The Gourmet society rip off.........

johnk

week wrote: »

Has anyone tried going through their Bank with a dispute?

Yes (Barclaycard). Doesn't work. They do promise to block any further payment to them.

gizz_mo

The same thing happened to me and I had not received any reminder e-mails - they probably went into spam and I didn't see them. I had a couple of emails back and forth with customer relations, and they eventually replied with the following:

"As per our agreement we did send two reminder emails to you prior to the renewal of your membership on the 9th and 19th of April 2015 also via Amazonicon SES. We do check that emails can and have been received to the registered mailbox prior to sending these reminders. I can see however that on this occasion your reminder emails remain unread and I am happy to accept that you have not seen these reminders and therefore did not have the same opportunity to cancel your membership as our other members. On this basis I am pleased to confirm that I have issued a full refund of your fee. A separate email will be sent to you confirming such and you should allow up to 3 working days for this to show in your account. "

I can confirm the refund was processed onto my credit card on the same day - I received an e-mail receipt for the refund and it was showing on my credit card the next day. So it definitely does pay to stand your ground, and as long as there is proof you didn't read the renewal e-mails you might stand a chance of getting your money back.

stephie55

I posted on another thread that Tesco credit card gave me my refund as it was within 14 days. Do you consider it is worth ML warning about this in his weeky e-mail as although there are threads on here when you search for them we hadn't seen them until the letter arrived? So many of us seem to have been 'conned'. What annoys me most is we only did the original 3 month trial as they were giving £2 to cancer research - wonder if that got paid over?

ncfoster3

The same thing happened to me - signed up for a 3 month trial, my card was debited, I never got an email about renewal etc.

When I called to complain I was charged nearly £12 for a 23 minute call! A card that has so far proven completely useless has now cost me over £50

wealdroam

ncfoster3 wrote: »

The same thing happened to me - signed up for a 3 month trial, my card was debited, I never got an email about renewal etc.

When I called to complain I was charged nearly £12 for a 23 minute call! A card that has so far proven completely useless has now cost me over £50

Fifty pence a minute on a phone call to complain?

Sorry, but why on earth did you pay that?

On their Cancelling your membership webpage it says:

Cancelling your membership

You can cancel your membership at any time, before your next payment is due by calling us on 0800 043 1978...

See the 0800 phone number in there?
That's a free phone call from all UK providers.

newks44

The Gourmet Society are certainly guilty of sharp practice. My 3 months membership for which I paid £1 expires on 23rd April. In the post today I received an annual membership card with a message to say that I had been notified by E-Mail on 2nd April that my membership was to be renewed. No such E-Mail was received. I've even checked my spam folder.However the Gourmet Society claim no responsibility for this.I checked my Credit Card online and found that my card had been charged on 15th April - i.e. before my existing membership expired with - with £39.95. I disputed the transaction and although my Credit Card Company could not dispute it they have agreed to refund me £39.95 when my next Statement balance is due- I pay off the whole balance each month. It is in the Gourmet Society's terms and conditions that the subscription will automatically be renewed unless one requests that it be cancelled but these are only available online via the Website. In actual fact I contacted the Gourmet Society on March 10th via their Website because our local Beefeater Restaurant had declined their card when in fact they had previously accepted it.They are the only Restaurant Chain participating in the Gourmet Society's discount scheme so it was pointless me having a membership card. I received an automatic E-Mail Response to the affect that I would receive a response within 5 working days but it never came.

My advice to anyone is to steer well clear of these people as their standards of conducting their business leave much to be desired.