It stated that their "Misleading 'Yes' and 'Continue' buttons cause consumers to reasonably think they are completing the original transaction, rather than entering into a new, ongoing financial relationship with a membership club."
The Senate report identified "data pass", or the automatic transfer from the merchant after the transaction of the customer's credit card information.
It also presents companies' training scripts for customer service staff response to such complaints, especially those from individuals unaware of their enrollment.
Hundreds of popular companies, most notably Intelius, will, in an effort to increase the profit of the transaction, provide something to the consumer immediately after the purchase on the site.
However, when they do, their credit card information is automatically submitted to a third-party marketing company, which signs the customer up for a package of useless services.
These practices have been utilized by major companies, including 1-800-Flowers.com, Buy.com, Classmates.com, ColumbiaHouse, Confi-Check, Expedia, FTD, Fandango, Hotels.com, Hotwire, InQ, Intelius, MovieTickets.com, Orbitz, Priceline, RedcatsUSA, Shutterfly, Travelocity, US Airways, and VistaPrint, profiting at over US$10 million each.