Checking out the messages that have accumulated in your spam filter can sometimes pay off. That's the way one reader discovered that web retailer eCost was about to sock him with a membership fee for a "club" that he hadn't joined.
"I have been using eCost.com for some time and have been quite satisfied until now," the reader wrote recently. "During one of my recent purchases, they offered me a 'free' gift. When I examined the offer, I found out that it was one-month free subscription to their premium Bargain Countdown Platinum Club, and that I would be charged an annual fee of $29.95 later on. I was not interested, and I closed the browser window."
A few days later, however, the reader spotted an e-mail from eCost that his spam filter had placed in his junk mail folder. The message, purportedly from eCost CEO Adam Shaffer, informed him his free trial had begun and gave him his password to access his membership benefits. It then stated that:
"Your 30-day trial membership offer expires on Jan 05, 2006. As a convenience, your membership will be automatically renewed for you after your trial membership expires. The primary credit card that you use at eCOST.com will be charged $29.95, extending your Bargain Countdown Platinum membership an additional 12 months."
Not wanting to be charged for a membership he had never signed up for, the reader tried writing the email address provided in the message for canceling prior to January 5th. "I sent a message to the cancellation address, but it bounced back, saying the address did not exist," the reader wrote. "Examining the source of the message, I found out that the address was really a link to a trial cancellation page on their website, so I went to that URL and canceled my membership. Then, just to be sure, I went to my account, changed my credit card on their record to a temporary one with a $5 limit that will expire shortly. And I changed my e-mail address to a non-existing one. If eCost still tries to charge me after Jan 5th, I'll have the charges reversed."
The reader says he has some questions he'd like to ask Shaffer if he had a way of contacting him. "How could they sign my up without my opting in?" he wrote. "Why did they send me an opt-out e-mail address that isn't working? And why would they send my user ID and password in an unencrypted message? I would like to suggest to him that he stop these practices immediately. They just lost a frequent shopper forever - I wouldn't go to eCost ever again if they offered me everything free for life."
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