Bizrate - Fraud is Never a Good Deal
I bought a great TV stand on bestbuy.com using in-store pickup (with verified inventory before I run around). At the end of the purchase process there was one of those customer surveys asking about the process, this one is run by bizrate. Though I didn’t use bizrate for this purchase, I have used it several times before, so I figured, “what the heck, I don’t want to get back to work anyways.”
These surveys are always started with some nebulous offer for participating in the survey, like a contest or a starbucks gift card. While I thought bizrate was a reputable brand, their offer was a “$100 value.” While I know that is unrealistic, I was a bit shocked at how brazen their ploy was.
Only after giving Bizrate information that is valuable to them (real customer reviews are second only to price data for sites like bizrate), Was I told what the offer was for. For free* I could subscribe to 4 magazine subscriptions except that I would have to pay Bizrate $8 for the free* offer AND have to authorize the renewal for the magazines (which you pay $100 for the next year). This is a bait and switch and is fraud plain and simple.
I have no doubt that no one is shocked by this sort of tactic. Magazine scams have always been around. The shock to me is that a company like Bizrate that has worked at its brand would use a bait and switch tactic. For me their brand is gone, and I will be leery of using them in the future.
I’ve also submitted this to the FTC. If you have gone through this as well, please take a moment to fill out the FTC complaint form. You won’t get a coupon from them but you will get the satisfaction of knowing that one scam may leave the net.
For the naysayer readers of my blog 
here are the three screens of the process. (note, the official rules link has no info about the bait and switch).
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November 19th, 2005 at 2:39 pm
Thank you so much for this posting!!! I just almost got scammed by this but now am worried they will try to put charges on my visa and claim I said “yes” to it - I’ve been through this before so should have known better - and exactly like you I thought why not give them a few minutes?
Again, THANK YOU! I will file a complaint with the FTC!
December 17th, 2005 at 4:29 pm
I went through the exact same process as you, but before I clicked “Yes, ship my selections!” I searched google to see if I would be screwed. My hunch was right and I thank you for writing this or I may have been subject to the same bait and switch BS.
February 10th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
I have filed a complaint with the FTC plus the Florida Attorney General and I am looking into a lawsuit. This has got to stop!
February 19th, 2006 at 10:59 am
thanks for documentning this - saved me some hassle
March 23rd, 2006 at 6:55 pm
I took the bait after ordering through Lenox this month. I have already had to cancel to subscriptions for about $150. That isn’t free to me.
July 12th, 2006 at 5:51 pm
When the offer seems too good to be true, it usually is. I am a fan of googling (”free bizrate magazines”) before believing, and came across your blog. Thank you so much for verifying what I thought to be true. I hope you have all been successful with the FTC. I wonder how many companies we all order from know about this apparent scam…
August 14th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
You just saved me - I took the survey after redeeming my cokerewards at SonyStyle, but I went to google before choosing my magazines.. Didn’t want to say “yes” without more information.. It seemed a little too good to be true, and now I know it is !
September 20th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
Wow this is quite a poor business practice. It does seem quite odd if it is the same “bizrate” that is a premiere site on the internet. What a way to ruin one’s brand. I just hope that my company BizRave Inc. is never confused for that one. Strangely I found this posting doing some research on internet discounts because I run a discount site ( http://www.discountsonline.com ). Thanks much for this interesting posting.
September 20th, 2006 at 4:57 pm
This is very strange for a company such as bizrate which is considered a very respectable company on the internet. What a way to ruin a corporate image. I can’t imagine what would be worth the price of this type of involvement to them. Hopefully noone ever confuses them with my little company BizRave Inc. We do business consulting and would really advise strongly against anything like that. I hope this is note a duplicate comment by me because I was previously unablet to see the captcha image to complete the submission.
September 28th, 2006 at 2:32 pm
Thank you for saving me from being scammed. I will file a complaint as well.
December 8th, 2006 at 6:39 am
Thanks for this. I was about to sign up for a “free” magazine myself. Excellent advice.
December 14th, 2006 at 10:07 am
I actually tried it twice the first time after i cancelled they charged the card anyway had to actually put a payment stop on it and the second time i renewed one and they charged it but the magazine company never recieved the money.
December 18th, 2006 at 11:32 pm
yeah.. i fell for it.. i now have -30 in my checking account.. i also put it on my debit so i am unable to put a stop payment. i should have looked into this more. i have reported it to the FTC already and i might look into a lawsuit. would it help to tell the BBB about this as well because i was advised by a few people to do that.
December 31st, 2006 at 5:43 pm
I was trying to sign up for the 4 free magazines when my browser crashed. I guess I should consider myself lucky after reading this.
January 25th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Help! I’m one of those fools who clicked YES! Now, I’m getting magazines every week. I don’t want to renew. So, I planned to cancel the renewal cuz it says I can cancel anytime. When I read the paper that I printed out while I chose my magazines, there was no contact number!! I emailed bizrate already but no response! Now, I don’t even know how to cancel it and stop it from autorenewing!!!
January 30th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Thank you so much for this info. I, too, was considering the magazine offer given that I’ve dealt with Biz Rate before and never received any garbage from them. Thank goodness I googled it and found your blog!
February 19th, 2007 at 2:46 am
I was just wondering if you are using this for this blog.
February 26th, 2007 at 9:04 am
I was this close to clicking “yes, ship my selections” and did a quick Google search.
Thank you, it did look to good to be true.
Now where can I get Time & People Magazine at a REAL deal :)?
March 4th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Could the same sort of problem happen at Adobe? I am waiting to find out, as over the weekend I purchased an upgrade to Photoshop as a download. Not once in examining the demo version prior to purchase or at any step from entry to the Adobe site through purchase was there any notice that an upgrade would not install if the prior version owned was older than Photoshop 5.5. And customer service is closed on weekends so this is not resolved yet. I can hardly wait to be told this is going to cost me more than the online upgrade price posted on the Adobe site. Please let it not be so, but otherwise I am going to consider it “Bait and Switch”.
P.S. I’ll let you know how it turns out if positive or otherwise.
DAVe
March 9th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
In February of 2007 Melinda is being hit with the same deception you wrote about in September 2005. I guess Bizrate finds the income worth more than the damage to their reputation.
I found your blog because I was wondering if anyone else has had their account with Bizrate closed. They didn’t inform me they were closing it. I tried to log on and find that not only is my password invalid but they claim they do not have my e-mail address on file!
Wirefly, the company I rated poorly, has had its ratings slip considerably in the past three months. I wonder how much worse their rating would be if Bizrate did not censor unfavorable reviews such as mine.
March 20th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Call me stupid-I fell for the “free” deal and just caught the renewal on my cc statement-here is the number, 800-642-5640. Please let me know what else I can do to help stop this kind of fraud.
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:42 pm
I noticed this scam, too, after buying a cell phone online. It’s been two years since this post went up… Any word on all these ‘lawsuits’ and FTC complaints? This really gives me faith in our legal system.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Just to be clear, even though you authorize the renewal you have the chance to cancel the sub before it happens. Inconvenient, yes, but worth getting 52 issues of Time or EW for only $2. I’ve done it and had ZERO problems cancelling my sub before the renewal was charged.
March 28th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
I got all GREAT magazines (Oprah, Time, Cosmo, Readers Digest) all for $8 and a YEAR subscription FREE! I just cancelled before the year ended when they mailed me a postcard. AND I came across it again and got all new magazines for $8 (cost of one issue at the grocery store). Why is everyone so upset?!
March 29th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Great magazines, great price and an easy way to cancel. Just call the 800#. 1-800-927-9578
March 30th, 2007 at 6:00 am
I did this a year ago with a small amount prepaid card which could not be charged again. After receiving magazines for one year, I received no bill, no renewal notice, and nothing charged on me. I think $2 is a great deal for 56 issues of Time magazine!
April 26th, 2007 at 12:03 am
I remember trying one of these deals in my Freshman year at Uni. I canceled after 10 months or something, and I was never charged. Yes it seems a little shady, but I used a local bank credit card and they have great service, so I knew if there was a problem, it would be easier to sort out. However, this time ordering from another store, I skipped it =) Just to be safe hehe
May 17th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Thanks for the heads up. I searched “Bizrate fraud” and found this. Glad I was right….. but wanted to make sure I wasn’t just paranoid.
June 28th, 2007 at 11:52 am
I just tried to cancel my magazines and when I said, “NO” the recording took it as “YES” to charge all my PAST magazines and keep going for another 60 days of People! I’m hopping mad because I can’t remember which card I used and can’t get a REAL person to talk to at Bizrate! I am trying to cancel a full month before I have to so to be sure that I am well within my time. Two magazines canceled just fine so I guess I will know the card when those credits come through, but I’m so angry. I was born and raised in the USA and nobody has ever had a problem understanding how I speak. How in the world do you get Yes out of No?
We also have 3 magazines at just $2/year. Are we signed up for full renewal after the one year? Hum…
I went to the Bizrate site to the contact us right before finding this and asked them to contact me with a live person line for the magazines. Maybe I have to call People?? What if we all called the magazines they are selling to tell them how unhappy we are?
June 28th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
OK, here is what I did…I called People to see if they could give me the Bizrate phone number. They gave me 1-877-543-7564 and told me to keep pushing 0 0 0 until you get a operator and it works! I got Sarah who was exceptionally nice and we went over all 8 magazines which included the ones I had just canceled. She gave me the $114.00 People credit as well as made all 4 of my $2 magazines “Do not renew” for me. I am keeping only one magazine, National Geographic Traveler but not as a renewal since she can’t give me the renewal rate.
July 6th, 2007 at 9:59 am
This isn’t exactly a ‘bait and switch’, it’s just standard practice with magazine subscriptions; the first year is heavily discounted so you’ll be more likely to let the steep renewal fees slip by the following year. All you have to do is cancel the subscription before the renewal date and you never pay more than the initial fee.
Trying to claim this is fraud is, well, fraud. You don’t even give an example of how Bizrate is supposedly misleading here, other than your claim they require you to renew, which is a misunderstanding or blatant fabrication on your part, ie, Fraud and Defamation.
Though granted, calling it a “free” offer is misleading, the terms of the agreement are well laid out and no one is required to pay anything behind the $2 per magazine the offer clearly states on each page. (Though for the record, ” ‘free’ offers” aren’t anything new either. The *offer* is being made to you for free, while the product or service being offered is not. It’s just another sales tactic employed since the beginning of time.)
Consumers that fail to read the fine print, then file complaints to the FTC, are the reason the FTC is so swamped with paperwork it takes forever to act on legitimate claims.
Bizrate isn’t fraudulent, it’s just annoying.
August 17th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
I just recommended this Bizrate mag offer to someone today! I have gotten several PC mags as well as Time, Newsweek, National G. and more for over 2 years with only 1 extra charge-(I lost the postcard they send to cancel before renewing at full price). I called the Toll Free number and the charge was removed. Just signed up for 4 more 2 weeks ago, got 1st SI yesterday, regular subscription is $72 with a fleece jacket. I’ll buy my own jacket with the money I saved!!
How about you list these responses starting with the most recent posts. Then people can see what reasonable, intelligent people think about this GREAT way of getting national magazines at a super discount.
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Dan, from above, is entirely correct.
This isn’t a scam. It’s no different from doing rebates at Circuit City. They usually advertise the price after rebates, which you won’t benefit from months down the line. In this case, you benefit first, but potentially might pay heavily down the line.
I used to get upset at this offers but now that I’m older and wiser, I just sort out my paperwork, set up my reminders, and cancel as required. Do that right and there’s loads of free or nearly free stuff at your doorstep. Can’t do that right? Then don’t jump on these tempting offers. That’s really as simple as it gets. Get used to reading the fine line and decide whether to commit or not. Don’t blame anyone else your failure to do basic consumer research. Done.
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Thank God I googled and I found your post! Great share!
September 11th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Thanks for posting this! Like other commenters, I was just about to press accept when I decided to search Google for how safe bizrate is. Same ploy and everything. That was close! Especially considering this card is new and my parents wouldn’t be too happy that I fell for an online scam so quickly. You saved my butt
Thanks!
September 11th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Well, I’ve been scammed. I guess I get to waste more of my time making phone calls to a company that is trying to rip me off. If it isn’t the IRS it’s somebody else.
September 12th, 2007 at 8:17 am
I don’t understand how people are claiming they got scammed? I paid for 2 magazines last year. I was charged $4.00. My year is up and I cancelled. That was two months ago. I was not charged for anything else.
Were those of you claiming to be scammed charged for a subscription? I don’t get it. How is this bait ans switch. It clearly says that you will be charged after your FREE year is up. You have the option to cancel.
September 26th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
I went through the survey and signed up for the 4 free magazines, even agreeing to pay for the service charges and it kept saying that my zip code info was an error. So they purposefully programed things so I couldn’t sign up for the mags anyway. I am quite nervous that they have my info including credit card number now.
October 6th, 2007 at 1:19 am
Thank you for the information.
It was very good to know you need a phone call to cancel subscriptions.
It would have took me big hassle just to find out a right phone number, since those 800 numbers do not work for international calls.
I am not living in US and the fee for the calls could take more than $100!
October 7th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
I was also scammed by BizRate in the same way - promising $100 only to find out that it was for magazines that I had to pay for. Hodges marine seems like a reputable on-line store but when I called about the $100 they said they didn’t know anything about it since it was not their rating system.
That’s the last time I shop there since they were as stupid as I was about the scam.
Shame on BizRate - they’re petty lying thieves!
October 30th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
+1 to calling the people who who post without reading the responses “hasty.” this isn’t a scam, the terms are laid out for you plain as day. All you have to do is use some kind of online service, like Yahoo Mail for godsake, to send you a reminder in a year to cancel the subscription using the contact information they give you before you hit “accept.” Just click the Calander and create a new event. It even lets you notify any email addresses, your messenger IM, your mobile device.
oh the halarity
the free magazines are ripe for the taking!
November 3rd, 2007 at 4:53 pm
I just made travel reservations on lessno.com and I never go for these surveys and promises of free stuff… but I figured bizrate sounded legit. When I came up to the magazine screen I was slightly confused about the “free”, so I googled it and came accross this board. Glad I didn’t go further… mad I even took the survey.
November 10th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
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November 27th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
First, let me say that I’m having completely different problems than everyone else here on this blog. I subscribed to the four magazines for $2 each. No problems there. However, since then I’ve received 20 to 30 other magazine subscriptions/bills. That is my problem. All the telephone numbers above belong to NewSub Magazine Services LLC a Division of Synapse Group, Inc. (www.synapsegroupinc.com). * These are good numbers to cancel your subscriptions. * Here are the two numbers I have for NewSub Magazine Services LLC:
1-800-321-6247
1-203-595-8255
I called, and every time I spoke with a man who called himself Mr. Anthony. He said they were not Biz Rate. Biz Rate/Shopzilla’s contact info:
BizRate.com
12200 W. Olympic Boulevard, Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90064
US
+1.3105711235
I hope this information helps anyone who is also not very happy about this bait and switch crap or any other scam that may have happened… I know it helped me…
December 13th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Thanks for the heads up on these scumbag thieves.
December 15th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
From what I can tell, although a bit deceptive, this is a legitimate offer. The processing fee is stated very clearly before you put in your name, address, and credit card information.
Here’s what I decided to do. Since I only wanted one of the magazines (hence, a $2 fee), I generated a virtual account number for my Citibank Mastercard (a free service if you have such a card) and specified a $2 credit limit on it so that nothing more than the specified fee can be charged up front. Once the charge has been made, I can deactivate the virtual number, so they will never know my real card number and cannot automatically charge me a renewal fee, or any other unauthorized fees.
I would recommend that anytime you are unsure about an online credit card purchase, you should either get a virtual credit card number or a pre-paid one-time use credit card, which should allow you to avoid any unscrupulous charges, which could threaten both your bank account and your credit rating.
December 20th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Just read the frikkin’ Authorization!! All you have to do is be organized enough to write “cancel” on the renewal card the magazine company will send you in a few months. Done deal. You’ve gotten a year’s worth of mags for $2.
December 21st, 2007 at 11:48 am
Oh, it is too late. I just took the offer and I forgot to write down the phone number to cancel the subscriptions upon renewal. Does anyone have the phone number? Thanks.
January 5th, 2008 at 10:59 am
I got this offer a week ago and after debating for a while I decided not to go through with the survey. After pondering this morning whether I could have had a $100 dollar gift card for scifigenre.com, I googled bizrate $100 scam and sure enough this came up. Thankfully I made the right decision.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
You can cancel the renewals on-line.
Go to http://www.magcustomerservice.com
You need to click on “Other Services” (as I recall) to get a list of choices, one of which is “Cancel a renewal”
I filled in the on-line form (an hour ago) and pressed Submit.
This should work.
(I did this because, after waiting for a real person to answer, I got a recording that the call center is open only from 8 AM to midnight Eastern time.)
January 24th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
I just got an issue of Western Interiors magazine and have no idea how I got it. When I called the number Western magazine gave me (1-800-321-6247) for NewSub Magazine Services LLC, it was an automated system… (Developing)
February 1st, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Re: “OK, here is what I did…I called People to see if they could give me the Bizrate phone number. They gave me 1-877-543-7564 and told me to keep pushing 0 0 0 until you get a operator and it works!”
Thanks so much for the advice! The number still works! I got a hold of someone right away. They are very friendly and will cancel subscriptions without hassle. I think it’s a deal, and knowing how to get in touch with these people gives me piece of mind.
March 11th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
after making a purchase on JTV the little box popped up. I took the survey and filled out everthing until they wanted my bank account information. I don’t give that out unless it is a site that I’ve done business with before or I know is legit. I just closed the window and ran all the necessary diagnostics to make sure I didn’t get a virus or spyware. Now today I get an e-mail from BizRate wanting to know if I received my JTV order of 3/3/08. So, if they don’t get you one way, they try to another. I forwarded the e-mail to JTV and will contact FTC. Thanks for the good info.
March 15th, 2008 at 5:59 am
Thank you Thank you! I am so happy I found this page. I clicked yes and chose my 4 magazines, and have been living in fear the last month (since I first got an issue) that I am going to be charged for them for the rest of my life! I followed the advice I found here. This number: 1.877.543.9578 and kept hitting 0 until I got to a human being. I then asked when I need to cancel before getting charged for the next year. I now have the number and date on my fridge and I am going to enjoy the 4 magzines I will be getting till then (I did pay the $2 each, I might as well keep getting them right!) Thanks for putthing this blog up, it is SO IMPORTANT!
Thanks again….
March 16th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I regularly buy jewelry from szul.com whom I have ussed over the last 3 years and when I finished the order they sent me over to bizrate and before I realized I was not on szul.com any longer I had already given up my email address. I didn’t opt in for the magazines (than god!) I sent an email to szul asking them why they would partner with someone who would want my information on how much I just spent on their site and asked so many questions about my purchasing habits. They said bizrate reviews them so they ca get a good online reputation. I read the bizrate Terms of Service and came to this part :
http://www.bizrate.com/content/privacy.html
In certain areas or features on our Web site or other Services, we may work with a reputable third-party source of specialized information or other content and services to provide you with some information or service (”joint services”). You authorize us to share with such party any information you provide in connection with your use of those joint services, and such party’s handling and use of any shared information shall be governed by their own privacy policies and terms of use.
Sure enough, it’s a month later and I got my first piece of spam from an online jeweler who is almost identical to szu (but prices are half as much.) Of course at the bottom they say I’ve opted in.
What blows me away is how stupid szul.com is to partner with bizrate!!!! Why would they refer me to someone who blatently is going to sell my information to a competitor? I literally gave them the credit card number and they automatically kicked me over to bizrate! “Hey bizrate, this guy just gave us a credit card number to buy jewelry online, feel free to quiz him about his purchase habits and contact information.”
What did szul honestly think that htey were going to do with my information? Jackasses!
March 17th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Thanks. My order was through Bath and Body Works which took me to the BizRate survey. Being a skeptic, I googled the site for information and came across your postings. Needless to say, you saved me from being caught up in their scam.
March 18th, 2008 at 2:47 am
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April 3rd, 2008 at 7:59 am
Pick me, I’m the Bozo on the bus this time! Scammed by Scum. I wish I had found this site before doing any shopping online. I fell for the “free” subscription bit also through Bizrate only to discover a $2.01 debit to my account this morning from TWX Magazine. After finally reaching someone at the toll free #800-773-3142 I was told they were “testing my account to see if it was still active” and the pending charge would be dropped in 24 hours! The rep actually wanted to argue about the legality of accessing my account without my knowledge & said that’s how internet business is run. I thanked him for the info, called my bank, they cancelled my debit card as we spoke and referred me to their abuse department. Upon further review, my account had apparently been “tested” last month and the charge dropped. The transaction doesn’t appear when I access my account, since they dropped the pending charge within the 24 hour period, but it was retained by the banks computer. My stomach has been in knots since this morning but being a little wiser now and with my banks help I’ll participate in their Shop Safe program.
April 6th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Thanks to the power of surf, I was not a victim of this scam. I happily filled out their questionaire because I was very pleased with my online purchase. And hey, the opportunity to get $100, possibly in the form of coupons, gift card etc was very appealing. However, the $2 charge for the FREE magazine tipped me off. Since I work for a bank, I hear and see this kind of thing everyday and this magazine freebie for $2, made me do a quick surf for Bizrate magazine scam. And well the rest is history. I loved the posting regarding the virtual number with $2 limit. Wish my bank had that capability. Perhaps someday. Oh and a message to Bizrate >:P