This article is reproduced without permission under the Fair Use Doctrine. It was originally published at http://www.thebostonchannel.com/asseenon5/13335585/detail.html and is Copyright © 2007 Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc.
POSTED: 10:53 pm EDT May 16, 2007
UPDATED: 7:41 am EDT May 17, 2007
BOSTON -- The commercials for DirectBuy promise big savings on products for your home.
"Everything you need at prices you didn't imagine possible," claims one. "Stop paying retail."
And that's what sisters Mary Stanton and Joan Stone told NewsCenter 5's Susan Wornick they expected when they signed up for a free visitor's pass to the DirectBuy showroom in Shrewsbury.
"The way they made it sound was that you're going to save a lot of money," Stanton said. "Thousands of dollars."
That's also what Sharon Livsey thought after seeing DirectBuy's ads. She was redoing her basement.
"I was trying to save money because I have to drop the ceiling," Livsey explained. "I wanted to do Pergo floors, carpets and stuff."
But along with the claims of big savings, DirectBuy does not reveal the big investment customers have to make to get those savings. The membership price is around $5,000.
And if that's not enough of a shocker, customers have to make a decision to join on the spot before they leave the showroom.
"[The salespeople] come back in and you have to decide -- yes or no," Stone said.
Team 5 Investigates took an undercover camera to the showroom in Warwick, R.I. There, a manager told a Team 5 Investigates producer, "Our basic concept is that we don't make any money off of the things that you buy. We're not a traditional retail store."
DirectBuy showrooms have no inventory on the shelves. There's also no opportunity to compare prices independently before joining.
In fact, if you leave the presentation without joining, the manager told Team 5 Investigates, "We won't invite you back for at least seven years."
But with promises of quickly saving more than the $5,000 membership fee, many customers sign up with high expectations only to be disappointed later.
Team 5 Investigates has heard from DirectBuy members who claim they've had "terrible difficulty" finding products and found better deals at a retail store. One person wrote in an e-mail, "We're intelligent adults who made a bad decision."
Some members also complained about extra costs like hundreds of dollars for shipping.
Stone and Stanton told Team 5 Investigates they were frustrated about renting a truck to pick up furniture that was dropped off more than an hour away.
"It just isn't what they portrayed it to be," Stanton said.
DirectBuy has franchises around the country. Its corporate headquarters are located in Indiana. They declined an on-camera interview, but in a phone conversation, a company spokeswoman cited competitive reasons for not revealing prices to non-members. She added that it is company policy to give consumers three days to cancel a membership and get a refund.
But that's not what Team 5 Investigates heard from members who have been unable to get their money back.
"I'm hoping that everyone sees what happened and they're not foolish enough to make a mistake like me," Livsey said.
After calls from Team 5 Investigates, DirectBuy notified Livsey, Stone and Stanton that they'll get full refunds of their membership fees.
In a statement, DirectBuy's vice president of sales and marketing, Bart Fesperman, wrote, "We are very alarmed by these concerns," and, "we are committed to making sure each member is satisfied."
Wornick encouraged members who've had problems with DirectBuy in the past to call the company again.
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Revision r1.1 - 26 May 2007 - 05:34 by EliMantel
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