Budget buster: beware of solow.com and sendmemobile.com

[ajk912]

It always creeps me out when companies google themselves. It almost seems stalkerish from a customer perspective.

Dum..dum...dum...we are in the Twilight Zone!!!

 

[purplegirl247]

OP here. When I originally wrote/called the above companies, they did not "happily provide a refund of any charges." In fact, they said there was nothing that could be done. When you google legitimate companies, you usually don't find them with the word "scam" attached!

 

[kristenrice]

I agree.

The other week I was on a rewards site I do, and a link to dietbug dot com said I'd get x cents for signing up, so OK. I'm going through, and this one page looked like I *had to* give them my phone number and other info, so I filled it in, then they had a checkbox saying that clicking it meant I agreed to their terms and conditions (which was a link) and I HAD to click the box to do whatever. So I click the T&C, read through the java box that popped up, and down at the bottom....paraphrasing...."you are agreeing to xyz voicemail service and we will charge you 9.99 through your phone company". Uh, NO. So I went back to the page, and looked carefully...turns out it was sort of a page within a page, and there was a button to go further UNDER a different button to go further. I unchecked the box, cleared my phone info out, clicked the lower buttton, and hey, dietbug account wihtout having a phone number. I didn't get credit for doing it, but I also did let the site owner know so they could put a warning on the page to read everything.

I'm SURE that those are sitting around on many things we sign up for. Like when I order from shoebuy, and at the end of the purchase there's a link to get $10 towards a future purchase. It's all on the page that you're signing up for a certain service, it's free for x weeks, and after that it'll be $y to continue unless you cancel. Very few people read all of that, and that's how they get you.

When signing up for things, read! I don't do any facebook apps, b/c just the box you check after clicking on the app states that you're giving up all your info, and I don't want to do that.



Ruh roh....

I, too, participate in various rewards sites. As I was clicking "skip" on most of the offers, I took the time to quickly read a few of them. The pages simply asked for your phone number (landline or cell). Then, in teeny tiny print at the bottom, it said that by submitting your phone number, you authorize a monthly fee of anywhere from $9.95-$19.95 to be charged to the account associated with the number you provided.

 

[tkitty]

DH just got this text- "Solow: Your subscription has been renewed. $9.99 a month.???YIPES!!!
Never heard of this. I checked it out and blocked the number from all of our Verizon phones, and found that I could call this number- (877) 402-3687 and follow the prompts to cancel, which I did right away. I so far found no charges, but will check the next bill.
How do they get away with this stuff!!!

 

[Ceila]

Ya Right from the scammers mouth. Companies like this are always trolling Google(or similar) attempting to 1. Appear to be legitimate or 2. Attempt to repair their crummy image. When do you see legitimate companies(Ford, General Mills, Verizon...etc) doing this on message boards--Never. Only the scummy scammers do this. I wonder if this loooooser will come back to defend themselves.

It's a bid for victims. By calling the number the list, or visiting the web site, you are giving them exactly all the info they are looking for. Hopefully nobody here will be taken in by the scammers posting on this thread.

 

[bonoriffic]

When you install updates or applications from the internet the vast majority of people blindly hit next to get to the finish button and move on with their life. Very legitimate programs are bundling in crap that you will also install. Always click custom, or some option other than easy install so that you can uncheck these junk toolbars, and sometimes worse applications from being installed. Adobe Reader and Java are two big offenders of this.

These third party cell phone deals are the same way. You opted in. I realize it was sneaky, but you did it to yourself.

Everyone should do themselves a favor and get Google voice, so you have a "throw away" phone number to use with businesses and other places that require a phone number.

 

[SandrA9810]

Some one mentioned photobucket... is there a charge to sending pics from your phone?? I'm checking the site now, but I don't see anything stating there's a charge.

I've signed up for plum rewards at a few stores, and never seen a charge for that. So at least their a good one.

 

[Berrie]

WOW! Thanks for the heads up! Just blocked my account!