shoefashionize.com VIP membership scam with $98 monthly charge after buying "free earrings", paying $5.99 shipping Bakersfield California

On 1/23/16 I responded to either a google or popup ad in FB for earrings. (I cannot remember which site; nor can I determine it from the acknowledgement Email received from the company).Earrings were “free”; only charge was $5.99 for shipping and handling. I got an order confirmation by email with order number 91052 from ‘customer support’. (see attached). The email noted only “Shoefashionize
Female Earring 304. Order Total $5.99”. I received the order some time later. The earrings are cheap costume jewelry, not that I expected much more for that price. The charge for $5.99 showed up on the credit card from “SHOEFASHIONIZE”

My February Master Card statement showed a $98 charge from Shoefashionize for 2/6/16. On 3/11/16 I called this company at the number on the statement 855 866 0716 and spoke with Eddie. I told him I’d ordered earrings in January but had ordered nothing from them since then and asked him to check their records. He said I had reached a 3^rd party call center but he would look up the charge.

He then informed me that I had agreed to a monthly membership of $98. The earrings were not a purchase but were sent only on a trial basis and that I’d agreed that if I didn’t send them back and cancel the membership in 14 days, my credit card would be charged $98 at the end of 14 days and monthly thereafter. He said the charge had already been billed for March as well and a package was to be delivered to me 3/12/16.

I advised him that under no circumstances had I agreed to such a thing, that is something I would never have agreed to, and that I would not pay it, would dispute the charge with my credit card company. He said the credit company would uphold the vendor’s charge because they had proof of my agreement that I’d signed at the time of purchase. I told him I did no such thing but if he thought I did, he should fax that document to me for my inspection. I reiterated that I would not pay the fee. He said all I’d do would be to ruin my credit rating, that this was a legitimate charge. I told him I would refuse to accept any package from them and would not pay either of these charges or any further charges. As we were on the phone, I Googled the company name and found a complaint for the exact situation on a site called Ripoff. I told him that this was nothing but a scam and not only was I not going to pay the charges but that I was going to file a case with the attorney general as well as the BBB.

At that point he said, “Let me see what I can do”. He came back and said I could return the package coming 3/12/16 with RMA 138898293654596, and they’d credit my account as a courtesy $50. I reiterated my previous refusal and demanded both $98 charges be refunded. He said they couldn’t do that, that I had incurred the charges and was responsible. I repeated that I was going to dispute the charges with credit card and report them to BBB and attorney general and every consumer site I could find. He said, “Let me talk discuss it with a supervisor”.  After an extended wait, he said they would refund all the money and that I could keep the earrings. I received refund notification for the February and March charges, another email confirming that I had ‘cancelled my subscription’ and another email stating my VIP membership had been cancelled, and to return the March package with the
RMA above.

I then notified Benjamin at Citi Double Cash card of the issue and that I was disputing both charges. He confirmed the dispute with a reference number.

While the company did refund my money on demand, I want to make other consumers aware of this scam and that with persistent demands, the company will refund charges.