Smart Savings Center I was charged for a service that I wasn't aware that I had signed up for through Amazon.com Boca Raton Florida

This update was prompted by a rebuttal posted 3/8/08

Thanks for the information. After looking through my notes I stand corrected. I originally went to Amazon and then slid over to Smart Savings Center website and that is when I started having issues. To deal with this unexpected situation I have set up a separate checking account/debit card for online sales. This has isolated all online purchases to one account that is separate from my personal checking account and limits potential issues. Equally important is that I'm a lot more vigilant about looking frequently for unwanted transactions on my bank accounts and credit cards. Until you are personally touched by these issues they seem so far removed for me they are real.

I want to thank Ripoff Report with posting potential solutions and being a forum for this info. I have had really good experiences with Amazon and want to clarify that point.

Yo I hope this has been useful.

JoeSans

Hello everyone.

I read a post that the issue with Smart Saving Center is associated with Amazon.com. The poster said that charges from Smart Saving Center began appearing on his or her financial register after buying a DVD from Amazon.com.

I called Amazon.com and they have no association with Smart Saving Center. However the customer service rep. from Amazon looked up the company for me and provided me with an 800 number, which I later found out is listed on the Smart Saving Center webiste. I called that number and spoke to a customer service rep. there. I asked why the charges were appearing on my bank statement. The guy told me that when I bought a DVD from hotmoviesale.com, I joined a club, and that was I was now being charged monthly for a membership fee. I insisted that I never joined a club, and he insisted I did when I bought the video. I insisted he have my "membership" cancelled and that the money be returned. They charged me $9.99 for February and $14.95 for March.

Now, the only way I can see that this might be associated with Amazon.com is that there are a lot of independent sellers on Amazon. I'm wondering if the poster bought the DVD's through Amazon, but really bought it FROM hotmoviesale.com. It looks like this is the website to avoid, but I'm guessing there might be others.

Smart Savings Center's phone number is 800-511-6538. You will need to be insistant when you call the number to have your money refunded, and do not accept any of their excuses for an answer. Make sure you call your financial institution too and let them know about the charges. Sometimes they can block them or take them off for you.

Good luck!