If you were charged for United Marketing Group UMG’s (1) Buyer’s Edge, (2) Dental Protector, (3) ESPN The Magazine Club, (4) Field & Stream Club, (5) Hi-Tech Auto Hotline, (6) Money Ahead Now, (7) MyAdvisor, (8) OneCall Credit Card Security Plan, (9) Perfect Home, (10) Prescription Savings Plan, (11) Prevention Healthy Rewards, (12) Simply Mine, (13) TechXperts for Consumer, (14) Travel & Entertainment, (15) Money Ahead, (16) Club Travel Rewards, and (17) Budget Travel Rewards subscription membership programs between March 26, 2006 and November 23, 2011, you may be part of a class action settlement.
A class action settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against United Marketing Group, LLC (“UMG”), Permission Interactive, Inc. (“Permission”), Pikes Peak Direct Marketing, Inc. (“Pikes Peak”), and Taylor Gifts, Inc. (“Taylor Gifts”) (collectively, “Defendants”) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (styled Van Tassell, et al. v. United Marketing Group, LLC, et al., Class Action Case No. 10-cv-02675) alleging, among other things, that following consumers’ purchase of various products on websites owned and/or operated by Permission, Pikes Peak and Taylor Gifts, they were improperly enrolled in and charged for one or more of UMG’s membership programs without their knowledge or consent, purportedly in violation of state consumer fraud statutes, violation of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, breach of contract and unjust enrichment, according to the United Marketing Group UMG membership program class action settlement notice.
The class covered by the United Marketing Group UMG membership program Settlement is defined as follows: all individuals who were charged for a Membership Program ) as the result of an online transaction between March 26, 2006 and November 23, 2011 (the “Settlement Class”). “Membership Program” means UMG’s (1) Buyer’s Edge, (2) Dental Protector, (3) ESPN The Magazine Club, (4) Field & Stream Club, (5) Hi-Tech Auto Hotline, (6) Money Ahead Now, (7) MyAdvisor, (8) OneCall Credit Card Security Plan, (9) Perfect Home, (10) Prescription Savings Plan, (11) Prevention Healthy Rewards, (12) Simply Mine, (13) TechXperts for Consumer, (14) Travel & Entertainment, (15) Money Ahead, (16) Club Travel Rewards, and (17) Budget Travel Rewards subscription membership programs.
Under the Settlement, UMG will pay a maximum of $2.85 million ($2,850,000) for (i) valid claims submitted by Settlement Class Members, (ii) notice to the Settlement Class, (iii) administrative costs of the Settlement, (iv) Settlement Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees and costs not to exceed $500,000, and (v) incentive awards to the Plaintiffs for their effort in bringing the Action in a collective amount not to exceed $7,500.
If you are a member of the Settlement Class and you choose to stay in the Settlement Class, you can submit a claim to receive a cash payment. Settlement Class Members are entitled to submit one of two types of claim forms, but not both, as follows:
1. Tier 1 Claims. Settlement Class Members that complete and submit a timely and valid claim declaring under penalty of perjury that they did not authorize enrollment in Membership Programs for which they were charged, can receive $10 for each such Membership Program.
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2. Tier 2 Claims. Settlement Class Members that complete and submit a more detailed timely and valid claim, also signed under penalty of perjury, demonstrating that they did not authorize enrollment in Membership Programs for which they were charged may recover the amount of monthly membership fees, net of any prior refunds, up to a maximum of $40 for each such Membership Program. If any one of the Defendants disagrees that a claim should be paid, it will be submitted to the Settlement Administrator for a final ruling. In resolving a disputed claim, the Settlement Administrator may in his or her discretion consider the claim and any evidence or documents submitted by the claimant or any of the Parties.
As part of the United Marketing Group UMG membership program Settlement, the Defendants have agreed that when enrolling consumers in a Membership Program after the consumers have made a purchase from a third party merchant’s website and have provided their payment information to that third party, Defendants shall (i) require all individuals to enter or re-enter their billing address and payment information (credit or debit card number) into Defendants’ website(s), (ii) transmit to all enrollees in a Membership Program a confirmation e-mail, which describes the following material terms of the individual’s enrollment: the name of the Membership Program, its price, subscription term, automatic renewal feature, the date of enrollment, and the cancellation procedure, and (iii) maintain a copy of any purported authorization for enrollment in a Membership Program for a period of at least three (3) years.
If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, and would like to receive money, you must submit a timely and valid Claim Form by April 6, 2012.
A settlement fairness hearing has been set for March 7, 2012 at 1:30 p.m. CDT, before Judge Ruben Castillo in his courtroom at the United States District Court for the District of the Northern District of Illinois (Eastern Division), Everett McKinley Dirksen Building, United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn Street, Courtroom 2141, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
For more information on the United Marketing Group UMG subscription membership program class action settlement, visit the United Marketing Group UMG membership program settlement website:
www.onlinemembershipsettlement.com
If You Have Thoughts On The United Marketing Group UMG Membership Program Class Action Lawsuit Settlement, Share Your United Marketing Group UMG Class Action Settlement Comments Below.
Started charging me membership fee in Oct 2011. Have tried to without success get the charges stopped. I am being charge for two. Keep telling me that they have taken care of the matter. They have not.
I have been charged 6 times since Sept. 16 2012. I wasn’t aware of any lawsuit until now. So far I’v been charged 89.70 for something I haven’t received anything for except billings each mo.. I need to get my money back or at least stop the bills from coming. How can I do this?
Jan: I, too, was a victim of this scam. They billed my Amex card after the deadline established by the class action case you referred to, so I could not participate in that case. I received a postcard in April 2013 which stated that if I did not call by the date (which had already passed), my “membership” would be renewed and I would be charged. I called the company, told them I was an attorney and told them that if all charges were not credited to my credit card immediately, I would file a class action lawsuit the following day. They credited my account. I just came across the postcard again, started some internet research and came across your question. Clearly, the company needs to be sued again because they continue to engage in this fraudulent conduct even after promising, as part of the class action settlement, to stop, and so they are violating the Court’s Order. I am putting together a class action. Please contact me if you are interested in participating. Kerry E. Connolly, Esq., The Law Office of Kerry E. Connolly, Esq., One Battery Park Plaza, 32nd Floor, NY, NY 10004 (212) 372-7333
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They are still doing this as of 8/6/14! After ordering something by phone from Taylor Gifts, I ended up with 2 memberships that I did not request: Money Ahead and Travel and Entertainment. How can they still be doing this? When called, they said they would refund my introductory payment and send me a confirmation email. We’ll see.