Information and Alerts

Alert

The BBB initiated an investigation into the business due to concerns revealed through its complaint history with the BBB stating a failure to clearly disclose the material terms and conditions of its negative option feature.  More specifically, the company’s sales methods in its print and website advertisements demonstrate a pattern of complaints in which the terms and conditions confuse consumers by using a bold heading containing “Satisfaction Guarantee,” which appears to obscure important information and is written in a significantly smaller font.  The information in a smaller font indicates consumers are automatically enrolling into a subscription plan for future merchandise, if they do not cross out the “Satisfaction Guarantee” box.

Based on the pattern, type, and number of complaints against the company, the BBB advised that the best approach to stopping these types of issues would be to clearly and conspicuously notify consumers that they are joining a collector’s service plan to include subsequent shipments of similar merchandise by having a separate area on the order where consumers would need to affirmatively initial or check a section that clearly spells out the information that they agree to receive additional items.  Further, the BBB explained the concern that the procedure seemed similar to a pre-checked sign-up box and strongly urged and recommended the changes noted above, the company countered with the following statement:

“American Mint denies that the "X-out” phrase is similar to a pre-checked sign-up box. American Mint implemented the "X-out" phrase, solely for first time customers, at the direction of the Pennsylvania Attorney General, to provide new customers with the additional opportunity to opt out of providing affirming consent that occurs via the return of the order form. American Mint's testing confirms that the inclusion of the "X-out" phrase has resulted in fewer returns, fewer chargebacks, and fewer complaints than before the “X-out" phrase was implemented. Therefore, American Mint does not intend to discontinue using the X-out phrase, both for the practical reasons and for legal reasons that doing so may constitute a violation of the existing AVC. In sum, the X-out phrase is a consumer-friendly feature that has reduced the number of complaints by first-time customers.”

The BBB contacted the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP), and we were informed that the BCP never directed the company to use the x-out phrase.  On May 5, 2021, the BCP filed a lawsuit against this firm for allegedly violating the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. The company has filed objections seeking to have the case dismissed. The details of the lawsuit are included in this Business Profile, and the matter is now pending.

Although the company addressed the BBB complaints on file by providing an opportunity for consumers to cancel their orders and, in most cases, they received refunds, it failed to resolve the underlying pattern of complaints and correct its practices to eliminate the pattern issue of consumers’ expressed informed consent to enroll in a continuous sales program so that consumers stop receiving merchandise they do not want. 
 
Additionally, as part of the BBB's investigation, the BBB requested information from the company regarding its terms & conditions, promotional literature, licensing documents, and information about the company’s owners/principal officers. The BBB also requested information regarding the coins it sells, such as: where the coins are from, are the coins copied, do the coins come with a Certificate of Authenticity, who determines the quality/condition of the coins, are the coins geared toward coin collectors, do they have historical value or investment value/purposes, and how is this information described to consumers. The company responded to the questions above and provided the requested information. 

The BBB also reviewed search engines and found several review sites confirming similar conduct about the company.

The BBB suggests you read and understand company promotional materials, including the fine print, and understand the terms & conditions of the offer before ordering products. The BBB also encourages consumers to review the customer complaints and reviews provided in this BBB Business Profile.