Other victims of Direct Buy please contact me at iowagal3650@gmail.com
to develop an investigative story to be submitted to several investigative news media programs.
Direct Buy DOES NOT HONOR THEIR AGREEMENT TO REFUND YOUR MONEY IF YOU CHOOSE TO CANCEL. DON'T SIGN. RUN FROM THIS VENDOR. On July 7, 2011 I signed a Direct Buy membership agreement that allowed me to evaluate the program and cancel within 3 business days if not satisfied. The date of cancellation which the Franchise Owner, wrote on the agreement was July 13, 2011. Over the weekend I logged into the Direct Buy website to try to evaluate the program. THE WEBSITE WAS TOTALLY USELESS IN HELPING ME EVALUATE THE PROGRAM SINCE IT DID NOT HAVE ANY PRICES!!! Since I was not able to determine if Direct Buy would save me money I chose to cancel the membership. I STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED MY REFUND. By the way I have memberships with legitimate and ethical buying clubs like Costco and Sam's which do post their prices so I can easily compare prices. AND DON'T EXPECT YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY TO PROTECT YOU. DISCOVER CARD ULTIMATELY REFUSED TO REVERSE THE CHARGE, STATING THIS WAS AN ISSUE BETWEEN ME AND THE VENDOR.
On July 12, 2011, I called the franchise owner of Direct Buy to inform him of my cancellation but was directed to his voice mail so I left a message. On 7/12/2011, I also faxed a copy of the cancellation and sent the cancellation paperwork via Fed Ex overnight delivery. Warehouse manager signed for the package which arrived at Direct Buy on July 13 at 11:20 AM. To date, I have made 30 attempts to contact members of Direct Buy by phone and have left multiple messages.
On March 14, 2012 I mailed a certified letter with restricted delivery as my final attempt to collect on my refund. In the letter I stated they had 15 days from receipt of the letter to issue a refund or I would take legal action. I am not the type of person that seeks to sue frivolously. I prefer to find other means to resolve a dispute. Along that same logic, I attempted to secure a refund in July 2011 by disputing the charge with Discover Card, which was ultimately denied in January 2012. I think Direct Buy needs to learn a lesson so they cease and desist their unethical business practices whether this is through legal action or being black balled on the internet, or through media pressure, or all of the above.
I CANNOT SAY THIS STRONGLY ENOUGH...I am VERY UPSET with how Direct Buy has handled this entire matter, from the deceit regarding their website, the strong armed approach of their sales pitch in which they stated we must sign up the day of the sales presentation or be barred for life from being a Direct Buy member, to the lack of follow up on all of my voice mail messages, to the time and energy I must extend to secure my refund. I have spent hours on this issue and to date have incurred $108.61 in costs which include: Fed Ex package, two USPS certified letters, interest on $3400 + interest from Discover (I refuse to pay the principal and interest which began incurring interest as of January 2012). I feel victimized by a very greedy and unethical business. If I am forced to settle this through a lawsuit, I will be pursuing the refund, reimbursement of legal and court costs, costs incurred while seeking refund, punitive damages, and compensation for pain and suffering. I would consider class action to really sock it to them even though I know only the attorneys win in class action.