I am being ripped off and I need advice

[EsmeraldaX]

I am having a serious problem with Columbia House DVD club. NO ONE I know has ever had a problem with these people it seems, except me.

So I joined up about 2 years ago. I order once and everything was fine, then I ordered again and they switched up my copy of American Psycho with Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys (because, you know, that mistake is SO easy to make). So I say, whatever, errors happen.

But then it literally took me 6 months to get a call tag to return the wrong movie and they NEVER sent me the right one. They still charged me for it and I could not get any one on the phone (they have no humans you can speak to on the phone) and so to avoid getting sent to collections, I wasted $20 on a movie I never got.

Now, you know those stupid movies that they send you every month? I always go online and cancel them. I never get sent the movies, but I ALWAYS get a bill. It has hurt my credit (they have reported me at least once) and despite the fact that I email them, ALL they ever send me back is a form email. I emailed once and asked for a direct phone number to a human and got no response. Eventually they credited my account, but not after reporting me to the credit bureau.

NOW they are sending me to collections again for another movie I canceled, and never recieved that they say they have been trying to get payment for me for.

So I can either pay $27 dollars for nothing and allow this to keep happening, or I can deal with having really bad credit and them writing me off.

I'd cancel my account, except their phone number leads you no where.

Anyone ever have a similiar expereince? If so, how did you handle it and what happened?

Would reporting them to the BBB help?

Thanks,
Sheri

 

[joshsmom]

I had a problem with this company 20 years ago--only then I was getting vinyl records from them!!! They would send the same record out three times--charging me each time. That was in the days before email and computers. INEVITABLY every month, even when I sent the little thing in the day after getting it stating I did NOT want the selection of the month, they would send it and two other copies with it!!! I ended up giving or trading the extras to friends because if you tried to send it back, they accepted it but still charged me. I finally just looked at how many albums I had left to buy to fulfill my agreement, picked out that number for the next month, then quickly told them NEVER TO SEND ANYTHING TO ME AGAIN!!!!! I did report them to the BBB, but obviously it hasn't hurt them any.

This also happened to me with Time/Life music. I tried one of those buy the first one in the set and then try the next one out for the next 100 years. Got rooked on that one too!!!

I feel for you. I know it's frustrating. I would see how many you have left towards your obligation, pick out stuff you would buy anyway, and then GET RID OF THEM FOREVER AND NEVER MENTION THEIR NAME AGAIN EVER!!!!!

 

[Pin Wizard]

I used them for a couple years. Sorry for your problems with them! Everything was fine, except recently I also cancel them sending the monthly selection online. That wasn't a problem, but I haven't earned any "points" in ages. And when I did some expired because I didn't use them all. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. So just before I moved I canceled them all together...online. Hasn't been a problem. Good luck!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Thanks. I have decided that I am going to take legal action against them. At the very least, I am going to report them to every news agency I can get the addresses for and hope that one of them does a peice on how horrible they are.

Thanks
Sheri

 

[chager]

I have friends that ran into some of the same issues. They received the wrong movie and had an aweful time echanging it. They finally were able to cancel, but I'm not sure how they resolved everything.
Good luck!

 

[Blondie]

I've never had a problem with them, but I know of others who have.

When I don't get my little thing in the mail in time (telling them to NOT send me the selection of the month) and they send it out, I simply write in black permanent magic marker "RETURN TO SENDER" and mail it back to them. It seems to do the trick just fine.

Good luck with resolving your issue with them.

 

[Kristi1357]

Sheri,

Try emailing Help me Hank from WHDH's website. She does consumer stories like these - maybe she can get somewhere...

Kristi

 

[disneysteve]

FYI - Legally, you are under no obligation to pay for an item that is shipped to you without you ordering it. So if Columbia ships you a disc you didn't order, just keep it. If they want it back, they need to do the legwork, not you.

My advice is to avoid these types of clubs like the plague. They are nothing but trouble. Maybe not at first, but eventually they will be a major headache.

Steve

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Thanks all.

I managed to get through to a manager there (after calling three times and having the first two customer service people refuse to transfer me) and she cleared my account and closed it. She told me I was no longer under any obligation to them.

I have her name in case anything should come up.

However, I think I would like to still try and get someplace like WHDH to look into this. It is obviously a scam, as I have heard many, many other people tell me horror stories about them.

Thanks all!
Sheri

 

[cherylp3]

The other show to expose ripoffs is the Troubleshooter Rasio show hosted by Tom Martino - www.troubleshooter.com

 

[Kallison]

I had a problem -- I ended up just paying and say forget it. It was only like $12 though. I couldn't wait to cancel and be done with them, you are right, it is hard to talk to a person that can help you.