Consumers nationwide, including up 16,000 Ohioans, are entitled to refunds from a Cincinnati Internet-based business that offers change of address services. A $3 million national refund pool has been established to reimburse consumers under a settlement with Change-My-Address.com, Change-of-Address.us, parent company Form Giant LLC, and its president, Matthew Riley, said Attorney General Mike DeWine.
After finding Change-My-Address.com/Change-of-Address.us on search engines, consumers clicked on the company website, believing it was the United States Postal Service (USPS) change of address service. USPS charges only $1 for change of address services. When consumers filled out the appropriate new address and clicked “continue” to complete the transaction, they were taken to the page requesting payment information. The company programmed the payment information so it automatically jumped down to the middle of the page, where credit card information was requested. The top of the payment page, which was deliberately not shown, stated, “To prevent fraudulent address changes and to cover the cost of processing and handling, you authorize us to charge your credit or debit card a one-time $19.95 fee.”
The defendants also represented that the cost of services would be limited to the $1 charge assessed by the USPS for address changes. The disclosure at the top of the landing page stated that the consumer would be assessed “a $1 processing fee charged by the USPS for submitting an online address change request that must be paid with a valid debit or credit card.”
Many consumers believed they would only be charged $1 for services and only learned of the $19.95 charge when it showed up on their billing statements. Later, the defendants raised the price to $29.95. The defendants refused to refund the full amount when consumers contacted them to complain.
Change-My-Address.com and Change-of-Address.us have agreed to:
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Provide up to $3 million in refunds to be disbursed among all affected consumers nationwide
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Disclose the actual full change of address service charge
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Disclose that they are not affiliated with the USPS
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Pay attorney costs and fees
The defendants are required to email all consumers who haven’t already received a full refund. The email, which was sent to consumers in late May, contained a notice of the ability to make a claim for a refund minus the $1 that was paid by the defendants for the USPS postal service address change. The email also was to include instructions on how to file a claim. Consumers have until Aug. 7, 2014, to file a claim for a refund after receiving notice.
Consumers should report potential scams and deceptive businesses practices to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office by visiting
www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov or calling 800-282-0515.