One afternoon a young man shows up to my door. He was freshly off his mission and very nice and friendly. I could hardly close my door in his face. I invited him into my home where he was very friendly, ate my food and played with my kids. He commenced doing his best to sell me these DVD's. I kept saying no, but he stayed and stayed until my husband came home from work. My husband said, "why not?" so I signed the papers and we were set up to receive 1 DVD a month and we would make a payment once a month for that DVD.
As time moved on I realized that my kids are not watching these DVD's and I'm getting so many of them that I'm losing space to put them. They are really expensive DVD's! $38.02 for a half hour DVD. I think that's absurd. So I called up their number and attempted to cancel. The Living Scriptures employee informed me that I cannot cancel. I signed a contract and I am liable to pay for their entire set of DVD's, which totals $1800.00. I can't tell you how surprised I was. How can I not cancel? What do they mean I can't cancel? I don't want any more DVD's. I have paid for what I have received and I don't want any more. It's as simple as that. I asked to speak to a supervisor. Their supervisor said the only way I can cancel is if I pay 1/3 of the total amount. If I pay that large sum I get nothing in return. It's the cancellation fee. I refused to pay that and I didn't want to deal with it so I just continued to receive the DVD's and get billed monthly.
Eventually I got sick of it again. I began to google The Living Scriptures and found a large number of unhappy customers. I was so happy to know I'm not alone. Some people suggested going to the Better Business Bureau. So that's what I did. I complained about their unethical business practices. I found that the B.B.B. did nothing but try to mediate a negotiation between me and the company to resolve my complaint. They sent my complaint to The Living Scriptures and we waited for a response from them. The Living Scriptures responded with the same information I got on the phone. They wanted me to pay 1/3 of the amount owed. I refused to pay a dime. I said I was not satisfied with the company's response to my complaint.
They responded to me by saying, "It appears you have not provided us with any new information or a middle ground offer we can present to the company on your behalf. We are unable to re-contact the company without this information. In order to resolve most disputes it takes both parties involved to move from their present position to a middle ground. If you would like our continued assistance in resolving this matter, please provide us with your middle ground and/or suggestions on how this dispute can be resolved."
I was mistaken to think the Bureau was going to somehow regulate their unethical business practices. I do not want to pay them another dime so I called my credit card and asked them to never make a payment to The Living Scriptures again. The Living Scriptures called and asked me for another credit card or form of payment. I told them I do not want any more DVD's and I do not owe them another dime. She told me she will send my account to collections. Today I received a large box full of DVD's. They sent me the rest of the set they want me to pay for. This is why I am writing this blog. I am amazed that they have gotten away with this for so long with so many people and have not been sued. I believe it is because of their customers who are faithful Christians. We are being taken advantage of because of our beliefs.
