Low Pay, Inc., or LPC, calls itself "one of the fastest growing membership-based consumer benefits, finance and marketing companies." According to their website, their membership benefits include shopping opportunities for merchandise "ranging from jewelry and electronics, to furniture, house ware and fashion"; high-limit restricted merchant credit lines, with 70 percent financing of merchandise purchases at no interest and low monthly payments; cash advance discounts, cash-back rewards, emergency roadside assistance; and third-party services provided to cardholders at "highly favorable terms." (A full description of many of these benefits seems not to be available without actually signing up for them.)

Also advertised on the website is "No Credit Check," "Guaranteed Approval," "Cash Advance Related Benefit," and "Unique Shopping Privileges."

The credit line is advertised as an unsecured purchase credit line for up to $8,500, with an almost illegible "See Terms & Conditions for Restrictions" asterisked, yet, as far as we can determine, not explained anywhere on the website. (LPC's response to one complaint implies that these may be explained during the telephone activation process.) Nevertheless, this credit line is apparently what members are to use to finance what they buy from LPC--touted by the company as "exclusive access to a collection brought together under one roof and presented to its members." To get the Merchant card that offers this financing, new members must activate their membership within five days of confirmation of payment of their activation fee.

LPC's cardholders may use their card only to buy the company's own merchandise, and though LPC's website includes a catalog of products members can order, no prices are given, at least in the online version, for its offerings. A Michigan resident, who says the company solicits those without credit cards or who have had financial problems in the past, paid LPC $200. "I got this [membership] . . . to make Christmas happy for my family," he says. Two weeks later he received his merchandise catalog. "Most of the merchandise is common stuff one can find in a Wal-mart, but at more than triple the cost," he says.

This customer had been told he could get his membership fee refunded within 30 days, but when he called to cancel, he was first told he hadn't canceled within the 30 days, and then told that they would make the refund but would have to withdraw another $198 for what he sees as "another ridiculous fee."

Although the company makes their offer on their website, many complainants say they received their membership card unsolicited (though not activated). Either way, they're charged, and sometimes charged again.

Just how much might a consumer lose in fees associated with LPC membership? The company's FAQ's state that the Activation Fee is refundable for 30 days after the activation date but that your account processing fee is not refundable. In fact, should you cancel your account after your Activation Fee Payment Date, your Annual Fee will be charged to your LPC credit line and will become due upon cancellation. Thus, choosing to cancel your membership after you've activated your card can subject you to the processing fee and the annual fee, and even the activation fee itself unless you cancel within the time allowed. And one complainant who decided to cancel before she received her "welcome packet" was told to wait until she received it because it contained important cancellation information. When she received the packet and called, she was told she could either pay the $98 annual fee and then be refunded her initial $120, or she could use the $120 to offset the $98.

A Georgia complainant says she was charged a total of $284 in LPC fees she never authorized from a company she never heard of, despite the company's acknowledgment that her card was never activated. This complainant, a working mother of five, says she's incurred bank fees that have caused serious overdrafts to her account because of LPC's charges. How did the company get her account number in the first place? "My bank and I are trying to figure it out," she says.

Our records show a post office box address in Portland, Oregon, for LPC. We've received over 200 complaints against them in the last three years, most of which were filed in 2008, and they continue to come in so far in 2009. Complaints come from all over the United States, except, at least so far, California.

Kim's advice: Don't get caught. Here are some tips to help you hold onto your money:

• If you're inclined to respond to an ad offering a credit card like this one, get a reliability report first. This company's "F" rating, plus their nearly 200 complaints on file with us, ought to tell you a great deal about them. Don't give out any personal information until you've checked them out and studied information about them. Read all terms and conditions thoroughly. If you can't find them, as we couldn't, you'd be better off not to do business with them.
• Don't rely on a card or credit line such as this company's to improve your credit rating. Though it's not prominently on the website, the FAQ's do explain that your "timely payments" will "build and improve" your credit standing--but only with the company.
• And of course, be wary when merchandise offered for sale doesn't include the purchase price. Overpriced merchandise, coupled with all the fees charged, can more than wipe out any benefit you anticipated.

Kim Burge is the Better Business Bureau's Director of Trade Practices