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Joshua Farber

PUBLIC WARNING - VISTA PRINT

By: Joshua Farber
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 12:13 AM

I noticed on another post several users suggesting Vistaprint. I enchourage you to use caution with this company...

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I have a bank account that I was not using. I had used it at one point but when I consolidated my accounts, I decided not to close the account and just leave a little money in it to keep it open. Since I was not using the account, I never paid any attention to it.

Several months ago I just happened to look at the account online and discovered that there have been monthly charges and consequently monthly overdrafts.

I immediately reviewed the entire account, called my wife and asked her if she knew what the charges were, then filed disputes with my bank.
My bank sent me notices that I had to first attempt to resolve the issue with the company who charged the money.

This is where it gets interesting.

There were three companies all charging $14.95 per month.

I called the first company “Privacy Matters”. I spoke to a woman with an Indian accent named Visasan and told her that I had no idea who authorized the charges; I don’t even know what their company does. She explained that they sell access to credit reports and proceeded to offer to cancel the account and refund the last charge. I explained there were several months that I was charged and requested that all charges be refunded. She reviewed the account and told me the charges were authorized by “VistaPrint”; then apparently spoke to a manager and complied.

When I made the second call to “Shopping Essentials”, I noticed something interesting, both companies had toll free numbers (not interesting in itself), both companies are located in Connecticut, and both companies had the same phone system. The man who answered was named Vincent and also sounded Indian,  I explained that I had just called a company called “Privacy Matters” and was told that “VistaPrint” authorized the charges on my account and assume the same was true with “Shopping Essentials” and requested the account closed and all the money refunded. He also apparently spoke with a manager then complied.

At this point I was very suspicious, I was sure they (Privacy Matters, Shopping Essentials, and VistaPrint) were all the same company. The third company on my list was “Vista Print” also with a toll free number and located in Connecticut. While there phone system was slightly different it had the same prompts. The kicker was the person who answered my call was Vincent from the pervious call and YES he remembered me and offered to immediately cancel the account and refund ALL of my money.

  1.  Why if they are all the same company and I told both people that the charges were not authorized didn’t they offer to cancel all the accounts and refund my money immediately?
  2. There must be some law about companies authorizing charges on customer accounts and providing information to other companies even their own subsidiaries.
  3. I am sure I am not the only person who has had this issue with “VistaPrint”.
  •  Even though I was a customer of “VistaPrint” in the past I will never do business with them again. I am asking that everybody immediately STOP using “VistaPrint” and their subsidiaries or affiliates, forward this email to your friends and family, and advise them to carefully look at their accounts. I am sure many people just overlook these charges and think maybe their husband or wife made a purchase; I know I did.
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Comments

Nancy Golliday
Member Since '07

Nancy Golliday said:

Hey Joshua, sorry you encountered that with VistaPrint!  They've just lost at least 3 clients that I know of, including me, because of this.  I was even advertising them on my website as a recommended vendor.  Not anymore!  Thanks again.  Appreciate the warning.

May 29, 2007 10:42 PM
Phil Anderson
Member Since '04

Phil Anderson said:

Wow!   That's scary!   They did my cards and I'm extremely happy.  And they have not charged me anything else (I bank online also and stay on top of withdrawals).

Would you supply the 800 #s for us?  I'd like to call them and make sure that they are not planning to raid my account.

Thanks for the heads up!

May 29, 2007 11:20 PM
Leesa Finley
Member Since '07

Leesa Finley said:

Good advice.  Although I did not encounter the same issues as you I am familiar with what you are talking about.  At checkout after your order is processed there is a very misleading screen.  It is 6:00am and i can't remember what it says but it is enough to make you think you have to click it.  It has nothing really to do with Vista Priint but it does "enroll" you in the monthly charge program that you are referencing.  Luckily, I had read an email similar to your post and was aware of the "program"  So, that ONE TIME that I did click it I immediately called (probably got Vincent! haha) and had it cancelled.  I was a fortunate one in that it was immediately cancelled.  It has been over a year since that happened and I have had no erroneous charges to my account.  BE CAREFUL!  I am so sorry, Joshua, that you got hit with all of that.  I, too, have an account with very little in it and rarely check it.  I think I'll go do that right now!

May 30, 2007 4:15 AM
Becky Troutt
Member Since '05

Becky Troutt said:

WOW.  Thanks for the heads up!

May 30, 2007 5:08 AM
Lu Cohen
Member Since '06

Lu Cohen said:

wow! i just recommeded vistaprint ...i had a problem with my business cards and the vistaprint people were very nice.. They credited me my money and printed new cards etc. This was a one time deal.  I did notice those sign extra pop ups to sign up for all different things.Hopefully I pressed the right buttons. I will have to check.   I use to use printdirectforless.com. I never had a problem with them at all. I have used them for almost 2 years but wanted to give vistaprint a try because their prices were so good!

May 30, 2007 5:18 AM
Keji Iluyomade
Member Since '05

Keji Iluyomade said:

I had the same experience with Vista Print last year and from then on I stop doing business with them.

May 30, 2007 5:56 AM
Karen Weger
Member Since '05

Karen Weger said:

I imagine this could happen shopping for anything on the internet with a credit card.

May 30, 2007 6:00 AM
Lucia Brooks
Member Since '03

Lucia Brooks said:

With all of the identity theft going on today I check all of my accounts online daily!  Better safe than sorry.  I guess you really have to watch for those radio checkboxes, you might end up with more than spam!

May 30, 2007 6:40 AM
Carmen and Jeff Bills
Member Since '07

Carmen and Jeff Bills said:

Thanks for the tip, Shame on Vista!!!!!!!

May 30, 2007 7:11 AM
Velda Miller
Member Since '03

Velda Miller said:

After you complete your order with VistaPrint, you are asked if you want to participate in additional offers.  That is where the "extra" charges are coming from.  You just have to click on NO when you see these screens after you check out.  I'm still very happy with VistaPrint and will continue to use them.  

May 30, 2007 8:33 AM
Tim and Susan Fennell
Member Since '06

Tim and Susan Fennell said:

Hmmm.... just how does 'participate in additional offers' translate to 'charging your credit card for services/products you didn't ask for'?  This sounds deceptive to me... enough so that I will certainly avoid them.

May 30, 2007 10:29 AM
Velda Miller
Member Since '03

Velda Miller said:

When you get to the additional offers, you have two choices ... YES or NO.  Clicking the YES button means you agree to purchase the additional items.  I've never had a problem since I always click the NO button on the additional.  It isn't deceptive at all if you read what is on the screen before you start clicking buttons.

May 30, 2007 3:19 PM
Yalda Alawi
Member Since '05

Yalda Alawi said:

Customer Service via phone is outsourced by many big companies. (Sprint for one) They are outsourced to India - hence the accent and getting Vincent twice.

This could all be a simple mix up and I would be very hesitant about giving a company a bad name based just on that.  I have used Vistaprint in the past and was pleased w/ their service.  

May 30, 2007 11:12 PM
Michael McCaskill
Member Since '07

Michael McCaskill said:

I, too, have used Vistaprint successfully for the last year, without problems.  I have found their products to be of good quality and service to be very efficient.  One does have to look carefully at the various screens and buttons to ensure you know what you're agreeing to--but I found things to be pretty clear.

As far as accents, I'm not surprised at all, anymore, to find that I am speaking with customer service representatives outside of this country...that is indeed the way business has gone (although I don't like it).  

I am bothered though with regard to the "shout out" to everyone not to utilize this company.  As many have stated...they've had much success with the company, while apparently some believe they've been misled.  I believe we have a responsibility to be very careful if inferring that a business has conducted some bogus transaction, when there is indeed the distinct possibility that a purchaser may have clicked on the wrong button.

As each of you know, our NAME is extremely valuable in our business.  Our successes are often times a credit to the good name we develop in our communities.  A simple miscommunication in our business can soil our reputation in a hurry.  Unfortunately we're not always able to present both sides of an equation...as is the case here with Vistaprint.  Without knowing the other side, we're being asked to not conduct business with a company that may have done things just as the customer indicated in the transaction.  As Yalda indicates...this could have simply been a mix up or improper click on the website.

A word of caution to everyone and a reminder for everyone to check their monthly billing statements would have, perhaps, been the best recommendation to make in this matter.  An inference that they've been unethical may be crossing the line; however.

May 31, 2007 12:49 PM
Mipeco Realty, Inc -  Michaela Krestenic, Broker-Owner
Member Since '03

Mipeco Realty, Inc - Michaela Krestenic, Broker-Owner said:

this has nothing to do with Vistaprint but with being carefull of all the charges you have an your cards and accounts overall. I have a credit card that I don't use, just have a balance on and pay off part of it every month ... I've been basically just sending in the payment, not even looking at the statements (well I do it all online too, so I never look at the paper statements) ... and as I have been finally getting close to doing my taxes (about time right?), I have reviewed some of the accounts that I have ... and found out I have been paying for eNeighborhoods for quite a few months!!! I don't even know when I signed up!!! Must had been one of those "free trial" calls that we get every day! Knowing myself, I probably wanted the person to leave me alone and agreed to what I thought was a limited time trial that would EXPIRE! ... BTW, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against eNeighborhoods, I used to have them long time ago but at that point the system wasn't flexible enough for me, that's why I didn't even think about keeping it ...little did I know that I actually signed up! Next time I better make sure that a free trial is really free and will EXPIRE and not require me to call in and cancel!

May 31, 2007 5:25 PM
Velda Miller
Member Since '03

Velda Miller said:

What bothers me most are the companies that give you a free 30 day trial and then it takes an act of Congress to cancel it before charges start.  I hate Stamps.com for that very reason.  It took 2 months to get them cancelled!!!!!  I could never get through on the phone and when I did I was on hold forever (once for 40 minutes and not one live person to talk to so I hung up). I tried email and finally threatened legal action because I had proof of all the failed attempts to cancel which finally worked. They refused to refund any money but stopped the charging on my account.

I agree, we must be careful how and what we say when we warn others but I think it is a good idea to share, within limits, of a bad experience.

May 31, 2007 7:51 PM
Karen Weger
Member Since '05

Karen Weger said:

I like Vista Print. I hated to here the story. I have used them for years. I am probably not going to change. I know not to hit the button that says yes, or the button that says you can get a $25 gift certificate for registering.  

June 1, 2007 8:47 PM
Cyd  Weeks
Member Since '05

Cyd Weeks said:

I've used vista print for ages with no difficulties at all.  I don't purchase anything other than what I've ordered and go no further than just placing the order and paying.   I've gotten great deals and quite a few ideas from them, so, I'll keep using them.  

I do find the 'extras' crap annoying but am used to it.  The constant emails from them can also be annoying but hey..just when I am running out of something, there they are!  :)

June 5, 2007 5:24 PM

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Joshua Farber
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