• eweek, Wednesday, November 18, 2009 4:17 PM

Affinion, Vertrue, Webloyalty, and their e-commerce partners have engaged in aggressive and misleading online sales tactics resulting in more than $1.4 billion in revenue, the Senate Commerce Committee is reporting. According to the report, with the cooperation of their online partners, the three companies make sales offers -- usually promising cash-back awards -- during the post-transaction phase of an online purchase when consumers have made a purchase but before they have completed the sale confirmation process.

Misleading directions, the reports finds, cause consumers to reasonably think they are completing the original transaction, rather than entering into a new, ongoing financial relationship with a membership club operated by Affinion, Vertrue or Webloyalty. The report claims, however, that almost no one receives the cash rewards that the companies offer to online consumers at the time of enrollment.

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