Adaptive Marketing Dealpass Web Sites

Adaptive Marketing Dealpass Web Sites

September 7, 2005

Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 15:53:53 -0700 (PDT)

Subject: Complaint Re: Adaptive Marketing Dealpass Web Sites

To: Email User

A list of Adaptive Marketing's many websites can be found at this link: http://www.adaptivemarketing.com/sitemap.htm

I've tried six of the memberships they offer. Some time ago I tried Hotwire Savings Club, which I had no complaints about, but didn't find useful after the trial period.

This week I joined Simply You, Homeworks Plus, Privacy Matters, Shopping Essentials, and Today's Escapes. The first three were online and the last two were by a live chat program they use that launches when you complete an offer at trimlife.com. All these clubs offer a 7-day trial for $1, and each club offers a different $25 gift card "just for trying the club". They know everyone believes that trying the club is done during the trial. After you join, you find out that it is impossible to get your gift card without paying the entire annual fee ($75?), because they require that you request a claim form from them, which they snail mail to you, and when you return the form to them, you must still be a current member. It is impossible because they won't allow you the claim form until the trial is over and the annual fee is automatically charged. The adaptivemarketing.com home page makes a huge production about how upstanding they are, while they intentionally decieve you. They could easily make clear that you can receive a $25 gift card if you decide to join after the trial, but they prefer to trick you. There is no reason to require a paper claim form to go back and forth through the mail except to buy them time. I told them that I feel this is shady, but they didn't care, as you can see from the forwarded messages below. They brag about their "full disclosure" policies on their "consumer satisfaction" page, and represent themselves to their "400 top-name retailers and service providers" as being reputable. I don't agree, and I don't appreciate being tricked. I always pay close attention to the terms they present before agreeing to join, and they promised something they didn't follow through on.

"Email User" wrote:

Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 18:45:42 +0000 (GMT)

From: "Email User"

To:

Subject: Re: Comment from Adaptive Marketing Web Site [#681180] Dear Melissa, Thank you for your email. However, this is the procedure in order to claim any of our premiums for trying the programs. We do apologize for any confusion, however, there are lots of benefits within each of these memberships to enjoy.

Thank you, Jule

Member Savings Team --Original Message--

From:

Date: 9/6/2005 4:19:53 AM

To: Email User; Email User; Email User

Subject: Comment from Adaptive Marketing Web Site ------------------ Begin Sender info ----------------- Sender Name: Melissa

Email:

Message: I recently joined several of your clubs (Simply You, Homeworks Plus, Privacy Matters, Shopping Essentials, Today's Escapes) and was told that I would receive $25 gift cards from each "just for TRYING" the club. I do not appreciate your little trick of requiring us to request a claim form to be mailed that will take "4 to 6 weeks to arrive" and requiring our membership to be active when you receive the form. I did not agree to fill out any "short survey" and did not agree to pay the yearly fee to be a member when you finally receive the form back. I was told I would receive the gift cards just for TRYING (as in "trial") which I have done during the 7 day TRIAL period. For all your talk of "consumer satisfaction" and setting the bar for "best practices" and "exceeding expectations", this is very shady. Why would anyone want to do business with a company that tries to trick you from the very beginning? If I don't receive the gift cards as promised, I plan to post your policy online and warn others about your company on several of the websites designed for that purpose. Customers should know about this policy before agreeing to the trial offer. Melissa

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