An Iowa state judge ruled Vertrue Inc. used deceptive practices over two decades in marketing buying club memberships to nearly 500,000 residents there, recording $36 million in revenue during that period.
Along with Affinion Inc. and Webloyalty Inc., Vertrue has been the subject of an inquiry by the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee chaired by Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. All three companies are based in Norwalk.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller sued Vertrue under the state”™s Consumer Fraud Act and Buying Club Law, and a trial was held in late October and early November last year. Judge Robert Hutchison ruled Vertrue and its subsidiary companies Adaptive Marketing L.L.C. and Idaptive Marketing L.L.C. were liable for consumer fraud.
“We filed the lawsuit because consumers consistently told us they didn”™t even know they were members,” Miller said, in a prepared statement. “We alleged Vertrue”™s illegal sales practices resulted in a vast number of Iowans”™ credit cards being charged, sometimes repeatedly, for memberships most of the Iowans didn”™t even know they had and never used.”
Miller added the state will seek restitution and penalties, without specifying a dollar figure.
