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Dear Member,
We hope you're finding value in our monthly eNews. If this is your first issue or your tenth, we thank you for being a subscriber. This year to thank you for your feedback and support, we will be including more raffles and promotions for our email subscribers. Look in upcoming issues for more on what we'll be giving away.
If you would like to submit ideas for an article, we always appreciate suggestions. Please continue to share them with us by emailing jreynolds@mycucommunity.com. |
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Avoiding deceptive opt-out online scams.
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A small number of merchants use a billing option called a negative renewal option billing, and we often hear from members that have experienced this firsthand. According to a recent Visa Inc. survey, 29 percent of Americans believe they've been victimized by this practice. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concurs, noting that approximately 3.2 million Americans reported these or similar types of unauthorized charges in 2007.
In a nutshell, negative option billing is where customers are required to opt out of recurring charges for future products or services, often by being instructed to uncheck a pre-checked "terms and conditions" or "payment authorization" box. This clause is usually buried in the fine print most people don't bother to read. |
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It may be as simple as signing up for a free trial or sample of a product or service, not realizing that you're actually agreeing to be billed monthly for future shipments or charges if you don't proactively cancel the service at the end of the trial period. Canceling itself can be an ordeal, since some merchants have notoriously slow or unresponsive customer service (endless holds, no toll-free service number, hiding or omitting opt-out information, difficult return policies, etc.).
The problem has grown in recent months, thanks to deceptive merchants taking advantage of lower advertising costs to reach broader audiences. Visa, which monitors the merchant payment system, found that merchants using deceptive marketing practices have up to 20 times as many consumer disputes as average e-commerce merchants.
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Avoid becoming a victim.
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Here are some of the steps Visa recommends:
1. Read and understand all terms and conditions (the fine print) before completing any transaction.
2. Pay particular attention to any pre-clicked boxes before submitting your payment card information.
3. Always review your monthly credit and debit card statements to spot any unauthorized charges. We recommend that instead of waiting to view your monthly statements, also use online banking to closely monitor your accounts regularly. |
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If you've already become a victim.
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If you are being victimized by unauthorized recurring charges or inadvertently signed up for them:
1. Start by trying to resolve the situation with the merchant. Look for cancellation instructions on their website or call customer service.
2. If they can't or won't resolve the problem, contact the financial institution that issues your card and dispute the charges.
If you're a CU Community cardholder, as part of your cardholder agreement, we will advocate on your behalf with the merchant's bank. 3. Report the problem to the Better Business Bureau - ideally, with the local chapter where the merchant is headquartered. Also, consider reporting abusive marketing practices to the FTC's complaint assistance center at www.ftc.gov/complaint. To learn more about protecting yourself from deceptive marketing practices like e-commerce scams, visit Visa's dedicated web page at www.visa.com/dmp. | |
| We hope you'll tell your friends and family that they can open an account with us so they can take advantage of our free checking, no-catch VISA credit cards and low auto loan rates.
As always, thank you for your membership in CU Community!
Best Regards,
Jenny Reynolds
CU Community Credit Union
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