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Be careful when you register for races at active.com! I apparently signed up for a trial membership to active advanatage which if you don't cancel in 30 days, charges your credit card $59. 95. I am always very careful to avoid signing up for unwanted email updates and trial offers, but somehow this one slipped under my radar.
The active.com customer service was friendly and refunded the membership fee in full. However, when i mentioned to the customer serivice representative that this felt like a scam, he replied that the page was clear and that i had to have signed up for this. I asked him if this happens to customers often and he said that it did occasionally. Guessing by the fact that their automated phone system has a "if you are calling about a $59. 95 charge, please press _", and that their website has a faq sheet explaining how people signed up for the membership, i'd speculate that this happens more than occaisionally. The faq sheet asserts that emails are sent to memers notifying them that the membership has been activated and when the charge will be made, but these emails went into my junk mail folder and i only found them once i discovered the charge and went digging. Again, this is my fault for not being a more careful consumer, but it this company is clearly trying to make money in a somewhat deceptive manner.
Here is what their faq sheet says about active advantage:
When does the offer appear in the registration process? The activeadvantage trial membership offer is not
Displayed during the actual registration process. The offer exists on an interstitial page that appears after the activity registration is complete (Payment already submitted) , but before the confirmation page.
How does the registrant sign up for the trial membership?
To enroll as a trial member of the program, the registrant is simply required to enter and verify their email address and then click through the acceptance button on the page. After this step the registrant will continue on to their activity registration confirmation page.
How long does the trial membership last? 30 days
What if the registrant doesn’t want to become a trial member? The registrant simply has to click the decline button on the offer page. After this step they will continue on to their activity registration confirmation page.
What happens after the trial membership expires? At the end of the trial the user may cancel at no charge. If they do not cancel, they are automatically billed $59. 95 for a 12 - month membership. Customers may cancel their membership at any time and receive a prorated refund. All of this information is presented to the registrant on the trial offer page.
How do you communicate with members?
There are numerous communications sent to new members, starting with a confirmation email directly after they enroll in the trial membership. Trial members also receive a “reminder” email halfway through the trial period, a notification email prior to membership billing, and a billing confirmation email. Additionally, members receive a monthly “member update” email that highlights special offers and new merchant partners.
What do activeadvantage members receive? Activeadvantage exists to provide members with discounts on everything they need to prepare for, participate in and commemorate the activities that they love. As such, members receive discounts on registrations across the active network as well as valuable savings provided by leading retailers across a wide variety of categories.
How do you know registrants like activeadvantage? Activeadvantage has grown significantly since it first
Launched in 2003. We stay in constant contact with our members to gauge their satisfaction with the program. In a recent member survey, more than 70% of members said they would strongly recommend the program to a friend.
What if a customer forgets to cancel their membership before the trial expires?
If a customer forgets to cancel their trial membership, their credit card on file will be charged the yearly fee of $59. 95. However, they may contact customer support at [protected]@active.com to receive a prorated refund.
What if trial members contact my organization with questions about the program?
Activeadvantage provides customer support contact information in all member communications, including phone and email, and is able to handle all inquiries quickly in - house. Should an isolated incident occur in
Which a member contacts your organization, simply forward the inquiry directly to your account manager.
The program has a track record of responding quickly to all inquiries and our goal is to create zero administrative impact for your organization.
Does this offer violate the registrant’s privacy? No. Active takes the privacy of all registrants very seriously. When registrants choose to participate in the program they voluntarily agree to active’s terms and privacy policy. Members may also choose to optout of receiving member update emails at any time. Additionally, no user data is submitted to 3rd parties.
Questions? If you have further questions please contact us.
We will be happy to help you.
Activeadvantage contact information
877. 228. 4881 | [protected]@active.Com
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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This is indeed a fraudulent membership offer/agreement, etc. If the agreement to join is present, it is not obvious enough for the unsophisticated user. As a sophisticated user with significant attention to detail, I did not find it. In fact, they give an automatic money back guarantee because it is deceitful and fraudulent and to avoid lawsuit.
My user experience went as follows: Called, hung up on, called, spoke with representative. She removed the charge as to my account, but could not find the account of my significant other. I told her she was misspelling his name, I created his account with his e-mail. She finally informed me that she would have to transfer me to customer service. She then hung up. I called back, and was hung up on after holding. Repeat.
We'll see when I ever get connected if they can find my other's profile so we can refund ALL of the fees. I'm tempted to file a lawsuit.
I need to go back through the sign up process
Meant to say, I need to go back through the sign up process. If this isn't obvious, then I think I might proceed with a lawsuit for other damages.
Ditto to everyone who complained about Active Advantage. I read the complaints in 2010 and it's still happening in 2014 except now the annual fee is $64.95. They offer a $5.00 discount and 30 day free trial membership but you must opt out within the 30 days or get charged a lame $64.95 fee. Unfortunately, many race directors use Active Advantage as a convenience to them and don't realize how unethical Active Advantage is. Only those who really read the fine print will know about cancelling within the 30 day period. The rest will find out when they see their credit card statement. Make your protests heard. Thumbs down to Active Advantage.
This is one of the worst companies I've ever had to deal with. People - don't sign up! When I called to complain that I did not get the savings I was entitled to, the employee was so rude and cocky and refused to listen to me, basically dismissed me. So then I wrote in my complaint and the person answering was even worse! The employees hate the customers. So do youself a favor and don't sign up. You won't actually get much of any savings because nothing is as advertised, and their employees hate you!
I had this happen to me 2 times. I have decided not to sign up for races anymore, which is pretty sad to have to not do them anymore. I refuse to call and cancel something I do not want. It does not state anywhere on the website whether you want a free trial or not. It just takes your credit information and uses it to their advantage!
Same just happened to me. I NEVER received any confirmation or notification about my so-called trial coming to an end and my card getting charged the annual fee until it had already happened. Trying to get it refunded right now.
I signed up for the advantage plan and was charged twice. They denied I was. I faxed my credit card page that clearly shows I was charged twice on the same day for the same thing. One was refunded and one remained. I have signed up for races that does not acknowledge I am a Advantage member. When I send a email, they say I was not signed in properly. Total BS! Out of the 10 races I did, I saved on two processing fees. It is a total scam. When I view my history it shows my membership fee and then denies my membership, encouraging me to upgrade? To what? How much more money do they need to squeeze out of me.
My daughter is now going through this horrible experience. How convenient it is that this company only needs an e-mail address and a click on "agree" to take your money, yet you can't cancel through that same e-mail address. She was on hold for a HOUR before she had to hang up because she couldn't wait any longer. She then sent an e-mail to the support center for assistance, and was told she has to call in to cancel the membership. How in the heck is this company getting away with treating consumers like this for so long? I'm (mom) now involved in this, and have been on hold for 15 mins. I'll be taking to social media to bring to light this despicable company.
This company needs to be shut down. They are simply stealing money from people and when caught they eventually give it back. I am sure the vast majority of people don't discover the theft and therefore never complain and just get ripped off year after year. The company is simply a scam for stealing money and providing no services. I hope the top executives end up in jail. If there is a lawyer that is willing to organize a class action suit I believe you would have no problem finding 1000s of people to sign on.
Hi All, I completely agree and have had the same thing happen to us. When signing my son up for our local lacrosse, a page pops up that is misleading, offering you to sign up with Active advantage, however there is no option to "cancel" this page, yet you are led to believe you need to click through it to complete your **original** registration for the event you are signing up for. In searching around, i found this site- but also found out that while they are NOT BBB accredited, they are under investigation by the BBB (their dallas office is handling complaints and they have an ALERT for this company. The BBB site also informs you that they have been Sued by the State of Iowa for fraud and have settled. PLEASE see that link below for the state of Iowa and contact your local attorney general if this is happeneing to you. Notify them of the IOWA case.
See BBB webiste: website:http://www.bbb.org/sdoc/business-reviews/information-technology-services/the-active-network-inc-in-san-diego-ca-16000154/
See also: http://www.bbb.org/dallas/business-reviews/online-event-registration/active-network-in-dallas-tx-90539168?language=1
Government Actions
Iowa v. Active Network
Date of Action: 9/6/2013
The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below from the BBB
On September 6, 2013, the Attorney General of Iowa announced that Active Network has agreed to pay refunds to Iowans and change its marketing practices, under an agreement with Attorney General Tom Miller. The Active Network, Inc. of San Diego, California, which operates Active.com, will pay $237, 167.42 in refunds to Iowans who had been charged for membership programs. The complaint alleged that when many consumers registered online for a sports-related activity like a marathon, a 5K run, or even a soccer camp or little league, the company enrolled them as members of the ‘Active Advantage’ membership program. The company charged an annual $59.95 membership fee, which showed up on credit card or bank statements. The agreement, called an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance, requires The Active Network to comply with Iowa's Buying Club Law in connection with any future enrollments. In addition to the $237, 167.42 payment for refunds, the agreement also required a $15, 000.00 payment to the state for consumer fraud enforcement. The company denied liability in the agreement.
This action is final.
sorry, i don't think my link to the State of Iowa, attorney generals settlement against Active came through. here it is.
http://www.state.ia.us/government/ag/latest news/releases/sept 2013/online merchant.html
so apparently, i cant paste in the Iowa attorney general link. You can google Iowa Attorney general Active advantage. should pull up the page. Best of luck to you all :)
Twice I have been put on hold, for damn near an hour. I don't have time to sit and wait. This is a total scam. I am so angry.
Exactly the same and after 6 emails without a reply, an attempt at online chat during which I got a message stating to contact them during regular business hours (it was regular business hours) and one hour on the phone sitting on hold, no one ever picked up, I would agree this is in fact a scam! I contacted my bank for a refund because I cannot get a response from the company.
**Scam Alert**
Got an email thanking me for my renewal $64.95. & I am like WTF?
Rude Active operator tells me I don't remember buying in & I am signed up since 2013 from "Twin Cities 5k" really? I am in VA & last time I checked that race is in Minneapolis, now I go back & check, sure enough, Getting hit with fraudulent charges 3 years running. This will NOT stand: the dude cannot abide.
called credit card Co for fraudulent activity report, let them thrash it out. Active.com SCAM !
Come on, put some teeth into a law or something already.
Just got the email saying I had been charged $64.95. I bought two race tickets for my wife and I and never saw an option to opt-out of any free trial membership - I only wanted tickets for the run! At any rate, I will be doing my best to get a full refund (thank you AMEX) and will avoid this company in the future if at all possible. It sounds like they have a TicketMaster corner on race tickets for some events though so that is unfortunate.
Same here. I wish I would have Googled them before I finished registering for my 5K. I was already getting a shady vibe from their website / registration before I completed the process. I have been on hold for over 30 minutes with no end in sight. I already reported the fraud to my bank, had to get my card cancelled, and get a new one. That took me 40 minutes. Thanks for ruining my Friday afternoon! There should be a class action lawsuit at this point.
I agree this is scam. I had the same issue. They automatically signed up me for membership and charged me $64.95. They didn't even email me to confirm that I have membership with them. I am so mad about this happen, and I worry to use this company to register for my next race.
Same here! I received a "Subscription Renewal" receipt today in my email for $64.95, my first reaction was WTF! Then after doing more research, I was charged last year (2014) too!
I am very upset, i am careful to read and understand what I'm signing up for and this was such a slick move that I unknowingly signed up. I have emailed support at active.com and am awaiting response. I want to be refunded both for 2014 and 2015. There has clearly been zero activity on my account except for the original race i registered for in 2014.
I cannot imagine how many other people have fallen victim to this scam and continue to be billed each year!
Yup. Just happened here! Total scam. They claimed the opt-out checkbox was missing if you registered on a mobile device due to a system glitch.
The same just happened to us charged $64.95 (then converted into Canadian Dollars). I am a runner so I assumed it was my card and I had missed opting out - they had no record of me. It was my husband's details they had and he doesn't run (back injury). We don't use credit cards very often and the only thing he used it for recently was a hotel booking in Seattle - they used Active to process. I phoned up and cancelled and we are getting our money back, We will lose out on the exchange rate when it is converted back into Canadian dollars, but at least we are getting it back.
Going to contact the credit card company to put a block on it to make sure that they don't try and renew it next year as I have heard that they sometimes do.
Fraud Alert with MSU Camps reported to Tim Fox - MT Attorney General
Montana State University should be ashamed, I paid for my daughter's MSU basketball camp via a service MSU uses called Active Network, LLC. This company charged my card for a “Membership” that will automatically renew using the credit card provided for the camp. I was never informed of this deceptive practice of hiding a "membership trial” within my order of a basketball camp - and my receipt from MSU/Active is proof.
I contacted my credit card company and filed a dispute. I then contacted my friend, Tim Fox MT attorney general and his assistant, Karen Kane, informing them of the fraud associated with MSU camps and Active Network, LLC. If you google Active Advantage you will see a lot of fraud claims for deceptive “membership” orders.
When calling the Active company, I was kept on hold for 22 minutes. When they finally answered, I requested a refund. Then, I got a run-a-round on “all the benefits of membership”. After I cut him off on his pitch, informed him of the fraud dispute and that I had contacted the Attorney General and reported the deception, he quickly noted that he processed a refund that I should see it post within 3 to 5 days. I’m watching for the refund...
I coped this notice to the CEO, President and Executive at MSU. Maybe they can make an educated change in policy and partners.
This place is still scamming people - At least me - I signed up for the Salinas Valley Half Marathon and ended up with this stupid Active Advantage account - What a Cheesy Deal - Too bad I did not just mail on my application. I cannot believe they can actually access my credit card information from the Salinas Valley Half Marathon sign up page - Be very carful my friends - This may be a form of identity theft! - You CANNOT get delisted by visiting their website - You must call - I would definitely be interested in joining a class action suit if one is filed
Active Network will take your money without your consent. Scam
it's 2015 and they're still at it. Called them today for a refund, which I hopefully will receive, but the sales rep was defensive, entirely not apologetic, and had the audacity to try to sell more more things, cutting me off over and over and over again. That's not how you sell things! How can Americans get away by putting warning signs on HOT coffee so you don't burn yourself but won't protect innocent athletes who just want to run in a race without getting charged by sneaky scammers!
Exact same thing happened to me when I looked on my credit card statement and found a strange charge that I did not authorize. Charge happened on a Sunday and the customer service number is not open on weekends. So I will be calling on Monday morning to get a refund otherwise will claim a fraudulent charge with my credit card company. Very disappointed!
I apparently accidentally signed up for this service when I signed up for a camping trip and a month later I was charged some $64 charge. I called and asked that it be cancelled and requested a refund. The cancellation was carried out but I hadn't received the refund within 7-10 business days so I called back. The customer service was the worst. The representative was rude and combative. I asked to speak with a supervisor and the rep told me she was a supervisor and refused to let me speak with anyone else. I called back thinking that the rep was just bad and was again refused a supervisor. Apparently the supervisors are to busy to address customer concerns. I ended up getting the refund, but not before becoming very upset by the awful customer support.
I am so over this type of predatory business practice. The success of their business hinges on someone's inattention to their finances. That's just gross.
Just got me too. I signed up for a race recently and got hit with the charge at 11:55 PM on 5/31. My credit card alert text let me know. I was watching TV at the time and knew I wasn't ordering anything online. I got the confirming email only after the charge had been processed. Emailed Active first thing the next morning from my office email (I'm an attorney, and I find my office email is more effective in dealing with these types of things). As of this writing 24 hours later, the charge has not been reversed and no one has responded to my complaint. I've signed up for countless races with Active and other similar sites. I'm always careful to avoid membership fees like this one. I guess they're getting better at hiding the opt out or disguising the opt in boxes.
I am not very happy with Active Advantage! I contacted them a month ago for information. I communicated via email. Today I noticed I was being charged $69.95 a month for their services. What services? I am not using their company. I do not even know how they received my billing information. I called to have the charge reversed, and got the complete run around. The first person I spoke to was rude and a smart mouth. The second person I spoke to kept insisting he explain their services. I have already heard about their services. I do not want their services. Terrible way to do business.
I can't even get through to anyone! After 3 emails and so far 16 minutes sitting on the phone waiting to talk to someone! Oh my blood is boiling!
I will be recommending to the board here in Houston to bar this company's usage. They will no longer be receiving funds from the volunteer, charity organizations I work with here in Houston. These people are stealing by being deceptive. I hope they get caught and shut down. This is terrible what they are doing to people. You would think that California with all it's over regulation would have something like this covered but apparently they don't
Completely agree. This has SCAM written all over it. I reserved a campsite through ReserveAmerica and was automatically signed up for this "membership". I had to call and cancel but, only after I searched for a telephone number on the internet because one was not available on the notification that they sent me which is also highly questionable.
This is criminal. The state of Florida parks department cabin reservations required me to check the box taking that trial membership. I spent an hour trying to find a work around and then relented. When I attempted to cancel my trial membership they would not confirm the cancellation. Instead they sent a new email urging me to try their useless deals. This appears to be coming out of California which really explains a lot. It seems this is more sophisticated than the scams coming out of verious counties of Africa.
I recently had the same experience and the representative was not friendly and hung up the phone and saying " I have taken care of all the charges for you and you will receive a refund email within 24hrs" Then hung up the phone. I will never participate in the again and will continue to blog about this SCAM!b Very upset
Strongly agree that the way the are doing the membershio is a scam, they must be a way that the law put a breask to this cloudy way to do business and cheat to the members
THEY ARE AWFUL. Have been charging my credit card for 3 years and THEY WERE RUDE.
The same thing happened to me! I signed up for a race and created what I thought was a free account through active.com, and then 30 days later I got a charge for $69 on my bank account. I have emailed them 3 times and have not received a single response, despite being told in an auto-generated email sent to me after that I would be contacted within 24 hours! I am currently sitting on hold with them, going on 13 minutes, and I have yet to talk to a single person! I'm getting ready to go to my bank and dispute the charge!
This thread is really old but I wanted to post and report that I just received a class action settlement check in the mail about this. I received claim information in the mail, submitted my claim form online in January 2017, and just received $219.08. www.ActiveSettlement.com
This just happened to me, and it's 2017! I signed up for a marathon and was charged for it in early June, 2017. As I was looking at my credit card billing for June, I found that Active had charged me $69.95 for an Active Advantage annual membership fee. I don't recall ever signing up for that! I called up Active and was able to get the customer service person to refund me. But this happened to me in 2017, which is 8 years AFTER this post was originally posted. Why has this continued happening?
Today is the third time that I have had a problem with this website. I signed up for a camping trip through the website THREE YEARS AGO and in the last two months they have charged me 69.95 THREE times. I don't know if they have charged me before and I just didn't notice but I can't understand why they would charge me after three years of never even visiting the site let alone using it. The first charge I at least received an email and was able to catch it but it took me a week to figure out the other two. All three times I had to call to delete the accounts and (they did give me my money back) but it still was frustrating because I knew that I didn't sign up for it and they had collected my information through the campground registration.