INVESTIGATION: DirectBuy commitment 100% member satisfaction. DirectBuy recognizes that complaints posted on Ripoff Report (true or not) are issues that need to be addressed and if handled correctly can be valuable learning opportunities. Merrillville Indiana

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Hello everyone,

Ellen, I just got back from the DirectBuy in San Marcos, CA, and I was very impressed with the savings that one can achieve. However, the big glaring problem was that nobody that I spoke with from DirectBuy told me that I would have to make a decision on the spot.

Basically, I spoke with three people at DirectBuy before heading down to the center. I told each of them that I simply wanted to gather information because I did not have any money to sign up. I think I actually said that "I don't have two nickels to rub together right now." In addition, I told them that we were going to be purchasing a house in the next month and would have a loan then.

As an DirectBuy owner, I am sure that you know where I am going with this. When one gets to the center, in the middle of the presentation they are told that they must make a decision about signing up before they leave. If they do not sign up at that time then they cannot sign up for 7 years.

Personally, I saw all of the products and checked everything out and even though though the upfront memebership was $5,000 for two years (which could be broken up over a payment plan with a minimum of $990 down), I could easily see that it would save me ten times that on the house that I was working on and with really great products that I have used in the past.

I have nothing against your products or even the membership price. My biggest problem is that nobody told me that I was going to have to make a decision that night or not be able to sign up for seven years, not even the guy that was in charge of our open house. I generally make quick decisions, so pressure situations don't faze me. But my problem is that my home loan just hasn't come through yet and that there were so many occasions for your company's representatives to tell me "wait on coming in until you get the loan because you need to make a decision on the spot."

I understand that this is probably part of your marketing plan or a contractual agreement but it seems pretty ridiculous to ban somebody from signing up for seven years and not giving them all the information that they need ahead of time.

Finally, I must say that even though I am pissed off, I see the opportunity and would still like to sign up when my loan comes through.

Sincerely,

Ed Brancheau

I am the Marketing Manager of a DirectBuy Center. I received word that one of our appointments cancelled due to false information they had found on the internet. So I decided to check it out and there are a few things that need to be said. First of all, most of the people complaining about DirectBuy don't know the facts. We are PRIVATE! We do not disclose our information over the phone to ANYONE! That's why we have Open House times, so you can come in and get ALL the facts about how we benefit people.

Another thing, we benefit people who are making SIGNIFICANT purchases....(Such as building, remodeling, or furnishing a home). If you are just looking for a few things (like a TV, a sofa, or a few end tables) DirectBuy will not benefit you. Do not be offended when we tell you this over the phone. We're actually saving you time and money.

We have people inquire about us everyday who aren't making significant purchases and we tell them that we wouldn't benefit them right now. If we were truly a scam, like these people say we are wouldn't we tell EVERYONE to come in and buy a membership?

Replying to Ramona in Maryland, not every center looks like the one in the commercial. Does any store look exactly like it does in their commercials? And the questions they asked you were probably "Where are you from?","What kind of purchases are you planning on making?"
and so on. If you felt uncomfortable answering the questions you should have said something.

Now, about the phone calls, why don't you go to DirectBuy.com and it will tell you, when you fill out your information, and I quote "A DirectBuy agent may contact you in an attempt to provide you with the best service on your upcoming project." It tells you that we will call. If you don't want to talk to us just tell us you're not interested, obviously you're not that interested if you won't go through a 5 minute phone call. You also said that you were in the center for an hour right? Well, what's the problem? They tell you that in the phone call, "Plan to spend about an hour and a half or so, that way you'll have enough time to see everything and get answers to any questions you might have after the open house. Will that work for you? If that wasn't going to work, again, you should have said something.

I am sorry for the service you received at the DirectBuy in your area, but please; don't ruin it for everyone else. If you are unhappy with the way THAT center treated you, speak with THAT center. Don't display your problems to people who could potentially use our service. All i'm saying is...get ALL the facts before you prejudge something that you really don't know about.