It's frustrating to see so many new diet pill scams pop up lately. It's also frustrating to see so many people (or websites) supporting such diet pills by endorsing their products so they can get their cut as well. In light of this frustration, I thought I'd write about one of the most popular scams that's hit the internet lately: The Autoship.
So what is an autoship program? Basically it is where the company agrees to mail you supplies (usually monthly supplies) of their product to your home on a regular basis and then charge your credit card when they ship the products.
Well that doesn't sound so bad does it? It sounds rather convenient if you ask me. And it is, as long as that's what you want to have done. It's important to understand that not all autoship programs are scams or necessarily bad. Here's the thing: it's the way that the companies use (or maybe better put, disclose) the autoship that can turn it into a scam.
The problem arose once companies realized that no one was reading the fine print in the 'terms and conditions.' They saw an opportunity to put the autoship details in the fine print so that people didn't usually find out that by buying whatever the product was, they were also agreeing to engage in the autoship program. This is where consumers started to get taken advantage of.
It got worse, however, when companies started to offer things for free and get them to accept the terms of the autoship under their nose. Everyone wants something for free, and hence they are able to get thousands to get the "free" trial and get them into the autoship without them knowing about. A few weeks later, they can start charging their credit card. You can quickly see how many cunsumers they are taking advantage of by doing a quick search on some of the internet complaint boards.
To illustrate some of the one-sided details of some of the classic autoships that I've seen while reviewing diet pills, I'll use a fake scenario with our friend John. John is convinced by the marketing of a certain diet pills and finds that they offer a free trial. Being a naturally trusting person, he inputs all his personal information into the free trial request form and his credit card number to pay for the shipping of the trial.
John glances over the fine print, gets bored and checks the box saying that he agrees to the terms and conditions. He clicks submit and little does he know that he is now a full fledged member of the company's autoship program. 15 days later he sees a charge on his credit card for $60 (could be anywhere from $30 to $100 depending on the product). What he didn't know is that he only had 15 days to call and cancel the autoship. On the 15th day, they shipped him another month's supply and gladly charged his credit card. If he doesn't call soon, he'll see another charge for the same amount next month. Furious, John calls customer service to get an explanation of what happened and to demand a refund. John is either given the run around and can't get ahold of anyone with actual answers or his phone call doesn't get answered at all (this is not always that case, but is common). Now, after paying hundreds, he has a few diet pills that, even if they were effective, he wouldn't take because he's so mad.
Now again, are all autoship programs scams? No. There are many companies out there that fully disclose (and make it obvious for the consumer) that they are enrolling in an autoship. Others give the consumer the option to enroll or not to enroll. There's nothing wrong with this at all. But there are many, many other companies who's sole purpose of the product and website is to deceive the consumer and suck as much money as they can out of them. So be wise and make sure that you are fully aware of what you are agreeing to. Read the fine print. You'll be glad that you did! - 17944
So what is an autoship program? Basically it is where the company agrees to mail you supplies (usually monthly supplies) of their product to your home on a regular basis and then charge your credit card when they ship the products.
Well that doesn't sound so bad does it? It sounds rather convenient if you ask me. And it is, as long as that's what you want to have done. It's important to understand that not all autoship programs are scams or necessarily bad. Here's the thing: it's the way that the companies use (or maybe better put, disclose) the autoship that can turn it into a scam.
The problem arose once companies realized that no one was reading the fine print in the 'terms and conditions.' They saw an opportunity to put the autoship details in the fine print so that people didn't usually find out that by buying whatever the product was, they were also agreeing to engage in the autoship program. This is where consumers started to get taken advantage of.
It got worse, however, when companies started to offer things for free and get them to accept the terms of the autoship under their nose. Everyone wants something for free, and hence they are able to get thousands to get the "free" trial and get them into the autoship without them knowing about. A few weeks later, they can start charging their credit card. You can quickly see how many cunsumers they are taking advantage of by doing a quick search on some of the internet complaint boards.
To illustrate some of the one-sided details of some of the classic autoships that I've seen while reviewing diet pills, I'll use a fake scenario with our friend John. John is convinced by the marketing of a certain diet pills and finds that they offer a free trial. Being a naturally trusting person, he inputs all his personal information into the free trial request form and his credit card number to pay for the shipping of the trial.
John glances over the fine print, gets bored and checks the box saying that he agrees to the terms and conditions. He clicks submit and little does he know that he is now a full fledged member of the company's autoship program. 15 days later he sees a charge on his credit card for $60 (could be anywhere from $30 to $100 depending on the product). What he didn't know is that he only had 15 days to call and cancel the autoship. On the 15th day, they shipped him another month's supply and gladly charged his credit card. If he doesn't call soon, he'll see another charge for the same amount next month. Furious, John calls customer service to get an explanation of what happened and to demand a refund. John is either given the run around and can't get ahold of anyone with actual answers or his phone call doesn't get answered at all (this is not always that case, but is common). Now, after paying hundreds, he has a few diet pills that, even if they were effective, he wouldn't take because he's so mad.
Now again, are all autoship programs scams? No. There are many companies out there that fully disclose (and make it obvious for the consumer) that they are enrolling in an autoship. Others give the consumer the option to enroll or not to enroll. There's nothing wrong with this at all. But there are many, many other companies who's sole purpose of the product and website is to deceive the consumer and suck as much money as they can out of them. So be wise and make sure that you are fully aware of what you are agreeing to. Read the fine print. You'll be glad that you did! - 17944
About the Author:
Before you buy any diet pills online, make sure you check Criticalorie's quality commentaries of diet pills. You'll get common sense advice from an industry insider.
