IAC INTERACTIVE CORP, TICKETMASTER, ENTERTAINMENT.COM Ripoff from well known company IAC OWNS TICKETMASTER AND OTHERS New York Nationwide
The following has been sent to ABC News, times dispatch, Washington post and various consumer advocate websites.
I am trying to alert the mass public about what I believe is an Internet scam by a company that owns what most consumers believe to be reputable companies. I think they are getting away with this because it is such a low dollar amount; it is not being addressed by the authorities. Below is a letter that I have sent to Attorneys General of various states, local consumer reporters and other media to try to investigate whether their practices are fraudulent or not. At this point I have no response yet, except they are looking into it, from the company. Since this I have found that the Better Business Bureau has given them an unsatisfactory rating due to complaint resolutions and that they also own the USA Network and the Sci-Fi channel among other ventures.
I have been alarmed at a situation with what I believe is internet fraud/scamming from a company a large company.
My situation started when I ordered tickets from a company called ticketmaster. I have heard of ticketmaster for years and had complete faith in the company ordering tickets for an out of town sporting event over the Memorial Day weekend. I ordered the tickets and everything went smoothly. The next month a charge showed up for $9.99 on my bank/debit card statement that I couldn't identify. It was listed as TLG*GreatFn17951. I thought it was for incidental items purchased on my trip. It showed up again in June. I contacted my bank and they gave me the name of the Merchant and contacted them.
They said I had signed up for a free trial to Entertainment.com, a coupon saver service (http://www.entertainment.com/). I told them I didn't remember that and wanted to cancel. I figured I was out $19.98 but I could live with that. The charge showed up again for July. I called again. They said they had no record of me. I told them I wanted cancellation immediately, tried to cajole me into accepting another free offer. I declined. The charges appeared in August. This time I cancelled over their internet site. Then they appeared again in September.
Yesterday, I began checking on them, finally realizing I was being scammed. I went to ripoffreport.com/reports/ website that lists web scam information and found other people listed. I contacted them yesterday. They seem very helpful. The person on the other line told me to fax the statements and she would take care of it. If you check rip-off report you will know they won't do anything. I then wanted to contact ticketmaster to inform them of one of their business partners. I found that their parent company is IAC interactive company. They are also the parent company of Enterntainment.com. The woman at IAC told me to send her an e-mail and she would get back to me. I am not expecting a response. I also found out that IAC owns these companies:
Ask Jeeves | Citysearch | Classic Custom Vacations | Entertainment.com | Evite | Expedia | Gifts.com | Hotels.com
Hotwire | HSN | ImprovementCatalog.com | Interval International | LendingTree | liveDaily | Match.com
RealEstate.com | ReserveAmerica | Ticketmaster | TripAdvisor | VacationSpot.com
that I thought were legitimate. Sites a lot of people use everyday.
These people are running a great SCAM. I wanted to let someone know who had some influence.
This astounded me. This was not a scam from a Nigerian businessman, low interest mortgage or a request for pharmaceuticals overseas
Christopher
richmond, Virginia
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
C
Richmond,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Thanks for the update!
#5Consumer Comment
Tue, September 20, 2005
I hope when this matter is resolved through the legal avenues they will be able to produce proof of what they are saying. I hope the readers realize how large a corp. this is. They reported 1.2 BILLION dollars in revenue in the 2quarter of 05. Some of their board of directors include Dianne Von Furstenburg and General Swarzcopf. I have been requesting a cancellation and refund since July and have received nothing but a response they will get back to me or they have no record of my name, number or e-mail.
C
Richmond,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Thanks for the update!
#5Consumer Comment
Tue, September 20, 2005
I hope when this matter is resolved through the legal avenues they will be able to produce proof of what they are saying. I hope the readers realize how large a corp. this is. They reported 1.2 BILLION dollars in revenue in the 2quarter of 05. Some of their board of directors include Dianne Von Furstenburg and General Swarzcopf. I have been requesting a cancellation and refund since July and have received nothing but a response they will get back to me or they have no record of my name, number or e-mail.
C
Richmond,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Thanks for the update!
#5Consumer Comment
Tue, September 20, 2005
I hope when this matter is resolved through the legal avenues they will be able to produce proof of what they are saying. I hope the readers realize how large a corp. this is. They reported 1.2 BILLION dollars in revenue in the 2quarter of 05. Some of their board of directors include Dianne Von Furstenburg and General Swarzcopf. I have been requesting a cancellation and refund since July and have received nothing but a response they will get back to me or they have no record of my name, number or e-mail.
Natalie
Cordova,Tennessee,
U.S.A.
IAC's Answer to BBB Complaint I filed
#5Consumer Suggestion
Tue, September 20, 2005
I applaud your efforts as I too was a victim of this scam but they will credit your bank account if you call them and insist to speak to a supervisor. I was successful in getting my refund although it took several calls. You can check for further details by researching my own report. Afterward, I also filed a complaint with the BBB & here's what the BBB rec'd from the company as their defense. It's as follows:
September 19, 2005
Better Business Bureau of Detroit & Eastern Michigan
Attn: Carmel Weems
30555 Southfield Road, Suite 200
Southfield, MI 48076-7751
RE: Natalie Gabel
Complaint ID# 54002337
Dear Ms. Weems:
This will confirm receipt of Ms. Gabel's complaint concerning a consumer rewards program called Entertainment RewardsSM offered by Entertainment Publications, Inc. (Entertainment).
Upon the conclusion of a purchase transaction on the www.ticketmaster.com confirmation page, Ms. Gabel was given the opportunity to opt into the Entertainment RewardsSM program. The confirmation page language states: Your order is complete. Remember to claim your $25 dollar Cash Back Award by clicking here [Continue] By clicking above, you can claim your award from the award provider Entertainment RewardsSM.
When Ms. Gabel clicked the [Continue] button, she was directed to an Entertainment RewardsSM information page where the terms of the agreement were prominently visible and clearly stated (see attached screen shots). To take advantage of the Cash Back Award and free trial Entertainment RewardsSM program, Ms. Gabel must have entered her email address twice (for security purposes) and then clicked the [YES] button to accept the terms and enroll into the Entertainment RewardsSM program. Displayed next to or above the [YES] button are the details of membership, which state:
By clicking Yes you agree to the following:
*After your free trial ends, you'll be billed $9/month. Cancel at anytime.
*You authorize Ticketmaster.com to securely send your name, address and credit card to Entertainment Publications, Inc. for benefits processing. You can change your credit card after starting your free trial.
Once Ms. Gabel enrolled in this manner, she was sent to the Entertainment RewardsSM home page, which displays the many offers available to the customer.
Following Ms. Gabel's enrollment, three separate and distinct emails were sent to her email address during the first 30 day free trial period, explaining the Entertainment RewardsSM program. Those emails also stated that, after the end of the free trial period, she would be billed $9 per month to continue receiving access to the program. Each email contained opt out options.
We are disappointed that Ms. Gabel did not take advantage of her Entertainment RewardsSM benefits. A credit of $9 has been issued to her account. Please be aware that we are offering the refund out of goodwill and are not recognizing any statutory duty.
If I can be of further assistance, please contact me.
Entertainment Publications, Inc.
Gwendolyn Koehler
Paralegal
248.404.1252
248.404.1928 fax
gkoehler@entertainment.com
This would seem like a good response if it were true. This is not the way it happened as many of you out there can attest. I would encourge all of you to file your own BBB report.