Since last week, I have been receiving unsolicited "free trials" in the mail - none of which match my interests and a few of which do not even fit my gender. They've all made unauthorized charges to my credit card (which is, thank GOD! A prepaid card that only had $50 on it at the time) for shipping and handling charges, and a few of them insinuate that I've been signed into a monthly club deal.
Here's the things we've recieved in the mail so far:
- "Free" tooth whitening sample kit from ivorywhite.com
Amount charged to card: $5.01
-"Free" gift pack of makeup from Cosmetique.com (I'm male and have no gender confusion issues)
Amount charged to card: $6.95
- "Here's your FREE information on grant proposals!"
Amount charged to card: $1.00
- Enrolled in Deep Discounts multi-vitamin club for men AND women:
Amount charged to card (and amount billed once card ran out of funds) $29.95
This last one is especially bad because the "money-back guarantee" on the back of the invoice states that you may only cancel the Deep Discounts plan by phone.
And of course, no matter what time of day you call, all three companies have disturbingly similar voicemail systems informing you that the office is closed and to call back during regular business hours.
Email inquiries return with a form letter telling you to contact customer service.
As an additional rub, there's no hope of getting any of your money back because any money they'd refund to your card would be eaten up by re-shipping fees.
There are also dozens of miscellaneous charges of $1.00 to e-bay, napster, and others. Because of the varied companies, I'd have to guess this is in some way automated, like a virus.
Be very careful who you give your credit card information to online or you could be hit hard by crap like this!
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