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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 >