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Elderly rip off
March 5, 2011
Unauthorized charges
Folks - If you are assisting elderly parents with bills, like I am, please look for unauthorized shopper discount monthly charges. Watch for these companies to change names like PRO*HOMEPLAY and PRO*VALUE changed their name to SEM*HOMEPLAY and SEM*VALUEPLUS in December 2010. I found at least 6 other different discount services on my parents' credit card - all listed as merchandize on the credit card. They can obtain your credit card through unscrupulous Internet retailers who may post a checked box on the page where you finish a transaction or offer discounts on future sales. Some claim they sent a $5 check and it was cashed. My folks are in their 80s and never received membership or benefit information, which may be required by some state laws. Some other names are AP9*SHOPPING ESSENTIAL, which I believe changed its name to MVQ*SHOPESSPLUS, which now is called MVQ*SHOPPINGESSENTIAL. Other names are SHOPPERDISCOUNT.COM, GREAT FUN, and NORM THOMPSON REWARDS. While I post this as a problem for the elderly, it can happen to anyone at any age. It happened to me when I bought some clothing and the retailer would not let me complete the transaction without checking the box. Fortunately, I caught it after two months of charges. Please consider helping your elderly parents make sure they are not subject to this . These companies know something is wrong because they 1) change names without notifying the member and 2) an alleged "member" never uses the service over a long period of time. Thanks for reading.
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