Direct Buy of Suffolk County (NY)
Complaint 75356 Details

I also fell for the “free laptop or tablet” offer from Direct Buy. It turns out that you must log on to ElectronicsClaimCenter.com and, after choosing your “free” product (without any description or specs) and agreeing to their terms, you can print out a Voucher Activation Confirmation Form. Within 5 days, this must be signed and mailed (certified!) together with a copy of your ID and a SASE. Within 30 days, they will mail to you a Product Certificate and instructing you to keep the envelope and to log on to another site (not specified until you get the mailing). At this site, you will be able to print your Activation Confirmation Form. Then, within 15 days of the postmark on the saved envelope, you must mail to them your Activation Confirmation Form, the saved envelope and a U.S International Money Order (USIMO) for $9.95 Activation Fee. When they recieve these, they will instruct you to provide a shipping and handling fee (not specified until then), also by USIMO. They will ship within 2 weeks of receipt of the S&H fee.

So if you jumped through all these hoops and are lucky, you will get a “free” item that is worth what it cost you in fees and postage, but you will not know until you get it (a pig in a poke?). But since they only accept USIMO payments, you have no recourse. Yet another scam perpretrated through Direct Buy. Caveat emptor!