24 Sep 08 Also scammed by GISOL for $1798.20
Hi, I sent this to Mike last night but figured I should share. I’ve been in contact with Frank and he’s been a big help in giving me direction on what to do now.
So here’s the story:
I signed up with GISOL on 02-07-03 with Best (Annually + 3 Months Free) ($95.40). This was for a hobby website. I had no issue with GISOL until sometime last year. I called to cancel my web hosting in October of 2007 because I was going with another host that was giving me 6 months for free plus a cheaper deal. I spoke with a rep in India and they confirmed a cancellation. I forgot about it because my hobby website is not a big part of my life. I received a bill in November, called again and the rep told me not to worry about it. In January (01-11-08) I got a notice that said I was going into collections for this bill. I wrote to them and received no response. This happened again on 01-18-08 and 02-17-08, each time I wrote emails without receiving a response.. So I called on 03-03-08. I had my wife speak to the guy since I can get kind of angry and she is good with people. He hung up on her. I called back and spoke to the same guy asking why he hung up on my wife. He denied doing it and started lying about how she had ended the called. This should have been a red flag for me but I was too angry at the time. He said that I can only cancel online and that phone cancellations don’t count and that the charge stands no matter what. I got him to escalate me to someone with more authority (personnel #66316). I argued with this man for over an hour. He really got me angry and now I know why. When I got to the point of desperation (I had to run and was tired of arguing) he threw out the bait: He said he would cut me a break. I felt so relieved I swallowed it, hook, line, and sinker. Basically, I could sign up with them at my previous rate and after 8 months I could cancel and he would wipe the collections. He even complimented me on sounding like a person of good faith. I told him to email me the details of the arrangement and stupidly assumed he would charge me at my current rate. At the time I was running late and did not ask him the total amount. I thought this was going to save me. Oh how wrong I was.
I handed the phone to my wife because I had a meeting and she gave him her credit card. They did not tell her how much they were charging and she assumed they had already told me. They had her sign a page on the web that (according to the rep) was agreeing to terms and services. This web page did not list a price on it. She received an email with the link stating “Thank you! Your signed gisol terms form has been successfully submitted via SignatureLink.” We never got a chance to printscreen this page for it had expired before we could use it as proof.
The next day I received a charge notice, at my email address, for “Unlimited Upgrade (49.95)” for 36 months, with a date in the subject line (2008-11-19) which refers to my expiration date for my hosting. The total amount was $1,798.20. I said no way and sent them an email. After waiting a few days for a reply, I attempted to call and was put on hold for 51 minutes before I had to hang up. My wife and I tried to contact them for several days, no email response, long holds or busy phone. When my wife finally got through, they informed her that we would be receiving a refund with a confirmation letter “soon.” She told them to send an email confirming this. They did not. We waited, called back, they said yes, We would be receiving a refund. We again asked for an email about the call. Nothing. (the pattern here is that they do not document any of these promises). Then on 03-28-08, I had my wife start the process of a chargeback because we were getting no where with the company. I also contacted the BBB and Office of the Attorney General. After long delays between responses (GISOL would take over a month to respond), both cases were eventually closed due to lack of contact with GISOL.
This was around the time we found that GISOL was listed F with the BBB. We made attempts to cancel the service but the cancel page would error out like our account did not exist. I still don’t know what I’m going to do about this since it’s already hurt my stance on the issue considering the account is still active. (but of course now I’ve got Frank’s advice)
First contact with First Tech Credit Union was on 04-01-08. This was for initial information gathering. We then heard nothing for a long time.
On July 29th we received copies of papers that GISOL sent to First Tech in regards to the chargeback. One stated that they had spoken to my wife about starting an online business and wanted that she asked for the 49.95 package even though the GISOL rep told her that a cheaper package would be better for what she needed. Another document showed my wife’s signature on receipt for the amount $1798.20. This was the first time we saw this. My wife stated she did not sign that page. This was always about me and my website which expired at the same date that was listed on the confirmation charge email I received at my email address. It appears they superimposed her signature onto the page. Also there is a discrepancy with the time stamps. The time stamp on the receipt is listed: 03/03/2008 8:30:32 pm. The full header on my email confirmation has “Mon Mar 3 17:33:16 2008″ as when it was sent from GISOL, with “We have received and processed your payment of $1,798.20.”
I was pretty outraged and told the rep from my bank to include it with references to the BBB and the Google of “GISOL” to show that the company is shady. She was reluctant to do this and I’m actually not convinced she did.
Then we waited.
Over a month later, on 09-09-08, First Tech wrote back to us to state that Visa is rejecting our request for a charge back. They included a letter from GISOL that states that we are the ones in the wrong because we are lying about facts. It’s a vicious letter and GISOL implied we were trying to get service for free because the account is still open. I actually felt shame and wrote back to our bank saying in regards to the outcome, if we could compromise and pay for just the time that has elapsed. Of course they didn’t even bother VISA with this and told us it was not possible.
So there it is. I’m going to try some of what Frank said and see how it goes. I feel like I’ve been getting beat down with a metal pipe for the past week and this is the first day I wake up with only having to deal with the soreness. Thanks for having this website.
-David
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Sorry, but due to Gisol trying to post comments, they are now being moderated. They will appear ASAP.
Thanks David,
We are here to help any Gisol Victim.
Please let us know what happens after you follow Frank’s advice…
Good Luck!
Mike.