Scam Alert: Smart Shoppers Savings Club

A company called “Smart Shoppers Savings Club” is aggressively calling consumers telling them they are eligible to receive a gift card of values from $50 to $150, with no questions asked. Is this company legit? What do you think we’ll say?

The Pitch

They’ll call (we received the call from 877-786-1624) and tell you that they want to give you a FREE gift card, with no questions asked. It may be for major stores such as Target or Walmart. They will then proceed to ask for your personal information, such as date of birth, address, and a credit card for an activation fee, which will sign you up for their discount “savings club” that will hit your credit card every month for over $60. This small “activation” fee appears to vary from around $3.95 to $8.95, and only applies to your “trial” period which only lasts for 7 days.

So basically this is a bait and switch, enticing consumers with a gift card, only to sign them up in an expensive and difficult to cancel discount club.

It’s not worth it.

It has been reported that complaints and even attempts at cancellation are nearly impossible.

If you call 877-786-1624 back, they usually answer with a greeting such as, “Thank you for calling Smart Shoppers Savings Club. How can I help you?”

If you can forget about the gift card they’re dangling in front of you for a moment, what you have is a person from an unknown location and representing an unknown company calling you and asking for your personal information. Never give a telemarketer your personal information!

The Website

It has been reported that the website associated with Smart Shoppers Savings Club is thediscountsavingsclub.com , but that site is currently listed as “Under Construction.” A Wayback Archive snapshot of that site from 2011 shows a rather generic site with a $50 Target Gift Card Voucher and other company logos for which their club supposedly has savings offers. That website was created on March 17, 2010 by an anonymous registrar.

Further Reading
Ripoff Report