There’s no such thing as a free lunch!
If it sounds too good to be true – it probably is!
Read the fine print!
If you’re over thirty, I’m sure your mother drilled these words of wisdom into your head. Well maybe your mother didn’t but we’ve all heard these familiar phrases over and over.
When I’m on the internet, I see lots and lots of click ads on Yahoo mail, the news sights and many other sites I visit from day to day. They’re all the same - teeth whitening, free grant money, miracle berry supplements and make money from home. I also see the same thing in my email junk folder. Since January 2009 there has been a significant increase of complaints from consumers against the practices of hundreds of venders selling these types of products and services.
Most of these ads offer products or services on a membership or subscription basis – you pay a fee every month for monthly shipments of products or continuation of services. You start out with a free or inexpensive trial offer and then you start paying full price thereafter. According to the fine print or terms and conditions, you can stop these at any time. But most consumers don’t read the fine print. Some don’t even realize they will have a charge every month, or by accepting the free offer, they are agreeing to additional charges. Most companies will start charging the full price within days of accepting the trial offer. Some will automatically start charging for other products or services – there may be several charges within thirty days from the start of the trial offer. It’s all disclosed in the fine print, the terms and agreements.
I won’t even venture a guess about the quality of the products or services sold by many of these companies. My opinion is this – if a company uses deceptive practices to get your money, this speaks volumes about what they’re selling.
The next time you click on of one these ads, be sure to click on and read the terms and agreements to find out just how much the “free” trial will cost you. And so, let the buyer beware; it may not be a good deal and it’s definitely not free if you have to use a credit or debit card to sign up.
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