Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook Talking technology, computers, and the Internet… for the average computer user

I got the following in my email from Clark Howard e-zine:

RIP-OFF ALERT: We’ve gotten several calls from listeners complaining about being ripped off while checking out at many otherwise legitimate Internet selling sites.

Typically, our callers report seeing a message during checkout asking if they’d like to save X amount of dollars on their purchase. Clicking through on the message and agreeing secretly enrolls you in a subscription service that is billed to your credit card or debit account on a monthly basis. And there’s no real notification — other than some mice-type that’s too small to read.

The Wall Street Journal reports New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo suspects 22 companies of being involved with this rip-off. Among the companies he’s subpoenaed are Staples, Barnes &Noble, Avon, GameStop, 1-800-Flowers and Orbitz, just to name a few.

No need, however, to wait and hear their side of the story. You know all you need: That supposed instant discount will cost you big-time. Cuomo alleges that three of these discount programs pulled in more than $1 billion annually.

The real question is how will trusted brands that take advantage of this suspect sales ploy gain their reputations back with customers??

You can read the full post here. The comments are really, really enlightening, I think. I had no idea that such reputable companies would do such STUPID things!

When checking out [at CVS], there is a ‘donate $1′ to some so called charity which is very difficult to say no and get this off my bill. If cvs wants to donate, don’t scam me and everyone else for all these dollars that add up to millions. It is quite a scam and has to be illegal. It is very difficult to remove this.

As you check out of VisionDirect, there is a checkbox already checked for coolsavings.com. i did not notice it and began getting charged a monthly fee immediately. I caught it five months later and contacted coolsavngs.com. They reimbursed me all except one month worth – I would have had to fill out some form. Just wanted to be done with the company. Complained to VisionDirect about this and to date no response. Will take my business to a competitor from now on, even if they charge a few dollars more.

In my case, the charges started to hit twice a month for around $33 (each) when I purchased an airline ticket from Travelocity.

I’ve been a victim of this for the past 7 months from freeshipping.com without knowing about it. My wife purchased flowers from Proflowers.com and was enrolled in this service, they make it seem like part of the checkout process so you have no idea what you are signing up for.

For a few pennies per customer, companies are ripping people off by allowing third-parties to scam customers. It’s just insane. Watch the fine print!