subject: Avoiding Free Trial Scams [print this page] Author: Author: . Myers" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/ron-j.-myers/284658.htm">Ron J. Myers
So you have heard about the wonderful health benefits of the Acai Berry or maybe Resveratrol. And now your looking to buy some. You have done some research on the web and have found a website promoting a "Free Trial" offer. Well, that sounds pretty good. Unfortunately, however, most of the "Free Trial" offers on the web are scams. Here is how they typically work. You go to some website where the supplement is being promoted. The website says "Get Your Free Trial Offer Today" or something similar. So you click on some link and then are asked to enter your credit card information. Now, of course, when you are asked to give your credit card information, you are probably a little suspicious. But, the website assures you that the request for your credit card information is only for paying the "shipping charges". Therefore, you enter your credit card information into the form on the website. Typically, you will get the "free trial". However, if you don't cancel the "free trial" offer in like one or two weeks, your credit card will be billed again, usually with some exorbitant charges. Also, you will receive a bunch of product that you did not want because you were not that impressed with the "free trial" offer to begin with. Upset about the charges on your credit card, you will no doubt try to contact the company by phone or email from whom you got the "free trial" offer. Good luck getting hold of them. Your emails will probably go unanswered. And your phone calls will probably never get through to a real person. If you are lucky enough to get a response, it most likely will be very snotty. The person will say something like, "well, didn't you read the 'fine print'." Because sure enough, there was some text on the bottom of the web page in font size 3, which specifically stated that you had seven or fourteen days to cancel the "free trial offer" or your credit card would be billed. Of course you didn't read the "fine print", did you? Don't feel bad, most people don't. The scammers know that. They put it on the website to cover themselves legally. They also put it on the website, so they can make you feel like an idiot when you object to the additional charges on your credit card. By making you feel like an idiot, they hope you will drop the entire matter. Often they will use that as an excuse not to refund your money. Accordingly, the only option usually left is for you to call your credit card company and ask them to cancel the charges. Hopefully, you are able to get the credit card company to cancel the charges. But, even if you are able to, the whole experience will leave will bitter. The fact of the matter is that most legitimate health supplement businesses do on offer free trials. The health supplement business operates on very slim margins. Free trials would cost legitimate business too much money that would put them out of business. Legitimate businesses offer supplements for a reasonable price. They tell you what price you are going to pay for their product, and they charge you exactly for what you buy. Also, a legitimate health supplement business wants to be around for a long time. They need and want your repeat business. Therefore, they want to hear your complaints, so they can make you happy. Because your concerns are important to them, legitimate health supplement businesses do not make it nearly impossible to contact them. In other words, they have a phone number where you can call to talk to a real person within a reasonable amount of time, unlike most of the "Free Trial Offer" scammers. Finally, a legitimate health supplement business has their contact information prominently displayed on their web page, which, again, is unlike the scam companies that promote "free trials". In short, be leery of a "Free Trial" offer. While some "Free Trial" offers maybe legit, most of them are scams. For information on a reputable supplement company, you can click here.About the Author:
Ron J. Myers is an avid writer. His favorite topics are fitness and health. More of his work can be found here.
