HotBookSale.com
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Complaints & Reviews
Unethical credit card charges
I purchased a travel book from this company two years ago. I did not know they have been billing my credit...
Scam Membership
Do not do business with hotbooksale.com OR bestbrandvalues.com OR hotmoviesale.com OR...
Ed Sala ·
unauthorized charges
Stay away from this site! In Sept. of this year, I bought a book from hotbooksale.com. They billed me for it, and I paid. 5 months later on my Discover Card bill, I noticed that I was being charged $19.95 each month by the company. I got in touch with them, and they cancelled my "account, " which I never had, and they kept my money. Discover Card helped me get back two months of charges, but they still charged me for three months, $59.85. The sent Discover a "copy" of a letter they supposedly sent me, notifying me that I'd signed up to be a member in a book club with a $19.95 monthly charge. I never got that letter. They also said that they emailed me every month to tell me my account status. This never happened. I feel that this is a company like many others, trying to confuse people into buying something which they never intended. They never showed anything to Discover that I ever signed up for it, but I lost the money. Please notice the other very similar complaints about this company on this site. Why are they allowed to exist?
Illegally repeatedly charged me for months
I ordered
08/02/10 08/02/10 BBV*HOTBOOKSALE.COM [protected] FL
$39.01 Merchandise
Have progressing MS and haven't been able to figure out why I couldn't pay our bills... that I have overpaid $220.45!
I have been too sick to figure it out. I want a FULL REFUND of $220.45.
PLUS INTEREST
They will only refund me $39 and cancel whatever club they are charging me for and think that is enough.
PLEASE HELP. THANKS.
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They have done the same thing to me. I now have been charged 3 times.
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I have a charge on my credit card for a purchase that i did not authorize i did not do any purchase on July 14th and i would like an explanation .
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I to have been charged on my card for for a purchase 0n 10/09/12 and on 11/06/12 I didn't purchase that I didn't authorize please give me an explanation. Sharon Taylor 1-717-248-8042 These charges need t o stop.
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I have been billed each month after buying one book. Charged 10/01/12 for the book 7.56, but charged 9.95 on 10/09/12 and 9.95 on 11/06/12.
What is going on? Please stop charging me I only wanted the one book. I won't buy from you again if you keep charging me for nothing.
I should be refunded both of the 9.95 charges. -
I agree totally! It appears I have been charged repeatedly for something I did not receive. I don't expect a refund it would be to difficult and time consuming to finalize but I DO WANT THE CHARGES TO CEASE! The company should be banned by all credit card companies from any further business.
withdrawal from my checking account
I ordered a book through bbvhotbooksale.com on or around late 2009 or early 2010 for 9.95. The first payment...
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unsolicited charges
I purchase books online for a one-time fee of 33.18 USD.I thought i was buying from <amazon.com> I was subsequently billed 9.95/1.oo usd and 9.95 usd. i called BBVand talked to a customer rep. i explained that i had not been apprised of their "membership" charges and wanted to cancel any affiliation with them as well as receive a credit on my charge card. i threatened to contact my card company and the rep agreed to credit my card account w/in 2 billing cycles (yea right).these people are crooks. some action should be taken to put them out of business. contact your banking institution that you do business with and pressure them to investigate these birds! we shall be cruel to bbv!
Book order
I recently placed an order through HotBookSale.com to purchase a Math textbook for my son. I then get an e-mail from BestBrandValues.com that I had become a member and that my credit card on file will be charged $19.95 monthly. There was no indication on HotBookSale.com's site that there was a membership and that by placing an order I was to become a member; nor did they even ask whether I wanted to become a member!
I am utterly disgusted by the unscrupulous way that I was drawn into a membership that I was not even aware of!
Be wary of both HotBookSale.com and BestBrandValues.com
KPP
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I agree they did the same to me, never mind that I tried to reason with them and explain that it doesnot make sense to pay 11.00 dollards for a book and 19.995 for a monthly membership that would make that particular book more expensive than the cover price. They should not be allowed to operate. Angela
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Is there anyway we can get this company out of business? Is there a consumer board that we can complain?
Thanks,
Kala -
I thought I was ordering one book, getting a good price. Then I saw I was debited for another $19.95. I called and they said my 3 day free trial membership was up and I couldn't get my money back. I told her I didn't know I had a trial membership.
They are crooks!
M. Littlejohn -
LOL it says right there on the checkout page you think you get such a great deal for nothing there is always some gimmick for something so cheap wither it be a membership or a refund that you have to send in after you have used the phone for 90 days but must be sent in the 4th month. If you are new to using a site that you are not comfortable with then make your purchase with a credit card gift card that way you are covered for what is on the card then you can always add to the card for next time after you finish the transaction or just get a new card.
Resolved unauthorized membership fee
I have recently canceled my membership in hotbooksale.com (smartsaving). I was wondering if I could get...
Dennis ·
Resolved Horrible company
This company is HORRIBLE! They secretly trick you into a $29.95 membership to some 'SmartSavingsCenter' club. They some how maneuver their wording so you have to call TWICE to cancel it or you'll be charged more.
And what's worse their merchandise NEVER CAME!!! There was some error with the zip code, the post office said they returned it to the sender, and who wouldn't believe the post office over this horribly unethical company. The company will not resend the books or give me a refund!
What's ALMOST amusing is their site claims 'hassle-free service'. I guess that may be true if any of their customer service reps spoke English, but untrue to us who can't understand other languages.
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I am enraged about this company's customer service, trickery, and manipulation. After purchasing a book that totaled $12.05, I was charged this bogus monthly fee. I first noticed this on my credit card statement, wondering as to who the heck this smartsavingscenter site was. I called them that day to cancel my newly found out about membership and to receive a refund for the unauthorized charges applied to my account. My membership was cancelled, and less than half of the charges were refunded back. I was told by their representative that I would receive an email confirmation about the remainder of my discount. I did not receive that email, or my refund. Soon after I called the company again, but I was told that the refund was declined, and that their manager wasn't available at the moment to speak to me. Today I called again, and was able to speak to someone in charge. Unfortunately, I was unable to retrieve my owed money. The lady referred me to her site (HotBookSale.com) and in attempt to justify their actions, told me to look at the banner on the home/main page. Ok, a banner that says nothing about an obligatory membership joining in order to use their site and to make an order. She told me "this is a membership only website"...then this should be clearly stated in large lettering. I wonder if they are getting tired or receiving the same type of phone calls on a daily basis. It is obvious that if their claims and terms were clear, than such large numbers of people wouldn't be manipulated into this oh so simple purchase that is accompanied by these types of hidden and unethical charges. I told the manager I spoke to that I have been ordering college text books online for many years now, and from different companies, but I have never had any such issues as I do with them. I am highly unsatisfied with this website, and I will never purchase from them again, and I will advise everyone I know NOT to purchase from them. Once they have your credit or debit card info, they will use that to their advantage and offer smartsavingscenter your info for this membership, charging you $29.95 and quite a few $1 charges as well. DO NOT PURCHASE FROM HOTBOOKSALE.COM OR THEIR AFFILIATED PARTNER SMARTSAVINGSCENTER.COM. Find a trusted website with positive feedback, good customer service, and honest practices.
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SCAM!!! DO NOT BUY ANYTHING from this "book" store...it's nothing but a scam to charge your credit card for some membership fee, that's not stated until you receive your credit card bill...if they can charge your card for something that's fraudulent, what else will they do with your credit card information! AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!! POOR customer service...no one answered my calls or replied my emails...
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Now their new name is DiscountBookSale.com...they changed their name!! still partners with SmartSavingsCenter.com ...BEWARE!!!
ropeyz ·
Resolved charged my credit card
On 12/14/08 I bought books from hotbooksale.com. Later that evening I got an email that said I was signed up for a savings program through smartsavingscenter.com. I think they are the same company. They had my credit card number, address and full name. The email stated that I had a free 7 day trial, that would then turn into 29.95 per month if I didn't call and cancel during the trial period.
The phone numbers on their email go nowhere. So, you can't call and cancel. I called my bank and cancelled my Debit card. There was already a $1 charge, sure to be followed by more. When I went to the website for more informaton they ask you to sign in with the login and password they gave me in the email. I was scared to give any more information, so I didn't pursue that any further. Also, I called hotbooksale.com. Same problem; the number goes nowhere. I doubt I'll even get the books I ordered.
As soon as the charge officially goes through, I will dispute it with my bank. I really hopes someone does something about this. So many people have fallen victim to this scam. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.
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hotbooksale.com DONT BUY ANYTHING FROM THAT SITE. RIP OFF ARTISTS. THEY DID THE SAME THING TO ME. SIGNED ME UP FOR THIS MEMBERSHIP FOR 29.95. HAVEN'T BEEN BILLED FOR IT YET. BUT I WAS BILLED 1.00 AN I DISPUTED IT AN HAD IT REMOVED. THEY STINK. I CALLED AN CANCELLED MY BOOK AN MEMBERSHIP WITH MINUTES OF THE ORDER I FELT LIKE I WAS BEING SCREWED. SO THEY EMAILED ME A CANCELLATION WHICH I HAVE. THEN LATER THAT NITE I RECEIVED A 2ND EMAIL WELCOMING ME INTO THE MEMBERSHIP.
RIP OFF. WHEN I DID CANCEL THE BOOK WITHIN MINUTES OF THE ORDER THEY SAID IT HAD ALREADY BEEN SHIPPED. SO I KEPT THE BOOK. NO OTHER CHARGES AS OF YET . BUT I AM WAITING FOR CREDITS FROM OTHER COMPANIES SO I AM GOING TO CANCEL MY CREDIT CARDS AS SOON AS I RECEIVE THEM. I HOPE NOBODY ORDERS FROM THEM. TRUST ME GO TO BORDERS OR BARNES & NOBLE. MORE $ BUT NO AGGRAVATION. GOOD LUCK, -
hi it mee again, an yes i was scammed by them also, they s__k. my card was stolen buy them online, since i made no other charges during xmas time except to them... so i cancelled it. i also cancelled this so called subscription for membership from them. an they emailed me the other day requesting new credit card info or my membership would be cancelled are they CRAZY...!!! I HAVE THE EMAIL FROM THEM CANCELLING MY SUBSCRIBTION & INTEND TO SEND IT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE AN MY CREDIT CARD CO. SCAM SCAM SCAM. I WANT TO GO TO CALIFORNIA TO SEE THE ### AN SLAP'EM.. WARN OTHERS, YOU HAVE TO CANCEL YOUR CREDIT CARD OR THEY WILL BILL YOU EVEN IF YOU WERE LUCKY TO GET THRU TO THESE IDIOTS... CANCEL IT AN TELL THE CREDIT CARD CO.
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I ordered books in mid january 2009. I did not knowingly sign up for this smartsavings thing. My book order did not ship, and the company said it was an internal error in shipping and the order got sent back to the warehouse, so I would have to reorder, but they would honor the original $5 off deal. When I went to reorder, I couldn't get the discount, so I called and the person on the phone said a manager would have to call me back, which they never did. I never go the books, but in February, my statement showed the $1 followed by the $29.95 charge for the smartsaver (which I didn't order). I have cancelled that service and have an email confirming that, but they refuse to refund my money, citing that I agreed to the conditions of the order... which by the way were way down in the email telling me my membership password... so far down that if you don't scroll through the entire email you don't even realize you've been committed to this thing. Now I will dispute it with the credit card, but I fear I'm out $30 and got nothing for it. I'm a pastor and this is a church credit card, so these people have taken from God, not me. ... they have to answer to a much bigger authority than I or even the law. You don't steal from God!
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I ordered a book recently from hotbooksale.com which was listed as "ships in 24 hours." This did not turn out to be the case. They do not even have the book in stock and they have written that they will try to get it within 28 days and if they cannot the order will be cancelled. I ordered this book because I am farily certain it is OOP and was surprised someone had it so I ordered immediately. To make things worse, when you order a book from them you are automatically signed up for a membership with smartsavingcenter.com, which is the same company actually, for $19.95 a month. This is not made very clear at all when you are ordering a book. So, I have canceled the membership and called them about the membership fee. They have refused to refund that fee and had the gall to tell me that I would not be charged for the book if they cannot find it for me! (which they will not because it is very difficult to find, and is going for hundreds of dollars on Ebay). Now I am concerned about future charges because these idiots have my debit card number, so I'll probably have to cancel my card and get another which is more grief. Avoid at all costs!
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SAME AS ABOVE: rip off company signed me up without me knowing. I seldom read all the way to the bottom of those long small print emails about your order! They have taken a hundred or more dollars over the last few months until I finally hunted down what the charges were. Turns out the book deal wasn't such a deal after all!