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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