Yahoo Sirius

'Girls Gone Wild' Accused Of Trapping Consumers

Company Accused Of Charging For Videos People Didn't Buy

WASHINGTON -- The people who sell the "Girls Gone Wild" videos are being accused of charging customers for videos they didn't order.

The complaint against Mantra Films Inc. and its sole officer and director, Joseph Francis, was filed Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles.

Howard Beales, an official at the Federal Trade Commission, described it as "a case of deceptive marketing gone wild."

The videos and DVDs, which feature young women who bare their breasts and perform sexually suggestive acts, are marketed on late-night TV and on the Internet. Millions of copies have been sold.

But according to the Justice Department, people who bought a single video or DVD were enrolled in a program under which they continued to be sent videos and continued to be charged for them. In some cases, the company electronically debited consumers' checking accounts on a recurring basis without obtaining their permission. Authorities say the consumers weren't given an effective means of canceling.

"Consumers were enrolled in a program of monthly deliveries without their knowledge," Beales said. "That's out of bounds. If you sign consumers up for an ongoing plan without their permission, we'll do our best to unwind the transaction."

gutwrencher

no...but I have been trapped by a few girls gone insane before.

I'm not surprised at all. glad I'm not hard-up enough to buy footage of young hotties acting stupid, I have horror films for that. sure I love naked titties and heart-shaped fannys...but not on a girl young enough to be my daughter. if snoopdog is involved...it's gotta be anything but nice. all IMHO.

DVD Josh

There's "without their knowledge" and then there's "send me the boobies so fast I won't read anything before I sign it or listen to a word you say and then agree to whatever I need to".

magman

Why all the fuss about GGW? Columbiahouse has been doing the same thing for ages.

Roy28

Yeah, but Columbia House makes it clear in their mailers and ads that you will receive and be billed for future installments unless you cancel. I don't think the "Girls Gone Wild" people do this - they're more deceptive about it.

A friend of mine bought one of the tapes and he kept getting another one like every 2-3 weeks, even after trying every possible way to cancel. He had to call his credit card company - they removed all the charges and blocked any future ones, and told him to keep everything he had already been sent.

Panda Phil

And besides. That's why the good lord made the internet.

Gerry P.

Amen.

Yakuza Bengoshi

You are joking, right? After all, everyone knows that God didn't make the internet, Al Gore did.

ebradfordrich

beat me to it after all, 'tis porn that makes the world go 'round. widescale adoption of...the vcr? yeah, thanks porn. the internet? um, yeah, thanks again porn.

FuzzyBallz

Porn just looks soooo much better on DVD w/ DD 5.1. With tape, your favorite porn won't last a week. Pause... pause.... slow-mo... slow-mo.... rewind and repeat.

chemosh6969

I saw on the commercial where it said that by buying one video you would be signed up for a monthly video to be sent automatically.

I say screw the people. Read the words instead of watching the censored boobs before you order.

chanster

Umm, there was a thread about this several years ago at this point..a lot of DVDTalk members actually were getting ripped off..so before you cast a stone, make sure your house isn't glass.

Venom

well, you are right that it is mentioned, however it is also said that you can cancel. from the posts before people couldn't cancel, ie the phone rings and rings, or email is never responded too. and if somehow you do talk to someone to cancel, they keep on sending you things and charging you for them.

Giantrobo

I bet they were banking on people being too embarrassed to report they were ripped off buying a video like GGW.