Webloyalty.com Faces Senate Scrutiny
As if a class-action lawsuit wasn't bad enough, it turns out the antics of our old friends at Webloyalty.com have aroused the attentions of the Senate Commerce Committee, according to the Washington Post blog Small Change. Last week, writes Post reporter Ylan Mui, the Commerce Committee sent a letter to Webloyalty seeking more information about its billing practices.
As we wrote earlier this year, Webloyalty made money from customers who (often unwittingly) paid monthly fees to the consumer discount clubs it operated, including Reservation Rewards, Shoppers Discounts & Rewards, Members Specials, Buyer Assurance, Distinctive Privileges, PC Protection Plus, Travel Values, Travel Values Plus, Classmates Rewards and Wallet Shield.
Consumers enrolled in these clubs by filling out an online rebate form on partner sites, which automatically triggered the transfer of personal credit card data from the partner sites to Webloyalty, making them paid subscribers of Webloyalty's services as well. Most—if not all—consumers never realized what they were signing up for until they started noticing recurring charges on their credit card bills.
In order to settle the class-action suit, Webloyalty and its fellow defendants agreed to a $10 million dollar settlement, but based on the comments of committee Chairman Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, Webloyalty's problems may be far from over.
“The economy is hurting so many families today and we need to provide them as much relief as possible," committee Chairman Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) said in a statement. "Thousands of American consumers have been complaining about these deceptive practices and asking for answers – and rightly so.”
Comments
I now retract all negative statements I have said against webloyalty and Complete Savings. They responded to my complaints and gave me a refund with explanation on how I overlooked the membership agreement. I still don't think this is kosher to hit folks for $12, as most folks are not careful to read everything on a web site. But a fool and his money can be parted. Merry Christmas to ALL AMERICANS. Lonnie
Posted by: Lonnie | December 23, 2009 05:12 PM
These fraudulent scammers also started charging me $12/month via AMEX, for services (ie, "membership enrollment") that I never requested. I disputed these charges & AMEX removed them from my account. Apparently, my credit card info was transferred to them by Fandango.com when I ordered movie tickets online via their site; so they, too, are accomplices to the crime! Shame on both of these companies (and also on USA law officials for not putting BOTH of them out of business).
Posted by: George W. | October 11, 2009 03:50 AM
My American Express credit card has been billed $12.00 a month since February this year.
Posted by: jennifer eng | July 30, 2009 07:17 PM