BELLEVUE, Wash. - It's what every consumer fears when they shop on the Internet - that a merchant will abuse their credit card.
On Tuesday, Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna took action against a major Bellevue company accused of doing just that. It’s a civil case that could result in refunds being mailed out to thousands of Washington consumers.
“Investigations by our office suggest more than $50 million has been deceptively obtained from Washington consumers by a handful of businesses," McKenna said at a press conference.
The AG’s Office has been monitoring several companies that it claims trick consumers into signing up for mostly sham services that charge a monthly fee. McKenna’s office announced a settlement with one of the largest of those companies, Intelius of Bellevue. The company offers background checks and other public records searches for a fee.
If you buy, the Intelius website launches into something called “post-transaction marketing.” For instance, after someone who buys a background check from Intelius enters their credit card number, they’ll be forced to click through a series of prompts that appear to confirm the order. But one of those many clicks may actually sign them up for an additional service, like identity theft protection, for an additional monthly fee.
The AG’s office says Intelius made $62 million in one year on one such program it calls Identity Protect.
"Simply put, Intelius chose cash over candor, " says McKenna.
Gina Cornwall, of Bellevue, says among the consumers who found unauthorized monthly charges on her credit card statement after using the Intelius site. "What am I being charged for? What is this service?" she thought. Cornwall says it took months to figure she had inadvertently clicked on one of the post-transaction pages. She was paid back, and now if she gets extra offers while online shopping "always click cancel, x and get out of that and find a different vendor to buy whatever product I'm buying."
In the settlement, Intelius admits no wrong doing but pays a $1.3 million penalty. The company also agrees not to do business with several questionable advertisers. Perhaps most importantly, it will not pass your credit card number on to other companies. Intelius has also agreed to contact eligible customers in the coming months and offer them refunds.
An Intelius spokeperson declined to appear on camera, but pointed out that Intelius maintains an “A” rating with the Seattle Better Business Bureau. However, the company has more than 1,400 customer complaints on file. After McKenna's press conference, the BBB downgraded Intelius to an “unrated” status.
To add a comment, please register or login.