Several weeks ago my wife ordered some fruit and nut food bars from a company called GotBody.com They showed up quickly, we paid our bill and we thought no more of the supplier.....until unrelated charges of $29.95 and $2.97 showed up on our credit card statement. The former was for NBS * LifeFitMovers and the latter for NBS * MyCostFreedom (Cost Smashers).
We didn't order either of these "services"....or so we thought. On investigation, it appears that even my sharp-eyed wife missed the "fine print" on the checkout form at GotBody.com that said we were signing up for these services unless we unchecked a check box, or something of the sort. Turns out that many others have had similar complaints about GotBody.com.
I called the toll free number of the suppliers and asked them to cancel the subscription. I then called Bank of America where we have had our VISA for many years. They removed the charges, and told me that similar scams happen all the time. They said it was a lucky thing the bogus charge was only $29.95....often they are $149.95.
Lesson learned: stick with reputable sellers, and check the fine print carefully on checkout forms. As for the supplier, after the bad experience at GotBody.com we won't be back.
Thanks for your post. It made it real easy for me to understand why I had the very similar charges. Its too bad a company risks its whole business with scams like this. Look deeper and I guarantee you'll find more corruption. I question whether this is illegal. You can say I unsuspectingly signed up for something (that would make it immoral) but it becomes illegal when they dont deliver anything. I'm waiting to hear what these services have done for me. I think its time to take this scam to the authorities.
ReplyDeleteAl
Thanks for posting these details..... same thing happened to me although I am always quite vigilant. Your blog spurred me to file a complaint and dispute to get the charges removed. They had already charged my credit card again for next month under another company name. Keep an eye out for funky charges over the next months.
ReplyDeleteMy wife ordered lara bars from gotbody.com and they got her the next month with the $29.95 and the $2.97 from the NBS*mycostfreedom also. We just disputed the charges.
ReplyDeleteWe need to all file with the consumer protection agency, notify our Senators and Representatives from the state of registry for this fraudulent company. Perhaps the Attorney General in the state where the company is registered could help the victims. If the practice of disclosing payment information to an outside party is not illegal, the law should be changed!
ReplyDeleteThe same thing happened to me with gotbody.com. The person I spoke to at gotbody said "it's never gonna happen", when I told her that they have to get that checked box off their web site. The credit card company told me to take it up with the two companies that charged the $29.95 and the $2.97. I called the toll free numbers listed on my credit card statement and spoke with a person who gave me a ruaround and stalled. I finally got action after thretening to notify the CA Attorney General and the CA Better Business Bureau. They cancelled the "membership" and issued refund checks, which I received. Believe me I will not order from Gotbody.com ever again. Be forewarned, always check web sites very carefully before ordering anything.
ReplyDeleteI believe we should ask our Congressmen and Representatives to draft legislation to make it illegal for companies to have these "fine print" boxes to uncheck and for any other ways to trick people into their scams. Consumers should be able to order just what they want without fear of these types of actions from unscrupulous merchants. I make it a point not to give my money to these dishonest predatory people. Thanks for posting David!
ReplyDeleteThe same thing happened to me. GotBody.com gave my CC info to a fake fitness and dieting site called Wellness-Hub.com, which is one of many fake sites operated by fitfactory.com. Charges for $29.95 appeared out of nowhere for no services rendered.
ReplyDeleteAt first glance, the site looks legit -- but almost all of the links are dead.
What a unethical bunch of weasels. I imagine they will face legal action at some point.
To everyone who has posted here, please know that GotBody discontinued their relationship with the FitFactory programs and no longer allows any 3rd party offers on its system.
ReplyDeleteIf you had charges on your account for any health related trial that was related to your GotBody.com purchase, and you have not received a FULL refund (our requirement of FitFactory from the beginning), please contact us so that we can be of assistance. We will ensure that you get a full refund and that we do all we can to make up for your inconvenience.
Yours in health,
Steve
Customer Response Team
GotBody.com
I ordered a supplement from GotBody.com in late January of 2011 and have not seen any unauthorized charges. However, I just received the following email. I suspect the "data intrusion" has something to do with the company's former "sharing" of credit information with unauthorized partners.
ReplyDelete/BEGIN EMAIL
from GotBody.com newsletter@gotbody.com via email-bounces.amazonses.com
sender-time Sent at 3:59 PM (UTC). Current time there: 11:14 AM. ✆
to [my email address]
date Sat, Aug 27, 2011 at 3:59 PM
subject Important Information - Your Personal Information
mailed-by email-bounces.amazonses.com
hide details 3:59 PM (13 hours ago)
Dear [my name]
We are writing to inform you of an incident that may have involved your personal information. Sometime during the last two weeks in July, a data intrusion occurred on GotBody.com's servers. The information breached included your name, address, credit card number, expiration, and email address.
We are notifying you so you can take steps along with our efforts to minimize or eliminate potential harm. Because this is a serious incident, we strongly encourage you to take preventive measures now to prevent and detect any misuse of your information.
We recommend that you regularly review statements from your accounts and periodically obtain your credit report from one or more of the national credit reporting companies.
[snipped material pertaining to obtaining credit reports and establishing a credit freeze]
If you have further questions or concerns about this incident, please contact GotBody customer service at service@gotbody.com We sincerely regret any inconvenience or concern caused by this incident.
Sincerely,
GotBody.com
/END EMAIL
Data breaches are becoming an unfortunate fact of life. Even sophisticated systems are no guarantee of safety. I hope this did not result in identity theft, Tracy.
ReplyDelete