EDN Settlement
April 11, 2007
An investigation by the Florida Attorney General’s Office found that the Florida-based Internet company Email Discount Network (EDN), placed unauthorized charges on the phone bills of over 258,000 U.S. consumers, including 11,200 individuals in the state of Georgia. The investigation revealed that EDN engaged in this practice, known as “cramming”, between July 2004 and mid-2006.
On March 19, 2007 EDN entered into a settlement with the Florida Attorney General’s Office, in which the company agreed to issue refunds to all consumers nationwide who had been adversely affected by its business practices and who submitted a claim form. Total restitution is expected to exceed $1 million. Accordingly, EDN will be emailing a Refund Request Form to the affected
In order to receive their refund, consumers must complete the form and mail it back to EDN at:
Email Discount Network
Attn: Consumer Refund Manager
Consumers will have sixty (60) days from the date they receive the email to mail in the form.
EDN is an online shopping company that charges a monthly fee for coupons and discounts on purchases made through its website. The monthly fee of $12.95 or $14.95 shows up as a charge on the consumer’s local telephone or cell phone bill, where it can easily go unnoticed.
Along with these deceptive billing practices, the investigation found that the EDN web site did not clearly disclose that its services were not free and that consumers would be charged unless they contacted the company to cancel their subscription.
Some visitors to the EDN site listed a phony telephone number when completing their registration form, resulting in monthly charges to the legitimate owner of the telephone number in question. In this way, some consumers who have never even visited EDN’s web site have ended up victims.
The Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs is alerting all Georgia consumers to review their phone bills for unauthorized charges and to watch for an email from Email Discount Network pertaining to a refund they may be owed.
A copy of the EDN settlement can be found at: http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MRAY-6ZFLZ4/$file/EDNSettlement.pdf.
For additional information, please contact the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs at 404-651-8600 or 1-800-869-1123 (toll-free in Georgia, outside the metro dialing area).
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