SamaritanFundraising.com Samaritan Fundraising Samaritan Fundraising misrepresents product, refuses refund Internet

The previous claim was very well stated. Our Scout Troop was looking for an alternative fund raiser and we came across Samaritan Gift Cards while searching online. This seemed to be a good fit until we got the cards and activated one to see what the offers really were. Since we could not get actual information until the card was activated we were quite surprised to find the offers no better than what we could get in the Sunday paper or delivered to our mailbox. In the case of Home Depot, the link from SGC took us to the Home Depot website, the same site we would access if we just went to homedepot.com. We were told we could get coupons mailed to us, we could use the card in person, and get special discounts online. The online option is the only one available through SGC. We had several members of our committee check out the offers and the results were the same. Movie passes had to be purchased online in quantity and were more expensive than just walking up to the counter. Restaurants advertized on the website were not available once we activated the card. Grocery stores were not the ones available in our area. We have contacted the company to arrange a return and were told we would only get credit for returning 25% of the cards. Nice deal for them, they have a guaranteed sale rate of 75% built in. When we tried to print the PDF for the return information we got a PAGE NOT FOUND message. We have asked to speak to supervisors and have calls returned with no response. When I called Corrine Padgett in billing to discuss our concerns she interrupted me with her "sales pitch" and never allowed me to finish a sentence. When I called her on this and asked for the courtesy of being allowed to speak, she again interrupted me. She was argumentative and rude. When I asked to speak to her supervisor, I was told she (Sally Perez) was not in. I asked for Sally's supervisor and was told they were not available. I asked for the senior person there and was told they were not available. Evidently, Corrine was the only person at work that day. I have since found out this is just a call center and Corrine probably takes calls for several companies. She did give me the email address for operations@samaritanfundraising.com and the name of Tom Freiling who it appears is the CEO. I told her about the problem with the return PDF and she told me she would send it to my email. I still dont have it. After talking to her I then began a search and found Ripoff Report about 5 pages down after numerous sites selling the cards. The other poster had good results and I am hoping to get the same. It is unfortunate that companies prey on nonprofit organizations and our youth who are trying to pay their own way.

SGC had us pay $100 up front plus $12.50 shipping and handling. We asked for expidited shipping to get the cards to our people as soon as possible. It took over two weeks to get the cards. They are now trying to charge our bank account $900 for the remaining cards and want us to pay shipping to return the cards for which they will only credit us 25%. We are asking for a full return of monies paid and shipping costs to return the cards for full credit.