Consumer Alert! Tigerdirect does illegal practices after customer purchases!!

[certified]

Thursday, July 25, 2002 last update: 10:24pm (EDT)
thanks maniac
Consumer Alert! Tigerdirect does illegal practices after customer purchases: I just became aware of this today, otherwise I would not have posted a Tigerdirect.com deal earlier in the week. I heard that Tigerdirect illegally sells sensitive customer information to third parties, including credit card numbers. If you recently made a purchase from Tigerdirect, check your credit card statements for unfamiliar charges. Specifically, a lot of people have reported that AMR Long Distance has been charging Tigerdirect customers a hefty monthly fee, even though those customers never agreed to purchase a long distance plan from that company. Tigerdirect now moves in to my "never purchase from again" file. If you were screwed by Tigerdirect, be sure to notify your credit card company and perhaps the FTC as well.

Comments:

Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 17:23:40 -0500
From: *******
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: TigerDirect.com Warning!

Hello,

Yesterday you posted a deal from TigerDirect (Sylvania 15" LCD
computer monitor $315).

I thought you should know that TigerDirect is no longer a safe company to order from. Without their customers' consent, TigerDirect gives away their customers' credit card numbers to third parties, which then bill recurring charges of around $50 each month, under names such as "AMR LD Service Plan." Apparently there is a pop-up window during the ordering process that appears for some people allowing them to opt-out of this, but
it doesn't always appear (it didn't for me, and I was affected--see below), and when it does appear, TigerDirect apparently doesn't honor it anyway.

More information is available here:

1. [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]
2. [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]
3. [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

From what is told in those stories, once the charges start it is
apparently often very difficult or impossible to make them stop (all you can do is individually dispute each new charge with your credit card company every month), and you will eventually have to get a new credit card.
It may be advisable to warn anyone who has ordered from Tiger Direct in the last six months to scrutinize their past credit card statements to make sure this hasn't happened to them and they just haven't noticed.
And, yes, it did happen to me: I ordered the USB Ethernet Adapters you mentioned on your site from TigerDirect back in June. Luckily, I used a one-time-only credit card number (from MBNA). By chance, when I called my credit card company about an unrelated matter, the person I spoke to was looking at my records and casually mentioned "Wow, there sure has been a
flurry of activity on your account." Apparently there had been many dozens of attempted charges on that one-time card number, for various amounts ranging from $5 to $500, over the last week, all (luckily) declined automatically. That card number was never given to anyone other than Tiger Direct on their secure web site for that single order. Imagine what might
have happened had I instead used a debit card to order from Tiger Direct! From reading the stories at the links above, other people who did that have had some very unfortunate consequences including overdrafts.
I advise extreme caution in dealing with TigerDirect, and would advise to NEVER give them a regular credit card number. Over the last twelve years, I had ordered many things from them. But this new way of doing business is unacceptable. I don't believe I would ever order from them again, under any circumstances.

[consumerprotect]

FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST TIGERDIRECT

-Contact TigerDirect

TigerDirect.com
7795 W Flagler St. Suite 35
Miami, FL. 33144
Fax: 305-415-2202

Russell J. Strunk
Executive VP
TigerDirect.com
7795 West Flagler Street
Miami, FL 33144
305-415-2429 (Office)
305-415-2430 (Fax)
954-684-4466 (Cell)
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

-Contact Systemax, Inc., TigerDirect's parent company

Systemax, Inc.
11 Harbor Park Dr.
Port Washington, NY 11050
Phone: 516-608-7000
Fax: 516-608-7111
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

-File a Complaint with the Florida Attorney General's Consumer Protection Office

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

-File a Complaint with the Miami-Dade County's Consumer Services Department

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]


-File a Complaint with your state's Attorney General's Office

-File a dispute with your credit card company (if the purchase was made by credit card)

Typically, you have 60 days to file a dispute with your credit card company. The credit card company will then initiate a dispute between you and the merchant's bank.

-If all else fails, file a dispute at your local Small Claims Court.

-Ask Microsoft not to allow TigerDirect to sell Microsoft products:

Bill Benton
Sales Manager
Microsoft
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]
Fax: 425-936-7329

[verwon]

You responded to, and bumped up, a very old post from 2002. Please check the dates on such posts. Thank you. I am closing this thread.