HDI* Simple Escapes WHO IS HDI? Omaha Nebraska

Apparently this ripoff is well known so hopefully this will offer some additional information/keywords.

1/29/2003 - My wife purchased an item from GUMP'S catalog. At that time she was signed up with MemberWork's Simple Escapes trial membership. She never consented to this and does not recall being asked.

3/7/2003 - Gump's charged my account with the payee "HDI*Simple Esca" for ~$80. I never noticed this charge on the account.

1/16/2004 - A charge appeared on my account for ~$99 with a payee of "HDI*Simple Esca". I noticed this one.

2/13/2004 - I contacted my bank and they gave me the phone number for (I later found out) MemberWorks. They promptly removed my wife's membership as requested. However, they only told me that the membership was through a catalog. I searched the web and finally found another transaction beginning with "HDI", it was Gumps. HDI (Hanover Direct,Inc.) IS GUMPS PARENT COMPANY. All my experiences with Gumps have been horrible. Several times they have messed up our orders & the staff handled our calls poorly. I'm calling their consumer affairs dept. (800-338-2670) on Tuesday to resolve the issue. Hopefully my money is refunded.

Hope this helps someone else get their issue resolved quickly.

Greg
Sarasota, Florida
U.S.A.