If you ever see a charge on your credit card for, “Reservation Rewards”, it’s because you didn’t read this article first…
Fandango.com is a web site which sells movie tickets online… in partnership with the actual theaters.
About a month ago, I ordered tickets online for a movie — only because it was a new movie and a special occasion and I didn’t want it to be sold out…
As it turned out, once we arrived at the theater, their machines were not working and we had to stand in three different lines to finally get our pre-paid tickets… Meanwhile, many people who had just walked in off the street were seated before we were.
But the BIG PROBLEM we have is…
Today, a month later, I discover a new charge on my credit card for $10 “Reservation Rewards” (“MC-WLI*RESERVATIONREWARDS 800-7327031”) . I called the company, and they claim that by purchasing movie tickets online at Fandango, I have somehow automatically joined a paid membership club called “Reservation Rewards” with a $10 monthly membership charge.
Of course, I am VERY careful when using my credit card online, and I do read all the fine print. I had signed up for no such thing!
Naturally, they offered to apologize, cancel my membership, and refund my money.
But I ask, “What about the other 14,999 people that were similarly scammed by Fandango that day, and didn’t even notice it on their bill?”
Making a one-time online purchase, which results in a new monthly Membership Charge for anything… is totally fraudulent, in my opinion.
They intentionally do anything they can to try to TRICK YOU into agreeing to something THEY KNOW YOU DON’T INTEND TO PURCHASE.
THAT is called fraud, my friends.
These sites make it worse by headlines and virtual “coupons” claiming, “You’ve won an extra discount!” and such hogwash (lies!)…
Priceline.com is notorious for things like this.
Credit Card companies are also notorious for things like this… Cash the check they mail you and you are now a member of this or that…
Q. When are these companies going to get it?
A. Not until they realize that it costs them MORE in consumer good will… of THEIR OWN customers… than they make in scammed profits.
Let them know.
Make it loud and clear.
Whenever you are scammed, write the CEO of the company a letter… But more importantly, blog about it… So that the entire world can hear your voice.
Trust me, these companies google thier own comapany names every day… just to see what’s being said about them…
Your message on your BLOG will get a LOT more attention than any letter you could mail to one person.
Some blogs get 150 unique visitors reading them EVERY DAY… Some get 1,400 unique visitors every day… And some are many more than that… You get the picture… You’re letter will be read by thousands and thousands of people, over time…
Tell us about your experiences with being scammed into joining memberships, recurring charges, etc… in the comments here…
~~
Watch my show…
And don’t forget to…
~
Bruce Wagner
http://brucewagner.com
bruce@brucewagner.com
Bruce Wagner 
Thank you for posting this on your blog!
I had the exact same charge on my account from when my wife purchased flowers on FTD.com.
I called and asked for an explanation of why I was signed up for this service without my consent, and I was basically told that they get away with this through very careful wording, and while there is a checkbox that lets you opt out of the service, it’s not very easy to locate and is checked by default.
Of course they were very apologetic and offered to cancel the subscriptioin and refund my money, but I’m sure they dupe thousands of people every day, so refunding the few people who catch on is just a drop in the bucket.
Yet another reason to be EXTREMELY careful when purchasing online.
Dear Bruce:
Webloyalty.com protects its reputation and monitors the blogosphere to insure information posted on our company is truthful and accurate. Through this monitoring, we found this blogwith your comments about our membership program, Reservation Rewards.
We would like to speak with you directly but do not have your contact information. If you are unhappy with your subscription or have any questions regarding your membership to Reservation Rewards please contact Webloyalty.com Customer Service at either 1-800-732-7031 or send an email message to consumeraffairs@webloyalty.com. We will be happy to help you.
Regards,
Mary O’Reilly
Webloyalty Consumer Affairs
Reservation Rewards
Wow!
This is a Perfect Illustration of my point…
This last comment illustrates, and proves, exactly what I was explaining in my article above…
Every company “monitors the web”…. i.e. They Google their own company names… to see what is being said about them. No company wants bad publicity.
Apparently, the folks at Reservations Rewards have heard people complaining about them on the web before…. Likely, more than once…
Anyway, thanks Ms. O’Reilly, for your concern, but if you had read my article, you would know that I have already received a credit for the illicit (what I personally consider fraudulent) charge your company put on my credit card (which was supplied to you without my permission), and “canceled” the future monthly charges / “membership” (which I never signed up for in the first place).
Financially, we are straight.
Morally and Ethically, we are not.
IT IS MY OPINION that… Any company that intentionally does anything they can do to try to TRICK A CONSUMER into agreeing to buy something THEY KNOW THE CONSUMER DOES NOT INTEND TO PURCHASE…. I call THAT practice, fraud.
That’s my personal definition of the words, “fraud” or “scam”.
scammers will burn in the hell >.<
Mary, Your company sucks. They are nothing but scammers, which you are a part of. You lie, cheat and steal. And then you nicely offer money back–better not to alert the masses of your SCAM!!
The only way you could help people is by stop SCAMMING. I will make sure I post my message many more places so I can alert as many people as possible to your SCAMMING WAYS!
Pingback: Why I’ll never use Fandango again!
Today I did a search for this $9 charge to my account that has been happening for over a year and six month now. I feel like the biggest sucker! This company took me for over $180 over the past year. I had to cancel my bankcard and I am in the process of trying to get my money back. It makes me so mad that people can get access to your account info and just take money. This is a crazy world we live in and I have learned a serious lesson the hard way. You really need to check your account and make sure you authorized all transactions that take place. What a world! I am leaving this post I hopes that this does not happen to anyone else!!!
It’s not just Fandango these offers and such are everywhere. Buyer beware… go slow, click NO.
I saw two $10 charges on my credit card and called the 800 number….I turns out as the woman at the 800 number said that if you click on the coupon deal then the credit card you used to order movie tix will be billed $10…I was pretty angry when I talked to her….I never gave them permssion to bill my credit card for anything but the movie.
the exact same thing happened to me! i am only 18 first time with a debit and credit card. and because it was a new movie i did not want it to be sold out therefore i used my debit card at fandango.com. trust me i will never be on that site again! 8 months later i still had not noticed “reservation reward” in my account activity every month until my bank caught on and sent me a letter. i called the number and was outraged! my parents had warned me many times about scams online and i KNOW i would NEVER sign up for anything like that. however they claimed that i did when i purchased the movie tickets and also that at the end of the first month they sent me an email to remind me that my “trial” was over and i should either continue or cancel my account or be charged. the thing is during that time i checked my email almost every day bc it was nearing towards college applications turn ins and manny scholarship opportunities that i signed up for. so i would’ve never missed their email! the lady i talked to apologized and offered to cancel my account but i demanded a full refund or i would file a claim with my banker and decide to prosecute and she immediately agreed to refund my money within 3 days. i hope my blog help people be more careful and that dirty annoying deceiving scumbag company to be shut down fined and sent to jail for tricking thousands of people each day out of their hard-earned money.
I just found out I was scammed by these thieves too. My wife handles our credit card payments and statements, and I never saw the $10 charge to our AMX until I looked at this months bill and found it under “reservation rewards”. I finally traces it back to a fandango purchase I made last summer. I will NEVER use fandango again. They have been charging me since last August. I called AMX, they will refund my last 2 payments under their disputed charge policy, and block all further charges. But they can’t go back more than 2 months. I called the 800 number from reservation rewards and of course they said all customer service reps were busy “because of unusual weather”, but I could cancel by punching in my card number or member number. I went ahead and did that, but I’m still out $40 bucks from Aug-Dec.
I see a lot of complaining happening here… and guess what folks all you had to do was READ. It isn’t complicated and they aren’t scamming you.
Hell, I’ll even re-provide what was already given to you, maybe this time you will READ what has been shown to you.
https://one-time-offer.com/sol4/fandango/sb65064/promo.asp?
There are MANY companies that offer advertisers like the one that WAS (as in former, no longer, discontinued) offered on Fandango.com.
All you have to do is read, do not blame Fandango, Reservation Rewards, or everyone else for that matter for a mistake you made.
If you ever see a charge from Reservation Rewards it is because you didn’t READ first. Period.
READ people and stop bitching and blaming the world for your mistakes.
In response to Elaine:
Today my credit card showed a charge for $10 from reservationrewards.com so I called the 800 number and was asked by any electronic voice to enter my credit card number which I did not do. Eventually I got a real person who told me this charge came from Woman Within who I did conduct business with nearly a month ago. However, I placed my order with WW via telephone and not on the Internet so there couldn’t have been an unintentional click or a lapse in my reading ability.
Elaine, I’m not sure if you’re intentionally spreading false information (lying) for the company (your employer perhaps?), or are just confused.
Obviously, YOU were not scammed by these people… So how would YOU know anything at all about it?
The link you provide was clearly NOT the page/link that any of us were shown. We ALL say the same thing: We are VERY careful consumers and we DO read what is presented to us and none of us would ever have agreed to such a “membership” or charge.
THINK ABOUT IT.
If the ONLY way anyone would have received this membership and its recurring charge is by “not reading the fine print”, does THAT sound like a legitimate business offering a legitimate product to you?
If the ONLY customers it has, have been scammed, tricked, call it whatever you like,… THEN IT STILL QUALIFIES AS A CONSUMER FRAUD AND EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU SHOULD WRITE A LITTLE LETTER TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN YOUR OWN STATE. (which you can often do online, by the way. google it.)
But even worse than that, we are stating that we never even agreed to any such thing online. We DO read carefully.
That agreement page link is just another lie. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen that page. And it really makes me wonder who you are, where did you come from, what concern is all of this to you if you were not scammed, and why you would be posting false information here.
Ya know, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s going on here.
This “Elaine” person gives us a link which is to a page that is NOT even on the fandango.com — not even on reservationrewards.com nor webloyalty.com (their parent company). It’s on a secure (https) page at one-time-offer.com
1. If this “Elaine” person has never been scammed by this company, how did “she” come upon this page?
2. How does “she” know that this offer has been discontinued and is no longer available — as “she” so adamently points out — without inside information? Perhaps “she” works there? Perhaps “she” is the executive scammer himself? Trying to clean up the company name on the blogs a little?
3. If it were true that the offer has been “discontinued”, how is it that “she” can so readily provide us with the exact link to it — on a secure page, on an entirely different domain?
4. If it were true that the offer has been “discontinued”, how is it that we continue to get so many fresh new posts here recently — from people STILL being scammed today?
5. If “she” knows so much about it being “discontinued”, why doesn’t she tell us why? Perhaps Fandango had had enough complaints about them?
PEOPLE, USE YOUR HEAD.
IT’S A NUMBERS GAME.
THEY WILL CONTINUE TO GET AWAY WITH THIS SCAM because the number of damages per individual is LOW ($10-300). Obviously, they are betting on the fact that people will not notice the recurring charges until it’s too late to dispute them with their bank (30 days). They are also counting on you not really doing anything about it.
The only thing that scares them, is the thought of you really doing anything about it.
Well….
Here’s What to Do:
1. Google the “Attorney General” of your state. For example: “New York Attorney General” if you live in the state of New York. Then follow the links to file a complaint online, or to write a letter to your Attorney General. This costs nothing. Just write a little note explaining how you were the victim of a consumer fraud. Explain the total amount you were scammed out of, how they did it, and your estimate of how many other innocent citizens are also being scammed out of their money this way.
2. Telephone AND write a letter to the “partner in crime” company — Fandango.com , in my case, or Woman Within, or whoever… Explain how you have already written to the Attorney General about their consumer fraud practices, and demand that THEY refund all the money that reservationrewards.com or webloyalty.com or whoever has scammed you out of.
That message from “Elaine” was posted using an email address of: “emack1424@gmail.com”, and was posted from an IP address of: 207.127.128.2
It should be no surprise to anyone that… I tried to send an email to “Elaine”… And the email I sent to “her” was returned to sender.
It is not a valid email address. It’s not a real person.
I did a little checking and, according to IP Address Location Lookup, that IP address belongs to “NYSERNET/SUTHERLAND GROUP LTD.” connecting to the Internet from Rochester, New York.
However, Googling them, you find that that IP address range is listed as belonging to Sutherland Global Services, which is a global BPO – Business Process Outsourcing — “OFFSHORE IT SOLUTIONS” company.
I found this… about them… on the NoJobsForIndia.com web site…
Is that the back-end internet company that reservationrewards / webloyalty uses…?
“Things that make you go, Hmmmm…”
Crooks do business with crooks. That should also be no surprise.
By the way, if you’d like to stop in and see the folks at ReservationRewards.com / WebLoyalty.com, you can visit them at their offices, at:
101 Merritt 7, Fourth Floor
Norwalk, Connecticut 06851
As you can see from the Google Maps View of Their Office, they appear to be just outside of Westport, Connecticut — the wealthy suburb of New York City where all the rich New Yorkers live when outside of the city — just 1 hour / 49 miles outside of Manhattan. You can click to Zoom Out, to get the perspective, and/or driving directions.
Let us know how that goes…
Oh, and their main telephone number is: 203-846-3300
But, as I said above, the most effective solution BY FAR, is to contact your state’s Attorney General and complain. That is the ONLY thing they are afraid of.
To “Elaine”:
Your response sounds like you’re either trolling blogs to stir up trouble, or a Reservation Rewards employee spreading propogranda to clean up the name of your company.
I was never given an agreement page to read and there was no “YES, I want to participate” button in my situation.
After I became aware that I was charged $10 for Reservation Rewards, I went back to FTD.com and started a new order to see if I could locate where exactly the agreement was that stated I consented to signing up for the Rewards service.
What I found was a checkbox, checked by default, stuffed between two enormous paragraphs of legal jargon, in a tiny scroll box.
You state that I wasn’t scammed and, in the regard that there was the ability to opt out of the service, you are correct. However, hiding this checkbox from plain site and stuffing it inside page after page of scrolling text certainly doesn’t seem like your company is trying to be very forthcoming about what you’re being charged for. It seems more like they are hoping you’ll skim past it and never notice the charge on your account.
This may not be technically a scam, but it certainly isn’t ethical and a company that performs this type of practice does’t deserve my money.
If ordinary reasonable people are intentionally misled and their money is taken without their consent, this IS the definition of CONSUMER FRAUD.
It does NOT matter if there was a little hidden checkbox.
If ordinary reasonable people are intentionally misled and their money is taken without their consent, this IS the definition of CONSUMER FRAUD.
And it is QUITE illegal in most states.
To file a Consumer Complaint online, click this link… http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=com.ubuntu%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=1ig&q=attorney+general+file+a+complaint+online&btnG=Search
Then, add your state’s name (the name of the state you live in — such as “Nebraska”), and click Search again.
You will find a web site for your state’s Attorney General, with instructions on how to file your complain online.
It’s as quick and free as posting your complaint here on this blog! But it is absolutely imperative that you do it there if you want to stop this company from scamming thousand, or millions, of other people. Not to mention possibly getting your money back some day…
I was getting ready to purchase tickets on Fandango today for the first time but was uncomfortable with the clarity of the offer. Before going to the next step to buy tickets I was being asked to check a box that appeared as if it was going to charge me an extra 5 dollars per ticket so I backed out of the web-site. I then ran a search for fandango pricing and found all the information here. Thanks for the heads up and I certainly will never do business with Fandango.
Bruce,
Thank You so very much for this information. Unfortunately I read your blog after purchasing tickets @ fandago.com. I just purchased (about 20 minutes ago) tickets and checked my e-mail. Well….I received a confirmation e-mail from fandango and another e-mail from “Great Fun” welcoming me to a membership I never signed up for. I reached your blog when trying to search for a contact number for Fandango other than 1-800-FANDANGO which is only to purchase tickets. I found a contact number for “Great Fun” 1-877-763-4140 and called to complain and they cancelled the membership which I never signed up for . I also asked for the name of the CEO and address so I could make a formal complaint (which you suggested in your blog). Here is that info:
Nat Lipman,CEO
Great Fun
PO BOX 6100
Westerville, Ohio 43086
Here is a customer support number for Fandango which I called to complain: 1-866-857-5191
I appreciate you posting this information and for your suggestions on how we can take action as consumers on scams such as “Great Fun” and Fandango.
Thanks Again!
Bruce,
Thanks for this info. I was a little diconcerted last night when I saw a strange charge to my credit card and of course I thought of the worst case scenario, my CC# had been stolen! But after I read this blog I followed your steps and called the company. Eventually I got my money back after being pitched twice to accept their offers in the process!
I have made it my mission to tell everybody that I know NOT TO USE FANDANGO! A company that is willing to give their customers info to another company without consent is not a good company. They said I clicked on a Save 15 dollars box when I rodered the Fandango tickets. I did not! I know what I payed for those tickets and it was not a discounted price!
Thank you for this blog.
Hector
Yes I too just found charges on my account from Great fun who got our info fandango tickets my husband bought in May. He never clicks on pop ups and wouldn’t use a coupon if I taped it to his forehead so I know he didn’t click the box. I called Fandango today and they told me they are no longer doing business with Great Fun because of the number of complaints but I doubt I will ever use them. Great Fun told me they will refund me in 10-15 days but I doubt I will see it.
He never got a confirmation mail from Great Fun and we never got any coupons or tickets or anything in them for the services they have.
Hey Bruce,
I completely know how you feel. In my case, I have been buying concert tickets off of ticket master for about 2 years, however last year when I went to buy my ticket… about 3 months later I noticed I was being billed for something called Entertainment Books. I called and they said they were some coupon book that I signed up for while buying tickets online. However I did NOT purchase anything (I read the fine print too). They said by simply entering in my email address, it gave ticketmaster premission to send Ent.Books my credit card information, charging me about $10 every month. Of course I got refunded, but I don’t know how many people got scammed and are still unaware of it.
– Jenn
I actually just found out that this was going on with BOTH of my bank accounts. I was told by Reservation Rewards that I was signed up by a “special promotion” while on Buy.com and 123inkjets.com. The person I talked to said they had about 100 different sites that they are on, and if you don’t want to be signed up, DO NOT click the button about a $10 coupon or something to that extent.
The funny thing is though, they have ALL of my information on file, including an email account I haven’t used for over a year, and well before these transactions started.
So, basically, it’s not Fandango specifically that you need to watch out for. It’s that little button at the confirmation screen telling you that you have a coupon waiting that you need to watch out for.
I also noticed a pending charge on my bank statement of $12 for reservation rewards. I was terrified, knowing that neither myself or my husband signed up for anything from that company. After calling this company I found out it originated through fandango after we bought movie tickets, and there was an offer for some kind of rebate. We canceled my husbands visa card and called reservation rewards and “cancelled” that and expressed my displeasure. I also called visa and filed a detailed complaint so that they know about this scam. If the charge tries to go through our account I will file a dispute on that charge. Do not buy movie tickets through fandango. IF these companies affiliated with this scam lose money, it will stop. I also highly recommend filing a complaint with your card issuer.
Unauthorized Charges from TLG* Great Fun
On October 15, 2008, I discovered unauthorized charges for $11.99 on my past Visa statements from TLG* Great Fun dating back to April 10, 2008. I was not familiar with this company and I have not engaged in any business transaction with this company. I contacted the company at the toll free number (877-763-4140) listed on my Visa statement and the representative told me that he could cancel my membership. He said I was probably signed up through a website called Fandango.com. I did purchase movie tickets from the website he mentioned on February 28, 2008, but I did not agree to a monthly membership with TLG* Great Fun. The representative tried to convince me to keep the membership and receive a “free” packet of coupons. I demanded that he discontinue charging my Visa card immediately and reimburse these unauthorized charges. I received a confirmation number of R1015 for the membership cancellation. However, he said he would be unable to give a credit for any previous charges.
I have disputed the charges on my Visa but Visa will only credit the last four months. Furthermore, I have to cancel my current card and let them reissue a new number in order to dispute the charges. I will never buy anything from Fandango again!
I’ve been trying to figure out who:
TLG*GREATFUN26611903OC 877-763-4140 CT
is for a few months now. I hate that they’re scamming me.
OMG! I just found out that these a-holes have been charging me since January… and I never even noticed!! Thanks so much for this post…
I used the Fandango website for tickets in Nov 08, this week while looking over my DiscCard I noticed charges for SHOPPERDISCOUNT. COM 800-889-8776 CT and RESERVATIONREWARDS.COM 800-732-7031 CT at $12.00 each per month. When I called, they were very NICE and accommodating offering to credit all the charges for the 4 months without and fight what so ever!… It was “To Easy” as they say. I think they know they scam you and bill your CCs and if caught… rollover so you don’t file a complaint. My advise, get your tickets at the theater… you can get tickets at most places days in advance…. and Check you CC statements for past charges!
I, too, have been scammed by Fandango and have just written to their Customer Service explaining that I will never purchase tickets from them again. The charge on my credit card was from “TLG*Great Fun” in the amount of $11.99. I have a teenager who plays RPGs online and thought this was a charge for that…Great Fun sounded like a gaming site to me. I checked with him and found out that he had no idea what that was. I googled Great Fun and found all the hundreds of posts from people experiencing the same problem I have been. So, rather than calling Great Fun directly, I called my credit card company. It was odd…the woman at Chase that I talked to told me she was going to transfer me to the correct department (I think that’s what she said). She transferred me to Dave who told me he worked for Great Fun. He was so very kind to inform me that, YES! I had signed up for a membership with Great Fun — right through Fandango Rewards. He could even tell me my email address and the date. Unbelievable! I told him there was no way I would have signed up for this service unless it had been deceptively presented on the website. He had no answer except to tell me to hold for my cancellation confirmation. I guess that “TLG*Great Fun” is actually a way to have “great fun” while ripping people off.
each of the above victims (me included) get “signed up” unwittingly and then, under the radar, pay small monthly charges mechanically thru American Express, MasterCard and Visa. each victim should now complain to the credit card companies that their customers are being misused this way (and by diet companies and many other advertisers who use the same tricks). the credit card companies have the leveage to prevent these sleazy companies from “signing up” customers and siphoning off money essentially secretly this way. obviously, the “customer” doesn’t even know he/she “signed up” and is paying monthly, so no services are requested and the company doesn’t even have to do anything for the money the credit card companies forward them. all of this is, of course, figured in and motivates the companies engaging in this swindle. question is; why are the credit card companies willing to help these swindlers at the expense of their unwitting credit card cutomers ? lets all complain to the credit card companies which want our business and assiduously advertise for it. any one customer complaint to these swindlers is not likely to be very effective, but a credit company threatening to delist and not do business and not make payments to the swindlers is going to make them sit up and change their ways.
looks like they got a class action lawsuit filed against them and they decided to settle out of court. I was also charged without my consent. Here is a website link to the site that has the article on their settlement. http://www.promotionlawblog.com/tp-060526092755/post-090409094027.shtml
Even though they paid 10 million dollars which seems like a lot if you really think about it it is pocket change to the amount of money they potentially made doing this. If they had 1 million or more people duped and they didn’t notice this on their credit card they are making 12 million dollars a month or more depending on how many people were actually duped. I noticed that a bunch of sites were involved including travel sites like orbitz. If orbitz had this on their site you know a bunch of people could have fallen for the same scam and they made a lot more then they settled for in court. In my mind they should be taken out of business and these practices outlawed.
Hi, One thing I have been doing every 6 months or so is asking my bank for a new credit card. I tell them mine is demagnatized or that I lost it. I get a new card with a new number so any of these scams can’t continue to charge on the old card number. I also review each and every statement that I still have mailed to my home address in order to be certain there are no “mysterious” charges. I know it is a pain, but it really has helped and there are no fees for asking for a new bank or credit card.
I just called Greatfun asking for a refund and they are adamant to give my money back. They want me to write a letter and will take 4-6 weeks to process that and reply back, I feel so cheated.
I am steaming MAD!!! Over the past 2days I’ve found over $500.00 worth of charges that came thru Fandango via Reservation rewards/TLG Great fun… I told both companies I had been scammed and there was NO WAY I HAD SIGNED up for this service!!! Is there any way we can all join together to hit Fandango with some form of class action lawsuit??? This is insane… there are millions of Americans that use this service that don’t realize they are being embezzled 11.99 or 10.00 a month for something THEY DIDN’T EVEN SIGN UP FOR!!!
SPREAD THE WORD, don’t EVER USE FANDANGO!!!
Please contact me, because I really want to do something about this!!!
Denz Freeman
I was just notified from my bank’s credit card fraud division that Fandango and shopperdiscounts have taken me too. They suggested that I call Shopperdiscounts and ReservationRewards to complain and cancel the monthly fees. They also charged my $1.00 just to open their site from Fandango.com.
I am discussed!!!!!!!
Hey, your analysis is wrong.
It is stealing money. There should be criminal investigation and jail terms for these practices. Going after them is a matter for the public prosecutor, not really for the private citizen.
After all, what Madoff did was with consent of the victims, although the numbers were higher, the stealing was less blatant.
I just noticed this morning that I’ve had $ taken out from Reservation Rewards for a few months now. I traced it back to Fandango.com. I will never go to Fandango again or anything like it. I cancelled my credit card.
Just got off the phone with Webloyalty after I found $96 in false charges on my wife’s credit card. She got scammed into the same scheme. Found out that she was on both websites and fell for the free coupons. She and I will never shop with FTD or Orbitz again and I am sending this message to all blogs I am on and all contacts I have in my all three of my email accounts. The more people we can make aware the sooner they will be out of business or in jail. Please pass the word to your friends and family as well as the BBB.
I too read the fine print, and I’ve used Fandango quite a lot without ever running into the problem here. I know the problem exists and I know how to trigger the problem, because I’ve read the code behind the popup windows to see what they do; I can guarantee that there is *no* way for this offer to spring itself on you without you doing something to allow it. It’s a trap, and it’s sadly meant to be a trap, but the truth is you stepped into the trap by clicking on something that said it would give you rewards for the purchase you made; whether you understood the ramifications of what you were doing or not is a different story.
Again, I’m not letting the company off the hook, they’re relying on shady and confusing methods to catch their prey. But in the end it was your own shadowed vision or confusion that set the trap off; there is no way for it to trigger on its own.
If this weren’t true, we’d be reading about the scam and the corresponding class-action litigation on the front page of the news instead of reading someone complaining on their blog.
I wanted to get this out there… A while back, little less than a year, I bought a game from GameStop.com. After purchasing said game, I was offered a coupon for gamestop through ConsumerRewards. Foolishly, I accepted, never to receive any sort of coupon for anything. Instead, I was charged 12$ a month to my debit card. It was only last week that my card company called to mention “hey you’re being charged for this.. did you know?” And no, of course I didn’t! I never agreed to pay for anything. Consumer Rewards managed to earn at least 100$ by cheating me out of my money. Whats better is that I’m a college student who recently was in a car accident and had his car totaled, so money has been tight, and losing money for reasons unknown is NEVER fun. I managed to call and try to cancel my membership. After being hung up on twice, I finally got through, and hooray, they refunded me 12 dollars from the last month. At least I’m done with that.
Also I want to warn people- this is my girlfriends experience, not mine. She received a call from an unknown caller. The guy said she had been entered in a drawing and only had to pay 70 per month to accept. She politely refused, so he offered 40, then 20, and she continued to refuse, so he just hung up on her. She was telling me about it on the phone when she checked her bank account. She had already been charged $70 from magazine(lots of numbers..), and she only had about 35 in her bank account. Somehow the knew her info without having been given it by her, and they deliberately charged her card without her consent. Since it was an unknown number, there was no number to call back and cancel. After looking it up online, apparently many people are scammed by this company, and most have great difficulty canceling the payments. Luckily she has a good bank and was able to cancel her card and they put the transaction on hold and rejected it.
Just wanted to warn people. Live well.
Great Fun at 877-763-4140 caused a problem for me. My toll free number 877-753-4140 is appearing on at least one customers statement with the Great Fun name. I know because Maggie in CA called and asked me why I am charging her $11.99 every month. Of course we are not doing any such thing. I did some investigating and found that somehow they are using my number instead of their own. Get your money back, Maggie!
If you dispute any money taken from you by Webloyalty, please contact attorney Marilyn Solomon. She has filed a class action lawsuit against them and you may be eligbile to join. You can call her at the Law Firm of Marilyn Solomon at (540) 678-0569 or email maslaw05@ntelos.net.
Me too. Got defrauded for many monthly subscription charges. Fandango and Reservation rewards are frauds.
I was searching for any merits to use Fandango; could not find any really. Further reading your post added solidarity to this stance. Thanks Bruce!