Membership Fraud-Pre-acquired account marketing
In 2005 and in Gary Johnson's firm operating under a variety of names, listed below, obtained either my bank account information or my credit card information and began an unauthorized monthly debit from my bank account. How he obtained this information is unknown to me. The various company representatives I talked with insist that I voluntarily signed up for his companies membership benefits. I did no such thing—nor would I ever consider signing up for any monthly membership benefits organization.
This matter appears as membership fraud, pre-acquired account marketing.
There is an abundance of information regarding this matter on the web, especially Gary Johnson's varfious companies, Shopping Essentials, Adaptive Marketing, Ventrue, Memberworks, Connections.
Contacting the company by their various phone numbers and going up the ladder of authorization has lead to a complete refund. The refund was not obtained on the first level of authorization, but was provided on the second level of authorization, the supervisor level. The refund was not initially offered, but after repeated discussion with mention of the various legal organizations involved in this type fraud, the supervisor agreed to the full refund.
The best approach towards stopping Gary Johnson's activity is by contacting your various representatives, the Attorney General of your State, who may or may not take action, the Better Bureau Administration, The Federal Trade Commision, since one of his companies answering services is in Canada, and posting web information such as this.
Various Company Names
Shopping Essentials, Adaptive Marketing, Ventrue, Memberworks, Connections
Information from Stock Market Registration Data & Reports
Officers, Board of Directors, Attorney General of MN, AL
Age as of 2005
Gary A. Johnson—48
Adaptive Marketing
President, CEO
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901
James Duffy—49
Adaptive Marketing
CFO, Executive VP
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901
Vincent DiBenedetto—46
Adaptive Marketing
Executive VP
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901
William Olson—45
Adaptive Marketing
Executive Vice President
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901
Membership Services
P.O. Box 5152
Des Plaines, IL 60017-5152
David Schachne—42
Executive Vice President
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901
Alec L. Ellison
Broadview International, LLC
520 Madison Avenue
10th Floor
Scott Flanders
Chairman and CEO
Columbia House Company
1221 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Robert Kamerschen
Retired, Chairman and CEO
ADVO, Inc
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901
Edward M. Stern, President & CEO
CHI Energy
1155 Rene Levesque Boulevard W., Suite 1715
Montreal, Quebec H3B 3Z7
Marc S. Tesler
Technology Crossover Ventures, LP
528 Ramona Street
Palo Alto, California 94301 William Olsen
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901
Pascal J. Brun, President
CHI Canada Inc.
1155 Rene Levesque Boulevard W., Suite 1715
Montreal, Quebec H3B 3Z7
Edward M. Stern, President & CEO
One Tech Drive
Suite 220
Andover, MA 01810
Senior Manager of Client Sales Support
Connections
P.O. Box 24128
Omaha, NE 68124-0128
Adaptive Marketing
9500 West Dodge Road
Omaha, NE 68114
Mike Hatch
Attorney General
State Capitol, Ste. 102,
St. Paul, MN 55155
Troy King
Attorney General
State House, 11 S. Union St. Montgomery, AL 36130
60 Minutes
CBS News
524 W. 57th St.
New York, NY, 10019
Ms. Rhonda Lee Barber
Consumer Specialist
State of Alabama Office of the Attorney General
Alabama State House
11 South Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
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