"free" samples

[bankworking]

The product doesn't matter. It's the same story, whether it's diet pills or anti-wrinkle cream, or vitamins or magazines or whatever. Customer sees an advertisement for a "free" sample... except, of course, they must pay shipping and handling, and thus they must give their credit card or debit card number.

And then they are shocked,completely flabbergasted, to find that they are being charged a monthly fee for the fine print attached to that "free" sample. If they are lucky, it's only around $19.99. Today's was $79.99. Twice, because they charge the first two month's service up-front. I've seen higher.

Perhaps customer contacts the company first to complain. In which case, they will discover that the cancellation period for the additional products ended before they even received the first "free" sample. Generally, the place will still cancel future charges (Do NOT trust this. Change your card number immediately.) but will tell them they are out the charges already made because they failed to meet the cancellation policy.

So, customer comes to the bank, whether before or after complaining to the company, and they will scream "scam" and "I didn't authorize this!". And we will put in a dispute, and it will FAIL, because however crappy the company was to slip in the fine print underneath the customer's radar, and however completely unjust the incredibly short cancellation policy is, they are just enough within the letter of legal regulations that they win the dispute. And the customer is OUT that money. And we can do nothing.

And then the customer turns SC and yells at the bank for not getting their money back when they didn't authorize the charge! We're supposed to have zero liability on charges when the number was stolen and that company that they gave their card number to STOLE it to do extra charges that they failed to notice when they were getting their "free" butt cream.

*sigh*

So just, PLEASE people, think before you buy, even when what you are buying is "free".



...on a similar note, when you sign a year-long contract with a gym, they WILL take your bill to collections even if you change your card number so they can no longer take automatic payments from your card. And again, we can't successfully dispute charges unless they are done AFTER you have canceled via the company's own cancellation policy. A contract is a contract folks, however crappy the companies sales policies might be.

[AmethystSquirrel]

But...But this is the "ME" generation. No one reads the fine print. Everyone is entitled to everything they want with no consequences or they call the police.

Or at least that is what SCs have related to me over the years....

[MoonCat]

I have occasionally looked at offers of "free" stuff. The second I see "we need your credit card number" (in whatever words they use to convey this) I stop right there and don't order it.

[Slayer]

I consider the "here's a free sample, give me your credit card number" situations all scams.

If I come across one that interests me, I'll check it out, but the second it asks for my credit card, I'm fucking out of that place.

There's no way I'm subjecting myself to that amount of pain. There are enough legit giveaways that I have no desire to do the others.

As for someone thinking the bank is responsible for their own stupidity, yeah right. I think it's a valuable lesson to learn.

[Pixilated]

But...But this is the "ME" generation. No one reads the fine print. Everyone is entitled to everything they want with no consequences or they call the police.

Or at least that is what SCs have related to me over the years....

Eee-yep.

I think the quote (paraphrased from an unrelated site) that best fits here is, "I don't read that stuff. It's your responsibility to tell me of any problems I might have."

[sevendaysky]

The only "here's a free thing, give us your CC number" thing I have actually agreed to was Netflix's "get a free month" thing. I get why they ask for it, and I figure a company that large would not get far if they regularly scam their customers (beyond other things for Fratching). I ignore email offers and shred the physical spam mail I get from time to time.

[Sleepwalker]

Rental services generally have a legitimate reason for needing a credit card number, since racking up additional charges via wear and tear or extending the use is common.

Butt cream? Not so much.

[PepperElf]

i heard an advert on the air for some hormone product that's suppose to make you lose weight. "call now for your free trial".

it made me think of this. cos i bet they'd ask for a credit card too

[AyreBiskits]

my parents didn't let us order anything we found on tv or in a magazine even if it was free. when i went to work at a call center that took orders for most of the 1-800 places, i found out why. lol!! some things may be "free" but all the other stuff they add to it is outrageous! there's no way in hell i would order anything from a tv ad, even if it was "free".

[Slayer]

Rental services generally have a legitimate reason for needing a credit card number, since racking up additional charges via wear and tear or extending the use is common.

Butt cream? Not so much.

Haha, yup. I've used trial services before, but never trial samples/products.

[Shalom]

I ran across a particularly slimy trick once.

Website offers "stuff" for download. One-time fee of a couple dollars, input your credit card, etc. Way down at the bottom of the browser window, there's the usual copyright bullshit. Bottom of the page, right?

What you don't notice is that there's a Javascript that resizes your screen for you.

If you continue to scroll down past the copyright bullshit, THEN you'll see the fine print that tells you that they'll be charging you $39.95 a month (or whatever) in perpetuity. Of course, nobody ever does, because they see the copyright bullshit and what looks like the bottom of a browser window, and assume that this is in fact the bottom of the page and there isn't any fine print. If you don't notice the scrollbar that suddenly appears at the right side of your screen, you can get suckered into this very easily.

[Nemesis44UK]

It is a scam IMHO. The fact that it is in fine (read: illegibly small) print is beside the point.

Audible is another company that a few years back gave you a free trial provided you give them your CC number. I didn't mind that, as it is a big reputable firm and I cancelled within a week anyway.

However, I always read the fine print after being stung like that in the past.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I have occasionally looked at offers of "free" stuff. The second I see "we need your credit card number" (in whatever words they use to convey this) I stop right there and don't order it.

I've had to do that many times as well . . . I'm very picky about what goes on my card and the fewer recurring charges I have to keep track of, the better for me (and Mom, who keeps a running tally of our balance.)

Only thing I have a recurring charge on currently is my brother's NASCAR.com Track Pass subscription (which I have to update the info whenever my card number changes.) I know the day of the month it comes out, and the amount so the paycheck that hits the bank before the charge shows up, we know to keep that much money in the bank to cover it.

[AmethystSquirrel]

I remember one site EONS ago that had white words on white background for the "fine print"

[bankworking]

It is a scam IMHO. The fact that it is in fine (read: illegibly small) print is beside the point.

Audible is another company that a few years back gave you a free trial provided you give them your CC number. I didn't mind that, as it is a big reputable firm and I cancelled within a week anyway.

However, I always read the fine print after being stung like that in the past.

Frankly, I agree. A lot of these companies might as well be doings scams. Unfortunately, we, the bank, lose the disputes, so they've apparently got the legal side of the fine print, at least so far as Visa and Mastercard dispute services are concerned, so my opinion of their sales tactics doesn't mean squat.