Charges to Credit Card - unauthorized - want to opt out of any membership subscription
Complaint
Margaret Bulau
Country: United States
I do not want a membership in Great Fun. I do not authorize charges to my credit card and want the $11.99 charge in June and July removed/refunded or whatever you have to do to credit these charges back.
T7J9
T7J9
Comments
Some travel booking sites are notorious for doing this. Supposedly, there is some allegedly disclosed term or check box somewhere, but the level of consumer complaints against such "membership" scams indicates that the disclosures are not prominently displayed, and therefore the alleged "offers" are deceptive.
Trilegiant has been sued by several Attorneys General for deceptive and unauthorized charges.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/07/trilegiant_class.html
"Trilegiant Settles Class Action for $25 Million
Company agrees to change its business practices
July 21, 2008
A Madison County, Illinois court has granted final approval of a nationwide class action lawsuit against Trilegiant Corporation, providing up to $25 million in cash benefits, along with changes in Trilegiant's business practices.
This settlement resolves nationwide litigation against Trilegiant for allegedly billing and collecting unauthorized charges from consumers for products or memberships that consumers never requested or consented to receive. It also resolves disputes over alleged refusals to cancel memberships upon consumer request.
"We believe this settlement provides substantial benefit to the class members," said Brad Lakin of The Lakin Law Firm, which filed the suit against Trilegiant in 2001.
Trilegiant, a subsidiary of Cendant Corp., has also been the target of actions by attorneys general in California, Connecticut and Florida. In 2006, it settled charges brought by 16 states alleging that Trilegiant and Chase Bank had deceived consumers into paying for membership programs.
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You might also contact Trilegiant directly, but don't count on them refunding your unauthorized charges, or even ceasing to make additional charges, as you may get the run-around or just promises.
File complaints with FTC and your state Attorney General.
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And here's another tip: Read the fine print before cashing that check
ConsumerMan
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By Herb Weisbaum
msnbc.com contributor
updated 10:33 a.m. PT, Fri., Aug 21, 2009
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One of the most important things I try to do with this column is warn you about rip-offs and scams.
There are so many of them and new ones keeping popping up like weeds.
Here are two you should know about.
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Here’s another dubious business practice out there that just makes my blood boil. It’s deceptive and dishonest – and many state attorneys general agree with me
Last Christmas, Peter Tafil of Seattle bought a bunch of Snuggie blankets for presents. So when he got a check for $8.25 last month and the return address on the envelope said Snuggie, he figured it was some sort of rebate.
Luckily he put on his reading glasses and spotted the fine print under the amount. It says “… by cashing or depositing this check you are purchasing a membership in Great Fun.”
This is no rebate check. It’s an offer to join a discount travel and shopping program. By endorsing the check, you agree to a 30-day trial offer. Unless you call and cancel that membership before the trial period ends, you will be charged the annual membership fee of $149.99. It will be billed to your credit card on file with Snuggie.
One more thing: The small print says your membership will automatically renew each year.
“I don’t think it’s right,” Tafil says. “It’s very sneaky. I think something should be done about it.”
The company sending these checks, the Trilegiant Corporation of Norwalk, Conn., doesn’t see a problem with the way it markets Great Fun.
“There’s nothing to suggest it’s a refund check,” says the company’s vice president of communications James Hart. “The word refund does not appear anywhere on the mailing. To be confused, you would have to ignore all the language on the check.”
Hart says the company has an arrangement with Snuggie to use its mailing list. If you accept the “offer” to join Great Fun, he says, Trilegiant gets your credit card number from Snuggie and bills you.
So why use a check to market a membership club?
“It’s like a rebate upfront when you join the program,” Hart says.
I showed Trilegiant’s Snuggie check to Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna, one of many AGs who has sued the company in the past for unfair and deceptive marketing practices.
“I hate these checks,” he said. “I believe they are unfair and deceptive. A lot of people will fall for it because they won’t read the fine print.”
In an e-mail statement, Allstar Products Group, the New Jersey company that markets Snuggie blankets, tells me its offer is legal and that credit card data is only released to the credit card processor “upon explicit approval of each individual consumer.”
Allstar’s executive vice president Ronald Steblea writes, “We want to take this opportunity to assure our consumers that the Great Fun program was a test and we are not moving forward with the program in the future.”
If you cashed one of these checks and feel you were tricked into joining Great Fun, file complaints with your state Attorney General or consumer protection office. You should also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. The Better Business Bureau may be able to help you get a refund.
PROTECT YOURSELF: Never sign a check with fine print near the signature line until you’ve had a chance to get a magnifying glass and read it. Don’t assume you received a rebate check and that fine print is just meaningless verbiage. Find out if you are obligating yourself to spend some money if you cash or deposit that check.
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