Read The Terms & Conditions Before You Act On Subscribing to Programs!

I know this sounds rudimentary, but I'm going to say it anyways: Always Read the Terms & Conditions When You Sign Up for Programs, Buy Products Online, and Use different Forums For Your Business!!!!

I'm not the only person that gets bored to death when reading all of the t&c's and I'm not the only person that has been burned by my laziness. If you have ever bought anything online, especially when starting an online business, you know how easy it is to just hope that everything is 'straight forward' and that everyone you do business with is ethical and honest.

Unfortunately, the terms and conditions pages are where companies now list their ways of manipulating you out of money. They are overfilled with mostly useless information and they sneak the 'catch-22' into the middle of it.

For Example:

I recently bought a "how to..." software when trying to learn more about Excel and increase it's usefulness in my life. I paid like $14.95 for the free 15 day trial. I got the package after about 5 days and tested it for a couple days. After trying it I realized it wasn't for me so per the terms of the 'free' trial, I obtained a RMA and sent back the disc. Well, the business charged me $189 for the program and that was 2 months ago. I called back within the time period and everything. When I again inquired about my refund, which should have been completed last week, the guy said he will get it to me in 15 business days. Really? That will be almost 3 months of interest accrued on my credit card for this program.
In summation, they really didn't want me to try their program. They wanted to trick $189 out of me. There is no way that with shipping and handling (both ways) that you can test the product. The guy on the phones response to my frustration is that I could have called to extend the trial. My Response: "If I wanted to call your stupid business, I would have ordered the product over the phone. I use the internet so I don't have to call! You know that the time allotted isn't sufficient to try the product and your business strategy is designed to manipulate, instead of earn, money out of my pocketbook."

Besides vocalizing my frustrations, there is little else I can do. I buy lots online, but this was my first attempt at a 'free trial.' While 'free trials' are a useful and economical way to sample, they are also not as awesome as they seem when you read the t&c's. Be careful online. Don't let businesses get your money this way. I personally call it unethical, they call it 'legal.' In the end, I know what my retaliation will be: they lose my business. I was going to order a more expensive product about online business from this company, Video Professor, but they have proven that they are not interested in providing excellent customer service. They took my money and aren't giving it back even though I followed their rules. (I did send the package back w/in 15 days, the post office delivered it 5 or so days after my allotted time period, but by then I had a rma so they new I wasn't keeping it....bastards, it was essentially impossible to succeed in following their t&c's).

I wrote this to vent. I won't lie. But I also want my readers to be sure to stay alert when they are enlisting in programs and buying stuff online. Read the Terms and Conditions and make sure you follow them to a tee because the companies don't want to give you your money back.

Hope This Helps!

Kirstin Filliez