ProFlowers Target of Class Action Lawsuit

CHR

CHR

Design matters
Nov 28, 2002
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Mark McFall (Mac) posted this last night on Twitter: From MSNBC - Class Action Suit Targets Pro Flowers

When Josue Romero ordered a dozen roses from ProFlowers, he thought that was all he was getting. Instead he ended up signing up for a monthly Easy Saver Rewards program costing him $14.95 a month.

"I've never worked with Easy Savers," said Josue Romero, "I go though my statement monthly, and I know everything that I charge, and Easy Savers is a company I've never, ever worked with."


But Romero signed up for the rewards Web site when he finished his transaction with ProFlowers. At the end of the checkout, a window pops up offering a $15 reward. All you have to do to get the discount on your next purchase is give your e-mail address.

"And then ProFlowers, who you've already given your credit card information, will transmit the credit card information or debit card information to this company," said attorney Jim Patterson about the relationship between ProFlowers and Encore Marketing, the owner of Easy Rewards.

Patterson has filed a class action complaint against Encore Marketing and Provide-Commerce, the owner of ProFlowers, on behalf of Josue Romero. He said Romero never received any confirmation e-mail, never received any offers or anything of value from Easy Rewards in exchange for his $14.95 charge.


"The great rewards program doesn't exist, at least in our opinion," said Patterson.


"We vehemently deny the allegation in the lawsuit and will defend ourselves and our practices to the full extent of the law," said Provide-Commerce Marketing Director Sandi Adam in an e-mail.


Adam said ProFlowers has offered the rewards program since 2006.
Romero said he decided to contact an attorney when he searched online and found numerous complaints against the ProFlowers program.


"If you're not quick to look at your statement or even view your statement, these charges are going to keep hitting you and keep going and going and going until you actually figure out that you're getting a charge that you're unaware of," said Romero.


Attempts to get comments from Encore Marketing and Easy Saver Rewards were unanswered.
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Also From Courthouse News Service:

A class action claims the owner of Pro Flowers, Red Envelope and other Web sites created a phony "rewards program" to steal monthly payments from customers. A "third party marketing partner," Encore Marketing International, "fraudulently bills the credit and debit cards under the guise that Provide-Commerce's customers authorized the billings," according to the complaint in San Diego Superior Court.

Defendant Provide-Commerce sells high-end perishables through ProFlowers, Red Envelope, Cherry Moon Farms, Secret Spoon, and Sharri's Berries, according to the complaint. Provide allegedly has Encore charge customers' credit cards $14.95 a month for a rewards program that offers no rewards.

The class claims the defendants enroll customers in the "EasySaver Rewards" program without their knowledge when they go to a Web site to redeem a coupon. Later, the alleged victims find that a $1.95 "activation fee" and a $14.95 monthly "membership fee" have been charged to their debit or credit card. But the class says the deceptive program "does not provide any savings benefits, products or services."

Lead plaintiff Josue Romero says he bought flowers from ProFlowers on his debit card. He says Provide-Commerce "routinely and fraudulently transmits its customers' credit and debit card information to a third part marketing partner, defendant Regent Group Inc. dba Encore Marketing International ('Encore'), who then fraudulently bills the credit and debit cards under the guise that Provide-Commerce's customers authorized the billings".

Romero seeks class damages for fraud, breach of contract, and false advertising. He is represented by James Patterson.
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'High-end perishables"?

Anyway....Mac's Flower Complaint site has received more than 50 PF complaints in just the last 3 months. (Thanks to Mac for providing a place where consumers can go to warn others about rip-offs. :yourock: ) Seems almost all the complaints are about unwilling enrollment into the 'rewards' program. What I'm not clear on is who exactly owns Easy Saver/Encore Marketing.

This will certainly be one to watch.
 
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This could prove very interesting to follow.

Could be the beginning of the end of PF...
 
Thanks Cathy.

Many of the complaints run like the one I just posted this morning:

....."It's a shame, I used Proflowers for years and now, when I ordered flowers for my mom's birthday, I suddenly start getting charged by Easy Saver. Fortunately I caught it after only 2 months but Easy Saver's phone reps are less than helpful but I've already e-mailed Proflowers and I'm looking into other ways to file a complaint. They've lost me as a customer and I'll be spreading the word."
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A lot of the complaints are coming from loyal consumers. Proflowers contacted me about three weeks ago and wanted me to change their BBB rating from what I had posted as a "C-" to an "A." They insisted that they had raised their BBB rating to an "A" (I have it in writing). So I checked the linked-to BBB page and noticed that the rating that I saw as a "C-" the month before was removed.

Unsure of what their true real-time BBB is.....I decided to just link to the BBB page without mention of their grade.
 
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agree

CHR said:
Naaah.... They'll just have to look elsewhere for other income.

Probably be like the last class action against them where the attorneys make $ and consumers get discount coupons that can only be used during non-holiday periods.
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100% correct- except you forgot one thing...Redeem the coupons at your wire service florist ...For Sameday Delivery
 
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Heh.

A law firm with a reputation for big class action litigation, Baron & Budd, is going after PF/Provide-Commerce/EZSaver in a BIG way. ProFlowers-Complaint.com

Love the irony of Budd in their name. ;)

Read their page on Negative Option Marketing.

This one's really going to be interesting to watch.
 
"If you're not quick to look at your statement or even view your statement, these charges are going to keep hitting you and keep going and going and going until you actually figure out that you're getting a charge that you're unaware of," said Romero.

Was he looking at his credit card statement or his FTD statement:wide:
 
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Who knows where this will lead

Maybe they will have as much luck as FTD had when they launched their suit.

As I recall in the end Proflowers had to provide all of their previous customers with a "discount coupon" on a future purchase.

That sure stopped them in their tracks
 
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Motley Fool article

There's a Motley Fool article about this, too. I'm certainly glad we're not implicated in this - I can find ways to talk about a lot of things, but I can't imagine that one! :pblush:

I'm proud to say, too, that Teleflora eFlorist website users do NOT have to worry about whether or not your customers information is safe from this(not on TF.com, either, but I think in this convo it's the unwittingly involved florist sites that are more concerning to me).
 
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