The idea of “Buyer Beware” isn’t new, but it does seem to be taking on a more deceitful bent these days. Here are three instances that crossed my radar the past week.
The home improvement retailer Menard’s often advertises an “11 percent rebate on everything” in its store. At first glance, I assumed that meant an 11 percent discount at the check-out. And maybe others thought that too. But rebate doesn’t mean that at all.
Rather a rebate is an incentive a business offers a customer AFTER purchase, not AT purchase. It’s usually in the form of a refund or a discount. But the customer has to pay full price first and then go through the effort of sending in proof of purchase to get the rebate. There are weeks of waiting involved.
In Menard’s case, the rebate isn’t a refund; it’s merely a coupon to use at the retailer to purchase more items. So guess who is benefiting by this rebate: the company. Beware!
My friend S recently purchased hearing aids from a reputable local firm. We all know hearing aids are expensive and usually not something insurance covers. S decided to accept the firm’s offer of one year with no interest to pay off the item. BUT it turned out that the hearing aid company wasn’t funding her. It set her up with a credit card that gave a year’s free interest in the hope that she wouldn’t pay it off and the company could then charge an exorbitant interest. The thing is: S was never told any of this at the point of purchase. Beware!
And then there’s Totaladblock.com, which I saw on Facebook. It claims to delete all those pesky ads you see whenever you’re on the internet. Of course it’s not free, but for first time customers, it’s only $1.99 per month for the first year.
That seemed reasonable, especially with the “Cancel at any time” option. But it turns out that if you join you are charged the full 12 months at once. Yes, it’s still $1.99 a month; but what if you want to cancel. I’m willing to bet it’s a hassle to get any money back. Beware!
The thing is we can’t take anything at face value. It doesn’t matter if it’s political campaigns, car sales, doctors’ offices, information on the internet, or local grocery ads.
It’s a pity.
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