Beware of Merchants Bearing Freebies
In December I wrote that the FTC had apparently begun to crack down on negative option fraud. How it works? You make a purchase (usually on line) and then get offered a free service or goodie. You accept, and the vendor -- or an affiliated company -- uses your billing information to enroll you in a membership or subscription you never wanted. But you get billed a monthly charge forever or until you notice it on your credit card statement -- usually months later.
Alas and alack, I was premature in my hopes for the FTC because negative option fraud continues apace, often sponsored by companies that you would otherwise think were perfectly reputable. Here's a prime example from Jill (she asked me not to use her last name) who unwittingly got entangled in a negative option deal:
The charges originated from a purchase I made from a company called ProFlowers. After selecting flowers, the company offered an option for free shipping on my next purchase. Being extremely leery of anything marketed as free, I clicked on a link for more information where I discovered that accepting the free shipping offer would sign me up for an Easy Saver service at $14.95 per month. The offer only had a box to click on if you wanted the free shipping, so I left it blank and completed the purchase of my flowers. I didn't receive an invoice, statement or e-mail of any kind to notify me that I was being billed for this "service." I've never received any free shipping, including the free shipping offer that gives them the right to bill my credit card. If any of these things occurred it would have alerted me to the fact that I was paying for a service that I didn't want. Until my husband received an end-of-the-year statement from our credit card and found monthy payments to a company called Easy Saver, I didn't know the company existed.Jill complained to her card company, but they told her that the charge was valid because-- get this! -- she had signed up for Easy Saver, which supposedly offers rewards on travel and entertainment, without knowing she'd done so. Under that peculiar logic, any company could bill cardholders for anything at any time. Jill admits that she would have noticed the charges had she carefully reviewed her card statements. Another mistake: instead of calling her card company, she should phone Easy Saver and demand that they remove the charges. Other customers report success in getting refunds after being duped by the same flowery scam. (The number: 800-355-1837.) But all that is beside the point: So far, Easy Saver has received $388.70 from Jill even though she never signed up for its service.
If the FTC won't do its job and stop this practice, maybe class action lawyers will. Last September, James R. Patterson, a San Diego lawyer, sued Provide Commerce, owner of ProFlowers, and Encore Marketing, owner of Easy Saver, on behalf of a customer who had an experience with the companies that was a carbon copy of Jill's. Patterson contends that no rewards program exists -- which isn't difficult to believe since many of its members had no idea that they were enrolled and eligible for rewards. ProFlowers has said that the allegations are not true.
It's too bad that ProFlowers allows its reputation (and the other brands in Provide Commerce's portfolio --Red Envelope, Cherry Moon Farms and Shari's Berries -- to be tarnished by negative option marketing. Says Jill: "I researched Proflowers online and found only positive comments about their service. The BBB currently gives them an "A" rating. As far as their floral service goes I'm happy with the prompt delivery, and the people I sent the flowers to were happy. But this company gave my credit card information to another company without my knowledge for a service I didn't receive and should be held accountable."