I had a specific interest in learning about purchasing foreclosure properties. This Foreclosure Training web site offered a "free" how-to CD for the Shipping and Handling fee of $8.95. I knew that was exhorbitant for S&H but I figured that was how they made their profit on the "free" CD.
The package arrived, unbelievably large for a CD. The dimensions were approximately 9" x 12" x 4" and weighed more than three pounds. Upon opening it, I discovered four books and a vinyl folder containing 18 CD's.
Book titles were: Lease Purchase Articles, Real Estate EXPOSED, Nothing Down Real Estate Investing, and Credit Repair Secrets!?!?
The CD's were courses from Real Success Institute. Titles included: Fundamentals of Real Estate (3 CD's); Creative Financing (3); Discount Mortgages (2); Internet Marketing A-Z (2); Auction Wealth Accelerator (6); Auction Wealth Accelerator-Free CD-ROM (1); and oh, yes! Foreclosure Wealth Accelerator-Free Audio CD (1).
A cover letter in the package reminded me I had authorized a "one-time shipping and handling charge of 8.95 to be processed immediately."
The next paragraph read, "The Real Estate Exposed package may be returned within 30 days of the original purchase date to receive a refund. This will help ensure you with a worry-free shopping experience with us as we want you to feel confident when purchasing our products. That is why our our return policy is very straight forward."
They dropped the bomb in the third paragraph. "If after 30 days you are completely satisfied with the service a one-time charge of 297.00 will be applied. You must be satisfied with your purchase or you may return all products (instructional CDs, manuals, etc.) in its entirety and in original working condition within 30 days of receipt of your order for a full refund (excluding shipping and handling charges).in the event that any item is missing or damaged from the returned package, your refund will be forfeit. If any open audio product is defective, it must be returned to us within 15 days to be replaced by another audio of the same program."
As I re-read the letter now, I see the subtle layout designed to mis-lead the reader. They mention the 8.95, then the 30 day return policy. This gives the reader the impression that only 8.95 is at stake. Even if one continues to read, your guard is down. They use phrases such as "worry free shopping" and "our return policy is very straight forward."
By now your psychological guard is down but they continue the grease job into the next paragraph: "If after 30 days you are completely satisfied with the service..." Subliminally suggesting you will be satisfied. The more common wording is, "If within 30 days you are dis-satisfied, for any reason..." Only now do they disclose the 297.00 figure.
This is a tremendous amount of material to examine in 30 days in sufficient detail to determine if it is worth the price. The CD's do not have run-time printed on the label, however, assuming a typical one-hour per side average, you have 18 hours of listening just to check for flaws.
A quick perusal of the books revealed them to be poorly written and nearly worthless as a guide to actually getting into the business of Real Estate Investing. None of the books addressed my specific interest, purchasing foreclosures.
I should have immediately returned the whole shebang, right? Of course, no question. There is always a "but." I didn't have time right then to sit down and look through the package so I set it aside to be done tomorrow. Before I got back to it, we had a personal family crisis that does not need airing here. Suffice it to say, I was distracted for nearly two weeks and by then the package had been forgotten.
When I finally got back to it, the 30 days had elapsed. The credit card bill with a $297 charge on it served as a rude reminder. An immediate call to the company resulted in a total brush-off. "Your 30 days are up. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Unlike a brick and mortar business, immoral and unethical Internet businesses offer little in the way of recourse for abused customers. I certainly do not advocate Government control of the Internet, but until we learn how to shop more intelligently on-line, we must all become wary, suspicious shoppers.
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