Grant Funding Search review: Fraud 334

Today 4/15/09 I received a call regarding this company offer for their instruction program and also was given a customer service # [protected]. When I went on the net to locate the information they had assured me would answer my questions, I found 7 pages of complaints. Today I am going to my bank to stop payment. I am surprised that this con is still being pepertrated. Why hasn't anything been done to put these people out of business? ALL Newark, NJ.

I fell for this scam too. I was looking for and hoping to make some xtra money during these hard times. I went ahead because the web site said that it was only going to be $1.98 for this grant package. I thought I was going to get a book or two, boy was I wrong. I havent gotten anything and I ordered it in January, I'm still looking for it. I started looking over my bank statements and found that they had taken not only the $1.98 but they had also taken out $69.95 TWICE from my account. I called today and had it cancelled I got a cancelation number, the name of who I spoke to and she told me that she had reversed both of the charges and that it would take 3-5 days to get the money refunded back into my bank account (Ill be watching and checking with my bank) in these days and very hard times (for me) nobody can afford to lose that much money. I will be filing a report with the BBB and anyone else that needs to be contacted. The number I called is [protected] and had no troubles cancelling it and I didnt even get the chance to ask her for a refund, the lady automatically told me that the charges will be reversed. We will watch and see.

everybody with a compalint with the grant website- i got my money refunded to my card by calling [protected]. my 59.95 was refunded to my card within a week. so please call this number cause it worked for me and they NEVER have to worry about me trying this b#ll[censored] again! kito4149@yahoo.com

I to have been scamed by Grant Funding Search . I paid by credit Card $ 1.00 on Jan. 16-09 for shipping for a CD ( which I never received. On Jan 24-09 I was charge $29.95 and I called the 866 # NO ancer. On Feb.24-09 I was Charge $ 29.95 so I change my credit card. I would like to get my $ 60.00 back too. Paul call me [protected]

Hello Guys.
They did this to me, and they gave my money back, and I called and got me another card. It's really a shame when you cannot trust a company in the USA Online anymore, so just simply call and ask for a new credit card, and they should send you another if you explain your sitution. I was lucky.
Good Luck to You,
Alabama

I am too! and I am so upset how could anyone scam so many people like this. They say you're getting a free CD for a shipping charge of 1.95, but then they charge your account for the amount of 69.95! This rediclous. I furious.

Even if you would have gotten in, it would not have been helpful nor to your benefit. The grants that they have listed are for corporations, agencies, and some not for profit. So, If you can file through your HUD office or some corporation; you may find something of interest that may help you. If you are just a lowly individual that is seeking help and comfort in some way---FORGET IT!

I think I got lucky on this scam. I followed the steps on /URL removed/ . I recently started checking my bank statement as soon as I get it, and I went to my bank and reported these unauthorized charges right away; within 30 days. I've also been banking at the same small credit union since the '80's, they are very personable, and so they know me. When I ordered the cd online, I printed the page from GFS's website that stated what the offer was. I always do this when I order something online. There was nothing about additional charges. I think this may have helped. The representative at my bank was very helpful, and sympathetic. She had heard of GFS before, and had worked on maybe 3 other claims in the past. She knew most details of how GFS operates; the fine print, the delayed cd mailing, the 'trial period', etc. I gave her copies of what I had, and she had me fill out a dispute form. She said it may take as long as 2 months to resolve, but typically the bank confronts GFS in writing, then they have a time frame to respond. If they fight the dispute, the bank may need me to counter GFS's response in writing, but she told me it rarely comes to that point, and these people have almost always refunded rather than fight the bank action. Regardless of this, there is fraud protection on my debit card so (to my surprise) the $69.95 was immediately refunded to my account. To OUR surprise, IWB Club had already credited my account for the $29.95, less than 24 hours after I called them! My bank offered to cancel my card, and issue one with a new number, but I declined because they said it probably was not necessary. I'm going to continue to monitor my account just in case. Even though this issue may be resolved for me, I believe some follow up complaints (FBI, BBB, etc) on my part are in order. It may help others in the same situation.

I hope something here helps to get refunds for some other people. If nothing else, start now, and plan ahead. Personally, I thought I was being cautious, but I'm going to try to be more careful in the future. I don't think any of us saw this rip-off coming at us, and that is what these scam artists are counting on.

I too was scammed by this so-called Grant Funding search company.I can't believe that our government would continue to allow this to happen over and over and over again to hard working american citizen.They have to know what going on, because there's to many people complaining about this one company.I work to hard for my $69.95 to give it away to con artist, scammer, and false advitiser.Maybe if it was $69million, it would get someone attention that could do something about it!

this people are all hookers in nevada

deep throat it and die slow!

These punk ### robbed me for $2.00. they could have that ### dumb as refs some one needs to call imigation for those immigrants there probably terroist

there a ###ing rip off punk ###

Like many people here, I ordered the cd from Grant Funding Search. I received the cd, but 2 weeks later I also had the unauthorized $69.95 charge. There was also an unauthorized charge from IWB Club for $29.95. I didn't think I was getting something for free. $1.98 for a cd is reasonable. It costs them a fraction of that to produce it and mail it. I should have known it sounded too good to be true.

I got the same routine from their operator when I telephoned. They said I had to cancel before 7 days to avoid the "membership fees." The cd took almost 3 weeks to get to me. I read the conditions when I bought the cd. The was nothing about the charges, the membership, or cancelling before a certain time frame. IWB was more cordial. They aserted that since I called to cancel within the "30 day time frame", I was entitled to a refund. We'll see if they follow through.

I found a website about this scam, and it has some suggestions for us to get our money back:
/URL removed/

I'm going to try it. Good luck people. I'm usually more careful than this, but I guess we live and learn, don't we?

Same Boat here. We should all start a lawsuit. Im sure that an attorney would love to get all of our money back :) There are probably several others out there that have not posted here that would also be on board. Blockbuster lost alot of money because people banned together to get there money back. What this company is doing is not right especially under the circumstances. All of us looking for grant money are obviously looking for a little additional financial help and none of us were expecting it cost this much or else we would not have done it. Lawsuit Lawsuit Lawsuit.

Everyone should go to the FBI website to thoroughly report their experience with this company. I called the FBI in my city and they gave me www.ic3.gov to file a complaint. They said that if they had enough complaints that are similiar then they would launch an investigation. After opening the page, scroll down and you'll see the file a complaint in BOLD RED. Pleeaaase give a detailed description of what happened so that we can get this resolved. (For all of us)

I was also scammed by this company recently. They refused to give me my 69.95 back as well. I need to know the steps to getting a refund.

Same thing here. $1.98. No package they claimed would come withing 3-5 business days. Called to cancel within 7 days. Was told it would be cancelled then they hung up. Two days later recieved charge of $73.24. Called today and they said that I never called before and that I could cancel now. Still have no package or website information, and the cancellation confirmation was the first email confirmation I have received from them. Do not know what else to do except for a dispute. Any recommendations?

I ordered the Cd and I was given a login and password # and when I go to the web site and put the info it tells me is incorrerct. This is a scam. I want my money back, and this Company should not be in the "Most Effective To Get a Grant" list.

I got this CD a week ago or more (I don't honestly remember). I haven't seen any other charges on my account (at least not ones that I didn't do myself). But I will take what has been said on some of these posts into affect. I will keep an eye on my account, and as soon as I spot an unauthorized transaction, I'll let my bank know.

I'm not sure if anyone has any ideas on other sites, but there was one I looked into (but haven't done anything in)...maybe someone else used it or maybe someone has more info.

the site is www.govbenefits.gov any info about this site would be welcome, i'll check back in a few days (and my eyes will be on my account).

We all need to get together and do something about this.This is not legal.

Hi There,

My name is Susan Schafer and I am looking into these scams. Anyone who has been a victim of this, I would love to talk to you and hear more details of your story. I can be contacted at scha0119@algonquincollege.com and we can go from there.
Any help is much appreciated!

Susan

The charge was unauthorized and fraudulent. When I telephoned [protected] and spoke with one of their representatives I was told that any future charges would be canceled, however, it was my duty and responsibility to read their terms and conditions and cancel the charge of $69.95 they took from my bank account without my permission. It was obvious that the staff were reading from scripts. I told them what they were doing was wrong and they knew that what they were doing was wrong. All to no avail, they were adamant they would not refund my money, nor the NSF charges deducted by my bank. They would not give me the names of their principals since they have been told not to divulge this information, although they did give me an address: 2850 HoriZon Ridge Parkway, Henderson, NV 89052.

Has Anyone heard of IWB.Club? They have been taking $29.95 out of my account since August 2008. The first one that I noticed was back in Feb 2009. I immediately called them. They said that I ordered something from them. I did not order anything from them. The man said he would cancel my membership with them. I went back a few months into my bank account and that is where I found that they have been taking money since August. They still are taking money out of my account. Total $119.80. THe number that I called [protected] is disconnected ( imagine that). There is another number I found from one of the charges [protected]. As soon as I'm done here I'm calling them and chewing some a**.

This website should be taken down ASAP and also should be reported to the Better Business Bureau. When I called the tollfree telephone number on my credit card statement, they gave me a phony fax number to write for a refund and an address with a name that was also not valid. This site pops up when I applied for free credit report online. I didnot apply just view what popped up and somehow these guys got my personal credit card information, so I don't think this free credit report business is upfront either.

my account MYCSHELP III UNITED STATES REF 078 [protected] cancel my account pls am go hollyday

I was also scammed by this Grant Funding Research company. Please, go to the FTC and file a complaint with them, maybe they can do something. If you are just noticing the 69.95 charge on your credit card or bank account now, be prepared for a charge of 29.95 from a company you have never heard from IWBClub, because the the Grant people have given your card numbers to the IWBclub people. IWB is affiliated with www.idealfsi.com . Immediately after canceling the IWB "membership" you will get 3or 4emails.

I fell for it too. If it sounds too good to be true! My advice is to use this as a lesson. Even if their was a Class Action suit filed against this "Company" we would not get back all of our money. The ### lawyers would get most of it. Another legal scam that this country seems to ignore. We are the idiots that fell for it. Learn from your mistake and try to protect yourselves as best you can and move on. Your money is gone. I hate to say it but its true.

Hello, Michelle -

You replied to a complaint I made on the Complaint Board about your company making an unauthorized charge for $65.99 on my credit card in January. Unfortunately, I think this was just a stance made to the public because I embarrassed you by saying openly and loudly what happened to me.

This is the email you sent me:
Hello, this is the manager of Customer Service for this program. I would like to let you know that our Customer Service hours are Monday thru Friday 8AM-5:30PM and the number is 888.210.2544. We do have a 30 day risk free satisfaction Guarantee. So please call and any one of our representatives will be happy to assist you with anything that they can. You may also cancel by emailing michellegfsearch@gmail.com. Thank You

I called the 1-888 number today and, for the first time, I was able to speak to a representative, but all she did was to repeat that I had agreed to the deal after a one-week grace period (not 30 days, as you said). I had been trying since January 6th, the date of the charge, to get this thing off my account, by email, by ground mail, by phone. I was not only charged the $65.99 but also an additional $70.00 by my bank for two checks I'd written earlier on funds no longer in my account. I immediately canceled that credit card. Paypal refused to refund my money, saying it was your concern, not theirs. As far as I am concerned, you owe me $135.99, and you are going to pay it, one way or the other. Every time I succeed in warning the public about you liars and thieves, I will knock one penny off your debt to me. You do the math to figure out how many times you're about to get slammed in the wide world. You WILL pay, as I say, one way or the other.

I've contacted the Federal Trade Commission, and I wrote a letter to the Henderson, NV DA's office, which they responded to positively. I've also made a point of complaining loudly and often on various public forums about my treatment by your business.

I am now also on every spam list under the sun. I can tell it's originated with you because there is a really obvious typo in the street address in the subject line which is only repeated by emails from you.

I want to get off that spam list. I want my money refunded. I do not imagine I can get the NSF charges you are responsible for covered. I will give you 24 hours to respond. After that, I will proceed to post the full contents of this letter on every public complaint forum I can find, and I will forward a copy of this email to the FTC.

BTW, I will also notify the webmaster at gmail.com that one of his email users is a scam artist. If you have to get a new email provider, I will notify them, as well. You WILL pay, as I say, one way or the other.

R Dante

They charged my card $69.95 too. I want my money back!

They are crooks.

They are crooks. They use the FoxNews logo as if they were supported by FoxNews.

wish to cancel membership.

The only way to insure that you it won't be charged again is to cancel the credit or debit card you used for the transaction of $ 1.99 and get a new card. I have learn my lesson this won't happen again to me, I am not signing up for any more grant information... it sucks but no one can be trusted...

Hello, this is the manager of Customer Service for this program. I would like to let you know that our Customer Service hours are Monday thru Friday 8AM-5:30PM and the number is 888.210.2544. We do have a 30 day risk free satisfaction Guarantee. So please call and any one of our representatives will be happy to assist you with anything that they can. You may also cancel by emailing michellegfsearch@gmail.com. Thank You

I ordered the same cd and a week later there was a charge on my card. If you ordered through Visa, they will refund your money with documentation. They did mine and I was told mine was not the first this fraud specialist had dealt with the same company and or situation with other clients. Believe me, you cant get a fast buck unless you have a true Grant Idea and then you have to compete for it with thousands of other people with ideas! They are such a scam.

I put out a complaint threw my bank and recieved my money back. I also put a complaint threw the gov. pages the BBB I really think this helped because the obahma grants e-mailed me really quick and my account was closed and I was refunded my 39.95 and all my bank charges were dropped so keep fighting you can get yours back to!

The banks will side with the scam becuase the scam has everyone signed up for the fees..
justcheckin..take your 12 K and starts a trashcan company and then put yourself in one and lock the top, becuase you spew pure garbage and are garbage.

Contact your local IC3 government agency straight away! This is internet fraud. I'm filing a complaint, and have already filed a complaint against both the Grant Funding Search people, and IWB Club people, since they are affiliates and have already charged to my credit card account against my consent (or knowledge).

FILE YOUR COMPANY!

I also was charged 69.95 for a free CD. I am reporting them to fraud dept.