As soon as I'm done, I will contact the news agencies too. Sounds like it worked for her. I really just want them out of business too. I really don't have time, but just don't want others getting taken too.

This is an update from the post I left a while ago. Still NO GAS CARDS! It's been over 90 days. We filed a complaint with the BBB and now we are going to attorney general. This company is deceptive and does not honor their own rules. Also we found out that the dealership is liable if they are retailing the promotion to you. You can file a small claims law-suit against the dealer & Crystal Clarke since she is marketing this in your state. It is a scam when hundreds of people are getting no gas cards and only a small few are getting it. Collecting $5.00 from thousands of people is a huge amount of money and only a few get something = a ponsey scheme. I also called my gas company who laughed on the phone and said they never heard of this company. This does not happen if the company is honorable!

I just filed with the BBB in Largo FL. and sent a comment to the editor of our local paper. When filing with the BBB you'll have to decide which co/address to file under. I never received an answer on which address to send it to, but did send by certified mail (unfortunately it costs you that much more).

Don't wait. File with the BBB now! (Just google BBB; Largo, FL). It's easy and I feel better already, so now I'll wait and see if it was worth it to file a complaint. It looks like they resolve problems with those who do.

They currently have an unsatisfactory rating. Imagine that.

Interesting comment about the gas company being liable. I'll use one avenue at a time.

SCAM BIG TIME! Everyone's negative statements are true. It's a nightmarish process each and every month, not to mention an inconvenience. Have not received any rebates or Visa Debit cards to date eventhough I started the program in March...they owe me $150.00. Why waste my time and why continue to be frustrated. They won...I guess.

They have not responded to my complaint filed with the BBB. Anyone surprised? Yesterday I filed with the attorney general. I don't think they've won because the BBB is annoying them and the attorney general will eventually put them out of business which will be enough for me.

My experience is same as others listed. Submitting receipts for several months and no refunds received.

I got that "we're awaiting gas cards" too. I don't believe it one bit. I do know the FL Attorney Generals office said that they were investigating them, so that's one good note. I've read this thread and the gas companies and businesses really aren't at fault here. It's the company not giving us the cards we earned. I don't mind that it's a redemption program. I have no problem sending in receipts that I would normally throw away to get money back, but not getting cards for 90 days is ridiculous. If you know others that got scammed by Secure Gas Redemption or Freebee or whatever other name they go by, tell them to come here and report them. Maybe the Attorney General will be able to do something about them if enough of us tell our story.

Forgot to mention that I found this other thread about this subject. You should go there too. The more ammunition we have the better we can fight this company.

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?p=577603#post577603

I am in this program and have called them several times and even spoke with the operations manager. 2 weeks ago I called and was told my card for July was on it's way. After I week I called again and they said they would mail it out that day when they originally told me they had mailed it a week before that. I have also not received the August gift card either. They are very rude and abrupt when you call and get real nasty if you say anything bad about the company. I had one many talk to me like he was some kind of a sargeant yelling at me saying I needed to quit interupting him and listen. I have also been told they have over 50, 00 customers and not enough staff and are in the process of hiring people to mail out the cards. If you take 50, 000 customers times the $5.00 processing fee you paid, that's $125, 000. For all we know it could be a 2 person business. You can never believe what they tell you.

Its called a kite. Its as old as the hills( well at least 30 years or so) ... they sell the cert
icates for 5-10 bucks to retailers to give away as promos... charge an additional 5 .00 up front... and pay thre 1st wave of customers that actually do the program... and sell more certificates... which they canmaintain for a while since many peoplel won't jump throught the hoops etc... problem is the kite has to end when there are more redemption requests than sales of certifiactes... thats when they start dragging thier feet and pay the sqeeky wheels and poeple who threaten attorney general action etc... to buy as much time possible to sell the last big wave of certificates . and then.. lo and behold.. go out of business, having sold 100, 000 certificates at 10 bucks a pop... good night .." we so sowwy"..." we outabidness"

bunch of ### ripping off everybody ... the dealerships/furniture store whoever...who paid for what they thought was great deal..who wouldnt... 10 bucks for 500 dollars of gas yyeehhhaaah ... didnt you ever hear if its too good to be true..it isnt?

How any attorney general allows these people to continue to pperate when theier business model is clearly a kite.. goes to show you how pathetic our legal system can be... they are supposed to be looking out for us... but hey dont... so sad

Florida Attorney General Office is familiar with these type of operations. I was misled on a similar type program called "CashBack America" which did exactly as the post before me explains--"collected all the money and went out of business." Why are all of these type of businesses located in Florida. Business laws must be a little lax in the sunny state.
I filed a long time ago with the Florida Attorney General about my case with CashBack America and have yet to even hear back from them let alone some sort of settlement. I was out a $1, 000 rebate on the purchase of a hot tub.

I can't believe they are still in business. There are many other blogs concerning this issue on this same site. Definitely a scam. I've been sending in receipts since last year. I received 1 card in June after threatening to go to the attorney general. I filed a complaint with the BBB which the company did not respond to, and finally filed with the attorney general in fl in August who stated they have received many complaints. I would advise you to contact the attorney general and file. The more complaints the better the chance to put this co out of business. I can't believe Big O continues to participate. I still think we should file a complaint against the companies who participate. They certainly know by now about the scam after a year.
By the way Big O is no longer in business in my town.

Please let me know if anyone can find out the full names of the people running this company. I think the IRS would be interested in theor Ponzi scheme...

I have submitted 4 vouchers for July-October so far and have yet to receive one $25 gas card from this company. I have tried unsuccessfully several times to reach someone and either get no answer, a full voicemail, or no response when I have been able to leave a voicemail. I have received email confirmations every time I've submitted my voucher/receipts telling me my voucher was received in good order and I didn't need to do anything further. I also sent in a letter with my last voucher asking for a status update and have still not received a response. I purchased a Pontiac G6 in May, was going back and forth between this and another car, and finally settled on the G6 when the dealership threw in the "$500 free gas". I can understand being backlogged to a degree, but they need to let people know what's going on, to have people continuously call and get no response just further upsets people. It is a matter of principal, individuals were promised a service, in writing I might add by the dealership giving out the literature/directions on how to obtain your free gas, in return for purchasing a particular vehicle. I personally think the dealerships have a responsibilty in the matter also. They should stop handing out vouchers if these companies are not going to honor their commitments.

I should have trusted my instincts on this. The only reason I decided to do it is because National Tire and Battery offered this $500 rebate if I purchased a set of four tires. Since the tires only cost me $400, the deal sound pretty good. The sales rep assured me that he had been using the program for months and had absolutely no problem. Now I'm pissed! The company on my certificate is Free Gas Redemption. www.freegasredemption.com. I am filing a complaint now. Hopefully a classaction law suite will begin as I want my $500 now!

Tried contacting them twice a month since June... till now we've continued sending in receipts religiously. No response, just... we are not available to take your call now.
We haven't received one voucher yet...S-C-A-M

So, I went looking around and not only found other threads here about SecureGasRedemption, Freebee, or Freebie or whatever name they are using, but I also found out they are under investigation by the FL State Attorney General too:

http://myfloridalegal.com/lit_ec.nsf/investigations/413FC15DB9CFC85385257488004EDACB

You should call the Attorney General in FL and submit your complaint too. I just did.

I am receiving calls from various parts of the
country who have been "victimized " by this
obvious scam--------I also have letters sent to
me by various tire companies who are totally
embarrassed when their retail customers accuse
them of being part of this scam and state that they
will not buy tires from them in the future--------
there will be a story in a nationwide tire
publication warning tire dealers about this
fraudulent program-------I plan to visit my local
newpaper to expose these "criminals"----
Don Dominguez---[protected]

This is one big scam. I have sent in receipts for 3 months now and have not received any gas cards. I contacted the Ford dealership that promoted this "free gas" program. He admitted that he was taken and is sending me a check for the $100 that was promised in gas cards plus the $5 processing fee. Take a look at the website www.freegasredemption.com - it's now Under Construction!

This program is a SCAM. I followed ALL their instructions to the letter. Sent in my $5 registration. Sent in the receipts and vouchers as required. 60 days after my FIRST gas card was due in the mail, nothing. I called at the 30-day late point, and they promised they were sending it out RIGHT AWAY. Now they owe me TWO cards, neither has arrived, and when I call, there's no one to talk to. I get their machine that says, "No one is available to take your call. Good bye." Then hangs up. This is the 14100 Walsingham Rd address in Largo, FL. I am going to the media and filing small claims suit against the dealer that sold me a car, PROMISING the free gas. This is criminal.

I was supposed to received a $500 gas card with the purchase of 4 tires from NTB (National Tire and Battery). I would have to mail in $100 worth of gas receipts every month and they would send me a $25 gas card. I purchased my tires in July and started mailing in my gas receipts in August. I have yet to receipt a gas card. I tried logging onto the SecureGasRedemption website today and it was down.

I received the last confirmation email stating "we have received you gas receipts in good order" on Oct. 28, 2008.

I purchased a set of four tires at National Tire and Battery and they offered this $500 rebate at www.freegasredemption.com. My story sounds really familiar to everyone else's story. I paid the initial service charge of $5.00 and am missing 2 months worth of gas cards. Their website was down for approximately 5 days. No one will return my email or phone call. Don't bother calling the 888 or 800 number, because they will put you on hold forever and then make you leave a message and hang up on you. This is such a scam and obviously has been going on for quite a while. I can't believe that the Attorney General in Florida has not resolved this by now.

We have the same situation. We started sending our receipts in in July of 2008 and haven't received anything yet...

I also was promised $500.00 after I bought a car. started to mail my receipts in August and still not recieve ANYTHING. I wish we could do something about this... Dee

Something for nothing equals NOTHING. . . and that's what we are getting from Free Gas (yeah Right!) Redemption. I wonder if the car dealers who gave us the pretty colorful glossy cards figured out yet that this promotion is just another bad investment for the dealers. I'm sure they paid $$$$ for their cards and all of us who gave up the small fee of $5 all invested in this to pay for the telephone bank located who knows where. The US Postal Services Postal Inspectors may be able to help all of us if we let them know. They used the US Mails to promote a fraud and the Postal Service just might have the power and muscle to prosecute those involved. Especially that one guy who insisted that everyone else there who gave me information was wrong and couldn't possibly have told me that the information I received on e-mail was correct. What a group of dummies I joined believing that I could get something for NOTHING!

PS: No offense to those who joined us in sending our $5.

Just about a month ago, I received mail posted to Owner of Household and when I opened it, there was a sheet for a scratch and win. I scratched all 3 spots and I had won Free $150 worth of gas. To redeem it, i had to go to the Toyota dealership here in Hollywood, FL. I am always aware of possible scams. I am always the skeptic. But because it was Toyota giving this out, i thought well maybe it's legit since Toyota is a good and trusted company. When i went to the dealership, i was immediately bombarded by car salesmen, naturally, trying to sell me a car. I just wanted the $150 gas prize i won, i told them. After issuing me the card, (which mind you they never mentioned anything about sending the receipts) they insisted on selling me a car which i refused. When i read the fine print, it states "Receive $150 in free gas at the gas station of your choice by redeeming online at www.gasolineredemption.com. Recipient is entitled to receive a $25 gas card from the gas brand of their choice for every month they return $150 in gas receipts, up to the value of the voucher!" which in my case was $150. Theoretically that would take me 6 months to redeem it all. I was seconds from registering online until something told me to search online for fraud, perhaps it may not be true. And here it is...all the comments from all of you. Thank you! I just saved myself all the hassle. But i will still be reporting this to the BBB. I noticed that this is a new website not mentioned at all here... www.gasolineredemption.com must be another name they use as well. Same mailing address as somebody mentioned earlier (14100 Walsingham Rd in Largo, FL. Same company coming up with new websites. This is obviously a scam. I will be returning to the Toyota dealership to give them a piece of my mind for being responsible. It was clear, they got me to go visit the dealership and to buy a car. I already hate car salesmen, that just put the icing on the cake.

ps. Just a thought, does somebody live near this Largo, FL address to stop by and check them out? Why haven't the police investigated this address?