19 Mar 08 I’m afraid that I may have been scammed in a similar way.
I’m afraid that I may have been scammed in a similar way. I am very distraught over it as well. I cancelled my account with Gisol with the intention of transferring my web hosting to GoDaddy. They called me on the phone and told me that I’m already set to have my account renewed and will be charged no matter what because I did not give them 30 days notice before the automatic renewal. So I was convinced to stay with the for 1 more year and they convinced me to do the business plan instead of the personal plan I had originally signed up for, by saying that it would be $49.95 per year with unlimited space. I went for it and gave them my credit card information. They said my credit card was denied, so I gave them my debit card information, thinking it was only going to be $49.95. I find out that I’m being charged $49.95 per month for 36 months with a total of $1798.20. I don’t even have that much money, so now I’m about negative $1200. The person I talked to on the phone did not elude to this charge at all.
This all comes at a bad time because I just recently found out that my mother is very sick and may not have much longer to live, and I’m only 27 years old! I want to fly home to Oklahoma as much as possible so I can see her before she dies, and so I can’t afford to just lose about $1800 all of a sudden. I can’t even sleep tonight because I can’t stop thinking about this loss. I contacted my bank and they said that it is still pending, so maybe I can convince Gisol to not go though with the charge. But after reading some of these posts, that doesn’t look hopeful. How could I be so stupid. Does anyone else have Bank of America and have had any luck blocking such a ridiculous charge?
Reader's Comments. (3)
Leave a Comment
Sorry, but due to Gisol trying to post comments, they are now being moderated. They will appear ASAP.
Okay, so it’s been a little bit more than 24 hours since I have been scammed by GISOL for $1798.20 as I mentioned in #162. I was able to get in touch with someone at GISOL with the phone number: 323-924-1109. The person who answered sounded just like the original person I talked to that scammed me, but of course he claimed that it was not the same person. I told him that this was a huge mistake and I would have never given him my debit card information if I knew that I would be charged $1798.20. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would make the mistake of authorizing a charge for $1798.20 if they only have $600 in the bank. I’m kind of surprised that my bank didn’t deny this pending charge since it will make me have a negative 1200 balance in my bank, that seems a little extreme. The charge is still pending as I write this, so I can’t dispute the charge with my bank yet.
So when I talked to the representative at GISOL hoping I can convince him to void the charge before it goes through, he did not seem sympathetic. He said that the rebate has already been processed and if he voids the charge, I could make a profit by not being charged and also getting the rebate. Granted, I set my scammed account up at 6pm on Monday and he told me this at 10am on Tuesday. So I guess his claim is that they set this rebate up sometime between those times, although if they did then they were definitely away from the phone most of the time because I called them back many times beginning at 6:30pm and no one ever answered until 10am the next day. I then asked him to cancel the rebate and void the charge and he said that the rebate was done through a third party so he doesn’t have the information to do that. I did ask him when I would get my rebate and he said that he didn’t know since it was through the third party, but I did notice that in other posts on this site that they were told in exact date when they would get their rebate, so I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
I then told him that I will dispute this claim with my bank if the charge goes through, and he said that the original conversation was taped so they have evidence that I accepted this. If they did tape the phone conversation, I’m not too worried because I think that it would be clear that they did not make it clear that I would be charged $1798.20 (although I wonder if they would edit the taped phone conversation to make it look like I was aware of this). Besides, isn’t there a law that we have to be told if the phone conversation is being taped? I have a feeling that he is bluffing and did not tape the phone conversation.
The main thing I’m worried about is the SignatureLink signature I did on the service agreement. In the phone conversation, it is clear that he lied to me about what the service agreement said, but I believed him at the time and didn’t bother reading it before signing it, which I’m kicking myself for doing that now. I’m going to try contacting SignatureLink as well.
Also I cancelled my account with them using the website cancel.gisol.com at about 16 hours after setting up this scammed acount. I got an email saying that my website is suspended, which I’m assuming is in response to me requesting the account cancellation. But I don’t know if that means I’m officially cancelled. So they have not provide any service to me since I started this scammed account. I also started the process of changing my debit card number, so I shouldn’t get charged anymore from them.
I’m so glad that this and other anti-GISOL websites are up. This has made me feel so much better that other people are fighting this and I really appreciate the information that this website has provided me. I’m so glad I’m not alone in fighting them. Feel free to contact me if you want to combine our efforts or talk of a class-action lawsuit. I haven’t done it yet, but I will definitely follow the advice of contacting the BBB, Attorney General and other places about my complaints. Good luck to you all!
Hi browncw,
First of all, YOU WILL NOT GET A REBATE!
Gisol just use it as a stalling tactic so you don’t cancel your card or chargeback/dispute. Why would a rebate be issued by a 3rd party?!
I don’t understand why he threatens people with a tape of the conversation, when everyone knows they didn’t agree to the rediculous charges. It’s just another intimidation technique. Not a very good one though.
I suggest you threaten him with a tape.
Don’t worry about the SignatureLink signature until they fraudulently cut and paste it onto a “sales receipt” that they will send to your dispute/chargeback. Make a copy of contract you signed – you should have an email with a link to signaturelinks site. Do a screenshot, save the webpage etc. Keep all emails. When you get Gisols response to your chargeback, you will have the evidence.
Cancellations: The cancel.gisol.com site is total rubbish. After filling in your details, it is up to them whether they cancel your account or not! You are also agreeing to not do a chargeback, but go ahead anyway. You cannot sign away your rights.
Do the dispute/chargeback when the money comes out, cancel your card NOW so they can’t get anymore, and report them everywhere!
Good luck and keep us updated….
I put in a dispute with my bank which turned around and paid
GISOL anyway. Even though I used my Visa Debit card and told them I was manipulated and made to fear losing my money.
I have contacted the Attorney Generals office.
Everyone that has been scammed by this company needs to contact the Attorney Generals office. After enough complaints they will bring a suit against GISOL. My only hope is the the rebate is for real and I can get my money back.
Toni