Essentials

Essentials

The company is called "Essentials". I was told it's based in Canada, but haven't been able to get, or find, an address or phone number. The Email adddress I was given didn't bring anything up on the net. I called a phone number printed by the word, "Essentials" on my Capital One credit card. I was charged $169.95, but didn't recognize the company, thought I'd had never heard of it, knew I'd never heard from it, and was certain I'd never ordered, or received, anything from it. I was told I was charged $169.95 this year, and $149.95 last year, for a "membership" I'd accepted over the phone. After paying the annual membership fee, I was to pay them $25.00 each for gift certificates, and they would return $5.00 for each gift certificate bought, and I could buy things at discount. I don't buy things over the phone, cut phone solicitors off immediately, and would never have agreed to anything as stupid as this. They offered to return $54.95. I was to learn, on checking further, they'd taken in total $629.70. On checking further, I found they'd been billing my account unnoticed for six years. I do remember now calling them many years ago, and telling them to get themselves off my credit card. They said they would, but didn't, and since they bill annually, and I wasn't checking my card carefully, I missed it. There are complaints on the net from people with credit cards from various banks who've also had charges they never agreed to put on their bills by this company. Apparently it's a large and old scam which has them, I suspect, legally stealing from unwary credit card users. Does anyone know of anything that can be done?

Lynn

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