Read the Fine Print | brokeGIRLrich
This post could also be called: Sometimes if You Think a Deal is Too Good to be True, It Is.
Or I could call it: Never Click the Ads on Facebook
This particular ad was for a company called Adore Me that started popping up in my Facebook sidebar this spring. It immediately caught my eye, but I ignored it.
It kept popping up.
What are you trying to tell me Facebook sidebar, in your relentlessly creepy way of stalking my online wanderings?
It claimed to be a lingerie site at excellent prices for ladies of all sizes. Sorry, gentlemen, if this is TMI, but finding a good bra is a big deal. They make or break your outfit – and occasionally your mood, depending on how uncomfortable that sucker is.
Generally, a well-made bra is expensive. Victoria’s Secret has no trouble selling off those suckers for $50 each (although their semi-annual sale is awesome and being an Angel makes all their apparel much more affordable).
$50 is a lot of money for something you have to own several of. $50 is what you drop when, you know, someone else is going to see it. For a lot of life, you just want something sturdy that doesn’t show it’s lacey, leopard printed patterns through your t-shirt.
Furthermore, if you don’t have tiny, tiny mammaries, you can’t buy cheap bras. Fact of life.
So my eyes kept drifting.
And one day I clicked.
$24.99 for a bra and underwear and they did have every size under the sun. And they were cute.
So I bought a set to see if the hype was worth it and thought nothing more of it (FYI – actually, they are ok. They’ve got nothing on Victoria’s Secret, but they work).
A few months go by and I’m checking my credit card statement and noticed there’s an additional charge from Adore Me for $39.99.
Confession: I don’t always check my credit card statement.
ALWAYS CHECK YOUR CREDIT CARD STATEMENT.
So after noticing that charge, I looked back a little and realized I had been charged $39.99 every month since my first purchase.
Turns out that part of why their underwear is so cheap is because it is a subscription club. And if you read the fine print (heck, even the medium print), I would’ve been informed about that.
I clicked in through an ad that offered $10 off your first purchase. So as I checked out, I followed all the steps to get $10 off my first purchase. I just didn’t notice that it was also enrolling me in this recurring payment.
I feel like I’m not the only one they got with this.
To be fair, they do send an email every month inviting you to opt out of the charge for the month by clicking on something before the 5th of each month. However, since the email looks just like an advertisement and I didn’t even realize I’d joined the club in the first place, I just kept deleting them.
Fail.
So, I’ve racked up about $100 in credits with company. Terrific.
Moral of the story:
ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT.
Good advice! Some companies can be very tricky with their fine print and if it’s too good to be true, it usually is.
Sondra @ Savers4Life recently posted…Ways to Save Money on Halloween Costumes
Do those extra charges entitle you to more bras? or are you just SOL? Have you unsubscribed?
I am always really skeptical of any billing that hints at being anything other than a one time transaction. Those recurring charges are so easy in incur but so hard to get rid of.
Kate@GoodnightDebt recently posted…I’m ignoring my debt.
Yeah, I can at least buy more bras. I’m waiting to unsubscribe until I use the credits I accidentally banked, I just don’t need any now.
Hopefully you can get your money’s worth and then cancel your subscribtion. I mean, who is buying a new bra every single month?
Brandy @ Busted Budget recently posted…I Quit My Job And Got A Promotion!
Agreed. Madness.
Oh no! That really sucks. I’ve been seeing these ads all over Facebook as well. Did not know it was a monthly subscription.
Michelle recently posted…7 Things I Won’t Cut From Our Budget To Save For a Down Payment
Oh that’s lame. Sorry to see that it looks like you’ve been taken with this… Uh… but then a few more well-fitting bras are yours now, I guess?
Mario recently posted…Six tips to vacation in New York WITHOUT looking like a tourist
Silver lining.
I hate when that happens. =( JustFab does something similar to that, except they have boots and purses. I have a reminder set to skip the month, but there was one time that it fell through the cracks, and I still have a credit. I was pretty mad at myself after that. Good reminder to double-check everything before a purchase!
Erin @ Journey to Saving recently posted…Being Grateful: Forty-Seventh Edition
Birchbox got me this month and even though it was only a $10 charge, it really bothered me. I’m sure I missed some fine print somewhere in there, but I just think its so low to intentionally scam someone that took interest in your product!
Brittany @ Fun on a Budget Blog recently posted…Weekend Survival Guide for the Girl on a Budget
I have never heard of a subscription lingerie club; however, I have definitely fallen victim to a subscription problem and it’s usually from an informercial. I hate it when I find out, though, because it makes me feel like such an idiot. Don’t worry, though, you are not alone in the idiot’s club. 🙂
Shannon @ Financially Blonde recently posted…Music Mondays – Getting Married
Amazon also does this with their Prime free trial. After the trial ends they charge you $89 in one shot without so much as a notification.
I’ve learned over the last few years since the explosion of ecommerce to always check my statements. Some shady tactics being used out there.
John Green recently posted…Beginner’s Guide To Selling On Amazon
Ugh, that sucks! I am nuts about reading fine print. I’ve heard too many stories of people getting screwed by it and I buy lots of groupon deals which are loaded with rules and exclusions.
Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life recently posted…Is Assuming the Worst Keeping You From Saving Money?
Groupon is definitely pretty bad about that. I had no idea for the first few I bought that they had expiration dates.
The fine print is so perilously buried it tough to figure out what’s what. A good reminder for us, sorry for you Mel. I hear the bra stories from my wife. 🙂
Well hopefully she can avoid that company if they start targeting her on Facebook too!
I’ve been caught out with something similiar. It was a deal with a hotel to have 10% off a room so I signed up thinking I was getting a deal. Fast forward to January 2014 and I finally decided to do something about my debt and I noticed a payment of £10 on my credit card. Checking back through all the unopened statements (head was well and buried in the sand) I had been charged £10 a month for over two years!!! I had been signed up to some consumer discount site that I never used and never received any emails or letters from.
Sadly I am a lawyer and of anyone I really SHOULD be reading the small print!!
Victoria @thefrugaltrial recently posted…TEN QUICK STEPS TO PAY OFF DEBT
Ugh – did you at least get 240 pounds in credit towards your next hotel stay??
nope! To this day I have no idea what the scheme was all about. Just put that in the drawer of mistakes!
Victoria @thefrugaltrial recently posted…TEN QUICK STEPS TO PAY OFF DEBT
Now there is hidden fine print on contracts for work performed, web purchases and sales receipts that state they can sue you if you make negative comments about them. A few months ago a woman in Denver got in an accident and the truck was towed. The truck had new tires on it but when it was delivered to the auto body shop it had 4 bald flat tires on it. Even though she had accident photos to show the tires that turned up missing under the control of tow company they denied everything. She left a negative yelp comment about them and now they are suing her. Her tow receipt had fine print. I hate fine print!
LeisureFreak Tommy recently posted…Early Retirement Side Hustle
Sooo, back nearly 10 years ago, I bought my first iPod. And I googled iTunes to download it. I didn’t realize it was free (yeah I know, but iPods were relatively new back then). The first ad on google at the time was offering an awesome deal of $50 to download, install, etc, iTunes. I paid it. And then realized after the fact that it was fishy… I had to cancel my credit card because I was concerned about the scam. Also, duh to the 18 y/o Alicia…
Alicia recently posted…My Worst Job Interviews
Ebay did this to me recently when I sold some stuff on there. At first I got 3% off because of Paypal and I thought, Oh okay that’s a pretty reasonable seller’s fee. And I paid my own shipping so I was fine there too. Turns out, a month later, ebay sends me a notice I owed 10% of the sales price on my item (which was multiple hundreds of dollars). I was flabbergasted! Nowhere while I was listing the item showed how much this fee would be, nor was there any such mention until a month after the transaction happened.
Long story short, Amazon every time.
Taylor Lee recently posted…My Net Worth Is Tanking And I Feel Fine
Yeah, I’m not sure where eBay mentions their fee, but it’s definitely the way they make money. It probably should be very clearly labeled though.
Amazon doesn’t have a fee??
Subscription boxes are tricky. Even when I have a reminder to skip every month, there are those times when I miss it and end up getting charged. Do you like the quality of the goods, though? I might look into them… haha.
Lisa recently posted…Links Lisa Likes – Engagement Party Recovery
I do, they’ve got a lot of fun prints and patterns and they’re… properly supportive 😉