Like so many other people, I too have been ripped off by these AP9 companies. Two companies, "AP9*SHOPPING ESSENTIALS" and "AP9*VISTAPRINTRWDS" have been taking $14.95 out of my bank account each month since August.
It all started when I ordered some magnets with my daughter's picture on them from vistaprint.com. Apparently my debit card number was given (or sold) to third parties that enrolled me in "Vista Print Rewards" and "Shopping Essentials." I, unbeknownst to me, had a 30 day trial membership in each of these companies and because I didn't cancel before the trial period ended, they were authorized to charge a monthly membership fee. I however, was never notified of any membership; never received any kind of welcome package or any notice of a trial period of any kind, so how was I supposed to know I had to cancel something?!
I had noticed a couple of charges on my bank statement to "AP9*SHOPPINGESSENTIALS 800-436-6703 CT" but didn't really think anything of it. Since Danny and I both shop online and our debits cards both go to the same bank account, I just assumed it was something he had ordered. But today I saw it again and got suspicious, so I googled Shopping Essentials, and you would not believe all the people who have gotten scammed by these companies.
They do "business" under a wealth of names, but they're all pretty much the same. When I googled Shopping Essentials I found and 888 number. I called and the automated service said "Welcome to Shopping Essentials." I spoke to "Tremain #10095" and he canceled my account and said he would have to speak to his supervisor about getting me a refund. After I held for a considerable amount of time he came back and said his supervisor authorized him to credit my account back to August when the charges started.
So I got back onto my bank statement and started looking back to make sure that was when it started when I noticed the Vista Print Rewards charges, and low and behold, there was the SAME 888 number I had just called! The charge showed up as "AP9*VISTAPRINTRWDS US 888-243-6185 CT." So I called it again, and this time it said "Welcome to Vista Print Rewards." I don't know how it just happened to say something different than it did before. But when I entered my phone # to access my account like I had before, it said my account had been canceled. What? No, my Shopping Essentials account had been canceled. So I just started hitting 0 over and over until a person picked up. This time it was "Wendy #2453." She said my account had been canceled. I told her no, there were two charges from two different names coming out of my account. She looked it up and said, yes, there were two separate accounts. She did the same thing as the other account, canceled it, talked to her supervisor, authorized a refund, blah, blah, blah.
They both said I should see my credit on my account within two business days. Yeah, we'll see. All total they owe me $179.40.
I've seen these companies listed under a couple of parent company names. The Shopping Essentials one is listed under Adaptive Marketing, LLC. But I have seen others listed under Vertrue, Inc. I wonder if this company has had to shut down and start up under different names to keep from getting in trouble legally.
Please, please pay attention to your bank statements! If you see anything suspicious, especially if it has an AP9 in front of it, google it. It's probably a scam.
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