Grant Funding Search review: Fraud 334

Bill, I do read, and their website says the "trial" begins the DAY YOU ORDER, not the day you receive the product.

All these companies have to do is wait beyond the trial period to mail the product, and by then any charges contained in their "terms" will have already kicked in.

No attorney (or the FBI) will touch this because the site has covered everything in writing. As long as the website holds to their terms, they have nothing to be afraid of.

No, I don't work for them.

To all the people who are defending this rip off site here are their terms and conditions as sent to me

Best Regards,
Grant Funding Search

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••TERMS AND CONDITIONS••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

If you're not satisfied for any reason, and cancel within the trial period, you will be charged only for the initial shipping and handling fee. After your initial risk-free trial, access is contracted on a month-to-month basis and cancelable at any time seven days prior to the payment date by providing written notice. Shipping and Handling Fees are not cancelable nor are they eligible for refund. No refunds of any kind will be issued after 7 (seven) days of any transaction date.

you will notice there is no place with a dollar figure . may be you should find out all the facts before you side with them. or may be you work for them.
I will be willing to join any action that can be legally brought against them

Bill in Ohio

HEY REALIST..
READ BEOFRE YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH.
I CANCELED THE FIRST DAY, When I got on thier site with the password you get after ordering I figured it out pretty quick.< THEY STILL CHARGED ME AND AGREED TO MY CANCELLATION 3 weeks after I asked to have my deal canceled. They sent that to my bank and now by bank is siding with them, even though I sent my bank the email with the cancellation request.
That is UNLAWFUL. They wait untill the period is over to cancel you. Also they send the dvd out after about 10 days and that never even gives you a chance to cancel. That is total BS.

Why in the world are you talking about class actions and other things when you AGREED to the terms as soon as you ordered.

Terms link is at the bottom and says:

"If you choose to sign up for this product and pay the recurring monthly charges using a debit card you hereby provide pre-authorization and consent that Grant Funding Search may charge sixty-nine dollars and ninety-five cents on a monthly basis."

How can you call someone a thief when you gave them permission to take your money? You expect someone to bail you out because you didn't read the small print.

We were so disappointed by the way in which this program DID NOT OPERATE. Now, it "appears" the help site is in a perpetual state of updating, thus not allowing anyone to log in for assistance. From the very onset, ALL the security settings on my computer objected to allowing the webinear to link to the parent site, due to certificate errors. I called the company and of course, have never received a reply. I am absolutely ashamed of the fact that I even thought of turning to this company for help. How sad. As experienced by a very young non-profit organization.

I too have been taken by the Grand Funding Search people. I e-mailed them 4 times after the first charge of $69.95, which I knew nothing about, then wrote them letters, and left 2 messages with NO response from any of my requests. I did authorize the $1.98 for the cd, however NOT the $69.95. I have a dispute claim with my Credit Card. After speaking to my Credit Card company I find they have put through another charge of $69.95. These people must be put out of business. Fraud must not be tolerated. I will get my money back from them.

Im with you guys on this one, usually i am a little more careful, but the same thing has happened to me. The original $2 plus an extra 69.95 a week and a half later. is the FBI going to help, or are we screwed out of our $72?

I got the number [protected], and i didnt get a pick up. I hung up after 10 min.

I want to tell everyone about this and I too was taken by the $1.98. So I called my credit card company that I used and had it changed immediately. When I get my credit card statement I will be disputing it and sending in a fraudulent activity notice and let the credit card company handle it. I also tried to call the company back. The response I got was to call their customer service number, and when I did, it was a fax number. When I called back to cancel it, I was put on hold several times and the man did not have anything for me. I told him I will be calling the FBI as this is a scam.

When I first called the company back, because I noticed the same number had called my phone numerous times in the last several days. I was sucked in and as I realized it on the phone, I refused to even go through with the deal. They were trying to get me to confirm my account number again. This is when I knew something was wrong. They did go ahead and post it to my credit card.

The credit card company stated a weird name(not the grant funding search company) who posted the amount at the specific time that I was on the phone. Hopefully, at the least I will be not be paying a cent. I believe my credit card company and have taken the steps to not allow anyone else to make a purchase on that card! I have also made sure I write down who I spoke to when and keep this for future reference.

I wish I had read all these complaints before I ordered this crap. These people need to be put in jail. reading all the complaints is like dejavu over and aver again! To this SCAM CO. You will eventually be stopped and I hope that when you are put in jail they will throw away the key! you're full of crap.

Call [protected] to cancel your order. You will still still be charged the $1.99, but they will give you a confirmation number that the order has been cancelled and no further charges will be made. I was fortunate enough that my credit card company called me to inquire about the charge (wondering if it was fraudulent). I was out of town at the time and they put a hold on my account until I could get home and take care of it. The fine print is in the email confirmation that you received when you placed your order for the grant research website access or CD. Note: the number that the person gives you to call to cancel your order (when they call to confirm your order) is not a valid number [protected]).

Yes they are scammers they say your getting a free CD for ONLY $1.98 but it's not true. There will be an additional charge on your account that you did not authorize for $69.95. When you call to complain they refuse to give you a refund. I never read anything about or talked to anyone prior to this additional charge. I had to cancel my card to avoid any other charges and I also reported them to the Better Business Bureau. This should be against the law..

They say you get a free CD for ONLY $1.98. But in reality you will be charged for a secret membership of $69.95. It is such a secret that you won't even know about it until you check your account and see a charge on there from the Grant Funding Search. Word to the wise don't get scammed by Grant Funding Search like I did...

They are scammers! I thought I was signing up for a free CD and all I had to pay was for shipping for $1.98. About I week later I see a charge on my account for $69.95 in (1/2009). I called and spoke to a lady who said I will not get a refund and that I should have called to cancel the membership within 7 days. That was not stated online when I ordered the CD nor did I receive a phone call about this trial period. They fraudently took money out of my account that was not authorized by me. And then the CD they sent was blank. BEWARE!

From Shanna

i also signed up for the cd that was suppose to cost 1.98 and got another charge for 69.95 to my account. That i did not authorize. Then when i received the so called cd the was no cd in the sleeve . when i finely did it a hold of someone at the phone number on the out side of the sleeve they said that i could not get a refund for the 69.95 because i did not cancel the membership within the 7 days that was aloud. They also told me that i should have reserved an e mail telling me this but i did not receive any e mail stating this. So until the sleeve showed up i had no way of contacting anyone about it. I also sent grant funding search an e mail telling them this and that i wanted the money refunded to my account because this was false advertisement.

From Angel

the same thing happen to me i order the cd on the 2/07/09 and was chardge 69.95 on the 13th they say they wont give me my money i am filling a lawsuit anyone wants to join more then welcome email me at slevester0503@yahoo.com

money was taken from my account from two different places. 69.95 from grant funding search and 29.95 from ideal wealth builder club. I have no ideal what that is. but it was suppose to cost only 1.98 I want the money back in my account. this is wrong. no one answers when I try to call the number they gave when I ordered the cd for 1.98

I am not affiliated with this company, nor am I a customer, but find this amazing.

Does anyone ever read all the information on the websites?

If you would read the "Terms" you would see that you will be charged 69.95 after the 7 trail period ends.

Lesson here, don't just click and buy anything on a website without reading EVERYTHING that's there.

Back in Aug. I had ordered the Grant Research CD as well for $1.98. Then I was charded $50.00 in Aug. and $50.00 for Sept.. When I relized what had happened I called them and I also got the same response from a rude person sayinf that they were simply not refunding my money. I tried many times to contact these people but no one answers now. So my question is, who is going to help us get our money back?

NEED TO ADD A COMMENT my info also said you get a free 21 day membership tobuilders club www.iwbclub. com [protected]
Make sure you call this number also to make sure they do not charge you

Bill in Ohio

I ha dthe same problems. I called and was able to atleast get a partial rfund said they had to pro rate it, eventhough i never got the cd. or used the web site got all but 14.00 back here is the # [protected] claa up and b**ch a lot and threaten legal action like lawyer the BBB your state attorny general and anything else you can think of they just might pay attention even though Igot part back I will turn in their scamn good luck

Bill in Ohio

Thanx Jim, I sent more info to the bank. I have my request for cancel the first day I joined. They did not accept it for 3 weeks and that is what they are holding onto. I also had some more money taken from a random vendor a week after the money was taken. I closed out the card nd the bank did not fight me on that charge.
These guys are total scammers and if the bank does not help me, I will not do biz with them anymore.
The card I use is a low balance internet only card and not my main account.

I understand your frustrations... I have been scammed before on a different situation only I couldn't stop them from taking my money. I even canceled my account and opened a new one but they still took money out of the new account... for a whole year before it finally stopped. My bank told me since I had agreed to the terms ( which were the same as this deal...fine print that I didn't read) that I was bound by a legal contract and they couldn't do anything. I couldn't switch to a different bank because my mortgage was with them and setup to auto withdraw to get me a better interest rate.

No SGM1313... since I didn't sign up for this one I can't see what you see as far as no links working on the website and if that is the case then it has gone further than just a "trick you" into joining. Still... the bank is not going to fight any battles for you because from what they see it's all legit and they are bound by rules of their own.

These companies could be operating out of the country which makes it even harder to find anyone to even try to prosecute. In my situation the only number I could find was listed on my statements and it was just a recording. I ended up losing over $300.00 before they stopped and I don't even know why they stopped. One day they just quit taking my money.
I chalked it up as an expensive lesson on inertnet purchasing and I am VERY skeptical on everything now. I also use paypal for anything I purchase because they have a deal where if you get scammed they reimburse you all your money.

Kat... I too am unemployed. I lost my job due to my company moving operations to Mexico. I had 25 years with them so I'm in the same boat as you. I look at everything that might be of some kind of help for me too but common sense caught my eye on this one to read more about the offer. Think about it...how could any company make any money for a FREE CD at just $1.99 for shipping? That won't cover the cost of the CD and postage. It's a hard pill to swallow right now but you'll know better next time.

SGM1313 ... The reason you paid more was most likely because you went through a different company. After I came here and saw the different ones listed I checked them out and they all had different amounts but they all used the same dirty tactics. Also in the "fine" print for the one I looked into there was a clause that they had the right to change the dollar amount without notice.

The best piece of advice I can give is "don't believe everything you read on the INTERNET"! If your interested in something you see, do some research. There are a number of sites out there to check up on these scams for example (http://www.scambusters.org/governmentgrantscams.html)
Check this website out just for one. It won't help you now but you can tell everyone else you know about it.

SO they say that the policy is 54.95 after the initial 7 day trial period.
Then why is hell did they take 69.95 out of my account? I sent an email a few hours after I joined and said this looked like a sacm, after reading through the website (you get a password/user after ordering the cd) The site was total BS with dead links. I wrote them and email saying this was a scam and I wanted out.
SO 3 weeks later the accepted my cancelation. That is what my bank is going on.
This is the problem< this is a scam. We need help to go after these guys. My email is vader139@yahoo.com contact me if you know a lawyer or anyone that can help us. This is not cool, we were just looking to better our lives. I have emotional stress over this, I have gone over my minites on my cvell trying to figure this out.
I never did anything like this before on the net as I have been cautious. They hide the terms so well.

I got ripped too, except they took $74.85 from my account. I have canceled the service and have disputed the transaction on my bank account. Have sent all information to radio consumer advocate Clark Howard and reported them to the BBB. But I'm sure I will never receive my money back. I ordered this thing because I am unemployed and my unemployment insurance is low of course and will run out soon. I was looking for grants that might help me further my education when I came across this service. Service? Right. Total rip off.

PEOPLE...

In this day of online marketing you need to be "CAUTIOUS". There are many companies out there that are making thousands off people like you and it's not really all your fault EXCEPT... READ ALL THE INFORMATION BEFORE YOU USE YOUR CREDIT CARD!
I myself came across this same company (there are actually a few of them out there) just today. The add makes it sound very lucrative, easy and CHEAP but... it also had a check box saying that you agree to the terms of this offer that you must check before it will allow you to submit to the payment and shipping information screen. TERMS... is the key here... I saw no terms as I was reading all the success stories plastered all over the main add screen so I looked for the terms link. It was there on the bottom of the screen and when I clicked it I did get a terms of service / user agreement page to read. It was very lengthy but clearly stated that you would be charged 54.95 after the initial 7 day trial period. It also went on to say that you would continue to be charged EVERY MONTH until you called the number listed and canceled. It even stated that you must cancel before midnight of the 7th day to not be charged the first 54.95 and went on to say if you did not cancel before the trial period or anytime after then, you were agreeing to allow reoccurring charges to your card every month with NO REFUND.

After reading that far I suspected foul play and did some research where I found all of your responses. While I totally disagree with this type of marketing tactic and feel it is shady and underhanded there is nothing illegal here. Just because you did not take the time to read the "fine print" does not mean you were scammed... WAKE UP PEOPLE... it is a buyer beware world out there so pay attention... If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat then it most likely is a rat.

BTW if you did use Grant Writing Express I would suggest calling this number [protected]) and have this information ready (First name, last name, shipping address, city, state, zip code, phone number, email address, date of purchase, type of payment used, last 4 digits of the credit card number used) and cancel before the next billing cycle or you will get charged again and again and again...

My bank will not back my claim. They said that I did not cancel in the amount of time. Well I did cancel in the amount of time, in fact I requested a cancellation the same day but I did not get the email back from them saying I was canceled until 3 weeks later and my bank is going on that. The 800Number I have is a sex line. The bank said I had to work it out with the vendor.
We need a class action here. We are all going to get burned. if anyone wants to get a hold of me my email is vader1319@yahoo.com I am serious about this . We need to go after these guys.
Nothing is free people and get ready for tons of more scams to come and get ready for banks like WAMU to NOT HELP YOU.

That happened to me I ordered the cd for disabled persons and they did the same to me.I just got my cd in monday and today is wednesday and I called to cancel but they told me I can't have my money back.

www.grants.gov need i say more?

I was also scammed. I went to my bank, and reported it. She filled out some forms, and told me to report this to the Police Dept. She said they would give me a case number, then I was to give it to the bank. I don't know if this is going to help me get my money back, or not. I am in the same predicament as you. I also had to get rid of my a.t.m card

today 2/12/09 i felt something was wrong the minute i gave my credit card information. i am filing a complaint with my bank, cancelling all and putting an alert on all my information
rj

i was told by this company it was 1.98 while i was talking to him i went on the internet and caught all the fraud complaints . someone needs to do something about this

Is support@grantresearch.com going by other names. I have a phone number of [protected]. I was billed from NEWEGRANTFORYOU, not Grant Research. Was anyone charged a strange amt of $68.13? I am trying to dispute this with my credit card company but need to show the link between these 2 and other grant cites they may have.
donita

I too was charged $74.85 for a cd that I already paid $2.95 for. I called Grant Funding at [protected] cancelled the account with them. They denied charging my account $74.85. I received an email confirming my account was cancelled. I then called the company that appeared on my bank account Reg.Net. This was the company that Grant Funding used to charge our account. The CS agent that I spoke with told me it was a charge from Grant Funding! I let her know that they had denied it, I wanted a refund and that if they did not refund the money I was going to file a complaint with the authorities. She quickly told me that it would take 1-2 days for the credit to appear on my account. We'll see what happens. Otherwise I will go through my bank for them to fix. Hope this information helps someone.

I ALSO WAS SCAMED. THEY TOOK $1.98 FOR THE CD WHICH WAS BLANK. I WENT ON THE INTERNET TO SEE IF THIS WAS TRUE, OR NOT. WHEN MY BANK STATEMENT CAME, LOW, AND BEHOLD, IT IS A SCAM. I FEEL STUPID, AND $69.00 DOLLARS SHORT. I HOPE SOME ONE OUT THERE FINDS A WAY TO GET THESE SLIMEY TOADS

I noticed that i had a pending transaction on my account from this company, so I called the customer service number on their website. I was fuming and very upset and had my debit card closed to prevent them from taking anymore money. Then when I talked to someone (after waiting quite a while on hold) who was very nice and also spoke english (this i did not expect). He told me that I would be refunded for everything within 3-5 business days. This site IS legit. I paid 1.80 or so to use it, but did not know that it was only a free trial for 7 days. after the 7 days you are charged 58 or so dollars. But, I sent them an email and told them I wished to cancel it, and they never did! The only thing I could tell anyone having a problem with this is to call the customer service number found on the website. I was very upset and angry about the whole matter, but they did refund me my money. Also, make sure that you cancel your account on the site itself

i signed up for a 1.98 cd. have not recieved, , got a charge on my card for 69.95 today... This was not authorized. I have filed a complaint.

I was scammed! The postmaster general needs to know about this. This is mail fraud. joe

Learn how to do your own work. You want a grant? Learn how to do your own research and submission. Notified the FBI? Grow up; you caused this mess.

You'd think some concumer advocate attorney would pick up on all this ### fraudulent business and file in federal court for an injunction - then follow that up with a tasty lawsuit - maybe even get it certified for a class-action.

People - I'd suggest you write to the attorney general of the state the company is domiciled in - the AG can and should investigate - then maybe file felony fraud charges against these ###.

I'm writing this just as a friendly piece of consumer advice. The rest is up to you guys.

Good luck!

They got me too. Has anyone gotten their money back?