Avoid Ziinga!

gia1

i just bidded and won 2 items on ziinga but before i put my details in i decided to look them up, (good thing i did) is there anyway they could make me pay for the items even though I havent registered?.

soolin

gia1 wrote: »

i just bidded and won 2 items on ziinga but before i put my details in i decided to look them up, (good thing i did) is there anyway they could make me pay for the items even though I havent registered?.

Are you sure you aren't registered? It seems odd that you could Bid and win without signing up.

gia1

To Soolin,

No I have never registered with them i just bid on two giftcards and won them, then they wanted me to register my name and address. so after I googled them I just came off of the page.

gokane

You'll be safe. Never hand over financial details to this scam. Just steer clear of this company.

Jamie_Carter

I wish I had seen this thread before I used Ziinga.

Only just an hour ago I came across their site, and won a camera, as my daughter has been after one for a while.

The cost including delivery was £6.37. However I then received an e-mail from them requesting the following information:

Because we have a one gift per household policy, you must confirm your identity by sending the following documents as proof:

Scanned copy of Credit Card (front and back)
Scanned copy of valid ID (passport or driver's license)
Scanned copy of signed credit card form

And it also said that they were going to take £59.99 per month for platinum membership.

Obviously this made me suspicous, as it stunk of identity theft. So I did a bit of googling and found some more information about them, and their scam.

So I called my bank, and they suggested cancelling my card. When I cancelled my card, they lady said that they could bypass my card details using recurring transactions. And she suggested calling disputes.

The lady at disputes said that the company actually operates legally, but they obviously use dodgy loopholes. She said that she has lodged my dispute, and if after me cancelling with Ziinga, they still try to withdraw more money, then they can take action to recover it.

I have obviously e-mailed Ziinga requesting that they close the account immediately. And told them that I have been in contact with my bank's disput department already. So they are not allowed to take any more money, otherwise action will be taken.

Fingers crossed now then

wonderwoman69

Please please please do not use Ziinga it is a con. They rip you off. I received email to try out a "promotional" bid so I did win camera paid for camera then they send you an email wanting more personal details before they can send out camera. You are automatically signed up for there platinum account they then charge you £59.99 per month but they dont tell you this until after you have signed. You can cancel if you have not placed any bids. Guess what I did not place any bids so demanded a full refund. Shock Horror!!! in the default section the computer is set to "automatically" bid for you without you even knowing unless you turn off the automatic bid so again they get you that way because in there terms and conditions it clearly states that after 30 days if you have not used or bid on your account you are entitled to a full refund but they dont tell you that your account is set on automatic bidding. I have in full dispute with them and I am arguing daily with them to get a full refund I REPEAT DO NOT USE ZIINGA THEY ARE A CON AND STEAL YOUR MONEY. THEY SEND YOU TERMS AND CONDITIONS EMAIL AFTER YOU HAVE VISITED THERE WEBSITE AND BID ON AN PROMO ITEM

danjourno

I started this thread to try to warn people and to find out who else has been scammed.
Apart from the Gold Membership scam, I would love to know if anyone actually received physical goods from them?
Also, I started a poll to see how many people got £59.99 taken from them, without agreeing to the gold membership.

If the numbers are more than 20 or so, we should all write to Consumer Direct (or whatever they are called now) to see if we can close them down, and prevent other people from getting scammed.

Jamie_Carter

Good idea.

I'm still arguing with them....or should I say with their standard replies.

Crowqueen

Whilst I agree fully these penny auction sites are completely unethical in how they operate, if they are operating legally, and people are still using them and paying the £60 without quibble, it will take more than 20 people to shut them down. All Consumer Direct/Trading Standards/Watchdog etc will do is get them to change their policies.

Not condoning what they are doing, but if they are within the law, then it's not really up to you who trades. I think a lot of eBay sellers operate unethically and have bad terms; I couldn't ask Trading Standards to close them down, however, unless they were doing something blatantly illegal, or eBay and/or their buyers shut them down through the feedback system or by simply voting with their wallet and not buying from them.

danjourno

Crowqueen wrote: »

Not condoning what they are doing, but if they are within the law, then it's not really up to you who trades

If you read through this post properly, you will see that they were not operating within the law.
I was never asked if I wanted a monthly membership and even if i was asked, i was never asked what level of membership i wanted.
I had printouts of the website at the time which clearly showed that users were never given the chance to join the membership. Although the terms stated levels of membership, it also mentioned free membership, and users were never given a chance to upgrade to gold. You were asked if you agree to the T&Cs but they mention 3 levels and no mention of being automatically enrolled in the gold level.
I submitted printouts of the website demonstrating the above and card company used them to generate a chargeback and refund me.

However, now I see that they've changed things slightly and now there is a checkbox that says

[checkbox] Included with this payment is a 7-day free Platinum membership. Once the free days expire, normal monthly fee of £ 59.99 applies. The membership is only binding for 3 months.


However, I'd love to know if they ignore the checkbox and then claim that you checked it when you didnt.