Have you tried the UK penny auction Ziinga.com/uk?
Not to be confused with Zynga poker, Ziinga is owned by Auction Management Ltd., Suite 238, Vincenti Buildings, 14/19 Strait Street, Valletta VLT 08, Malta. However, we did find FlopGroup Ltd. also located at the same address as Ziinga, but in a different suite, we did see the bidder “FlopFlop” place a few bids on an auction this morning. Coincidence? Not sure.
Ziinga is currently “auctioning” 8 big ticket items, all of which are ending simultaneously. Items include an iPhone 4, 40″ Samsung 3D TV, an iPad, Nikon D90, an HTC Desire, and an Omega Watch.
According to WebsiteOutlook.com, Ziinga has a daily pageview (est.) of 9838, whereas a large penny auction (that only has one auction ending at a time right now and has them spanned out by at least 5 minutes, has an estimated 58,151 pageviews, does Ziinga have enough traffic to justify the large volume of bidders?
If you watch Ziinga’s auctions you will see that the vast majority of their items have bidders that come in at 2 seconds.
Could this be an indication of admin autobidders (shills)?
Let us know what you think and what your experiences have been with Ziinga.
Discuss Ziinga and all other penny auctions, lowest unique bid and dutch auctions in our penny auction forum!
{ 170 comments… read them below or add one }
I have won an aution now. But ONLY myself have problem to pay for the product. I'm waiting for customer service to response. I'll update here later.
I had chat with the online assistant a few times, I was told they will email me as soon as they solve the problem. You can see my user name "dxp_111" on ziinga.com won a iphone4 with price of £135.27. Don't know where could this end up with… I'll keep posting.
The payment went through; I can see the money has been deducted from my bank. So, I'm officially waiting for shipment now, fingers cross!
hope you know you will be charged $79 or so a month for membership and another $45 when you cancel your subscription. It is not worth it.
Please do so. I am curious of what they sell since there's no iPhone 4 unlocked on sale yet and this is what they are promoting on Facebook
Received an email says they have posted it and should be arrived within 7 days. Although I have asked who the courier is and what the ref is, I didn't get that.
Sounds all a little bit suspect to me.
There's no such thing as getting an iphone 4 for £13 which i've just seen one go for!
all looks waaayyy to suspect
To: JOB,
Don't forget, to get to £135.27, there will be 13,527 bids on this mobile phone (Penny auction, 1bid/penny), and price for ONE bid is betwee 47 pence to 80, so let we say average 60 pence for one bid, the company has already made £8,000 on the bids. I see this is another form of lottery.
From my bank statment, the payment was made to "www.ziinga.dk MLT", it is what I expected. There is a bigger community in Denmark, about 50% trafic came from there.
7 days now, I have received an email this morning says, due to the high demand, it is not possible to be delivered now (Actually I'm kind of not believe it can be delivered in 7 days at beginning as well). It says should be delivered some time between 3/08 – 10/08.
I'll update here around that time.
Any news yet?To be honest,i dont trust them,just curious of outcome.
@dxp_111
Dude did you already received your Unit? just wanted to know how true these things are…. but honestly its really seems like a big scam i donno how many days this website will work on ..
Hi guys, sorry I forgot to update here, so happy when I received the iPhone 4! Factory unlocked, 32 GB. Such a nice thing– shipped directly from Apple store.
I received it on 6th/Aug, 2 days before thire promiss.
But be careful guys, think this as a lottory, the chance you win is limited, I was just lucky. You will spend quite a bit on purchasing the bids…
I suggest you have a look other forums in Denmark, it looks like 90% customers are from Denmark and France.
At the end my transaction from Ziinga took about 5 weeks, but it is closed now. I'm happy that I was lucky this time…
Definitely not a kosher website…They said that I had joined some sort of membership that costs 500+Norwegian kroner-bit of money there. I had no idea of this membership, all of a sudden it just shows up on my bank statement. Customer Service is unwilling to deal with my case and will absolutely NOT refund my money.
If you try bidding, you never win. It just works that way. There are a ton of fake bidders that win the auction- always the same ones winning over and over again. DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE!
I think this website is a load of rubbish…i have been using it quite a lot and have still not won anything. A friend of mine won a ipod touch 32g over 2 weeks and has still not received it. I think its just a big scam.
Joe: If you read thier terms it says that delivery is upto 5 weeks maybe that is why your friend did not get his Ipod yet
I won a 3D tv and got it within 4 weeks, I can only say I have been very happy with there service….
This website Ziing.com is a scam and I have reported them to Which and the BBC. They get you to put your credit card details into your account and then sign you up for membership without your authority at £33 per month. When you try and get it back they state that T&C state that you cannot get the monthly subscription claimed back.
Please AVIOD is site as it gives penny auctions a bad name !!!!
You’ve been warned !!!!!!
this company has no legal rights to withold your money. for the following reasons:
They do not offer you a choice of which membership you want. – they choose for you. this is in their Terms & conditions under Memberships. there are 3 different levels, but the company will always deduct without authorisation or notification £56 per month from your card.
Card fraud is being committed, they dont ask for address or details of the cardholder details.
Nor do they get you to agree to a membership level.
Nowhere on the site does it show you when and how they will deduct monies from your card.
BBC watchdog has had several reports about them, please add yours at http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog
If you are having problems getting your money back from them report it as fraud to your bank as this is an unauthorised transaction, furthermore you did not agree at any level to which or what amount and when this would be taken.
I won an iphone4..at "www.ziinga.com/uk" just few mins ago..
First I just curious what is that. then I saw the 500 bids is about 0.47, I have not notice that is only for one bid, and then I click the button, and I input my card details. After I click submit, the price 236.98 shows on my screen. And I got a short message from my bank, notice me that a fee have been charged.
I think that is fraud at first, but i am not sure. because i got the URL from facebook advert. So I try to play it from 2:00am, to now..it's 5:00 am..half night..then it shows I won an iphone4, I paid it 106.12 pounds…Hope I will get it soon.. That day I will come here to verify what the ziinga is.
By the way, I am in London…my email for public contact is andy@andylou.com
If any interest about my experience, please contact feel free.
As i said before its a SCAM! Wake up people!
andylou,
The message you post telling about your winning bid is dated on 16th sept. According to the ziinga.com website (http://www.ziinga.com/uk/auctions/view/36214) you won at the 17th sept. (screen: http://grab.by/6szH).
Weird isn't it?
Oke, I notice now that the server is -8 GMT.
Let us know when you receive your price!
They just told me wait up to 5 weeks.. Then I wait.
i have got my money back from them, YOU MUST threaten legal action which involves the police and other authorities even authorities in Malta & Spain which is where these con artists are.
They are robbing people blind.
BEWARE: these people are fraudsters not only do they use your card to take money off for their silly scheme but also will use your card for internet gambling sites.
BE CAREFUL
Kev, thanks a lot. According to the statement of " dxp_111", I think what should I do is only wait.
I really paid money to them, and really won auction from their website, they really send a email to notice me won auction. I just wait till next month.
However, the bank today gave me a phone call. And said that next money should have a meet in terms of some problem of recent businesses of my account, if the bank noticed that the ziinga has a bad record and next monday is talk about that, I will show something here. If not. I should wait for another 4 weeks..
The bank don't know why they call me to be there… and I ask them if ziinga do not deliver the product to me, the bank staff said it need take time, if after the 5 weeks duration, I can take refund from Bank and report a fraud. The bank told me do not worry about any payment made online, if no product ,money will be take back.. so I should wait and wait… I check the deliver status everyday… but it still "awaiting shipment"..
These people are being investigated by countless police authorities in the UK as well as the serious fraud office.
ziinga www zinga dk mlt took money at of account with out my permission how do stop nthem taking more next month
Hello,
I have a problem with them too. I purchased a 10 bid package for £1, and they debited me with additional £56 a week later. In the e-mails from them I've been reading that there was a chckbox I ticked when purchasing the £1 package, with a text:
"Yes, I would like to have 10 free bids, and Gold+ membership with 7 free days where I get free access to Ziinga's Bid for free auctions and up to 9 free bids every day. Afterwards the price is 56 pounds. This is not binding and can always be cancelled."
I don't even remember this checkbox…
I asked them to remove my account, which is done now. But the money still has not returned. Neither do I feel any will on their side to do it.
What to do? Any advice?
Tell you bank! Take your money back!
I still haven't got the iphone4 I won.. from 17th Set till Now…(nearly 3 weeks)
I did and my bank cannot do anything. What I can do now, they said, is to contact the police. I think I'm on the lost though… It's good to take screen-shots when dealing with such likes, a lesson for the future…
And one more thing. They have on their site the "Approved by Visa" logo. I was redirected when I purchased the bids to Lloyds' Click Safe site, where I had to enter my special PIN. The £56 went without this, and the bank says that doesn't make the transaction unauthorised. One has to be careful on The Internet, to sum up…
I have not got the iphone4, but I noticed the tick box when I purchase.. It's dangerous if do action on website without careful..
You can tell you bank cancel their monthly charge..( If you login in your Ziinga account, they give you bids automatically everyday, it means your bank account is in danger, they will charge you member fees which is 56 pounds every month,like charge your monthly mobile contract fees, tell your bank to cancel it)
I am considering whether to purchase the bids again till I got the product I won, the iphone4..
Good to know there was the box at least. I'm not going to use the site anyhow. There could be something else I wouldn't pay appropriate attention to…
And going back to the case, I think they should've asked me whether I wanted to continue the membership into the paid period. Or at least warn me by e-mail. As it was, I have an impression, they don't believe what they sell is worth the price.
I WAS SCREWED. DAY LIGHT ROBBERY. STAY AWAY
I'm in the process of trying to get my £56 back!!!
Don't forget to share the details here.
Yes this is a scam, they take money from your account every month. I noticed this when i checked my bank statement. Cancel your bank card and order a new one, then report it as fraud to the bank and the police, be warned!
I thought I was having a small flutter £8.43 and didnt like the experience
I thought it ended there untill they took £33 a week later I e.mailed and they said I texed to say I wanted membership IDONT EVEN HAVE A TEXT FACILITY SO WRONG
i HAVE ASKED FOR MY MONEY BACK but no joy I have threatened with the police but still no joy.
have now cancelled my bank card
they are crooks I definately did not tick a box
I haven't got the iphone4 from 17 sep till now… 17th Oct.. a month… the last week I should wait..
Definitely not a kosher website…They said that I had joined some sort of membership that costs 500+Norwegian kroner-bit of money there. I had no idea of this membership, all of a sudden it just shows up on my bank statement. Customer Service is unwilling to deal with my case and will absolutely NOT refund my money.
If you try bidding, you never win. It just works that way. There are a ton of fake bidders that win the auction- always the same ones winning over and over again. DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE!
DO NOT USE ZIINGA.COM IT HAS TAKEN £56 OUT OF MY BANK ACCOUNT. I DIDNT EVEN NO THEY HAD IN TILL I CHECK MY ACCOUNT ON LINE . IT WILL TAKE IT OUT EVERY MONTH AND THEY CAN USE YOUR BANK DETAILS FOR OTHER WEB SITE. THERE IS NO WAY FOR YOU TO STOP IT ON THERE WEB SITE SO I HAD TO RING MY BANK AND THEY HAD TO CLOSE MY BANK ACCOUNT.
JUST THINK HOW MUCH MONEY THEY ARE TAKING FROM ALL OF US.
SO PLEASE DO NOT USE ZIINGA.COM IT IS A BIG FAT SCAM.
i got screwed too! £56 debited and no CHECK BOX at all!!!!!!!… i work for a bank so have had my payment reversed. arghhhhhhhhh i wish i saw this site before. i found the site by clicking on an Ad in facebook
this week is the last week, they promised deliver within 5 weeks since i paid(17th sep 2010) for my won iterm- iphone4.
However, I got nothing now.
Hope I will get it tomorrow.
It seems the people who own the site are living in Dubai according to this:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&s…
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&s…
They said some they are changing supplier, so can't send me iphone4 on time. but never indicate what time i should recieve my iphon4…
The system really work. so i won iphone4 .. but i never got it… from 17 sept…
From holland; also used ziinga.nl …
Never saw a checkbox as well and now they have credited EUR 69,- from my card..
Im busy with my bank to get it back!
I feel so stupid that this happens to me! Unbelievable that these sort of companys even exists..
Finally!!! I got the iphone4 32 G….. fantastic!!!! from 17 sep 2010 to 28 Oct…. I just got it.. Ziinga is a good website but need good skills of gambling
Unauthorized withdrawal of 39 euro 8 days after they have withdrawn an authorized amount of euro's! Do not sign up for ziinga even though a few people may be happy.
Thanks for stopping by feel free to join our forum!
Hi Mariska, Did you get the money back, they have done the same to me?
Agree with Kev, Zinga or whatever is just a bunch of cowboys.DONT TRUST THEM!
Just wondering is there any legal way to stop them screwing people.
Stay away from them!
dont be afraid to try it out, i used my gift card to buy bids. i have been collecting bid since they give you 4 bids everyday& everytime you login. I hope i can win
I foolishly logged on to ziinga and was screwed i won i ipod but was sent a message saying they were all gone surprise! Was awarded xtra bids but didnt want to use them as i then clicked it was a scam!! But ziinga are still taking money from my bank account, i now have had my card cancelled and is under dispute. I warn anyone never to use ziinga.com
people, c’mon… no one gives anything these days
Don’t use it, one an auction but amazingly the website went for maintenance, they credit the bids. Tried another time with the agent bidder “playing”. Made a print screen where I was the last bidder and did win but when I checked the closed auctions another user won !!! Do not trust these site.
This auction is pure scam. Lured you to join then take your money from your credit card to buy the bid point without you knowing it. Try to bid on some of the items but no matter what…you always loose. Don’t even try to sign up and giving away your credit card. IS PURE SCAM………………………….
i totally disagree, i have made millions from this site. and would like to thank you all for giving me your Credit card details “SUCKERS”
ZIINGA RULES WHAT A QUICK WAY TO MAKE AN EASY 2.5 MILLION.
I AM NOW LIVING IN THE MALDIVES, SUNNING IT UP. HOW SILLY ARE YOU HUMANS
you WOULD disagree. i’d say tommy is the guy who stole all your money. lol
I emailed this to ziinga
Hi I have only just started usinng your site spent alot of money buying bets to what end ?? is this a scam ? I just cant log on and see whats happenig I have used your bid manager but whats the point if i cant see what is happening ,the next thing i expect will be, sombody else has won the tv,and because i cant log on i will have to except that ????
there is a problem here please sort it out.
they replyed
Can you tell me what error you see when you try to log on?
Just to confirm, your username is *******
my reply
I am able to log on now but the ref i had before when i couldn’t log on was -ref#97.83e70cc3.1292285592.1534d53d.
(this is just one of the references i recieved i did get a few before, but did not write them down )
If i could have logged on to the site i should have won a tv with the maximum limit being £250.00 but because i was unable to buy any more bids i missed out on bidding for the tv,this does not seem very fair.
I do feel a bid hesitant to place another bid, after this in case it happens again.
What assurances do i have this will not happen again?
thanks for your reply and i hope you can help
but to no good they replyed
I consulted our IT department regarding your issue. While we never provide refence numbers for not being able to log in, they have informed that it looks like a reference number generated by Spamcop, a software used by ISPs.
Since we have not prevented you from logging in, you will need to contact your ISP about whether they labelled Ziinga as spam
SO to all who read this was I scammed
They charge me $149 for my stupidity by giving away my credit card and signed up with this SCAM artist web site.
I WAS CHARGED £105 WHEN I JOINED UP,, FOR 250 CREDITS..I DIDNT BUY ANY CREDITS…CANT GET REFUND FOR CREDITS..I WAS ROBBED BLIND BY THIS SITE..THEY MUST BE MAKING MILLIONS…
yep exactly the same here. I spent about half and hour trying to explain to “Kim” that I thought I was going througha registration process as nowhere did it say that I would be purchasing 250 bids. I even printScreen’ed it. Email it to her. Tried calling back but they put the phone down on me. … lovely.
Mark I also have had some problems with Ziinga.
However instead of writing about it on the web please contact me at: -
kwright@bo-ness.org.uk
In my experience the only way to stop these scams is to make the general public aware of these swindlers. I have many media contacts representing the press &T.V.
However, I also have several contacts in the U.K. and Scottish Parliaments. I have been the secretary of a leading political party for several years and worked as an Agent for a prominent Westminster Politician and I can assure you this is the type of issue that politicians love: especially if they are in opposition.
Moreover if a leading politician asks questions about this type of scam the media will quickly bring the con in question to the attention of the public domain.
I would therefore ask you to pass the following message on to anyone that you think may be interested.
Ask them to clearly state what issues they have with Ziinga and post them to me at :- kwright@bo-ness.org.uk
HOWEVER BE VERY AWARE OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE A POSITIVE INPUT THEY ARE PROBABLY SHILL’S WORKING WITH OR ALONGSIDE ZIINGA.
ALSO BEWARE THAT ZIINGA AND COMPANIES LIKE THEM WILL LET A FEW PEOPLE WIN A FEW ACTIONS (USUALLY LOWER PRICE ITEMS) AND ASK THEM FOR WRITTEN TESTAMENTS, WHICH THEY WILL ENDEVOUR TO PUBLICIZE AND THUS VALIDATE THAT THEIR AUCTION IS GENUINE, WITH THE HOPE OF ADVERTISING THEIR FACILITY TO THE POPULACE AND STRESS THAT ANYONE VISITING THEIR SITE WILL BENEFIT FROM THE INITIAL “FREE AUCTION”.
THIS THEY WILL CLAIM VERIFYIES THE AUTHENTICATION THEIR AUCTION
I would therefore strongly urge anyone reading this, who has had contact with Ziinga, to contact me.
Nevertheless, also be aware that the company in question can overnight change their name.
For instance Ziinga is actually Auction Management Ltd., Suite 238, Vincenti Buildings, 14/19 Strait Street, Valletta VLT 08, Malta Trading as Ziinga.
Prof. Ken Wright (Edinburgh)
Prof. Ken Wright (Edinburgh)
Boy did I goof! I didn’t read the small print. I thought that this would be a cool site until I received an receipt for $149. going against my credit card. With in 20 minutes of receiving this I was on the phone to credit card trying to stop the charge from going through. I then starting email them at their (us@ziinga.com) email address telling them to cancel, I did not want. So far I have emailed the 7 times telling them the same thing. I will fight this charge to the end. My credit card company did give me Ziinga’s phone number with is in UK. which I won’t call yet. I have used E-bay and Craigs list for years and I am extremly happy with them. I have only had one problem on E-bay, but was able to get my money back with out the hassle that I think this one is going to be…..Never will I do business with a company that is out of the USA
I also signed up and got charged £56. I emailed them when I noticed, and they said that I agreed to gold+ membership, which I certainly did not!
They told me they’ll cancel the membership and when I ased for proof that i’d signed up, they said they’d refund the payment. But since then, I’ve had no refund and another £7 charge.
My card provider insist that they can’t do anything. And now the website has an error on it with a reference number.
I was searching the web and found a website that looked like a news station website. It said if you entered the code ziinga25 you would get 25 free bids. I did this and it asked for my credit card and sure enough it charged me $149.00!! I did not have any page that prompted anything about there being any kind of charge!!!!! I have contacted them by email several times and they say there is a no refund policy on bids purchased. They have now closed my account.
mark
i joined ziinga so i could see the auction was like..i tyoed my detail in and my bank detail,,with out asking theu took £105 for 250 credits…there was nothing i saying i was buying 250 credits @£105..the site itself is rubbish,,there only about 20 item up for grabs,,all the rest are sold..i read the conditions and no refund is given on credits…the site is a scam if you ask me. AVOID JOINING THE SITE
Thanks for posting this people! I was about to join Ziinga. No I know that I must stay away.
thanks guys for all the feedback on ziinga. won some credits and was going to provide credit card details when i thot i’d check about this ‘too good to be true’ offers. thank god i did!!!! BEWARE everyone!!
I went on the penny auction, and won a coffee machine for 78p p&p was £10 but thought nothing of it as it must be heavy. Once I added my card details and submitted it said this product is not available in your country and have me the option to cancel payment which I did. Only to find today that they took the funds from my bank. I will let you know the outcome.
I also have been stung by this site. It plays fast and loose with other peoples credit cards. So what can we do about them, other then bitchin’. Any ideas anyone?
It is fraud! with a very thin legal screen.
What happened? Perhaps see: http://www.pennyauctionwatch.com/state-attorney-general-directory-scam-reporting-us-world/
What a rip off, took £60 out of my account plus £8.45p for bids and you can never win the auction it just goes straight on to the next auction and the time starts counting down again, no one ever wins even if your the leader at the end! Don’t do it as you can’t get your money back!!!!
Thanks for all the warnings, hopefully it’s prevented me losing any money to these guys.
More worryingly though, I found Ziinga because it was a sponsored ad on Amazon, so there will be a tendency for people to trust it as they presumably trust Amazon to keep tabs on who they offer links to!
I will be contacting Amazon to let them know…
Thank god I stumbled across this in time. I gave my email to sign up to Ziinga and tried the free auction, I won an Iphone 4 but it froze at 1sec to go, i still have the screen open, and subsequently all the other auctions froze at 1sec also. I’ve emailed them with the problem, only to get an automated response stating that they will respond in 24 hrs. Obviously they’re hoping that I will have closed the page by then, and will have no proof, but no, I will keep it open for as long as I have to.
Reading this I thank my luck that it did not get to me buying the product and giving these chancers my payment details.
Thanks for all the warnings, it’s so important – Keep away everyone!!
thank u people for sharing this information i was about to give away my details
I have been on this site and thought wow, unfortunatly I was misled…i won 250 bids on free auctions which cost me £3, with these bids I won a hd web cam worth £90.33 for .07p then this morning i recieved an email informing me that ziinga could not send the item to my region and asked me to send them my bank details for them to refund the money. I was very dubious as the company had my bank details already-so i replied to this email voicing my concerns and in meantime i found this sight and have had my eyes open as to which this company can be trading is unbelievable.
i have now had to contact my bank-stop my debit card, change my bank account and deal with the fraud department!
SCAM SITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s a shame I didn’t see all this info before joining! When I made my first bid on this site I got really confused as it doesn’t give much info on how it works so I contacted them by email and they replied quickly explaining how it works but I was put off and had only spent about 5 pounds so never went back on the site! A few weeks later I was on internet banking and saw an amount for 34!99 had been taken? Outraged that my bank details had been kept without my permission I sent an email to receive no reply I called the number on the site and I was advised that I had signed up for vip membership automatically I explained I wanted a refund so the person told me to email which I have done to no reply grr I’m now trying to find any info on were I stand and if I can get a refund in anyway but wanted to share my experience because if it saves someone money by them not joining then least some good has come from my rubbish experience! Avoid this site please
Ziinga is a great looking site, it attracts a lot of people with its idea and simplicity. I almost fell for it, but im not that stupid. I have registered and had like three free bids. Placed on random shit and instantly “WON” a 60 pound slip or whatever the fuck that was and it asked me to pay for it straight away on the same screen. I was about to cancel it but i noticed that I CANT GO ANYWHERE ELSE FROM THAT PAGE!!!! I tried every button on page but it redirects me to the same shit. IIt insists people to pay for fcks sake!!! Dont fall for it people, dont be stupid
thank you for thıs comment ı have just had the same happen to me ı wıll not put any more detaıls on there thanks for the warnıng
jeah, i got same shit, didnt pay…..! lucky
I just signed up with this site and bid for 2 items in free auction section and won one item. It took me straight to the payment screen and it wouldn’t let me go to any other pages within the site without the payment being made. Why would they do that if they are genuine? What if I need to check the status of other bid before making the payment or if I want to make the payment a bit later? It looks dodgy guys.. I was only checking it out any way as I found it’s advert right above my emails in Gmail. Google shouldn’t be this greedy for money to have these kind of scam adverts shown to their users. I thought they were responsible…. well..
Anyway, avoid ziinga.com and STOP GIVING CARD DETAILS ALL DODGY SITES, ESPECIALLY THE ONES OUTSIDE UK.
Thanks everybody, was half considering giving them my card details. Guess I’ll not be doing that!
THANK YOU WOULD HAVE BOUGHT 35 CASH FOR 3.50 NOT DOING THAT NOW!
HATE FRAUD
One should usually pay attention to this popular quote, “When something sounds too good to be true, it is.” They aren’t going to give away items like Iphone 4′s and such for 30 cents, because they’d make little to no money. In fact, they’d be buying their own products to give to you for 30 cents. Just follow the golden rule, and don’t be an idiot with your money.
Surprisingly this site came up as a cookie link on my gmail account when i was reading mails. So i clicked on it, and as everyone above all the auctions looked so good to be through.
So first thing i did was google about the site and viola, SCAM. I hope other ppl do not get scammed
dont use these kind of websites they are fuking rip off…they let u win for the first time and then take ur card details and keep it and take maoney from ur account.unsubscribe as soon as u can….
This website is a scam! bigtime! never win auctions, if you do never recieve prize even after paying for it. They debit yoiur account WITHOUT authorization and pull some bullshit out saying you signed up for a membership. I reported them to scamwatch with the ACCC. waitinf gor a response. Also speaking to my bank about a charge back and i have already emailed them with NO LUCK OF GETTING MY MONEY BACK. I demanded them send me information abotu my supposed purchases but they refuse to! ridiculous! someon needs to take this site down!!
STAY AWAY FROM http://WWW.ZIINGA.COM/NZ
I HAVE ALSO SENT ALL THIS INFO TO FAIR GO AND HOPE MAYBE THEY CAN HELP ME OR STOP IT FROM HAPPENING TO OTHERS!
i found this joined cause i won a auction for $180 towards bid packages for like $5 then the other day 18/08/2011 i had $119.99 new zealand taken from my account i have cancelled my card with bank have cancelled my account with ziinga have asked for my money back but they said in the terms and conditions they don’t refund memberships yet i cant find it any were on them can u?
Terms and Conditions
General
The following Terms and Conditions shall apply to the business relationship between the domain and sub-domains of http://www.ziinga.com (hereinafter: “Ziinga”) and our users. By using Ziinga the user accepts the following Terms and Conditions, as well as the manner in which Ziinga operates as described on our website. Any variations or alterations in the following Terms and Conditions shall only be binding if agreed to in writing. We recommend reading through all of the Terms and Conditions before participating in any of our auctions.
Bidding advice, articles or other information posted on our website, such as under the “How it works” section, are only suggestions, and are not to be relied upon. Ziinga shall not be liable or responsible for any action taken by a user on our website or the action of any other person who may have read or been informed of any such information or other written material.
Eligibility
In order to participate at Ziinga, you must be at least 18 years of age. Ziinga employees and their family members are not eligible to participate.
Registration
Ziinga reserves the right to limit the number of users per household. Users may not provide deceptive information. Accounts are non-transferable.
When selecting a user name, the user is subject to choosing a name that is not in any way offensive, indecent or derogatory. Additionally, a user may not select a user name that is misleading or advertises other websites. Ziinga reserves the right to change or delete user accounts that are violating these conditions. It is solely the responsibility of the user to ensure that their password is kept confidential. In most cases, the user shall be liable for all activities that are undertaken using their account. Any misuse of the account may result in the user subsequently be banned from participation on Ziinga.
You may cancel your account at any time by sending an email to info@ziinga.com.
Bidding
Users are permitted to bid by means of single bids or the Bid Agent feature. Once a bid has been placed, it is deducted from the user’s account and cannot be refunded. Bid Agents permit users to bid on auctions even whilst they are not present. They function as per parameters specified by the user. Users are prohibited from using alternate bidding software and doing so will result in immediate disqualification.
A user can win 2 auctions in a 14 day rolling period. They will not be able to place bids on new products until this period has passed. Users will not be permitted to continue bidding on products they placed bids on before crossing the 2 auction limit. Bids placed before crossing the 2 auction limit will not be refunded.
Please note that bids bought or received due to special offers and bids won from Ziinga auctions and from the slot machine will have a value of 0 and will therefore have no effect when using the “Buy it Now” function.
How Ziinga auctions function
Each bid placed, resets the time remaining for an auction by increments of 20 seconds, 1 minute or 2 minutes. The increment is dependent on how long the auction has been running for or type of product. The auction will end if no new bids are placed before the timer reaches zero.
Bids are only placed once they have been entered into Ziinga’s system as opposed to when they were sent. This usually takes about a second. Ziinga will not be held responsible for technical errors causing the placing of your bid to be delayed. This includes, but is not limited to; faulty user equipment, technical errors caused by an ISP and high volumes of internet traffic.
Ziinga maintains the right to suspend auctions, revise bidding time of ongoing or future auctions and re-open closed auctions upon suspicions of any misdeeds.
Most auctions feature a “Buy it Now” option, allowing users to purchase the product they are bidding on, using bids they have already spent. The ‘Buy it Now’ price is 7% higher than the value of the product. Unfortunately this feature is not available for auctions pertaining to gift cards or bid packages.
The price the user will pay is equal to 7% more than the value price less the value of the bids they have spent on that specific option. Note that the “Buy it Now” price cannot fall below 0 even if the bid rebate price is higher than the retail price of the product. The user can choose this option from the time the product goes live to 24 hours after the auction has been closed.
If the user opts to use the “Buy it Now” feature, they will not be permitted to continue bidding on the auction. Any Bid Agents placed on that auction will be canceled, and bids will be returned to the user’s account. The auction winner will also not be permitted to use the ‘Buy it Now’ feature. If the user fails to pay for the product within 24 hours of selecting the “Buy it Now” option, Ziinga reserves the right to withdraw the purchase contract, and the user will not be entitled to a refund on the bids they have placed on that product. Note that when a user elects to use this feature, it will not affect the auction for other users.
The “Buy it Now” is limited to 2 auctions in a period of 30 days.
Purchasing bids and products
Bid packages need to be purchased before bidding on products. Bid packages are non-refundable and it is the user’s responsibility to ensure that they do not purchase more bids than they intend to use. Upon completion of purchase, bids are directly deposited into the user’s account.
Bids and products can be purchased using a Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard or Maestro. Ziinga reserves the right to halt delivery of a product if the user does not complete the payment. Ziinga will not accept responsibility for technical problems caused by the supplier of the payment facility.
Once an auction has ended, the winner has 14 days to pay for the product and shipping. If the user fails to do so, they lose their right to buy the product. Ziinga will deliver the product within 2 weeks of receiving payment. Products won before 27/10/2010 can take up to 5 weeks for delivery. Products will be sent to the shipping address provided by the user.
Unless otherwise mentioned, products come with the manufacturer’s warranty.
Ziinga does not accept responsibility for potential third party issues that may interfere with your account transactions. Should a transaction problem be suspected, you are compelled to inform Ziinga right away.
In the event that Ziinga is unable to deliver a product due to the product being out of stock, having a too long delivery time or other reasons Ziinga will transfer monetary compensation, equivalent to the product retail price, to the user.
Returns Policy
Ziinga grants winners the right to cancel an order. This begins from the moment the user completes payment for a product. If the user chooses to return a product, they are entitled to a refund of the auction end price they have paid, even if the goods are not defective in any way. These cancellation rights end 14 days after the day on which a winner received the goods. Products which have been used or are unsealed are not eligible for return or refund. Please note that bid packages also cannot be returned. Exceptions apply to products which are damaged or not as described. Damaged goods should be reported within 14 days of receipt to info@ziinga.com. The cost of postage for returned products will be incurred by the user, unless goods were faulty upon receipt.
Users are permitted to exchange won products for bids equivalent to the retail value of the product they have won, up to 2 times in a calendar month. Users who opt to receive bids will not be charged the final product price or delivery charges. The value of each bid will be in accordance to the value of bid packages (rounding upward). Thereby products with a retail value of NZ$16.48 or less will receive 1 bid for every NZ$1.65 of the retail value. Products with a retail value of NZ$463.35 and above will receive 1 bid for every NZ$0.93 spent.
You have 14 days to cancel the purchase of bids and credits. If you wish to cancel your purchase of the bids or the credits, simply send us an email within 14 days from the date of purchase and we will readily refund the full purchase price.
However, do take careful notice that you may not claim a refund for a bid package you have used. By policy, refund claims for completely or partially used bid packages are invalidated immediately.
Disruptions in service
Occasionally there may be service disruptions that are beyond Ziinga’s control. In such cases, ongoing auctions will be temporarily suspended and the highest bid will remain as before. Auctions will resume once technical errors have been resolved. Ziinga reserves the right to change the date or time of an auction’s close should unplanned disruptions occur. Users bidding on temporarily suspended auctions will not be entitled to a refund for bids.
Privacy Policy
Information Collection and Use
Ziinga is the sole owner of the information collected on this site. Unless required to do so by law, we will not share, sell or distribute any of the information you provide to us without your consent.
Registration
During registration a user is required to provide us with their email address. After you register, we recommend going to “My Account”, and filling out your name (as per your credit card) and shipping address. The information you supply us will enable us to provide you with access to all parts of our website and to supply the goods or services you have requested. It will also enable us to bill you and to contact you where necessary, which is why it is important to provide us with valid details. Your information may also be used to administer, support, improve and develop our business.
This information may also be used to contact the user about Ziinga services in which they have expressed an interest. You may revoke your consent at any point by canceling your account. To cancel your account, send an email to info@ziinga.com.
Third party data collection
Your personal information may be passed on to third parties only if this is necessary to process a payment transaction or a business transaction with our partners. Abovementioned third parties are always reputable businesses that strictly comply with applicable data protection regulations.
Ziinga maintains the right to modify terms and conditions at any given time.
Ziinga.com is a trade name of Auction Management Ltd, Vincenti Buildings, Suite 238, 14-19 Strait Street, Valletta, Malta.
i also had this convo with a online assistant
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with ‘Nina’
Nina: Welcome to Ziinga! How can I help you?
Me: hi i am trying to ring the number provided on you web site but it does not work
Me: this is the number i am trying to ring44-1138680224
Nina: Our Phone support is fully operational.
Nina: Yes that is right.
Me: then y wen i ring it does it not ring
Me: it just beeps at me
Me: and i have tried 3-4 times
Nina: It is working, I’m not sure if its the area or the line of the caller but we have NZ users calling everyday.
Nina: I can assist you here instead, what is your concern?
Me: i have been charged $119.99 for membership that i didnt know about i got told yesterday to email uz i did and have been told that u wont refund it and it says so in the terms and conditions but i have read them and it doesnt say that it says bid packages r and accounts but not memberships! and i need that money that is most my money for the week to pay rent food bills ect imnot rich im on a bennifit
Nina: May I have your username?
Me: **********
Nina: Thank you.
Nina: Please wait while I check your account.
Nina: This is from your Platinum membership.
Me: is that what it says
Nina: This case has been evaluated by the Billing Department, and the evaluation informed you of no refund.
Nina: You can check The Terms and Conditions.
Me: yes but i wnt it back i need it back
Nina: As stated in our Terms and Conditions which you have agreed on, the membership fees cannot be refunded.
Me: show me were cause i cant find it in the terms and conditions
Nina: It is under Membership
Nina: Once you become a paying member, you can review the benefits and the price of your membership by going to “My Account”.
Nina: You can always cancel your membership by emailing into info@ziinga.com. Remember to include your username.
Nina: Membership fees will be charged upfront to your credit card every month.
Nina: Member price and benefits are subject to change without notice.
Nina: Membership fees cannot be refunded.
Me: yes but i cant find were in the terms and conditions it states that!
Nina: We can send a screenshot for you.
Me: it says accounts are non transferable and bid packages are non refundible but nuffing bout memberships
Nina: Please scroll down until you reach the Memberships.
Me: ok
Me: it shows General
Nina: Then Eligibility
Nina: Then Registration
Nina: After Registration comes Memberships
Nina: Then after comes Bidding
Nina: The statement that is before the Bidding title, please read that sentence.
Me: Registration Ziinga reserves the right to limit the number of users per household. Users may not provide deceptive information. Accounts are non-transferable. When selecting a user name, the user is subject to choosing a name that is not in any way offensive, indecent or derogatory. Additionally, a user may not select a user name that is misleading or advertises other websites. Ziinga reserves the right to change or delete user accounts that are violating these conditions. It is solely the responsibility of the user to ensure that their password is kept confidential. In most cases, the user shall be liable for all activities that are undertaken using their account. Any misuse of the account may result in the user subsequently be banned from participation on Ziinga. You may cancel your account at any time by sending an email to info@ziinga.com.
Me: then it is bidding
Nina: Please read the entire page. Please do not omit the statements.
Nina: The Terms and Conditions are the same for all.
Me: no were on the terms and conditions does it state Membership is non rufundable and i have and cant find this clause you are saying is there
Nina: If you cannot see this, We will forward a screenshot for you.
Nina: This is the MEMBERSHIP CLAUSE: Membership
Nina: Ziinga offers different types of memberships and each membership has a corresponding monthly fee.
Nina: All members get to enjoy value added benefits:
Nina: * Extra bids for bid package purchases
Nina: * Free shipping
Nina: * Free bid
Nina: * Bid-for-Free Auctions
Nina: Once you become a paying member, you can review the benefits and the price of your membership by going to “My Account”.
Nina: You can always cancel your membership by emailing into info@ziinga.com. Remember to include your username.
Nina: Membership fees will be charged upfront to your credit card every month.
Nina: Member price and benefits are subject to change without notice.
Nina: Membership fees cannot be refunded.
Me: im reading the terms and conditions on the web site and this is not there
Nina: Please dont make a fool out of us. This is legal business. Please be advised that by omitting Terms and Condition clauses as proof will be considered falsification of Legal Documents. We can see you at court. Thank you.
Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.
i now have to wait for the money to be properly processed as ATM it as a visa hold then my bank going to try desput it but i dnt fancy my chances
STAY AWAY FROM THIS SITE
OMG i wish i saw thEse comments before i went on….dumb!
Same as Sunil. I was bidding on the free auction and then the countdown timer froze at one.
So I e-mailed them. this was the reply I recieved:
“The connection between your computer and the Ziinga servers could be broken. If the connection is broken, the timer on your computer will continue to count down because it has not received the signal from the Ziinga servers to reset the timer.
The browser you are using might have exhausted its resources. Unlike typical websites that download a page once, our site constantly communicates with the servers to receive bids and manage the auction timers. Older versions of internet browsers or browsers with numerous plugins may freeze after hosting the site for a long time. We suggest using the latest internet browsers and reducing the number of plugins or add ons.
Your account doesn’t show any recent won auction.”
And ths is Bull, because I reopened the page, after this happened and the bids were going at a lower price than before?
Hi all,
I won an Ipod Touch for appx. $70 NZD this week and paid for it immediately, though after that I saw the complaints about the website and got worried.
So then I rang up my bank and had them cancel my debit plus card so I don’t get extra money taken out of my account.
I have been in contact with them over the last few days and they have been helpful with answering all the questions I asked, I was making sure I know exactly of the process, informed me they are unable to send my product because of the region I am from though will give me a full refund at the purchase price as stated in their terms and conditions.
I gave them my bank details to put the money in so I am hoping that I will receive it. They said the money has been processed and I should receive the deposit in two weeks. I rang up my Bank to ask them how long overseas deposits should take and they said 2-3 days.
If I don’t receive the refund I will be sure to go through the steps of the bank to ensure that I get my money back.
Though fingers crossed that I receive the refund! I will let you all know how it goes. I think that once I receive the refund I will cancel my membership straight away.
Just letting you all know that I received my refund of $542.10.
WOW….
Saw a link in my Gmail account, then looked at site and was about to sign up, but decided to do a search on their website name first.
Sorry you guys got stiffed, but thanks for the headsup…….
i signed up for ziinga today and i won a bid for 50 free bids in the free auction section than it took me to were i pay for my bid that was 5.33 and at the bottom it says along with this bid u get a 7 day free trial gold membership and after the 7days you will be charged 99.99 dollars so i tried calling before i payed for my bid and i keep getting a answering machine and the site says open 24 hrs 7 days a week and i thought that was kinda weird so i still havent paid for what i won because im scared they might charge my card some bogus fees and after reading these comments on here im certainly not going to now.
Kenneth Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
September 4th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
CONSUMERS PLEASE BEWARE. THIS SITE IS A SCAM SITE AND WILL NOT HONOUR ANY TRANSCACTION. I WAS TOLD THAT IN ORDER FOR THEM TO COMPLETE MY TRANSACTION THEY NEEDED FOUR, YES I REPEAT, FOUR, FORMS OF IDENTIFICATION INCLUDING PERSONAL CREDIT CARD INFO.. I WAS TOLD BY MY CREDITCARD ORGANISATION THAT I SHOULD NOT PROIVIDE ANY OF THE INFORMATION REQUESTED AS IT WOULD INVALIDATE ANY SUBSEQUENT CLAIM ON THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY. THE SITE DEDUCTED £1 FROM MY CREDIT CARD, APPARENTLY FOR PROCESSING THE TRANSACTION, BUT ACCORDING TO THE CREDIT CARD IT WAS FOR “ACCOUNT VERIFICATION”. THEY REFUSED TO SHIP THE TRANSACTION BECAUSE I REFUSED TO SEND THE FOUR DOCUMENTS. THE SCAM IS THAT £1 IS DEDUCTED AND THIS IS NOT REFUNDED DESPITE NUMEROUS E-MAILS. I REQUESTED THAT MY E-MAILS BE ESCALATED TO A DIRECTOR AND I WAS TOLD THIS HAPPENED BUT NO DIRECTOR HAS EVER RESPONDED.
SAVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS BY BOYCOTTING THIS SITE UNLESS YOU WISH TO HAVE MONEY DEDUCTED FROM YOUR ACCOUNT AND RECIVE NOTHING .
That’s weird because my Auction went through fine. If you are worried go to ASK-ZIINGA.COM and unsubscribe or email info@ziinga.com. I advise you that if you want to protect your credit card, get one of those prepaid debit cards when paying for transactions and that way they can’t take money off you that is not related to the auction.
NO SUCH THING AS A FREEBIE” some things are too good to be true , I am so glad I waited before joining, and read this website….
Tx. I’m so glad I found this thread. Sorry to you all that lost money.
I wouldn’t be suprised if “PATCH” is one of them!!!!
I paid for my ipod shuffle for 4 or 5dollars the total was like 12dollars including postage.
But yes they asked for the FRONT and BACK of my c/card, PASSPORT OR D/L and my SIGNATURE on a form. I thought that was WAYYYY too much info about me for someone else to have. Stupid me I paid for the $12. But I have cancelled my card and applied for a new one DUE to this site. So THANK YOU although I know I lost $12 dollars I’m better off then losing $200dollars.
STAY AWAY from this site, I’m soooo writing it on FACEBOOK and BEBO
I’m not, I just read the Terms and Conditions carefully. I also safe guarded my Debit Plus card by cancelling it after I paid for my auction. You need to think strategies.
Really i went to this site cause like a fool i thought i could get good stuff cheap i never won nothing i only won the free auction then i won two free action and i blocked my account for two weeks so i couldn’t even use and im in high school so i have my high school checking account with my debit card and i had around 300$ in my account so when i was at school i was bored so i checked my account surprised and mad seconds later i only had about 150$ left tryn to find out if had purchased any thing i checked and i saw one charge that was new it was to ziinga but by the name on my account i saw pending so i waited so in two day my bank i guess denied them and i had 300$ in my account lucky maybe but i should have canceled then and there its now 9/20/11 and and had an overdraft fee of 34$ its not that big i was going to pay that back pronto but when i woke up this moring to check my account i know had a overdraft of 133$ so dont use this site i am mad beyond belief.
Ziinga.com/us is indeed a scam!!! They debited $99.99 out of my debit account without my authorization! Then they have been charging me an “international processing fee” of $3.00 when I live in the U.S. This is the third time they have charged me this month. They are making me broke!! I was late on paying for my bills, I called them numerous times, and emailed them numorous times, they never emailed me back nor give me back my money!!! DO NOT USE THIS SITE!!
thanks guy’s.. at this time I’m logged in to ziinga and won a nokia 5130 phone..I still didn’t submit my credit card to them..before that I thought I should run a revive about this company..so I did..there i found your posts in here.. I was saved ! thanks for all..
Ziinga is total fraud.. Stop bidding on their site.
The cents that keeps getting added everytime makes a bet is added to the auction price.
As long as there’s a person who places a bid before the time reaches zero, the auction will continue.
– Chat Ziinga.com Member
Comments: And auction will never end because their system will never makes it happen.
Example:
Let say Ipad Auction running for 2 days and every 2 seconds people adding 0.2 cents then ziinga would be earning S$17280 on single Ipad itself. considering there will always be a single winner.
They will not show for how long the auction in progress and how many bidders auctioned for that Item until now.
They are totally fraud ..
It’s like they say, if something seems to good to be true, it probably is…
is ziinga.com legit? Searching the sites….
Thank goodness i like doing my homework. I signed up this morning to try this site, I am a bid or buy fan, but thanks to all the warning signs from you guys i am not steeping into this Horse Shit!!!.
Like the Good Book says, if something seems to good to be true, it probably is…
Is Ziinga.com Legit? thats what i typed in…..
I signed up this morning, but thanks to you guys’ reviews and comments i will side step this Horse Shit!!!. I am a bid or buy fan, but will not the Ziinga way. Like the Good Book Says, if something seems to good to be true, it probably is…
SCAM – DO NOT USE – THEY ARE IMMORAL AND SLY!
How do I know I m bidding with real people or with the computer program? I did not feel right after few times free bidding and wanted a refund for my bids; however, the online assistant Peter told me there is no way for me to get my money back and I should read terms and conditions before I purchased the bids. It’s kinda wasting time to talk to the online assistant cuz ” No” is the only answer they give. Besides terms and conditions, they even used the company policy to scare me off. I got no choice but called the credit card company right away to stop the payment and luckily, I got the money back. Yes, I did accept the terms and conditions when I purchased the bids but terms and conditions could be adjusted according to different situations. Ziinga are threatening people by using their innocence of legal knowledge. I wonder if there is any way to stop the scam like this?
i want my merchandise
Ziinga.com
they are just busterd……………….
i was totaly one big full thinking ziinga.com was a very good site but i was wrong and so was so many ather people like me
I thought that this site was a good site to bid on items and getting them cheaply, but then I have read all of these posts and the dissatisfaction that this mob ziinga have made of members. It just goes to show that one has to do his or hers own investigation prior to joining. Thats to you people I will not join this mob and I hope that you all get satisfaction in due course.
i just won a ipod shuffle for 2 bucks plus 8 postage went to pay for it and it says i have to $90.00 per month for 3 months minimum to be a member MY god a hunred a month is just a rip off stick your ipod i can buy one cheaper than you member fees
If you have just signed up to this ask-ziinga website I would CANCEL YOUR CREDIT CARD. Coz 7 days later they will charge you a big membership fee that you wont be able to get back. AUD$89.99 or NZD$121.00.. NOT WORTH IT!
IT does say right below terms of use, that you do agree to 3 months straight of payments contacted 89$ a month. As soon as i saw that i ran.
When canceling w/in 2 hours I was told I could cancel the subscription for a 39.99 penalty. The inference in their communication was it had also to do with my refund. This is where each word needed clear objective interpretation.
They claimed my ‘platinum’ membership came with cancellation cost.
After challenging this I was told the membership fee would still cost 99.00 and cost 39.99 to cancell.
Still no specific mention of refund.
THEY DID THE SAME TO ME!!! CAN ANYTHING BE DONE ABOUT IT THOUGH THE CHEATING SCAMING BASTARDS??!!!!!
They told me the same thing. Did you ever get anything from them? They just took $100 out today which I was taken aback. I should cancel & be smart.
Ziinga is a SCAM! They sign you up on the pretext of getting an IPod Shuffle and a 7 day trial membership. You enter in your credit card details but here is the sting in the tail. They sign you up for a “platinum” membership without your consent which is fraud and absurd. After all it was supposed to be a “trial” membership which you could cancel within 7 days right? Within your account there is no place to update payment information so now they can charge your card for whatever they like and you have a “platinum” membership that you never consented to! Their auctions are dubious at best. They seem to stay frozen at 1 second for far too long and then they magically get more bids?! I smell admin supported shill bidding here. If you have been conned by these scammers the first thing to do is to contact your bank and get your card stopped and reissued, then they can’t milk it for any more money. If you have already been charged for the IPod or the like file a chargeback for non receipt as they use 3D Secure to process payments so they can’t get hit with fraud chargebacks (how ironic is that!). If you have been billed for the monthly “membership” charge them back too for non receipt as well, because you haven’t actually received anything and they have no signature either. The best thing is that each chargeback costs these fraudsters $25 a hit. If they say about a “cancellation” fee, they are based in Malta so assuming you don’t live in Malta I wouldn’t worry about them coming after you for it. This site is a con that needs to be shut down.
Dear Kevin,
I have just read your report regarding the Ziinga auctions site and I have just had an identical situation as yours with an ipod shuffle which I had apparently won.
I forwarded the £2:00 and later discovered that I had been billed for the £59:99 membership which I had not requested.
I noticed in your letter that you refer to a chargeback for non receipt as they use 3D Secure to process payments so they can’t get hit with fraud chargebacks. Could you please let me know how I go about this process, where do I go to access there 3D secure to start a claim, are there any costs involved and will they return my money?
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely,
Mike Winter
I paid the £2:00 for the non existent ipod Shuffle and later found that they had deducted £59:99 for membership that I had no knowledge of. The problem is that I paid on my Debit card, what can I do to recover my money after I have gone to the inconvenience of canceling the card?
Hope someone can help me or point me in the direction of some authority who may take up my case.
Regards,
Mike Winter
Hi my name is Patrick from South Africa.Tell me is it only for the uk or across the world,let me know thanx.
This web site is a serious scam . Do not give your info to them they take money out for unspoken fees. ONCE AGAIN THIS IS A SCAM
i was jus about put in my credit card # but after googling more about i decided no to
I was offered a free camera for $1.50 postage so signed up. The “conditions” sid nothing about fees or cancellation fees. It was only when I tried to access the site and phoned them and they helped get my “account” operating, that I did a “chat with Joseph” and asked it there was any fees. The reply was $89.99 a month for three months. Then I emailed and told them to cancel account, THAT was when the issue of a $42 cancellation fee came up … less the refund of $1.50 postage = $40.50, So I told them if they send me the camera I’ll pay the cancellation fee. I’m waiting to hear from them/. And I went to my bank and cancelled my credit card. Get a new one next week.
I TO became a ziinga casualty on the 24th december i caught on quick and got on to my bank within 2 hours of the purchace from ziinga but the bank would not stop payment lloyds tsb so ziinga charged me £12 .1 for my coffee machine plus£1.00 PLUS £59.99 IN FEES i did not want.i cancelled my acount with ziinga within 10 minutes and have the proof.PLEASE CONTACT .THE INTERNET FRAUD SITE ABOUT ZIINGA also beware they have other sites.
I am in trouble then, because I did bid and won a samsung phone which I was asked to pay for shipping. I did and they are asking me for copies of my ID and credit card and that got me scared. I had a chat with someone called Ivy who said to me that without those documents I wouldn’t get the phone.
Well its better they take the 6.04 amount than giving them my info.
I threatened them with contacting the ACCC (Australia) and reporting them for harassment and fraud. Haven’t had any further contact
What happened?
I had the same problem, my card details and bank clearance wasnt enough and they wanted scans of my credit card etc, how can they say they cant send the auction item without all the extra scanned info, passport card, both sides etc, but they can take your money with just that info!! I contacted uk action fraud and the police! I cancelled the won camera and they still want to charge me, I am not a happy bunny
I was got by the theiving bastards too. I am currently on my way to Malta to murder them and their children.
http://theyscam.com/ask-ziinga-com-another-auction-site-ripping-people-off/
I also got scanned got offered a ipod 4 $1.50 gave then my credit card details
Then it appeared $89.99 like wtf how did $1,50 turn into $89.99
Im so angry atm as they got my mother also i didn’t have the funds in the accound so used her credit card thro my account so she didn’t sign up so the $20 turned into an extra $89.99 4 my mum
So will be going thro the bank 2 take it further
Answer to Amanda Lee 17 January 2012
After I threatened them with the ACCC ….. and again told them they were not getting anything from me. I also informed them my bank account had been closed and I had moved to another bank, they left me alone.
ALL I really did was cancel my visa card telling the bank I’d been gotten at by a scammer. Within four days I had a new card and just set up a new visa account. End of story.
ALL YOU PEOPLE SHOULD IMMEDIATELY CANCEL THE VISA CARD AND LET THEM KNOW YOU’LL HAVE THEM UP FOR HARASSMENT.
I too have been scammed by them and it also seems they have sold my email address as I am getting around 20 pieces of spam every day where before I cancelled my Ziinga membership I was not getting any spam..BEWARE OF THIS SITE
got my bank statement (old cancelled acct) They took $1.55. End of story. ALL you guys just need to cancell your accounts.
I TOO JUST RECEIVED A CALL FROM MY CREDIT CARD COMPANY ASKING IF I JUST MADE A PURCHASE AT 4AM W/ZINGA/UK I SAID NO AND THEY SAID THERE WAS ANOTHER CHARGE LAST MONTH I DIDNT SEE AND FOR ME TO CONTACT THEM! THEY ARE CXLing MY CARD AND REISSUING ME ANOTHER BUT I HAD TO CONTACT ZINGA WHERE DO I START?
Won an Auction with the online company zinga.com for a digital camera – great purches – made the transaction – after entering my card details and finnised the transaction – at the very bottom of page lists a 7 day free trial of platium account – with the option of 3 months at au&89.99 each month ! Took the option to cancel but no reply even after many attempts. Only method is to cancel account card, this is very disturbing ! As many others have stated – if you make the mistake i did – please cancel you card before large amounts are removed from you account -
nearly fell for this but virgin islands and malta made me think something not right.hence did my research found this site.sorry for all those who lost money……………………..
Well like all of the other suckers.I got it good..$100.00 Ca..I bid on a cell phone..Got it for $1.94..WINER it said..Ya rigth silence so I sent an Email..Oh hell You win but we need phot copies of Your driver licence,bank card,pasport,WTF is going on her..So I told them to showe it..Up You know WHERE..I just find out My Credit card account get hit for $99.00I did not know this untill today when My statement come in…I do not understand ther is nothing but nothing canbedone about this LOW LIFE rip off artist..Is there is No police or authority to stop this..Doing this openly on the unsuspectin people.Somebody must be able to do something to put a stop to this..
AN OTHER SUCKER…..
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with ‘Jake’
Jake: Welcome to Ziinga! How can I help you?
mark: jake im still trying to understand how ziinga works
mark: all i am getting is terrible reviews when i search on google
mark: here is something i found
mark: Ziinga is a SCAM! They sign you up on the pretext of getting an IPod Shuffle and a 7 day trial membership. You enter in your credit card details but here is the sting in the tail. They sign you up for a “platinum” membership without your consent which is fraud and absurd. After all it was supposed to be a “trial” membership which you could cancel within 7 days right? Within your account there is no place to update payment information so now they can charge your card for whatever they like and you have a “platinum” membership that you never consented to! Their auctions are dubious at best. They seem to stay frozen at 1 second for far too long and then they magically get more bids?! I smell admin supported shill bidding here. If you have been conned by these scammers the first thing to do is to contact your bank and get your card stopped and reissued, then they can’t milk it for any more money. If you have already been charged for the IPod or the like file a chargeback for non receipt as they use 3D Secure to process payments so they can’t get hit with fraud chargebacks (how ironic is that!). If you have been billed for the monthly “membership” charge them back too for non receipt as well, because you haven’t actually received anything and they have no signature either. The best thing is that each chargeback costs these fraudsters $25 a hit. If they say about a “cancellation” fee, they are based in Malta so assuming you don’t live in Malta I wouldn’t worry about them coming after you for it. This site is a con that needs to be shut down.
Jake: You need bids in your account so you can enter an auction. Each time a new bid is placed, the timer is reset to about 15 seconds – 2 minutes. If nobody places a bid and the timer reaches zero, the last person to bid will win. Thats how Ziinga auction works.
Jake: This is a penny auction site where you pay for the bid that you place on every auction that you join. With this, you get a chance to get the item that you want in just a fraction of a price.
mark: ok i am from Australia and we have very strict laws on internet scams so before u BS me about your process you should tell me what “fees” i am up for
Jake: We understand but those user neglect to read our terms and conditions.
mark: how come there is no “real explanation” of your fees?
mark: maybe you just prey on gullible people
mark: I was offered a free camera for $1.50 postage so signed up. The “conditions” sid nothing about fees or cancellation fees. It was only when I tried to access the site and phoned them and they helped get my “account” operating, that I did a “chat with Joseph” and asked it there was any fees. The reply was $89.99 a month for three months. Then I emailed and told them to cancel account, THAT was when the issue of a $42 cancellation fee came up … less the refund of $1.50 postage = $40.50, So I told them if they send me the camera I’ll pay the cancellation fee. I’m waiting to hear from them/. And I went to my bank and cancelled my credit card. Get a new one next week.
Jake: We always advised our customer to read the terms and conditions before they finish the transaction.
mark: ok so its $89.99 x 3 months to start off with?
Jake: Please be informed that winning an auction is in conjunction with a Ziinga.com membership. If you agree to pay for the item, you will also avail to the membership.
Jake: The Platinum membership gives you exclusive Bid for Free auctions, an additional 10% on all bid package purchases, FREE shipping on all products, 7 free bid added to your account daily and another 8 free bid on each calendar day you log on to ziinga.com.
glad to hear some of you ppl are catching on fast and cancelling asap. Best and only way to stop them. Good luck to others still to come ….
hi Jo got me, too bad I read this after the fact. Within 5 minutes of registereing I realised it was a scam called them and the lovely scammers said oh to cancel you need to pay $40+ and they take it out of the credit card. Wow $$$ for 5 minutes of my time – great way to rippp people off. No Grace Period.
Well, have to admit I have been a fool too trusting these idiots. Good thing, I never sent any photocopies and waiting to cancel my account tomorrow morning. I have a small question here, what happens if you give them your debit card details rather than your credit card’s?? Because I haven’t given them my card details yet but paid the item with my debit card(i don’t use this account regular and it has no funds in it). Can anyone advise? Please… thanx
Just bidded on something on a free bid there. Have no intention of putting my card details in now. Thank you all!!!
I almost bought a cell phone for $5. It seemed unreal. I read all you said about ziinga and emailed them this. (even though i’m only 9 years old doesn’t mean I can’t be nasty)
YOU BIG FAT SCAMMERS! YOU DO THIS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERS THERE CREDIT CARD
NUMBER AND YET THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW IT UNTIL ITS TO LATE! YOU GIVE ALL OF
US A PLATINUM MEMBER SHIP WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION AND CHARGE US $89 A MONTH
AND $39 TO GET OUT OF THIS SCAM. EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY AND NOW YOU
WILL SEE WHAT THESE POOR PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY.
(this is where i put what all of you wrote.)
LUCKY ME I READ WHAT ALL OF THESE PEOPLE WROTE ABOUT YOU.
WE HOPE YOU FEEL ASHAMED ABOUT ALL YOU DID TO EVERYONE WHO FELL INTO YOUR
TRAP.
Yikes!!
Harmony, you are so smart! Your mother must be proud!
You shouldn’t even be going on auction websites at the age of 9 and if I were the one who recieved that email, I would think that some rude immature bitch hasn’t been taught their spellings at school.
It’s not just Ziinga it’s all penny auction sites. They all use shill bidding and bots to push up the prices of items. Trust me no one is winning apart from the site owners. The sooner people start to realize this the better. Ziinga have just taken it one stage further by forcing users to take out a contract and then requesting users send copies of personal and sensitive information before they can claim any of their won items. However they do state that this is the case in their T’s&C’s and also mention it on the payment page so there is no excuses really. It just proves the point that people should read the T’s&C’s carefully before parting with their money. Treat it as a learning curve people. If something seems to good to be true then it usually is!
Wow,
thank you guys for sharing your experience!! I “won” a coffee machine and was considering to buy it from this site, luckily, google and your comments helped me to find out how everything works there.
THANKS!!
I got a pop-up by Ziinga while paying on Amazon. Apparently I have an account with THE SAME information as my Amazon account, I got charged £59.99 and I didn’t get a thing from Amazon.
I only heard I had a Ziinga account by a recent bank statement.
I also have a history of bids for HTC Wildfire’s, FREE PICKS, PS3′s, Xbox’s and more.
Has any-one else had this done to them???
IF YOU HAVE BEEN THE VICTIM OF FRAUD FROM THIS SITE, CONTACT YOUR STATE OR LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS THE FBI >> BE PERSISTENT.
There is enough information here to at least warrant an investigation – based on reports submitted here and elsewhere it seems the following are plausible:
a) There is evidence of fraudulent auctioneering (items aren’t sent, this is especially damning if true as it would confirm that the site exists purely for the purposes of fraud).
b) The auctions seem to be rigged (timers/bidders) by an automated system.
c) Money seems to be taken from accounts in arbitrary amounts and without permission – in many cases this appears to be fraudulent or wilfully negligent.
AGAIN I CAN NOT SAY THIS ENOUGH TIMES REPORT THIS TO YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND THE FBI – IF ENOUGH COMPLAINTS ARE RECEIVED IT WILL VERY LIKELY RESULT IN AN INVESTIGATION AND CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS!!
It would be a happy ending to see these SCUMBAGS extradited to the us on multiple fraud charges OR the company given an exemplary fine.
With all these things it comes down to how many people who are affected take action, either through private legal action or by making enough noise that the authorities investigate!!! – NIOSEC.COM is the parent company, and a link to their document detailing their takeover of ziinga can be found below:
http://www.niosec.com/publisher/files/files/66cdf634f2cd56dee31dea6c1e0a851b.pdf
As I said below, this is a multi-million dollar company that has a US presence – they are VERY vulnerable if they have acted fraudulently.
THEY HAVE MADE MILLIONS FROM YOUR SUFFERING, THE LAW IS YOUR FRIEND!
Always read the fine print. The payment page clearly stipulates the terms of paying for a winning bid as:
“* Included with this payment is a 7-day free Platinum membership. Once the free days expire, normal monthly fee of A$89.99 applies. The membership is only binding for 3 months. ”
So basically you’re up for the price of the item you’ve bid on + 3 x $89.99.
Now I like a bargain as much as the next person but like everywhere else you get what you pay for. Did you really expect to purchase an iPad for under $10? Sad but true
my son won a phone for $3.00 he payed for it with his debit/visa card 2 months later still no phone he gets ahold of them . they tell him there is no phones left available in my region but they will refund the $101.00cdn retail price of phone or a $101.00cdn in bids . he chose the money they requested a bank account info to send the moneys . he gave them my bank info. they told him it would take 10 business days to process .after the 10th day i checked my bank account for the refund and instead of a refund THEY WITHDREW THE $101.00CDN FROM MY ACCOUNT we immediatly contact them .they said they needed the bank account info that the refund was to be issued to and they would look into it with numerous attemps to resolve this apparrent mistake they still did not refund or returned my money or my sons winnings . The last email we had with them they said they needed bccat international # for our banks branch with our bank info again .it seems they had no problem getting the money out of my account with the info they had , but there sure are having a difficult time putting it back with the same info AS FAR AS I CAN SEE THEY ARE FRAUDING THE WRONG PERSON THIS TIME CAUSE I HAD NO PRIOR DEALINGS WITH THEM EXCEPT TO RECEIVE A REFUND ON MY SON BEHALF .THEY ARE STUMBLING NOW AND IT WILL BITE THEM IN THE ASS. I WANT MY MONEY BACK AND NOW THIS IS BULLSHIT AND THEY NO IT
Look guys how i chat with them.
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with ‘Nicole’
Nicole: Welcome to Ziinga Live Chat Service! For me to better assist you, may I have your Ziinga username?
shivneet: sschand
Nicole: Thank you for that information.
Nicole: How may I help you?
shivneet: I just want to ask is this real
Nicole: Ziinga is verified by Thawte, a leading global Certification Authority making the Web a secure place to do business. We make use of 128-bit encryption to make sure data in your transactions remains private and confidential at all times.
Nicole:
shivneet: No this website is just a fake getting money out of peoples account ae
shivneet: http://www.pennyauctionwatch.com/2010/06/ziinga-penny-auction/#comment-55355
shivneet: What the hell is that ^
shivneet: You guys are just fake
what can I say, all these stories are like mine. I feel like a sucker for this. I will contact my credit card company asap.
Someone out there is making a lot of money scamming people out of their hard earned cash.
£186.00 later older and wiser .
Following a very long conversation with their wonderfully condescending customer helpline I doubt if I will see any of my money again.
The only advice I can give is keep away from Zinga they stink.
ZIINGA IS DEFINITELY A SCAMMING FRAUDULENT CO.
THEY TOOK MONIES FROM MY BANK ACCOUNT AFTER I UN-REGISTERED WITH THEM AFTER 1 WEEK.
REALISING THAT THEY HAVE SOME FORM OF ADMIN AUTOBIDDERS.
I HAVE NOW REPORTED THEM THROUGH MY BANKING FRAUD DEPARTMENT.
ALTHOUGH MY BANK WILL REFUND MY MONEY.
THE TWATS SHOULD BE BROUGHT DOWN.
Further to my last;
After speaking with my bang, they in turn spoke to someone at this scamming Co, who stated that on this occasion they would reimburse the monies, but they would not discuss anything with the bank as between them and those who on their money making machine.
I spoke with them and they said as I finished my contract with them early, they will charge even more monies.
Yes you have heard it right, once you register with them to bid, you are on a contract for at least 3 months.
OK so you cancel your bank card for a new one, will that stop them from trying to draw money from your account? NO they have ways of finding your new bank card, and they can still get monies from your account.
Right you can put into place a ”permanent facility” which monitors your account, and if such monies are taken by them (or IMO ‘a Company or criminals within the law bunch of twats’) at least the bank will refund you.
Now; the best way would obviously be to open a new bank account with a different bank, even in a different town.
If then they try, they could be committing a criminal offence. Job Done;
Also check their eye opening details on the following link;
http://www.ip-adress.com/whois/ziinga.com
All of the above has happened to me, I have now reported them to the Fraud Squad, and the office of Trading Standards, but am not going to hold my breath.
I feel sorry for all the victims of ziinga.com. I have been scammed as well and wasted so much time getting a refund for everything. but no avail. I’m still working on how to get the attention of the Fair Trading here in UK. to post more about this scam and to warn other people, get into this facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ziinga-Scam/356773974372764.
I would love to sympathize with you clowns but all that your greed and stupidity achieves is to provide these thieves with a good life and some ready cash. They couldn’t even exist without idiots like you. And I get to pay for your self indulgent laziness with higher bank fees, wasted law enforcement resources and an insecure internet.
If you are too dumb to work out that an iPod for $1.50 or a phone for $2.00 is a scam than you either need to get out a bit more or stay away from computers and the net. Sheesh!
(Just for the record. I am IT professional who worked in financial transaction security and intrusion detection for 15 years. No matter how hard I try, I am still amazed at the level of stupidity displayed on a daily basis by my fellow homo sapiens.)
Yes we are stupid Joe, I could kick myself, maybe all us scammed people should take a holiday in Malta where they are scamming from and kick their asses.
Hi, I just apparently won £100 for £3.62 altogether on Ziinga.com . I find this really hard to believe and it’s obviously asking for my credit card number so do I give it to them or leave it? I’m not sure if it’s real or fake website, reviews are all different but from my point of view it’s fake as there’s no way I could get 100 quid for £3.62 is there? But then if there’s a chance of it being real, I don’t want to lose £100. Please help
Hi, I just apparently won £100 for £3.62 altogether on Ziinga.com . I find this really hard to believe and it’s obviously asking for my credit card number so do I give it to them or leave it? I’m not sure if it’s real or fake website, reviews are all different but from my point of view it’s fake as there’s no way I could get 100 quid for £3.62 is there? But then if there’s a chance of it being real, I don’t want to lose £100. Please help
It’s a scam, keep away, they let you win something NOT valuable in first bidding and after NON at all.
Than they put charges on you C without your authorisation, start with small amount and the figure grow, you must check your C account other vice you MUST pay the C charges.
It’s a scam, scam, scam, scam, scam!!