Beware of Trial Offers Placed on Credit Cards!

Ever chosen to take the plunge with an “introductory” or “trial” offer only to have a hard time canceling the service? Worse yet, ever signed up for a trial offer or subscription with your credit card only to keep having it charged even when you didn’t want the service anymore?

We’re not saying all trial offers are bad. Actually, they can be very useful. For example, trial offers usually allow access to a product or service for free or at a reduced cost. This gives you a chance to see how well you like the product. And obviously, the merchant hopes you like the product enough to make future purchases.

But cardholders need to be diligent when taking advantage of trial offers offered by a MERCHANT (not their credit card company). For example, many times merchants require that they first provide their credit card number to take advantage of the trial offer. The trouble comes when consumers don’t realize that by providing their card number, they may effectively be signing a contract allowing the merchant to automatically bill them for further merchandise and other things like shipping at the regular price after the trial period is over.

This is where you need to be fully aware of what you’re signing up for. When signing up for these trial periods, make sure you know the following information:

• Is the trial offer related to a membership, subscription or extended service contract?
   
• Do you have to contact the company to avoid receiving more merchandise or services?
   
• Who do you contact to cancel?
   
• Will you receive other products with the free trial item? If so, will you have to pay for them or send them back if you don’t want them? And how long do you have to decide before incurring a charge?
   
• Is there a membership fee? If so, is it refundable?
   
• Will the merchant automatically bill your credit card for anything?

Remember, reading the fine print is key to staying clear of trial offer traps. More often than not, if you’re not interested, it’s your responsibility to cancel the product or service to avoid any further charges from the merchant after the prescribed trial date. If you fail to do this, a charge could show up automatically on your credit card. Again, these transactions are initiated by the MERCHANT, and the credit card company will probably not be able to help you recover charges you inadvertently approved. Ultimately, you are the first line of defense against unwanted purchases.

Learn more about how to steer clear of trial offer pitfalls.