Anonymous
map-marker Columbus, Ohio

Shoppingessentials plus

shoppingessentialsplus scam , my wife was paying the bills and never asked me what the $15.95 a month was, so they took a monthly fee for doing nothing, she has no recollection of how it started, when I called 877-442-**** they said someone bought something on a web page and clicked yes to some type of free trial that started the $15.95 per month coming out. you get nothing for this money, how can the people who "work" there live with themselves? xxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxx xxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx
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Jeffrey N Blm
map-marker Burlington, Wisconsin

Had the same problem with them

I have the same problem with shopping essentials. I just got off of the phone with them. I said/did everything you guys were saying and now I'm waiting for an email. They're going to refund me $13.95 for the month of March 2011 but I will receive an email in about 5 days with their decision on the rest of my refund. I'm not quite sure how I got into this with them because I never buy anything online with my credit card but my wife used hers (which is a separate account) and purchased something at vistaprints.
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Anonymous
map-marker Oakhurst, California

Pyramid Collection Catalog and Shopping Essentials + Scam

I bought an item online from The Pyramid Collection Catalog and was unwittingly enrolled in a membership to Shopping Essentials + and charged $9.95 a month for several months before I became aware of the charges. I called the company and was told that I willingly enrolled and they would be happy to cancel my membership. After some research, I realized the enrollment began when I ordered from The Pyramid Collection. It took some time to narrow it down, since this company has a multitude of catalogs that they are linked to. Never again. What a shame...buyer beware. I emailed the catalog customer service and told them they are crooks.
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32 comments
Guest

Got my debit cards hacked after my order. 30 years the internet.

So sad. Back to writing checks.

Guest

I BETTER NOT BE CHARGED FOR ANYTHING EXTRA LIKE PYRAMID MEMBERSHIP .IF THIS HAPPENS I WILL GET MY LAWYER TO DEAL WITH IT. BUYER BEWARE

Guest

I was being charged $14.95 for 3 months for being a VIP.. I only ever ordered 2 things, I never signed anything saying I wanted to be a VIP.

Thye only gave me back 1 month worth.. I am very mad.

Guest

I have been getting catalogs for a long time but they were SO expensive I never ordered. I saw a red/black reversible cape with hood, for Halloween from The Pyramid Collection Catalog.

I ordered this month around the 8th & I paid $120 for the cape & $26 for 2 day shipping. Well it didn't come. :? I used email to contact this company, no response to 3 emails I sent.

I called & they said it was shipped on the 8th & here it is the 14th & it still wasn't here. They insisted I got the package. I told them I went my apartment building's office & inquired & (They all know me well as I get LOTS of deliveries.) :( it didn't come & to get me the tracking number & I'll call Fed ex myself. The rep says "Oh we don't have that information, Fed ex has that." I'm like no way :x Fed ex always has tracking on their 2 day deliveries (They made me sign for packages before.) Now I was getting mad :( I told them I had ordered this item for Halloween & now I won't get it in time & that I would take this to my CC company.

The rep refused to return my money or even ship out the package until "Fed ex tracks it down. Annoyed, I hang up. 2 weeks later no info from Fed ex, no package so I called back. Again the rep was rude, telling me it had been delivered when it really hadn't.

:( Now I was mad & I told them I wanted my package & then the rep offered to ship it again but with no tracking. I said no way... I wanted a refund in that case. I got the total refund the following day.

My Halloween will be very disappointing this year though. Bad company - never again & BUYER BEWARE. Going to be watching my CC statement for a while as another said there was a surprise enrollement in a membership to Shopping Essentials.

Yipes! :cry :( :cry

Guest

don't do it :cry

Guest

:( DO NOT be fooled by this company's slick photography!!! They make the items look beautiful and substantial but when you get them, they are shoddy, poorly made, light-weight material that falls apart after one wash.

And ridiculously expensive.

They will not get any more of my hard-to-come-by money. :cry

Guest

I ordered the Faerie Tale Top back when it wasn't marked down. It was the prettiest shirt I had ever seen.

So I didn't care about how madly expensive it was. When I ordered I was supposed to receive a discount which was being advertised on their site, but that didn't happen. It didn't matter that much to me at the time; I just wanted my shirt. It took 2 months for the shirt to come and I have no idea why that was case.

I remember calling them after two weeks, then three weeks and each time I called I was on hold for a long time and then when they would see that I wouldn't hang up, they would come back on the line and they were very mean to me. They wouldn't let me get a word out. They never let me finish what I wanted to say and they would hang up on me. When I finally got the top, it was NOTHING like the top in the picture.

It was completely different material and print and poorly made. I'm a nice person and I cannot be rude to people, but I remember calling them to ask how to send it back and they were again very rude to me and I lost my temper. I told them they had no right to speak to me like I was worthless and that they had the worst customer service skills ever. The lady calmed down a bit after I yelled at her.

She told me every top would differ and that's just the way it was. I told her they should at least have a note next to the item stating that. Long story short, it took several weeks for me to finally get my money refunded. I'm sad to see that they still have that top (now marked down) and still no note about the shirt and how this company that treats its customers like ***, are still in business.

Please ignore the catalog they send you. The items are pretty, but they aren't like the pictures and are extremely expensive and you cannot get through to anyone because they don't care.

Guest

I just ordered from this company, and now I am scared out of my mind. I hope everything goes well for me, then I am never ordering again. :sigh :sigh

Guest

this is the worst catalog experience I've ever had to go through!! I shop a lot, and this is a 3rd rate company to deal with.

I ordered about 10 items on clearance over the phone back in November, never received the items. I had to go through the phone, because after spending a half hour online, the sale prices didn't go through. Now I get connected with a person who had no idea what the heck she was doing. Long story short, I am still getting very lame emails from this company about what to do with this order!

NEVER AGAIN!!!!! DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM!!! I AM CALLING THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU ON THEM.

311 THEY SHOULD BE OUT OF BUSINESS. :cry :cry :cry :( :( :(

Guest

That is so true I got a catalog from Pyramid Collection, and I liked some staff tryed to place the order some idems were on sale, but they were charging me full price I had to cancel my order thanx for warnings.

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Anonymous
map-marker San Diego, California

Membership not authorized

After a purchase at Metrostyle in Feb. 2010, MVQ statrted charging my visa w/out my knowledge. The charges started in April 2010 and continued through March 2011. I would not have caught the charges, but they raised the fee by $4.00 a month and it triggered my review. I immediately filed a fraudulent claim with visa . The real people to thank are the BBB in Omaha Nebraska, Corporate local of vertrue,inc the parent company. They provided results in less than 2 days after filing my complaint with them. By the way, i contacted metrostyle and they didn't seem interested. as they may be part of the scam. I will follow through with complaints to the Attorney General Of California and the FTC. Don't let these people take your money .
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Bruce K Elg
map-marker San Francisco, California

Shopping Essentials is a criminal enterprise

If you have been scammed by them, send a complaint letter to your state attorney general, your credit card company complaint department (not just customer service) and to the criminals, too: Shoppers Advantage, 9500 W. Dodge Rd. #100, Omaha, Nebraska 68114 Do not forget that you can get a refund on the latest two charges from your credit card company. Shoppers Advantage will attempt to pacify you with just one refund. Do not be pacified. Run these criminals out of business. If you live in Omaha, then please contact your city licensing bureau. If you live in Nebraska, that attorney general would like to hear from you.
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Loss:
$144
1 comment
Guest

Good idea!

Anonymous
map-marker Brooklyn, New York

MVQ*Shopping Essentials ripped me off for a full year before I noticed the charges on my CC.

These SOBS are complete scammers keep an eye on your CC. They got me for a full year before I realized what was happening. They say I agreed to their program, but I will be damned if I remember agreeing to anything with these bastards. Each month they charge your credit card hoping that you will not notice their charge among your many others. Each month it is a different amount so you have a smaller chance of becoming suspicious. They have many complaints against them but somehow seem to be able to continue their CC scam business unimpeded. Beware these unscrupulous thieves.
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4 comments
Guest

It really is not this person's fault. I used to work for a company who tried to sell this program to its customers and the call center agents would get in trouble if they weren't performing up to par.

The program sounded like a deal! It was the fine print that a lot of people missed and unfortuantely, a lot of people fell into the trap. The more programs the agents sold, the more money on their paycheck per week. It is really just very greedy and shady.

I would love to see it taken out of businesses. It is robbing innocent people just to gain big money for the company

Guest

IF THE COMPANY WAS SUCH A SCAM DONT YOU THINK THEY WOULD BE SHUT DOWN ITS NOONES FAULT THAT YOU DONT CHECK YOUR ACCOUNT AND ITS NO ONES FAULT YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO READ SO STAY UR *** OFF THE CPU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-249178

Companies like Shopping Essentials can go on for quite a while before anything can be done. Lots of people check their account and still don't notice.

Shopping essentials never sends you any welcome letter or email, nor any statement. What do they offer you? If they were on the up and up you would get an official statement from them and instructions how to use their service. You are the ***.

This happens to way to many people for it to be all of their fault. This company unscrupulously signs you up and because you yourself didn't sign up, it can take you forever to notice it.

Sadiq Jno

I just realized last week that Shopping Essentials+ had robbed me of 18 payments from my debit card/checking account. ($19.95 per month).

I never signed up for this and have never received any e-mail or letters from them. When I ordered vitamins on line from Vita-Cost, Vita-Cost signed me up unknowingly and against my wishes. Do not do business with Vita-Cost or Shopping Essentials+! So far I managed to get 6 payments credited back to my card and I am trying very hard to receive a complete refund.

I filed a complaint with the FTC. From now on I will be watching my checking account very closely.

I must be very unlucky (not to mention careless) because I also had similar scams happening from other coupon membership clubs ("Buyer's Edge", "My Fun Source", "ValuePlusOnLine", and "My Advice", which is a membership club for legal advice.) My wife and I don't order many things on line but it only takes one time to get scammed if you're not careful. I can only imagine how many elderly people are being scammed from these type of companies!

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Mary L Mvz
map-marker Las Vegas, Nevada

Billed me twice for credit service I did not order

I went to Free Credit Report and somehow credreportcomplete received my card number and billed me for something I did not order. When I spoke to them they refused to refund the charges (I was billed for two different things) but according to their records I was still within the supposed 7 day period. These guys ARE preditors and need to be stopped. They take advantage of people. How they received my card number is a mystery to me since my new card was in the mail while I was on vacation. It was a new card. I hope this will advise other people to be wairy of this company.
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Loss:
$29
Anonymous
map-marker Kansas City, Missouri

Shopping Essentials fraudulent

I just checked my statement and found I have been charged $19.95 by Shopping Essentials. I have never heard of Shopping Essentials before, so I certainly did not order anything. I tried to call them, but the caller has to enter a membership number, and there are no other options. I then sent an email advising them that I want my money back as I have never heard of them and therefore have no membership, nor have I subscribed for one, and if I do not get reimbursed, I will send in a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission and other federal authorities. This is stealing on their part. How did they get my information in the first place?
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Valerie Faq
map-marker Redwood City, California

MVQ Shopping Essentials & In The Company of Dogs - Perfect Together (at scamming the general public)

I just noticed the MVQ Shopping Essentials on my credit card so I called their toll-free number. After 45 minutes on hold I was told that I "agreed" to an offer while making an online purchase from In The Company Of Dogs in July 28th 2009. I absolutely DID NOT agree to any such thing. I called MVQ and was told they would stop the charges immediately, however, they would not refund my $11.95 per month for the last 13 months. So I called In The Company Of Dogs and spoke to the incredibly nervous Jim who tried to give me MVQs toll-free number and then tried to connect me with a 'Dogs' supervisor. After much stammering he told me to call back in the morning, but 'Dogs' policy was not to refund money based on another company's charges. 'Dogs' should be more reputable than that, but it seems they are not. At any rate, I will NEVER do business with 'Dogs' again! A warning for everyone out there: DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH IN THE COMPANY OF DOGS! ! !
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Loss:
$155
3 comments
Guest

I am glad that I looked for reviews for In The company of Dogs before placing an order. I love the stuff in their catalogues but think I will look elsewhere for what I want. Thank you for your reviews.

Guest

RIP OFF! in business with Company of Dogs to take your money when you're not looking.

Guest

RIP OFF!

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lleit
map-marker Portland, Oregon

Shopping Essentials Fraud

Vertrue, Inc, Pres/CEO Gary Johnson, is the parent company to Adaptive Marketing, LLC and Shopping Essentials Plus. I have been defrauded of over $600 due to monthly charges on a debit card I never use. The card number was clearly obtained fraudently, and because the monthly charges were so small and buried on my bank statement, I didn't notice them until yesterday, August 26. I contacted Shopping Essentials Plus and a rep said they couldn't locate me as a "member" with my name and zip code so I would need to give them my credit card info. Interesting. I declined, but not before asking what services I had received for my monthly charges, and why I was never notified of any Shopping Essentials member programs and benefits. No answer. I called the bank, cancelled the card, reported the fraud, and filed a complaint with the State Attorney General's office. My next stop is my senator's office. Vertrue and all of its subsidiaries should be put out of business. This company is an off shoot of CUC International, also involved in consumer fraud with company officers prosecuted and found guilty many years ago. Looks like they forgot to nab Gary Johnson.
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Anonymous
map-marker Choctaw, Oklahoma

Misrepresented themselves as a moneyback

This is my first time to post a complaint about a "business" (term used loosely),EVER.... And I agree with all other postings that this is most definitely a SCAM. Last Nov when Holiday shopping online, I was offered $20 back on my order if I agreed to a survey. Now, months later they have suddenly started charging my account, stating that I agreed to a free trial membership, and after the initial period, a monthly charge of $13.95. NOT TRUE! I placed my order with a credible company; one from whom I have ordered in the past with no problem, and the $20 discount seemed to be an offer directly from them. All I needed to do was fill out their consumer survey. I do not understand how Shopping Essentials linked up with them. BEWARE OF DISCOUNTS offered when ordering online... NEVER AGAIN.... Peeved in Oklahoma
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Anonymous
map-marker Atlanta, Georgia

Craig's List Scam--MVQ

I am out of work and was on Craig's List. I applied for a number of jobs and put my resume up. I got an email that said they were replying to my application. It said they wanted to meet with me on Monday and I would need to bring along a credit report with the scores from all three credit agencies. It gave a link to MVQ. MVQ said they would charge me just $1. They did charge me $1, then three days later, $29.95. I just got the bank statement, I cannot got to the bank until Tuesday. I just hope there is something left. DO NOT USE MVQ. They are a scam from outside the USA praying on the unemployed. It a wonderful world!
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2 comments
Guest

I got scammed from the credit report thing. It was on a credit card that I never use.

It cost me late charges and almost ruined my 815 Fico score. What can we do?

Guest

:( TELL ME ABOUT IT THERE DOING THE SAME THING TO ME, LEAVING ME OVERDRAFTS, COSTING ME MORE MONEY! AND I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO SEE MY THREE CREDIT REPORTS! :(

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ashleybackus
map-marker Newport, Kentucky

Shopping Essentials is a Fraud

Shopping Essentials is a fraud and a scam. They have stolen over $300 from me since April 2009 and I just discovered this - it is August 2010. I don't recall signing up for anything - i receive no emails, no monthly statements, no offers, no nothing. They claim to be a shopping service that promises to save you money and send you gift certificates by shopping with certain online vendors. If this were a legit company, they wouldn't try to slide under your radar with only a sneaky monthly charge. They would be sending you offers for deals etc. If you see funny charges from "SHOPPINGESSEN" etc. on your statement, do not try to contact the company. Call your bank and get your card cancelled and re-issued to you. Report this to your bank's fraud department and there's a good chance you'll get refunded.
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Elizabeth V Gbc
map-marker Erie, Pennsylvania

MVQ fraudulently got into my bank account

MVQ somehow got into my bank account twice for the amounts of $11.95 and $19.95. I'm going to the bank today to dispute these charges. I'll probably have to close this account and open a new one. I am SUPER pissed! I have no idea how MVQ managed to get this done, but they need to be stopped. I'm retired and on a fixed income. I cannot have someone helping themselves to my limited funds. I would also like them to have to reimburse me for the amount they stole as well as punitive damages. Whatever the law allows. They are snakes.
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Anonymous
map-marker Des Moines, Iowa

Taking money from my account unadvised to do so

For several months now I have noticed this MVQ shopping essentials is taking $11.99 from my account and I have NO idea why or how they got my debit card number. I do not know what this is about and I called or wrote them once and asked them to take my name off whatever list they are on and stop taking money from my account. They have not done so. How can I rectify this error, please? I will call my bank this next week and have them stop any more payments. Thank you in advance bmassey@***.com
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