Saturday, August 11, 2007
robbed at “phone point”
FREE! FREE! FREE!
Reading the small print often requires reading between the lines.
I was recently robbed at “phone point” by an internet service company for more than $400. I had responded to an extraordinarily low price offer with many “free” add on services. The product was offered “from” 5.95 per month with a money back guarantee. I figured what do I have to lose... oops.
I was buying hosting services and that is the most embarrassing part because I’ve been dealing with hosting companies for more than 10 years. What compounds my embarrassment is the fact I’ve offered advice many times to others instructing them clearly to accomplish some due diligence; if nothing else, to do web searches on the company. Again, the $6 offer got me because I threw caution into the wind and filled out the forms.
BIG MISTAKE!
My biggest mistake was that I simply “scanned” the mile long terms of service agreement. I looked for the words money back, and the technical details of the service but missed a good bit of the small print. For 6 lousy dollars per month, I figured I’d give it a try and if I didn’t like the service I would simply cancel. Laziness bit me in the pants.
Long story as short as possible, and with the names remove pending possible civil and criminal actions, what happened after I hit send was a complete surprise. During the sign up process, I agreed to add more features raising my monthly cost to $8, then again agreed to a set up charge. In the end, my sign up fee was supposed to be about $40 and my per monthly fee with add on features was $12.95.
I entered my American Express (again because I believe it’s the safest protection from fraud), and received an e-mail that my order would be confirmed by phone within 24 hours. I thought that was good because I could clarify some questions I had.
The call came and I was told that their American Express terminal was being re-programmed and they needed another card. I paused, confirmed the amount and reluctantly gave my Visa. I was asked for the security code and gave it. Then, it was explained to me that the package I signed up for was a monthly service and subject to a “monthly set up fee” bringing my charge up to $32 per month for 12 months. I said, please cancel my order, I’m not interested. I was put on hold.
A little while later, the “boss” came on the phone where I knew I was lied to on several points and I refused to accept “another package” or a “better offer.” I said clearly that I do not authorize the transaction and did not want their product. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that I was speaking to the highest person on the corporate food chain at that office. I continued to refuse service based on the changes to which I was told “too bad.” I asked about the money back guarantee only to learn that the company does not give money back, only credit for other service. I re-emphasized that I did not authorize the purchase and was put on hold again.
What happened next absolutely blew me away. This crook came on the phone and told me my card had just been charged $407 according to the electronic contract for service. After I was able to breath and speak without shouting, I explained to this “person” that I have an understanding of merchant account rules and what he had done was illegal. He said that I should contact my attorney.
I was HOT!
I didn’t want to waste any more time on the phone. I told him that I would be disputing the charge. He laughed and said my online form would ensure he got his money. I said, “Okay, we’ll see.” I hung up the phone.
I called my local bank branch where after explaining all of this, was instructed to call the 800 number on the card. Phooey! I called and after going through all of the menus and waiting on hold, asked about the charge. The lady could see the authorization but there was nothing she could do. I asked her to turn off the card and re-issue another one. It would seem that once a charge is pre-approved, it’s pretty well done and just waiting for the day’s end ACH batch to process.
The customer service rep said she would flag the charge for dispute. That didn’t work. I checked my statement online, saw the charge and had to call again. (I’ll write about this bank in the future.) They immediately removed the charge from my card and said they would call me if the merchant challenged my dispute.
So... I went from $6 to $8 to $13 to $407 in the matter of minutes thanks to some slick talking thieves who have done this to several people; which I learned by doing what I should have done in the first place; search the company for complaints.
In the end, what should have taken 5 minutes and cost as little as $6, at the most $40, ended up almost costing me $407 and about 40 hours of work and the inconvenience associated with turning off my credit card. (Plus days of anguish over all of this.) I’m tempted to send them a bill for $4,000 which is my billable rate but will wait for the rest of this to unfold through legal channels.
The point of all of this?
These thieves used their lengthy terms of service as a crutch the entire time. They quoted obscure paragraphs claiming that the total year was due and payable and that they don’t offer money back. The fact is, their website states clearly a monthly price and money back guarantee. They used their interpretation of their own agreement instead of what it actually said which gets to my point; not only do we need to read the fine print, we need to understand what they really meant to say. ?HUH?
Another tool in the criminal arsenal was the word free. It’s true, the words free, guaranteed, discount, sale and/or clearance are great attention getters in advertising; one has to face the fact that few things in business are actually free.
What inspired this diatribe was the fact I was doing some research into a reputable merchant account this morning. I found a list of businesses that offer all kinds of merchant accounts for online and offline business. The word “free” on these company websites were like daggers because I know enough about merchant accounts to know that free isn’t free, it’s just paid for somewhere else.
Small business people are always on the lookout for a good deal, a better price or improved service. Like anyone, we can be swayed by special offers and keywords like free, clearance and guaranteed. It seems sometimes however, this small businessman allowed those words to hypnotize him away from reason in the hope of saving a few dollars.
Merchant accounts are an entire new subject that I intend to write about. There are so many ways to lose money and time as it relates to the topic. I have had merchant accounts; I have even been a sales rep for a large company that offered merchant account services; I think it’s time I started to discuss this topic for the benefit of small business readers here in Bowling Green.
Trying to save a few dollars ... well that didn’t work out!
There was another outcome to my quest for a new internet service company that is quite revealing. It’s true, I was shopping around for a new vendor for my hosting needs and it’s true, that I was going for the gold to save some money in the process. In the end, I decided to spend more money for more reliable service, better support and more control. It does remind me of all the times I’ve said; “you get what you pay for.” Or worse, the times I’ve sold my own products and services at a higher price based on quality and service.
When will I ever learn?
