ComplaintsforTrans World Entertainment Corporation
Current Alerts For This Business
BBB reached out to this company regarding a pattern of complaints which was found to exist regarding falsely promoting the company’s Backstage VIP Pass and unauthorized charges appearing on consumer’s cards. A number of consumers throughout the country have reported that they were encouraged to sign up for a free membership loyalty program, however consumers later noticing unauthorized charges on their credit or debit cards. Complaints allege being signed up for this program without consent and having difficultly cancelling the membership once charges are noticed on their statements. Some consumer advise they are told they've earned free magazines only to later received multiple charges to their accounts. Many consumers report unauthorized debt or credit charges to their cards which they did not authorized. The company failed to respond to BBB’s requests.
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Complaint Details
Note that complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. See details.
Initial Complaint
02/22/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Order Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
I went Christmas shopping at the Lynnhaven mall in Virginia Beach and bought some things at F.Y.E. When I went to purchase the items at the register, the cashier told me of a way to save 15% by joining a vip backstage pass subscription and I can cancel the subscription the next day by calling. So I took the deal and called the next day and cancelled. Two months later, I got a charge for $12 from tme*mags.com. Not knowing what this charge was for, I changed my card and found out that this was from F.Y.E making the unauthorized charge. I verified by calling them and they said they would refund my money and send me a check within 3 to 5 days. So they lie on the phone about canceling and lie about sending a refund and made this 15% savings not worth all this trouble.Business response
03/08/2022
To Whom It May Concern:
At the time of purchase a customer paying with a credit card is offered our membership program. There is a pamphlet for our membership program which explains all the terms and conditions of the program. The customer is given this pamphlet at the time of purchased. There is a phone number within the pamphlet that allows them to cancel via phone.
The membership was signed up for on 12/8/2021. The membership was cancelled on 12/10/2021. There were no charges to refund.The customers receipt states the information regarding the promotion. There is also a pamphlet for the promotion which explains all the terms and conditions of the promotion. The customer is given this at the time of purchased. There is a phone number on the pamphlet that allows them to cancel via phone. If the customer needed assistance getting their order cancelled they could have contacted our store customer service and we would have been able to assist them.
We located the order; it was for **********. A cancellation was processed. This is to confirm that the customer will receive a full refund on their credit card statement in the amount of $12. Our records indicate that this was the only charge the customer received and it was processed on February 11, 2022 after the free trial period ended.
Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern.
Customer response
03/09/2022
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
***** *****
The answer they provided is incorrect. The attached screen print shows the charge and refund that was just made as of Mar 3rd. This shows that my refund was only done after I put this complaint in. If this is what it takes any customer to get their money back from an unauthorized charge, then this company should loose its credibility.Initial Complaint
02/10/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
Hello, A worker unlawfully signed me up for FYE's membership program. The 26th of every month I've had a transaction of $11.99 come out for "TLG FYE VIP". I didn't notice this was happening until last months transaction (January 26, 2022). I went back into my bank statements and noticed this has been happening since March of 2020. I never consented to this membership. I've also noticed online others have had similar experiences as I. If I've ever seen a legal scam before I'd say its this. If there is room to somehow get a refund or be able to have some action done about this I can supply proof of it coming out of my account since 2020. Thank you for taking your time to read this. *** ************Business response
02/16/2022
To Whom It May Concern:At the time of purchase a customer paying with a credit card is offered our membership program. There is a pamphlet for our membership program which explains all the terms and conditions of the program. The customer is given this pamphlet at the time of purchased. There is a phone number within the pamphlet that allows them to cancel via phone. The membership was signed up for on 1/24/2020. Ms. ************ cancelled the membership on 2/11/2022. The customer/member was refunded in full, $287.76.Initial Complaint
02/07/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
I have 2 charges on my account for $11.98 each. They say I made a purchase and agreed to something called a backstagepass I have never been to this establishment. I called customer service she did cancel whatever membership she says I agreed to but also stated I would not get a refund because it is past 30 days. About a month ago I started to receive magazines in they mail as well, I have not ever signed up for anything like this. I am very street smart and very careful of the information I give out and sign up for I need a full refund.Business response
02/16/2022
At the time of purchase a customer paying with a credit card is offered our membership program. There is a pamphlet for our membership program which explains all the terms and conditions of the program. The customer is given this pamphlet at the time of purchased. There is a phone number within the pamphlet that allows them to cancel via phone. The membership was signed up for on 12/5/2021. Ms. **** called and cancelled the membership on 2/7/2022. The customer/member was billed twice on January 5th and February 5th for $11.99 each. One refund was issued at the time of cancellation and the other was completed on February 10th. Thank you for allowing our response.Customer response
02/17/2022
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Regards, ****** ****Initial Complaint
01/17/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Customer Service Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I tried to cancel my subscription to FYE, and the woman wouldn't cancel it. She said I had until the 27th and if I called after that she would cancel it, but until then I would still be charged.Business response
01/20/2022
At the time of purchase a customer paying with a credit card is offered our membership program. There is a pamphlet for our membership program which explains all the terms and conditions of the program. The customer is given this pamphlet at the time of purchased. There is a phone number within the pamphlet that allows them to cancel via phone.
The membership was signed up for on 5/28/2021. Ms. **** cancelled the membership online on 6/5/2021. The customer/member was not charged for the membership.
Initial Complaint
12/13/2021
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
Order #********. The website clearly lists this item as in stock. I placed the order on 12/3/71, and my credit card company posted this charge on 12/4/21. Several days later, I received an email that the CD was on back order. However, no option for a refund was offered. I have contacted FYE FOUR (4) times, asking for a refund; however, I have only received auto-mails telling of an alleged backlog. Two issues remain. 1. My refund has not been processed (after several attempts). 2. The website information is misleading and deceptive, listing items in stock that are not in stock.Initial Complaint
11/04/2021
- Complaint Type:
- Customer Service Issues
- Status:
- Answered
March 2021, I contacted FYE to cancel my membership. On March 11,2021 I received an email from FYE, with ticket #******, saying they received my email. I continued getting billed $11.99/mth. In June 2021, my bank contacted FYE to stop the charges and dispute them; I received a refund for $11.99. However, I have still been getting billed. I contacted FYE via phone today, they said they canceled my membership as of today (confirmation **********),offered to reimburse me $11.99 but I refused to settle. The agent refused to give me her name or my account number. On my bank account it shows the account number as ***********. Then the agent hung up on me. I was billed for an additional eight months after I canceled in March 2021.Business response
11/11/2021
To Whom It May Concern:At the time of purchase a customer paying with a credit card is offered our membership program. There is a pamphlet for our membership program which explains all the terms and conditions of the program. The customer is given this pamphlet at the time of purchased. There is a phone number within the pamphlet that allows them to cancel via phone. We do not have any record that Ms. ***** called and cancelled the membership prior to 11/4/2021. The Ms. ***** called and cancelled on 11/4/2021, confirmation #**********. The customer/member was refunded $11.99 and that refund will post to the customers/members account within seven days. There were other billings for that card and a full refund was issued.Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern.Initial Complaint
11/01/2021
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I contacted FYE customer support to cancel my VIP Membership with them two months ago. I received a reply email 24hrs later confirming that my membership had been cancelled and I would no longer be charged the monthly membership fee. Despite this confirmation, the company is still charging me monthly and claiming they cancelled my membershipBusiness response
11/11/2021
To Whom It May Concern:At the time of purchase a customer paying with a credit card is offered our membership program. There is a pamphlet for our membership program which explains all the terms and conditions of the program. The customer is given this pamphlet at the time of purchased. There is a phone number within the pamphlet that allows them to cancel via phone. The membership (#********) was signed up for on 11/22/2019. There is no record from our membership services that Ms. ***** called and cancelled the membership. The membership is now cancelled as of 11/4/2021, confirmation #*********. The customer/member was refunded $11.99 on 11/4/2021 and that refund will post to the customers/members account within seven days.Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern.Initial Complaint
10/28/2021
- Complaint Type:
- Sales and Advertising Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
In July 2021, I shopped at FYE for the first time in a while, they had "all these specials" for their ***** **** *******. I purchased three on my ******** card. The man behind the register asked me to sign up for the awards program and I said no . He signed me up anyway and every month since July they are charging my account $11.99. When I spoke to an agent today (Belle), after a numerous attempts they only reimbursed one!!!!!. I'm trying to get reimbursed for this! If they are doing this to me who else are they doing this too! I will contact the RI Attorney General as well. Noticed others with same issues on here.......what can we all do to correct this matter? Please help! I would like a refund for the remaining 4 charges totaling $47.96Business response
11/11/2021
To Whom It May Concern:
At the time of purchase a customer paying with a credit card is offered our membership program. There is a pamphlet for our membership program which explains all the terms and conditions of the program. The customer is given this pamphlet at the time of purchased. There is a phone number within the pamphlet that allows them to cancel via phone.
The membership was signed up for on 6/21/2021. Mr. ***** called and cancelled membership #******** on 10/28/2021. The customer/member was refunded in full, $47.96 on 10/28/2021 and was posted successfully.
Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern.Customer response
11/12/2021
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. In the future I hope they change thier business practices and notify customers prior of any charges. They did not do as such.
Initial Complaint
09/03/2021
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
While checking out at fye at ******* ***** **** in ********, the cashier asked if I would like to sign up for their awards program. I said no. But he signed me up and charged my credit card for the past few months. They would not refund the full amount.
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Customer Complaints Summary
71 total complaints in the last 3 years.
27 complaints closed in the last 12 months.