Group buying sites have become popular these days. They offer you some sort of purchase at a reduced price, based on a minimum number of people purchasing the offer. Some of the most popular are Groupon, Living Social and Seize The Deal. I’ve used such sites and recommended them.
There’s one that I’ve recommended and tried to use called SaveMore. I now believe that this is merely a scam. When I signed up with the site, they gave me a $10 credit, or so they said. Later when I went to make a purchase, there was no way to apply the “credit.” The offer was for something I use, so I went ahead and purchased a $10 voucher for $5.
When I went to redeem the voucher, I discovered that the offer was for a physical gift card. That’s unusual; most of these sites have you print out a coupon rather than wait for something to be mailed to you. But I put in my info and waited. And waited. And waited.
I’ve made a few comments on Facebook and have had a seemingly concerned customer rep respond. But searching a bit on the Internet, I’ve found lots of complaints and no satisfied customers. I’m glad that I’m only out $5, though I will try and keep an eye on my credit card statements to make sure they don’t hit me for anything else.
I mainly wanted to write this in case someone saw one of my recommendations and wanted to buy from SaveMore. I can’t say unequivocally that it’s a scam, but I will repeat the obvious: Buyer beware.
And I’d love to hear from satisfied SaveMore customers who can assure me that this is no scam.
Update (9:00 a.m., CST): Got an e-mail from a SaveMore account rep informing me that my gift card “hasn’t gone out.” Mind you, this is for a card that was purchased on November 4 and redeemed on November 21. “Hasn’t gone out”? Still seems scammy.
Group buying sites are spreading like wildfire. I read recently about how hundreds opened and closed in the past year in Brazil. Gotta be careful.
If it’s any comfort, I’m out $5 too. Somebody at a fast food place gave me a counterfeit $5 bill in my change a week ago. Didn’t realize it until later that night.
So many ways to get ripped off.
SaveMore is owned by Doug Van Arsdale, the CEO and founder of Credit Solutions of America and Lending.com, according to the TX Secretary of State.
CSA has pending lawsuits nationwide for fraud and has been banned from operating in more than one state. Lending.com owes more than $7 MILLION in back taxes.
SaveMore also owns OMV Holdings, the managing company that owns the majority of merchants that don’t ship their products: The Vase Store, WaterBottle.bz, Fabulous Nails, Home Decor, Gadget Gear, Accessories Direct, Electronic Skins, Live Thin, etc. etc. The list goes on.
Basically, SaveMore is owned by companies that have a history of fraud and they’re using SaveMore to try and pay for their previous business disasters.
I purchased two things from savemore 6 weeks ago and have yet to receive a thing. I can’t even figure out how to get ahold of them.
A group of irate customers and bloggers, along with a few unpaid merchants(11 total now that I know of that Savemore has not paid) have been keeping track and digging for info on Savemore. We are trying to spread the word the best we can and get this info out to the public. The BBB warned customers to stay away. There are 260+ complaints as of the story CBS Dallas ran last night. Links to all the info, articles and news story are over here if you want to know how far the rabbit hole really goes: http://www.facebook.com/savemoreSUX