Thrive Market Corporate responds to sneaky practice: "something our team is working on" Los Angeles Internet

I actually got taken in by a scam by the startup Thrive Market. I paid $1.95 shipping for a jar of almond butter. A few weeks later, I notice that over $50 was removed from my checking account by Thrive Market. I realized I'd accidentally automatically bought an annual membership. I'm a journalist, and a couple of my clients are Fast Company and a credit consumer site. Only after I mentioned this did I see any action.

They issued a refund, and I received this email from corporate, in response to my telling them how shady their membership practices are:

Hi Tom,

I completely understand where you're coming from. We try to be as transparent as possible with our members, particularly at the checkout page. I apologize that you don't feel that this was the case, as it is absolutely not the type of experience we're trying to create for our members.

We do receive feedback regarding this issue and it is definitely something that our team is working on. Providing more clarity around the membership model is a top priority. I hope you understand that, as a young company, we are still working on such aspects.

We really value your feedback and thank you for taking the time share some of your insight and experience. I will pass this along to our team. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out and we'll be happy to assist you.

Have a great weekend!

Best regards,

Emily

Member Services 
Thrive Market