The Better Business Bureau believes it may be because of the wording of the company's Google Search ad which says "USPS® Change My Address-," and "USPS® Change of Address Form."īack in February, the BBB notified that it was concerned the ad "may create the impression that the business is related to the United States Postal Service." Why are so many people confused about the true nature of this site? "I think it's wrong to take advantage of people like this," he told me. Faucett thought he was on the official Postal Service site and expected to pay a dollar. It's easy to understand why people like Geoffrey Faucett, who recently moved from Kansas to North Carolina, are so upset when they find that unexpected charge on their credit or debit card. ( Read more: Guzzling printers can waste $100 of ink a year) When I tried the site, I missed it the first two times, and I was specifically looking for pricing information. You don't see it unless you scroll UP on the page. The top of the payment page (where the price is shown) comes up above the top of your screen. Instead, there is a disclosure box at the top of the payment page that indicates you are agreeing to a one-time charge of $19.95.īut, it's easy to miss that price information because of the way that page is designed. if you bother to click on that link to that page. That detail is buried in the fine print on the "Legal Terms" page. Note: The $19.95 charge is not mentioned in that disclosure-or anywhere else on the home page. There is a one dollar processing fee charged by the USPS® for submitting an online address change request that must be paid with a valid debit or credit card. If you just wish to file with the US Postal Service and not receive our additional benefits, you may do so by visiting the USPS® website. The fee for this service is to cover the postage, handling, additional services not available through the post office and processing fees charged by the US Postal Service™. Here is the notice on the company's home page:Ĭhange My Address is a private business entity that facilitates the address change process for its users and is not affiliated with the US Postal Service™. Miller noted that the company says in six different places that is it not affiliated with the USPS. The company said it gives its "members" generous value-added services for that $19.95 fee, such as special offers from major retailers. However, we answer all complaints with the BBB and have a positive resolution rate better than 97 percent." "We have attempted to work with our local Better Business Bureau, unfortunately with little success. "We have worked since our inception to be in compliance with all local, state and federal laws," Benjamin Miller in corporate communications wrote. In a statement emailed to NBC News, said it addresses all complaints and offers a partial refund of $10 to anyone who requests it within 10 days. Some people said they paid the money and did not receive the change of address service."Ĭhange-My-Address has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau. "There is a pattern of complaints about customer service and refund issues. "That's a lot of complaints for one company," said Leslie Kish, vice president of operations at the Cincinnati BBB. The BBB has received more than 150 complaints in the last year about. Not satisfied with that partial refund, Leddy complained to the Better Business Bureau of Cincinnati (where the company is located), which got the company to refund the rest of her payment. Leddy called the company and they agreed to refund $10. ( Read more: Hate robocalls? Here's how you can block them) "And for someone who's pretty Internet savvy, I was scammed." "It's deceitful, it's deceptive and it's misleading," she said. Two days later, Leddy spotted a $19.99 charge on her account. Postal Service site, Leddy filled out the form and punched in her credit card number. She searched for "change my mailing address" and saw an ad that said "USPS® Change of Address Form. The company's Google Search advertisement appears at the top of the list when you search terms like "forward my mail," "change my address," register new address" or "USPS change of address."Īngela Leddy went online to change her address after her recent move to a new house in Indianapolis. Most of these complaints are about a site called. ( Read more: Scammers use 'Life Alert' name to swindle seniors) "Some people report they are charged $1.00 at first, but then a short time later, there's another charge for additional services they did not knowingly purchase," said Scambook's Miranda Perry.
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