A Pennsylvania company has agreed to refund money to consumers whose credit cards it allegedly charged without authorization, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
Villanova LTD agreed to refund the consumers in an agreement it reached with the AG’s office. Villanova admits no wrongdoing in the agreement.
Villanova could not be reached by press time.
According to investigators, from 1998 to 2001, Villanova marketed buyers club memberships that offered consumers discounts on a number of products.
Consumers would call a toll-free number to order a product they saw advertised in an infomercial, said the AG’s office. If the consumer used a credit card to buy the product, the company would then try to upsell the consumers by asking them if they were interested in a free trial membership to the buyers club.
If consumers agreed to accept the free trial, they were required to cancel within 30 days or their credit cards would be billed on an ongoing annual basis. The annual fee ranged from $79.99 to $89.99.
Consumers complained to the AG that they were not told they had to cancel the program to avoid being charged, according to a statement by Attorney General Mike Fisher. In other cases, consumers were billed for the club memberships even though they rejected the free trial offer.
The company is accused of violating the law by not fully informing consumers of the requirements of the program, and not fully identifying Villanova as the company selling the club memberships.
In addition to the refunds, Villanova has ceased selling the club memberships, must cease business practices “in violation of the laws applicable in the case,” and pay $10,000 in civil penalties and pay for investigation costs, according to the AG.
