I realized this a while back but I wanted to post my idiocy for the whole world to laugh at.
A long time ago I purchased a CD from Media Play and used a credit card. They gave me an offer for free issues of Entertainment Weekly. I would have to cancel the service before the end of the period or else I would have been charged.
I canceled the service but I was continually charged. To make matters worse, my parents were receiving and keeping the damned issues. I would see a payment marked EW on my credit card bill for almost 50 dollars and I would think “Uhm okay, what's this?” I then realized the error and that I was being charged for a subscription. I believe I canceled the service again then, but I probably didn't do anything because I forgot about it.
Fast forward to about 2 years later, and I'm still paying for magazines I've never read, once! I'm a freaking moron. Every time the charge would hit my credit card, I'd just let it go. 50 dollars every 6 months. 50 dollars for worthless trash about celebrities and crap I don't really give a royal rat's ass about. (Yes, even rats can be royalty).
Anyways I canceled again tonight but decided since I paid for 6 months, I should let the magazines continue. My “automatic renewal” (read: scam) will end on 12/17/2004. My luck, it'll renew and I'll forget about it, not contesting to my credit card company and telling Entertainment Weekly to shove their magazine where the sun don't shine.
I'm the idiot though, for signing that piece of paper and not telling the clerk at the store “NO” or more politely “Go to hell with your 'free' crap that never really is free, just appears to be so for a limited time only.” In their defense it's not Media Play's fault for hooking me into this mess, but then again it probably is because they most likely know exactly how it works and how anyone who “cancels” doesn't really cancel the “free” subscription.
It's kind of like AOL's “Unlimited for 50 days” or “X hours” deals. You have to use a credit card, sign up, and if you're smart enough to remember at the end of the period to cancel the service, you don't get hit with a charge. I got 6 months of Earthlink dial-up free with my Dell laptop and did I cancel before the 6 months? Nope. I happened to pay for 2 months, one of which I didn't use but I let my mom use the account, so it wasn't a total waste.
I hate this crap with a passion. It makes me not want to try anything out at any time in any situation. If I have to give you my credit card or anything financial up front, guess what? I'm not interested. Not anymore. I guess I'll just stick to my no-spam, hunt-for everything-but-never-really-finding-or-trying-anything ways and tell those leeches where they can shove their “free” pile of elephant dung.
I just think it's sad that this is the only way most companies make money. They don't outright lie to you, but they aren't quite up front about how they'll do their best to get money out of you in any way they can. It's sad that I paid something like $100 (at least) to $200 or maybe even $250 for worthless crap. With all the money I'm throwing away, I could feed a small family in Sudan or some place where they could actually benefit from my funding. I guess American companies don't mind the suffering of others as long as they get their nice cars and bling-bling. Then again they consider it suffering if they don't have these things.
I guess the saying does hold true though: Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice (or a million times) and shame on me.