Advice for UK Consumers
Adaptive Affinity Complaint 06 Sept 2010
Adaptive Affinity Limited of Middlesex lodged a formal complaint against this website in September 2010 in respect of debits from VistaPrint Rewards.
On this page, we present our response, plus supporting evidence of our contributor's experiences with Adaptive Affinity.
 Update: Evidence presented on this page has also been provided to researchers for the BBC Rip Off Britain programme. The programme featuring this story was broadcast on BBC One on the 15th of December 2010. |
Background
Adaptive Affinity Limited, based in Edgware, Middlesex, offers a range of membership programme schemes. We understand that Adaptive Affinity has or does provide services for the VistaPrint Rewards Programme (VPRewards), and is responsible for brands including Rewards Now, Credit Rating Matters, High Credit Score, High Street Max and others.
On the 8th of September 2010, the ConsumerDeals team was made aware of a formal complaint submitted to the site's Internet Hosting Provider by Adaptive Affinity in respect of content published to the ConsumerDeals website.
Nature of complaint by Adaptive Affinity
The complaint from Adaptive Affinity relates to a blog post made by one of our contributors on the 17th of August 2007. At the time of writing, the post is located here: VPrewards.com on your credit card
The post in question reported that the contributor, after making a purchase with online retailer Vistaprint, was having a problem preventing credit card transactions under the names "Vprewards.Com, Vistaprint-UKgbr" and "Vprewards.Com 0845 026 1100Gbr" from being debited from his account, and in obtaining a refund.
We understand that the complaint made by Adaptive Affinity alleges that the statements made are "simply untrue and no proof is offered to validate these claims".
ConsumerDeals has reviewed correspondence presented to us by the contributor, and stands behind the statements made by that contributor. In the interests of transparency, and to offer proof to validate the statements made by the contributor as indicated, ConsumerDeals wishes to provide the following substantiation:
1. Evidence of debits made in respect of VPRewards
Seven debits of £9.95 were made to the contributor's Mastercard account between March 2007 and September 2007. Four of these debits were made after a letter of cancellation was received from VistaPrint Rewards Adaptive Affinity.
Below are extracts from the contributor's credit card statement. The original statements have been authenticated by a third party.
VistaPrint Rewards Debit #1
VistaPrint Rewards Debit #2
VistaPrint Rewards Debit #3
VistaPrint Rewards Debit #4
VistaPrint Rewards Debit #5
VistaPrint Rewards Debit #6
VistaPrint Rewards Debit #7
2. Evidence of VistaPrint Rewards account cancellation
In response to a request by our contributor to stop automatic debits from Vprewards and for a refund made on the 14th of May 2007, a letter was received from VistaPrint Rewards / Adaptive Affinity Limited confirming cancellation and promising a refund in 7-10 working days. The original letter has been authenticated by a third party. Below is an extract from that letter:
"Thank you got your letter received 14 May 2007, requesting for your membership to be cancelled with VistaPrint Rewards and an explanation of how our membership works. Firstly I can confirm that your benefits and full entitlement are now cancelled, with full refund, which will be paid directly onto your credit card. Please allow 7-10 working days for your card to be credited."
The letter ends as follows:
"I am sorry to hear that you feel your experience has not been satisfactory. I would like to apologies (sic) for any inconvenience that you may have experienced with VistaPrint Rewards and hope that we have addressed your comments."
Contact telephone number provided was 0845 026 1100 and the email address provided was enquiries@membersavings.co.uk
Extract from letter from Vistaprint Rewards/Adaptive Affinity Ltd dated 14 May 2007
3. Evidence of problems cancelling Vprewards.com debits
According to the letter received in May 2007, cancellation should have occurred immediately, and a refund provided by the end of May 2007. Despite this, four further debits of £9.95 were taken from the contributor's credit card (June, July, August and September 2007), as demonstrated by the credit card statement extracts above.
The contributor chased VistaPrint Rewards by fax on the 9th of August, and then by email on the 11th of August. Copies available on request. The contributor contacted VistaPrint Rewards again, this time by phone on the 14th of September 2007, when it was confirmed that membership to VistaPrint Rewards had not been cancelled as had been stated in writing four months prior to the call.
We believe that the continued debits of £9.95 a month applied to the contributor's credit card after written confirmation of cancellation had been received from VistaPrint Rewards / Adaptive Affinity validates our contributor's statement.
4. Evidence of problem getting a Vprewards refund
Debits totaling £69.95 were taken from the contributor's credit card. A refund was promised in May 2007. A partial refund of £39.80 (four of the seven debits) was credited to the contributor on the 17th of September 2007, over four months later than expected.
Extract of credit card statement showing partial refund
It is our understanding that as of the date of writing this article, 9th September 2010, the contributor has yet to receive the remaining three refunds, totaling £29.85.
ConsumerDeals feels that 39 months is an excessive amount of time to wait for a full refund, and based on available evidence, believes that the contributor's comments are therefore justified in these circumstances.
5. Additional Supporting Evidence of VistaPrint Rewards Delays
ConsumerDeals has been presented with a recording of a telephone conversation between the contributor and a representative of the VistaPrint Rewards scheme. In this call, the VistaPrint Rewards representative appears to acknowledge the failure to cancel the VistaPrint Rewards account or provide the promised refund.
In order to protect the identity of the representative, we have elected not to publish the audio recording at this time, however we have offered to make this available to VistaPrint, Adaptive Affinity and/or our Hosting Provider upon request. In the event that Adaptive Affinity continues to assert that our contributor's claims are untrue and/or unsubstantiated, we will be happy to publish the full recording in the interests of openness and transparency. In order for us to provide the requested proof, we are able to offer a partial transcript of the telephone call at this time.
The call was placed to VistaPrint Rewards on 0845 672 2002 on the 14th of September 2007 at 1455.
| VPR: | "Looking at this, this should have been cancelled a long time ago. You called us on the 14th of May." |
| CD: | "Absolutely correct. Every month since, I have been debited £9.95" |
| VPR: | "I think you spoke to me. Yes, that was me." |
| CD: | "Are you able to tell me why I'm still being debited and where my refund is?" |
| VPR: | "I apologise for that. It looks like our American counterparts haven't done their job.... This should have really been done 3 months ago. I'll get those refunds put in place for you... " |
Summary
Consumerdeals believes that, based on the evidence provided as published here, the contributor's statements and assertions are correct and accurate. We have not received any information from Adaptive Affinity which demonstrates, as they claim, that the information is false and/or inaccurate. As such, we do not feel that removal of this entry is warranted.
In the event that Adaptive Affinity is able to provide us with evidence that discounts the information provided to us, we will of course review the situation.
In the event that Adaptive Affinity wishes to provide an explanation as to why the contributor's account was not cancelled as stated in the letter dated 14 May 2007, why the partial refund took so long to be applied, and the status of the apparently outstanding balance of £29.85 still owing, we would be happy to pass this on to the contributor.
A full written response to the complaint, plus a summary of actions taken, was provided to our Hosting Provider on the 9th of September 2010.
ConsumerDeals 09 Sept 2010
Related Links
- Adaptive Affinity - Information and Advice
- News: Adaptive Affinity requests deletion of over 190 consumer comments
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