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Business Profile

Family Entertainment

Trans World Entertainment Corporation

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Family Entertainment.

Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Trans World Entertainment Corporation's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 73 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 25 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/20/2024

      Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I received an FYE gift card with the following terms on the back

      "Present this card to the cashier at the time of purchase. The available balance will be applied to your purchase. Card is not redeemable for cash. No variance from these terms and conditions will be allowed except in those states where legally required. Redeemable at all f.y.e., ********* ********* ********* ****** * **** ******** *** ****** ******** ******** ****** ***** **** ******* * ****** locations and online at fye.com, & secondspin.com"

      Today, I go to fye.com, decide what I'll purchase, go to checkout, but I am not seeing anywhere to put gift card info. After searching the "Help" menu, the "Payment Options" section has a blurb stating "Please note that we are not accepting FYE gift cards online as a form of payment at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience." Yes inconvenient, but not a huge deal because the gift card states it can be used online at ************** which works great for me because I was making a purchase for vinyl records. Imagine my surprise that the domain is for sale and a simple google search shows ************** has been closed for almost 4 years.

      I can go the the FYE store, it's a little over an hour from where I live, but that's not the point. It's the fact that the gift card being ineligible online was not made blatantly obvious, but also, the information on the terms of the gift card is egregiously incorrect. Also, I was attempting to take advantage of their Pres. Day 25% off sale, saving me <$50 on what would've been at $210.00 purchase. Who knows about the other business names listed at eligible locations to use this gift card, but I am perturbed by the lack of attention to detail in this regard. Also, after researching FYE's online payment processor, shop.app, they allow in store gift card to be used on their POS. Without an explanation as to why gift cards are not being accepted at this time, I find many practices here to be deceptive to the consumer.

      Business Response

      Date: 03/05/2024

      To Whom It May Concern: We apologize for this inconvenience. We recently changed our website platform and can no longer take gift cards online at FYE.com. Any new gift cards being made in the future will not include this message stating that the card can be used online at FYE.com or secondspin.com. Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/06/2024

      Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      My teenage daughter was tricked into signing up for a membership. She was told it was a store credit card. She kept saying no but the cashier kept pushing it so she finally caved in and agreed. When she got home she gave me the paperwork and come to find out it was not a credit card it was a store membership card and she was charged $14.30 and also was signed up for a monthly membership. I have emailed several times with no luck. It says to call within 30 days to cancel. Well i've called every day since and it keeps saying they are not open so that is why I am here. I can not get in contact with these people. My daughter is back at college now, she has no job so why would she sign up for this with a monthly memebership fee? I feel the employee should be taught not to lie and trick people into signing up for this saying it's a credit card. I want a refund of the $14.30 and the monthly membership cancelled. Loyalty # ************ backstage pass

      Customer Answer

      Date: 02/06/2024

      My daughter is away at college.  Her credit card is attached to my account so that is why I’m filing the complaint.  

      Business Response

      Date: 02/15/2024

      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 have confirmed that the membership is currently at the free trial stage still and is set to cancel after the free trial is over. There have been no charges for the membership and there will not be any charges once the free trial has ended. The $14.30 charge was the cost of the purchase in store that day and I have attached an image of the receipt as well. The customer purchased a ***** **** that was priced at $14.99 and the membership trial took of 10% which came out to a total of $14.30 for the ***** ****.  Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern. 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 02/17/2024

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me only if the membership is indeed cancelled and there are no additional monthly membership fees charged to my account.  
      Regards, 

      ***** ******

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:01/26/2024

      Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      On October 13, 2023, I went in and purchased one small item under $10.

      When I got home, there was a VIP Backstage Pass booklet in there and my receipt says I will be charged monthly.

      I called and spoke to supervisors and they assured me, they had zero record of my information or debit card on file and I did not have an account and would not be charged.

      THEN, on January 22, 2024 - my bank account was charged $11.99 for the VIP Backstage Pass!

      They stole my credit card information and waited months to charge me so they could try and hide it!

      Business Response

      Date: 01/29/2024

      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 have confirmed the cancellation of the subscription as of 1/26/2024 with the cancellation number being **********. A full refund totaling $11.99 has been issued as of 1/26/2024. There will be no further charges for the membership due to the cancellation. Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:01/24/2024

      Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      In late December, I went into a *** store and bought an album. I vaguely remember the person who checked me out asking if I wanted to sign up for their Backstage VIP program. I'm sure I was like "yeah, whatever". I got an email later to complete my membership and ignored it because I could care less

      Well, I'll be ****** if the credit card I used for purchase wasn't just charged 11.99 by *** and it said "recurring charge". It was pure luck that I happened to recently setup alerts on my card or I probably wouldn't have noticed for a few months.

      This is outrageous! What a dirty low down trick to play on customers. Incredibly deceptive! I should need to opt out of something I never knowingly authorized? I didn't even sign in and complete my membership!

      Business Response

      Date: 01/26/2024

      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 have confirmed the cancellation of the membership as of 1/24/2024. A full refund of 2 months totaling $23.98 has been issued as of 1/24/2024. There will be no further charges for the membership due to the cancellation.  Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 01/26/2024

      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

      Date:01/21/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I recently noticed recurring charges on my account from FYE since November. I visited this store October 14, 2023 and made a purchase. I was offered the rewards program but declined because I do not shop there often. I gave my email address to send the receipt. They used that and my credit card information to sign me up for the FYE Backstage Pass without permission. I did not catch the billing until the 3rd month. I am disputing it with my credit card company as an unauthorized charge.

      Business Response

      Date: 01/24/2024

      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 have confirmed the cancellation of the subscription as of 1/22/2024 with the cancellation number being **********. A full refund of 3 months totaling $35.97 has been issued as of 1/22/2024. There will be no further charges for the membership due to the cancellation. Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/29/2023

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I went to FYE in Hanford on December 1st. I purchased a few items and the person at the register kindly offered me a free (keyword: "free") pass for discounts. I thought it was the kind of place that just wants your phone number (like ********, so I gave it and she gave me a pamphlet with a card I never activated and I thought that was that. I checked my bank account today and found that my card was charged $11.99. They are using my debit card information, not from me providing it to them, but from the purchase I made at their store. They never asked me for consent to pay this subscription, I never even gave them my card info. I can't afford this, but any attempts I have made to cancel are ignored. I tried the website, and emailing them. I will try going tomorrow but this mall is not within walking distance and I don't have a car. I feel like I have been cheated.

      Business Response

      Date: 01/04/2024

      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 customer had reached out and cancelled the membership on 12/29/2023 and we have confirmed the cancellation as of 1/4/2023. We have processed a refund of $11.99 that may take a few business days to reflect in their account. There will be no further charges for the membership due to the cancellation. 
      Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/20/2023

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I have been trying to cancel the “FYE VIP” membership that I was duped into signing up for, for weeks now. I called, emailed, and tried to use their faulty app to cancel and even with “confirmation” it was cancelled im still getting emails saying when I’ll be charged. If I’m charged I will be contacting my credit card company. This is a predatory business practice and they are simply not going to remove my membership despite constant pleading.

      Business Response

      Date: 12/21/2023

      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 have confirmed that the membership was cancelled by the customer over phone on 12/9/2023. The cancellation confirmation number is **********. There will be no charges for the membership due to the cancellation during the free trial. 

      Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/15/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I went to the ********* Mall on June 11th, 2023 and decided to go to Fye. I purchased some shirts there because there was a sale going on. At checkout, I was asked for my email to sign-up for a rewards program. I was not told that I was agreeing to pay for anything and assumed it was a free membership. Afterwards I received a pamphlet for the Backstage VIP program. I thought this was odd, as they did not mention any sort of paid membership. I reviewed the contents of the pamphlet and it instructed me to go to a certain link to activate said membership. I assumed that just meant I had the option to opt in to the VIP if I wanted to, which I did not. I did not think much of it until about a month ago or so when I saw a $11.99 charge from Fye on my debit card statement. I did some digging and found out that they have been charging me for the VIP membership every month since my initial purchase at the store. As was stated before, I was never told that I was going to be charged, I never activated the VIP membership, the only thing I gave them was my email. They seemed to have taken my card information from the purchase and used the email I provided them at checkout to automatically sign me up for their membership without my consent. After doing some digging, it appears I am not a one off case. From the BBB reviews and various statements on other websites, this seems to be a very common occurrence with this store. I think it is very slimy and deceitful to unknowingly sign people up for your VIP program without their explicit consent. Even if it is part of the employee training to properly explain the program and that you will be charged, clearly said training is not being implemented if so many people are running into this issue. I would like the total amount charged to be refunded.

      Business Response

      Date: 12/20/2023

      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 have confirmed that the membership was cancelled by the customer on 12/6/2023. A full refund totaling $59.95 has been issued as of 12/18/2023. The refund will show as separate $11.99 credits. There will be no further charges for the membership due to the cancellation.  Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/06/2023

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Signed up for “Backstage Pass” subscription. Knew very well that the first month was a free trial; I was told by the employee. I cancelled the subscription the same day, yet proceeded to later receive national geographic magazines in the mail. Months later I noticed two unauthorized charges on my credit card in October, one for $22 and one for $8. For context, I cancelled my subscription for the back stage pass in July. The transactions were specifically for the national geographic magazines. I then cancelled the second subscription that I was not informed would continually charge me.

      Business Response

      Date: 12/12/2023

      To Whom It May Concern: **** ****** signed up for membership #************ in July and the membership is now showing as inactive.  At that time, as is stated on the receipt copy you included with in the mailing, the customer signed in acknowledgement of the program.  The customer also received a discount on their purchases in the store, that day. **** ****** signed up for ******** ********** **** and ******** *********** Both subscriptions were cancelled on 12/6/23. The customer will receive a refund for $31.  Please note that the publisher may send additional 1-2 issues even though the subscription is cancelled.  The customer may keep those with our compliments. Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern. 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/22/2023

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Back in July, I went into the store and bought my wife a gift, the store associate asked if I wanted to sign up for their vip program. I told the associate that I was not interested because I never shop here normally. I paid for my purchase with a credit card and now my card is being charged 11.99 a month for something that I never authorized! My wife and I have tried numerous times to contact FYE customer service to only be ignored. Went back in the store to see if they could stop it and they told me that they can't help and told me to call the customer service number.

      Business Response

      Date: 11/28/2023

      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 have confirmed that the membership was cancelled on 11/24/2023 with the cancellation confirmation number being **********. A full refund totaling $47.96 has been issued as of 11/27/2023. The refund will show as separate $11.99 credits. There will be no further charges for the membership due to the cancellation.  Thank you for allowing us to respond to this concern. 

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