Pretentious Petley

While perusing Facebook, I noticed an ad from Petley for a t-shirt that read "I just want to be a stay at home dog mom."  I loved the shirt and eagerly clicked on the link to make my purchase.  The ad stated that the shirt was free and I just had to pay $4.95 for shipping and handling.  With a simple click, the shirt was on its way.

The shirt that was supposed to be just $4.95.

Several days later, my husband inquired about a $59.99 charge from Petley.  I told him that the only item I had placed an order for was the $4.95 shirt.  He said that the charge read "membership fee."  I opened a copy of the e-mailed receipt for the shirt and did not see any mention of a membership fee being included with my purchase.

We tried calling Petley five times the next day.  The calls went directly to a company voicemail.  No one ever returned our calls.  That afternoon, I sent the company an e-mail via the link in the receipt of the shirt purchase.  I finally received a response that evening at 9:30 p.m.

The e-mail reads:


Lauren,

Thank you for getting in touch with us! I am here to help you. Following reading this email, please feel free to ask me any questions as I am here to assist you. Please be advised why you were charged for the membership when you placed your order for the $4.95 promotional T-shirt product.

After the conclusion of your 3 day free trial, you were billed $59.99 for your annual membership to the 4 Paw Pledge Program. If members choose not to cancel within the 3 day free trial, than they are billed in the amount of $59.99 for one year of use for the 4 Paw Pledge. Members receive free shipping, weekly $5-$15 discounts via email drawings, and access to a growing list of community driven benefits.

When you purchased the I Just Want To Be A Stay At Home Dog Mom T-shirt, your Free Trial began. If you would like to review the benefits and terms of your annual subscription found on our order form that you agreed to, please visit https://petleyco.securechkout.com/dogmom51. Additionally, members can cancel their membership at any time on our website by visiting the Cancel Membership page which can be found here https://petley.co/pages/cancel. If members choose not to cancel within the 3 day free trial, than they are billed on the eighth day in the amount of $59.99 for one year of use for the 4 Paw Pledge.

If you want to unsubscribe you can do so by letting a customer support representative know or simply cancel through petley.co. If you would like to speak with a customer support representative about the 4 Paw Pledge Program or have any other questions about Petley, please call (717)-820-7457 between the hours of 10AM and 5PM EST Monday-Friday.

We are standing by to resolve any issues you may be experiencing and look forward to serving you.

Thanks,

Petley

No where during the ordering process did Petley mention anything about a membership fee or a free trial. There was a box that had to be checked in order to complete my purchase that agreed to their terms and services, but when you hovered over the link, no terms and services appeared. They blatantly stated that they would not be refunding the money for any reason.

We have since contacted our bank and they are working on contesting the charge. I soon discovered thereafter, that there is a Facebook group for people who have been scammed by Petley.

I hope that this post will serve as a warning to others. Be sure to always check the fine print when ordering items, especially via Facebook ads. I find it deplorable that Petley claims to be a company that serves pet lovers when it truly seeks to extort those who have a passion for pets.