Ziinga.com
Complaint 57471 Details

I received an email in which ziinga.com had been promoted and I had a look at the site. It looked good, so I tried out their free auction for a digital camera. My bid won and I had to pay a nominal fee of (£3.01), $4.65 for the camera plus postal costs.

Being happy with the service so far I also purchased their 10 Bid Package + 10% Extra Bids costing (£7.43), $11.48.

Having paid with my debit card, I received an invoice for my purchase, which indicated that in order for me to receive my goods, I would have to supply some general information as the offer was only open to one person per household, which sounded fair.

This is where things become strange, as I was asked to supply a scanned copy of credit card (front and back), a scanned copy of valid ID (passport or driver's license) and a scanned copy of signed credit card form. These are not things that I believe are necessary for purchasing basic goods, especially when they have already debited my bank account and have my address.

It was not possible for me to contact them on the same day, but couple of days later to my surprise I realised that ziinga.com had helped themselves to a further (£59.99), $92.73.

I contacted them using their 'Live Chat' service, where I was told that I did not use the 7 day opt out for their 'Platinum Membership' special offer, which cost $92.73, and that this was indicated in the terms and conditions of my original purchase and also on my invoice. I went back to the invoice where I found it nestled at the end of the invoice.

I argued that if this is an offer that;
1, it should not be on an invoice.

2, it should be in a separate promotional email

3, it should be clearly visible on their website, which it is not. In fact the Platinum Membership is not mentioned anywhere in the ziinga.com site.

I asked them to cancel my account, which has been done and also return my money, which they refused. They took the stance that I should have read through all of the terms and conditions.

As a consumer I believe that I have 30 days to change my mind, and/or return goods and that I should be entitled to a full refund, which has not been the case. I am really disgusted with the manner which ziinga.com conduct their business, or even if it is a real business and I don't know what to do next. Can you help?