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In July 2007, I orderd furniture from Gately's www.designdining.com website. I chose BillMeLater as my method of payment. I already had an acct w/them and had never had any problems. At the time the order was placed, I took advantage of the 3 months-deferred-payments plan. My furniture was supposed to arrive weeks after my order. The furniture didn't arrive when it was supposed to. I went to the furniture website and entered my order#. It said that the dining set was on backorder and that I could "click here" to PROCEED with waiting, or NOT click so that the order would self-cancel. I elected to self-cancel.
Fastforward to my first bill from BML. I shouldn't have received it, first of all. The order had been cancelled. I had not RECEIVED it! At this point, I try to call Gatelys & couldn't get a human on the phone (always a bad sign). So then I call BML, who tells me how to file a formal complaint. The next day, I sent a certified letter to BML, along with the complaint form PLUS a copy of THEIR (BML) terms of service. Per #7a at https://www.securecheckout.billmelater.com/paycapture-content/fetch?hash=PD4106KD&content=bmlweb/bmlwebtnc.html, I am covered and should NOT be held responsible for the bogus charges on my account. Of course, they could care less about their own terms of service (oh but they will!). In early January, I received a written response to my complaint stating that all charges would be reversed, and they were. I thought that was the end of it. Boy was I wrong.
I received no statements for Feb and Mar 2008 b/c there was no activity on the account. This month (April 2008), I received a statement. I thought, "Here we go again." Now here's the kicker. BML allowed Gatelys to charge my account for the charges BML REMOVED IN JANUARY! So now I'm right back where I started. So once again, I call customer service, who tells me that this is NOT a chargeback, and that Gatelys was the merchant that put the charge on the account. I was told, once again, to file a formal complaint.
Let me say this first. Less than one week after I ordered the furniture, Gatelys filed bankruptcy. However, their sites were still up and running and TAKING ORDERS from consumers for at LEAST 6 weeks AFTER filing bankruptcy. When I tried to login to their site in December (when I first complained to BML for the erroneous cill) it stated that it was "temporarily closed" for "updating". What a crock. They were also no longer listed on BML as a BML merchant. So how in the heck are they charging my acct now when they don't even have a merchant acct w/BML?
Back to the story. On April 17, 2008, I filed my second formal complaint. Today, April 26, 2008, I received a response. BML has changed their tune now. They're saying that the charges are valid "“because the merchant states that you were beyond the timeframe to receive a refund.” Uh, no. That's a lie. There WAS no cancellation policy. There WAS no refund policy. No "refund" policy includes a merchant CHARGING YOU for merchandise you NEVER RECEIVED - CANCELLED OR NOT! I NEVER GOT THE DA*M FURNITURE! BML is in FULL and WILLFUL violation of their OWN LEGALLY BINDING TERMS OF SERVICE by continuing to bill me for this. They cannot provide any evidence of this said "cancellation" policy, no "refund" policy, etc., , and just b/c that fraud of a company Gatelys SAID there was does NOT make it true. And they also cannot provide me with a delivery receipt, much less one bearing my signature. Yet they say I'm responsible. We'll see what the Attorney Generals (in at least 2 different states) have to say, as well as a judge. I'm only 4 hours from Maryland, so I'm happy to go to court b/c they don't have a leg to stand on.
Their worthless Consumer Dispute dept in Timonium, MD is a joke. In the letter I sent to them, they COMPLETELY ignored my questions (which were in bold, underlined text) asking why I was responsible for items NOT received. I'm complaining to the CEO of the company now, and if that doesn't get me anywhere, I'll complain to the Attorney General in my state, in Maryland, and in Nebraska (the CEO is in NB). I will also be filing complaints with the BBB and FTC. I will also complain to TV news "troubleshooters", and last but not least, I am going to hire an attorney. I will fight this, and I will win per THEIR OWN TERMS OF SERVICE. I'll also request reimbursement of all legal fees, travel fees, etc. that I incur in fighting this flim-flam company.
This company does NOT offer "zero fraud" protection - in fact, it's FAR FROM IT. I want to say that I've never been ripped off before, and I'm very savvy about things like this. So, don't think it can't happen to you. It's best to avoid this company AT ALL COSTS. Their service isn't worth the headache you'll endure if you encounter a problem. They could care less if you are ripped off b/c I'll bet that most consumers just roll over and allow it to happen, but they have chosen the wrong one to rip off this time. Unfortunately for them, I'm not going sit by idly while they try to stick it to me. I plan on fighting it tooth and nail every step of the way, and I am going to pull out ALL of the stops as far as media and agencies that I can report this to.
My local CBS station, whose demographics cover over 2, 000, 000 people, LOVES it when people contact their troubleshooters and a big-name company is involved. The more well-known the company, the more this network loves it. So we'll if the old saying about "there's no such thing as bad publicity" is true, because they're about to get some. I'll give them copies of all of my paperwork, including the letter I'm sending to the CEO, and they Google BML and find all sorts of complaints and mention that too (they always do that with big name companies). Hopefully, I won't have to go to this extent, but I will if this isn't resolved VERY quickly.
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Re: Scam perpetrated by eharmony and Bill Me Later
The above two companies are the biggest scam companies operating on the internet. Eharmony lures customers in by the easy payment plans and indicates that cancellation can be effected at any time. Bill Me Later is one of the payment options to select. I decided to open a membership with eharmony choosing Bill Me Later as the payment option.
After two months it became apparent to me eharmony was not a service I should continue. Following instructions online I "cancelled" membership in December 2007. In Janauary 2008 I wanted to ensure the account was cancelled and signed on to their site. By signing on the site it activated a message indicating I was past due and could only enter the site by a credit card payment.
I authorized eharmony to debit my credit card, signed on the site and realized this account had never been closed. Once again I went through the cancellation process and did receive a confirmation the account would close.
Having paid eharmony directly in Janaury 2008 for arrears, cancelled the account for the second time, I assumed there would be no further communication from eharmony or Bill Me Later.
Wrong! Bill Me Later has been billing me for the closed eharmony account. They maintain they paid the initial bill. Even though I have explained that I too paid eharmony I receive telephone calls 7 days a week and emails of my past due status.
Bottom line here is buyer beware. Both eharmony and Bill Me Later are two scam artists working together to fleece consumers by unethical and illegal business practices. The only thing more puzzling to me is why the requisite authorities haven't shut them down already. How many complaints have to be made before there is intervention to shut them down.
I totally agree with the person being billed for furniture he never received. The joke is on us by trusting businesses who have our personal information and continue to bill for services not rendered. Compounding this is the complicity between the so-called bait company and the billing company.
I neglected to indicate that I "agree" with the furniture complaint.
Hello,
I work for Bill Me Later and came across your recent comment. I would be happy to help follow up on this situation for you. Please feel free to contact me at Heather.Fields@billmelater.com and perhaps we can correspond further. Thank you.
Bill Me Later is a scam. I got a bill from them saying that I owe $16.95 for some credit report I never ordered. I called Bill Me Later and I told them that I have NEVER even openned an account with them, how could I get charged? They told me to call the company that charged the $16.95. It was Experian and they said that someone ordered this. Now I know I could be a victim of identity theift, but there is nothing else wrong except for this charge - noone is using my credit. I figure if they stole my identity they would charge a lot more than $16.95!
The second time I called Bill Me Later (after Experian removing these unauthorized charges), they said everything is fine. Next month I get another bill with a $5.00 late fee! They are lucky their office is closed right now! They'll get it tomorrow.
I am going to report them anywhere I can. They already have a bad reputation from what I can tell - and its not going to get better. Hopefully they'll go out of business and soon.
BILL ME LATER -I was a vicitm of FRAUD- BEWARE!While placing an order on the Buy.com website they offered a $20 savings for purchases over $100 using Bill Me Later as a form of payment. As soon as I submitted the order for 2 video games, there was an immediate $1561.41 unauthorized purchase to my account for a gas grill I did not order. I contacted BUY.COM immediately who was no help in fixing the problem.They insisted there was no order with my shipping address or email address. I explained that I was charged for a $1561. item by BILL ME LATER.COM. They said there was no order to cancel and yet BILL ME LATER states I an responsible for this charge. BEWARE OF BUY.COM and BILL ME LATER.
I see that a person named Heather Fields, supposedly from Bill Me Later, has responded to a number of complaint posts. Has anyone tried working with this person? What were the results?
Gail,
I work for Bill Me Later and came across your recent comment. I would be happy to help follow up on this matter with you. Please feel free to contact me via email at your earliest convenience: heather.fields@billmelater.com
Sincerely,
Heather Fields
Bill Me Later, Inc.
heather.fields@billmelater.com
Same thing happened to me. I like Buy.com but hate BILL ME LATER. They are scamming their customers! AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
i have received a letter from you on july 8, 2009 stating that the purchase of US airways for the amount of 1021.89 was not approved. I did not order any airline tickest and would like to know who did. If you would please check into this for me.. thank you beverly piper. ref #[protected]-[protected]
please check into this
Has anyone from California used the Bill Me Later option for online purchases? Like several of these posts, I’ve read stories about consumers being charged inflated interest fees – some exceeding an APR of more than 100 percent.
I work with a law firm investigating Bill Me Later for unfair billing practices and they want to hear from California residents who may be interested in participating in a case. Share your story at http://www.hbsslaw.com/bill_me_later.htm
Tina
Bill Me Later is a joke...
I used it for the gifts for my wedding for our wedding party because we had 22 poeple and that is a lot of money so I did it under the terms of the 90 days intrest free..now keep in mind I still made some payments well, when I got the bill a few months later it was double of what it had said it was going to be, so I called and gotr the run around from a very rude little snit...so, after I got no place with her I paid the bill in full and guess what I got yet another bill for 69.13 for what? So, now I am in a war with this joke of a company..what a mess, my advise is not to even mess with this company they rip you off and charge you for God knows what..after you pay a bill in full it is paid off and one other thing...I told her I wanted to close my account and she became even more of a snit then she was being during my call it the "customer service number" cutsomer service my ###..She was telling me that I was dumb to close my accout and I told her that I was dumb for having open the account in the first place. That is how I find this extra amount hard to figure out the account was closed and paid in full? Stay away from these people..
I made a transaction in Nov. 2010, bill me later had promotion 0% APR and no late fees etc. until Jan. 2012. There is a 17.99% after the remain balance. They changed the promotion in Jun. 2011 no more at all, so I got interest charge and late fees after Jun. 2011. I called them regarding the promotion has been changed, they said " we never offered 1 year 0% APR and no late fees, " I said could you double check the promotion for me please? few week later no any respond at all, I got another interest charge and late fee again. I couldn't find the promotion at all, and they changed the website, because it has been 8 months. DO USE BILL ME LATER WHATEVER THE PROMOTION ARE. They're kind of legal loan shark.
I regret applying and getting approved for a Bill Me Later account. I have been using PayPal for years; transferring, paying and receiving money, and making purchases every month with no problem at all. My transactions were detailed and in plain sight, easy to read, etc.
PayPal kept showing this advertisement asking me to apply for Bill Me Later. I finally did. It has been a nightmare since then. The moment I choose to use bill me later, the money would come out of my PayPal account and my bill me later account...both, then credited back to my PayPal account later, on the same transaction, but yet, no single transaction of it. You would have to click the plus sign next to the purchase to see the info. It is too crooked. Too misleading and completely unnecessary.
When dealing with Bill Me Later's service on the phone, they have been nothing but total idiots; obviously with no skills at all.
They need to be shut down. Their business is crooked to say the least. I was given a measly $1250 limit when opening the account last month. I used nearly $1100 and paid it off right away. The spending/usage experience with extremely unpleasant from the beginning. This company is a SCAM!
Worst yet was when they put a freeze on my account and never bothered contacting me. I noticed it when logging into PayPal and saw my current balance was $82.50, but available credit was $0.00. I called them to inquire and as usual, ended up dealing with an idiot! I told the idiot to close my account right away. I paid the balance right away and demanded they close it.
What an awful company. I hope to God they go bankrupt!
The reason they ask about fries is that you may sub for a different side . . . sweet potato fries, or one of their salads. Get a life and cut them some slack!
Is your food ever wrong when you get it?
Went to make an online purchase and used "Bill Me Later" Some how a 2nd account was created. I got a phone call for an idiot that told me I was three months over do on a payment. The original account is current as always has been. The person on the other end of the line told me this is a "programming error" and it was known as a "ghost" account? The amount owed was 37.00 they were trying to gouge me for another 100.00 in late fees. I called back and got another person who took the late charges off and I paid the 37.00.
Please beware...and do not pay the late fees. This scam is worse than any that have circulated Ebay.
So I started getting calls from bill me later on my cell phone, at first it was annoying, mostly because the calls would come and I would wait on the phone just to learn that the call came either after or before business hours. How can a company call you when there's no one there to take your call? I only stayed on the line to explain that the person they were trying to contact wasn't me, didn't live with me, and they had the wrong number.
After a couple days of this I got tired of it and found a customer service number. I finally got to talk to someone about this, explained that I was not the person on the account and that they were calling my personal cell phone which cost me minutes every time they called. At this point I thought it was over, wrong. I get a call the very next day, I talk to someone about the problem again, they saw that it was noted that this was the wrong number and noted it again. I get a call the very next day and talk to someone a third time, this time they told me there was notes on the account stating they had the wrong number, but because they didn't have the right number they would keep calling me until they get the right number.
Now how can you do business like this? I'm obviously not the right person, I don't know the number, I don't even have an account you have no right to call me, and yet you're telling me it's in my hands to get you the right number? To me this just screams fraud, they waste my time and money and have the audacity to tell me I'm responsible to get them the right number? Do your job and get it yourself! Stop bothering me about it! I will never do business with this company ever! I would suggest the same to everyone else as well, unless you like being bullied by people over the phone.
Just stop answering their calls and report them. Also add yourself to the Do Not Call list.
Wow! Wow!...How this company is allowed to do business anywhere by any government is beyond my comprehension! Where's that so called Credit Reform you ran on Mr. President?
A $19.00 late charge fee on a $138.00 charge that is only 10 days late? ... Lets see!... $1.90 per day charge, multiplied by 365 days...that is a total of $693.50 a year fee on a $138.00 loan. that comes to the astronomical" rate of 503.6% . Al Capone did not charge these rates.
Pity on the poor man who may be late on his payments with these "scammers" who are owned by "PayPal", shame on you all! (including the government)
My next step is close the acct. ...then the BBB, and then the Federal Consumers Bureau and then...maybe a good law firm to start a Class Action Against PayPal.