Zenithal Online Fraud

What happens is, if you go online for shopping to one of the partner websites of Shoppers Discount, such as Buy.com or Frangrance.net, they sell your credit card information to Shoppers Discount. After you complete your order, they’ll show you a dialogue box saying something like “Would you like a 10% discount on your next purchase?” or “Would you like to receive a $20 off coupon?”. You would naturally select “Yes” and fall prey of an e-fraud. They’ll get your card information from the order which you just placed and start charging you on monthly basis.

Almost a year ago, if customers would find that this fraudulent company has been charging them for a membership they never subscribed for, they would call this company and get their mendaciously established membership cancelled, plus, they would get a complete refund. Yes, this notorious company used to give a full refund to its preys. But that didn’t last more than a few months; later on, they changed their company policy. Now, if you are one of the victims like me, they would straight tell you that only 2 month’s charges will be refunded, for the rest of the refund you need to fill a form (which again requires you to enter your credit card and address information) and send them back via postal mail and then wait for 30 days, until company’s executive makes a decision on your claim. If company’s executive feels that your billing was unauthorized then he/she might have mercy on you and refund your money.

This is a piece of Bull Crap! Why should I wait for 30 days to get my money back that was fraudulently charged from my credit card? It’s the wicked collaboration of Shoppers Discount and Buy.com that is causing aggravation among zillions of other customers just like me. Phone number provided on their website also doesn’t work, which is a clear proof of their spuriousness. These people should be ashamed of themselves for doing such a nasty business. Customer Service Representatives at this company, who are being used by their evil managers and directors, should resign and prefer a life with honor and grace instead of being devil’s factotums. It seems we are completely at the mercy of these 21^st century’s modern e-thugs, who can manipulate online shoppers as they choose to.

The complete official information of this company given by BBB is as follows:

Address(s)

• 101 Merritt Seven, 7th Floor
  Norwalk, CT 06851

• 6 Corporate Drive(Customer Service Offices)
  Shelton, CT 06848

• PO Box 855
  Shelton, CT 06484-0907

Contact: Ms. Aida Butler

Phone: 1-800-889-877 ext 6

Fax: 203 846-4100

Website: www.shopperdiscountsandrewards.com

 

How to Get Your Money Back from Devils?

If you are one of the victims of this devil company then don’t miss following lines. First of all visit the following link and understand the network of devil companies:
 

http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/webloyalty.com
 

So if you have been charged by any of the following companies, you have been charged by WobLoyalty, Inc; because they are all sister organizations and they are all equally wicked:

 

• www.WebLoyalty.com
• www.BuyerAssurance.com
• www.WobLoyalty.com.uk
• www.WalletSheild.com
• www.TravelValuesPlus.com
• www.ShopperDiscountsAndRewards.com
• www.ReservationRewards.com
• www.Product-Testimonials.com
• www.LiftMedianic.com

 

Well, if you are in US then getting your money back from devils is a 3 step process:
 

1. Call WebLoyalty, Inc. (phone number given above or can be found at respective organization’s website) and ask them to cancel your membership immediately and refund all of your money. They would refund 2 month’s charges immediately and would refuse to give a complete refund. Once you get 2 month’s charges back in your credit card, go to step 2.
2. Call your credit card bank and dispute all the charges from WebLoyalty, Inc (or any of its sister organization). Bank would welcome your disputes and would take at least a month to cancel 2 more transactions. Right after calling your bank and disputing these charges, go to step 3 if devils have charged you longer than 4 months.
3. Go to BBB’s website (link given above) and file a complaint against this company. In 30 days, you’ll get all of your money back.

 

For the benefit of those who don’t know how to file a complaint and/or think they don’t have good written communication skills, I am giving the text of my correspondence with BBB as follows. Albeit it’s not the best way to file the complaint, but it’s good enough to get all of your money back!

 
*********************************************************************************
 
COMPLAINT ACTIVITY REPORT  Case # #######           Better Business Bureau, Inc.

 

Consumer Info:            Mukhtar, Mukarram                    Business Info: Webloyalty.com, Inc.

                                                                                                            203 846-3300

 
Location Involved:       (Same as above)

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Consumer’s Original Complaint :

I purchased some electronic equipment, online at Buy.com in September 2008. Buy.com gave my credit card information to Shoppers Discount & Rewards without my consent. Since then Shoppers Discount & Rewards aka Webloyalty.com, Inc has been charging my credit card a monthly bill of $12.00 for a service membership (membership #: #########) that I never subscribed for. I contacted Shoppers Discount & Rewards through e-mail and requested them to cancel my membership and refund my money. They agreed to refund only 2 month’s charges and told me that in order to get a full refund; I need to wait for 30 days and fill a form and send it to them via postal mail. The form, they ask to fill, again requires credit card and address information which I’m not comfortable and willing to give them; nor I’m willing to wait for 30 days. They told me that if I don’t give my credit card and address information then I can’t get my money back.
 

Consumer’s Desired Resolution:

I want a complete refund of my money.I’ve search on internet and found that there are hundreds and thousands of customers who are victim of their mendaciously established so-called membership. I’ve also understood that it’s the wicked collaboration of Shoppers Discount and Buy.com that is causing frustration and aggravation among zillions of other customers just like me, e.g. take a look at this link:
 

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/shopper-discounts-c72280.html

Ideally speaking, this company should not be allowed to do their fraudulent business any more, CEO should be arrested and all higher management people, who allowed these malicious tactics, should be incarcerated.
 

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BBB Processing

 

03/23/2009          web   BBB     Case Received by BBB

04/03/2009          Otto    BBB     Case Reviewed by BBB

04/06/2009          OttO   EMAIL  Send Acknowledgement to Consumer

04/06/2009          OttO   EMAIL  Notify Business of Dispute

04/20/2009          WEB   BBB     RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE : April 20, 2009

 

            Ms. Patricia D. Sturm

            Support Manager, Inquiry/Complaint Dept.

            Better Business Bureau, Inc.

            94 South Turnpike Road

            Wallingford, CT   06492

            Re:  Mr. Mukarram Mukhtar

 

            Dear Ms. Sturm:

             

            This letter is a response to your correspondence of April 6, 2009, regarding the complaint of Mr. Mukarram Mukhtar.

 

            Our records show that Mr. Mukhtar, completed an online transaction at http://www.Buy.com on August 21, 2008. After completing the transaction he was offered a free 30-day trial of our Shopper Discounts & Rewards service and ”$10 Off Your Next Purchase” for trying our service, which he accepted. 

 

            Mr. Mukhtar accepted the trial membership offer for Shopper Discounts & Rewards by entering the email address mukarram@hotmail.com twice and then clicking the ”YES!” button on the page (a copy of this form and a hard copy of this letter is being mailed directly to the customer under separate cover). Immediately to the left of the ”YES!” button are the ”Offer and Billing Details.”  The Offer and Billing Details set forth the terms of the offer, including the $12 monthly membership fee following the free trial and advise the consumer that the fee will be billed to the credit or debit card he used for his transaction with Buy.com. Immediately above the location on the offer page where Mr. Mukhtar entered his email address twice and clicked ”Yes” is the following statement: ”By entering my email address as my electronic signature and clicking YES, I have read and agree to the Offer and Billing Details and authorize Buy.com to securely transfer my name, address and credit or debit card information to Shopper Discounts & Rewards for billing and benefit processing.”

 

            Thus, by accepting the offer, Mr. Mukhtar agreed that the Shopper Discounts & Rewards $12 monthly membership fee would be billed to the credit or debit card used in connection with his transaction with Buy.com. Immediately after clicking the ”YES!” button, Mr. Mukhtar was taken to another screen welcoming him to the program. This page advised Mr. Mukhtar that he had just joined Shopper Discounts & Rewards. Within the next few minutes, Mr. Mukhtar was sent two emails from us including his membership kit and password and reminding him to use his ”$10 Off Your Next Purchase.”

 

            On August 22, 2008, we sent Mr. Mukhtar an email explaining how to access the Shopper Discounts & Rewards membership. On August 23, 2008, we sent Mr. Mukhtar an email with the PIN code assigned to his ”$10 Off Your Next Purchase.” On August 28, 2008, we sent Mr. Mukhtar an email reminding him to use the benefits of his membership. On September 8, 2008, we sent Mr. Mukhtar an email to remind him that the free trial membership would conclude on September 19, 2008 and at that time, he would be billed the monthly membership fee. The email also included our toll-free telephone number if he wished to cancel, in which event, he would not be charged. 

 

            Mr. Mukhtar was charged the first $12 monthly membership fee at the end of his free trial membership on September 20, 2008. That same day, we sent Mr. Mukhtar an email reminding him of the benefits of the membership. Mr. Mukhtar was charged the monthly membership fee from September of 2008 to March of 2009. In addition, we continued to send emails to Mr. Mukhtar on the following dates: October 20, 2008, November 19, 2008, December 19, 2008, January 18, 2009, February 17, 2009, and March 19, 2009 reminding him to use all the benefits of the Shopper Discounts & Rewards service.

 

            On March 23, 2009, Mr. Mukhtar sent an email to Reservation Rewards and requested information about his membership. The Shopper Discounts & Rewards customer service representative who handled the email explained how the membership was joined. As requested, his Shopper Discounts & Rewards membership was cancelled. Mr. Mukhtar also requested a refund at that time. Consistent with company practice, we provided a refund of two months of membership fees. An email was sent to the email address on file with the membership, confirming the cancellation and pending refund. These refunds were processed the next day, on March 24, 2009, and should already appear as credits to his account. Mr. Mukhtar was informed in an email that we may provide refunds above the amounts set forth above if a consumer believes charges relating to our service are the result of unauthorized activity. If Mr. Mukhtar believed certain account activity on his credit or debit card was unauthorized, he could request a full refund by going to the website below, completing the affidavit we provided and returning it to us.

 

            https://www.member-center.com/Forms/Affidavit/Index.rails?c=5A9C9C242715F7F335A2372705AF3A9A74EBD81EE5364038B3F7BD6A2B77579D

 

            If Mr. Mukhtar completes the affidavit we provided and returns it to us, we will review his request and respond by email with our determination regarding the claim within thirty (30) days of our receipt of all required information and documentation.

  

            We believe we treated Mr. Mukhtar in a fair and correct manner, and our records reflect that Mr. Mukhtar took several affirmative steps to sign up for the Shopper Discounts & Rewards service and received multiple communications from us, including a pre-billing notification, prior to the first charge on his credit or debit card.  We trust this resolves this matter, however, if you have questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

            Sincerely,

            Adam Magrath

            Customer Service Legal Liaison

 

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04/24/2009          cmh   EMAIL  Forward Business Response to Consumer

04/27/2009          WEB   BBB     RECEIVED CONSUMER RESPONSE/REBUTTAL : (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT ACCEPT the response from the business.)

 

Dear Ms. Sturm,

This letter is in response to your e-mail, dated: April 27, 2009, regarding Mr. Adam Magrath’s reply to my complaint.

Rejoinder:
Mr. Magrath’s reply didn’t help in resolving the issue at all. Instead he just expatiated on his company’s fabricated story that I subscribed for a membership, while I clearly remember that I did not accept any membership offer from his company. I want to drive your attention to the preposterous reason Mr. Magrath gave: “$10 Off Your Next Purchase for trying our service, which he accepted”. Would any sane person accept a membership that gives “$10 off on the next purchase” with $12 monthly fees? What good this membership is, if it gives me $10 discount on my next purchase and charges me $12 every month?

Mr. Magrath can happily think that his company records can be used to show that I subscribed for a membership; however, as a software engineer I very well understand how easy it is to change user’s response on a web application or tamper records in a database.

As Mr. Magrath claims that his company sent me several e-mails, reminders and warnings at couple of occasions; he doesn’t have a single piece of e-mail which he received from me. My question is, since Mr. Magrath didn’t receive a single piece of e-mail from me, what are those “several affirmative steps” of mine that made Mr. Magrath believe that I’m interested in the membership? And let me please explain that I never ever, received any of these e-mails that Mr. Magrath claims.

If Shopper Discounts is treating their customers “in a fair and correct manner” then why there are zillions of online customers anathematizing this fraudulent company? I would request you to spare one or two minutes and enter the following string in Google search and see how many people are complaining against this company:

“Scam Webloyalty, Inc Fraud”

Or visit this link:

http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/webloyalty.com
Long story short, Mr. Magrath’s whole response is full of contradictions. I think his sole purpose for writing this protracted response was to add fluff, waste our time and digress from the actual issue under discussion.

Lastly, please allow me to share another paradox in Mr. Magrath’s response, on one hand, in his response he insists that my money can only be refunded if I complete his company’s affidavit on the given web link; and on the other hand I received an e-mail from Shopper Discounts that all of my money will be refunded in a few days. I’ll update you as soon as I receive the refund. Nonetheless, in order to save naïve and innocent online customers in future, I would still request you to take firm actions to get this company out of business and/or held responsible people behind bars.

 
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Following is the e-mail I received from Shopper Discounts a couple of days after I filed case at BBB:

 Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:09:30 -0400
From: customerservice@shopperdiscountsandrewards.co.uk
Subject: Shopper Discounts & Rewards Refund Request Processed T20090423098AS050Z416215
To: mukarram@hotmail.com
CC:

Dear Mukarram,

Thank you for contacting Shopper Discounts & Rewards. We have received your request for additional refunds. As an accommodation, we are issuing an additional five $12.00 refunds to the credit card listed in your membership profile. If you require further assistance, please contact our Customer Service Department at 800-889-8776. Our Customer Service Representatives are available Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 11:00 pm, Saturday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sunday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST.

Sincerely,
Tammy
Rep ID 57349
The Shopper Discounts & Rewards Correspondence Team
customerservice@shopperdiscountsandrewards.com

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Fruit of The Above Case:

I received all of my money back after a few days! 🙂

  

Moral: Check your credit cards monthly statement carefully and NEVER SHOP at WebLoyalty, Inc or any of its sister organizations’ websites.

  

References:

 
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/shopper-discounts-c72280.html

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/scam_alerts/shoppers.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/485779/avoiding_or_dealing_with_the_wlishoppers.html?cat=3

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/143/RipOff0143937.htm