R
Columbus,#2Consumer Comment
Sat, March 13, 2004
To Whom It May Concern: The old saying "buyer beware" needs to be updated. With today's technology the general public needs to "be AWARE". Aware of what they are signing, aware of who they are transferred to when on other calls, aware of every thing that is included with the free trials and offers. Whether it be a $2.50 check that to cash or deposit you must sign (under two paragraghs which explain what you are signing up for including the if you do not cancel this charge will be automatically charged to your account)or saying yes to a free trial. People seem to want to blame everyone but themselves. When you order something on the internet you must read everything if you do you will note that in the policies or privacy statement or other pages that you can open it will explain to you that when you sign up for "this" you will also sign up for several other free trials. If people would read or ask questions before saying yes they would know this. Hundreds of companies do this everyday. It seems that AOL is getting hit pretty hard in here but what some people don't realize is that there is a pop up on AOL that asks you if you want to use the same card for purchases made online as they use for AOL. People click yes then do not look or read or realize all of the other things they are signing up for. They should have clicked NO and DO NOT SHOW ME THIS AGAIN. The reason people get "double" or "triple" charged for things is because they do not realize that they are signing up for the same thing two or three or more times. They sign for something with AOL then again with Sears and Bank of America or Avis or Choice Hotels, then blame the company that charges them instead of themselves for not paying attention to what they are doing. These companies DO NOT steal you credit card numbers, they do not have to. People are more than willing to freely give it without investigating fully what they are buying. It is the customers responsibility to cancel what they have ordered. If you have ordered something more than once then you must cancel more than once. The easiest way to do this is to ask the company you are calling to check under your name and address for any other accounts. Ask them to make sure that all accounts are cancelled. If you do not the agent would have no reason to suspect that you have signed up more than once. Be polite to the person you call to cancel. They are not the ones who signed you up for the service, but they are the people who can help you get your service cancelled. So please, instead of complaining or blaming, be "AWARE" of what you are doing as a consumer. Read everything you sign or any web pages connected to the ones you are putting your credit card into. Ask questions of those people offering you something free like a camera or cd player or $20 in gas coupons. Finally if you do accept their offers do not blame the people you said yes to. If you cancel write down that cancellation code and keep it. Thank you for your time.