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Link: OFT takes action against online subscription operator
OFT takes action against online subscription operator
135/11 13 December 2011
The OFT has taken action against Adaptive Affinity Limited to address concerns that some consumers were unwittingly signed up to online subscription schemes. In some cases people were incurring total monthly fees of almost £60. Tens of thousands of UK consumers are signed up to Adaptive Affinity Limited's schemes each month.
Adaptive Affinity Limited, the company behind
QuickCreditScore, HighCreditScore, CreditScoreMatters, High Street Max, Rewards Now and Rewards First,
has provided undertakings which prevent it from engaging in unfair practices or using unfair terms which could mislead people into signing up to subscription services which carry fees.
The OFT was concerned that some customers:
Adaptive Affinity Limited fully cooperated with the OFT's investigation. The OFT has accepted comprehensive undertakings to address the full range of concerns identified.
Cavendish Elithorn, Senior Director of the OFT's Goods and Consumer Group, said:
'The OFT will take action to stop misleading business practices that develop online which leave shoppers out of pocket. Those that flout the rules risk enforcement action. We will continue to scrutinise the market to make sure that people have the confidence to use and receive the full benefit from the wide range of online services.'
NOTES
135/11 13 December 2011
The OFT has taken action against Adaptive Affinity Limited to address concerns that some consumers were unwittingly signed up to online subscription schemes. In some cases people were incurring total monthly fees of almost £60. Tens of thousands of UK consumers are signed up to Adaptive Affinity Limited's schemes each month.
Adaptive Affinity Limited, the company behind
QuickCreditScore, HighCreditScore, CreditScoreMatters, High Street Max, Rewards Now and Rewards First,
has provided undertakings which prevent it from engaging in unfair practices or using unfair terms which could mislead people into signing up to subscription services which carry fees.
The OFT was concerned that some customers:
- believed the credit score service was free
- did not realise they had entered into a binding contract with Adaptive Affinity Limited and would incur a monthly charge if they did not cancel their subscription during the trial period
- thought they had supplied their credit card details for identification purposes to facilitate a credit check, and so were unaware that these details would be used to take monthly payments which ranged from £9.95 to £29.95 per scheme
- only discovered that they were being charged for a scheme or schemes when they saw the charges on their bank statements, sometimes after thinking that they had only entered details to claim a supermarket voucher or cashback discount.
Adaptive Affinity Limited fully cooperated with the OFT's investigation. The OFT has accepted comprehensive undertakings to address the full range of concerns identified.
Cavendish Elithorn, Senior Director of the OFT's Goods and Consumer Group, said:
'The OFT will take action to stop misleading business practices that develop online which leave shoppers out of pocket. Those that flout the rules risk enforcement action. We will continue to scrutinise the market to make sure that people have the confidence to use and receive the full benefit from the wide range of online services.'
NOTES
- View the case closure summary for this investigation.
- Undertakings under Part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002 were given by Adaptive Affinity Limited and its director. The undertakings relate to alleged breaches of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.
- Adaptive Affinity Limited has a registered office of Cavendish House, 369 Burnt Oak Broadway, Edgware, Middlesex, HA8 5AW. It describes itself as 'the market leader in post-transactional incremental-revenue online marketing' and has in excess of 150,000 UK members.
- Under the Enterprise Act 2002 if these undertakings are breached the OFT can apply to the courts for an injunction, which, if disobeyed, could result in proceedings for contempt of court.
- The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) contain a general prohibition against unfair commercial practices and, in particular, prohibitions against misleading actions, misleading omissions and aggressive commercial practices. The Regulations are enforceable through the civil and criminal courts.
- The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCRs) apply to standard contract terms with consumers and protect consumers against unfair standard terms in contracts they make with traders. The OFT can take legal action to prevent the use of potentially unfair terms. A term is likely to be considered unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations under the contract, to the detriment of consumers. A consumer is not bound by a standard term in a contract with a trader if that term is unfair. Ultimately, only a court can decide whether a term is unfair.
- The OFT previously secured undertakings from Adaptive Affinity Limited in 2009 which addressed concerns about customers being signed up to its shopping discount scheme subscriptions following purchases from third party websites. The current investigation looked at additional practices which Adaptive Affinity Limited had developed more recently, and the new undertakings address the full range of concerns identified. For further details about the 2009 investigation involving Adaptive Affinity Limited, see press release Online discount scheme agrees to change sign up process (24 June 2009).