Don´t Get Caught in the Auto-Bill Nightmare!
Contrary to popular belief, there are many companies that use a form of auto bill procedure for their products and they are not all bad. For example when you purchase a heavily discounted book from Time Magazine or National Geographic you are usually placed on an auto-ship program. The program ships you a new book on a repeating pattern (month, 2 months, week etc.) and your credit card is billed at the normal product price which is usually much higher that what you paid for the initial offer. Often consumers have no problem with this, it is convenient and if you truly enjoy what is being sent, what is the downside? The problem arises with companies that place consumers on such a program without their knowledge or make it extremely hard to cancel and remove yourself from the auto-bill process.
Some consumers think all they have to do is call their credit card company to block the charges. This is usually false. While your credit card company will probably reverse a charge (known as a chargeback) they cannot put a block on a specific charge so every time said company tries to charge your card it is blocked. On the contrary you will have to call the credit card company each and every time the charge gets placed. Cancelling your card and being issued a new one is definitely an answer but this has drawbacks as if you have other vendors who use this card on a regular basis such as your cell phone provider, utility company etc. you will have to notify all of them of your new credit card number.
Obviously the best way to avoid this potential huge time suck is to remain off of these programs unless you are confident in the company’s ability to respond to customer inquiries in a timely manner. Be wary of ‘Free Trial Packs’, ‘Your First Shipment is Free’, or ‘Free Sample’ offers because usually the small print indicates that although you will receive the initial order for free or (shipping only pricing) you are electing to have monthly shipments and the regular product price sent to you.
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