Important Information to Know re: Online Purchasing

Have you make a purchase from such companies as Vistaprint, Fandango, 1800 Flowers, movietickets.com, classmates.com, Victoria’s Secret, Yahoo, Cheap Tickets or a myriad of OTHER RETAILERS? See below for a larger list.

Were you diverted to a special bonus, coupon, money off after your initial purchase? Did you knowingly agree to pay a subscription or membership fee to the tune of $10 to $19.95 or more per month?

This “bonus” offer was especially designed to be deceptive and misleading, say a number of Web marketing experts before a Senate Commerce Investigatory committee.

For one thing, your “bonus” will probably consist merely of spamlike sales offers offering little value. In other words, you signed up to pay a monthly fee to receive spam emails.

For another, your eye was tricked  to go immediately to “Yes” buttons, arrows and Free Offer text diverting your attention from the fine print.

Additionally, AFTER your original purchase, your credit card information was automatically transferred, unbeknownst to you, to the entirely UNRELATED third party marketing company.

You would have tacitly given permission to share credit card information when you agreed to the Terms and Conditions with your first purchase.

What To Do

Check your credit card bills to see if there are any suspicious monthly fees that you do not recall signing up for. 

If you see these “unauthorized” charges, immediately contact the company and ask for a complete refund of ALL “membership” and monthly charges and fees. They will claim you gave your permission. Be insistent.

Send a quick letter or email to your Senate Representatives.

Contact the original company and voice your complaint. Let them know your displeasure and disappointment.  

Post your complaints on consumer websites such as Satisfaction.com. Be sure not to make any false claims.

Email complaints or notifications will not be enough. A number of people have reported that their emails were ignored.

Be sure to read the fine print on ALL purchases. Otherwise, you may end up being one of the unknowing victims of this multibillion dollar ”industry.”

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Senate Investigation
Four of the offending marketing firms are Vertrue, Webloyalty, Chase Bank, Affinion. Currently, several or all are under Senate investigation for consumer fraud.

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Additional Information
CNET: Feds: Top e-tailers profit from billion-dollar Web scam
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10399880-93.html

COMMERCE.GOV
Aggressive Sales Tactics on the Internet and Their Impact on American Consumers 
Link

Government Archive Video
View Archive Webcast

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PARTIAL LIST OF OFFENDING RETAILERS

Over 10 Million Dollars Received
1-800-Flowers.com
Buy.com
Classmates.com
Columbia House
Confi-Check
Expedia/Hotels.com
Fandango
FTD
Hotwire
InQ
Intelius
MovieTickets.com
Orbitz
Priceline
Redcats USA
Shutterfly
Travelocity
US Airways
Vistaprint

1 to 10 Million Dollars Received
1-800-PetMeds
Adteractiv
Airtran Airways
Alliegiant Air
AllPosters.com
American Greetings
Auto Parts
Avon
Barnes & Noble
Bizrate.com
Bookspan
Boston Apparel Group

BuySeasons/Celebrate
Express
Campusfood.com
Cendant
Channel Advisor
Cheap Tickets
Choice Hotels
CollectionswEtc.com
Continental Airlines
Current USA
123 Prints
Custom Direct
Digital River
Dr. Leonard’s
Drugstore
eHarmony
eTix
eToys
Fareportal
FrangranceNet
From You Flowers
FTD Florists Online
Gamestop
EBgames
Gevalia
Haband
Half.com
Hanover Direct
Hertz
HiSpeed Media
Infinity Resources
J.C. Whitney
Joann.com
Lillian Vernon
Live Nation
Marketworks
Miles Kimball
Musicnotes
MyLife.com
MyPoints
Pizza Hut
Potpourri
Restaurants.com
Riverdeep
Shoebuy
Simplexity
Spirit Airlines
Suresource
Americart
Thompson Group
Tiger Direct
TimeLife
True.com
True Credit
True Link
Upsellit.com
US Search
Victoria’s Secret
Vitacost
WayPort
West
Yahoo

REMEMBER – THIS IS ONLY A PARTIAL LIST. THERE ARE A HUGE NUMBER OF ONLINE RETAILERS WHO PARTICIPATE IN THESE “WEB LOYALTY” ADVERTISING PROGRAMS.

Right or wrong, we derived at, and have Long Held the Following:

Everything is a Microcosm of the Macrocosm… Everything is a Microcosm of the Whole.

Meaning…
Any questions you have regarding the past, the predictatory future and the present, can be answered by merely studying the pattern of what has consistently happened in any evolution before.

Every happening set of sequences has been repeated before, and will be repeated again in similar fashion.

Example
Technological advancements – what will be the next greatest innovation?

Prediction
Whatever fits the pattern of what succeeded in the past. In this case, innovation begins with a singular brilliant creator that expands to an all encompassing community and back again. Things come in waves, cycles and particulate forms. So it is with business, technology, science, art, the Universe itself.

All it takes is One to build the world, and One to tear it down. All the One needs, is Community.

One to light the match, community to provide the fuel, fan the flames and build the fire.

Using this method of defining “What Is,” one can surmise that the Universe was created by One, Expanded by Community, and will be destroyed by One. To Rise again, then be utterly destroyed to form other Universes.

In other words… the Universe was started by One, joined together by Community, consolidated into Three, melded into one, to be utterly destroyed, it’s sparks and pieces to be rebuilt into a new phenomenon.

Google keeps rolling out the hits. They’re an irrepressible, relentless giant.  What’s new? Where are their data centers? What sort of data centers do they have? Barges out at sea? What’s in the works?

Google Caffeine – Google’s New Search Engine Trial
It definitely offers up slightly different results. Speedier, smarter, different features…
http://www2.sandbox.google.com/

Sketchup – Google’s Free 3D Modeling Software
3D 2D modeling, scene-based animations, share, store online or off
http://sketchup.google.com/product/gsup.html

Secret Google Data Center Information
Google is intensely secretive about its data center operations and locations. Nevertheless, cunning sleuths have revealed much information about these powerhouse data clusters around the world…
http://www.datacenterknowledge.com…data-center-faq/

Maps of Google Data Center Locations
Locations of Data Centers around the world. Google is huge, omnipresent, a powerhouse. Plans off shore barges, will use ocean wave energy for power
http://royal.pingdom.com…google locations/

Google Squared – Want “Excel” spreadsheet results from Google?
Experimenting with “Wolfram Alpha” type technology
http://www.google.com/squared/

Store all your health information in one place
Can share or hide, your choice. Records, data, history all within your complete private control
https://www.google.com…health%2Fp%2F&rm=hide

Create Free Custom Search on your website
Better, faster, more customizable and easier to implemenet
http://www.google.com/coop/cse/

Images: Building Huge Google Data Center
The sheer magnitude in the middle of nowhere – where’s the energy coming from? THe Google enterprise is Monumental.
http://www.bouweemshaven.nl…datahotel

Google VOICE
Completely free telephone numbers with tons voice and forwarding services and options. Incredible… Transcribes voice mails and emails or forwards. Invites going out pretty quickly. Probably one of the most phenomenal contact services Google offers. Permanent free phone number for life.
http://www.google.com/voiceinvite

Google Signed Up with Twitter – Many accounts
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-accounts-on-twitter.html

What’s new with Google? Find out at Google Labs
http://www.googlelabs.com/ 

More great information at eWeek