Clarus Marketing Group
Mysterious $11.62 Charge on Bank Statement After Book Purchase

My wife's cousin recently took a look at her bank statement and realized that she had a mysterious charge for $11.62 from some "CMG*Freeshipping.com." When we attempted to call the number, we received "The number you have dialed is no longer in service." This truly was mysterious, and I feared that she had been the victim of some form of fraud. As it turns out, I was right.

We did a little digging and discovered that this group is a frequent annoyance to internet consumers. You can see hundreds of such angry people at this site. She had purchased a book from half.com and inadvertently signed up for this CMG service in the guise of a free shipping option. This infuriates me, as I have had past experiences with these sorts of parasitic "marketing firms," and they can cost you hundreds of dollars and an infinite amount of grief before the issue gets resolved.

I made sure we zeroed in on a real number and called right away. The woman was initially friendly and said she would cancel the subscription. However, when I said that we did not authorize this charge and wanted it refunded, she immediately started yelling and talking over me, repeatedly telling me "I'm sorry sir, she signed up for our service and obviously knew what she was doing." Now I was angry. I let them know I thought they were engaging in deceitful and unethical practices and that I would file a report with the BBB. She told me that she would not work for an unethical company. After all of this nonsense, my wife's cousin immediately called the bank and had them issue a chargeback against this as an unauthorized charge.

Don't get me wrong, I generally believe in the principle of a free market and "caveat emptor," however, these principles should never be used as a convenient excuse for fraud through the use of snow job fine print and shell game agreements. As a consumer you have the right to define what sort of environment you want to shop in. I for one do not want to have to worry and spend hours reading lengthy agreements every time I purchase something. I should not have to alter my buying behavior under duress from unscrupulous marketing firms. All consumers should speak up and make the parties involved change their deceptive behavior.

This is why I would strongly encourage anyone who has dealt with these yahoos to call them and let them know what you think of their business practices. If you don't get satisfaction, call your credit card company, get a chargeback going, then file a complaint with the BBB. By the way, if you're having trouble contacting Freeshipping.com or one of its associates, this number worked for me: 1-800-869-5597. Cheers and good luck.

Company: Clarus Marketing Group
Country: USA
State: Connecticut
City: Wethersfield
Address: PO Box 290728 Wethersfield, CT 06129-0728
Phone: 8605297990
Site: freeshipping.com

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