I ordered business cards a few weeks ago from VistaPrint.com. I used a unique email address like I always do. I opted out of allowing them to share my info. I also (like anywhere I give my address, phone number, credit card number) opted out of any sharing. For now I also allowed Vistaprint to email me special deals.
Well, between placing the order on March 29, 2007, and today. I’ve received 16 email offers for various things. That’s a ton, but not a problem. I signed up for them.
But just now I received a telemarketing call from Web Site Pros. Luckily the sales lady mentioned they got my info from Vistaprint. I asked her to put me on their do not call list. (Hey – they violated the DNC! I had no prior relationship with them.)
I then checked my account preferences at Vistaprint. The only option there is for email opt out. I called Customer Service, spoke with Martin. I explained my frustration that they sold my phone number, and said I had opted out. He said, no you only opted out of email sharing. There is no option on the web site to opt-out (or opt-in) of phone and address sharing. I have closed my account with Vistaprint. Martin said he closed the account, but I can still access it from the web site.
Here are the relevant sections of their privacy policy:
If you check the applicable box on registration or in updating your account, VistaPrint may also share personally identifiable information about you such as your name, telephone number, e-mail address, and/or mailing address with carefully selected third-party organizations such as retailers or direct marketers to enable those organizations to inform you about products or services that might be of interest to you. If you do not wish to have your information shared with these organizations, simply do not check the applicable box on the registration form or on the “Account Update” page on our website.
The only boxes on the Account Update” deal with email.
We will not share your personally identifiable information, such as your e-mail address or name, with unaffiliated organizations for them to use to inform you about their or other companies’ products and services unless you consent to this sharing on registration or in updating your account preferences. You may opt in by checking the appropriate box during registration or, following registration, by logging into “My Account,” selecting “Account Update,” and checking the applicable box.
I never opted in to allowing them to share my info, so they have violated their policy. Shady dealings, violations of their own privacy policy, and having a third party break the DNC. That’s enough. I encourage you to not use Vistaprint, I do not believe that they can be trusted.
Vistaprint sucks.
I called the # my credit card company gave me and after some run around I got my $$ back. Good luck!!
DON”T USE VISTAPRINT!!! They somehow managed to charge my credit card $14.95 every month until i realized what it was. They said they are refunding my money, but I’ll believe it when I see it!
You aren’t the only ones affected by this online theft. Below is from Wikipeidia, Hopefully, the suits will cost Vistaprint big bux for allowing such to happen:
In August 2008, the company announced that class action lawsuits relating to the membership discount programs offered by third party merchants on VistaPrint’s USA website have been filed against VistaPrint USA, Inc., VistaPrint Corp., and two third party merchants (Vertrue Inc. and its subsidiary Adaptive Marketing LLC) in Texas and New Jersey.[55] Two additional class-action suits were subsequently filed in both Massachusetts and Alabama. The four complaints, all filed in federal courts, allege that the defendants are in violation of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (which protects from unauthorized charges) and the federal Electronic Communications and Privacy Act (which prohibits the unlawful access of financial information). “As we allege in the complaint, we believe that VistaPrint and Vertrue are acting in concert to access consumers’ credit card information and then begin charging them relatively small amounts,” says Jerome Noll, counsel for the plaintiff that filed the Massachusetts suit. “You’re talking about $14.95 a month or $12.95 a month, hoping that consumers just won’t notice.” [56]
The Wikipedia page on Vistaprint is at Vistaprint at Wikipedia
vista print has sent me plenty of spam and has charged me 3 times for shipping. i only ordered once and i only recieved one package, yet they keep charging me for shipping. WHATCH OUT!
This company was very difficult to deal with for me, but I ended up ordering anyway… lots of run around! lots and lots of runaround!!
If you order from them, my suggestion is use Paypal, that way there is no compromise on credit card info.
I could access Paypal payment option on Firefox, but not some other browsers.
Thanks, after reading this im not too sure about getting business cards printed through Vistaprint anymore
Thanks for the heads up
Wow! Sorry to see I’m in such good company.
After doing business with VistaPrint:
Month 1: BusinessMax 14.95
Month 1: ShoppingEssen 14.95
Month 2: BusinessMax 14.95
Had to cancel my Credit Card.
I feel raped.
This is a open letter to vistaprint management please post it for me
————————————————–
Is VistaPrint a Sweat Shop?
Dear Messrs,
These are a few questions to you the heads of a leading online printing company.
• How can you all sleep well at nights knowing that you are running a sweat shop operation in Montego Bay, where workers are forced to work on their days off or face dismissals?
• Forced to do overtime, or face ‘term’ as you guys call it?
• Mr.Robert Keane, and company, can you tell me where in the United States of America you or any other company could do that?
Tardiness should never be a practice. But please answer this question,
• Why is it alright for us to be at work, ready to start working as the clock strikes at the beginning of our shift, but we have to ask our ‘masters’ if we can go to the restroom,or take a so-called scheduled break? Why is it that we cannot take an half hour to take care of urgent business but we are forced to be at work on a Saturday or a Sunday (the only time we get to take care of our business, granted most of the commercial establishments in Jamaica are close on those days)?
• Why is it that we are reviewed for termination if the Jamaican Law stipulated 10 sick days are exhausted, yet Dan River and company force employees to work overtime in contravention of Jamaican Law?
• Where did you all get the idea, when the Jamaican government invited you all to invest in our country, that it was ok for persons to leave their families/kids and their personal business (oh yes, we black people have a life outside of VistaPrint too) unattended to attend seminars or training during unscheduled work times? Oops, pardon me please, how could I forget about the service level? Oh, pardon please dear Mighty ones, you all don’t care about a bunch of niggas and their kids and their personal business. After all the statistics show that the majority of them will become criminals and be incarcerated in short order, anyway.
• It is not our fault that the only family some of you have are of the canine and feline species.
• Is that the reason you want us to do back-flips for this company that does not even respect the majority of the staff here in Jamaica, the equivalent of the minimum wage in the U.S?
Mr. Keane, sir, I understand you make yearly visits to Jamaica to gloat about how much money you’ve made and hope to make by 2010. I heard that you usually open the floor for questions.
• However has it ever occured to you that the questions that you are asked are usually very ‘vague’ for the most part? Do you think that you could at least ask the ‘nappy head niggas’ what’s really happening on their level? Do you know that the ‘niggas’ all get an email before entering your meeting stating that we should only ask questions about your ‘presentation’? Did you know that there are persons planted in each meeting to take note of anyone who ask “inappropriate” questions?
Question to Dan Rivera
• Mr.Dan Rivera, when has it become ‘ok’ for a Director of a company to find out why an employee did not turn up for a training session scheduled for a Saturday- a non-Vistaprint workday?
• In which of the 50 states of the U.S. and its territories ( does this happen in Puerto Rico?) is it ok, for workers to be verbally (and in writing) be reprimanded for not coming to work on one of their days off, after working a full 40 hour work week?
• What gives you the impression that the majority of staff in Jamaica are stupid and desperate?
Oh, here comes your favorite quip, ‘do or go’.
Address to the Government of Jamaica and the INTERNATIONL LABOUR ORGANIZATION
• How can the government of Jamaica allow foreigners to ill-treat workers and get away with it.
• The State has failed us.
• Is this what Lou Dobbs speaks about on his program? U.S. companies going off-shore so they can pay workers little to nothing and turn around and treat them like dirt?
• So Phillip Paulwell had all the screw ups with the Intech Fund, but he also left a legacy of a Foreign based company who brainwashes workers into thinking that they cannot join a Union because ‘workers of Freezone companies’ can’t get unionized.’ Therefore companies like VistaPrint can come here and accuse an employee of stealing money or information, then when their story cannot be substantiated puppet rulers like the Jamaican Human Resources team tells the employee, ‘well we did tell you in the agreement you signed (which is not a contract) that we can dismiss you “at will”, therefore this is one of those “at will” moments.
• Mr. Paulwell is no longer at the helm. The baton has now passed to you Mr. Charles, Mr. Samuda, Mr. Golding.
• What will it take for you guys to step up to the plate? A revolution? Our forefathers did it and we can!
• Jamaica Gleaner; Jamaica Observer, Radio Jamaica, Western Mirror, Nationwide News Network, CNN, NBC, ABC, FOX, TBN, New York Times, LA Times, are you all waiting until the civil disobedience starts before you guys give us a voice.
Warm Jamaican Regards,
cc.
Hon. O. Bruce Golding, PM
Most Hon. Portia Simpson-Miller
Hon. Pearnel Charles, MP
Hon. Karl Samuda, MP
Messrs. Lloyd B. Smith, Cliff Hughes, Phillip Paulwell
I, too, have received hundreds of spam emails to the tagged email address that was ONLY supplied to VistaPrint.
Is there any way we can start a class action lawsuit for their wholesale selling of personal contact information?
- Tim
VistaPrint activated two membership services against my MasterCard without my knowledge or consent that resulted in $119.60 of fraudulent changes. Two companies Bussnessmax, and Shoppingessen (both owned by Adaptive Marketing) began charging my account for services I never approved or requested.
Let me clear when I say – I DID NOT OPT IN, REQUEST, OR APPROVE of ANY MEMBERSHIP SERVICES…period.
This company is shameful. I will never do business with them again.