US Direct of Lakewood, CO

U.S. Direct of Lakewood, Colorado

In the beginning of 1997 I moved to Denver, Colorado and after a few months, received a postcard saying that they had some free prizes for me and to call them. I did and arranged when to come get them. It turned out that they were a "wholesaler", selling at prices below normal retail, and dealt in many different things. After talking to the representative for a while I signed on with my one-time, lifetime, membership fee being paid out over a period of a couple of years at about $70/month.
Months, then years, passed without my using their services. Finally, in 2000, I tried to use their website to get a quote on some camera equipment I was interested in. There was no response to my inquiry. I tried again to ask for prices on some other things with the same result: nothing. Feeling frustrated after several months of waiting I called up their Lakewood office and asked to speak to someone about getting quotes.
The man apologized for the problem I'd had and said it was still a work in progress. I told him what I was interested in and he said he'd call me back. Weeks passed without a word from him. I played phone tag with him for a while before finally being given a quote on the camera and lens (together) that I was interested in. I wanted to take it with me for the wedding of one of my best friends in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in October 2000 but he said he wasn't sure it'd come in time. I said ok, so long as it arrives, that's fine, and allowed him to charge the equipment to my credit card. Before I left for the wedding I called and it still hadn't arrived. I was disappointed but he had warned me there was a good chance it wouldn't arrive before I left.
After I came back I called and the camera still hadn't come. After two months of waiting I started calling and putting pressure on them to produce the product that, according to the rep, "should arrive in 2-4 weeks, no more." I started climbing up the chain of command but no one was willing to truly help me.
I finally got to the assistant to the President of the company who was initially pleasant but rapidly became a very unpleasant woman. She claimed that the company they were getting the equipment from had been closed because of Jewish holidays. I knew this was bullshit because no company can stayed closed for more than two months in America and stay afloat, plus I'm vaguely aware of the Jewish holidays and knew she was lying! She finally managed to procure my equipment for me but told me that the quote had been wrong, it was ONLY for the body, and I'd have to pay extra money for the lens. I argued with her that I'd been quoted a price and I expected them to stick to it but she refused and kept on insisting I'd have to pay more money. She refused to cooperate with me, refused to let me talk to her boss, and became quite surly. I told her I'd be reporting them to the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission. I also stopped payment on the last of the membership dues being withdrawn from my account and filed a fraud claim against the money withdrawn for the camera.
I did exactly that, too, sending long letters to both organizations (BBB & FTC), and waited to see what would happen. As the months passed I watched my bank account to see if I'd get my money back. The bank returned what they could of the monthly dues (about 3 months worth) plus they credited my account for the $270 or so for the camera not once but twice! Being honest I contacted the bank to let them know of their error because, while I was furious over the treatment I'd received and the $2000 I'd given U.S. Direct, I was not going to stoop to their level.
I'd given up hope that anything else would happen. The bank couldn't assist me further. I heard nothing from the BBB, which had no listing for them, and the FTC informed me it was out of their jurisdiction.
When I sent off my letters to the BBB & FTC I also sent one to U.S. Direct. Months later I finally got a call from another woman who was very pleasant. She apologized profusely for what had happened and told me that the unpleasant woman had been fired and there were big changes happening in the company. She asked what they could do to make it right. I told her that the damage was done and I wanted my membership money back. She offered me a choice: I could keep my membership and get $1000 back or I could get all $2000 back. I thought about it and then chose the latter. I'd had enough. She was very nice and even asked if I'd like to work for them! I sent in my resume but never heard from her again and that was ok with me. I hope that they are a better company now that the witch is gone!