Warning: Avoid Swipe Auctions (swipeauctions.com) Scam

Swipe bids is a rip off. I have been trying for almost a month to get my money back from them. Each time I have to go the live chat on the website because they do not have a live person anywhere. I am convinced that I have been "chatting" with the same person with different names. You go to their site to register because you think you're going to bid and before you know it you have $159.00 taken out of your bank account. It is their registration fee. It is all bull. I have contacted CBS News because their logo is being used for advertisement on this site. It is ridiculous. Every day I hear your refund will be posted in 5 to 7 business days. I'm done so I'm taking it to the media. Maybe someone will turn these scam artists in and uncover who they really are thieves! Maybe we should start a class action suit against them.

:rotfl: Tripe Quoted
SwipeAuctions Addresses Their Membership Fee When the site first launched, SwipeAuctions tried to make the membership fee transparent and obvious. But, as is often the case during the launch of a new site, the design was not perfect and some people didn’t notice the fees and terms before they entered their credit card information. They were then surprised and concerned when they noticed a membership charge. In response, SwipeAuctions has redesigned the site to make the membership fee even more obvious so there is no chance of confusion. This was a result of their customer service team listening to consumers and responding to their concerns as quickly and directly as possible.
End Quote

:eek: Reality (a very odd term to use on the same line as SwipeAuctions)

a) SwipeBids / SwipeAuctions NEVER disclosed any address for their website for the first four to five months of ripping off all hapless, unsuspecting visitors for $150 US membership fees and automatic sign ups to recurring monthly billings for other similarly undisclosed “special offers of auto topping up of your bids” for $11.95 US. This deception was eventually betrayed by the disclosure in the sites Terms of Use policy by reference to all legal matters to be construed as being in the Province of Alberta, Canada and skillful tracking of individual watchdogs. In spite of the bold claims from SwipeBids then and SwipeAuctions now that their Terms of Use Policy was reviewed by the best legal minds of both SwipeBids and all the bankers that the document was legal and binding, this simple omission of an accurate address did nullify this document then as it does now. No one has been legally bound by this Terms of Use Policy of SwipeAuctions but many are still willing to accept this tripe from their customer service and the many methods of payment managers that were simply looking for an excuse not to refund or charge back any of the money stolen from gullible victims.

b) SwipeBids / SwipeAuctions NEVER have made anything to do with membership transparent or obvious to any hapless victim until AFTER completion of the registration process. This deception was and still is implemented by use of the latest technology of website design of “cloudfront servers” that can display any webpage to a viewer in hundreds of different ways. The hapless victim does get to view a registration page that has absolutely no disclosure of cost of membership when they are identified by their IP address as “new meat” to plunder, but as soon as they become victims of this scam they are then identified the same way as before but as a possible refund seeker and from that point forward are shown the new improved versions of this registration page that does show these disclosures that the victim must have “overlooked”. Again many gullible new victims accept this tripe from SwipeAuctions that they just weren’t being careful enough and just didn’t take the time to look. This same technology is used by SwipeAuctions to produce a registration page to present to the bankers to prove that these charges are displayed transparently. Everyone has seen examples of how this technology works if you have viewed any of the fake “Just In! Amazing Deals on iPads Selling for $34.37” news tripe that will display your hometown, current date and your local weather and all ads on the page are targeted to your local market. Through your IP address and reverse lookup tools they know who you are and where you sleep and through the use of “dirty” tracking cookies they know your likes and dislikes.

c) SwipeBids / SwipeAuctions NEVER have displayed this membership fee transparent on any page of their website except for the registration pages shown to bankers and past victims. Not even the bogus Terms of Use page that is proclaimed to be a legally binding contract by SwipeAuctions, does not include any mention of any membership fees or the amounts. If I look in my old Contract Law For Dummies Booklet I find that no contract is legally binding if the price of purchase is not prominently displayed and the customer has the option to approve or disapprove of the contract amount. A further note, just because SwipeAuctions do display an address now, it has to be an accurate one and not a fraudulent statement. If the address showing is not real and verifiable, neither are any of the contract terms.

d) SwipeBids / SwipeAuctions still refuse to inform anyone through the live chat Contact Us area of the business location, management of this operation, or even the basic information of membership fee requirements with the amounts. Instead the newer visitors are told of the company’s policy of non disclosure for privacy reasons and are directed to activate booby trapped links that will cause an instant acceptance of membership with resulting charges of anyone who has already placed all the necessary information on the method of payment page. There are reports and complaints of victims suffering from multiple charges for the exact same membership that were hapless enough to be guided back to those booby trapped links when they were simply seeking information.

To sum this all up if SwipeAuctions wanted anyone to know of this policy to charge $159 US to become a member they would display information clearly on the main page in the banner area. They could put it into the scrolling tripe that promotes the websites charitable goals and the other unethical and deceptive marketing of this website.
The fact is that few if any people would become members of this flashy scam auction if they were aware of the charges. Victims are deceptively led to a page that simply says register here and leave your information in case you choose to participate and win an auction item. Even that trigger button that steals your $159 US is labeled as “Start Bidding” or similar, it’s not labeled as an “I accept this offer button.”