Big Savings Club

arwallis

This is what a friend told me about his experience. it is his account and was told to me before I saw these messages.
1, My friend bid on an item on bid.tv
2. When paying he was asked if he wanted FREE trial membership of the entertainment club and 241hotelclub. All he had to pay was £1.99 to cover postage.
3. The pack arrived. The letter stated that the free membership was for 30 day and that if he did not cancel his membership by then he would be charged £29.99. There was no mention of this in the call to bid.tv( that failure to cancel will result in £29.99 being taken from his account)
4. He decided to cancel so phoned the 0844 number give. The call cost £1.50 per minute (no mention of this in the literature) and lasted 6 minutes. According to the literature it was the only way to cancel.
5. He was told that he must return the literature with a number given by RECORDED DELIVERY.
There appears to be some concerns here, notably:
1. Should bid.tv have informed my friend prior to paying his £1.99 that failure to cancel will automatically result in £29.99 being taken from his account?
2. If not, can this company take the £29.99 without any authorisation from my friend apart from failure to cancel? This assumes my friend received the letter.
3. Should the literature not state that to cancel will cost £1.50 per minute for a call that lasts about five minutes?
This is the account told by my friend and I have no reason to doubt him. Perhaps someone from one of the companies is willing to answer the points? Do they think my friend has misunderstood something?

Edsta

i ordered from bid up tv and accepted the 30day trial over the phone. when my pack came i ordered the (free gift) 241 hotel club vouchers which havent arrived as yet! after deciding i didnt want to lose 99.99 i tried to ring to cancel several times. after pressing '3 to cancel' the phone stops responding. decided to try and cancel by using the web site. logged in first with membership number on card. having cancelled was given a cancellation ref number. was also sent confirmation by e-mail. will update if any further info.

cazzie68

So tell me what didn;t you understand? that it was free for 30 days then you had to pay? or that you just needed to call them if you didn't want it?
I save £100 per year at Asda Have had £400 off a holiday for me and my family in Florida, taken myself off to Paris where all I had to do was book a room. My friends and I are of to France next year saving £400 of our hoilday there by useing their Annual Member rewards and one of their other savings.:money:
All you have to do is READ information sent to you!!!!:eek: is that too hard.
I loved the fact they sent it by recorded delivery so i didn't think it was just junk mail (Lets face it who signs for junk mail).:rotfl:
The staff I've spoken to are warm and friendly and I couldn't get through one day and they phoned me back!!! now how many companies do that I ask.
Of course there is a refund period and a non refund period, do you ask for your car/health/death insurance money back as you haven't used it???:(
:T The Big Savings Club

Newtothis12

Tell me what I don’t understand –

• So they send recorded, that is so you sign for it and therefore cannot say you had no recollection of delivery. That way you are tied into the term unless you act very quickly.
• That you give a password on purchase through shopping channels, so when you ring to cancel and say you had no idea, they use this password to say you acknowledged.
• That after the 30 days you are billed, money comes out of your account and when you ring you’re out of the 30 day free term and it is very difficult to get out of. Including repeated calls to the call centre and Rocket Marketing.
• That the £100 of Asda is no different to when the shop direct sends you shopping bonuses throughout the year, spend x to get x off.
• That the travel discount of £400 is ‘real’ but that if you booked a holiday and asked for money off there is most definitely the margin to accommodate that amount for you. Plus the terms and conditions will stipulate a minimum spend, times and dates of travel and surcharges and hidden charges left right and centre.
• That the flight to ‘Paris’ per say is distressed inventory and therefore the dates you want chances are will be pushed to others. If you are willing to travel mid week non school holiday you are fine. & that if you don’t want to go alone or you don’t want to stay in a hotel you need to pay extra.
• The 241 hotel’s.... They are on industry rates and not best available rates.. Shop around you’d get better and without the dinner and breakfast costs.
• Blockbusters, a given ‘a free rental’ ok that’s good value but £99 for a free rental seems pretty steep to me when love film is only £3 a month. Plus Blockbusters in a ticking clock considering the rental industry is phasing out.

In summary guys, society thrives on the premise of earn and burn, discounts and deals... But this is not a ‘steal’, £99 for a year’s subscription to stuff you would find simply browsing on the internet and through Martin’s money tips which are both free I add is not a good deal.

If your of the elder generation, what are the chances of you using the free photo shoot (which I add you need to pay for the pics), or the blockbuster freebie... They don’t go to bingo or paint balling.. No need to take their money and £99 to a pensioner is a lot.

And frankly who they give it to, the way they promote and sell this product is disgraceful, promoted as a ‘Free discount pack’... Not really, free for 30 days then auto £99 out of the account you use for the shopping channel.. & if you use your freebies within the 30 days i.e. Blockbuster they will not refund you.. Please always read the small print...

Stay well away, it’s a price war out there, the deals that they offer are not real deals, and they may seem but are they great value and especially for the recession... Absolutely not

maimee_magic

Just found out my elderly mother-in-law was conned into joining this last year after buying from bid up TV. I'm really angry that these people are allowed to trade and prey on the elderly. They obviously have no conscience. She's just received the renewal pack which I am sending back and have also emailed them to cancel. Anyone defending this company must either work for them or be very stupid.

Mum3kidz

Thank you all for your advice, I was also invited to take up this offer by Bid tv. I missed the cancellation date and I was debited £49.99, but when I rang to cancel I was told I had to return the complete package before I could get a refund. I did this immediately, but unfortuneately I forgot to keep a copy of my membership no. and guess what? I still haven't heard from them. Do you think bid tv will help without the number?

markev56

Mum3kidz wrote: »

Thank you all for your advice, I was also invited to take up this offer by Bid tv. I missed the cancellation date and I was debited £49.99, but when I rang to cancel I was told I had to return the complete package before I could get a refund. I did this immediately, but unfortuneately I forgot to keep a copy of my membership no. and guess what? I still haven't heard from them. Do you think bid tv will help without the number?

I also took up this offer paid £2.99 for delivery did not think i would use this but missed cancellation date phoned today to cancel was not told to return pack was just told would not get refund ended up getting very angry as had phoned up numerous times and kept getting cut off

JCMac

Hi Lisa,
I also got a phone call from Bid and agreed to the Free Trial offer but it was £2.99 for postage and packing. Fair enough I thought as I could have a look at it and would not have to go ahead if I didn't think it was worth while. Got the information/book sent to me and as I had anticipated, it is not what it seems.
You have to buy gift cards from the store in order to get the discount. It is not just a case of show your card and get the discount. As the only 2 shops in this area that I would use would be M & S and Boots, I had asked that as I had an M & S card would this not mean that having the Bigsavings would be inappropriate and was told no I could still use it. Rubbish. The M & S card gives me points leading to money of vouchers so I would not be able to use it there. That just leaves Boots.
I also asked not to be sent the free gifts as they were not available in this area and I felt that they would be rubbing my nose in it by sending them - they sent them anyway.
It is only after reading the letter that they sent with the book that I found out that they would "upgrade" my membership to an annual membership and debit the amount from my card automatically if they did not hear from me before the end of the 21 day period. In other words read all mail very carefully and don't believe the sales pitch. I phoned and cancelled my membership but have lost the money they have already taken from my account. I did say on the phone that I thought it was all a big con but they were not interested.
Advice to other people is that, unless you live in an area with lots of different big businesses and have no store cards that give you rewards. and will be spending over £100 per store to get one 4% discount stay well away from this scheme or lose over £50. :(:(

cockaduck

I was also bitten by bid up tv, have used bid up and price drop for many years they have changed dramatically in the last year.Once upon a time all goods bought had an unconditional money back guarantee if returned within 14 days, not any more, unless it is faulty electrical.The call rate is premium and all postage is £ 7.99.I too was offered a trial for the savings club it arrived this morning and for me as a pensioner it is useless, telephoned to cancel and was told I had to send the whole pack back at my own expense and get a post office receipt.Certainly paid for my learning today,once bitten twice shy could kick myself:(
Usually savvy and the charming Indian lady caught me on the hop,now hopping mad:(

deanos

cockaduck wrote: »

IOnce upon a time all goods bought had an unconditional money back guarantee if returned within 14 days, not any more, unless it is faulty electrical.

How do I return my order?

We want you to be delighted with your purchase, but if you need to send your order back for any reason, we will allow return within 14 days of receipt of your package.

http://www.bid.tv/PromotionsPage.aspx?Page=Help-Returns