Free SP Beauty samples and subsequent Dri*Reg charges

ComplaintsHealth & BeautyDri*Reg.net

Complaint

0
Valerie
Country: United States
SP Beauty offers a free sample. One must give credit (debit) card information for shipping. You may check not to receive additional shipment/charges for more product (I checked this). They go ahead and charge you ($79.95). When I called SP Beauty I was told that by not checking that box I agreed to receive a different product and was charged for it (never received). My card information was stolen at the same time and used for purchase in another state (caught quickly by my bank). The charge for the product was from Dri*Reg.net on the bank statement. I asked when I called SP Beauty and was told this is the merchant company that puts charges through for SP Beauty. I think there is a criminal act by Dri*Reg.net in addition to the scam by SP Beauty.

Comments

  • 0
    tj
    Immediately contact your bank to dispute any fraudulent charges, and CLOSE THAT ACCOUNT to prevent future fraudulent charges.  Follow up with your bank dispute IN WRITING, to preserve your dispute rights under Reg. E (for checking accounts), or FCBA (for credit cards).  Send your bank dispute certified return receipt requested, so you have proof that your bank received your dispute within 60 days of the statement date on the statement showing the disputed charges.  

    "DRI*REG.NET" appears to be "Digital River", an e-commerce company that handles billing for other companies.  They claim you can find out who they are billing for through their website, here:
    http://www.reg.net/drregnet.asp?TemplateID=-1

    Their BBB report is here:
    http://minnesota.app.bbb.org/report/38000919

    If you have problems with determining what their charges are for, or getting disputed charges reversed, file complaints with FTC, your state AG, and the Minnesota Attorney General.
  • 0
    tj
    Shady companies running scams require support from billing processors willing to look the other way and ignore high complaint rates.  

    If you are dealing with fraudulent charges that appear to be part of a pattern of fraudulent activity reported against a company, include their billing processor in your complaints to FTC and Attorneys General.
  • 0
    tj
    When dealing with fraudulent uncancelable health product shipments, be sure to file a complaint against them with FTC.  They are settling with one of them based in Utah now, so they may be receptive to complaints against other companies involved in similar scams.

    http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/12/ultralife.shtm

    "For Release: December 3, 2008

    Internet Marketers of Dietary Supplement for Weight Loss Agree to Pay $150,000

    A Utah-based operation that lured online customers with free samples of a purported weight-loss supplement in a scheme to obtain their credit or debit card information has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges of deceptive and unfair marketing, and of violations of federal regulations governing the electronic transfer of funds.

    According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants, operating through their umbrella company Ultralife Fitness, Inc., lured customers by promising to send, for a specified trial period, free samples of the dietary supplement Hoodia, which they claimed caused weight loss. The supplement was purportedly derived from the cactus-like Hoodia gordonii plant, which is found in southern Africa.

    The FTC’s complaint also alleges that customers provided their credit or debit card information with the understanding that it would be used only to cover shipping and handling costs of the free Hoodia samples. However, customers later discovered that the defendants had enrolled them, without their consent, into continuity programs – one for periodic shipments of Hoodia (at a cost of approximately $50 a month) and another for fitness instruction (at a cost of approximately $30 a month). The complaint states that the defendants withdrew funds or assessed fees before consumers received the Hoodia, after the Hoodia was received but before the trial period ended, and even when the consumer never received the Hoodia supplement.

    Also according to the FTC’s complaint, in addition to providing inadequate notice of enrollments in the continuity plans, the defendants failed to give consumers adequate notice of fees, costs, and cancellation polices; and failed to inform them that their financial account information would be used to pay for the continuity plans. The Web site’s order pages made no reference to this information; instead, it was buried in nearly 12 pages of text in the site’s “terms and conditions” section. Further, the link to the terms and conditions section did not convey the relevance or significance of the information.
    ..."

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