MO joins in national settlement against marketer

Missouri, 46 additional states and Washington, D.C., will share in more than $30 million in penalties and refunds resulting from a settlement with a marketing business for allegedly deceiving consumers.

Connecticut-based Affinion Group Inc., as well as its subsidiaries, Trilegiant Corp. and Webloyalty.com Inc., have agreed to settle claims it tricked consumers into enrolling in discount clubs and memberships they didn't want or didn't know they were participating in, according to a news release from Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster's office.

“Affinion uses deceptive practices to enroll consumers in their programs and then charges outrageous prices for minimal services that consumers did not want in the first place,” Koster said in the release. “Consumers deserve clear information about their purchases, and schemes to register consumers without their knowledge or permission will not be tolerated.”

Of the settlement funding, at least $19 million is earmarked for customer refunds.

According to the allegations, Affinion and subsidiaries worked through marketing partners to sell enrollments in credit monitoring, roadside assistance and discounted travel clubs and membership programs. The release said consumers were often duped into believing the partners were offering them a special deal.

In several cases, consumers received official-looking checks written for a small sum, and when deposited, the consumers would be signed up for a program or membership at a monthly fee of $8 to $16 or an annual fee of $50 to $139. The enrollment would continue until consumers cancelled the service, but many were unable to cancel or obtain a refund. According to the release, some customers were not aware they were enrolled in the programs because the marketing partners passed their financial information along to Affinion without their knowledge.