Ziinga.com
Complaint 147420 Details

On Aug 3rd I seen an advertisement for the Ziinga website which indicated it is an auction website. At the time there was a promotion indicatin g that there would be 7 days free after which time I would be charged a membership fee. On thew site I seen a bid taking place for a $50 Master Card for which I subsequently bid on. I won the bid at which time I was asked to enter my CC information, I reviewed the terms and conditions which states the following:

Terms and Conditions: You may cancel your account at any time by sending an email to [email protected].

Membership

Ziinga offers different types of memberships, each with a corresponding monthly fee. Once you become a paying member, you can review the benefits and the price of your membership by going to "My Account".

You can always cancel your membership by emailing into [email protected]. Remember to include your username.

All VIP memberships come with a 3-month binding contract. Customers who breach the 3-month binding contract will be charged a cancellation fee of £ 35.00. Note that cancellation of the contract will void any free promotional gift offer.

As part of our 30-day return policy, refunds must be claimed within 30 days after the date of sign up. However, users may only be entitled to a subscription fee refund if they have not used any of their membership benefits (cancellation fee applies). If the member has already received a free promotional gift from Ziinga, that item must be returned to Ziinga's return address in an unopened condition. Once Ziinga receives the item and all requirements have been fulfilled, Ziinga will process the refund request immediately.

Membership fees will be charged upfront to your credit card every month. Member price and benefits are subject to change without notice. Membership fees cannot be refunded.. Once my information was provided


Complaint Cont: After reviewing the T&C I submitted my CC information on the site which then stated I would need to send a photocopy of my passsport in order to receive my Master Card, which I was not willing to do ( anyone who does is not concerned about identity theft ). Being that I will never provide such information online I did not proceed with the checkout. Afterwards I sent an email ( within 7 days free timeframe ) requesting immediate cancellation of my account as I will never be willing to provide my passport. I did not hear back from my request and subsequently reviewed my CC statement and found a charge for the Master card, shipping and membership fees. Needless to say I contacted Ziinga by phone.

The representative I spoke with proceeded to tell me that I could cancel my membership but it will be at an additional cost of $50 on top of what I have already paid. Obviously I was not happy about this. The agent then proceeded to read the terms and conditions to me at which time I explained that no where does it state that you will be charged the membership fee during your 7 days free that they committed to. Logically if you are charged immediately for your membership then you dont get 7 days free do you? False advertising. I then requested a supervisor or a manager to speak to and was advised that there were none there were no supervisors or managers and none would be available for 7 hours???? What kind of a call center does not have any supervisors or managers during production hours ( note I myself am a manager for a customer service center, this is not acceptable in any company ). I asked to be called back as my call was costing long distance ( note no toll free number to call ). I was told they dont make outbound calls and was asked to send an email. I responded to the email they had sent me that morning regarding the cancellation and was told I would receive a n email immediately with a ticket number, which I did not. When I advised the rep they said I needed to send from a different email address???????? I only have one email address I explained. I was then told to send a new email instead of responding to one from Ziinga, which I did and received a ticket number. I asked the agent, if they cannot call me back what is the point in the email? She advised they would respond by email. I then asked to cancel the Master Card bid that was charged to me and I will deal with membership separately. The agent then told me she could only cancel it if I was willing to pay the $50 acct cancellation fee. I said no I will deal with that separately. She advised she could not cancel unless she processes the fee. I was understandably upset being that the MC was only for 6.21 and they wanted to charge me $50 to cancel??? How can they charge me for a product I will never receive as I am not willing to give them my passport copy??????????? Ziinga.com is a scam and I fully intend to report to the better business bureau as well as speak on every public forum I can find about how poorly this company is managed and its misrepresentation. When something is stated to be free it should be free. Now I am being charged for a product which I will never use and a MC which I will never receive not to mention the shipping fee for a product they will never ship unless I provide my passport info. It is asinine that they would require such documents and without prior notification to entering your CC information. I am now awaiting a response from my email which I do not ahve hopes of attaining any resolution. Absolutely horrible experience.