Bookspan

Review: I have been a member of the Scientific American Book Club for several years, having purchased the agreed number of books, and additional books over the years. I have accumulated credit for purchases that have not been redeemed. Within the past year, the Book Club representatives have changed the website and in so doing, is not honoring the credit accumulated over the preceding years. They have "cleared" my credit, and have indicated they are changing the conditions that were previously agreed to. I was informed that the new program would be made available this fall (which it has not), and that the previous credits would not be honored as agreed to when I and others joined the Club, and in so doing, have played by the rules.Desired Settlement: Re-issue my credits for having purchased books in the past so that I can now apply those credits appropriately so to future purchases.

Business

Response:

November 19, 2013

Review: For the past several months I have had to contact this company regarding repeated charges made to my account for items that had been declined. All of the transactions were stopped, however due to the way these transactions are processed the hold for the amount of the charge remained for several days tying up money I needed for other things and on more that one occasion resulted in overdraft charges being placed on my account. Since they are incapable of following their own rule to refrain from billing me for featured selections that I have declined, when I called in August I clearly stated several times that they no longer had my authorization to bill items to my check card and demanded that my check card number be removed from their system. The girl I spoke with indicated that the number had been removed and that no further charges would be made. In early September another charge was made on my account. I called again, repeated that my authorization had been withdrawn in August, that I had asked for my card number to be removed and that the person I spoke with had lied to me. The person I was speaking to indicated that a mistake must have been made, told me she was switching me to a members choice account, which automatically took my card number out of the system, she said I would no longer have to decline featured selections and that no charges could be made to the account unless I called in an order and gave them permission. She lied. On the seventh of October another charge was put on my account. I called again and repeated that authorization had been withdrawn and that my number was supposed to be removed from their system, along with the lies I had been told the previous two months. I expressed my dissatisfaction with the company, told them it was illegal to make charges against someones bank account after authorization have been withdrawn and told them I would be filing a complaint with the Revdex.com and in return received attitude from the employee. He seemed to be of the opinion that I shouldn't be making such a fuss since it was a small sum of money and it is always returned. To most people it may not be, but I am on a fixed income and taking care of my husband who is awaiting a heart transplant. I cannot afford to have even small amounts of money tied up for charges that should not have been made in the first place. These unauthorized transactions also cause me a great deal of stress, because on top of everything else I have to deal with, I have to worry about how many overdrafts it is going to cause. I have tried to resolve this problem with the company and it has become very obvious to me that this company will continue to bill me and leave my check card number in their system if someone doesn't intervene on my behalf and put a stop to it.Desired Settlement: I want my check card number removed from their system. I want them to stop placing fraudulent charges against my checking account. I want an apology for the lies, the attitude and the inconvenience I have experienced the past several months. I would also like the Revdex.com to put a stop to this practice. If something like this happens one time, it is a mistake. When it happens for six months in a row, it is a business practice and needs to be stopped.

Business

Response:

October 15, 2013

Review: On August 14, 2013, I placed an order for two books with this company. The cost for the books, including shipping and handling, was $26.46--which was paid for via debit card. On the same day I received confirmation of the order via e-mail. Since then the company has made no effort to contact me regarding the status of the order. Inquiries to the website merely show the order status as "processing." I have sent two e-mail inquiries regarding this order and have not received any form of acknowledgement from the company.

Yesterday I was doing my weekly balancing of my bank accounts online and noticed that this company made an unauthorized withdrawal from my bank account in the amount of $15.23. There is no record of any corresponding order for such an amount on my account.Desired Settlement: 1) I demand a full refund for both transactions [Total $41.69]. This is for both the books I had ordered which were never delivered and the moneys stolen from my bank account without authorization. Since it is apparent from their steadfast refusal to provide direct answers to inquiries that this company has no intention of honoring its contractual obligations, and is furthermore engaged in wire fraud and theft since they conduct this business via the internet and are using the internet to gain access to people's bank accounts.

2) I demand punitive damages equal to ten times the amount stolen from me by this company since it is apparent this company will not cease from such practices until and unless they incur a financial loss for such practices.

3) Immediate termination of my contract/membership with them for which they will waive any minimum or future purchase requirements and assess no penalties against me.

Business

Response:

September 10, 2013

Review: www.bomcclub.comaccount # [redacted]Phone # ###-###-#### OPT # 9Early June my wife [redacted] return three books and looking to receive a $ 45 credit. She called and talked to a customer service supervisor [redacted] on 6/5/2014. They informed her a credit will be on it's way. She called again on 6/6/204 and spoken with a customer service supervisor [redacted]. Both times it was escalated to the credit dept. They already received their product back and yet we are still waiting for our credit. 6/18/2014 I've spoken with customer service supervisor [redacted]...she spoken with the credit dept and I would have my credit in 48 hours. As of 6/23/14 I'm still waiting. I'm on the phone with these folks and I'm getting the run around. They can't transfer me to the credit dept due they don't accept incoming calls. According to [redacted], she spoken with the credit mgr and will she will be calling me directly...I'm still waiting for their call. Meanwhile I'm still on the phone with these folks. I just want our credit.....

Product_Or_Service: 3 books

Account_Number: [redacted]Desired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Refund

I would like my credit and our membership cancel

Business

Response:

June 25,

2014

Review: The company makes you keep a credit card on file even after you have completed your agreement. Due to this I was charged for a "featured selection" in error. The company has acknowledged the error several times by different representatives yet I was still charged. I first saw the error when the "pre-authorization" hit my card and immediately called. The representative apologized for the error and stated that she would credit it back. Since the charge disappeared from my account I assumed it was taken care of. On 12/12/2013 I was actually charged for the ite** causing my account to overdraft. I called today 12/13/2013 and spoke with [redacted] who again apologized and advised me that she would issue a credit but that it would take 3-5 business days to correct. Upon review of the account she stated that the credit was showing issued on 12/11/2013. I'm still unsure how a credit was issued before I was charged when both the representative and the supervisor I spoke with told me that a credit can not be issued to till I'm actually billed. The supervisor ([redacted]) stated he is not allowed to give his last name over the phone and wanted to discuss a comparison with [redacted] and credit cards. I did not purchase from [redacted] and do not care what the policy of [redacted] is. I requested to speak back with the representative as the supervisor was unhelpful and advised me that there is no one else for me to talk to and the he is "the end all and be all" for the company. He revised this statement later saying that he was the only supervisor available. The treatment I recieved from the supervisor was dismissive and unhelpful. The only concession [redacted] made was to tell me to "keep the books". I didn't want the books to start with so that does nothing for me.Desired Settlement: Refund of money charged for books and cover the over draft fees of $35.00 per item that I was imformed from the bank that I will be charged due to this.

Business

Response:

December 23, 2013

Review: I placed an order for buy 2 books get 2 free, I'm still waiting for my last free book. The order was placed in June, I've paid for the books but am still wainting for the last free one. Called them and they said they would be sending one out, that was Aug. tried calling, no answer or put on hold and then cut off. Wrote them on facebook finally got response, she confirmed which book, said she would send one out and that was Oct. 8th. Still no book and can not get through to them on anything anymore. NEVER had this trouble with Doubleday but since they merged with who ever or what ever it's been nothing buy proble**. I am all done with this company but I want my book. Thank you ! [redacted]Desired Settlement: I want my free book!

Consumer

Response:

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: <[redacted]>

Date: Sun, Nov 3, 2013 at 9:35 AM

Subject: (no subject)

To: [email protected]

Hi there, my complaint # is [redacted] and I'm writing this to let you know that I have received my book from the company. Thank you, [redacted]

Business

Response:

November 6, 2013

Review: After I declined the featured selections via internet notification for two separate months, this company sent me the featured selections anyway and charged the credit card they have on file on my account. I refused delivery, returning the packages to the company in May although they said they did not receive them until some time in June. The charge for the selections in the first package was $48.64; the charge for the selections in the second package was $49.71 for a total of $98.35. I started making phone calls to the company at the end of June, calling every two weeks or so. I was told that they had a "new system" and that they were having problems with it, resulting in a huge stack of billing errors that they were working really hard at fixing but that the errors should all be resolved within two weeks. This was the message for each phone call for a couple of months. Each time, I was told that the charges would be reversed on my credit card and that it would take from seven to 10 business days. The charge for the June selections in the amount of $49.71 was finally credited to my charge card on August 12th, leaving a balance due me of $48.64. I was told on two occasions that the charges had been credited to my book club account because they had no credit card information in the system. When I told the customer service rep that I've been buying books from them for years using my credit card, she told me that they have two systems and the credit card information could not be transferred from one system to the other. When I told her that I was looking at my book club account on-line as we were speaking, she said that it would not show up on my screen. On the September 6th call, I was told this would be corrected in three to five business days. On September 16th, I spoke with a customer service rep who said she had no idea why I was told it could be corrected in three to five days because that never happens. She then turned me over to the supervisor of the day who told me that this would absolutely be fixed in seven to 10 business days. However, the amount she was willing to credit was the total amount of $98.35. When I explained that they had already given me partial credit and all I wanted was the return of $48.64, she said she would take care of it within seven to 10 days. I asked her what my next step would be if, at the end of 10 days, the charge was not credited to my charge card account. She said that she would make sure this was taken care of and I could call her back if need be. There seems to be no point in calling these people back.Desired Settlement: I want to have my credit card account credited in the amount of $48.64 as soon as possible. I've been paying interest on this money for months for something that was their error, not mine.

Business

Response:

October 16, 2013

Review: I have tried in vain to get Mystery Guild to cancel my account but without any luck. They just keep sending their monthly notice which I have to indicate no books desired and return it to them. The one phone number I have, [redacted], rings once and then silence. I wrote to their "Customer Service Dept in [redacted], Il" asking then to cancel my account but never received an acknowledgement.Desired Settlement: I would like a written acknowlegement that my account has been cancelled and I would like them to stop sending their monthly notices.

Business

Response:

October 29, 2013

Review: I joined their book club called The Good Cook on August 11, 2014 and still have not received the books I ordered. I have called 2 or 3 times and get told to give it a couple of more weeks. I have also emailed numerous times saying how disappointed I am with the wait. It has been over 12 weeks. I tried today 3 times to get thru on the phone to them and no one would answer.Desired Settlement: I want the items I ordered and I feel I deserve a free book for my experience.

Business

Response:

November 5, 2014

Revdex.com

1337 N. Front St.

Harrisburg, PA 17102

Re: Revdex.com Complaint ID [redacted]

THE

GOOD COOK BOOK CLUB Account # [redacted]

[redacted]

Dear [redacted]:

I am responding to the

inquiry your office forwarded for [redacted].

We experienced a systems

issue that affected our new member enrollments.

[redacted] will receive – if she has not already received - email

correspondence from THE GOOD COOK BOOK CLUB regarding her enrollment.

If [redacted] still wishes

to become a member, we ask that she please re-enroll through THE GOOD COOK BOOK

CLUB website. We hope that [redacted]

will decide to join; we know she will enjoy the many benefits of Club

membership!

You may contact me at ###-###-####

with any questions. You may also send an e-mail to

[email protected].

Sincerely,

Brooke K[redacted]

Correspondence Specialist

Email: [email protected]

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: I was lead to believe for more than two months that my order would be sent. Even when I did talk to someone that was the answer I was given. I do not feel that I should just re enroll and not be compensated for the misleading that the company put me through. I would like to join the book club The Good Cook, but I want the company to pay for the first set of books that I would get when I do join. That should have been the offer from them anyway. If I don't get compensated somehow, remember I was lead on for over two months, then they don't really care if I join or not. Just inviting me to join doesn't cut it.

Regards,

Review: This company has me in collections for a debt I do not oweDesired Settlement: I want this collection off my credit report. This debt way older than 7 years old and I do not owe this money. I have no idea why one [redacted] has this on my credit report and was never contact by them and don't owe this I have not ordered one [redacted] books

Business

Response:

October 2, 2013

Review: A number of months ago I placed a pre-paid order with the Mystery Guild Book Club. All have been resolved except one item. I canceled a CD and while they said it has been canceled they still have not refunded my 11.99. I have contacted them, but still have not received the refund.Desired Settlement: I would like this resolved ASAP.

Business

Response:

October 1, 2013

Review: I signed up with the book club 'Black Expressions' in Dec. of 2012. In their contract it states,

"You can shop and get the inside scoop on featured books anytime at our website. Also, you can read excerpts from your favorite writers' latest books, enjoy FREE author interviews and share your own book reviews/recommendations with other Club members. Plus, review your account information anytime."

From December to about June I didn’t select any of the ‘featured selections’ so there was no issue however once I was sent something that interested me I followed the directions to receive the book. I received an e mail that said,

“You are receiving this e mail as a part of your paperless membership. You must respond to these Featured Selections by (date). If you do not, these titles will be shipped to you and you will be billed for them. Please respond to your featured selections today.”

I responded the first time and awaited my books. By the time I received my next months featured selections I still had not received my books from the previous. I attempted to contact customer service with no avail.

I decided to give it another chance but try a different approach. I did not respond to the selections, under the impression that, as it states in the contract I agreed to, they would automatically be sent to me.

Again, nothing! I go to my online account and there is no record of any of my orders or featured selections… It’s like I never bought anything towards my required purchases!

Membership agreement states:

“If you want the Featured Selection, do nothing or mark SEND NOW and you’ll receive it automatically unless you decline it by the deadline date. To decline it or order another book, you may contact us via phone, reply on our website or return your Reply Card by the deadline date shown. You’ll always have 10 days to decide. If your catalog is delayed and you have less than 10 days to reply, you may return any unwanted Featured Selection at our expense, and we’ll credit your account.

This is the part of the contract that they are not honoring there for I want to cancel my membership. I have not received the services I signed up for!Desired Settlement: Cancel membership with no further commitment since they didnt fullfill theirs

Business

Response:

October 2, 2013

Review: This company is on my credit report and I am attempting to challenge the charge. I am trying to contact them resolve/dispute this issue, to no avail. I have spent OVER 2 HOURS on hold to try and get in contact with someone. I have phone bills to verify this. I am contacting the following number: ###-###-####. I also tried to contact the corporate number at ###-###-#### and the voice mail box is full. This is unacceptable and seems like a true scam.Desired Settlement: I want this charge (which I have no idea what it is for, nor can I reach someone regarding it) removed from my credit report immediately!

Business

Response:

September 6, 2013

Review: The book club is charging me for books I already paid for. I have already called to complain about this, and I have sent copies of their original bill to me, and of my bank statement showing that they were paid the correct amount.Desired Settlement: I would like an apology, my credit reestablished, the bill and overdue bills canceled, and I would like to quit the book club.

Business

Response:

March 6, 2013

Revdex.com

Re: Revdex.com Complaint ID [redacted]

Scientific American Book Club Account # [redacted]

Dear [redacted]:

I am responding to the inquiry your office forwarded for [redacted].

On review, our records show the balance due on [redacted]’s SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN BOOK CLUB account is $92.99. The balance is for a Featured Selection that was automatically shipped to [redacted] on May 10, 2012 because we have no record of receiving her response declining the shipment.

The charge is comprised of $69.97 for a set of two books, a $7.98 shipping and processing charge and $6.04 tax, plus $9.00 in late fees (three late fees at $3.00 each added to the account on June 15, 2012, July 13, 2012 and August 31, 2012) in accordance with our delinquent payment policies.

To date, we have no record of receiving [redacted]’s payment, or verification of the payment.

If [redacted] paid by check, please advise her to send us a copy of the front and back of the canceled check. We will also accept a copy of the bank/credit union statement indicating that the check was cashed, if accompanied by a copy of the check carbon. We will also accept a bank statement showing “EFT” (Electronic Funds Transfer) paid to our book club.

If [redacted] paid by credit card, we will accept a copy of the credit card statement as payment verification.

[redacted] should send the information by mail to [redacted] in our Executive Customer Relations Office at [redacted] or by fax to [redacted]. As soon as we have received and reviewed the information, we will address [redacted]’s concerns.

[redacted]’s account has been canceled. She may disregard any additional Featured Selection announcements that she receives. We have removed [redacted]’s name and address from our solicitation lists.

You may contact [redacted] in our Executive Customer Relations Office at [redacted]with any questions. You may also send an e-mail to [redacted].

Sincerely,

Manager, Customer Relations

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Review: About 2 years ago I joined DBC. I was to order 4 more books over 2 years. In that 2 years I received a Kindle for Xmas. So I read a ton of books forgetting about DBC. They sent me NO emails, OR phone calls, or anything else to REMIND me that I had 4 more books to buy. IF they had done that I certainly would have. Lets face it, in this busy world who can remember something from 2 years ago???? So I get my [redacted] charges last month and they charge me $75.00. FOR WHAT???? I come to find out that because I did not order my 4 books in the 2 year time period they charged me what it would have cost. WHAT???? Without so much as a phone call to remind me? Listen, I'm an AVID reader and had I remembered I would have ordered the books. How can they just charge me for something I never ordered OR received without contacting me first to let me know?? Thats pretty shady in my opinion. Its not fair that they can charge me that much without ever letting me know about it. It seems this has been going on all over the internet with numerous complaints about the same thing. This is just WRONG. They needed to contact me SOME TIME during the 2 years to let me know I had to order a book. But there was no such contact. So they went ahead and charged me for the books. WRONG.....just WRONG. As I said before I did not remember 2 years ago I joined the club. All I needed was a reminder. Why couldn't they send me an email??? This is BAD BUSINESS. They should have let me know that they were NOT going to contact me and it was my responsibility to remember.Desired Settlement: I would like the $75 + taken OFF my charge card. I want the 2 year time frame to start NOW. I want REMINDERS to let me know it's time to order a book. AND......I want an apology for NOT contacting me to let me know.

Business

Response:

August 28, 2013

Review: I have not had an account with DD for more than 5 years. I fulfilled my obligation. Now all the sudden and within the past year they have just started to send me books again. I have emailed customer service and called almost every time I get a bill and told them I was going to write return refused on these books and send them straight back. I also stated that if the books didnt make it back to them it was their problem and I would NOT pay for them. And I wont. I told them the last time I would file a complaint if I got another and I did, so I am.Desired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Other (requires explanation)

To stop sending me bills and correct my account to a zero balance. Then remove me from any future mailing or other lists. AND to not send me another BOOK! Ever.

Business

Response:

June 11, 2014

Review: My bank account was debited 5/5/14 for $49.39 but Black Expressions. I returned the books 5/9/14. The company will not refund my money.

Amount: $49.36 debit from debit card ending in 1993 ( I have closed this account since this incident)

Purpose: Automatic shipment of books

I returned the unwanted books by USPS on 5/9/14. The shipment was expected to be no more than 10 days when the company should receive the books. After a month, I inquired with the company about the status of my refund and they are reporting that the books have not been received. I have been emailing the company back and forth for over a week to no avail. They informed me that I have 6 accounts with them which really may entail the other book clubs that I am a part of that is connected to this same company. I cannot reference the account because I never opened the packing slip. I just took to post office. Their argument is that I failed to decline the books via email timely. My argument is that their site has not worked properly in regards to declining books in awhile therefore, I had not declined books in awhile. They took upon the**elves to automatically ship these particular books. The representative that has been emailing back and forth instructed me to fax the verification of the debit. On 6-10-14, I faxed verification twice but they have not acknowledged receipt although I have verification that it was received. I have emailed it more than once as a PDF document and they claim they cannot open it. I cut and paste the debit information and embedded it into the email and they still sent me an email to say they cannot open the email. The information was in the email. The company is being totally unreasonable. I am left with no other recourse.Desired Settlement: I simply request a refund. I returned the ite** as promised.

Business

Response:

June 26, 2014

Review: I called the company to purchase 4 books at regular price to fulfill my commitment, but the representative do not process the order correctly.

My contract for Black Expression ended on 02/24/14, at which I was to purchase 4 books at regular price to fulfill my commitment. I called the customer service department a couple days before my contract expiration date at ###-###-#### to ensure every book purchased qualified to the fulfilling of my obligation. I stated all of this on the call (which if recorded can be proved). The rep assured me that I would get credit for all books. There system was down so she took my card information but was not able to process it at the time of the call. I later check my account and is now being told that 1 out of 4 books DO NOT qualify. I ONLY purchased those books to fulfill my obligation, not for want. I stopped payment, removing my credit card from their system to avoid future fraud. I contacted their office for resolution. The manager refused to take my call and instructed the agent not to correct my account. I know there are notes on the account or a recorded conversation of this. Now I'm being told 1 out of the 4 books qualify towards my commitment, I need to purchase 4 more books and that I did not fulfill my end of the contract by purchasing 4 books by the contract end date.Desired Settlement: I should not be penalized or forced to spend more money on books that I did not want. I only purchased the books to fulfill my end of the agreement with the company. I did everything on my end that I was supposed to, with the rep assuring me the order would be processed correctly. I would like my account satisfied in full with the 4 books purchased as 100% fulfilled. At that time, I will pay the balance of $50.37 owed for that order.

Business

Response:

April 16, 2014

Review: I have fulfilled my obligation with the Double Day Book Club. Every month that they send me a catalog in the mail it shows that I still have to buy 3 more books. I call and have it corrected and am told that I have fulfilled my purchase requirement. I paid everything in full on a credit card. Now I am getting statements in the mail stating that I owe them $64.94. They say that is the balance on my account. I log onto my account [redacted] and it shows that I have a zero balance. I called and emailed customer service. On the call they say that I do not owe anything. On the email they say that I still owe the money. They are not communicating with each other and I have paid everything in full and do not owe that money.Desired Settlement: I want them to correct their information and then close my account. I am tired of contacting them and they tell me the information has been changed when it has not been changed. I want paperwork showing that it is changed and corrected and that my account is closed.

Business

Response:

October 29, 2013

Review: The company debited an account without my permission and has failed to issue a refund for books returned. I have called at least 6 times (dates recorded) and have been given false information. I cannot talk to a supervisor. I am left on hold for over 30 minutes. I am promised each time that they are "expediting" the credit. This last time, I was told that my "Literary Guild" account was suppose to have been credited when I specifically stated I wanted the monies returned to my debit account.Desired Settlement: a speedy credit to my debit card and my over 25 year membership cancelled immediately

Business

Response:

December 10, 2014I am responding to the inquiry

your office forwarded for [redacted].This will confirm that we

credited $46.46 to [redacted]'s credit card ending in [redacted].We certainly regret the delay

[redacted] experienced in obtaining her refund. We are sorry to lose her as a member and

thank her for her patronage.We trust this resolves [redacted]’s concerns.You may contact me at

###-###-#### with any questions. You may also send an e-mail [email protected],Brooke KCorrespondence Specialist