Today, it was revealed that a high profile Internet / direct response marketing company has been  “hiding” its forced continuity program.

In other words, rather than tell people upfront that they’d be billed a certain amount of money per month on an ongoing basis until they cancel their subscription… this company has NOT been warning people, and has, instead, been billing their credit cards regardless.

It’s NOT on.

Now I’m a fan of forced continuity - it’s good for creating a regular stream of income for the company, and it’s good for the customer who doesn’t have to worry about ensuring their subscription or membership is paid up. But not obtaining the customer’s express consent before putting them onto continuity is downright illegal, unethical and BAD marketing.

I hope this particular company - and certain others that have adopted similar practices - is taking notice of the uproar on the blogs and forums about their tactics. Certain people are an inch away from filing complaints with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

But I don’t want to see this company go down. The company’s founder is a legend in direct response marketing and I’ve personally learned a lot from him. I want him to continue providing the top-notch marketing advice he’s renowned for!

And frankly, I don’t want this company to undermine the concept of continuity. The more these underhanded tactics go on, the more people will be reluctant to go on any kind of continuity billing program - even one where it is clearly explained to them, and where they can back out (without a hassle) at any time.