Login required to started new threads

Login required to post replies

active.com - ethics question
Quote | Reply
so, signed up for a marathon via active this week. marathon website says $70. through active though, i'm charged $60. i think that's pretty cool - maybe they are giving a discount to early people, maybe there was a typo on the website, whatever. $60, cool.

then i get an email today from the race director saying, oh, sorry, that was a mistake by active. we went ahead and charged your card an additional $10.65 today.

so....i would have paid the $70 either way, but i think it's a little unethical for active to say, oh, sorry, we screwed up when we told you our price, so we just kept your credit card number and charged you again. i authorized $60. at a particular time. couple days later...new charge. what's to keep active from saying, oh, hey, we saw you're signed up for imaz and thought you might want to go to the carbo dinner, so we went ahead and charged your card we kept on file.

i'm sure i'm just crabby from having a crappy run today. but it kind of irks me. stupid?
Quote Reply
Re: active.com - ethics question [irongeek] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
It's not worth worrying about, had they charged you for something you didn't want that would be another story. What's the .65 cents for?
Quote Reply
Re: active.com - ethics question [irongeek] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Far as I can see they made a charge with out your permission...if the store under charges you for milk they are not going to re-run your credit card a couple days later...I would bitch based on principle. What next? The race cost them more than they thought so they charge you another couple bucks?

----------------------------------------------------------

What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?
Quote Reply
Re: active.com - ethics question [irongeek] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Yup. It's illegal, assuming that the recipe you got said $60 and not $70. If you authorized $70 and they somehow only charged $60 through some random computer error, then it might be more complex. But if it said "total amount - $60" and you approved that, then they can't just charge you more.

You can fight it. I belonged to one of those record clubs for a while. They once had a special "ALL ITEMS 1/3 THE PRICE." So I bought myself the very nice Led Zeppelin Box Set. When I got the bill, it was for the full amount. I called to complain. They said "the special wasn't supposed to be on box sets." I said "it never said that anywhere, and if you don't charge me the advertised price, I'll call up the NY Better Business Bureau." They charged me the reduced price. No questions asked. If you advertise a price, even if it is a mistake, you can't charge more than that. Them's the rules...

"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp
Quote Reply
Re: active.com - ethics question [record10carbon] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
that's what i think. it's not the $10 - i've got no problem kicking in the extra $10 for the race. (the $.65 is for the active charge, and i don't have a beef with that either.) but storing my information (i don't keep an active account because i don't want that info stored, but they apparently store it anyway), well, i just think that's a bad call on their part. they should have contacted me and asked my permission.
Quote Reply
Re: active.com - ethics question [irongeek] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
List of companies that practice similar billing:
  • UPS.
  • Fedex.
  • Cingular Wireless.
  • Most bike vendors.
  • DHL.
  • State Farm Insurance.


That is just off the top of my head from my experience. It is common for these companies to retro-actively bill me for some type of miscalculation or under billing of some product or service.

When I get an invoice from Fedex with an upcharge of $243.57 for shipping a bike I sometimes laugh to myself and think, "Cool- I'll jst pass this on to the customer...." Yeah. Right.

I eat about $10,000.00 a year in these kind of charges. I can see myself calling a guy who bought a bike a month ago and telling him, "Ah, Sir, remember that bike you bought? I need to go ahead and get another $150 for that please..." that would go over real well.

Companies can seem to get away with it though. On the other hand, I did just get a check for $12.83 from my car insurance company since I never drive....

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
Quote Reply