Shopper Discounts and Easy Jet WARNING!!

On returning from holiday and checking my debit card account (which I left at home) I noticed an £8 deduction by  a company named Shopper Discounts had been made during the period I was away.

After a quick 'Google' of the payees name it soon became clear this is a scam.There were lots of sites with complaints about them.

When I booked my easyjet flights in April, at the stage where my payment was taken, I now remember a pop up screen asking me to 'click here' if I wanted a £10 discount against my next booking. Of course I clicked but was then presented with a request for more info. I remember abandoning replying part way through as it seemed a  waste of time and not worth filling in a load of details.

But that 'click' will cost me £8.00 per month if I do not cancel it.

I have yet to inform my bank and contact easyjet ,who must know what's going on, but it seems other companies such as Interflora and B&Q are also passing online purchasers card details to this company.

Please be warned!!!!!

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I just found this on the easyjet website:-

Question
	What is Shopper Discounts & Rewards and how did I sign-up for this programme?
	Answer
	It appears that you or someone in your household joined Shopper Discounts & Rewards through a special rewards promotion after making a transaction on easyJet.com. The promotion offered a 30-day free trial in Shopper Discounts & Rewards with all the money saving benefits they have to offer, as well as a £10.00 cash back voucher to be used on your next purchase on easyJet.com. Shopper Discounts & Rewards is a shopping savings programme where you get Cash Back automatically at hundreds of top online retailers, so you save every time you shop. Plus you are protected by the Best Price Guarantee, Automatic Extended Warranty Protection and much more. In order to sign up you would have either: Clicked a button (choosing to use the same details as you used on easyJet.com), and then typed in your email address twice, like a signature and also clicked a button to accept the membership. Or – clicked a button (choosing to use different details to the ones you used to purchase on easyJet.com), and you would have then entered your home address and specific billing information. In order to sign up you would have created and entered a password for your membership, and also clicked a button to accept the membership. Currently, Shopper Discounts and Rewards cannot process membership requests from customers using Solo. But at no point did I give them my card details!!!!!!!! There are 4 ways in which you can cancel: By calling 0808 234 1539 and using the automated cancel system or you can speak to a live agent Or you can log onto the site, choose “Contact Us” and use the online cancel module Or you can email customerservice@shopperdiscountsandrewards.co.uk If you have any further questions, please contact our partner, Shopper Discounts & Rewards at 0808 234 1539 and they will be more than happy to assist you.

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Thanks for the warning Sandra!
I am sorry you have been "duped" in this way.
I read in the paper the  other week, that the government were going to clamp down on airlines that "included" insurance etc in the booking process, and "assumed" the customer would "uncheck" the box if they didn't require it or other "extras".
Many people continue with the online booking process without "knowing" what extras they are paying for.
It pays to be diligent when booking online.,.....................
Your scenario is a similar, scam....................
So, read Sandra's experience and learn from it.
Thanks Sandra....................................I will take care..............

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Thanks Sandra,

I must admit that I've seen that BLUE LINK at the top of our EasyJet Bookings page, however for some reason wasn't tempted to click it. I suppose it's probably because after we use our current booking, we will be driving out to Spain and don't know when we'll be booking again!

One thing to note, it is ILLEGAL and constitutes FRAUD for ANY company to pass your credit/debit card details to ANOTHER COMPANY without your EXPRESS CONSENT AND PRIOR KNOWLEDGE.

SO, SUE EASYJET!!!!

I used to work for a Euronics company and when somebody purchased say a TV and Sky Package from us, we would have to pass the customers Bank/Credit/Debit Card details over to Sky, once the Customer had read and SIGNED a SKY contract form, and had been verbaly informed by the Salesperson in our store that this would happen. Also, we would have to arrange for an independent local Sky Engineer to perform the installation of the Sky system, and we could not give the customer's credit/debit card details to this company, as the customer had not read and signed any agreement with the installer company, had we done so, this would have been fraud!

Talk to your Bank/Credit Card company and tell them what happend, they will then have to by law instigate a Fraud investigation against the companies involved.

Think I might get on my soap box and have a word with Easy Jet about this.

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Another point to note:

An extract taken from Sandra's 2nd post below

"It appears that you or someone in your household joined Shopper Discounts & Rewards through a special rewards promotion after making a transaction on easyJet.com"

By saying this above, EasyJet have committed fraud!

If it was not  the person WHO PAYED for the transaction that 'joined' this promotion, then by passing said details to 3rd party companies, THAT IS FRAUD! As only the card holder may give such permission.

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Thank you for the info - here's to the "Eye on Spain "web site yet again!!

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I've just checked my Nationwide flex account as I also clicked on the prompt on the screen but then quit when I realised that you had to pay a monthly fee for this"freebie".

I think I had a lucky escape as I clicked just before I printed off the booking confirmation,after my transaction had gone through.

I'm going through a dispute already for a duplicated credit card transaction on my Easter trip to Spain and Nationwide took one month before they acknowledged receipt of the form I sent back so I'm grafeful that I didn't have to have to deal with this as well!

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CHECK OUT MORE IN HERE >>>>>>>>>>> >>

EASYJET WARNING !! (NOT JUST EASYJET, there's INTERFLORA, EXPEDIA, VISTAPRINT, ALLPOSTERS, NATIONAL EXPRESS etc)

How to check if you're affected, how to cancel etc....

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Semijubilada,

The first £8.00 payment was taken from my account a month after I used the easyjet site. They generously give you the first month FREE!!

It might be worth checking the statement for the month AFTER  you used the site, just to be sure.

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Thankyou 

to FibbyUK and TechnoApe for your kind words and support. 
These companies really are beyond the pale when it comes to devious tactics. If booking with easyjet is not already a minefield of traps and snares, with their travel insurance, reserved seats, luggage payment  and carbon footprint options, they now have to slip in a 'popup' designed to extract a cool £8.00 per month (until discovered) from  unsuspecting and possibly nervous users of their website.
Shame on them!

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Thanks for the tip Sandra, I've just re-checked my statements from the last time I booked flights to the latest transaction and it's not there.

I'm lucky in a way as I use this account purely for "holiday money" so an £8 item would show up straight away.

After I replied on this thread I saw what More had written and quickly followed her instructions to prove that I haven't been added to their list of "suckers".

I do hate scams like this and I think EasyJet should be held responsible for any charges incurred.  I bet they are receiving something from these people for allowing them use of their website.

Shame on them

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Semijubilada,

As I stated below, EasyJet can and should be held accountable for their actions, when it comes to passing your Credit/Debit Card details to ANY 3rd party company, irrespective if it's an associate or independent company.

They CANNOT pass the Card details in such a manner UNLESS the Card Holder has signed a contract, in person or electronically, giving EasyJet authority to do so.

I've looked at their 'offer' and also what Sandra has posted below stating how EasyJet explain how she joined this promotion, and I'm afraid to say that EasyJet HAVE broken the rules with regards to the Data Protection Act, and also ethically broken the Electronic Banking Regulations as issued to the Merchant (EasyJet being the Merchant).

What EasyJet are doing could fall under the 'Unsolicited Goods and Services Act'. Also, charging an excess amount for the product or service you are buying, because you are paying via a Credit/Debit card, is also a clear violation of the 'Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982' and the 'Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994'

Another thing, some Merchants decline payment via credit/debit card  under a certain amount, usually £5 or £10, however Visa and MasterCard say merchants who accept their credit or debit cards cannot set a minimum purchase amount. The credit card companies have this rule because they want you to use their cards like cash — for any purchase of any amount at any time. So again the Merchant is breaking the rules.

Hmm!

I'd better stop there, could get carried away!

Methinks maybe a petition could be in order here?

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Good points made TechNoApe.

If it's against those two acts to charge for using credit and debit card how come Ryanair, Easyjet and Jet2 have been doing this for years.  I haven't used Ryanair for some time but aren't they doing the same as Jet2 and charging a bookin fee for each person on each flight.  An extra £8 on the fare for each return flight, I think it's Jet2 who also have been applying fuel surcharges for sometime now.  Cheap flights until you apply all the extras!, they'll put in straps to hang onto soon and you'll have to pay extra for a seat

Hope they don't read these threads it might give them ideas

As internet bookers we do all the work imputing all our details and then they have the nerve to make us pay extra for the priviledge, if you make a mistake then it costs £15 to put it right, yer can't win.

I recently booked a flight with Virgin and they're also charging for using a credit card.

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Charging person A for using one payment method, and then not charging person B for using a different payment method, for exactly the same service is discriminatory.

Further, when making a booking with EasyJet, when you have confirmed your booking, at the point of selecting which payment method, some cards carry an extra charge, whereas others do not. Again, this is discriminatory and the reason they do it, because they get away with it!

I am now about to report EasyJet to Trading Standards for doing the above, in addition I am also reporting their 'potential' misuse of my Credit/Debit Card details to 3rd party companies that I have NOT transacted with, as that is Fraud. Needless to say, the local trading standards officer was very, very interested with what I had to say. I suggest that others do the same. 

Don't get me wrong, I love flying with EasyJet, I think there service is great, however I'm not going to stand by and watch these 'no frills' Airlines start charging 'extras' left, right and centre, and then end up paying almost as much had I gone with a 'full frills' Airline. Notwithstanding issuing MY Credit/Debit cards details to whom so ever they deem fit!

Nope, any gonna happen anymore I'm affraid.

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I was taken in by this offer too.  I complained to Shoppers Discount and they reimbursed the £8 charge and cancelled my "membership".  However, I was more concerned about Easyjet releasing my debit card details to this company and sent them a number of emails to which I received the standard replies previously mentioned,  When I persisted, however, they referred me to the following clause in their privacy policy:-

"From time to time, we make certain third party offers available through our site. If you choose to accept such an offer, we will disclose your contact and billing information to the third party who made the offer available to you."  

I checked the link to their privacy policy and, sure enough, there it was.  I think that it is outrageous that they should have something as important as this buried in a document that customers would not normally need to access and I complained again.  Their response was;


Quote
Thank you for your email.

The key part of the quote was as follows:
"If you choose to accept such an offer"

If you had not choosen to accept such an offer than, of course, easyJet would NOT have shared your details. However, part of the offer was that we WOULD share your details and "YOU CHOOSE to accept such an offer". I am sorry that you are displeased with your choice now, however, it was YOUR choice.
Unquote

I am now referring the matter to the Office of Fair Trading.

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UPDATE

After three emails to Shopper Discounts they have replied with a promise to cancel the account and re-imburse me.

Unfortunately I cannot check if the money has gone back into my account until I receive a new card etc., from my bank. They took the view that I had been subject to a possible fraud and until it is investigated decided to cancel my card. Great!! This is the second time in three months that internet based problems have occurred with that account.

I am   awaiting further info. from Trading standards.

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Whilst the Easyjet site didn't say anything about taking out a subscription at the point when it wanted us, (including me I hasten to add) to click the link, it certainly did on the next page !! We saw it & opted not to proceed as it was obvious there was money involved. Thankfully we are not involved (read my thread by clicking on note below) because we saw "subscription" mentioned, so left it there.

HOWEVER, I agree it is all wrong that this happens.  It's not just Easyjet, it's National Express, Vistaprint, Interflora for three more.

I know this has caused problems to many. We all need to be more diligent.

Please also read the thread I started with more info, including how to check to see if you are affected BEFORE they take your money. (They give you 30 days free trial so you have 30 days before they debit your account.)






This message was last edited by morerosado on 6/4/2008.

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Further Update

Trading standards said that legally Shopper Discounts were doing nothing wrong and took the view that at least contact details were made available for people to complain and/or request a refund.

All very well if you are aware they are doing it!!

However they did say that they had received lots of complaints about this type of business transaction and about this company and would log my complaint and details for future reference.

Apparently Shopper Discounts have 500 companies, who trade via the internet, signed up for this scam.
So watch out for this and other devious money making tricks  when purchasing services and goods off the internet.......... 

 It's a minefield out there folks!!!!!!!!!!

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Dear Forum Members:

We have come across this forum and would like the opportunity to answer your questions or address your concerns about our membership program, Shopper Discounts & Rewards.

We encourage you to contact our Customer Service team on 0808 234 1539 (this is a free phone number), Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm.  One of our dedicated customer service representatives will be happy to help by either answering your questions or cancelling your membership if you are unhappy.  

Webloyalty wants to ensure that Shopper Discounts & Rewards members understand and derive full discount and insurance benefits from their memberships.   Your feedback is both important and valuable to us.

With very best regards,
Webloyalty Customer Service Team
Shopper Discounts & Rewards

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Seen in other forums, Webloyalty, you must be very concerned about all of this & rightly so. 

You have caused untold upset & taken money from many, many who haven't yet checked their statements too (as we all should do) & the practice is not acceptable.

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