Last week I wrote a story about a scam that online business card firm Vistaprint (Vistaprint.co.uk or Vistaprint.com) is running on unsuspecting buyers. What appears to be occuring is that the credit details of some buyers are being handed on to VPrewards, a separate operation run by another business. This business then starts charging the victim £9.95 per month to be a subscriber on VPrewards (a discount club which is not mentioned anywhere on the Vistaprint site). You are only refunded and unsubscribed when you complain direct with VPrewards or Vistaprint. Vistaprint and VPrewards deny there is anything wrong with a system that signs users up to VPrewards against their wishes. In my case it also failed to provide evidence of the point at which sign-up occured.
My own credit card company put me through to VPrewards in seconds - suggesting it is familiar with this problem. But it does raise the question: are credit card firms aware of complaint levels regarding a particular merchant, yet fail to take any action or investigate further? Shouldn't credit card firms be doing more to protect card holders?
Since writing that story I have been contacted by five individuals who have had the same experience, possibly just a tiny sample of the total number of people affected. A number have taken the drastic step of cancelling their credit card - so fearful are they of VPrewards/Vistaprints tactics.
Here is a typical response:
I have just spoken to Barclays about this payment, I ordered some
business cards for my husbands company at the beginning of the year on
my personnal account card, and have now realised that this £9.95 is
coming out of my account. Barclays have cancelled the monthly payment
and are now going ensure that even if they reapply for the payment it
will be refused, thta means for 9 month I have been paying out £9.95,
god what a scam!!!!! Where do I go from here??????????????
I am still investigating this story but VPrewards and Vistaprint refuse to grant an interview to discuss the subject. In the meantime I urge all readers to avoid using Vistaprint until the firm makes it 100 per cent clear that users of their sites will NOT be signed up to VPrewards against their will.
The worst thing about all this is that Vistaprint appears to be able to continue this scam because no national media can be bothered to spend time investigating what is a rather complex story spanning two continents, which will require considerable effort because Vistaprint is unavailable for comment. I personally will alert the Office of Fair Trading but I don't expect it to act until a newspaper highlights the problem. BBC Watchdog has been informed, but it too seems to be ignoring the story.
Here is the story I wrote on December 12th:
VistaPrint scam
VistaPrint, the online business card service, appears to be running a very dubious sideline in automatically subscribing people - against their wishes - to a discount service known as VPrewards.
It would seem that many people, including myself, have unwittingly been enrolled in a discount club called VPrewards and costing £9.95 per month. What appears to be happening is that when you order business cards or the like on Vistaprint.co.uk you are then charged £9.95 in subsequent months for a rewards scheme (discounts with name brands) that they say you opted into. This occurs after your initial order has been paid in full and you only notice it if you look closely at your subsequent credit card bill.
Like many aggreived customers I have absoloutely no recollection of seeing wording or clicking anything that represented an agreement to join the scheme. Like most people I am very vigilant on any e-commerce site I use. So either VistaPrint were very sneaky and got it past my eagle eyes, or they are simply making it up. Whatever the case they can supply no documentation to prove that I requested to be a subscriber.
The firm simply says it has my IP address to prove it: "You filled out an online questionnaire," said Dinah Manner, customer service rep for VPRewards, the UK company which I was redirected to through my credit card company.
The company agreed to unsubscribe me but said it saw no reason to do anything to prevent it happening to others.
Instead VPrewards denies that this is a common complaint and to rub salt into the wound they say that refunds are only granted through the US office, unless you accept a 'cheque in the post', meaning you still have to pay the fee on your credit card.
Intriguingly www.vprewards.co.uk is not an active domain. It is owned by Adaptive Affinity Ltd, the Edgeware-based company calling itself VPRewards. The company communicates via an email address '[email protected]' but the email contains no company name or contact details. www.vprewards.com (which is active as the VPrewards web site) is owned by Nebraska-based US firm Adaptive Marketing.
But VistaPrint supplies no details about VPrewards on its own site and nothing beyond a home page is given on the VPrewards web site.
Some victims of this only notice the problem after months of being charged. It is made particularly hard to detect as no information relating to it is provided in writing or on the invoice for your original order. One victim writing on the web suggests the only way to clear the matter up for good is to cancel your credit card and sign up for a new one.
VPrewards.co.uk declined to be interviewed to discuss the matter further. I have emailed the Vistaprint PR team who also refuse to talk on the phone but instead have sent my complaint on to a customer service representative who did contact me by phone while i was out.
Meanwhile there are lots of similar complaints on internet forums, so it could be that hundreds if not thousands are affected. If you or anyone you know has been affected please phone the rant line (above) as I am passing this story on to BBC Watchdog and to the nationals.
What is most shocking is that there appear to be hundreds of customers who have experienced this rip-off. If you type in 'vistaprint scam' into Google you can see them for yourself. When I asked the UK operation to comment on this they said they were only aware of many happy customers on the VPRewards scheme.
The other fact about this case is that you are agreeing to buy from VistaPrint yet you end up also subscribing to something called VPrewards run by Adaptive Affinity Ltd., which may or may not be run by Affinity Marketing of Nebraska.
The fact is it takes many hours/days to sort this all out. It would seem totally reasonable to charge VistaPrint for the time out of your working day that is spent putting matters right. Perhaps some kind of class action would be appropriate in that respect. I am so concerned about this matter that I have opened another web site to detail the matter in depth. This story will be updated - more details soon.
Postscript: A number of people have asked for help in dealing with this problem. My advice is as follows:
- Phone your credit card company and complain
- Your credit card company will almost certainly know of the problem and will give your a telephone number in your country to call (in the UK this is the number for VPrewards in north west London)
- Phone the company and tell them to re-imburse you and to cancell you from the programme
- This is where it gets tricky - most of the time this works but in some cases they are a less than helpful
- If this is the case email vistaprint PR in the USA - the email address is on their web site
Other things that it would be useful to do to save others from this problem:
- provide links to this story
- contact BBC Watchdog (from the BBC website) or your local equivalent consumer affairs TV programme
- contact newspapers and magazines
- contact your local fraud office
Thanx for this post. I wrote about them as well. It would be great if you could make a test-order with them to confirm if it's true or not.
Check my post here:
http://web-to-print.zetaprints.com/2006/12/21/vistaprint-boss-runs-out-of-cash/
Posted by: max | December 21, 2006 at 10:36 PM
oh god.
i am one of those victims, they still charging me 9.95 since 2 months ago ... i phoned bank of scotland but they just sent me paper as a declaration that my complints was true .. they did nothing ... please could advise me and others to resolve this issue .. do i need to cancel my debit card ? what do you think ?
exuse my English ...
cheers
Fahad
Posted by: fahad | December 25, 2006 at 12:49 PM
we are a small company that have been caught, our Bank Barclays seem to already be aware of this scam, but can't stop the payments off a debit card for at least a month. So any payments taken during that time are lost and it seems they can take what they want. The only way to put an immediate stop on it is to report the card lost or stolen. How much money are this firm scamming from the larger firms that may not pick this up for months. Needless to say our card has been lost.
Posted by: Pete | January 05, 2007 at 12:20 PM
They've got me too. Just looked back at statements, and I've lost £59.70 to them since August 2006. I do not recall signing up to this, nor to agreeing to a standing order. I just cancelled membership whilst on the telephone to their very rude customer 'care' advisor. I'm also writing a letter, not that it will do much good. They should certainly be reported for misleading advertising with intent to deceive.
Posted by: Jodi | January 25, 2007 at 01:39 PM
I too have had £9.95 debited from my account....unsoliciterd since last march !!!
Posted by: anne wrightson | January 30, 2007 at 04:18 PM
Thank you for highlighting this matter. The scary thing is, I initially bought fridge magnets from Vistaprint in May last year and have only just noticed the 9.95 vprewards charge on my credit card. That will teach me to check my statement properly every month.
Posted by: Funke Ojutalayo | February 01, 2007 at 05:55 PM
I'm a victim too to the tune of £50. I phone VPrewards number 08456722002 wspoke to a very british sounding Racheal Manor. I thought I was fairly polite in voicing my protest, she suggested she had the authority to refund money to my account but would not do so because she did "not like the tone of my voice". I phone my HSBC gold card company to alert them and ask for asistance. They were of some but limited help. I then phone vistaprint on 08000288251 I spoke to a guy with a US accent in their call centre based in Jamaca. He suggested he would ensure the entire amount would be refunded to my credit card. The british lady sounded increadibly niave, I can see her ending up with a criminal record. I find it hard to believe that major UK bank do business with almost any Tom, Dick and Harry
Posted by: simon white | February 12, 2007 at 04:56 PM
My husband and I have used vistaprint for business cards and invitations. The service and prices were great untill my husband noticed he had paid £9.95 twice to vprewards.com. We typed this email address into google to find hundreds of complaints and with that he cancelled his cards. I think this company is making more money than the cost of afew business cards. I have since cancelled my cards so they dont catch me! I would advise anyone pay alittle extra and go to a high street printers.
Posted by: Cathy Whitehouse | February 14, 2007 at 10:00 PM
Yup,
they got me too. I racked my brains trying to think how they got this money off me. Did I tick a box somewhere on my last order?
Either way it's a total SCAM. No more orders will be placed through Vistaprint from my company!
Thinking of contacting the Small Claims Court.
Posted by: David Drewette | March 05, 2007 at 11:14 PM
Same story ,same response , I feel completely ripped off , still trying to contact other than via email or phone so I can invoice them for my wasted time and effort ( as you know electricians do not come cheap !!)Anyone know how ?
Posted by: GLEN STEWARD | March 13, 2007 at 02:23 PM
I have been caught by Vistaprint as well. I ordered some free business cards (which cost £6.11 - there is no such thing as a free lunch!!). I then noticed an e-mail two weeks later stateing that £9.95 will be charged every month to my account (I dont recall signing any such agreement with them)at VP Rewards . There was an option to unsubscribe to this scheme and after some time I managed to do so by e-mail. Whether this has stopped them from deducting £9.95 from my credit card every month remains to be seen. Going by what other people have experienced I may have to cancel my credit card and take legal action in the local county courts to try and recover my money.
Posted by: Norman | March 16, 2007 at 11:58 AM
Yes, i've been got too. I've made three payments and after contacting them twice by phone I have just had an email saying that my membership is cancelled. Was told on phone that I would get a refund but watch this space!!!
The more complaints Watchdog receive the more likely they are to cover this scam so contact them at [email protected] or write to them at BBC Watchdog 201 Wood Lane, London, W12 7TS. or phone them on 020 8535 1000.
Posted by: Denise Hall | March 17, 2007 at 10:45 PM
VistaPrint sucks.
I tried to use their Free Website and inputted my CC number.
Now I called 5 times to cancel it but they put me on holds for hours and finally told me that they can not cancel it. I have to wait their tech support call back.
Really Annoyed
Posted by: edoublenet | March 21, 2007 at 05:42 PM
Please, please, please report this to [email protected].
I've just realised that £70.00 has been taken from my credit card account and I have to say that I'm FURIOUS. Credit card company not that helpful either! I have never completed a survey or agreed to this stupid subscription. I've phoned, emailed and faxed but have nothing back. Two other people I work with (small department) have also been had!
Posted by: Lyn | March 22, 2007 at 08:55 AM
this bunch of theiving tossers have been doing the same to me for at least 12 months. Not impressed
Posted by: steve | March 22, 2007 at 08:35 PM
I have been had too!!! As I Paid by Debit Card for my Vistaprint order, I have no protection and therefore no chance of a refund from Lloyds even if I could prove it a fraudulent transaction.
My only hope is that Vista Print action the refund from this Clubprem.com bunch of thieves that they have promised.
I called the Jamaica Call Centre on 08000288251 and have been told that I can expect an email from Vista print confirming my cancellation and then another from Clubprem.com advising me of my refund details (amount, date etc), not that I believe for a moment that I will actually ever hear from them!!!
But I live in hope as £60 is much more than I can afford to lose.
Posted by: Sam | March 29, 2007 at 02:30 PM
i too have just noticed iv been scammed i took up an offer of a personalised calender with my own photos etc and have now been charged with no notification i will be e-mailing watchdog and also phoning my card company and anywhere else i can to get this stopped thieving gits !!!!!!!!!
Posted by: zoe williams | April 05, 2007 at 09:13 AM
Last year I ordered cards for our property in Bulgaria and miraculously became a member of this site, but thought I must have clicked somewhere by mistake, until I also recently ordered business cards for my Husband who has suddenly become an unaware member of this site too at the cost £9.95 per month.
How is this possible.
The strange thing is the same thing happened to me when I ordered flowers from Interflor, clicked on a link this time, but interflora took it upon themselves to allow this company access to my credit card details and I was told I had joined a site at £10.00 per month.
My first question is why these sites are allowed to claim they are a secure site, when they blatantly give out your details without permission. Secondly, I was under the impression that your bank would require proof that you had given permission to a company to take money from your account.
Thanks for allowing me to rant and would be more than happy to testify to all of the above.
Posted by: Dawn | April 16, 2007 at 12:39 PM
I have just experienced the same thing with what I think must be interflora. I was just checking my bank balance online and noticed a charge for £8.00 to shopperdiscounts.com, who i had never heard of, so i called my bank and said it was a fraudulent charge as i have no knowledge of it, they have cancelled my card and are sending out a new one and some forms to fill in.
It is only now having done a few searches that I have traced it back to buying flowers for mothers day from interflora, about 1 month ago. There was nothing that i recall 'signing' up to on their site.
So my claim is still going through as fraud on my account, as this is no different to someone in the street getting hold of your details and using them to buy things, it is basicly theft as far as I can see.
From now on I will be very wary of buying things on line.
Posted by: Steve | April 18, 2007 at 10:54 PM
I have just seen the £9.95 charge on my credit card for the last three months and could not believe it. Morganstanley gave me a 0800 number to call within 5 seconds of complaining so they are fully aware of this scam. They did state that the money would be reclaimed by them back into my account. Maybe we should bombard their Vistaprint business mail accounts with 1000’s of large e-mails each, every day for a few weeks. This might just make them realize that revenge can be a nice feeling………
Posted by: Freddie | April 19, 2007 at 06:13 PM
Gutted. Found out Ive been scammed, but by two affifiates at the same time : VP Rewards.com and Clubprem.com who both have been taking £9.95 from my account each month. Just emailing Watchdog now...
Posted by: Mary | April 22, 2007 at 06:57 AM
I seem to be on the recieving end of this scam too..I started a small business 3 months ago and vistaprint seemed reasonably priced and the freebies were great, oh but haven't I paid for them since! Lloyds have been great helping me cancel and sort out the mess, let's see if we get any cash back
Posted by: Tracey Edwards | April 23, 2007 at 03:14 PM
yES, THEY HAVE HAD ME TOO, WHEN i CONTACTED MY CREDIT CARD COMPANY THEY TOLD ME TO WRITE TO THEM AND THEY WOULD SEND IT TO VPREWARDS BANK. They appeared aware of this scam.
Please please contact watchdog.
Posted by: Janet Jones | April 23, 2007 at 06:25 PM
Hi - I too have been signed up to this without realising. I spoke to a person on 08456722002 who is apparently going to reimburse the money. I remember the website offering a £10 credit if I filled out an online questionaire, but as soon as there was any metion to signing up to a scheme I quit out. I am IT literate and have consulted on multi-million pound websites in my working life, so it's very hard to pull the wool over my eyes. It is clear to me that the marketing is ambiguous on purpose for this scheme, and I have made a complaint on the number above. They also claimed an email was sent to me confirming I'd signed up to the scheme, which was not true. They even did the classic "quoting a wrong email address" trick to try and make out it was a typo that I didn't receive the email: i.e. they had tried to email me. As it happens the "wrong" email address they quoted would have got through to me anyway, so this was definately a lie. I just don't see why if it's such a great rewards sceme they can't make it clear what you are signing up to - in my opinion a clear decision has been made here to favour confusion over clarity.
The real shame is I thought the business card service was good enough on its own to generate business without having to resort to this.
Posted by: Sam | April 26, 2007 at 11:19 AM
Sadly this is still happening as my partner has just found out. She contacted barclaycard a month ago as soon as she realised and they still made the payments. She has been unable to contact any source at Vistaprint. She too has had to cancel her card to avoid any further scam. This cannot be allowed to continue and surely should be criminally investigated. Or better still covered by watchdog.
Posted by: Rob | April 26, 2007 at 12:09 PM