Mothers Day Scams Involve ‘Maternity Card,’ Floral Fleecing

By John Voket

Most kids would do anything for their Mom, especially on Mother’s Day. But many kids would probably be upset to learn that the annual holiday also brings out scams that prey on expectant mothers and thousands of unsuspecting consumers ordering Mother’s Day flowers from phone and Internet sites.

With Mother’s Week (May 5–11) one of the busiest flower and plant-sending holidays, Connecticut’s floral industry warned consumers this week to be wary of telephone and Internet operations that assess overly high service charges and masquerade as local flower shops.

 “If you use the web to send Mother’s Day flowers, make sure it’s the site of a local florist you know,” said Bob Heffernan, executive director of the Monroe-based Connecticut Florists Association (CFA).

The state floral trade group noted there are “dozens and dozens” of Internet operations that routinely charge service fees often double what local Connecticut florists charge. These “order gatherers” usually assess service fees of $15–$20 per order, but CFA says Connecticut flower shops charge much less, an average $7.12 according to a recent survey of state florists.

 “Many of these websites and ‘phone mills’ are nothing more than a distant room full of computers that only gather the flower orders but never produce or deliver a single arrangement or plant,” Mr Heffernan charged. “Consumers always get a better value if they go direct to a ‘real florist’ nearby.”

Judy Grabarz, whose Newtown Florist on South Main Street is the town’s only independent flower shop, said she knows of at least one such “phone mill” operating with a local Newtown phone number.

“There’s a name of a Newtown flower shop in one local phone book that happens to be an order gatherer in New Jersey,” Ms Grabarz told The Newtown Bee. “They even have a local name and phone number, but it goes to an order mill.”

According to Mr Heffernan, the AT&T Fairfield County Directory has listings for “Bridgeport Florist” and “Danbury Florist,” but there are no such businesses with those names physically located in those cities.

Ms Grabarz said individuals who use these order mills may disappointed by the size and quality of the arrangements they have ordered, or have paid as much as 50 percent of their fee for handling.

“People have a vision that a $100 arrangement takes up half the living room. You expect volume for that kind of money, but there can be disappointment once you see the finished arrangement,” she said. “I don’t know if people are aware of the service charge — your total cost of a $100 order goes down to [a] $70 or $80 [arrangement] after the initial order fee, then the florist’s processing charge can bump it down to as low as $50 or $60.”

“These order gatherers haven’t got a clue what’s in the inventory of the local flower shop, so if you order direct from the real florist, you’re more likely to get what you really wanted in the first place,” Mr Heffernan said.

While phone and web marketers may fleece harried children out of a few dollars on Mother’s Day floral orders, another more unscrupulous organization is preying on mothers-to-be.

This week the Better Business Bureau of Connecticut issued a warning about AHCO Direct, LLC, doing business under Affordable Healthcare Options (AHCO), and its “Maternity Card.” People looking for inexpensive insurance to cover obstetric, gynecological, and delivery costs have paid almost $700, only to find their AHCO is not accepted by doctors and hospitals.

The BBB has received 143 similar complaints from consumers nationwide who say they were told by AHCO representatives there are facilities and providers in their areas; however, the victims are finding they are unable to use the card. Two complaints have been filed by Connecticut consumers.

Their stories are much like that of Elna Reinach in Texas, a mother-to-be who was uninsured, and turned to Affordable Healthcare Options to find an inexpensive way to have her baby.

The “Maternity Card,” issued by AHCO seemed to be what she was looking for. Reinach says the company promised her lower negotiated rates on all of her medical bills, so she signed up.

When she called health care providers, however, none accepted the card, and she was forced to make arrangements as a cash patient.

Elna Reinach says, in other words, she got nothing for her $699.

In November 2005, BBB contacted AHCO to try and eliminate causes for the pattern of complaints. The company failed to correct the underlying reasons for the complaints.

The Texas Attorney General has charged AHCO, the “Maternity Card,” and two of its executives with selling fraudulent discount health card plans to pregnant women who lack insurance, and is seeking an injunction to stop the company from continuing unacceptable marketplace practices.

According to court documents, two executives of AHCO Direct, LLC, preyed on uninsured pregnant women’s fears about prenatal care and delivery costs by selling them a health discount card that promised to cover up to 60 percent of maternity-related costs.

Complaints to the Texas Attorney General’s office and BBB say AHCO charged high fees but provided no health care discounts or benefits.

Consumers also complain that the defendants and their company discouraged uninsured women from contacting the hospital where they intended to deliver prior to their delivery dates, thereby preventing them from receiving any legitimate discounts the hospital may have offered to uninsured people who prepay the delivery costs.

The Texas Attorney General is seeking customer refunds and civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. There is no word from Connecticut’s Attorney General regarding the local mothers who were scammed by the company’s “Maternity Card” program.