MemberWorks and Others Slapped with Lawsuits Over Marketing Practices
Three class-action lawsuits were filed Monday against MemberWorks Inc., Brylane and other companies by two Florida consumers alleging unfair trade practices.
The suits claim that that the consumers, Judith Jeselskis and Marcia Walter, had ordered items over the telephone but were later billed for unwanted products and services. They cases were filed in Pinellas and Highlands County Circuit Courts.
In addition to Stamford, CT-based MemberWorks and Brylane, New York, the suits name Sylmark Inc., GoodTimes Entertainment, Inc. and telemarketing company Synapse Group Inc, also based in Stamford.
In one suit, Jeselskis said she had ordered a Richard Simmons product from GoodTimes Entertainment by telephone, and soon received a high-pressure sales pitch for other products and services but declined the offers. Later, a $84 charge appeared on her debit card statement from MWI*Essentials, a membership program marketed by MemberWorks.
GoodTimes Entertainment shared customers’ names, account numbers and other private financial data with MemberWorks to bill Jeselskis’ account for a membership without her knowledge or consent, the complaint alleges.
The charges were rebutted by MemberWorks spokesperson George Thomas. “We have multiple disclosures of how we market in all of our marketing channels so that consumers understand how and when they will be billed,” Thomas said.
Thomas added that Jeselskis enrolled in the membership program in January, cancelled Feb. 20 and was refunded on Feb. 21. MemberWorks provides customers with a “no questions asked refund policy,” he continued.
Walter also claimed she was hit with a barrage of high-pressure sales pitches and was charged by MemberWorks for products she did not order. Thomas said Walter had also enrolled in the program, cancelled and was refunded.
Walter is a bookkeeper for the law firm representing the plaintiffs and brought the information that initiated the case to the firm, Rob North, an investigator for the firm said yesterday.
Jeselskis also filed suit against Brylane and Synapse Group. She claimed a Lane Bryant Catalog clothing purchase resulted in charges for magazine subscriptions of $55.00 and $12.00 on her account. The suit claims Synapse Group charged Jeselskis’ debit card for magazine subscriptions without her knowledge or consent.
“Judy Jeselskis was wiped out,” Christa Collins an attorney for the case said in a statement. “These companies reached into her bank accounts without permission. She couldn’t put food on the table. It’s wrong.”
A call to Brylane for comment was not returned.
The lawsuits seek to represent all people who were billed without their knowledge and consent by these companies and is seeking damages not yet defined financially, North said.
MemberWorks has been the subject of at least two other cases.
In April the telemarketing firm and its client, Sears, Roebuck & Co., settled a civil lawsuit filed by the state of California and two counties over inadequate disclosure of its billing practices when marketing MemberWorks membership programs.
Last November, MemberWorks also reached a settlement with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer regarding alleged unauthorized credit card charges and use of third-party information to solicit customers with a free 30-day trial membership in various clubs.
