PE-Backed Companies Cited as Internet Scammers
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation last week released a staff report on “aggressive sales tactics on the Internet.” The focus is on companies that essentially sign you up for paid services you didn’t realize you had purchased until the credit card bill comes due (often by pre-selecting an extras box during checkout of legit online retailers). To say the least, the report is not terribly kind to the three companies it focuses on: Affinion, Vertrue and Webloyalty. What do all three have in common, beyond corporate headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut and sleazy business practices? They’re all owned (or partially owned) by private equity firms:
19 November 2009•2 mins read
