Business ProfileforReward Zone USA, LLC
Current Alerts For This Business
The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.
On 5/18/2023, Pennsylvania Attorney General Henry announced a settlement with New York-based Fluent, LLC and its subsidiaries, for their role in allegedly causing millions of unwanted telemarketing calls to be placed to Pennsylvania residents.
Through promotional offers in which gift cards to popular retailers such as Amazon or Walmart were offered as incentives, Fluent and its subsidiaries collected personal information, including telephone numbers, which were then sold as “leads” to telemarketing companies. This included the personal information of thousands of people on the Pennsylvania and Federal “Do Not Call” lists. According to the lawsuit, Fluent’s promotional offers consistently failed to include clear and obvious disclosures that by providing personal information, registrants consented to receive telemarketing calls from hundreds of potential sellers. These sellers’ products and services were often not related to the original promotional offerings and had nothing to do with Fluent’s conduct. According to the lawsuit, more than 4.2 million Pennsylvania consumers registered their information on one of Fluent’s websites. The underlying lawsuit alleged that Fluent and its subsidiaries assisted and facilitated millions of violations of federal and state telemarketing laws by:
--Distributing telemarketing calls to consumers who are on the Federal “Do Not Call” Registry;
--Delivering telemarketing calls to consumers on the Federal “Do Not Call” Registry where the consumers did not give their valid consent to be contacted;
--Delivering telemarketing calls to consumers with pre-recorded messages– also known as robocalls– without proper consumer consent; and
--Engaging in deceptive and misleading business practices in connection with their lead-generating practices.
This settlement prevents Fluent and its subsidiaries from contacting Pennsylvanians who are registered on the national registry or the Pennsylvania “Do Not Call” list without first receiving the consumer’s express agreement in writing. Furthermore, it requires that Fluent and its subsidiaries clearly disclose to consumers the specific party or parties for whom consent is requested without using a hyperlink or separate pop-up screen. Finally, the settlement prevents Fluent and its subsidiaries from selling, transferring, or sharing any data that would result in the consumer receiving a prerecorded message. The settlement also requires Fluent to pay $250,000 to the Office of Attorney General to be used for public protection and educational purposes. The Consent Petition, which was approved by the Court, was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
BBB files indicate a Pattern of Complaints concerning the company's marketing practices and fulfillment of services. Consumers are telling BBB about their experiences after participating in a survey/contest offered by Reward Zone USA LLC. A number of consumers allege that they were promised a prize if they completed the surveys/incentives the company provides. Many of these consumers allegedly followed the instructions that Rewards Zone USA LLC gave but are still unable to claim the reward.
As of March 2023, consumers continue to report persistent problems with the incentive surveys they have allegedly taken for the company. Consumers cite issues with ID verifications, account lockouts/suspensions, and reward denials without explanation as the most common concerns. Some consumers claim they are told that their accounts were suspended due to an attempt to defraud the program, and most of these consumers say they cannot get an explanation from the company on how they violated the terms of service or why they have been banned from the platform. Nearly all consumers reportedly encounter inadequate customer support when trying to resolve concerns they have.
Additional business information
The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the governments allegations, which have not yet been proven.
As part of Operation Stop Scam Calls, on 7/18/2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced five new cases against companies and individuals, some of whom allegedly did the groundwork for illegal robocallers, including a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) against Fluent, LLC and several related corporate defendants.
The FTC alleges Fluent, LLC tricked consumers into consenting to receive marketing solicitations including telemarketing calls in violation of the FTC Act, TSR, and the CAN-SPAM Act, which sets rules for commercial email. The FTC says New York City-based Fluent has operated as a consent farm lead generator, which purports to collect, through a single click of a button or checkbox on their websites, consumers’ broad agreement to receive marketing solicitations, including robocalls and other telemarketing calls, from dozens or even hundreds of third parties. Fluent and its affiliates lure consumers to its websites using deceptive ads that falsely promise employment opportunities or free valuable items, such as a job interview with UPS or a $1,000 Walmart gift card, according to the complaint. These ads direct consumers to one of Fluent’s thousands of websites, which utilize a range of “dark patterns” to trick consumers into providing their personal information and “consenting” to receive robocalls and other marketing solicitations. Instead of the promised job opportunity or reward, these sites sell consumers’ information to third-party marketers, including robocallers and other telemarketers.
From January 2018 to December 2019, through these practices, Fluent obtained and sold more than 620 million telemarketing leads, the FTC says.Under a proposed order, Fluent will be required to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty and be banned from engaging in, assisting, or facilitating robocalls. It also limits lead generation on Fluent’s job websites to email marketing and prohibits Fluent from misrepresenting any material facts about rewards, job opportunities, or the collection and sale of consumers’ personal information. The order also requires Fluent to establish systems to monitor its own advertising and that of its affiliates and comply with comprehensive disclosure requirements related to the collection of consumers’ consent to the sale of their information. Finally, the order requires Fluent to delete all previously collected consumer information.
The DOJ filed the complaint and proposed order on the FTC’s behalf in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Fluent, LLC; Rewardzone USA, also d/b/a Up Rewards, The Reward Genius, Flash Rewards, and National Consumer Center; Deliver Technology LLC, also d/b/a Flash Rewards; Search Works Media, LLC, also d/b/a FindDreamJobs and StartACareerToday; and Ease Wins, LLC, also d/b/a JobsOnDemand
At-a-glance
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Business Details
- Location of This Business
- 99 Wall St # 4330, New York, NY 10005-4301
- BBB File Opened:
- 6/6/2013
- Years in Business:
- 13
- Business Started:
- 3/16/2011
- Business Incorporated:
- 3/16/2011
- Type of Entity:
- Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- Alternate Business Name
- SamplesandSavings.com
- Find Dream Jobs
- Up Level Rewards
Customer Complaints
398 Customer Complaints
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File a ComplaintMost Recent Customer Complaint
07/06/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
Customer Reviews
70 Customer Reviews
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Most Recent Customer Review
Justin C
09/07/2024
Reward Zone USA, LLC Response
09/11/2024
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