It's NOT only the magazines you get scamed for!!! When you call these sleazy weasels for this so called Million Dollar contest keep in mind that it only happens once every 2 years. The next drawing is Dec. 2005!! As with all sleazy sales outfits who can't actually sell a product or service on it's own merrits, NME (National Magazine Exchange) (the initials should be a tip off. N m e. Enemy!) employs good old fashioned sleaze tactics... The "hook" and "bait and switch"
... First... You are "invited" to call in and register for this so called contest which as mentioned happens once every 2 years, then you're pitched a few magazine offers and if you happen to say yes... (mistake #1) you will be charged what appears a reasonable sum of money but just wait a month or so and then recieve "sticker shock" when you get your next months credit card bill but that's a different story... Plenty of other reports on that scam alone... What you don't know is that once you say NO to the magazine offers, you ain't done yet!!! NOPE!
There's MORE fun to be had with you!!! You say NO and if you can get off the phone with these sleazy weasels you get ANOTHER sales pitch! Yes!!! You're now "qualified" to
recieve... Either $40 in FREE gas rebates OR a 3 day/2 night stay in a hotel!!! Wow! And then you get transfered to whats known in inner circles to the GO department. G.O. (Great Options)
You didn't think you were gonna get off that easy did you?
Now you get to talk to another "associate" about your FREE gift which ofcourse, really isn't FREE... What a shock!!!
Here's the other scam with NME... You get your choice of the gas rebates or the 3 day/2 night stay IF... Always an IF... IF you TRY a program called..."Critics Choice" Gee what IS Critics Choice? Why it's a "FABULOUS" discount service for many fine things! Really? Like what? READ ON!!!
O.K. Well you get this FREE stuff if YOU agree to try the Critics Choice Entertainment for only $1.00 (one dollar) for the first 30 days and why yes we will need your credit card number!!! Because after your $1.00 30 day "trial" is over why we'll only bill you $9.99 a month thereafter!
I won't go into the script, and there is a very well phrased and slick script, but NME will try several times to run over you and overcome any objections you have and try to do what they call in training to "capture" your credit card. Capture is such a wonderful term yes? NME will badger you untill you cry uncle and agree to GIVE OUT your card number... For the intial $1.00... And you will be told that UNLEES you call a toll free number to CANCEL, you will be billed $9.99 a month, EVERY MONTH, after your 30 days is up... Full disclosure is NOT the issue here... They have to by law tell you this so they do... Not because they're honorable but because they're forced to... So if you're able to hang tough and still say NO... That's allright... When you're done with that part. You're then told to "Please hold on while we transfer you a a pre-recorded message that allows you to enter ANOTHER sweepstakes and hear about several other GREAT OFFERS!!!"
The point is... You're "worked on" in several different areas and magazines are but a fraction of the total scam... The whole issue comes down to this... NME is counting on you NOT TO CALL TO CANCEL... They're counting on people's tendancy to NOT REMEMBER to stay in business... Most of us will forget to call BEFORE the trial is over... This is how A.O.L. Gets you with the FREE 45 day offer too BUT that's another sad story, NME wants you to forget... Forget and get billed and since they mail out about a MILLION of those sweepstake entries a week... They only need a small percentage of the "Yes's" to stay in business...
As for the incoming rebutals from employess... Sorry... Can't escape or defend yourselves... NME may have a nice building to work in... Polished glass and mirrors. And a cafeteria... And nice people who go around and act happy and trainers who are there to help "motivate"... It's all about how to get that $... They're counting on just a handful of easy targets to say YES and that's all they need... If they had an honorable product to sell, they wouldn't have to employ all these sleaze tactics... Everyone who works there has a very finely tuned and polished script to read, not to help the consumer, but because it's designed to decieve, and it works too!!! I know because I have to do it every day! And please remember... Like all call centers, NME has a high turn-over which means most people can't do this job, it's a high pressure job, and please call the attorney generals office of you have a complaint and not to take it out on the person you're talking to because we're trying to make a living... NME has several scams operating at once and their only purpose is to wear people down at any one of several opportunities they have during the course of the call.
Just say no... No... No and hang up!!!
Richard
Tampa, Florida
U.S.A.
0 comments