- Report: #222674
Complaint Review: Webpower - Lake Worth Florida
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Webpower
7765 Lake Worth Rd., PMB 341 Lake Worth, 33467 Florida, U.S.A.
Phone:
561-656-0500
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Webpower - Worldgroups.com ripoff Deceptive trade practices regarding use of word "Free" Lake Worth Florida
Worldgroups.com is a social networking website in the mold of Yahoo! Groups. Billing for the website's various tiers of paid subscriptions is handled by Webpower, Inc., although the contact info provided at worldgroups.com lists the owners as "Responsible Media Technologies, LLC" of 63 Remuera Road, Auckland, New Zealand. (This address happens to be a mail-drop box at a Mailboxes, Etc.; the company is not registered as a business in New Zealand.)
Worldgroups.com makes use of the adjective "free" to describe a level of membership to the site's contents (e.g. "Join for Free," "please complete the form below to activate your free WorldGroups registration," "Free Registration Form," "You will not be billed for basic free registration," "Confirm Free Registration," etc.). At the end of the registration process, an applicant must provide credit card information which, the site says, is for "restricted use; for confirmation only" (understood to be age or identity confirmation). However, the site's Terms and Conditions, available for review only upon reaching the final step of the registration process, contain mention of a $1 USD charge to the applicant's credit card, refundable as a "courtesy" only if the applicant explicitly calls and requests it. Thus, the use of the term "free" is deceptive, misleading, and not legal according to the FTC's "Guide Concerning the Use of the Word 'Free' and Similar Representations," 16 C.F.R. Sec. 251.1. This guide states in subsection C, "Disclosure of Conditions," the following:
"When making "Free" or similar offers all the terms, conditions and obligations upon which receipt and retention of the "Free" item are contingent should be set forth clearly and conspicuously at the outset of the offer so as to leave no reasonable probability that the terms of the offer might be misunderstood. Stated differently, all of the terms, conditions and obligations should appear in close conjunction with the offer of "Free" merchandise or service. For example, disclosure of the terms of the offer set forth in a footnote of an advertisement to which reference is made by an asterisk or other symbol placed next to the offer, is not regarded as making disclosure at the outset."
In summary, WorldGroups.com does not set forth "clearly and conspicuously" that the $1 will be charged at the "outset of the offer," and obviously the terms and conditions do not appear in "close conjunction" with the many uses of the word "free" to describe the level of membership.
Upon review of the circumstances surrounding this company (postal drop box address overseas, lack of response to complaints), I personally have concluded that it is a scam operation and have motioned the FTC to investigate.
Carl
Albuquerque, New Mexico
U.S.A.
Worldgroups.com makes use of the adjective "free" to describe a level of membership to the site's contents (e.g. "Join for Free," "please complete the form below to activate your free WorldGroups registration," "Free Registration Form," "You will not be billed for basic free registration," "Confirm Free Registration," etc.). At the end of the registration process, an applicant must provide credit card information which, the site says, is for "restricted use; for confirmation only" (understood to be age or identity confirmation). However, the site's Terms and Conditions, available for review only upon reaching the final step of the registration process, contain mention of a $1 USD charge to the applicant's credit card, refundable as a "courtesy" only if the applicant explicitly calls and requests it. Thus, the use of the term "free" is deceptive, misleading, and not legal according to the FTC's "Guide Concerning the Use of the Word 'Free' and Similar Representations," 16 C.F.R. Sec. 251.1. This guide states in subsection C, "Disclosure of Conditions," the following:
"When making "Free" or similar offers all the terms, conditions and obligations upon which receipt and retention of the "Free" item are contingent should be set forth clearly and conspicuously at the outset of the offer so as to leave no reasonable probability that the terms of the offer might be misunderstood. Stated differently, all of the terms, conditions and obligations should appear in close conjunction with the offer of "Free" merchandise or service. For example, disclosure of the terms of the offer set forth in a footnote of an advertisement to which reference is made by an asterisk or other symbol placed next to the offer, is not regarded as making disclosure at the outset."
In summary, WorldGroups.com does not set forth "clearly and conspicuously" that the $1 will be charged at the "outset of the offer," and obviously the terms and conditions do not appear in "close conjunction" with the many uses of the word "free" to describe the level of membership.
Upon review of the circumstances surrounding this company (postal drop box address overseas, lack of response to complaints), I personally have concluded that it is a scam operation and have motioned the FTC to investigate.
Carl
Albuquerque, New Mexico
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Carl
Albuquerque,New Mexico,
U.S.A.
12/19/06: Webpower, Inc. fixes WorldGroups website, but still takes no responsibility for billing abuses
#2Author of original report
Tue, December 19, 2006
Webpower has indeed thoroughly corrected their WorldGroups website so that it no longer calls a paid registration a free registration. How noble of them. But a read through Liz's rebuttal here illuminates Webpower's insufferable degree of contempt for its users, and shows how it still refuses to acknowledge or accept responsibility for the flawed judgement and / or degenerate business ethos that lead to this problem in the first place. Liz delivers a typical performance of that old war-horse known as the denial-deferral cantata. Leading off, we have the "non-apology apology" where we try to shift the blame away from ourselves and onto our adversary: "We truly regret any misapprehensions that Carl may have formed [...]" Next, we euphemistically trivialize the complaint: "[...] he would have appreciated clearer disclosure [...] about the confirmation charge." We may implicitly set up a straw man or two, such as by mentioning TRUSTe (which is concerned only with privacy, not with trade practices). And finally, we wrap this puppy up with a full-throated paean to our impeccable corporate virtues: "Customer service is our number one priority." Take a bow, Liz. In all seriousness, many questions remain about whether WPI / WorldGroups / RMT et al. has the judgement and the commitment to satisfy a Western standard of fair business conduct. I contend that unless Liz is willing to say "I am sorry, we made a mistake," Webpower, Inc. is flying the black flag.
Liz
Newmarket, Auckland,Other,
New Zealand
Response from WorldGroups
#3UPDATE Employee
Mon, December 04, 2006
We truly regret any misapprehensions that Carl may have formed about our company. Since he posted the above report, we have been in contact with him regarding his WorldGroups account and his signup experience. In the course of our correspondence, he made several valuable suggestions that we have implemented on the WorldGroups site. Carl told us, for example, that he would have appreciated clearer disclosure on the home page about the confirmation charge. As a result of this feedback, we have modified our signup page to address this concern. As Carl noted above, we charge a confirmation fee when a customer creates an account. U.S. law, international commerce practices, and our own responsible best practices, mandate that user-driven social networking sites take steps to help ensure that only adults can access the site. The $1 confirmation serves this purpose, but we will gladly refund the charge to any customer who requests it. Customer service is our number one priority, and we always strongly encourage anyone with questions or concerns to contact us directly so that we can address the specific issues that may have arisen. We welcome customer suggestions and ideas, and are always open to innovative ways to serve our customers. We prominently post our contact information on every page on the site, and next to every charge on a credit card bill. We have been in business for 11 years, and during that entire time we have been registered in good standing with Truste and other leading independent consumer protection agencies.
