More internet marketing techniques maybe endangered via the .gov
Senator Jay Rockefeller is on the warpath.
Web companies have earned more than $1.4 billion in the last 10 years by duping millions of online shoppers into paying monthly fees for services they didn't want, according to a new Senate report. The report, "Aggressive Sales Tactics on the Internet and Their Impact on American Consumers," by the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, focuses on strategies used by the post-transaction companies Webloyalty, Affinion and Vertrue, as well as their business partners, including sites like Classmates.com, Fandango and Orbitz. "In exchange for 'bounties' and other payments, reputable on-line retailers agree to let Affinion, Vertrue, and Webloyalty sell club memberships to consumers as they are in the process of buying movie tickets, plane tickets, or other online goods and services. The sales tactics used by these three companies exploit consumers' expectations about the online 'checkout' process," states the 35-page report. The paper grows out of an investigation spearheaded by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) of so-called "mystery charges." The probe was launched in May, after thousands of people complained that they had unwittingly enrolled online in paid membership programs. "American consumers shouldn't have to worry that their favorite websites are ripping them off during the checkout process," Rockefeller said Tuesday. He added that the committee "needs to start thinking about the legislative steps we can take to end these practices." Companies in the post-transaction space target consumers who have just made purchases at sites like Orbitz and Fandango. The companies send pop-up ads to those consumers, offering them discounts. In the past, people who clicked through landed on a site where they could enroll in coupon programs by providing their email address and clicking a 'yes' button. Once they did so, the e-commerce sites shared credit/debit card information with the post-transaction companies, which then began charging consumers monthly fees of between $9 and $12 and sending them coupons and discounts. ... |
-
CDarklock -
Thanks
Signature"The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1397821].message }} -
-
MichaelHiles -
Thanks - 1 reply
Signature10XTS... I got your digital strategy right here...{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1398165].message }}-
CDarklock -
Thanks
Signature"The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1398200].message }} -
-