FTD and 1-800-Flowers in Scam Probe
Scam. Fraud. Ripoff. These are the words being used by thousands of people who found “surprise” charges on their credit card or bank statements after making an online purchase. Consumers say they were unwittingly duped into third-party “e-loyalty” or “rewards club” programs, often costing $14.95 per month or more. Most people were unaware of it until they checked their bills.
FTD and 1-800-Flowers were summoned before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee to explain their involvement with these so-called “post-transaction marketing” schemes. Many consumer complaints have also been lodged against another major flower seller, Pro Flowers, over the same issue. These companies sold out their customers to various loyalty marketing firms, including Affinion, Ezsaver, Webloyalty, and Vertrue.
It’s not just limited to the flower business. Other companies cited as making money from the scheme include Buy.com, Priceline, Travelocity, Avon, eHarmony, Hertz, Pizza Hut, Victoria’s Secret, and others.
Here are links to more information, which in turn have further references.
- Online Florists: Whither the ethics?, Real Florist Blog at flowerchat.com
- Feds: Top e-tailers profit from billion-dollar Web scam, by Greg Sandoval, cnet.com
- Lawmakers Slam Deceptive Web Marketers, by Thomas Claburn, Information Week
Note that MoonFlower Florist is a member of the Teleflora network, which is not involved in these nefarious goings-on. In any event, since we have our own website, MoonFlower.ca, we have complete control over our own database. We absolutely do not sell or pass on any website visitor or customer information to anyone. At MoonFlower Florist, we truly value and appreciate your business.
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That’s just incredible. I know you have to be really careful on the internet and even when your shopping face to face in a store. So many people got taken in by this. The companies are completely selfish and they don’t care about the customer. You have to be so careful these days.
I got caught in this. I’ve never been so ripped off in my life. It took 2 mnths before I noticed. What a bunch of scumbags.