Academy Credit L.L.C.

Review: Just sign up for a new membership with this company and everysince then I tried to contact them and left messages and there's no response....

NO CUSTOMER SERVICE TO HANDLE YOUR CONCERNS OR RETURN YOUR PHONE CALL FOR DAYS NOWDesired Settlement: PLEASE RETURN MY PHONE CALL SO I CAN DECIDE IF THIS IS A GOOD PROGRAM FOR ME TO MOVE FORWARD WITH BEFORE MY TRIAL DAYS ARE FINISHED BEFORE I START BEING BILLED

Business

Response:

Business Response /* (1000, 13, 2014/05/27) */

We have moved alot of our customer service to email and to our online membership, if you need to contact us by phone you can call us, but the best way of communicating is via your online membership... Best Regards...

Review: they are deducting money out of my account monthy, and refuse to answer the phone, return phone calls or provide any service! I am paying for nothing

I began using their service in December 2012, to try to improve credit for my business. they are deducting money from my account every month, yet they are doing nothing! They do not answer the phone or return calls, they are stealing money from consumers if they are just taking it and not providing a service.Desired Settlement: provide the service they said they would

Business

Response:

Business Response /* (1000, 13, 2014/05/27) */

We did transition to email correspondence which is very effective as we have grown our business. When we work on our clients cases it is important to know all the facts and details and via email we have all the details at our finger tips....

Review: Academy Credit has been debiting $49.99 from my account for the past 12 months. I asked for them to stop and they haven't. I never authorized this.

I was contacted by my bank, [redacted] of [redacted] about re-occurring debit activity that was taking place in my checking account. They went online to track down the company which was listed as Academy Credit. There is no account number because I never authorized any business with them. I have been charged $49.99 since January 2012. For example, some of the dates listed on my statements include... 9/11/12, 10/10/12, 12/12/12, and 1/8/13. I called this company countless times as well as my bank however, we have never spoken with a live representative. It has always been a recording.Desired Settlement: I am seeking a full refund of all debited monies plus damages. I don't know where they retrieved my account information. Therefore, I am seeking a return of every debit made to my account ( totaling approximately $650.00 plus tax). And, I am also seeking another $650.00 for pain and suffering because my checking account was overdrawn twice...and they stole my information/used it without my consent. Overall, I am seeking $1300 from this company...unless I am given further information from my bank that justifies a higher settlement. I will continue to gather as much info as possible.

Business

Response:

Consumer's Final Response /* (-5, 5, 2013/01/17) */

Upon reviewing my bank statements further, Academy Credit has been debiting my checking account for 2 years. So, the original refund is no longer $1300 but approximately $2500-$3000 (damages/pain suffering included) because the timeline extends further than what I originally thought. I am still working with my bank to determine that no other fees were charged beyond the year, 2011.

Business Response /* (1000, 14, 2014/05/27) */

We have done research on this account and this client sign-up online and we have identified the IP address and he has had access to our service and his online membership.... If we can assist him further with understanding the web-site he signed up on we are always willing to help him remember signing up...

Review: Failure to respond to inquires on my case and billing questions

on numerous occasions I attempted to contact Academy creidt to get an update on the progress made on my behalf. I did not get a responce either by phone or email. I tried to close my account via the webite but ot no avaol as they continued to bill my credit card. when attemnpted to contact them recently, the calls were disconntected after selecting the menu prompts. I am asking for a refund for the services not rendered since my iniital inquiries.Desired Settlement: refund of the montly serive fees from my initial inquiring to close my account and complaint for lack of service

Business

Response:

Business Response /* (1000, 13, 2014/05/27) */

We have emails that show we where communicating with client. He didn't want to pay for the services we offered and we did a good job for him. We ask our clients to either send us an email to cancel or they can do it through their online membership and it automatically closes....

Review: Canceled service. Continued to be billed $69.95. Have requested repeatedly to be refunded and for the charges to stop.

Continue to be billed for service that I have not recieved, have requested cancelation and been told that service was canceled. Billed on June 11, 2013 for $69.65, no service received. Billed on July 10, 2013 $69.95, no service received. Billed again on August 12, 2013, no service received. Every time my account is debited I call and they assure me this won't happen anymore.

Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of $209.85 and for THE CHARGES TO STOP!!!!!!!!!

Business

Response:

Consumer's Final Response /* (-5, 7, 2013/09/09) */

Academy Credit has charged my bank account again on September 9, 2013.

Cannot get through to customer service and they will not reply to email.

Business Response /* (1000, 14, 2014/05/27) */

We asked him to send us notice via email, which he never did, we needed to know his name and email address so we could close his account, it is now closed and we did do service for him while he was being charged...

Consumer Response /* (3000, 16, 2014/05/28) */

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

I spoke with several representatives who communicated the account would be closed. I also canceled the account via Academy Credit's website. I was being billed monthly and NO SERVICE was being preformed. I am not saying the service was ineffective, I mean literally there was NO action being preformed.

Business Response /* (4000, 18, 2014/05/29) */

We have done service for our client and have not been charging him once we got notice.

Review: Academy Credit charged my account a second time despite a previous for complaint for lack of service, failure to answer phone during business hours,et

Academy Credit charged my account a second time despite a previous for complaint for lack of service, failure to answer phone during business hours, and failure to respond to emails. I have not been able to communicate with this company, much less receive any service at all, yet they have charged me for a second month of service. This company has failed to provide customer service and it has not provided the service it sells in any circumstance. They charged me the second time after I closed my account with Academy Credit.Desired Settlement: I am seeking a full refund, which includes two charges of $69.95, because no service has been provided by this company, during and after the free trial. The company has refused to respond to my attempts to communicate through email and voice mail.

Business

Response:

Business Response /* (1000, 13, 2014/05/27) */

We are sorry that you felt our service was not up to your expectation, I can assure you we have worked on your account and have communicated with you via your online membership....

Review: Sight does not disclose cost until they have your money, then don't let you cancel transaction and will not refund you. - scam like practices.

Friday, July 25, 2014, I looked at the Academy Credit website, and was intrigued. I wanted to try the service. I would not have spare funds until the following week, but the website offered a 7 day free trial, claiming I would not be charged at all if I canceled, and if I did not cancel, I would not be charged until the seven days were over. So I initiated the sign up process.

After, and only after, I had submitted my payment information in the multi-step sign up process - I was informed that I would a hold of $29.95 would be placed on my bank account. I terminated the sign up process, I did not click the authorization to put the financial hold on my account, I figured I would return the following week when I could spare the $29.95 and try again.

As an aside, I have utilized free trials for other websites. Some I have continued to utilize the service, others not. However, in every other instance where a validation hold/charge was involved, these companies either warned about the hold/authorization charge before even requesting payment information, or, if they didn't inform until afterward, simply terminating the sign up was enough for them to delete the information and not go ahead with the sign up charge. Some didn't charge or hold at all, but those that did offered full disclosure and required my consent to hold or charge any money.

Not so in the case of Academy Credit. They put the hold on my account anyway. When I saw my bank account had the money held, I was concerned, because I had not authorized it, and had not completed the sign up for an account. I called their customer service number and was told too bad, they won't release the hold until 7 days are up. The girl I spoke with ([redacted]) listened when I explained that I had not authorized it and had not signed up, and she confirmed over the phone that I had not authorized the hold. She said she would speak to her boss and call me back by the end of the day. I recieved no call back.

This morning, Monday, July 28, 2014, I called back and spoke with the owner. He was rude and abusive over the phone, lied about what the website said, and hung up on me twice. He ignored my statements that the website was misleading and took money even when it was not authorized, saying he could run his business however he wanted. When I attempted to verify that I would not be charged at all at the end of seven days (because at this point, I want nothing to do with a company that lies and steals), he told me he had canceled my account, which contradicts what I was told on Friday by [redacted], that I hadn't actually signed up for an account in the first place.

I am concerned that he has my payment information and will actually take my money, because he could offer me no confirmation other than "his word" that I would not be charged, and since he's lied about the contents of his website, I don't really trust his word. Still, he offered not confirmation email, or anything concrete.

I am also concerned that other unsuspecting consumers will have money that they need frozen in their accounts without their authorization - the business owner said he had fixed it, but I went and looked at the website again, and while I didn't go so far as submitting my payment information again, the sign up process still demands you submit payment information before disclosing that they will place a hold on your money.Desired Settlement: A release of my funds before "the seven days are up" would be ideal, but due to how long this process is likely to take, seems unlikely. I will settle for him not taking any money from my account, purging my payment and personal information from his system, updating his website so it warns customers about the hold before they give him their information, as well as changing the misleading statements that imply there will be no charges whatsoever if you cancel before the seven days are up (ye, a hold isn't technically a charge, but your money is still unavailable to you even if you cancel the service the next day, per [redacted] and the owner). I would also like an apology from the owner for misleading and unethical business practices, and for his uncouth manner on the telephone.

Business

Response:

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/07/31) */

Contact Name and Title: [redacted]

Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX

Contact Email: [redacted]@academycredit.com

Throughout the sign up process, we let our clients know that the initial fee will be held for 7 days. On the third page where you put your credit card info, it clearly tells you that the initial fee will be held. Also on the fourth page, it also tells you next to the submit button, that the funds will be held.

We apologize that this wasn't made more clear, and we will do our best to make this more clear throughout the web-site and we appreciate the feedback...

Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/08/07) */

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

This response is laughable at best. I have been watching the website, which has certainly gone through some interesting changes this past week, as though the business itself is having an identity crisis. Prices are changing, business descriptions are changing, terms and conditions are changing (the current set reads as quite the buyer beware, as they can cut off access to everything you pay for but continue charging you until you cancel, amongst other highly interesting features), the whole website has had a grand makeover.

The one thing I am looking for, however, is not there.

Academy Credit states that throughout their sign up process, they let their clients know that the money will be held for seven days. This is a lie, and I have source code from the original site to prove it. It shouldn't be needed, however, as that information *still* isn't available before you have to submit your payment information.

Academy Credit states: "On the third page where you put your credit card info, it clearly tells you that the initial fee will be held" It clearly says no such thing. I'm looking at it right now. It says:

"Begin the process of disputing negative items on your credit report.

Please fill out the information below and click next to continue your enrollment and start restoring your credit!

You will be charged $99.95 after your trial period and only $69.95 per month each month you choose to continue service.

If you are not completely satisfied you may cancel at any time."

Then it lists the information you entered on the previous page. Then there are fields to enter your address. THEN THERE ARE FIELDS THAT TAKE YOUR PAYMENT INFORMATION.

It then says:

"By submitting this information and completing the sign-up process you are agreeing to a month to month membership to Academy Credit. If you feel Academy Credit is not for you, cancel at anytime from today to avoid the monthly membership fee. Full terms and conditions are on the final confirmation page."

Nowhere on this page is anything about your money having a hold placed on it for the duration of the trial period.

Now, I won't dispute that on the following page, next to the submit button, that it tells you that funds will be held. That is what I saw the first time, when I went to sign up for my free trial, and that is why I opted not to complete the sign up for a free trial.

The problem is, by the time they actually tell you that, it is too late. Even though I did not agree to having my money put on hold when it was finally revealed to me (once again, it is not revealed until after you they have your payment information, and I don't know how to make this any clearer), Academy Credit took it upon themselves to put a hold on my bank account, even though I did not complete the sign up process. During one of my telephone conversations with [redacted], he told me that I didn't have to complete the sign up agreement, that he could put the hold on my money as soon as he had my payment information whether I signed up or not. I don't know how legal that is, but it isn't ethical. Particularly when there is no warning - once they have your payment information, it is too late!

As far as their "apology" that "this (the initial fee will be held for 7 days) wasn't made more clear, and we will do our best to make this more clear throughout the web-site and we appreciate the feedback..." Is "unclear" supposed to be a euphemism for "not actually on the website where we pretended it was"? If so, they could "make it more clear" by actually putting the information there in the first place.

As far as my original grievance, obviously the seven days have passed. Lucky me, I didn't even have to wait the full seven days to get the hold released, though no thanks to any efforts on the part of Academy Credit. Despite [redacted]'s insistence that there was absolutely no way on earth anything at all could be done to release the hold, there was nothing he could do, and there was nothing I could do, it turned out that a simple phone call with my bank (who in turn had to call Academy Credit and verify that I did not have an account with them) managed to get the hold released. I'm not sure if [redacted] was deliberately lying to me about not being able to do anything because he couldn't be bothered, or if he simply lacks the imagination and inclination to put forth any effort to resolve things. I do find it very telling that [redacted] also insisted he couldn't give me anything other than "his word" that they wouldn't charge me again, when one of his employees was able to send me an email stating that. It took her about ten seconds. Again, I'm not sure if this was ignorance in [redacted]'s part, although I don't think much about a business owner who understands so little of how his company actually works, or the actual malice of being unwilling to give me anything in writing.

At any rate, I got my money back just in time, and I wish I could let that be enough, but they still haven't fixed the website.

It's possible that [redacted] really is unaware that they they don't say anything about pulling your money until after they have your payment information (though I do know that he is aware that they will put the hold on someone's account even if they don't complete the sign up, as he admitted it to me over the phone). If this is the case, I encourage him to go take a good look at his website, and not rely on whoever his technical liaison is, as the lack of a disclaimer before the critical point of submitting payment information is plain to see for anyone with eyes. It's also possible that he's just lying.

I want that fixed. I want the website to state BEFORE THE CUSTOMER HAS TO ENTER ANY PAYMENT INFORMATION that they will put a hold on your funds for the duration of the trial. And I still want an apology for the abusive language he used on the telephone and for putting a hold on my money when I did not authorize it, and an apology for lying about it, whether the lie was deliberate or not.

Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/08/11) */

We are grateful you where able to get the money which was held in your account back. Thanks for the feedback and we appreciate your interest in our company.

Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2014/08/18) */

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

This business is not proposing any resolution. They stated "We are grateful you where able to get the money which was held in your account back." implying that I am claiming that they actually took the money rather than simply issuing a hold. I know very well that they "only" issued a hold. I have never stated otherwise, either on the telephone, or in any of my written communications. I never asked that they "put money back into my account/" All I ever asked is that they released the hold. Yes, the hold. The hold on the money that was always held in my account. The hold that they could have released if they'd cared to, but they couldn't be bothered, and lied to me that it was impossible. The hold that was placed without my consent, because their website did not inform that it would be placed until after they had taken my payment information, the hold that was placed as soon as they had my payment information, before I ever clicked an agreement to their contract. In fact, I just checked, and that information STILL is not part of the sign up process, even though their previous communication says it is. It is not. It is not there. It is not there at all, until (presumably, as I still have no intention of actually giving them my payment information again) they have one's payment information, in which case, I can only assume, since they've failed to provide any evidence to the contrary, the hold will immediately be placed without the potential user's consent. Unethical does not begin to cover it.

Though they claimed to have fixed it last time (actually, they claimed nothing was wrong in the first place, and that the information was always there, at every step of the process, even though I have source code of the pages proving it's not), I notice that not only is it still not "fixed," they're completely ignoring the issue. A brief statement that they are so happy for me while implying that I've been claiming something I haven't been (namely, that they actually took my money instead of placing a hold on it), along with "Thanks for the feedback and we appreciate your interest in our company." which is a canned non-response.

I suppose expecting reasonable and ethical behavior out of a company built on taking advantage of people with poor credit is a bit too much to expect. There is nothing their business offers that one cannot legally do oneself, as it is perfectly possible to dispute invalid credit charges without an intermediary. It works as a business model because many people prefer to have someone else do that for them. I thought at one point I might be among them. [redacted]'s poor business practices have quite convinced me otherwise. This is a free country, however, and as [redacted] is so fond of saying "He can run his business how he likes." The thing is, his customers won't stay his customers if he doesn't treat them better. Perhaps he doesn't care about keeping customers. He called me stupid, so perhaps his business plan is to sucker a bunch of other "stupid" people with one time hits, then distract them until he can actually take the money out of their accounts. (Once again, [redacted], I am not claiming, nor have I ever claimed, that you took money from my account. But since I know your opinion of my mental faculties, perhaps you think that, despite my repeated assurances to the contrary, I still think that you physically took my money. I assure you, I know it was just a hold.) [redacted] asked me what kind of person submitted their payment information on a website when they didn't want to get charged. A gullible one, apparently, one who thought a legitimate business actually followed ethical business practices. One who has never run across a business which so grossly oversteps its bounds. My bad. Fool me once, fool me twice, and all that. You see, getting charged was never the issue. Getting a hold placed on my account without my consent always was, along with your abusive language on the telephone.

I have attempted to negotiate in good faith. You clearly have no interested in doing so. Nonetheless, I will ask again. I want your website fixed so you disclose your intent to place a hold on potential customer's accounts BEFORE you take their payment information, not after. And I want an apology for your abusive language over the phone. I'll even say please. "Please."

I never made any agreement with this company for any service ever. I think they are a part of a scam to bill credit cards deliberately, changing names
I suspect that this company in Utah has been charging my discover card under multiple names: Simplex, American consumer information, RTLLC Funding Solutions, total >$500. Whenever a dispute is filed they start billing under a different name. They never return my calls and this is very distressing to me.