The Senate Commerce Committee expressed concerns about the current “free to pay” marketing procedure, which had been reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission. Addressing their concerns, Affinion has enacted new policies to strictly adhere to the regulations put forth by the FTC. These changes include

• Providing enhanced clear and conspicuous disclosure of all material terms of every offer in multiple locations throughout the offer.
• Ensuring the consumer is billed only after obtaining the express informed consent of the consumer both to be charged for the offered service and to be charged to the identified account.
• Requiring that the consumer gives — at a minimum — the last four digits of their account or credit card number for every online transaction involving pre-acquired account information and a free to pay conversion.
• Clearly indicating in all solicitations that the program is provided by the company.

Affinion is going beyond the requirements of the FTC to ensure customers are protected. These additional measures include:

• Displaying prominently the 1-800 customer service number which can be used for cancelations on every Affinion enrollment and confirmation page.
• Adding language to enrollment web pages that makes it even clearer to consumers that they are being invited to enroll in a club or program that is distinct from, and has distinct terms and conditions from, the offerings on our partners’ websites.
• Including the 1-800 customer service number which can be used for cancellations in each Affinion welcome email.

“Affinion is proud of its long-standing history of employing the best marketing practices in the industry and how our programs provide tremendous value for millions of consumers worldwide,” James Hart, Senior Vice President, Communications and Brand said. “While our marketing has always incorporated clear, prominent and unambiguous terms, we continually reevaluate our offers to make certain consumers are able to make fully informed decisions.”

“Affinion looks forward to continued dialogue with both the committee and our customers to ensure we remain the industry leader in both standards and quality,” Hart said.

Affinion Group is a global leader in providing comprehensive customer engagement and loyalty solutions that enhance or extend the relationship of millions of customers with many of the largest and most respected companies in the world. Affinion is the parent company of Trilegiant, another customer loyalty company. Affinion is currently under the leadership of CEO Nathaniel Lipman.

Source: Affinion Unveils Enhanced Online Marketing Standards (PR Newswire)

Card Patrol monitors and analyzes chat rooms that are known havens for credit card thieves and other identity criminals. Through this real-time, preemptive monitoring, Card Patrol helps stop fraud before it happens. Card Patrol members can register up to ten account numbers, and Card Patrol will scour the web and chat rooms to see if those numbers come up in fraudulent trading and transactions. Clients are also notified for fraudulent use of other coveted identity data, such as social security numbers, mother’s maiden name, and card PINs.

Serge Rivest, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Davis + Henderson, is impressed with Card Patrol’s work. “Card Patrol has been successful in increasing awareness of identity theft as it continues to claim more victims worldwide,” Rivest said. “This service has been a benefit that many of our customers take advantage of.”

Tom Rusin, CEO of Affinion Security Center, warns that identity theft is a growth industry. “The rapid growth of this program indicates consumers’ increased attention to the threat of identity theft, the link to personal finance and consumers’ reliance on trusted financial partners to provide them with reliable solution,” Tom Rusin said.

Affinion Security Center, a division of the Affinion Group, has a long history of providingsecurity, credit monitoring and identity theft protection. In 1969, Affinion Security Center launched HotLine, a pioneer program to stop ID theft and credit card fraud. In 1992, Affinion launched PrivacyGuard, a membership-based comprehensive credit monitoring product which was which is still in wide use today. Today, the Affinion Group offers a full range of security options, including BreachShield, PCSafety Plus, and Identity Secure.

Additional Affinion News:

• Affinion Helps Financial Institutions Respond to Legislation
• The Linked In profile for Affinion division Trilegiant
• Trilegiant and America Online announce marketing agreements
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