Vertue, formerly known as Memberworks, may have used deceptive means to dupe online consumers to join its membership programs then unlawfully billed the consumers credit cards.

Investigation and pending class action lawsuit against Vertrue, Inc.

Vertrue, formerly known as Memberworks, markets at least 22 membership programs having names such as 24 Assistance, 24 Protect Plus, At Home Rewards, BusinessMax, Card Protect Plus, Connections, Essentials, Galleria USA, Homeworks Plus, Lifestyle Rewards, Main Street Savings, Passport To Fun, Premier Health Plus, Privacy Matters, Privacy Plus, Shopping Essentials, Simple Escapes, Simply You, Today's Escapes, Travel Source, ValueMax, and Your Savings Club.

The class action lawsuit alleges that Vertrue, Inc. uses coercive and deceptive practices to generate new business and charged consumer credit cards, debit cards and bank accounts without their consent. For example, the class action lawsuit alleges that Vertrue was sued by the US Government years ago and the settlement required Vertrue to prove memberships in their programs by recording consumer consent over the phone or in writing. The case is on behalf of consumers who Vertrue failed to get the confirmation as required in the settlement with the government.