| Vertrue Inc |
| Vertrue Inc. 24Protect, FreeScoreOnline.com, PMIdentity, privacyplus.com, free3bureaucreditreport.com, adaptivemarketing.com Unauthorized charges, fr |
| 29th of Apr, 2011 by User139356 |
I discovered unauthorized charges on my credit card from two companies: 24Protect and PMIdentity for $1.00 and $34.95 a month for three months. When I contacted PMIdentity they (Asia and Charlotte) would only refund two months and had to put in for a "review" to refund the last month. When I called the other company, 24Protect, there was no possible way to speak to a human. Only email communication was available. I filed two complaints with the Better Business Bureau and in the process discovered that both companies are owned by the same parent company: Vertrue Inc., out of Omaha NE. They have and "F" rating and have been sued by the Iowa Attorney General for 30 million dollars. I called the corporate number and they claim it wasn't fraud and that I agreed to terms. The terms I agreed to were the "free" 30 day 3 bureau credit report. I canceled my "free" trial within the 30 days but these two affilates state that they can't be canceled that way...even though Vertrue owns the free3bureaucreditreport company as well. It's a scam! They own at least 80 companies and have over 20 different P.O. Box addresses in Omaha. You can see all this for yourself on the Better Business Bureau web site.
Other company names under Vertrue Inc. are: Your Savings Club,
American Express Health Services
At Home Rewards Club
Vertrue, Inc
Memberworks, Inc
DealPass
Privacy Matters
Sears PremierHealth
Sears CDHP
Sears CWD
Premier Health Plus
Premier Health
Healthtrends
HealthMax Advantage
First USA CWD
Countrywide Dental
WWF X-perience
ValueMax
Travel Club AMEX
SmartSource
Simple Escapes
Privacy Plus
Sears Healthtrends
Market Plaza
Leisure Advantage
HomeWorks
HOME WORKS PLUS
Home & Garden Rewards
GM Travel
Essentials
Essentials Gold
Countrywide Dental & Health
Connections
Cardmember Protection Service
BusinessMax
24 Protect
24 Protect Plus
First Fun
Todays Escapes
At Home Professions
Adaptive Marketing
Dealpass.com
Passport Of Fun
Vertrue Incorporated
Privacy Matters 123
Bargain Network
Freescore.com
Coverdell
DealMax
Family Safety Report
Credit Score Express
Credit Score Complete
Credit Diagnosis
SavingsAce
IdentityHawk
ClickMyCredit They have over 1000 complaints with the BBB and numerous complaints on ripoffreport.com as well.
Buyer Beware! That old saying "Nothing is free" is TRUE!
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I got taken by these guys as well. A class action lawsuit was just filed over this, and I'm thinking about joining it.
Check out http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/03/prweb11669196.htm for more information on the suit.
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Vertrue, MasterCard, MyLife.com, Oak Investment, and Others Regarding Allegedly Fraudulent “Membership" Fees for Bogus "Savings Clubs"
Lawsuit claims that Defendants profit from charging consumers fraudulent fees for savings club “memberships”
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) March 13, 2014
Atlanta law firm Webb, Klase & Lemond, LLC has filed a class action lawsuit against Vertrue, Inc., Adaptive Marketing, LLC, Velo Holdings, MasterCard International, Inc., MyLife.com, Inc., and Oak Investment Partners. The suit states that Vertrue partners with MyLife.com and other deceptive online businesses to trick consumers into unknowingly joining Vertrue’s “consumer savings clubs.”
According to the lawsuit, most club “members” never make use of their savings club “memberships” and cancel their subscriptions immediately upon learning of the fraudulent charges. According to the lawsuit, MasterCard earns fees by processing Vertrue’s charges while knowing they are fraudulent and processing such plainly illegitimate charges violates MasterCard’s agreements.
The lawsuit further states that Vertrue’s parent company, Velo Holdings, and MyLife.com’s investor-owner Oak Investment Partners, which invested $25 million in MyLife in 2007, also participate in Vertrue’s improper practices. The case, Chi v. Vertrue, Inc., et al., was filed in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, on February 28, 2014 and has been given case number 1:14-cv-00614-TWT.
The lawsuit proposes a class action on behalf of all consumers nationally who have been harmed by these practices.
The new complaint alleges that Vertrue’s “savings clubs, ” administered by its subsidiaries such as Adaptive Marketing, LLC, include At Home Rewards, At Home Rewards+, BusinessMax, Cross Country Savings, DealMax, Home Savings Mall, Food and Flix, Getaway and Save, Leisure Exclusives, My Great Deals, Passport to Fun, Passport to Fun+, SavingsAce, SavingSmart, Shopping Essentials, Shopping Essentials+, Simply You, Today’s Escapes, Today’s Escapes+, ValueMax, and Your Savings Club.
The lawsuit states that when consumers purchase goods and services from MyLife.com and Vertrue’s other online partners they encounter confusing, obscured ads for Vertrue’s “savings clubs.” Consumers click through these ads without realizing that they have accidentally “joined” one of Vertrue’s clubs, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also states that consumers who accidentally join Vertrue’s clubs are charged recurring monthly fees of $20 or more until they affirmatively cancel their “memberships.” Vertrue’s entire business model is based around this deceptive practice, and Vertrue’s co-conspirators, including MasterCard, knowingly facilitate and profit from Vertrue’s fraudulent activities. The lawsuit states that MasterCard approves such unauthorized charges, and profits from them, even though this violates MasterCard’s own rules regarding protection of private customer credit card data.
The suit asserts that the other Defendants are vital to the improper billing scheme. First, Vertrue transmits a consumer’s credit card data to the related credit card network, which the complaint alleges was MasterCard. MasterCard verifies the consumer’s identity and, the lawsuit states, analyzes the transaction to determine whether it is fraudulent. MasterCard transmits the relevant data to the cardholder’s issuing bank which, if it authorizes the charge, sends a verification message to MasterCard, which then informs the issuing bank that the charge has been authorized, according to the suit. The suit claims that the issuing bank then informs Vertrue of the authorization, at which point the purchase is completed and the issuing bank and MasterCard subsequently “clear” and “settle” all of Vertrue’s charges for that day, at which point the illicitly obtained funds are sent to Vertrue. The suit contends that all the Defendants are well aware of the illegal scheme, but they nonetheless participate in order to obtain substantial transaction fees.
Vertrue is a subsidiary of Velo Holdings, an investment group also named as a Defendant in the lawsuit, that acquired Vertrue in 2007. According to the lawsuit, Velo and Oak Investment, MyLife.com’s senior investor-owner, were fully aware that Vertrue’s business model relied on consumer fraud when they acquired their positions in these online companies. The suit asserts that these investors nevertheless controlled, participated in, and profited from Vertrue and MyLife for years while doing nothing to curb the companies’ highly illegal business practices.
If you have unknowingly joined one of Vertrue’s savings clubs and wish to discuss this action, or if you have any questions concerning this press release, please contact Webb, Klase & Lemond by e-mail at [email protected] or by calling (770) 444-9325. Webb, Klase & Lemond, LLC is a law firm that practices complex litigation with a focus on litigation arising from wrongful deprivations by corporate and government entities. |
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