<p>With many parents posting on CC about using Priceline and other discount travel websites, I thought I would warn you about the possibility of unknowingly signing up for discount plans that charge your credit card or bank account every month. I just realized the TLG Great Fun has been charging my credit card for $11.99 every month for a number of months. I was so busy and the charge was so small, that it took me awhile to research it. A quick google search revealed that a lot of people have gotten caught by this. I have no memory of signing up for this service. I’m not a fan of these discount plans anyway, so I think I would remember. </p>
<p>Another one of these discount plans is “Reservation Rewards” which I’m embarrassed to say also snagged me. That happened during a hotel reservation apparently (without my husband’s knowledge.)</p>
<p>Check you bank and credit card statements. TLG Great Fun will refund all past charges if you are persistent and keep asking for a supervisor. I’ll know in 3-7 business days if they follow through. Phone number is 800-285-5903.</p>
<p>Reservation Rewards refunded 6 months of charges and will possibly refund any remaining charges after receiving an affidavit. We’ll see.</p>
<p>Embarrassing to admit I was this lax in reviewing my bill, but I use it a lot to accumulate airline miles and just pay it off every month. I use it for business travel too, so it wasn’t so hard to miss $10-12 charges. Anyway, hope this helps others.</p>
<p>They get your credit card number when you book a hotel room through Priceline or Orbitz, or buy movie tickets at Fandango. You think you are just making that one transaction, but somehow they’ve got you unknowingly agreeing to join a discount club. From what I’ve read online, there may be an offer for a further discount, but with fine print about the discount club. </p>
<p>Same thing with Shop Essentials through Restaurant.com. I bought some gift certificates last Christmas and didn’t notice the charge, either. It was $14.95 and I thought it was another small monthly bill for a service I do subscribe to.</p>
<p>Still couldn’t get them to cancel it after many months and calls to the company. Of course, the company says that they can’t “find my account” online…yet had access to my account. The only way I can cancel the billing is to send them my bank statement. Sure. </p>
<p>Of course, this could be the source of the latest fraud on my account. :(</p>
<p>How stupid is the rest of the world? Do people really do this routinely? Do people really believe that someone from Nigeria wants to give them $10 million just for being a nice guy?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t send them my bank statement, but the fraud investigation at my bank (Chase/Wamu) said they don’t have enough information to stop the charges, either. </p>
<p>It’s ridiculous. I literally have to get a new credit card to stop those charges. </p>
<p>Yes, I saw in researching this online that there are tons of these programs–many of them owned by the same company, but with different names. In my case, I’m relieved to know that my credit card company will reverse all past charges if I’m not successful getting refunded by these companies. The charges will be deemed fraudulent and removed. This is ironic given that my credit card company is Chase and they were charged with fraud in the article I posted above…</p>
<p>this company is/was legit. When I booked a res for my S to travel for study abroad last year, the service (I think it was Travelocity) asked if I wanted to join for a 10% discount. I joined, completed the paperwork, received the discount (on international air service), and then canceled my subscription to TLG. Sue, it took a few phone calls, but I also saved (or was refunded) ~$200 in airfare.</p>
<p>bluebayou–they may well come through with their discounts, but my point is that many people are being signed up for the service without their knowledge or consent. And the courts apparently agree.</p>
<p>Another thing to be wary of is inadvertently signing up for some kind of insurance or credit monitoring service when calling to activate a new credit card. They use double negatives and other confusing language, so it’s easy to agree by mistake. Next thing you know, there’s a recurring charge on your bill.</p>
<p>The same caveat about unauthorized charges applies to your phone bills. These are usually small monthly fees (e.g., $.95) that are easily overlooked. The phone companies are aware of the many scams, and will quickly remove the charges when you protest. You can usually ask for your account to be blocked so this can’t happen–a smart move.</p>
<p>Recently we had a recurring monthly bill on the credit card that was difficult to cancel,(could not get through on the automated phone line), and one of the alternatives we discovered, our credit card company was willing to assign a different account number to us, while retaining our card with its’ original number, maybe you could try that approach.</p>
<p>I have no doubt that folks sign up inadvertently, but in my one experience with the target of this thread, there was a somewhat clearly-marked ‘if you want to save even more, click here’ link on the website, which then directed me to a lot of fine print. Yes, it would have been extremely easy to overlook the fine print and accidentally enroll, but at least in my case, I had to do something to make it happen. My info was not given out without my approval. Consent was given. My monthly charges were not “fraudulent.” The rules clearly said that one could dis-enroll at any time. And, I did, once I received my travel rebate (which more than covered the cost of a couple of months of membership).</p>
<p>I thank you for linking it. Hopefully others will be paying attention to their bank or credit card statements and not being sucked into monthly fees for things that they didn’t want. </p>
<p>While there are some terrific services out there for customers, we have both seen - firsthand - the level that some companies to resort to in the effort to make money off of customers. It is unscrupulous.</p>
<p>Multiply those fees per month by the people here - and then realize that thousands and thousands of other consumers are being taken in, everyday. It is a significant amount of money.</p>
<p>TLG Great Fun just did it to us. Had to call Chase to report the fraud, then close that account and replace the card. We nipped this in the bud, fortunately. The charge only appeared once, but we caught it thanks to a mailing of “the card you requested”. Never heard of the company, never requested a card. We are vigilant about not being sucked into scams, but these companies are getting sneakier than ever! Just be careful and attentive to all charges and transactions on your cards and bank account!</p>
<p>I was taken by that one as well, Great Fun, after an airline ticket purchase. I knew not cancelling was my own **%$ fault, so never thought I should be due a refund, though paid for far too long before I checked my bill carefully as well. </p>
<p>There are too many of these things to watch out for, and it gets tiring to always be on guard. Being a good consumer takes far more hours than it should!</p>
<p>I often book through Price line, in fact I just did two weeks ago. I always stay on top of the billing- just now double checked it. No problems, but thanks for the heads up anyway.</p>
<p>You have to check your credit card bills carefully as well as your cell phone bills. I started this thread last week just to give a heads up on a similar scam.</p>
<p>Similar “business” model. They slip a small charge onto your bill and hope you dont notice it. i think in most cases they provide no real service, or else it is something so trivial that you wouldn’t actually pay for it if you knew what it was.</p>
<p>In defense of Great Fun, it is legit, and earned me a 10% rebate of the tix for son’s study abroad. I joined, paid one month and then cancelled by calling their 800. Sure it was a loooong wait on hold, but when I finally received a live person, she was helpful. It took another month or so (I can’t remember) for the charges to stop, but she sent me a check for 30 days to cover it. Besides the hassle factor, they did exactly what they advertised.</p>
<p>Sure, it was a PIA, but the net savings was $150+. Worth it, IMO. One just needs to be vigilant. (they obviously make big bucks on folks who are not.)</p>