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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