Vertrue, ex-MWI

MWI • Consumer complaints • Act fast! • It adds up • Who did it? • Lightning strikes twice • What to do • Sample letter --- • Vertrue - the parent • An insider's view --- News • MWI Will Pay $1 Million to Settle Florida Suit • Minnesota Sues MemberWorks

Vertrue Incorporated
Mr. James B. Duffy
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
680 Washington Blvd
Stamford, CT 06901

Phone 203-324-7635
Fax 203-674-7080

This is one of a rash of "negative-option" schemes now making the rounds. Companies like Vertrue (formerly MWI, alias MemberWorks Inc.) enroll you in their plan without your asking and it's up to you to cancel the enrollment. Often cancelling isn't enough and more drastic action is needed.

MWI and its cousin Simple Escapes have any number of schemes -- oops, sorry, make that services -- including:

• MWI Essentials
• MWI Connections
• MWI Galleria
• MWI Home and Garden
• MWI Homeworks
• MWI Premier Health
• MWI Vital Home Club

No one seems quite sure just what each of these might do. But one thing is for sure -- they are all very fast to slap charges on your credit card, as the complaints below show.

• Act fast! Another month is close behind.
• It adds up That's right, those monthly charges add up quickly.
• Who gave them my name? Just how MWI got your credit card number is something you may never know ... but the nearest infomercial is a good bet.
• Lightning strikes twice Some unlucky souls get themselves out of this mess only to fall back into it a year or two later.

Most importantly ...

• What Can I Do?

Here are a few of the more recent complaints:

Annmarie/st. of Brooklyn, NY April 8, 2009

This is a church Rectory with a 2 line phone. We recently brought the telephone numbers from another company to Verizon. What is supposed to happen is when one line is busy, it is supposed to roll over to the next line. I have called them at least 5 times because it is not working. each time I call I am on the phone with them for at least 30 minutes, but only twice did I get a confirmation number, and when I check the status, I am told the order is complete, yet the phone lines are still not working properly. My pastor is missing important phone calls.

Our church is at the beginning of a very important transition, and we are getting calls from key people in the church and Roman Catholic Diocese, and missing these phone calls could delay this necessary transition.

Don of Omaha, NE December 20, 2007

On December 14, 2007 I discovered a questionable charge of 249.95 on my bank cash card account from something called Simply You. Having no idea what this was, I called the phone number ( 888-242-0180) listed with the charge. I told the rep that I didn't know what this was and he said that it was some kind of membership that I had become involved in resulting from a purchase I made in 2003! I asked to have this credited immediately and he wanted to send me some kind of trial material first. I remember it having something to do with discounts and rebates on certain services and products. Wanting nothing to do with this, I insisted on the credit and he said it would be processed, which it was a few days later.

After hanging up, I was suspicious and so I looked my old bank statements back to 2003. I found the original purchase which was for 27.44 in February 2003. I don't remember what this was for and I certainly don't recall enrolling in any kind of 'membership'. I found the first yearly charge from Simply You in Dec 2003 for 109.95. Then each December from then on they were sticking me a charge. Here they are: Dec 2003, 109.95, Dec 2004, 199.95, Dec 2005, 219.95, Dec 2006, 239.95 and Dec 2007, 249.95. All total 1,019.75. As I said earlier, I have received credit of 249.95 for the Dec 2007 charge but that leaves a total of 769.80 in bogus fraudulent charges to me. I have initiated a claim with the Neb BBB and have reported this to the Neb Attorney General. I have sent emails directly to Vertrue and they are not answering me. I am thinking about paying a personal call to their offices in Omaha to see if that accomplishes anything.

Alexander of New Brighton, MN December 19, 2007

I have unauthorized credi card charges from Vertrue companies: Health Trends, Simply Yours, Pharmacy Gold, and Dealmax.

I cannot reach Health Trends to cancel. I will have to cancel the credit card.

Stephanie of Westerly, RI February 18, 2007

My credit card was charged 109.95 on 16 Feb 2007 by this organization. The charge was under the name "Victoria's Secret Escapes”. I never, ever authorized this. I use my credit card to cover gasoline and grocery expenses, 109.95 less is a significant hit.

Terry of Indianapolis, IN July 29, 2006

Their AP9 Companies have taken 537.30 out of my checking account without my approval, even after I have talked with them about it. I want them to stop removing money from my account and give all my money back in full.

Andrew of Jersey City, NJ October 29, 2005

I have been a longterm customer of Truecredit.com (owned by TransUnion). After I logged onton Truecredit.com, a service that I pay for, they offered me a free 25 Lowes card, in the middle of page beween my name and credit information. I clicked on the link and they went ahead and sent all my personal information to Vertrue Incorporated.

Truecredit sent my Credit Card Information, Name, Address and phone number. This was clearly against their privacy policy and unauthorized fraudulent charges. I am a computer security expert and was defrauded because Truesecure, a company I pay to protect me against identity theft, actually gave my personal and financial information to a fraudulent company knowingly. Please put me in touch with an attorney so I can seek Punitive Damages.

I was chared 9.95 on my credit card for the past 7 months.

Sharon of Fort Lauderdale, FL July 2, 2005

Our credit card was charged without our consent. When we called to inquire, Sara insisted we had received information in the mail for a 30-day free trial and a free gas card. When I explained to her that we never received the information and we did not want to subscribe to the program, she again tried to convince me to accept another 30 day free trial and she would send the information in the mail. I had to get angry with her and tell her 3 times that I did not ask for the information, I did not want anything to do with the program and to please cancel whatever it was and credit my charge card. She finally said she would do that.

After I contacted my credit card company, they advised me to call this company back and make sure any earlier charges were also credited because we had been charged for 5 months starting in February. I called back, spoke with Lindsey who tried to tell me she could not give me credit for any earlier charges because we had benefit of the program during that time. I told her we did not ask for the program, we did not subscribe to it and we did not receive any benefits. I asked to speak to a supervisor, David, who without any further questions or comments, agreed to give me my full credit from February.

These bogus charges increased my credit card debt,making it more difficult to pay my balance down. We are in the process of trying to buy a home, and these charges appear frivolous and unnecessary and make my credit record look bad.

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