Complaint Review: GourmetCooking

I was only trying to buy a set of knives for 19.95 plus free shipping. However, the site offers you several "free" items with purchase. What I missed was this fine print at the bottom of the page:

*Void where prohibited. Other terms, conditions, and restrictions may apply. This offer is subject to change or termination without notice. Pay only $19.95 for the Kick X Ultimate Knife Set. Bonus items may require additional S&P. Shipping to Canada, AK, and HI will be charged a $9.91 surcharge. All other shipments outside the continental U.S. will be charged a $9.91 surcharge per pound to be calculated after the order is placed. Additional taxes and duties may apply. Each shipment comes with an unconditional 30 day money-back guarantee (less only S&P where applicable) upon request and return of the product. For any questions, call Customer Service at 1-888-240-4628 (US/Canada) or +1-707-633-3333 (International).

So I only intended to spend $19.95 on some knives. My card was charged $70.70 due to all of the shipping charges on my "free" items. When I called to try to get my money back, they said I could send everything back but they don't refund shipping and processing. So if I sent everything back, I still would pay over $50 for nothing.  At this time they offered to drop the rest of what I hadn't been billed for yet. That's right, they weren't even done billing me yet!!

So, legally I suppose they have me over a barrel. However, it is an intentionally misleading website. They do this on purpose. After your order, they send you an email with an invoice that doesn't show a price so that you don't realize what's happened until after it's shipped and it's too late to cancel your order. The worst thing is that they are an American company not some overseas ripoff scam. I don't know how these people live with themselves. After you place your order, there are numerous pop-ups offering you other items and you have to click through saying yes or no on each of them. I guess I must have accidentaly clicked yes on one of them because apparently I have a vacuum sealer coming with my order. It's just incredible the lengths these people go to to get your money without you realizing it.