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Orbitz Sharing Customer Credit Card Information
tstorm writes "ConsumerAffairs.com has a warning about Orbitz and their affiliation with a company called MWI. Apparently numerous people who have booked travel through Orbitz are finding unauthorized $9.95 monthly charges on their credit card bills from MWI for membership in a 'discount entertainment service,' despite that fact that MWI doesn't appear to provide any actual product or service. It's also very difficult to opt-out of this membership, some people have gotten refunds for what they were already charged only to have another charge appear the following month."
if it were a $1 a month charge, how many people wouldnt have contested it? or even noticed?
I just booked a flight through Orbitz this morning and was going to book one later tonight for Memorial Day weekend. This is the last time I use Orbitz! Honestly, where has all the trustworthiness gone?
I encourage every to delete their credit card information from your Orbitz account. That probably doesn't grantee privacy but it is well worth it.
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One is born into aristocracy, but mediocrity can only be achieved through hard work.
If it is difficult to get them to refund your money, contact your bank instead. Usually they will refund the charge and deal with the investigation themselves just on your word that the charge wasn't authorized. Last time this happened with my American Express card, they just said "the charge has been reversed, if we need any forther information we will contact you, otherwise consider it taken care of". Your bank and ultimately visa/mastercard has a lot more leverage with a given buisiness than you. They can threaten to not allow them to process visa/mc/amex transactions if they are the cause of too many fraudulent charges or complaints.
*disclaimer - I previously worked for Orbitz, this post is my own opinion, not that of my previous employer, this is not based off of any information I have, purely speculation and guessing based on general business practices*
I tend to avoid any "special offers" because they almost always have some sort of string attached. I don't like strings. From tstorm's follup posts, it looks like some of the methodology is at least changing. It is very possible they have some sort of contract with the company so that they can't drop the promotion. I would not say this is an example of a company being bad. This is an example of how the standard web based sales company works. Most of them have contracts with people, some good, some bad. Sometimes you just don't know until its too late and you have to ride it out.
I would say that contacting customer service before you decide to never use Orbitz again makes more sense. If you are upset enough to not use them again, let them know why. They need to be better informed as to what customers like and don't like. Thats the only way a company can better serve you, the consumer. Without you, there is no company.
-Tim
-I just work here... how am I supposed to know?
it's great not having to worry about signing up for some service and forgetting to cancel after the end of the month then having them hit the card again and again
I'm not sure it is an entirely good idea... forgetting to cancel subscriptions, that is.
I also use "disposable" credit card numbers that my bank provide me, but always cancel anything I'm not interested in renewing. The reason for this is that I don't want it coming back in the future to bite me.
Suppose that 10 years from now I'm applying for a loan or for credit or somesuch and it turns out I'm listed as delinquent on some institution for a bunch of $10.00 websites subscriptions.
Then again, I might be paranoid.
No sig
A company willing to pull dirty tricks in advertising is of course willing to go the extra mile and blatantly steal from their customers.
What can an internet shop do with your card details that a real-world shop can't? The guy you hand your card to in the roadside cafe you will never visit again has all the information the online store does, plus a copy of your signature.
There is a wonderful Dilbert cartoon on this subject which will ot fit in the margin of this message. (`I'm Not Anti-Business...' p29, acording to the index).
_O_
.|< The named which can be named is not the true named
After the third or fourth time I used Orbitz, they totally screwed up my itinerary, unilaterally changing my return flight to a different (earlier) date and a different airport in a foreign country, during the trip. They notified me with an email, which I generally wasn't checking on pleasure trips. I happened to be at a computer with some time available, so I checked email, and saw their notice. They had my phone number, but didn't call it, nor make any attempt to ensure that I had received the message. If I hadn't unexpectedly checked the message, I would have missed the earlier flight, and been stuck overseas. It also took a half-dozen calls and several hours to force them to revert to my original reservation.
Orbitz has one of the best cross-airline search engines. I use it for searching, but then effect the actual sales transaction directly with the airline. I have thereby avoided repeats of Orbitz's bait & switch scam. And I have also found that the airlines often offer even lower fares, on the identical itineraries, than reported in the Orbitz search.
Orbitz is a con. They sell tickets at an undisclosed markup, they change your itinerary without your consent, risking stranding you, and now they hand your money to a parallel scam business. They should be prosecuted, and a stake driven through their corporate heart. But they're the product of the US airlines cartel. So there's not a chance in hell that any accountability will be sought. Orbitz is way down the list of abuse dealt by these airlines, in exchange for billions of dollars in handouts, that is happily enabled by corporate protectionism from the US federal government.
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make install -not war