Angela
01-May-08, 18:08
Today I noticed an £8 charge on my credit card that I couldn't account for.
The merchant was SHOPPING DISCOUNTS. A little googling found the above company and further investigations took me to other websites where I could see I wasn't alone in having unwittingly subscribed to a service I don't want -certainly not at £8 a month.
Possibly other Orgers may already be aware of this scam and there may have been threads about it before, but maybe I can save someone else some inconvenience and expense. What happens is that when you make an online purchase, your details- including your credit/debit card details - are passed on by the seller to shoppersdiscountsandrewards, who sign you up to their membership scheme and charge you £8 every month for the dubious privilege.
In my case, I think I made the mistake of clicking on a money off voucher for my next purchase of printer cartridges, without realising that this would also commit me to joining shoppersdiscountsandrewards. [evil]
Now I'm trying to get my membership cancelled and my £8 refunded. It's not proving easy! When I called them I was told to key in either my membership number (which I don't have) or my credit card number (as if!)...I can't unsubscribe through their website - I've tried logging in with my email address and then requesting my password, since I don't know what it is, only to get the response that the site doesn't recognise my email. :confused
I've emailed their customer services but unsurprisingly I've had no response so far. My credit card company have asked me to write to their disputes department about the problem.
So this is just a warning to other folk to be cautious about clicking on money off vouchers even when the seller is reputable. I believe Interflora have also been party to this. Although £8 is a small sum, I am absolutely furious to have had my credit card details 'harvested', passed on and used without my explicit consent. [evil]
The merchant was SHOPPING DISCOUNTS. A little googling found the above company and further investigations took me to other websites where I could see I wasn't alone in having unwittingly subscribed to a service I don't want -certainly not at £8 a month.
Possibly other Orgers may already be aware of this scam and there may have been threads about it before, but maybe I can save someone else some inconvenience and expense. What happens is that when you make an online purchase, your details- including your credit/debit card details - are passed on by the seller to shoppersdiscountsandrewards, who sign you up to their membership scheme and charge you £8 every month for the dubious privilege.
In my case, I think I made the mistake of clicking on a money off voucher for my next purchase of printer cartridges, without realising that this would also commit me to joining shoppersdiscountsandrewards. [evil]
Now I'm trying to get my membership cancelled and my £8 refunded. It's not proving easy! When I called them I was told to key in either my membership number (which I don't have) or my credit card number (as if!)...I can't unsubscribe through their website - I've tried logging in with my email address and then requesting my password, since I don't know what it is, only to get the response that the site doesn't recognise my email. :confused
I've emailed their customer services but unsurprisingly I've had no response so far. My credit card company have asked me to write to their disputes department about the problem.
So this is just a warning to other folk to be cautious about clicking on money off vouchers even when the seller is reputable. I believe Interflora have also been party to this. Although £8 is a small sum, I am absolutely furious to have had my credit card details 'harvested', passed on and used without my explicit consent. [evil]