How Does the EZ Saver Scheme Work?
Here’s an example of what you might have seen if you made a purchase from ProFlowers or another Provide-Commerce company:
After making a purchase at a Provide-Commerce’s online company—like ProFlowers—you see a pop-up window thanking you for making a purchase. You’re also offered $15 off your next purchase on the site by accessing a gift code through a link in the pop-up.
When you follow the link to get your gift code, you see this message:
CLAIM YOUR GIFT CODE BELOW! JUST ENTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS AND ZIP CODE AS YOUR ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE AND CLICK THE GREEN ACCEPTANCE BUTTON BELOW TO ACTIVATE YOUR EZ SAVER REWARDS MEMBERSHIP AS DESCRIBED IN THE OFFER DETAILS ON THIS PAGE.
The “offer details” are the fine print—tucked into a corner in tiny print. If you read them carefully, you learn that, by accepting your “gift” code, you are agreeing to have Provide Commerce send your credit or debit card information to EMI, which will then charge you an activation fee of $1.95 and monthly fees of $14.95 for the EZ Saver Rewards membership:
Activate your membership in EZ Savers to claim your $15 Gift Code good for your next purchase and start saving and enjoying all the benefits and access for the next 30 days for just a $1.95 activation fee billed by EZ Saver Rewards to the credit card of PayPal account you just entered during your ProFlowers purchase. Please note, by entering your email address and zip code (“Enrollment Details”) and clicking the Green Acceptance Button, your Enrollment Details as well as the following information from your most recent ProFlowers order will be transmitted securely through PGP and SSI encryption to EMI, the EZ Saver Rewards Administrator to be stored and to secure and administer your membership: your name, credit card information of PayPal bill ID number, billing address, billing telephone number and order ID number. To continue after the introductory trial period, do nothing and all the great benefits and savings will automatically continue for just $14.95 per month, billed by EZ Saver Rewards to the same credit card or PayPal account where applicable. You may cancel at any time, with no further obligation, just by calling the toll-free number contained in the membership information provided to you. And you keep the $15 Gift Code just or trying EZ Saver Rewards for just 30 days.
It would be easy enough to miss the fine print and press the acceptance button without realizing you were authorizing ongoing charges to your credit, debit or PayPal account.
It appears that EMI did more than slip some fine print into a Gift Code acceptance, however. It’s been reported that even some consumers who refused to submit their email addresses and zip codes and did NOT press the Green Acceptance Button were still charged by EMI for an EZ Saver Rewards membership offer they never accepted. Not surprisingly, there have been numerous consumer complaints about the EasySaver Rewards program.
To add insult to injury, the EZ Saver Rewards plan doesn’t provide the promised benefits. Consumers have reported that they never received the promised $15 Gift Code, much less additional benefits, access or savings. EZ Saver Rewards didn’t send any membership information or even a simple notification that the consumer had been enrolled in the program.
According to angry consumers, the EZ Saver Rewards program hasn’t saved consumers money, there has been no reward, and it has not been easy to cancel. It’s time for EMI, Provide Commerce and its online companies to clean up their acts.
