Visa, FTC and BBB Partner to Educate Consumers about Online Scams

Visa Inc. joined the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau in a press conference on 17 December 2009 to alert consumers to online deceptive marketing practices associated with free trials with a negative option feature. With free trials with a negative option feature, a company takes a consumer's failure to cancel as permission to begin charging. While many merchants use this billing process appropriately, others pre-check consent boxes, bury the details of the offers in the terms and conditions and make cancellations or returns difficult, catching consumers in a cycle of recurring change.