If you really want to read another typical story about Internet Opinion Group that complains of their misleading practices, then skip down a few paragraph and knock yourself out. I laid it all out below in a long, drawn out fashion that rivals the same exhausting process I went through at IOG's site.
What I'm really curious of though is. Has anyone considered suing Internet Opinion Group in Small Claims Court for say, the equivalent amount of money that you were due for completing their offer?
Some thoughts: I'm guessing that if a small claims suit were filed against them that (1) most likely they would not send anyone to defend it and the plaintiff would win by default; or (2) even if they did show up, assuming you kept your documentation, you may actually have a good chance of winning in the case that you followed through with your end of the bargain, and they did not.
Of course, one would have to sue the correct entity.netblue, I'm guessing, since it's the corporation that IOG claims owns it.
Plus, you'd have to be able to enforce the judge's decision even if he did find in your favor. Again, I'm guessing, but a writ. I understand that a small claims court judge can issue a writ that when presented to the defendant's financial institution forces the institution to disperse funds from the defendant's account as ordered in the writ.
Of course, I guess then you would have to be able to find out where the corporation banks. That's a lot of assumptions; however, it would give me great pleasure to see someone who has been misled by one of these companies get some justice. Anyway, if you want the long, exhausting play-by-play on my personal experience. See below. Some major venting.
Ironically enough, from a link on "smarter.com", I answered an ad which stated, "Get Microsoft Office Pro Free Guaranteed 100% Free - Act Now!" The link took me to one of the evidently multitudinous "Internet Opinion Group" sites where consumers eager to answer a few surveys or try out a few offers in exchange for a likely-never-to-be-realized, too-good-to-be-true "gift". The carrot-just-out-of-my-grasp in this case: "Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003"—a $499 value—mine FREE!!! Includes Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Outlook with Business Contact Manager!!! WHAT a bargain!!!
(If you'd like your own, free in-home demonstration on how to start this madness, type "http://www.smarter.com/search.php? Q=microsoft office home edition" into the address bar on your browser and hit the "enter" key. Scroll just below where it reads, "Ads By Google", and click on the link "Free MS Office Pro"—"http://www.internetopiniongroup.com/landings/iog_template_06. Jsp? Product_id=4923&pid=1844165911&cid=1600101&lid=1001" is the actual target for that link. Then, let the games begin! Dunt, dunt, dunt!!!)
Anyway, Internet Opinion Group (hereinafter called "IOG") then presented a blank/box to check my eligibility by ZIP code. Whewhew! What do you know. They ARE accepting new members here in my neck of the woods! What a coincidence! I wonder if there's a ZIP code where they're NOT accepting new members probably only the ZIP codes where the Attorney General has sent them packing. But, I digress.
Of course, I was asked to fill out a simple form, giving basic information for the purpose of joining IOG's membership. I did it! Then IOG was so generous as to pop-up a seemingly endless number of other unrelated offers—cause, they're just generous like that and all. So, underneath all that was my glimmer of hope:
"You're almost done! Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 Reserved for... Congratulations! To qualify for your FREE* Microsoft Office Professional Edition start by fully completing any 2 of the top offers listed below on this page! Once you fully complete the offer eligibility requirements as outlined in the terms and conditions, we will ship the Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 to you for FREE! Prior to us shipping the Microsoft Office Professional Edition you will have the opportunity to re-confirm your shipping address..."
I did it! Just in case you're curious, I picked the AOL MusicNet and Blockbuster Online. Why? Because they're well-known, reputable companies. They were offering goods and services that I actually already use, or were interested in using. And I feel sure that if and when I contact them to cancel the trial services, they will faithfully honor my cancellation without making any bogus charges to my credit card—a practice that a number of the other companies listed on IOG's site are reported to have done (providing your CC info by the way IS required as a condition of the trial subscription/s).
Now this may seem repetitious but, here's the message I received after "completing" the two "offers":
"You're almost done! Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
Reserved for... Congratulations! To qualify for your FREE* Microsoft Office Professional Edition start by fully completing any 2 of the top offers listed below on this page!
Once you fully complete the offer eligibility requirements as outlined in the terms and conditions, we will ship the Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 to you for FREE! Prior to us shipping the Microsoft Office Professional Edition you will have the opportunity to re-confirm your shipping address... TOP OFFERS PAGE 2"
Huh? Alrighty, now that was kind of misleading. That first page made it seem like this was only going to be a 2-offer-gig. (AND NO, I didn't fall off the turnip truck, I DID read the fine print beforehand, in the "Terms and Conditions" where it says "up to six offers". However, I made the stupid, overly-optimistic mistake of thinking that "up to six" implied it could be less than six."
See, IOG is just misleading in their wording and, they're sneaky by presenting pages leading you along at two offers, then two more and (you might have noticed a pattern here)... Then (for a third time) TWO MORE OFFERS! Yup! I actually received another page which read as follows:
"You're almost done! Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
Reserved for. Congratulations! To qualify for your FREE* Microsoft Office Professional Edition start by fully completing any 2 of the top offers listed below on this page! Once you fully complete the offer eligibility requirements as outlined in the terms and conditions, we will ship the Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 to you for FREE! Prior to us shipping the Microsoft Office Professional Edition you will have the opportunity to re-confirm your shipping address. TOP OFFERS PAGE 3"
The third page of "offers" is a page that I greeted with a great deal of suspiscion and skepticism. The "offers" on page three appeared to me to be stratgically selected as though to force you to have to do business with one of the shadier companies that IOG promotes. See on the first page there were "offers" from companies that I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole after I looked up records/reviews regarding their business practices—they had complaints ranging from unauthorized credit card charges to non-delivery of product to unrecognized requests to cancel "memberships. Some of the "shady offers" were presented again on the second page, but I think one could still manage to dodge them. However on the third page, avoiding crummy or questionable offers seems to be almost impossible. There's only FOUR offers on the third page and to comply with IOG's free giveaway, the applicant must complete TWO of the FOUR offers.
The four offers were: (1) TrimLife—they want you to try their "free" seven-day sample of TrimLife by paying them only $5.95. But why would I do business with them after reading that they make repeated bogus charges to people's credit cards? (2) USA Platinum Card—they want you to subscribe to their credit card that you can use ONLY to purchase their merchandise. A dumb concept in my opinion, especially when I read the fine print that states they charge almost $150 annually to confine your buying power to THEIR products. I don't think so. (3) AOL MusicNet—now that's a refreshingly reputable company—except for the fact that OH! I already picked them on a previous page! So, I can't use them again now can I? And last but least, there's (4) the GM Card—a reputable company, and a legitamate credit card. So what's the problem with it? You may want one, and you may even apply BUT this is not counted as a "completed offer" by IOG unless (a) you're approved, (b) you activate it AND (c) you have to use it. Not a lot to choose from if you choose to choose only legitamate, reputable companies who aren't designed to take advantage of a consumer.
As if that's not enough, the link at the botttom of the page three offers read, "After You've Completed 2 Offers above, Here are some Bonus Rewards/Giveaways!" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
That was a lot of work. It's been two days of clicking through offers now and there seems to be no end in site.
I tell you what gets me, after all that work. Jumping through all those hoops. LIke many of the others whose real-life horror stories I've read here. I've discovered that when I went to check the status of my gift, there's no way to log in. IOG sent me an error message saying they have no record of my e-mail address or account with them. My guess is, the only way I'll be getting Microsoft Office Professional Edition is if I go to a legitmate outfit and buy it.
"if it seems too good to be true, it probably is" -mom
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