Reservation Reward & Priceline.com ripoff Internet

I bought a hotel reservation on Priceline.com. After the reservation was made, I noticed a link on e-mail I received from Priceline.com site saying "click here to claim your $10 cash back offer for your request today." I clicked on the link which brought me to a website called reservationreward.com. It said that I would get $10 back on my next reservation with Priceline.com and merely asked me to provide my e-mail address and to click yes. Below the yes link, it was written "I want my reservation rewards discounts plus my $10 dollars cask back." I received an e-mail from reservation rewards stating:

"WELCOME TO RESERVATION REWARDS

Renaud, you've made a great decision to register for all the valuable benefits of Reservation Rewards, our premier travel discounts and protection program! You can save money every time you travel and right in your own neighborhood... plus see below for instructions on how to get your $10.00 Cash Back Award on your next Priceline.com reservation!

This email is your Membership Kit and contains everything you need to access the Reservation Rewards site and start saving right away! Make sure to save it and print it in case you need it for future reference. Here's what you'll find in your Membership Kit email:

**** Log-In Instructions
**** Membership Benefits
**** $10.00 Cash Back Award Claim Details
**** Your Contact Information
**** Offer and Billing Details
**** Customer Service

I did not read any further and did not worry about that, as I had never been required to give my credit card information to reservation rewards.

However, when I saw that reservation rewards charged me $10 in my next credit card statement, I reviewed their e-mail which stated almost at the end:

For your records, this confirms the Offer and Billing Details for your membership in Reservation Rewards: Enjoy your $10.00 Cash Back Award on your next Priceline.com reservation, plus 30 days of all the money-saving discounts and valuable protection of Reservation Rewards through 05/04/2006 for only $10, billed to the credit or debit card you authorized. It's a Special Reward! If you are completely satisfied during the next 30 days, do nothing. All your Reservation Rewards discounts and protection will automatically continue for just $10 a month billed by Reservation Rewards to the credit or debit card you authorized (MasterCard, Last 4 digits: xxxx). For your convenience Reservation Rewards will use the contact and credit or debit card information you authorized for billing and benefit processing. In the event your monthly membership fee were to ever change, you would be notified before you are billed. Reservation Rewards benefits may be enhanced or modified at anytime without prior notice. Your monthly fee will show up on your card statement as billed by WLI*RESERVATIONREWARDS.COM 800-732-7031 CT."

As I had another hotel reservation to make, I proceeded with my reservation on Priceline.com and claimed my $10 back from reservation reward by doing excatly what was indicated on their website, that is to say send an e-mail to the e-mail address mentionned with the reference of the coupon indicated on their website.

I received a check for $10 one week later.

When I realized that they charged my credit card for $10, I immediately sent them an e-mail stating:

"I would like to know how you got my credit card information and how you managed to bill it. All was indicated on Priceline.com was that I would get a 10 dollars coupon, but I never logged in reservation reward, never accepted your conditions. I therefore never signed in for a free trial period.

But even assuming that I did, I understand from your e-mail of April 4 that the trial period is of 30 days and you charged my credit card before the expiration of the trial period.

I therefore request you to cancel any services and refund the 10 dollars you fraudulently charged on my credit card.

I also inform you that I will report your fraudulent activity to the US department of Justice as well as Priceline.com for providing your company with my credit card information."

Within 2 hours, I received the following e-mail from reservationrewards:

"This notice confirms that your membership in Reservation Rewards has been canceled as of 05/04/2006.

Your cancel confirmation number is: 13171815.

We have issued a refund of your membership fee. This refund will appear as a credit to your account within the next 3-5 business days."

The most blamable party in this is Priceline.com, which gave my credit card information to another corporation without my consent.

Renaud
New Orleans, Louisiana