Thanks Mark!
Becky, did I misunderstand about your charge? Was yours also reoccurring?
Brad
On 3/13/15 10:43 AM, Becky Yoose wrote:
> Thank you, Mark.
>
> On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 10:41 AM, Mark A. Matienzo <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> Becky, Brad,
>>
>> I passed on links to this thread to Louisa Kwasigroch at DLF, who may be
>> able to let you know if any other registered attendees had this issue.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Mark
>>
>> --
>> Mark A. Matienzo <[log in to unmask]>
>> Director of Technology, Digital Public Library of America
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 11:26 AM, Becky Yoose <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Brad,
>>>
>>> If there was an option for an annual subscription for ACTIVE as part of
>> the
>>> registration process, I'm wondering why this wasn't brought up during the
>>> registration period. What you are describing would have been suspicious
>> to
>>> anyone signing up for the conference.
>>>
>>> If I remember correctly, DLF was the one who handled the fiances for
>> 2013,
>>> so if someone from DLF is on the list, can they doublecheck to see if
>> there
>>> was anything like Brad described below?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Becky
>>>
>>> On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 10:17 AM, Brad Busenius <[log in to unmask]>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> They are separate charges. WithdrawalACT*Council is probably the charge
>>>> for the conference. I probably have that one too. The Active charge
>> came
>>>> later as an annual subscription. They used the conference registration
>>> as a
>>>> way to trick people into opting in to their unrelated service. I assume
>>>> most people noticed this and opted out. I did not notice and therefore
>>> did
>>>> not opt out. That's what I think happened, anyhow. I am looking for
>>>> confirmation on this. I've had to piece things together.
>>>>
>>>> Brad
>>>>
>>>> On 3/12/15 7:48 PM, Becky Yoose wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> A follow-up - the charge name that is listed on my statement for 2013
>>>>> registration is WithdrawalACT*Council on Library which is different
>> than
>>>>> what you have listed in your statement. :-(
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Becky
>>>>>
>>>>> Sent from the ball and chain
>>>>> On Mar 12, 2015 7:22 PM, "Becky Yoose" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hello Brad,
>>>>>> I'm sorry to hear about the suspicious charges! Per your request, I
>>>>>> checked the history of the the account I used to pay for 2013 and did
>>> not
>>>>>> find a reoccurring charge like the one you described. I wonder what
>>>>>> happened with your account...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>> Becky
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Sent from the ball and chain
>>>>>> On Mar 12, 2015 7:09 PM, "Brad Busenius" <[log in to unmask]>
>>> wrote:
>>>>>> Hi everybody,
>>>>>>> I hope this is the right place to inquire about this. I have some
>>>>>>> information about a possible problem with the company handling
>>>>>>> registration
>>>>>>> for code4lib. I recently noticed a suspicious charge on my credit
>> card
>>>>>>> for
>>>>>>> the amount of $64.95. The charge showed up as ACT*ACTIVE-NETWORK.
>>> After
>>>>>>> some investigation I found out this was from a company called ACTIVE
>>>>>>> Network, LLC. Apparently this company handles registration for
>> events.
>>>>>>> To my dismay I found out that I had been charged for this annually
>>> since
>>>>>>> 2013. I'm very embarrassed that 1. I didn't notice this during the
>>>>>>> registration process and 2. I didn't catch the charges earlier.
>>> Anyhow,
>>>>>>> after a quick email search I found something surprising; I had
>>> received
>>>>>>> emails from this company at my /work/ email address. I never noticed
>>> the
>>>>>>> emails because they looked like junkmail, however, upon reviewing
>>> them I
>>>>>>> discovered that at some point I had supposedly registered for a free
>>>>>>> trial
>>>>>>> that ended after a month, at which point I was automatically
>> enrolled
>>>>>>> into
>>>>>>> an annual subscription. Needless to say, I//did /not/ ever sign up
>> for
>>>>>>> any
>>>>>>> trial or subscription, at least not to my knowledge.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Since I have only used my personal credit card for work purposes 3
>>>>>>> times,
>>>>>>> it was easy to tie this to code4lib 2013. I looked at my receipt for
>>>>>>> code4lib 2013 and saw that something called RegOnline (owned by
>> Lanyon
>>>>>>> Solutions Inc) was used to process my event registration. Though I'm
>>> not
>>>>>>> sure this is the same company, RegOnline, Lanyon Solutions Inc, and
>>>>>>> ACTIVE
>>>>>>> Network, LLC all share the same physical address. I suspect these
>>> three
>>>>>>> companies are one and the same and will refer to them as ACTIVE
>>> Network,
>>>>>>> LLC for the rest of this email.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I did a little investigating and found out that ACTIVE Network, LLC.
>>>>>>> uses
>>>>>>> unscrupulous business practices to trick people into singing up for
>>>>>>> their
>>>>>>> annual subscription. The crux of this is an "automatic opt-in" they
>>>>>>> employ
>>>>>>> while processing enrollments for third parties. Though I'm very
>>>>>>> embarrassed
>>>>>>> I didn't catch this, in my own defense I wasn't expecting it while
>>>>>>> registering for an academic conference. I'm not blaming anyone nor
>> am
>>> I
>>>>>>> angry with anyone on this list. I only send this email to inquire
>> and
>>>>>>> inform:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 1. To see if anyone else has had a similar experience.
>>>>>>> 2. To warn other people from code4lib to check their bank
>> statements.
>>>>>>> 3. To plead with the community to stop using ACTIVE Network, LLC and
>>>>>>> anything affiliated with them for registration.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Let me be frank for a moment. ACTIVE Network, LLC engages in highly
>>>>>>> unethical business practices. I did not intend to enroll in any
>> annual
>>>>>>> subscriptions when I registered for code4lib and I never would have
>>>>>>> agreed
>>>>>>> to anything of the sort had I noticed what was happening.
>>> Additionally,
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> subscription isn't at all relevant to code4lib. I'm not even sure
>> what
>>>>>>> value is being provided by the subscription. I think it has
>> something
>>>>>>> to do
>>>>>>> with coupons for outdoor exercise equipment but I'm not even sure.
>>> Also,
>>>>>>> these guys are bad. They lost class action lawsuits in Iowa and
>>>>>>> Vermont. In
>>>>>>> fact, this whole thing is just bad all around. Since noticing the
>>>>>>> fraudulent charges this morning, I've already disputed them with my
>>> bank
>>>>>>> and filed a formal complaint against ACTIVE Network, LLC with the
>>> better
>>>>>>> business bureau. Apparently I'm not the only one:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 1. http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/bodywork/the-fit-list/
>>>>>>> Active-Network-Consumer-Complaints.html
>>>>>>> 2.
>> http://www.yelp.com/biz/active-network-san-diego?sort_by=date_desc
>>>>>>> 3. http://legalnewsline.com/news/253622-active-network-will-
>>>>>>> pay-160k-to-consumers-after-action-by-vermont-ag
>>>>>>> 4. https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Iowa%20ACTIVE%
>>>>>>> 20Network%2C%20LLC#hl=en&q=Active+Network+scam
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I apologize if I've made an error in my investigation or if I've
>> done
>>>>>>> something inappropriate by emailing this list. I can't imagine that
>>>>>>> anyone
>>>>>>> would have intended anything like this but I thought you should all
>> be
>>>>>>> aware.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Brad Busenius
>>>>>>> Web Administrator
>>>>>>> The University of Chicago Library
>>>>>>> (773) 702-4391
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
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