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Ahem.
Facebook needs to get their ad approval process fixed, or they'll go the way of MySpace. Between this and all the Trojan horses their ad networks support, they'll soon run out of people willing to click their ads.
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@Trai_Dep:
Two words for the OP:
1. Firefox
2. Adblock
As far as Facebook itself: being thirty years out of college, I prefer to use the grownups' Internet.
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At this point, I think that anybody with an IQ above 75 (which includes probably half the people that post on Consumerist - the rest of you know who you are) understands that if you sign up for a \"free trial\" or an \"introductory offer\" online you are actually signing up for the \"scam of the century.\"
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Ivan's experience shows why you should immediately file a dispute with your credit card company, even while attempting to work things out with the merchant. He would not have paid interest on the amounts in question while the dispute was pending.
@larrymac - please put me on your do not call list: As part of the chargeback process, the credit card company will probably want you to work things out with the merchant first. Even if the merchant doesn't care, if you file a chargeback a week after the charge you still don't pay any interest on that charge.
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@larrymac - please put me on your do not call list: But I must know who the 8 20 somthing hot chicks are that are searching for me. LOL
Nearly ALL the ads on Facebook are uber-shady. Don't click!
I find that the advertising that appears on a site reflects well on the quality of the site. After all, good sites are going to attract higher paying advertisers which are (usually) less scammy.
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@FormerlyAnonymous: so i should sit back and enjoy the toothpaste ads on okcupid? because honestly, i would prefer to date people with fresh breath and clean teeth
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@morganlh85: +1 on that. Maybe it's time for Facebook to start being more careful who advertises with them?
When I saw this headline I thought immediately of Gevalia, which I subscribed to at one time, long ago. Good coffee, if expensive ... but I always got what I was supposed to, when I was supposed to, and was only charged exactly what was agreed upon. No sneaky charges, no weekly shipments of more coffee than I could possibly consume in a month, none of that.
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@PsiCop: You're right. And the one time I got some holiday-themed coffee that I didn't order, they credited me the charges (including the shipping) and haven't made any other mistakes. I am currently set up to get my coffee at the widest interval possible so as to minimize my expense.
I might have to cancel it though in the coming weeks as my finances are getting tighter.
@PsiCop: I agree... Gevalia wasn't such a bad deal. Twice I used it to get the free coffee maker (which was pretty cool) then canceled my subscription right away.
Okay, so I'm a deadbeat, but you won't find me complaining about Gevalia.
@SteveBMD: Actually I was thinking of signing up again to get a coffee maker, the current deal is $19.99 for a coffee maker, travel mug, and 4 boxes (their usual ½ lb each) of coffee. I'll get a few more shipments at regular prices so I get a small stockpile of the flavors I want, then may cancel.
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@PsiCop: I signed up for Gevalia two days ago, largely as a test for Consumerist, and I was unhappy with the experience.
Someone had sent in a Morning Deal offering 3 free boxes of tea or coffee and a travel mug from Gevalia. The deal didn't mention \"with membership\" and I was intrigued, because that's not usually how membership companies like Gevalia worked. I clicked through, and overlooked a phrase in the longer description that implied membership, and blindly signed up. The entire time, I kept looking around the site for details on any membership plan, but didn't see one. What I did see, however, were lots of descriptions of Gevalia's awesome membership benefits. I thought this was a weird, too-subtle way to tell me \"You're signing up for a membership with this deal!\"
Sure enough, after I paid my $3 for the promo, I discovered on the subsequent screen that I was now a member. This annoyed me and I tried to cancel--but discovered that Gevalia doesn't offer any way to cancel online. You have to call or mail them. I called, but customer service doesn't open until 10am ET. The next day I called again, and was told they could do nothing because the system hadn't processed my account. Finally, this morning (Saturday) I called and canceled. The CSR was polite but consistently tried to upsell me on my account instead of promptly following my request to cancel. More points lost.
One more thing: the hold time to speak to a CSR both yesterday and today was about 5 minutes, but in both cases the hold message warned me I would be waiting at least 10 minutes and suggested I hang up and try another time. I think that's a terrible way to communicate to customers who are calling in for help, and I bet it helps drive away impatient customers calling in to cancel.
I give Gevalia a C- on how they treat customers. I can't vouch for their quality (I tried to cancel the promo shipment but they wouldn't, so I guess I'll find out soon enough). They don't do anything scammy or even borderline illegal. But they make it mighty inconvenient to get prompt customer service from them, and any company that tries to block attempts to cancel a subscription loses a lot of respect from me.
I signed up for the same promotion, it was $3 for three boxes and a coffee mug or something. It said no commitment, then I saw it subscribed me. Although you do not have to call to cancel you can just contact them via e-mail and they will cancel membership. That way you have it documented in case they try to say you did not cancel. I found canceling a bit unpleasant also since there was some back and forth via e-mail, but they did cancel future orders. The $3 order already shipped (which I am okay with because that was my original intention).
@yellowlight: The email form didn't work for me, and I tried it twice on two separate days, but I'm glad to hear it does work. That at least makes it easier for time-strapped customers to cancel.
@Chris Walters: Well I also should have noted I used \"contact us (so it was through the website.\" Maybe the direct e-mail does note accept replies or that method is quicker. I am just posting this for future reference.
@Chris Walters: Actually there is the description of the detail of the subscription during the ordering process. You were asked to check a box to agree the terms. and if you click into the term you can see the details. I agree it is not the most honest way to get people subscribe for some product of service, but considering what many other companies are doing, it is not too dishonest or misleading either.
If you call to cancel their CSRs do try to upsell you, but they also DO have online cancelling, and that usually works without any hassle.
Here is the link:
[www.gevalia.com]
Really, Gevalia is OK. And if you do your home work and know what you are signing for, you can take some sweet advantage of them.
\"Actually there is the description of the detail of the subscription during the ordering process. You were asked to check a box to agree the terms.\"
That I did see, but the terms were the usual generic ones. I figured since it said no commitment that those terms would not apply. An example would be warranties (while I do not buy them they usually mention many things that do not apply to your product). Although my major concern is they refuse to take you credit card off file. I did not like this.
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@PsiCop: I used to be in Gevalia also. I only received what I signed up for on time and no abuses. I did completely understand I was signing up for auto-delivery of coffee. They had this one signature blend back then that was very tasty. I don't lump them in with these others. I had no trouble cancelling the plan.
Thank goodness for chargebacks. Ivan just should have done his sooner... after the first 7 days with no refund, I would have filed a chargeback right away.
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@chocobo: I suspect the wait 30+ days excuse was to delay things past the time limit you can do a charge back
BTW, what is Facebook AD?
(looking at my firefox with adblock pro, confused.)
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@sonneillon:
NoScript & Adblock on FF work great! I've gotten so accustomed to not seeing ads that I'm surprised (& annoyed) on the rare occasion I use IE.
@Bob Lu:
LoL I have that too. But I downloaded it to my computer after I had Facebook for over a year. However now, I don't miss the adds. I love Facebook! (Oh and good coffee! Kicking Horse, Esquire, Tim Hortons.....all for me!)
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Ugh... this sucks. All those subscription things are awful. If I see that, I tend to run - IMO, if you sell a good product at a fair price, and provide decent service, you don't have to trick people into repeat ordering.
BTW, I order green beans (from Sweet Maria's online, who have great service) and roast my own. Not only do I get amazingly fresh, delicious coffee, but it's *less* expensive than decent store-bought stuff. That's because, when the beans aren't roasted, they have a shelf life of months instead of days. Oh, and they support a lot of free trade and other cool things.
Roast your own folks!
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I might be confused or misreading, but it doesn't look like anyone did anything with North Face, or if they did, it doesn't seem to have bearing on this story?
What kind of moron gives out money for something in a Facebook ad anyway?
I signed up for a \"free sample\" of coffee about a year ago, from Gevalia. I just had to pay $3.15 for three boxes. A couple weeks after that arrived, another box came, along with a bill for $20-something.
I sent them an e-mail telling them I didn't order it, and asking how to return an unopened package, and they didn't send an e-mail back, or another bill.
Wasn't it P.T.Barnum who said \"There's a sucker born every minute!\"? As long as this holds true, internet scammers will thrive. Caveat Emptor!
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I don't blame them. I also think I need $40 of coffee per day. My blood pressure and bank account both disagree, however.
Support your local roaster. Their coffee is better.
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There is a free service at Bank of America. Citi cards are doing this as well! You go to their website and generate a temporary account number - it will expire in a month or so. Moreover you can preset a spending limit say $15 - and one cannot go over it! At any time you can log in and close your temporary account number! I am surprized people are not doing this. One must be insane to give your real account number to anyone online theses days.
I tried Seattle Coffee Direct back in June. The deal was a $2.00 package to try their coffee and was to come with 2 thermal coffee cups. I though this seemed great. I decided, after reading further, cancel the same day. I even received an email with a confirmation number stating that it had been canceled. Luckily, I had used my Paypal debit card and had buyer protection. Even after this, I found another charge on my card for $38.95, just 2 days later. I immediately called the company and complained that a trial isn't a trial unless you can actually experience the product before deciding you want more. By the end of the call they agreed to refund my card and directed me to refuse the package coming. I did. The refund didn't show up on my card so I called them back. At first the rep said they hadn't received the package back, then a little later said they did. He also told me it would take around 4-6 weeks to get my credit, so I waited. Nothing was ever refunded.
Okay, so to top all of this off, just this past week (5 months later), a $79.00 charge shows up on my Paypal account. Imagine my surprise when I saw this. The great thing is that I had kept the original cancellation email and disputed the charge with Paypal. I also had to pay a $34.00 stop payment fee with my bank. It did get reversed and I had to hot card my debit card. This type of thing should never happen, and I'm amazed that a company such as this is allowed to continue on stealing people's money.
Same thing with tea,I had 5 taken out of my account before I even knew it,sent them all back and asked for refund,nothing,they said I put down for 1 shipment a week and I only drink one cup a day,told them they were full of it and to send my money back! 4 months later and still get the same thing
I have been trying since October 2009 to get a refund of charges for 7 packages of coffee never received. Spent hours on the phone, occasionally talked to someone, given a reference number etc., finally recieved 3 credits, with 4 outstanding.. Then I emailed with all the information, to be told a refund would be within 7-10 days, nothing. I have again emailed, now the time frame is 30-40 days. If I ever receive the refund in total, I will celebrate and go buy a good cup a coffee at a competitor! What a scam!
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Isn't two pounds of coffee per day the standard Seattle dose?
It sounds like Consumerist isn't respecting the diversity of cultures that our great nation enjoys. Tsk. TSK!
(And by \"diverse cultures\", I'm talking about King Kong-sized, caffeinated monkeys on the backs of our near-Northern neighbors.)
Good thing someone isn't selling WA water, or they'd get three cubic feet of rainwater delivered every day.
Our Northern neighbors, of course, quaff whatever unholy mush comes out of their bark-berries-and-maple-leaf stills. Sounds awful, sure, but keeps our Canadian brothers hale & hearty enough to wrestle the roaming harbor seals out of the way that often clog their freeway onramps.
@Trai_Dep: I would hardly call Canadian coffee \"unholy mush\" - Tim Hortons is making a serious run in the US coffee market. Devotees drink that stuff like liquid crack.
(But you are right about the roaming harbor seals.)
@Trai_Dep: I think that much coffee would kill even the most hardened journalist.
@Trai_Dep: Also, these don't look like 1-pound bags to me: