Many companies, to get new customers offer free trials, marketing tactics intended to lure people in by offering them what is supposed to be a risk-free, minimal-cost introduction to a product or service which can include cell phone, streaming and delivery services, makeup and personal care products, mattresses, gym memberships and more.
They offer a trial period before you commit, the problem is, to sign up for the trial you must provide your credit card information.
If you don’t read the terms and conditions carefully, you may inadvertently agree to allow the company to start charging your card as soon as the trial ends and unless you are diligent you can end up paying for a product or service you don’t want or need. If you are not reviewing your credit card statements each month you may forget you signed up for the trial and end up paying a monthly fee.
The internet and social media have made it easier to scam people, including with free trials. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns that these types of scams are on the rise.
https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/22040-bbb-update-free-trial-offer-scams
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has received complaints from people who are being charged for subscriptions they don’t want and never ordered. When contacted, some subscription services say that people must speak to a different company. People have also reported getting error messages when they try to cancel online.
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/05/how-stop-subscriptions-you-never-ordered
If you decide to sign up for a trail membership, take steps to protect yourself.
Read the terms and conditions completely.
Assume that you will automatically start being charged when the free trial ends.
Read some reviews, search the product, and company name online with words like “review,” “complaint,” or “scam” to see what others are saying.
Review your monthly credit card statements in detail so that you catch any charges for free trials that you may have forgotten about.
Look for pre-checked boxes when signing up. Some companies use these hoping you will not notice you are agreeing to be billed later.
Understand when and how you cancel before you sign up for the service. The terms and conditions should include what you’ll be charged for and the date by which you must act to avoid a charge – If this is not spelled out clearly don’t sign up.
Set a calendar reminder for a few days before the trial ends.
What should you do if you believe the free trial you signed up for is a scam?
Contact the company directly to dispute the charge, if that is not successful contact your credit card company to dispute the charge.
File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, http://www.bbb.org
Report the fraud to www.bbb.org/scamtracker
Report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3
But keep in mind, not all free trials are scams. If you failed to read the terms and conditions and forget to cancel the free trial before it ends you are responsible for the charges.
The Tech Minimalist 