PITTSBURGH,None — After seeing Channel 11's report on cramming, a Pittsburgh man took a closer look at his bank account statements only to learn that a clothing company had been charging him for months without his knowledge.
"Sure enough I find, going back almost 2 years, I have $14.95 a month being charged by Hab Perks, whatever that is. It's something I know nothing about, never signed up for and had nothing to do with," said Neil Gerjuoy of Point Breeze.
Gerjuoy said his wife ordered a pair of pants from a clothing company called Haband nearly two years ago. That's when he said the unauthorized charges began.
He said that he tried calling a toll free number for help, but got nowhere.
"It was a man with a heavy foreign accent. I don't know if I was reaching India or where?" Gerjuoy said.
After doing some research, Channel 11's Robin Taylor said in the fine print of the Haband privacy policy there's a link to a thank you page that directs customers to another website, where they can sign up to receive discounts for a monthly subscription fee.
Taylor called Hab Perks and received an explanation from an operator.
"She would have gone ahead and entered her e-mail address as an electronic signature accepting the offer, so in this way she signed up for the membership," the operator said.
The practice is legal, but for customers like Gerjuoy said it seems deceitful.
"Sure feel like very little difference from someone breaking into my house and taking something from my drawers or breaking into my bank account. It's theft," Gerjuoy said.
After the story aired, Gerjouy said the company responded to him and returned the cash.
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