12/10/2009 – It was great to see everyone pitching in to help everyone on this. It’s time for me to get back to providing people with real home business ideas.
Update 7/21/2009 – I apologize for the delay in getting this up. I posted it separately, but should have posted it here:
Federal Trade Commission v. Infusion Media, Inc., a corporation, also d/b/a Google Money Tree, Google Pro, Internet Income Pro, and Google Treasure Chest, West Coast Internet Media, Inc., a corporation, also d/b/a Google Money Tree, Google Pro, Internet Income Pro, and Google Treasure Chest, Two Warnings, LLC a limited liability company, Two Part Investments, LLC a limited liability company, Two Part Investments, LLC, a limited liability company; Platinum Teleservices, Inc., a corporation; Jonathan Eborn, individually and as an officer of Infusion Media, Inc., Two Warnings, LLC, Two Part Investments, LLC, and West Coast Internet Media, Inc.; Stephanie Burnside, individually and as an officer of Two Warnings, LLC, Two Part Investments, LLC, and West Coast Internet Media, Inc.; Michael McLain Miller, individually and as an officer of Infusion Media, Inc., Two Warnings, LLC, and Two Part Investments, LLC; and Tony Norton, individually and as an officer of Platinum Teleservices, Inc.
(United States District Court for the District of Nevada)
Update 4/29/2009 – On April 24, 2009 the Texas Attorney General filed charges against the owners of Google Money Tree for operating a fraudulent Work-At-Home Scheme:
“AUSTIN – Attorney General Greg Abbott today charged two Utah-based defendants with operating a fraudulent work-at-home scheme. The state’s enforcement action names Infusion Media Inc. and Jonathan D. Eborn, whose “GoogleMoneyTree.com” promised six-figure earnings for conducting specialized Google and Yahoo Internet searches
According to investigators, the defendants promised big payouts in order to convince Web users to spend $3.88 on shipping and handling for a “free kit” that supposedly would show them how to make money from home. Those who purchased the kit were later surprised to discover they were being charged $72 a month by the defendants.”
“According to the state’s enforcement action, GoogleMoneyTree failed to clearly inform purchasers that they had been enrolled in monthly memberships and had only seven days to cancel their trial membership. Purchasers who failed to cancel within seven days were automatically charged $72 on their credit card statements each month. In addition to the unexpected credit card charges, customer complaints obtained by state investigators indicate that GoogleMoneyTree failed to actually send the “free kit” and refused to honor customer refunds.
The state is seeking an injunction, civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, as well as restitution for purchasers. Texans who believe they have been misled by similar business practices may file complaints with the Office of the Attorney General toll-free at (800) 252-8011 or file complaints online at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov.”
Update 4/11/2009 – Another version of the site – Google GoldMine seems to be using the new, better disclosure referenced in the 3/25/2009 – at least the version I saw was.
Update 3/25/2009: I just noticed that Google Money Tree has changed how they disclose the terms of their offer since I last looked at it. The new disclosure of the monthly charges is SIGNIFICANTLY better than it has been previously. The terms of the 7-day trial are in the big “100% Satisfaction Guarantee” box directly to the left of the form where you enter your credit card information.
There are a couple things I personally still don’t like in the new version is that the monthly charges are written out instead of done numerically. I.e. the text is “After the trial, you will be charged seventy two dollars and twenty one cents a month” instead of “After the trial, you will be charged $72.21 each month.” Also, it would be nice if the heading of the box would be something like “Important Details About This Offer”.
But I don’t want to take away from the fact that they’ve vastly improved the disclosure of the terms of the trial offer.
Update 2/26/2009: Despite various improvements, Google Money Tree still has complaints rolling in about various issues.
Update 2/6/2009: Since this was originally posted Google Money Tree has made significant improvements (in my opinion) to their sales process.
If you are going to post a comment – and are able to do so – please post the original date that you ordered Google Money Tree as it would be interesting – and could be helpful – to match those dates up with the version of the Google Money Tree sales page that was current at the time.
Note: This is NOT an endorsement of Google Money Tree, but an acknowledgement of improvements (again, in my opinion) that were made.
End 2/6/2009 update.
I just noticed some complaints about Google Money Tree – about some surprise charges.
1/19/2009, 2:40 Update: Important – WorkAtHomeTruth has NEVER recommended Google Money Tree and still does NOT recommend Google Money Tree.
Here is the original post about GoogleMoneyTree:
Ding dong. I was pretty sure this was an example of “hidden negative option” marketing. That’s when a company ignores FTC disclosure proximity suggestions and tries to hide the fact that you’ll be billed unless you cancel (for some strange reason they don’t want to just tell you that up front…hmmm…).
So I decided to walk through the Google Money Tree order form (using b.s. info of course) to see how they have their sales process set up.
Page 1 was the usual stuff – personal contact info but no credit card.
Page 2 – this is where the fun begins:
Right where you enter your credit card number GoogleMoneyTree puts:
- Google Money Tree Kit: Free
- Shipping & Handling: $3.88
This is where it gets good (or bad depending on how you look at it):
Right to the left of the form where you enter your credit card GoogleMoneyTree has this bold proclamation:
“No Hassle Money Back “Guarantee!
If you are not 100% satisfied with the kit,
simply call our dedicated customer service #
(located in the USA!), and we will immediately
refund your shipping payment… no questions, no hassle!”
It almost makes it sound like the only reason why you would ever really need to contact GoogleMoneyTree’s customer service about billing would be to get your shipping payment refunded…wait, it actually DOES make it look that way.
But lo-and-behold. If you click on the Terms and Conditions Link – the one that states:
“I Agree With the Terms and Conditions” (which has the checkbox conventiently pre-checked for you…awwww…aren’t they nice?)..
And look under the “Shipping & Other Fees” section you’ll stumble onto the following:
“After seven days, if you choose not to cancel you will be billed your first monthly membership fee of seventy two dollars and twenty one cents for the membership fee for the googlemoneytree.com membership.”
That’s cool…wait…No it’s not!! Why couldn’t GoogleMoneyTree just tell me that on the main page? Oh they could have.
For some “odd” reason GoogleMoneyTree didn’t want to do that. I wonder why not? I really wonder…well, not really.
Can someone explain to me how this scenario is materially different than the one discussed in this recent FTC Settlement:
“Free Software CD” Internet Operation Settles FTC Charges
Here’s a tip from Katy about getting the company to refund even the shipping charge – although I would still confirm that the company follows through and actually DOES it (to see why, I STRONGLY URGE you to read about Sonya’s experience in the discussion):
“I am very greatful to you. I had submitted my information already and had been granted access to their members page for registration. But after reading your blog I called 866-870-4257 spoke to their rep and he cancelled my order immediately but told me that the shipping fee would not be refundable. I then read to him their “No Hassle Money Back Guarantee” statement and he then told me “I will refund the fee only because you mentioned the statement”. In other words had I not mentioned to him their guarantee he wouldn’t have automatically refunded my money. Although the ad doesn’t state that the “guarantee statement” has to be mentioned to be warranted a full refund.”
Update: Since so many people have posted complaints here I’ve decided to go ahead and post a link directly to the FTC Complaint Assistant site.
Click here for a list of the Attorneys General. If you plan to file a complaint with the Attorneys General you should file in your own state AND the Attorney General of the state the company is in – which looks to be Nevada.
You can also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau using the BBB Online Complaint System here.
Update: More information from Sandy who commented and has already filed a complaint: “The phone no is 1-877-382-4357 ftc.gov, The FBI ic3.gov Phone no. 1-800-243-0600. File your complaints with mine and they might go to jail or at least have to refund our money. Also the FTC said we could go to our local state government website and file a fraud complaint with them also.”
For additional information on filing complaints, please visit the complaints section of our friends at EagleResearchAssociates.org.
Update 2/1/2009: Google Money Tree has made more improvements to its order process. Of special note is the fact that the checkbox on page two next to the Terms and Conditions agreement is no longer pre-checked.
Update 1/19/2009, 2:40 PM – The complaints about Google Money Tree continue to roll in (note, this update was made after the 1/19/2009 update directly below about the improvements to the order process)…
Update 1/19/2009 – Google Money Tree has made sigifnicant improvements to their order process. There are still a couple details I’m not crazy about, but it’s good to see the changes they made. The second page HAS been changed to state the terms of the offer on the left side now which is a HUGE improvement, HOWEVER the checkbox for the Terms and Agreement is STILL prechecked and the pricing is WRITTEN OUT instead of being displayed in numerals – I’ll be interested to see how that plays out. I’m going to ask about that at the National Consumers League blog about that as I’m not sure what to think of that.
The ABOVE is merely information on changes GoogleMoneyTree has made – it is NOT an Endorsement or recommendation of the GoogleMoneyTree program.
Update December 25, 2008…Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas? Take a look at the link to their Terms and Conditions on the Actual GoogleMoneyTree site which you can find here.
Here are a couple of AMAZING items from within that section:
- “We handle all charge backs and reversals as potential cases of fraudulent use of our services and/or theft of services”
- “In cases where we have provided a service and we have verified that a client has received a kit and/or received a password to our site(s), whether or not they have used the site in any way, possible actions taken by the company may include disabling access to your account, filing a complaint with the Internet Crimes Bureau or local authorities”
As of December 25th I am recommending people read the comments in this post AND on the blog, but consult with a legal professional as far as what their appropriate course of action should be in this matter.
NOTE: The above is NOT an endorsement of GoogleMoneyTree – it is merely information about the changes they’ve made since this discussion first started.
I highly recommend you contact The National Consumer’s League.
You can file a complaint with them using the form here:
National Consumer League’s Fraud Center Online Complaint Form
Their contact informaion is below:
Contact NCL
Write to us at:
NCL
1701 K Street, NW, Suite 1200,
Washington DC 20006phone 202-835-3323
fax 202-835-0747
email info@nclnet.orgClick here for a direct link to the National Consumer’s League Contact Page
I would still suggest you follow the complaint procedures outlined above.
Also, please note that may of the websites listed in our discussion of BradsMoney here have promoted GoogleMoneyTree OR are still promoting it.
Additional tips: If you want to get a FULL version of any web page that involves entering your credit card details, you can use the free service BrowserShots.org
Obviously, Google Money Tree wasn’t people’s path to a work at home business. However, what will also be interesting is to see if the FTC becomes interested in the types of marketing tactics like Mass Money Makers, Online Income Solution, and Paid to Place use raises any eyebrows at some point.
Other Warnings: