Illinois plumber sues Norwalk Internet marketing firm

BRIDGEPORT, Conn.—A federal lawsuit has been filed against a Norwalk-based Internet marketing company and a subsidiary claiming they have charged credit cards without authorization.

Kimberly Martin, an Illinois plumber, is suing Vertrue Inc. and Adaptive Marketing. She claims the companies gained unauthorized access to her credit card and then billed her for a membership discount service.

Vertrue's Web site describes it as a publicly traded premiere Internet direct marketing services company.

The lawsuit claims Vertrue gets access to confidential credit card and bank account information in order to charge consumers for worthless memberships and services that people have never authorized.

A spokesman for Vertrue says the lawsuit is baseless as a matter of fact and meritless as a matter of law.

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Information from: The News-Times, http://www.newstimes.com