I got a call today for my business from a company selling advertising in a brochure detailing upcoming movies at my local theaters. As my sister had recently told me about advertising on screen for the theater I thought I would hear them out. The price was reasonable and the idea sounded plausible and when she offered a further discount when I himmed and hawed, I just couldn't resist. However, when the billing woman called me back to settle the bill, it sounded kind of fishy. It almost sounded like the same woman as the salesperson just using a nasally voice. Even though red flags started going off in my head, I went ahead and authorized payment for the ad space.
It was only afterwards, when I decided to look up the company online for reviews that I got sick to my stomach. Not only were there several reviews, they were all bad, extemporizing on what a rip off this company was. They didn't hold up on the prescribed ad space, and in addition continued to charge you for services not rendered in the future. I was devastated, $800 down the drain for a scam. How could I be so stupid?
I immediately called back the company and cancelled said ad space within 30 minutes of the previous call. The woman on the phone agreed that the ad space could be cancelled and said nothing would be charged to my account. Being what I thought was a scam anyway, I followed my sister's advice and called up my credit card company. Apparently they had already posted the charge with no action toward reversing or cancelling the charges. My only recourse? To wait until the charges posted, i.e. my credit card company paid those nasties, and then file a complaint to dispute the charges. At this point I have no idea if I will get my money back or if I just lost a ton of money on a stupid mistake. Don't follow in my footsteps, prevent these kind of costly mistakes by adhering to the following advice.
How to Avoid Being Scammed
Step 1: Never, and I mean NEVER make a snap or instant decision to do anything. They will try to offer you all kinds of deals and discounts if you do it NOW, NOW, NOW, but don't fall for that trap. If the deal isn't good enough later on, it is probably too good to be true now. Prime example, timeshares. They will try to sell you on the timeshare today with all kinds of discounts, but when you stop to think about it, most of the time it would be cheaper to set aside said money each month or year and pay for a vacation yourself. Bonus, this way you can go where you want and are not tied down to one location. There are also usually added on fees and maintenance charges you don't hear about until after you purchase your timeshare.
Step 2: If you do fall for the instant decision for the discount, at least take the time to look them up online first and never use your debit card. Keep them talking, trust me they love to keep talking about all they can offer you, then casually look up reviews of the company online. If it is an older scam it will usually pop up with all kinds of bad reviews on the BBB or ripoff.com, etc.. You just need to type the company name into a search engine followed by "reviews" to get instant proof of the scam. If your search doesn't reveal anything chances are it is a newer scam or, and I doubt, it is legit. If it is legit, it usually pops up with good reviews and then you are good to go.
Step 3: If by some chance you were an idiot like me and ignored your first instincts and didn't look up reviews online first, make sure you cover your butt. Call the company back right away and try to cancel. Then call your credit card company directly and report that you cancelled said charge with the company. If the charge still posts you will then need to call the credit card company back and dispute the charges. Unfortunately if the company bills you anyway, which if it is a scam they will, then the credit card company has to let it post (meaning they pay them), then you can dispute the charges after the fact. If this happens it is a good idea to cancel your card so they can no longer charge you for services cancelled or non-rendered.
Hopefully it all turns out well for me as I was unlucky enough to fall for a total scam. Wish me luck disputing the charges. My only wish is that you follow step 1 and never fall victim to a scam yourself.
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